The report looks at sectors where mitigation of greenhouse gases (GHG) can occur and some examples.
Changes in lifestyle and behaviour patterns (all sectors)
- Changes in lifestyle such as BBC Newsnight's Ethical Man.
- Choices in energy use in buildings such as energy efficient bulbs.
- Improved public transport and reduced car usage.
New energy infrastructure in developing countries and upgrades in industrialised countries
- Investment over US$20 trillion between now and 2030. Long term impact on GHG emissions due to long life of energy plants.
- More effective to invest in end-use energy efficiency improvements than in supply.
- Renewables generally have a positive effect on energy security employment and air quality.
- Carbon sequestration.
To me this is the most interesting area in the whole energy debate and very pertinent given the decision by the UK government to go down the nuclear road again whilst China, and other developing countries, are building a vast coal fired energy infrastructure (we'd better hope that carbon sequestration is a goer!). Energy security in Western Europe is a huge issue with Russia an increasingly unreliable and menacing supplier. In my opinion pushing renewables is a no-brainer for developed countries and is an area that I have been investing in.
Transport sector - mitigation v growth
- Improved vehicle efficency. (Will only happen IMO if oil prices stay high).
- Biofuels to grow to 3% of market by 2030 possibly as high of 5-10% depending on oil price and level of carbon tax.
- Shift from road to public transport. (I just can't see this happening).
- Improvements in fuel efficiency and traffic management in aviation industry (versus high growth).
More energy efficiency options for new and existing buildings
- About 30% of GHG emissions could be avoided in this sector by 2030.
Industrial sector - energy intensive industries
- Upgrading old, inefficient facilities would significantly reduce emissions. Slow rate of capital stock turnover particularly in small and medium sized enterprises is a key barrier.
Agriculture - significant contribution at a low cost
- Soil carbon sequestration.
- Reductions in methane and nitrous oxide emissions in some agricultural systems.
Forestry - carbon sinks at low cost
- About 65% of the total mitigation potential is located in the tropics and about half could be achieved by reducing emissions from deforesting.
Household waste - small contributor but low cost mitigation
- Wide range of mature, effective technologies available.
- Waste minimisation and recycling mitigate through conservation of energy and materials.
Speculative - geo engineering projects
- Ocean fertilisation to remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
- Blocking the sun in the upper atmosphere. (Or pie in the sky?)
Unproven, costly and with the risk of unforseen side-effects.
The problem of global warming can seem overwhelming at times and the benefit of taking a sector by sector approach is that it becomes apparent that with the political will in all nations we can overcome this problem with a myriad of initiatives across the whole spectrum of human activities. I would recommend Elizabeth Kolbert's 'Field Notes from a Catastrophe' which looks at this in more detail.
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