Comparing the costs of abatement for the non-CO2 greenhouse gases in the industrial sector

Abstract

The International Energy Agency (IEA) Greenhouse Gas R&D (Research and Development) Program (IEA GHG) has carried out a series of studies covering all of the non-CO2 greenhouse gases. The aim of the study is to update the abatement potential and cost data presented in the earlier studies and to develop cost curves for all the non-CO2 gases on a common basis. The scope of the study is limited to the industrial sectors only because insufficient data are available for the agricultural sector to allow an abatement cost curve to be developed. The study has shown that the annual emissions of the non-CO2 greenhouse gases are projected to rise significantly by 2020. While the increase in annual non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions is lower than that predicted for CO2 emissions, the contribution to climate change of these gases will continue to be significant. The trend in emissions growth indicates that Asia will see the largest growth in non-CO2 emissions followed by Latin America, North America and OECD Europe. This trend is consistent with projections for increased CO2 emissions, which indicate that Asian emissions will grow substantially.