Peaking Global and G20 Countries’ CO2 Emissions under the Shared Socio-Economic Pathways

Abstract

Mitigating climate change requires long-term global efforts. The aim of this study is to simulate the possible paths of CO2 emissions in G20 countries and the world from 2020 to 2050, by using the STIRPAT model and SSP scenarios with different constraints (SSP baseline, SSP-3.4). The results show that: (1) the world’s CO2 emissions cannot peak in the SSP baseline scenarios, but can peak in the SSP-3.4 scenarios through four paths other than the high fossil energy consumption path; (2) for G20 countries, in the SSP baseline scenarios, 13 countries such as China, the United States, and the United Kingdom can achieve the peak, while six countries such as Argentina, India, and Saudi Arabia cannot. In the SSP-3.4 scenarios, Saudi Arabia cannot achieve the peak, while other countries can achieve the peak, and most of them are likely to achieve significant CO2 emission reductions by 2050; (3) climate goals have a crowding-out effect on other sustainable development goals, with less impact on developed countries and a greater impact on developing countries; and (4) the optimization of the energy structure and a low energy intensity can greatly advance the peak time of CO2 emissions.