Download Climate change 1.5 Strategies to address climate change

Theme 1 – Investigating
Climate Change
Unit 1.5
What strategies can be used to
address climate change?
Strategies
•
•
•
•
International level
Government action
Pressure groups
Individuals
Potted history
The Greenhouse Effect was discovered back in the C19th however little scientific or media
debate about climate change took place until the mid C20th.
In 1950, after global temperatures had been rising from 1900 to 1940 ‘The American Post’
asked “Was this past mild winter just part of a natural cycle?”
Years past, and there was much debate about other World threatening stories – nuclear
annihilation, for example. Only in the 1970s, with concerns about pollution and global cooling
did the subject rise to the surface again. The Cold war came and went.
Then in 1985 a hole was discovered in the Ozone layer using vivid satellite images and
highlighting the earths fragile atmospheric system.
CFCs considered the main culprit, were tackled by the Montreal Protocol in 1987 when the
first step to limiting the amount of CFCs produced and used by countries was introduced.
In 1988 the USA endured a long summer of drought. It was in June of this year that a speech
was delivered to the US Congress by a NASA scientist that he was 99% sure that global
warming was upon us, most likely induced by humans.
In August, George Bush made reference to the changing climate and by September Margaret
Thatcher had joined the discussions.
1989 onwards
The Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change
(IPCC) was set up to channel research from all the
numerous scientific sources. It published its first report
in 1990.
In 1992- Rio Earth Summit took place which led to the
Kyoto Protocol (1997)and the worlds first attempt to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It was only in
February 2005 that decisions made at this meeting
came into force.
February 2007- Washington Declaration - A new cap
and trade system came into place.
7June 2007- G8 33rd Summit agreement to ½ global
CO2 emissions by 2050
31 August 2007- UNFCCC (United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change) meeting in Vienna.
December 2007 - Talks in Bali took place.
December 2008 - G8 meeting in Poznan , Poland
Strategies to address climate change at an International level
Apart from all the meetings and summits, countries have been working together
to come up with some ideas to either mitigate or adapt to climate change.
These include:1)The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is an arrangement under the
Kyoto Protocol allowing industrialised countries with a greenhouse gas reduction
commitment (called Annex B countries) to invest in projects that reduce emissions
in developing countries as an alternative to more expensive emission reductions in
their own countries. A crucial feature of an approved CDM carbon project is that it
has established that the planned reductions would not occur without the additional
incentive provided by emission reductions credits, a concept known as
"additionality".
The CDM allows net global greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced at a much
lower global cost by financing emissions reduction projects in developing countries
where costs are lower than in industrialized countries. However, in recent years,
criticism against the mechanism has increased.
2) Contraction and Convergence is a straightforward model for an international
agreement on greenhouse gas emissions.
It sets a safe and stable target for concentrations of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere, and a date by which those concentrations should be achieved, based
on the best scientific evidence.
The atmosphere being a "global good", C&C declares that all citizens of the Earth
have an equal right in principle to emit, and will actually be given an equal right by
this future date, the individual allowance for each citizen being derived from the
"safe" global target.
So from the grossly inequitable situation we have now, per capita emissions from
each country will "converge" at a far more equitable level in the future; while the
global total of emissions will "contract".
The next slide illustrates how contraction and convergence will work.
CONTRACTION AND CONVERGENCE: HOW IT
COULD WORK
Contraction to 450ppm
CO2-equivalent
Convergence to equal
per capita emissions
at 2030
3) Carbon Capture and Storage
Carbon is emitted into the atmosphere (as carbon dioxide, also called CO2) whenever we burn any fuel,
anywhere. The largest sources are cars and lorries, and non-nuclear power stations - those that burn
coal, oil or gas, otherwise known as fossil fuels. To prevent the carbon dioxide building up in the
atmosphere (possibly causing global warming and definitely causing ocean acidification), we can catch
the CO2, and store it. As we would need to store thousands of millions of tons of CO2, we cannot just
build containers, but must use natural storage facilities. Some of the best natural containers are old oil
and gas fields, such as those in the North Sea.
Why is the UK a good place to capture and store CO2?
The UK has numerous oil and gas fields, many of which are becoming emptied of hydrocarbons. These
are perhaps the best places to store CO2. A study in 1996 estimated that we have space for about 5.3 Gt
CO2 in depleted oilfields (i.e. 5,300,000,000 tonnes), and about 11-15 Gt CO2 in depleted gas fields.
This is about about 10 years of total UK CO2 emissions in oilfields, and a further 30 years in gasfields.
We have the technical expertise to plan the storage (gained from extracting the oil and gas), and an
established industry base that could undertake the work.
There is a second type of geological store, known as saline aquifers. These are porous rocks deep below
ground that are full of salty water that is of no use for drinking or agriculture. In the UK, the same 1996
study estimated that we could store 19 - 716 Gt CO2 like this (i.e. up to 716,000,000,000 tonnes) perhaps sufficient for 500 years of UK emissions. There are more geological problems in using such
storage sites, as we know less about the geology. However many of the rocks are similar to oilfields, so
there is good reason to suppose that these saline aquifers are well worth investigating in more detail.
Infact, the only present day test site for underground CO2 storage in the North Sea uses a saline aquifer
at 1km below the seabed, which is sited above the Norwegian Sleipner Field.
Diagram on next slide shows a CCS system
Schematic diagram of possible CCS systems
SRCCS Figure TS-1
Government Action
• Different countries have also developed
their own strategies to tackle climate
change.
• Many of these schemes are showing the
rest of the world what can be achieved.
• Meeting reduction targets involves local
government, small businesses,
corporations and religious groups.
Strategies adopted by different countries
Kenya
• Started exploiting geothermal
resources in 1980s
• Largest African geothermal
plant at Ol Karia
• Geothermal is not affected by
drought conditions such as
those in 2001 which lead to the
failure of the HEP systems.
• 3rd plant to be running by 2010
• Denmark
• Considered the most
advanced user of CHP
(combined heat and power) in
Europe.
• Captured power distributed to
heat nearby homes
• CHP systems are 75% efficient
and save energy and
emissions
• EU aims to increase CHP to
18% of electricity and heat
market by 2010
Map of National Efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
Different sectors of the economy
can also play their part.
The Energy Sector
• Introduce a carbon tax on electricity generation.
• Bring in a higher CO2 tax and retain the existing energy tax on non energy
intensive industry.
The Transport Sector
• New laws and taxes on company cars.
• Improve and expand public transport provision.
• Set C02 emission limits on light vehicles.
Agricultural sector
• Reduce agricultural use of nitrogen fertilisers
Waste Management
• Expand methane extraction from waste tips
The UK scenario
UK and WALES TARGETS
•reduce greenhouse gases by 12.5%, by 2008-2012,
•reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20% below 1990 levels, by 2010.
CO2 emissions in Wales shows
•energy
•iron and steel
•transport
•household
are contributing most to climate change.
So how can we help?
1. REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
by using renewable energy which produces no emissions
•wind farms
•wave and tidal schemes
•HEP
•other schemes
2. REDUCE OUR DEMAND FOR ENERGY in
•our homes
•transport
•industry
Even if humans did not contribute any more greenhouse gases the climate responds slowly and it may take
many hundreds of years before a new balance is reached.
Pressure Groups
And Finally !
Does climate change begin at home?
What can you do?
• Energy savings at home – put a jumper on
• Energy savings on the road – walk to
school or share a lift
• Become carbon neutral – use carbon
credit schemes
• Reduce waste materials – use both sides
of a piece of paper!
Remember the toad?