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Mitigating Climate Change
TACC Training Module 5
1
Objectives of the Module
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Discuss importance of mitigation as an essential
component of addressing global climate change
Introduce and share examples for selecting
effective mitigation options
Introduce international programmes to support
mitigation
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Overview
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Section 1: Introduction to Mitigation
Section 2: Policy Approaches and Strategies to
Foster Mitigation
Section 3: Sectors with Mitigation Potential
Section 4: International Support for Climate Change
Mitigation
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
What is Climate Change Mitigation?
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Mitigation is any actions that
cuts net emissions of greenhouse
gases by:
 reducing
sources of greenhouse
gases
 Increasing sinks of greenhouse
gases
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Source: Wordpress
Includes but is not limited to
technological, political,
structural or financial action
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Mitigating Greenhouse Gases: A Shared
Global Responsibility
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IPCC projects that global emissions
need to be reduced by at least 50%
by 2050 to limit temperature increase
to 2ºC
Developed countries will need to
undertake majority of emission
reduction
Without emission reduction and
mitigation in developing countries not
possible to meet this goal
Source: Fotolia
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
GHG Emissions by Country and Per Capita
Annual CO2emissions
(in thousands of metric tons)
CO2 Emissions Per Capita
(metric tons)
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
GHG Emissions by Groupings of Countries
Source: IEA
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Mitigation: Opportunities for Developing
Countries
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Access to financing to promote green
growth
Receive advanced technology from
developed countries (technology
transfer)
Develop capacity to introduce and
maintain new technologies
Accelerate the path to a green
economy and sustainable
development
Source: UNITAR
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Relevance of Mitigation for Sub-national
Authorities
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Planning decisions with mitigation potential often
taken at the sub-national level, for example
 Public
transport
 Local energy supply
 Energy efficient buildings and construction
 Waste disposal sites
 Etc.
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Sub-national level can become front-runners in
promoting a green economy
Significant potential to reap co-benefits
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Co-Benefits Resulting from Mitigation
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Cost savings through improved energy efficiency
Reduction in local air pollution resulting in improved
health
Enhanced diversity of energy mix and energy
supply security
Improved local employment, e.g. through
decentralized energy production
Improved local industrial development
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Embedding Low Carbon Growth within a
Green Economy
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Greening the economy refers to the process of reconfiguring businesses and
infrastructure to deliver better returns on natural, human and economic
capital investments
Greening the economy results in reducing greenhouse gas emissions,
extracting and using less natural resources, creating less waste and reducing
social disparities
Necessitates reshaping and refocusing policies, investments and spending
towards:
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Clean technologies
Renewable energies
Water services
Green transportation
Waste management
Green buildings and
Sustainable agriculture and forests
May include sector-specific fiscal stimulus package
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Overview
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Section 1: Introduction to Mitigation
Section 2: Policy Approaches and Strategies to
Foster Mitigation
Section 3: Sectors with Mitigation Potential
Section 4: International Support for Climate Change
Mitigation
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Integrating Mitigation into Sub-national and
Local Planning
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Important to mainstream mitigation into sub-national
and local development planning
Relevant for all aspects of planning: structure,
policies, systems and procedures
Local measures and actions should complement and
enhance national actions
Cross sectoral co-ordination valuable to prevent
incoherency across sectors
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Policy Instruments to Promote Mitigation
and Clean Technology
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Regulations and standards
Taxes and charges
Tradable permits for carbon emissions
Financial incentives
Voluntary agreements
Information instruments for the population
Funding research in the area
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Questions to Assess Mitigation Options and
New Technology
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What are the investment costs of introducing the option,
both direct and indirect?
What are the major obstacles to the investment?
Is the option consistent with other policy goals (e.g. health
goals)
What capacities need to be in place to introduce the
option? (e.g. institutional capacity, man-power, trainings
etc.)
Will the option perform well and in a sustainable
manner? Is sufficient information available to make an
informed choice?
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Criteria for Selecting Mitigation Options
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Environmental effectiveness
Cost effectiveness
Distributional effects
(including equity)
Institutional feasibility
Source: Wordpress
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Reaping the Potential of the Clean
Development Mechanism (CDM)
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CDM is a market mechanism under the Kyoto protocol to encourage
mitigation
Allows countries with emission-reduction commitments under the Kyoto
Protocol to implement an emission-reduction project in developing
countries
Funding is provided by the Annex I country
Projects must provide emission reductions that wouldn’t normally
occur
Approved CDM project can earn saleable certified emission
reduction (CER) credits
“The CDM enables sustainable development projects in developing
countries that reduce emissions or enhance sinks through
afforestation or reforestation.” – UNFCCC
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Measuring and Reporting Greenhouse Gas
Emissions
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Measuring GHGs becomes increasingly important
UNFCCC Annex I Parties submit information on their
national emissions inventories annually
Non-Annex I Parties encouraged to submit
communications including emissions inventories.
Least developed countries are encouraged to submit a
National Communication at their discretion
Development of GHG inventories at various levels
becomes increasingly important
Specifically important for developing countries when
participating in CDM, REDD etc
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Overview
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Section 1: Introduction to Mitigation
Section 2: Policy Approaches and Strategies to
Foster Mitigation
Section 3: Sectors with Mitigation Potential
Section 4: International Support for Climate Change
Mitigation
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Sectors with Mitigation Potential
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Energy
Industry
Waste
Transport
Buildings
Agriculture
Forestry
Source: The Guardian
Source: UNITAR
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Mitigation Options: Energy
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Energy Production
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Enhance efficiency of existing power
plants (e.g. replace old parts or
whole plant)
Carbon capture and sequestration at
the point of production
Switching of fuels (e.g. from coal to
gas)
Foster biofuels and renewables
Enhance cogeneration
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Energy use
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Better housing insulation
Solar water heating in homes
Feed in tariffs for micro generation
Regulation for minimum standards in
energy efficiency
etc
Energy transportation and
transmission
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Improved power grids
Reduce leakages from pipelines
Better transportation planning
etc
Source: US Geological Survey
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Mitigation Options: Industry
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Efficiency measures
 More
efficient use of energy
 Better use of materials and recycling
 Improved process efficiency, particularly in steel and
concrete industries
 Alternative methods of making concrete
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Using renewable energies
Changes to:
 Products,
locally sourced
 Better designed products and processes to reduce waste
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Mitigation Options: Waste
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Recuperation of methane from landfills to generate
electricity
Use of combined heat and power incinerators rather
than use of landfills
Establish waste levy on all waste going to municipal
landfills
Promote the use of less packaging, products and
processes that create waste
Increase urban solid waste recycling
Reducing emissions from sewage treatment and
anaerobic digestion of waste water
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Mitigation Options: Transport
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Efficiency technologies
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More aerodynamic cars
Hybrid motor engines
Reduced friction technologies
Kinetic energy recovery
breaking
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Alternative fuels
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Biofuels
Electricity
Hydrogen (fuel cells)
Consumer behavior
Buying smaller cars
Driving more efficiently
Increase share of rail and
water transport
Infrastructure/policy changes
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More accessible/affordable
urban public transport
More bicycle lanes
Fuel taxes
Traffic/congestion charges
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Mitigation Options: Buildings
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More energy efficient construction
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Change in building material (less
embedded energy)
Recycle building material
Energy efficient design (natural cooling,
heating, lighting)
Reducing energy consumption in the
building
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Source: wikimedia
More efficient lighting (eco-bulbs)
Insulation/heating for walls and ceiling
Cooking (more efficient ovens, stoves)
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Mitigation Options: Buildings
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Switching to low carbon fuels for heating
Controlling emissions of non-CO2 GHG
gasses
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Air-conditioning
Refrigerators
Occupant behavior
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Awareness raising of behaviors
Policies to encourage low-energy behaviors
Subsidies and feed in tariffs for microgeneration
Source: EnglishRussia.com
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Mitigation Options: Urban Planning
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Planning to develop
compact/low carbon
cities that need
 shorter
trips
 less energy for pumping
water and waste water
 reduced infrastructure
needs
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Source: European Commission
Consideration of
mixed neighbourhoods
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Mitigation Options: Agriculture
Restoration of cultivated organic soils
(enhancing soil carbon sequestration)
 Improve agriculture infrastructure
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 Better
access to fuels
 Equipment
 Waste areas
 Improved cropland management (e.g. crop
rotation, use of perennials, reducing slash and burn
agriculture)
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Mitigation Options: Agriculture cont…
Improved grazing land management
 Restoration of degraded lands (no toil policies,
use of bio-char)
 Improved livestock management (substituting
forage with oil-rich feeds,
 Waste management and methane recovery
from waste)
 Agro-forestry practices and afforestation of
abandoned areas/fallow land
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Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Mitigation Options: Forestry
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Maintaining or increasing forest area
Increase plantations
 Eliminate illegal logging
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Maintaining or increasing site carbon density
 Promote voluntary certification schemes for
sustainable forest management
 Increasing off site carbon stocks in wood
products and enhancing product and fuel
substitution
 Monitoring vulnerable forest areas
(avoiding forest fires and pest attacks)
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Source: Scientific American
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Overview
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Section 1: Introduction to Mitigation
Section 2: Policy Approaches and Strategies to
Foster Mitigation
Section 3: Sectors with Mitigation Potential
Section 4: International Support for Climate
Change Mitigation
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Nairobi Framework to Catalyze CDM
Projects in Developing Countries
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The Nairobi Framework aims to help developing countries to
improve their level of participation in the Clean Development
Mechanism (CDM)
The framework seeks to enable countries to identify, develop,
submit and process CDM projects that will eventually lead to
a considerable increase in CDM penetration
Main focus of the framework
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Build capacity in developing CDM project activities
Build and enhance capacity of CDM Designated National
Authorities
Promote investment opportunities for projects
Improve information sharing, outreach, education, and training
Foster Inter-agency coordination
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
Nairobi Framework Bazaar
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Established in 2007 to enhance access to information about
CDM project opportunities
Web-based facility
Provides a market where people meet and information is
exchanged (free, internet based)
Creates space for project developers what their ideas and
proposals are
Promote services of experts, brokers, information platforms,
other market platforms
Expression of interest by buyers and investors
Brokering of CDM initiatives
www.cdmbazaar.net
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1
UN REDD Programme: Reducing Emissions
from Deforestation and Forest Degradation
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Seeks to create a financial value for the carbon stored in forests
…in 46 partner countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America,
in two ways:
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Direct support to the design and implementation of UN-REDD National
Programmes
Complementary support through common approaches, analyses,
methodologies, tools, data and best practices
By July 2012, total funding for these two streams of support to
countries was US$117.6 million
REDD+ projects can include:
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Preventing deforestation and forest degradation
Conservation of forests
Sustainable management of forests
Enhancement of forest carbon stocks
Territorial Approach to Climate Change - Phase 1