Dominica among countries leading the way to net zero by 2030 – study

Dominica is among four countries worldwide that’s leading the race to net zero by the year 2030, a study by the British company DriveElectric has revealed.

Net zero is a term used by environmentalists and it means “cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible, with any remaining emissions re-absorbed from the atmosphere, by oceans and forests for instance.”

The study analysed the annual emissions, GDP, and net zero targets to determine the countries that will reach net zero first, as well as the world’s worst offenders.

According to it, presently Dominica, Barbados, Maldives, and Mauritania all aim to be net zero by 2030.

“This is sooner than any other country in the world,” the study stated. “The Maldives has solidified its net zero targets in law, while Barbados and Dominica have pledged their targets in policy documents. Meanwhile, Mauritania’s target remains a proposal.”

In order to reach its conclusion in the study, DriveElectric used the following methodology:

– We sourced the net zero target year of each country and status from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit Net Zero Tracker on June 8, 2023

– We sourced the GDP of each country from the World Bank on June 8, 2023.

– We sourced the CO2 emissions of each country in million tons from the European Commission EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) CO2 emissions of all world countries, 2022 report

– We removed any countries for which complete data was unavailable

Although there are no laws in place for a net zero target in Dominica, data used by DriveElectric taken from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit Net Zero Tracker shows the island has many policies in place to reach that target.

The policies include becoming carbon neutral through 100% domestic renewable energy production, an increase of protected forest areas to 67% of Dominica’s land mass, reducing total gross greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions below 2014 levels at 39.2% by 2025, reducing total gross greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions below 2014 levels at 44.7% by 2030.

Other emissions reduction targets include Energy Industries: 98.6%; Agriculture: 50%; Solid Waste: 78.6%; Industrial Processes: 8.8%; Transport: 20%; Shipping: 100%; Commercial/Institutional, Residential, and Fishing: 8.1%.

The net zero tracker also includes other targets Dominica plans to achieve including, 100% renewable energy by 2030 (principally from geothermal resources), 200Gg+ annual export of geothermal resources to Martinique and Guadeloupe from 2027, 50% increase in agroforestry farmers, and 10% HFC (Hydrofluorocarbons) emissions reduction by 2030.

“Dominica is committed not just to adapting to climate change, but also to doing its part to reduce any contribution, however small, to greenhouse gas emissions. As such, the country will become ‘carbon neutral’, producing less emissions than it sequesters,” the Net Zero Tracker said in its report used by DriveElectric for the study.

“This will be achieved by leveraging its large domestic renewable energy resources (hydropower, geothermal power, solar power) that can produce electricity more cheaply than using imported fossil fuels. Use of these renewable resources will also reduce energy costs and tariffs to the consumer. Increasing energy efficiency will further reduce energy costs and increase environmental sustainability. It will also increase forest coverage from the current level of 62 percent of land mass to 67 percent of landmass, thereby further sequestering carbon emissions.”

Meanwhile, the study shows the countries with the highest levels of CO2 emissions are China, the United States, and India.

“China aims to be net zero by 2060, making it one of the last ten countries in the world to reach this goal if all targets are met,” the study says. “The United States is at the forefront of CO2 production. The country emitted around 4.8 billion tons of CO2 in 2021, making it the world’s second-worst culprit in this area. The third largest producer of carbon dioxide emissions in the world is India, where around 2.6 billion tons of CO2 are released annually.

With one of the highest levels of annual carbon dioxide emissions, it’s no surprise that India is the last country expected to reach net zero, tied with Ghana.

“Based in the UK, DriveElectric says its mission is simple and it is to “to inform, inspire and guide every driver across the UK to start their net zero journey.”

It said the study was done to “find out which companies and countries have responded to the pleas of climate scientists by setting a goal for net zero emissions.”

“Climate scientists warn of the dangers of global warming and advocate the need to work towards net zero emissions,” the company said. “To stabilise the effects of climate change, experts warn that CO2 emissions must be reduced to zero. The longer it takes to bring emissions to zero, the worse of an effect greenhouse gases will have on the planet.”