Sustainability Transition
Definition
Sustainability Transition is the realignment of economic activities required for achieving climate and other environmental policy objectives.
To avoid dangerous anthropogenic interference within the climate system, the Paris Agreement (COP21) commits countries to limiting the global temperature increase to well below 2 degrees Celsius and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The goal is a transition to a low-carbon economy.
Additionally, the agreement aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change. The IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming above 1.5 degrees recognises that ambition over the next decade is critical for climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The European Commission’s long-term decarbonisation strategy proposes that Europe aim for carbon neutrality by 2050 as part of global efforts to reach these goals. The EU Adaptation Strategy aims to make Europe more climate resilient and enhance the preparedness and capacity of all governance levels to respond to the impacts of climate change.
The transition to a Net Zero emissions economy requires transitioning from high to low emitting activities. To achieve this, it is necessary to incentivise the growth of very low carbon and net- zero activities, while at the same time achieving substantial emissions reductions in other activities. There is a need to redirect capital to activities that can provide substantial emissions reductions and contribute to a transition to a net-zero economy, but which are not yet net-zero carbon. These activities can make a substantial contribution to climate change mitigation where the underlying activities do not undermine its objectives or result in lock-in to carbon intensive assets or processes.
