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Climate Crisis / IPCC Report Report

IPCC report calls for bio-textiles, wants cotton to give way to cellulose-based textiles

The latest IPCC report is clear in its message: that the time to act is now. The world can halve emissions by 2030, and all sectors—including the textiles-fashion industry—have a role to play. Textiles, in fact, figure significantly at five places in the 2913-page report.

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5 April 2022

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  • Many net zero targets are ambiguously defined, and the policies needed to achieve them are not yet in place.
  • A broad group of actors influence how climate governance develops over time, including a range of civic organisations, encompassing both pro and anti-climate action groups.
  • There is scope for substituting existing bio-based products with more benign products. For example, cellulose-based textiles can replace cotton, which requires large amounts of water, chemical fertilisers and pesticides to ensure high yields.
“Having the right policies, infrastructure and technology in place to enable changes to our lifestyles and behaviour can result in a 40-70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This offers significant untapped potential,” said IPCC Working Group III Co-Chair Priyadarshi Shukla. “The evidence also shows that these lifestyle changes can improve our health and wellbeing.”
Endangered Planet “Having the right policies, infrastructure and technology in place to enable changes to our lifestyles and behaviour can result in a 40-70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This offers significant untapped potential,” said IPCC Working Group III Co-Chair Priyadarshi Shukla. “The evidence also shows that these lifestyle changes can improve our health and wellbeing.” Pete Linforth / Pixabay

The latest IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report is a doomsday warning: without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, limiting global warming to 1.5°C is beyond reach. But the textiles-apparel industry has a role to play in averting it: the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) has repeatedly emphasised on the need to shift to bio-textiles.

The report: The Summary for Policymakers of the IPCC Working Group III report, Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of climate change was approved on 4 April 2022, by 195 member governments of the IPCC, through a virtual approval session that started on 21 March. It is the third instalment of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), which will be completed this year.

  • The mitigation potential of bio-textiles: Between 2020 and 2050, mitigation measures in forests and other natural ecosystems provide the largest share of the AFOLU (agriculture, forestry and other land use) mitigation potential (up to USD100 tCO2-eq-1), followed by agriculture and demand-side measures (high confidence). Demand-side measures including shifting to sustainable healthy diets, reducing food waste, building with wood, biochemicals, and bio-textiles, have a mitigation potential of 2.2 (1.1–3.6) GtCO2-eq yr-1. Most mitigation options are available and ready to deploy.
  • Cellulosic fibres remain a core product: A larger and more challenging issue is how the forestry industry can contribute to the decarbonisation of other sectors and how biogenic carbon will be used in a fossil-free society, for example, through developing the forest based bioeconomy. In recent years the concept of biorefineries has gained increasing traction. Most examples involve innovations for taking by-products or diverting small streams to produce fuels, chemicals and bio-composites that can replace fossil-based products, but there is little common vision on what really constitutes a biorefinery. Some of these options have limited scalability and the cellulose fibre remains the core product even in the relatively large shift from paper production to textiles fibre production.
  • EU eco-design plans on textiles lauded: Governments are also turning their attention to developing standards to increase the durability of products and materials by requiring options for maintenance, reparability, reusability, upgradability, recyclability and waste handling. For example, the EU Eco-design directive includes new requirements for manufacturers to make available for a minimum of 7-10 years spare parts to repair household equipment. The European Commission plans to widen the resource efficiency requirements beyond energy-related products to cover products such as textiles, furniture as well as high impact intermediary products such as steel, cement and chemicals in a new sustainable product policy legislative initiative.
  • Call to replace cotton with cellulose-based textiles: Many existing bio-based products have significant mitigation potential. Increased use of wood in buildings can reduce GHG emissions from cement and steel production while providing carbon storage. Substitution of fossil fuels with biomass in manufacture of cement and steel can reduce GHG emissions where these materials are difficult to replace. Dispatchable power based on biomass can provide power stability and quality as the contribution from solar and wind power increases, and biofuels can contribute to reducing fossil fuel emissions in the transport and industry sectors. The use of bio-based plastics, chemicals and packaging could be increased, and biorefineries can achieve high resource-use efficiency in converting biomass into food, feed, fuels and other bio-based products. There is also scope for substituting existing bio-based products with more benign products. For example, cellulose-based textiles can replace cotton, which requires large amounts of water, chemical fertilisers and pesticides to ensure high yields
  • Ethiopian textile-garment park comes for high praise: Eco-industrial parks have been promoted in Ethiopia by the government and UNIDO, based on the expectation that they could help to boost the economy. One of the success stories is an industrial park in Hawassa, a nation-level textile and garment industrial park with a "zero emissions commitment" based on renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies. However, the concept of the industrial park, including feasible policies and institutional arrangements, is new to Ethiopia’s regulatory processes, and this has created problems for management, knowledge and governance, hindering their fast implementation.

 

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Accelerated and equitable climate action in mitigating and adapting to climate change impacts is critical to sustainable development. Some response options can absorb and store carbon and, at the same time, help communities limit the impacts associated with climate change.
Development Goal Accelerated and equitable climate action in mitigating and adapting to climate change impacts is critical to sustainable development. Some response options can absorb and store carbon and, at the same time, help communities limit the impacts associated with climate change. Dominic Wunderlich / Pixabay

The IPCC AR6 report: At a Glance

  1. Signs of progress: The rate of global GHG emissions growth has slowed in recent years, from 2.1% per year between 2000 and 2009, to 1.3% per year in between 2010 and 2019.
    Continuing challenges: GHG emissions have continued to grow at high absolute rates. Emissions increased by 8.9 GtCO2eq from 2000-2009 and by 6.5 GtCO2eq 2010-2019, reaching 59 GtCO2eq in 2019. (TS.3) {2.2}
  2. Signs of progress: At least 24 countries have reduced both territorial carbon dioxide (CO2) and GHG emissions and consumption-based CO2 emissions in absolute terms for at least 10 years, including consumption-based CO2 emissions.
    Continuing challenges: The combined emissions reductions of these 24 countries were outweighed by rapid emissions growth elsewhere, particularly among developing countries that have grown from a much lower base of per capita emissions.
  3. Signs of progress: Lockdown policies in response to COVID-19 led to an estimated global drop of 5.8% in CO2 emissions in 2020 relative to 2019.
    Continuing challenges: Atmospheric CO2 concentrations continued to rise in 2020 and emissions have already rebounded as lockdown policies are eased.
  4. Signs of progress: Multiple low-carbon electricity generation and storage technologies have made rapid progress: costs have reduced, deployment has scaled up, and performance has improved.
    Continuing challenges: Although deployment is increasing rapidly, low-carbon electricity generation deployment levels and rates are currently insufficient to meet stringent climate goals.
  5. Signs of progress: Deforestation has declined since 2010 and net forest cover increased.
    Continuing challenges: The long-term maintenance of low deforestation rates is challenging.
  6. Signs of progress: Electrification of public transport services is demonstrated as a feasible, scalable and affordable mitigation option to decarbonise mass transportation. Electric vehicles (e-vehicles) are the fastest growing segment of the automobile industry, having achieved double-digit market share by 2020 in many countries.
    Continuing challenges: Transport emissions have remained roughly constant, growing at an average of 2% per annum between 2010-2019 due to the persistence of high travel demand, heavier vehicles, low efficiencies, and car-centric development.
  7. Signs of progress: There has been a significant global transition from coal and biomass use in buildings towards modern energy carriers and efficient conversion technologies.
    Continuing challenges: There is a significant lock-in risk in all regions given the long lifespans of buildings and the low ambition of building policies.
  8. Signs of progress: The decarbonisation of most industrial processes has been demonstrated using technologies that include electricity and hydrogen for energy and feedstocks, carbon capture and utilisation technologies, and innovation in circular material flows.
    Continuing challenges: Industry emissions continue to increase, driven by a strong global demand for basic materials.
  9. Signs of progress: The Paris Agreement established a new global policy architecture to meet stringent climate goals, while avoiding many areas of deadlock that had arisen in trying to extend the Kyoto Protocol.
    Continuing challenges: Current national pledges under the Paris Agreement3 are insufficient to limit warming to 1.5°C with no or limited overshoot, and would require an abrupt acceleration of mitigation efforts after 2030 to likely limit warming to 2°C.
  10. Signs of progress: Most wealthy countries, and a growing list of developing countries, have signaled an intention to achieve net zero GHG (or net zero CO2) emissions by mid-century.
    Continuing challenges: Many net zero targets are ambiguously defined, and the policies needed to achieve them are not yet in place.
  11. Signs of progress: The global coverage of mandatory policies – pricing and regulation – has increased, and sectoral coverage of mitigation policies has expanded.
    Continuing challenges: There is incomplete global policy coverage of non-CO2 gases, CO2 from industrial processes, and emissions outside the energy sector.
  12. Signs of progress: There has been a marked increase in civic and private engagement with climate governance. This includes business measures to limit emissions, invest in reforestation and develop carbon-neutral value chains such as using wood for construction.
    Continuing challenges: There is no conclusive evidence that an increase in engagement results in overall pro-mitigation outcomes. A broad group of actors influence how climate governance develops over time, including a range of civic organisations, encompassing both pro and anti-climate action groups.
 
 
  • Dated posted: 5 April 2022
  • Last modified: 5 April 2022
 
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