What needs to happen between 2030 and 2050 to reach net zero?

To halt global warming and save the planet, there’s no two ways about it - we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, we need to reach net zero - the point at which the total amount of greenhouse emissions released into the atmosphere is equal to or less than the amount of emissions we are able to remove from the atmosphere. In order to prevent the worst climate damages, net zero needs to be reached by 2050, and to make sure we’re on the right path, global emissions need to fall by 45% by 2030. But how are we going to make this happen? President Biden’s recently signed law the Inflation Reduction Act recognises something crucial: governments, businesses and industry need to work together to create rapid change. If we can restructure our economy in a way that prioritises our planet’s health, give incentives to companies and individuals to choose the greener option, and do this with the support of governments, then we have the chance to create real positive change.

The IRA, along with other key laws passed by Congress in the past year, is arguably the first radical leap forward in this whole global enterprise. Where the United States leads, other countries historically follow – not least because they simply have to keep up with the world’s largest economy and its demands and regulations. And when the federal government leads corporations like Cummins embrace that change – less because of enforcement or new taxes or levies but because the US government has incentivised and partnered with business and with individuals to accelerate change. It becomes in no one’s interests, in the national and global economy, to move slowly in this great transition.

So how are corporations like Cummins meeting this historical moment? What opportunities are there immediately and in the next eight years, as 2030 approaches, to transform the way we live, the shape of our nations, the way we do business?

This event, in partnership with Cummins, will bring together experts to discuss what we need to prioritise over the next few years to ensure that by 2030 we’ve dramatically reduced our emissions and greatly sped up the remaking of the American and global economy.

Speakers

Lucy Yu CEO at Octopus Energy’s Centre for Net Zero, a research unit leading pioneering research to make the future energy system a reality. Lucy has nearly two decades of experience building tech ventures and developing tech policy and regulation for the UK government, European Commission, and the UN. She has led operations, commercial, policy and research functions for several high-growth, globally-renowned tech start-ups including two unicorns. Lucy has been named a Financial Times Top 100 Most Influential BAME Leader in tech (2019) and one of Diversity UK’s Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech (2021).

Dr Chris Greig Leading researcher on decarbonization and net-zero energy transitions at Princeton University. His academic career follows almost 3 decades in industry, initially as a company founder and then in senior executive roles across the energy and resources sectors on 4 continents. His research intersects engineering, business, and social sciences to identify and overcome the challenges of rapid decarbonization for different regions, sectors and businesses. He co-led Princeton’s influential Net-Zero America (2021) study and is currently co-leading similar efforts in Australia and Asia.

Moderator

Helen Czerski British oceanographer, physicist and television presenter. Her many programmes for radio and TV include Radio 4’s Inside Science, Orbit: Earth’s Extraordinary Journey, numerous Horizon documentaries, The Sky at Night, and Dara O Briain’s Science Club. She is a Research Fellow at University College London, and holds a PhD in experimental explosives physics. She is the author of Storm In A Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life. She gave the 2020 Royal Institution's annual Christmas lecture on the workings of the world's oceans and how they serve as the heart of our planetary life support system.

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