Why use the Calculator?

The Global Calculator can be used to explore the options the world has to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and see how these options affect one another. There are lots of insights that you can get from the tool, including which technologies have the biggest potential to reduce emissions, the role of lifestyle, and the impact of electrifying heating or transport on the power sector. This will be of interest to anyone thinking about the long-term options for the planet.

Businesses, NGOs and governments may particularly benefit from using the tool:

Businesses

Businesses and investors will find the tool useful for understanding how their sector will evolve at a global level in the transition to a low carbon 2050, the markets that will grow in the future, and how their businesses can take advantage of these opportunities.

For example, electricity generation firms could answer questions such as "What is the maximum potential role for renewables and nuclear by 2050?"; food producers could answer questions such as, "What might be the global demand for food in 2050 in different scenarios of population growth and dietary preferences?"; bioenergy producers could answer questions such as, "How could bioenergy production be affected by yield rates and co-cropping?"; and manufacturers could answer questions such as, "What is the potential global demand for appliances (specifically TVs, washing machines, etc.) under different scenarios of future population, household size, and lifetime of consumer goods in 2050?"

Mott MacDonald, Shell and World Energy Council have already used the tool to inform their own views of how the world should transition to 2°C and published these pathways in the tool.

NGOs

NGOs such as green groups and humanitarian groups could use the tool to inform their own internal strategies and campaigns.  For example, Friends of the Earth and Chatham House have already used the Global Calculator to inform their own views on how the world should reduce emissions and published this in the tool.

Governments

National governments will find the Global Calculator useful for determining whether the plans for their countries are aligned with a global 2°C pathway using benchmarks from the tool.  For example, governments could compare how the carbon intensity of their electricity generation or total emissions per head compares to the global average for 2°C pathways as set out in our report and accompanying metrics document.  The Chinese Government is already using the Global Calculator to analyse global sectoral emissions and they are publicly endorsing the work by hosting a Global Calculator launch event in Beijing.