As an environmental
studies major, I am very interested in what is being done to stop climate
change and more importantly what can be done. In this post, I will examine one
NGO’s prosed solution. The most important first step in climate change
mitigation is educating people on the facts and ensuring that everyone
understands the necessity and urgency of the situation.
Lets take a look at the
facts.
The Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC) has gathered and compiled data showing the correlation
between the rise in CO2 levels an rising global temperatures.
Research shows that since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution,
three-quarters of atmospheric warming has been caused by anthropogenic sources.[i] Although there is a natural greenhouse
effect, anthropogenic CO2 emissions have caused an enhanced
greenhouse effect, which leads to the atmospheric warming that is
occurring. Those who deny climate change
are merely choosing to ignore the data because it is not to their economic
benefit to accept the reality of climate change.
 |
| The Greenhouse Effect
According to the IPCC, the
total average temperature increase from 1850-1899 to 2001-2005 was .76°C. The general consensus amongst scientists is
that a 2°C change in global temperatures could lead to catastrophic effects and
extreme sea level rise which would submerge several island nations. Furthermore, if emissions stayed at 2000
levels, a further warming of 1° degree would be expected for the next two
decades.[ii]
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Emissions levels have
increased greatly beyond 2000 levels and will continue to rise unless urgent
measures are taken to stop them. The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s records show the annual mean atmospheric
CO2 concentration in 1960 was 316 parts per million (ppm) while the
2010 concentration was 389ppm.[iii] This huge increase in atmospheric CO2
can be attributed mainly to anthropogenic causes and specifically
industrialization. Since 1961,
observations have shown that the average temperature of the global ocean has
increased to depths of at least 3000 meters and the ocean has been absorbing
more than 80% of the heat added to the climate systems. The IPCC has measured sea-level rise over the
20th century at .17 meters.[iv]
At the current rate of
emissions, climate change and sea level rise is happening at an increasing
rate. Preventing global temperatures
from rising above 2°C only lowers the chance of the extreme effects of climate
change occurring to 50%.
There is no time to wait.
Action needs to be taken now.
The effects of climate
change will be felt by everyone but most heavily in states that do not have the
economic resources to adapt. The
countries that will be least affected are also the ones that have contributed the
most to greenhouse gas emissions. For
example, the United States is responsible for approximately 25% of global
greenhouse gas emissions (2009 statistic) but has the capacity and resources to
adapt to climate change better than other nations.[v] Small island nations, like the Maldives, will
face flooding and coastal erosion and the displacement of their people due to
rising sea levels. Warmer, drier
conditions will threaten agriculture, especially in many African regions where
food supply is already short.[vi] Overall, the entire world will be affected by
climate change but developing nations will be hit harder than other places due
to their decreased economic and social resilience. That is what makes climate change a
truly global issue, which is why I chose to examine what can be done at an
international level.
Action needs to be taken now to prevent detrimental climate
change. In order to stay below a 2°C
increase in global temperature, greenhouse gas emissions need to peak by
2015. A 2°C increase is what climate
scientists believe to be the maximum temperature increase the Earth can sustain
without catastrophic effects.[vii]
Here’s how it would work:
A successful treaty would require a commitment to providing
clean and safe energy for all through clear implementation measures, funding
provisions, and enforcement mechanisms. Governments need to commit to making
the switch to renewable energies. In
addition, governments and businesses need to commit to zero deforestation by
2020. This can only be achieved by
addressing the demand-side causes of deforestation. When a truly fair and just Green Economy is
established, the economy will be a tool to deliver societal goals rather than
economic growth itself being the end goal.[viii]
Together with the European
Renewable Energy Council, Greenpeace developed the Energy Revolution, a plan
that demonstrates the ability to achieve a fair and just Green Economy. The Energy Revolution would cut emissions by
more than 80% by 2050, deliver energy to people currently without it, and
create more jobs.[ix] The Energy Revolution requires an ambitious
energy efficiency program along with massive development of renewable energy. If implemented effectively, 95% of the global
energy system could be powered by renewable energy and energy could reach more
people in remote locations through a decentralized system. The founding principles of the Energy
Revolution are 1) increasing human well-being without fossil fuels, 2) fair
energy access for all, 3) respect for natural limits, and 4) phasing out dirty,
dangerous fuels like coal and nuclear by using proven existing renewable
energy.[x]
The amount of renewable
energy that is technically accessible is enough to provide six times more power
than the world currently consumes, and it will never run out.[xi] The renewable sources included in the Energy
Revolution are wind, biomass, passive and active solar, geothermal, and ocean
and hydroelectric power.
The key to successfully
implementing renewable energy is decentralized energy systems where power and
heat are produced closer to the final point of use, which avoids the current
waste of energy spent transporting energy.[xii] This will require infrastructure investments
for smart interactive grids, supergrids which can transport large quantities of
offshore wind power, and clusters of renewable microgrids and similar
mechanisms.[xiii] Although initial investments are required,
renewable energy is the only option for the future because we will eventually
run out of non-renewable energy sources.
Currently fossil fuel energy is made available at a lower cost than it
actually should be due to subsidies. If
social externalities were considered, renewable energy would be just as
affordable as fossil fuels if not more.
Due to the initial
infrastructure costs, the Energy Revolution can only become a reality if
developing nations are given funding for these investments. Greenpeace developed the Greenhouse
Development Rights framework to deal with this.
Designed by EcoEquity and the Stockholm Environmental Institute, it
provides a mechanism for calculating the national shares of obligations for
financing the Energy Revolution based on two factors: responsibility, or their
contribution to climate change, and capacity, their ability to pay.[xiv] This emphasizes the polluter-pays principle
and the shared but differentiated responsibilities principle as rich countries
will be responsible for increasing the proportion of renewables more so than
poor countries.
For example, based on a
responsibility and capacity indicator, the US accounts for 36.8% of the world’s
responsibility for climate change and therefore would be responsible for
funding 36.3% of the required global emissions reductions (given that it also
has the capacity to pay that share).
Through the Greenhouse Development Rights framework, industrialized
countries can help developing countries ‘leapfrog’ into sustainable energy.[xv]
The Energy
Revolution would require the following policy changes:
1) Phase out all subsidies for fossil fuels and nuclear energy.2) Internalise the external (social and environmental) costs of energy production through ‘cap and trade’ emissions trading.
3) Mandate strict efficiency standards for all energy consuming appliances, buildings and vehicles.
4) Establish legally binding targets for renewable energy and combined heat and power generation.
5) Reform the electricity markets by guaranteeing priority access to the grid for renewable power generators.
6) Provide defined and stable returns for investors, for example by feed-in tariff programmes.
7) Implement better labelling and disclosure mechanisms to provide more environmental product information.
8) Increase research and development budgets for renewable energy and energy eficiency.[xvi]
Currently conventional
energy sources receive approximately $250-300 billion in subsidies per year
globally.[xvii] This results in artificially low prices for
conventional energy sources, which makes renewable energy less desirable. If subsidies are eliminated and the
externalities of conventional energy sources, such as the cost of climate
change damage, were factored in, renewables would be competitively priced. To implement the Energy Revolution in
industrialized countries, subsidies for conventional energy would need to be
eliminated and the money saved needs to be put towards investments in renewable
energy technologies and infrastructure.
To make renewables affordable for consumers there are several options
including tax credits, rebates, and loans for using renewable energy instead of
conventional energy, installing solar panels, etc.[xviii] The capital and technology
is available to make the Energy Revolution, it simply requires states to
acknowledge climate change mitigation as a top priority.
Implementation in
developing countries would require financial support from developed nations to
help bridge the gap from existing infrastructure to a more sustainable
future. The Greenhouse Development
Rights framework previously discussed would determine the level of
contributions from each nation and the financial resources can come from a
variety of sources including the Copenhagen Green Climate Fund.[xix]
Greenpeace proposes the
Feed-in Tariff Support Mechanism (FTSM), which would help with initial
investment costs. The FTSM will be
supported by a bankable support scheme, which will lower costs by reducing risk
for investors and equipment suppliers.[xx] Bankable support schemes have proven to be
the most efficient and successful mechanism for supporting renewable
energy. For example, in Germany, where
there is a bankable support system, wind-powered electricity is 40% cheaper
than in the United Kingdom.[xxi]
However the FTSM still
leaves consumers with a slightly higher electricity cost than current
conventional energy costs. Cost is the
major obstacle in executing the Energy Revolution in developing countries,
which is where the financing from the Greenhouse Development Rights framework
would come in.
The goal of the Energy
Revolution is to reduce CO2 emissions to 10 gigatonnes per year by
2050 and phase out nuclear energy.
Currently renewables account for 13% of the world’s primary energy
demand and with the Energy Revolution, by 2050 80% of the primary energy demand
can be supplied by renewable sources.[xxii]
In addition to climate
change mitigation, 3.2 million more jobs can be created by 2030 through the
policies Greenpeace is promoting, thereby effecting a secondary positive social
benefit.[xxiii]
Sufficient renewable energy
and other solutions to climate change exist; the missing component is making
the switches mandatory and economically viable.
The Energy Revolution provides the tools to accomplish this.
Although there are many
different plans for climate change mitigation, I particularly like Greenpeace’s
Energy Revolution because it addresses an array of issues related to climate
change, in particular, the need for different levels of contribution. It is highly unlikely that the Energy
Revolution will be taken into effect any time soon considering the nature of government;
however, it shows how climate change mitigation is feasible. Once people begin to realize the necessity
and feasibility of climate change mitigation, there will be more pressure on
governments to make changes in their policies and we can work towards a Green
Economy.
[ii]
http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/spmsspm-projections-of.html
[iii]
ftp://ftp.cmdl.noaa.gov/ccg/co2/trends/co2_annmean_mlo.txt
[iv]
http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/spmsspm-projections-of.html
[v]
http://sage-ereference.com.libproxy.usc.edu/view/activism/n188.xml
[vi]
http://sage-ereference.com.libproxy.usc.edu/view/globalwarming/n329.xml?rskey=DpnI2w&result=2&q=effects%20of%20climate%20change
[vii]
Greenpeace Energy [R]evolution – Full Report, 8
[viii]
http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/content/documents/72GREENPEACE_demands_a_just_fairGreenEconomy_RioSummit2012.pdf
[ix]
http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/content/documents/72GREENPEACE_demands_a_just_fairGreenEconomy_RioSummit2012.pdf
[x]
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/climate-change/energyrevolution/
[xi]
Greenpeace Energy [R]evolution – Full Report, 9
[xii]
Greenpeace Energy [R]evolution – Full Report, 9
[xiii]
Greenpeace Energy [R]evolution – Full Report, 9
[xiv]
Greenpeace Energy [R]evolution – Full Report, 9
[xv]
Greenpeace Energy [R]evolution – Full Report, 10
[xvi]
Greenpeace Energy [R]evolution – Full Report, 12
[xvii]
World Energy Assessment: Energy and the Challenge of Sustainability, United
Nations Development Programme, 2000.
[xviii]
Greenpeace Energy [R]evolution – Full Report, 19
[xix]
Greenpeace Energy [R]evolution – Full Report, 21
[xx]
Greenpeace Energy [R]evolution – Full Report, 21
[xxi]
‘The Support of Electricity from Renewable Energy Sources’, European
Commission, 2005.
[xxii]
Greenpeace Energy [R]evolution – Full Report, 10
[xxiii]
http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/index.php?page=view&type=510&nr=72&menu=20
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