A team of scientists at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) has released an article highlighting the role played by climate protection and temperature control policies in conserving energy and decreasing pollution globally.
According to the article, which has been published in the December issue of Nature Climate Change, the policy should meet three conditions that are cost efficient, sustainable and achieve synergy.
Temperature controlling policies particularly will have consequential effects on other areas as they involve a large scale use of secure and renewable energy resources. When stringent climate policies are followed it will lead to a reduction of carbon emissions and pollution through harmful agents. As per the calculations of scientists, the enforcement of such policies will lead to reduction of costs in achieving energy objectives by many hundred billion dollars annually. The savings in cost resulting from such steps is equal to a third of the global investments in the present energy system.
Though the team of scientists used the accounting approach partially, they have not quantified the economic benefits of enforcing climate policies. The team has also urged world leaders who will meet at the second round of talks at the UNFCC C to relook at climate policies with a fresh perspective. Scientists used an assessment tool representing the global energy system called MESSAGE, which is also used to analyse energy policies, plan energy systems and development of energy scenarios. The research programme was supported by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, Global Environment Facility, the US National Academy of Sciences and the Research Institute of Innovative Technology for earth.