Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The major feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 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.

Forest carbon accounting methods and the consequences of forest bioenergy for national greenhouse gas emissions inventories

While bioenergy plays a key role in strategies for increasing renewable energy deployment, studies assessing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from forest bioenergy systems have identified a potential trade-off of the system with forest carbon stocks. Of particular importance to national GHG inventories is how trade-offs between forest carbon stocks and bioenergy production are accounted for within the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector under current and future international climate change mitigation agreements. Through a case study of electricity produced using wood pellets from harvested forest stands in Ontario, Canada, this study assesses the implications of forest carbon accounting approaches on net emissions attributable to pellets produced for domestic use or export. Particular emphasis is placed on the Forest Management Reference Level (FMRL) method, as it will be employed by most Annex I nations in the next Kyoto Protocol Commitment Period. While bioenergy production is found to reduce forest carbon sequestration, under the FMRL approach this trade-off may not be accounted for and thus not incur an accountable AFOLU-related emission, provided that total forest harvest remains at or below that defined under the FMRL baseline. In contrast, accounting for forest carbon trade-offs associated with harvest for bioenergy results in an increase in net GHG emissions (AFOLU and life cycle emissions) lasting 37 or 90 years (if displacing coal or natural gas combined cycle generation, respectively). AFOLU emissions calculated using the Gross-Net approach are dominated by legacy effects of past management and natural disturbance, indicating near-term net forest carbon increase but longer-term reduction in forest carbon stocks. Export of wood pellets to EU markets does not greatly affect the total life cycle GHG emissions of wood pellets. However, pellet exporting countries risk creating a considerable GHG emissions burden, as they are responsible for AFOLU and bioenergy production emissions but do not receive credit for pellets displacing fossil fuel-related GHG emissions. Countries producing bioenergy from forest biomass, whether for domestic use or for export, should carefully consider potential implications of alternate forest carbon accounting methods to ensure that potential bioenergy pathways can contribute to GHG emissions reduction targets

Are we willing to give what it takes? Willingness to pay for climate change adaptation in developing countries

Climate change adaptation is gaining traction as a necessary policy alongside mitigation, particularly for developing countries, many of which lack the resources to adapt. However, funding for developing country adaptation remains woefully inadequate. This paper identifies the burden of responsibility that individuals in the UK are willing to incur in support of adaptation projects in developing countries. Results from a nationally representative survey indicate that UK residents are willing to contribute £27 per year (or a median of £6 per year) towards developing country adaptation (US$30 and$7 using the World Bank’s purchasing power conversion factors). This represents less than one third of the back-of-the-envelope $100-140 per capita per year that the authors estimate would be needed to raise the$70-100bn per year recommended by the World Bank to fund developing country adaptation. Regressions indicate that WTP is driven mostly by a combination of beliefs and perceptions about one’s own knowledge levels, rather than actual knowledge of climate change. We conclude that, to engage the many different audiences that make up the ‘public’, communication efforts must move beyond the simple provision of information and instead, connect with people’s existing values and beliefs

Application of Multi-Criteria Analysis on Climate Adaptation Assessment in the Context of Least Developed Countries

The developing countries are suffering the most because of climatic variability and they have an enormous backlog in basic infrastructure to protect their cities. In addition, the resources and technical expertise are limited. Therefore, the adaptation measures to protect their cities are needed to be planned and prioritized carefully to reduce the vulnerability simultaneously considering the risk reduction, local constraints and development goals. A framework for prioritization of adaptation measures is lacking in the decision making in this context which could immensely assist in informed and structured decisions during the planning process of adaptation strategies in developing countries. This paper is exploring the potential of Multi-Criteria Analysis as a methodology for climate adaptation assessment in order to prioritize the adaptation measures to be undertaken. Hence in this paper Adaptation assessment is conducted within the framework of Multi-Criteria Analysis methodology which allows both normative judgement and technical expertise in the assessment process. Such a participatory integrated assessment of adaptation options is a new approach in flood management in least developed countries. The assessment framework has been applied and tested at the Eastern fringe of Dhaka city which is highly vulnerable to flooding. Based on the assessment and analysis, adaptive measures are prioritized to enable more effective action

Low Carbon Growth: Economic Progress from the Planet’s Perspective

The term “low carbon growth” does not appear explicitly in any of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the 169 associated Targets (UN General Assembly 2015). Instead, it is mentioned by means of a synonymous term in one of the associated Indicators, i.e., in SDG Indicator13.2.1. The Paris Agreement mentions the phrase “low greenhouse gas emissions development” in two articles of the treaty (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change 2015). It seems likely then that the Paris Agreement was the source of the above phrase for SDG Indicator 13.2.1. Low carbon growth refers to a type of growth that relies on lower carbon emissions per unit of economic output, compared to the business-as-usual type of economic growth. The switch to a low carbon growth path is undertaken in order to become a low carbon economy

Experimental evaluation of HCFO-1233zd-e as HFC-245fa replacement in an organic rankine cycle system for low temperature heat sources

[EN] In this work an experimental evaluation of the working fluid HCFO-1233zd-E as HFC-245fa replacement in ORC systems for low temperature heat sources has been conducted. A fully monitored ORC module has been used to test both working fluids at different operating conditions. Due to the different densities of the working fluids, the mass flow rate for HCFO-1233zd-E is approximately 20% lower than for HFC-245fa. This causes thermal and electrical powers to be lower for HCF0-1233zd-E than for HFC245fa. However, net electrical efficiency is similar for both working fluids, ranging from 5% to 9.7% in the tested operating conditions. Regarding the expander performance, various performance indicators are addressed. The expander isentropic performance has a maximum value of 75%, with higher values for HCFO-1233zd-E than for HFC-245fa. The overall efficiency of the expander, similar for both working fluids, ranges from 44% to 57% in the experimental test range. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.The authors thankfully acknowledge the cooperation of Rank (R) for its support in this project.Molés-Ribera, F.; Navarro Esbri, J.; Peris-Pérez, B.; Mota-Babiloni, A. (2016). Experimental evaluation of HCFO-1233zd-e as HFC-245fa replacement in an organic rankine cycle system for low temperature heat sources. Applied Thermal Engineering. 98:954-961. doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2016.01.011S9549619

Quantifying and Comparing Effects of Climate Engineering Methods on the Earth System

To contribute to a quantitative comparison of climate engineering (CE) methods, we assess atmosphere-, ocean-, and land-based CE measures with respect to Earth system effects consistently within one comprehensive model. We use the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model (MPI-ESM) with prognostic carbon cycle to compare solar radiation management (SRM) by stratospheric sulfur injection and two carbon dioxide removal methods: afforestation and ocean alkalinization. The CE model experiments are designed to offset the effect of fossil-fuel burning on global mean surface air temperature under the RCP8.5 scenario to follow or get closer to the RCP4.5 scenario. Our results show the importance of feedbacks in the CE effects. For example, as a response to SRM the land carbon uptake is enhanced by 92Gt by the year 2100 compared to the reference RCP8.5 scenario due to reduced soil respiration thus reducing atmospheric CO2. Furthermore, we show that normalizations allow for a better comparability of different CE methods. For example, we find that due to compensating processes such as biogeophysical effects of afforestation more carbon needs to be removed from the atmosphere by afforestation than by alkalinization to reach the same global warming reduction. Overall, we illustrate how different CE methods affect the components of the Earth system; we identify challenges arising in a CE comparison, and thereby contribute to developing a framework for a comparative assessment of CE

Gathering around stories: Interdisciplinary experiments in support of energy system transitions

This paper explores the creative uses of stories and storytelling to engage groups and individuals with consideration of changes in energy systems across time and place. It summarises three story-based experiments that responded to the theme of ‘energy utopias’. These are drawn from the three core strands of a much wider body of work undertaken within the Stories of Change project. This took stories as a central motif and organising device to refresh public and political conversations about energy and decarbonisation. Our hypothesis was that stories could offer a popular and engaging route into thinking about the past and present of humanity’s lives with energy and a lively way of imagining possible futures. We also wanted to test the degree to which stories could offer a shared intellectual space that might support both interdisciplinary and co-productive working for a core team that includes social science, humanities, media, computing and design researchers as well as creative and community partners. The paper considers some of the practical, methodological and theoretical considerations and reflects on the strengths and limitations of stories as both motif and technique in supporting action on climate change

Coal in the 21st Century: a climate of change and uncertainty

Coal presents a particular set of challenges when balancing energy policy goals. Despite presenting viable solutions to the problems of energy security and global energy poverty, coal struggles, given its greenhouse-gas drawbacks, in a world of increasingly harmful climate change. Notwithstanding the harm caused to the environment, coal remains an expanding low-price route to meeting local energy needs. It is forecasted to remain a major global resource for the foreseeable future. In the short term it is predicted to have a 26% share of the global energy mix. Recent years have witnessed severe deviations from previously stable trends in coal markets and policy dynamics. According to the predictions by the International Energy Agency (IEA), a variety of factors ranging from the planned phase-out of coal in countries such as Denmark, France and the UK, to changes in policy in China and import-dependency in India, and demand drop in the US have together resulted in the largest decline in coal production in 2015 since 1971 (IEA, Coal Information, 2016). This paper seeks to outline basic coal facts, recent market trends and directions globally and provides an overview of issues shaping the future of coal in the twenty-first century. This paper seeks to outline basic coal facts, recent market trends and directions globally and provide an overview of issues shaping the future of coal in the 21st century