climate change & energy policy

6 steps to improving global energy efficiency

1. Energy efficiency needs to be made clearly visible, by strengthening the measurement and disclosure of its economic gains. 2. The profile of energy efficiency needs to be raised, so that efficiency concerns are integrated into decision making throughout government, industry and society. 3. Policy makers need to improve the affordability of energy efficiency, by creating and supporting business models, financing vehicles and incentives to ensure that investors reap an appropriate share of the rewards. 4.By deploying a mix of regulations to discourage the least-efficient approaches and incentives to deploy the most efficient, governments can help push energy-efficient technologies into the mainstream. 5. Monitoring, verification and enforcement activities are essential to realise expected energy savings. 6.These steps would need to be underpinned by greater investment in energy efficiency governance and administrative capacity at all levels.

Geoengineering approaches

1. reflecting solar energy back into space 2. removing CO2 from the atmosphere and sequestering

Carbon sequestration (3 types)

Biosequestration - Carbon Farming Initiative Biochar Mineralisation

Carbon mineralisation

CO2 mineralization comprises a chemical reaction between suitable minerals and the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. The CO2 is effectively sequestered as a carbonate, which is stable on geological timescales. In addition, the variety of materials that can be produced through mineralization could find applications in the marketplace, which makes implementation of the technology more attractive

biosequestration

Carbon capture and storage - way of removing carbon from the atmosphere. a category of biological processes that absorb carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary GHG, from the atmosphere and contain it in living organic matter, soil, or aquatic ecosystems

Carbon offsets

Carbon offsets are units which represent abatement of greenhouse gas emissions. Abatement is achieved by: reducing or avoiding emissions, for example, through capture and destruction of methane emissions from landfill or livestock manure, or removing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in soil or trees, for example, by growing a forest or reducing tillage on a farm in a way that increases soil carbon. Offsets are usually purchased by individuals or companies and used to cancel out or 'offset' the emissions they generate during their normal course of business or day-to-day life, for example, by consuming electricity or catching a plane.

CDM

Clean Development Mechanism defined in Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol: allows a country with an emission-reduction or emission-limitation commitment under the Kyoto Protocol (Annex B Party) to implement an emission-reduction project in developing countries. Such projects can earn saleable certified emission reduction (CER) credits, each equivalent to one tonne of CO2, which can be counted towards meeting Kyoto targets."

clean energy sources

Clean coal' Carbon capture and storage (CCS) 'Transition fuel' - natural gas Nuclear energy - 3rd & 4th generation technologies Hydrogen Renewable energy

Paris 2015

CoP 21 - Securing a universal climate change agreement that will enter into force in 2020. The objective of the 2015 agreement is twofold: First, to bind nations together into an effective global effort to reduce emissions rapidly enough to chart humanity's longer-term path out of the danger zone of climate change, while building adaptation capacity. Second, to stimulate faster and broader action now

key fossil fuels

Coal - thermal vs metallurgical coal, black coal, brown coal (lignite) Oil - oil reserves, shale oil, tar sands Natural gas - coal seam gas, shale gas

DER systems

Distributed Energy Resource Systems The wave of small-scale power generation technologies incl fuel cells to micro turbines, photovoltaic systems and reciprocating engines, represent a fundamental change in the way, and by whom, power is generated, transmitted and stored

Corporate positioning

Encouraging corporations to adopt a position on climate change.

biofuels

Ethanol Biodiesel - food stocks, waste vegetable oil, bio-engineered algae Biofuel from wood pulp

consequences of biofuels

Food production - redirection of effort and resources, sugarcane, oil palms, soybeans Not to compete with food production - wood chip, industrial waste Deforestation

CCS initiatives in australia

Global CCS Institute It was established to coordinate funding and research for new projects, while sharing CCS knowledge. Taxpayer funded. CCS Flagships program Flagship projects aim to demonstrate large-scale integrated CCS in Australia to support widespread national and international deployment of CCS technology from 2020.

renewable forms of energy

Hydro electric Solar - PV, solar thermal Geothermal Wind Wave Tidal

INDCs

Intended Nationally Determined Contributions To include: "... reference point (including, as appropriate, a base year), time frames and/or periods for implementation, scope and coverage, planning processes, assumptions and methodological approaches including those for estimating and accounting for anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and, as appropriate, removals, and how the Party considers that its intended nationally determined contribution is fair and ambitious, in light of its national circumstances, and how it contributes towards achieving the objective of the Convention as set out in its Article 2 Australia anticipated to commit mid 2015

Australia's CC Reduction Initiatives

National Greenhouse Accounts - Kyoto compliance Renewable energy targets research and development of clean energy, and measures to help households, businesses, communities and regions transition to a low carbon future Carbon Farming Initiative 460 million tonnes of carbon pollution will be reduced or stored instead of entering our atmosphere between 2011 and 2050 Had a carbon tax - but being repealed

transition fuel

Natural gas is widely considered to be the crucial 'bridging fuel' in the transition to the low-carbon energy systems necessary to mitigate climate change.

key outcomes from the world energy outlook

No more than one-third of proven reserves of fossil fuels can be consumed prior to2050 if the world is to achieve the 2 °C goal, unless carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology is widely deployed. Almost two-thirds of these carbon reserves are related to coal, 22% to oil and 15% to gas. Geographically, two-thirds are held by North America, the Middle East, China and Russia."

geoengineering methods of removing CO2 from the atmopshere

Ocean iron fertilisation Ocean lime (calcium oxide) application Bio-absorption - trees, algae & soil (biochar) Air scrubbing

Ultimate goal of UNFCCC

Preventing "dangerous" human interference with the climate system

REDD CoP 18

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries (REDD) "The Conference of the Parties (COP), at its eighteenth session, decided to undertake a work programme on results-based finance in 2013 to progress the full implementation of the activities."

Carbon taxes

Success depends on: Explicit design for purpose Directed at changing behaviour Incentive rather than punitive Part of fiscal policy (not stand alone) Environmental consequences clearly visible

some key CC principles

Sustainability, polluter pays, political convergence of agendas, economic convergence, foregrounding (make it a hear/now issue), development imperative, pro-active adaptation, multilayer resilience, long view and the common good, existing system inertia, free-rider (last mover may benefit from the efforts of others)

energy intensity

The amount of energy it takes to produce one unit of economic productivity

'Rio Conventions'

Three conventions adopted at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992; UNFCCC - UN Framework Convention on CC UN Convention on Biological Diversity UN Convention to Combat Desertification

energy demand-side management

Traditionally utilities have called upon peaking power plants to increase power generation to meet rising demand DSM works from the other side of the equation - instead of adding more generation to the system, it pays energy users to reduce consumption DSM allows energy users of all kinds to act as "virtual power plants." By voluntarily lowering their demand for electricity, these businesses and organizations help stabilize the grid, and they are paid for providing this important service.

Emissions trading

a market-based scheme for environmental improvement that allows parties to buy and sell permits for emissions or credits for reductions in emissions of certain pollutants. Commoditize emissions and offsets (eg sequestered carbon) Compliance schemes Voluntary programs Under such a scheme, the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) first determines total acceptable emissions and then divides this total into tradeable units (often called credits or permits). These units are then allocated to scheme participants Participants that emit pollutants must obtain sufficient tradeable units to compensate for their emissions. Those that reduce emissions may have surplus units that they can sell to others that find emission reduction more expensive or difficult

energy wedges - wedge analysis

a means of comparing the Business As Usual (BAU) greenhouse gas emissions scenario with the potential reductions available over time through various abatement methods. Each of the "wedges" between these two paths represents the potential for a particular abatement technology or activity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over time. Some examples of "wedges" could be improved fuel economy, substituting natural gas for coal, or wind energy generation The wedges analysis concept was first developed by the Carbon Mitigation Initiative, Princeton University

biochar

a stable form of charcoal produced from heating natural organic materials (crop and other waste, woodchips, manure) in a high temperature, low oxygen process known as pyrolysis.

Smart grids

an electricity network that uses digital and other advanced technologies to monitor and manage the transport of electricity from all generation sources to meet the varying electricity demands of end-users. They co-ordinate the needs and capabilities of all generators, grid operators, end-users and electricity market stakeholders to operate all parts of the system as efficiently as possible, minimising costs and environmental impacts while maximising system reliability, resilience and stability.

Kyoto Protocol

an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which commits its Parties by setting internationally binding emission reduction targets Adapted in its namesake on 11 Dec 1997, entered into force 16 Feb 2005 Recognizing that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity, the Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities."

combating greenwashing

applicable across the whole carbon footprint, not just cherry-picked elements supported by concrete examples, measured against a robust baseline independently validated/audited and published

micro grids

are localized grids that can disconnect from the traditional grid to operate autonomously and help mitigate grid disturbances to strengthen grid resilience

CC decision paralysis

caused by the enormity of the consequences of both acting and not acting (stop using fossil fuels vs prevent Earth system becoming hostile to human life), without the legitimizing imperative of real and present overwhelming disaster

largest sources of world energy supply

coal oil natural gas

CCT

coal chemically washed of minerals and impurities, sometimes gasified, burned and the resulting flue gases treated with steam with the purpose of removing sulfur dioxide, and reburned so as to make the carbon dioxide in the flue gas economically recoverable." CCT 'Clean Coal Technology'

addressing market failure

emissions trading carbon taxes subsidisation of rest and emerging industries sunk costs of R&D

key challenges facing CCS in the future

future liability - technology is largely unproven and liability usually assessed on a case by case basis. limited financial support scarcity of potential storage sites

CC and the boiling frog analogy

if a frog is placed over a pot of boiling water it will quickly jump out of harm's way. However, if the frog is placed in a pot of water at room temperature and then the temperature is slowly turned up over time, the frog will only seek to adjust its own body temperature to match that of the environment, and when the temperature becomes deadly it would be too late for the frog to escape.

UNFCCC Key Policy Objectives

limit global warming to below 2degC to achieve this, must stop growth in GHG emissions by 2020 and reduce them by 60% by 2050 (compared with 2010).

geoengineering methods of reflecting solar energy back into space

solar screening & solar radiation manangement Sulphate aerosols (SO2) Marine cloud whitening - seawater sprayed into the atmosphere Cirrus cloud modification - bismuth tri-iodide in contrails Reflectors in orbit

CCS

technology that attempts to prevent large quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2) from being released into the atmosphere. The process is based on capturing CO2 from large emitters, such as fossil fuel power plants, and storing it so it does not enter the atmosphere. captured from emitters compressed at a comp unit transported through pipelines injected into the earth stored underground

some key CC policy perspectives

the 'wicked problem' the moral compass tragedy of the commons the 'boiling frog' analogy decision paralysis

subcritical coal

the least efficient and most polluting form of coal-fired generation - it requires more fuel and water to generate the same amount of power, and creates more pollution as a result

energy baseload

the minimum level of demand on an electrical supply system over 24 hours. Base load power sources are those plants which can generate dependable power to consistently meet demand.

critical challenge facing the energy system

to meet the world's ever-growing energy needs, led by rising incomes and populations in emerging economies; to provide energy access to the world's poorest; and to bring the world towards meeting its climate change objectives

uses of water in energy production

used in power generation; in the extraction, transport and processing of oil, gas and coal; and, increasingly, in irrigation for crops used to produce biofuels

climate justice

"Climate Justice links human rights and development to achieve a human-centred approach, safeguarding the rights of the most vulnerable and sharing the burdens and benefits of climate change and its resolution equitably and fairly. Climate justice is informed by science, responds to science and acknowledges the need for equitable stewardship of the world's resources

CC as a 'wicked probelm'

"Climate change is an issue that presents great scientific and economic complexity, some very deep uncertainties, profound ethical issues, and even lack of agreement on what the problem is," said Toman. "Economists will generally think about the trade-offs involved. Ecologists will talk about the idea that we're driving towards the edge of a cliff. I think both views are right. The question is, how do you reconcile these two?"