Implementation: Decarbonisation and Economic Growth

Abstract

The implementation process for the COP21 Agreement must now start in order to have any chance of succeeding with its main objective of a 40% reduction in CO2 emissions. Actually, this process of implementation can be imagined to go on for the entire century, as COP21 promises a carbon free economy sometime after 2050. However, policy implementation is difficult to achieve, especially in a heavily decentralised structure. It is likely that many governments will only deliver small changes in emission decreases, but keep lots of fossil fuel energy sources in order to maintain a positive rate of economic growth. Complete decarbonisation of entire societies is a figment of the imagination.