NTNU Professor Anders Hammer Stroman is a co-author of the United Nations climate report presented on Monday. Although the report stresses that it will be very difficult to achieve climate goals, Stroman believes the report shows that it is still possible.
Written by: Espen Slitfold
The knowledge clearly shows that the global community now faces a major choice. Anders Hammer Strowman says that what happens in the next few years will be absolutely decisive.
On Monday, the latest climate report was presented to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Strømman is one of six Norwegian researchers who contributed as lead author of the report, which has solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions as a main topic.
What are the main findings of the report?
The report confirms that we are not in a position to achieve the climate goals set out in the Paris Agreement. If we are to achieve the target, the emissions curve must be reversed as soon as possible and no later than 2024. If we are to meet the targets, this will require significant emissions reductions across all sectors. If we continue as we are, we will now have a global warming of 3.2 degrees by the turn of the next century.
Chapter Anders Hammer Strømman is the lead author on dealing with transport systems, and how the transport sector can be transformed to tackle climate change. Photo: Maren Agdestein / NTNU
It’s a bleak message, but are there bright spots?
– yes. Among other things, we see that the costs of many low-emission technologies have fallen sharply. This makes them more competitive. For example, solar module costs fell 85 percent between 2010 and 2019. We’re also seeing climate policy tightening, and that’s having an impact. In many countries and regions, emissions have declined over the past decade.
Does this mean that there is still hope for achieving climate goals?
– It will undoubtedly be a requirement, but the report makes it clear that this is not impossible as long as the will exists. It states that there is technology available that makes it possible to halve emissions by 2030, but then it must be used to a greater extent than it is today.
You have been the lead author of the chapter on the transportation sector, which is your area of expertise. What are the emissions reduction prospects there?
About 15 percent of global emissions come from transportation, and emissions are steadily increasing. There are a number of solutions that must be met if we are to stagnate emissions in the sector. Technology, such as the electrification of the automobile fleet, will have a significant impact, but the reduction in emissions in this sector is also much more than that. We must reduce the need for transportation and make it more attractive to travel in a climate-friendly way.
What was it like to be a lead author on such a report?
– When the climate is a field, it is only natural that you are allowed to contribute. It was exciting, sophisticated and fun. Then I will not hide that it was also hard and hard work. Especially in recent weeks, there have been a lot of late nights. I’m a bit mentally tired now, but it’s definitely worth it when one sees the result that gets the report’s attention.
what will you do now what do you do now? Relax?
-she. I’ll probably treat myself to a few days of Easter vacation when that time comes. But I am also interested in spreading the knowledge from the report to as many people as possible. So I will be giving a number of posts and guest lectures in various forums. I look forward to.
Strømman is the only NTNU lead author on this sub-report, but several NTNU members contributed to it. Helen Morey, Otavio Cavallet, Lorenzo Usai and Kristen Hong (now SINTEF) worked on the report.
Contacts:
Anders Hammer Strowman
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