In this podcast, Simon Henry, Director of Carbon Markets at IETA joins the Foundation to discuss the role carbon markets will have within the context of decarbonising the global economy and achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. 

Many world leaders, captains of industry, and civil society organisations see the Paris Agreement as the last hope for humanity to address climate change’s catastrophic impact and preserve foundations for a healthy planet. Yet the current commitments by all signatories are insufficient to meet the goal of keeping global temperature rise to below 2°C. 

Consequently, Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the IEA, recently announced the launch of a comprehensive road map for the global energy sector to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. The roadmap report, expected in May, will serve as a guide for countries preparing to convene for the COP26 UN Climate Conference in November. 

The IEA estimates that the required total transformation of the world’s energy infrastructure would mean, by 2030, increasing electric cars’ share of annual sales from 3% to over 50%, expanding the production of low-carbon hydrogen from 450,000 tonnes to 40 million tonnes,; and boosting investment in clean electricity from $380 billion to $1.6 trillion. 

This massive scale of decarbonisation of the global economy will require, amongst other things, putting an international price on carbon.