Updating the Colombian 2050 Carbon Calculator

The IDOM Climate Change team is currently working on the update of the 2050 Colombian Carbon Calculator, a tool that allows greenhouse gas emissions to be measured and different long-term greenhouse gas emission reduction scenarios to be evaluated, as well as mitigation measures to be modelled against these scenarios. This new version of the Calculator will be available to users very soon.

The 2050 Carbon Calculator is a £3 million initiative led by BEIS (the UK government department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy) to help the governments of developing countries build their version of the UK’s 2050 Energy Calculator. This is a tool for measuring and assessing greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on climate change, with the aim of helping governments, businesses, and organizations to set effective environmental targets and policies to reduce emissions and move towards a low-carbon economy that meets the 2050 targets.

There are currently several 2050 Calculators around the world, which are adapted to the specific characteristics and needs of each region and are regularly updated to reflect scientific and technological advances in the fight against climate change. Along these lines, Colombia launched its own in 2015. Over the years, and in the framework of the Colombian Low Carbon Development Strategy, the Government of Colombia decided to update it. IDOM is working alongside the Colombian Ministry of the Environment (MinAmbiente), Mott MacDonal and BEIS.

The Colombian Carbon Calculator 2050 allows the forecasting of 4 different scenarios under the 29 mitigation measures proposed for the key sectors of the country’s economy (Energy, Industry, Waste, Buildings, Transport, Agriculture, Livestock and Forestry) considering the balance of energy supply and demand. As an example, in relation to the electricity sector, the proposed measure consists of the transition to a non-conventional renewable electricity generation system: each trajectory modifies the country’s energy matrix, with scenario 1 being the current matrix and evolving it to a renewable energy-based matrix in scenario 4, the most ambitious one.

In addition to updating the information that feeds the tool, the IDOM team is responsible for converting the calculator into an easy-to-use, user-friendly and predictable tool, for which the user does not need extensive knowledge of its use. The development of three pilot projects of regional models is also envisaged, so that each territory can model its particular case based on the Territorial Climate Change Plans.

Finally, the Colombian Carbon Calculator 2050 is designed to address the specific characteristics of the country and has focused on encouraging the participation of different actors, such as companies and citizens, thus promoting a collective awareness of the importance of climate change mitigation.

The IDOM team is proud to be part of this journey towards a more sustainable future for Colombia.

 

May 30, 2023

Environment