On October 26th, C4U research was presented at the 2023 Radboud Conference on Earth System Governance. Dr Moisés Covarrubias presented the article, ‘Transformative Industrial Decarbonization Policy: A Comparative Multi-Criteria Analysis in Europe’ and became a member of the Decarbonization Task Force.
Reflecting on this experience, Dr Covarrubias tells us:
The task force on decarbonisation at the ESG Network Conference has highlighted the evolving characteristics of what we understand as ‘decarbonisation’. A common understanding, narrative, and conceptualisation is needed. Do we focus on Carbon Dioxide (CO2) or on Greenhouse Gas (GHGs)? Removals or Reductions? Mitigation or Decarbonisation? Do we need a regional approach or an entry point for systemic transformation? Or perhaps a Global North perspective on emissions problem-solving with eyes on the Global South?
Overall, there seem to be more questions than answers.
The panels on decarbonisation contained 5 presentations on a wide variety of topics: from transition strategies for phasing out Oil and Gas (highlighting the lack of incentives to challenge the status quo for these industries) to a legal perspective on how to stop fossil fuels. In this conference, the C4U project proudly presented its outstanding research from Work Package 5 (Societal Readiness and Public Policy). The presentation addressed key questions, namely: How ready are CCUS policy instruments to support industrial decarbonisation in Europe? In answering this question, our research evaluated the distributional effects of the instruments included in 5 real-life cases of industrial decarbonization policy packages: in the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, and Sweden.
The research provided key insights on the perceptions of how the burdens and benefits of decarbonisation are shared among public, private, and societal stakeholders.