UK government launches global climate calculator

The UK Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) is launching a new global online tool on Wednesday that enables governments, businesses and the public to calculate the outcomes of environmental scenarios.

DECC is unveiling the Global Calculator online software tool in London and Beijing and it could be crucial in the build up to the 2015 UN climate negotiations in Paris.

The calculator has been developed by a group including DECC and is designed to show the likely results and outcomes of a variety of choices that policymakers and the public could make to tackle climate change.

Users can adjust a broad range of metrics, including the global energy mix, energy-efficiency of buildings and transport.

The calculator then gives an answer and reveals if you hit the 2°C target and the financial cost.

The tool also contains warning lights to alert over blackout risks, unsustainable resource use, or unrealistic levels of ambition.

Recent findings showed that dealing effectively with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will require an expansion of renewable energy and nuclear power along with further development of sustainable public transport networks and the green building sector.

The study also controversially suggests that due to the rising food demands of an ever increasing population, much more land will need to be used for agricultural production, which could have negative implications for biodiversity.

The research also found that deforestation has to be stopped and the extent of forested land increased by 5 per cent to 15 per cent by 2050.

Anyone can use the Global Calculator tool to experiment with different possible scenarios.

Ed Davey, Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change, said: “For the first time, this calculator shows that everyone in the world can prosper while limiting global temperature rises to 2°C, preventing the most serious impacts of climate change. Yet the calculator is also very clear that we must act now to change how we use and generate energy and how we use our land if we are going to achieve this green growth.”

The tool is being offered to other governments, for use in the build to the crucial COP21 UN climate negotiations in Paris at the end of this year, at which a new binding global agreement on emissions reduction is due to be signed.

The calculator was launched in 2010 and has been popular in the UK as well countries including China and Vietnam who have been developing their own versions to give ministers an evidence-based approach to energy, transport, building and land use policies.

In South Africa, the calculator is even included in the school curriculum.

The global version is being launched simultaneously on Wednesday in London and Beijing, and DECC is using it to promote the message that global living standards can improve while achieving the 2°C target.

DECC has been keen to promote the message that the tool has for businesses and how it can highlight where environmentally and financially and sustainable investments can be made.

One example being that a car manufacturer could use the tool to identify a emerging market for self-driving electric vehicles, while wind and solar energy firms could identify opportunities around the world.

Officials say that the new approach of allowing the user to adjust and decide the mix and then see how much it will cost is more flexible than the traditional method of setting a budget and working out what is compatible with that.