Mitigation & adaptation & climate funding Flashcards
Mitigation
- dt. Abmilderung/Abschwächung
- effort to reduce GHG emissions
- effort to prevent GHG emissions
Adaptation
- dt. Anspassung
- actions to cope with effects of climate change
- actions to manage the risks of climate change
Paris Agreement: Mitigation
- Binding commitments to prepare, communicate and maintain a nationally determined contribution (NDC) and to pursue domestic measures to achieve them.
- Parties shall communicate their NDCs every 5 years. To set a firm foundation for higher ambition, each successive NDC will represent a progression beyond the previous one and reflect the highest possible ambition
Why is mitigation needed?
- widespreach impacts attributed to climate change
- rising globale surface temp.
- etc.
Mitigation measures
- Change in energy supply
– Decarbonizing → low carbon energy sources (renewable, nuclear energy???)
– Increasing energy efficiency, replace coal fire plants by natural gas combined cycle
plants or combined heat and power plants - Changes in transport, e.g. infrastructure, urban planning, low carbon fuels
- Agriculture/Forestry and other land use (currently emit ~10 20 GtCO 2 per year)
– Afforestration , sustainable management of forests
– Cropland management, restoration of organic soils - Climate engineering/geoengineering (e.g. CO 2 removal, solar radiation management)
- Behavioral changes ( mobility, energy use in households, food)
Mitigation measures, policies and institutions
- Changes in investment patterns
– declined investments in conventional fuel technologies
– increased investment in low carbon electricity supply, transport, buildings, industry - Regulatory approaches (e.g. energy efficiency standards) and information measures (e.g. labelling)
– Often environmentally effective; BUT, also it is generally agreed, that rebound effects
exist (but magnitude is unclear) - Cap and trade systems for GHGs (emission trading)
- Technology policy complements policies
– Technology push: e.g. by R&D
– Demand pull: e.g. by public procurement - Tax based policies specifically aimed at reducing GHG emissions
– Fuel taxes - Reduction of subsidies for GHG related activities in various sectors
– Removal of subsidies for fossil fuels
Paris Agreement: Adaptation
- global goal of enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change in the context of the 2/1.5C goal
- All Parties should engage in adaptation, incl. by formulating and implementing National Adaptation Plans, and should submit and periodically update an adaptation communication describing their priorities, needs, plans, actions.
- The adaptation efforts of developing countries should be recognized
Adaptation measures
- Engineered and built environment options:
– Coastal protection, shelters, storm management, road infrastructure - Heat resistant road materials, lighter road pavement, storm water systems
*Technological options
– New crop and animal variety, water saving technologies, early warning systems
- Ecosystem based options
– Soil conservation, afforestation, green infrastructure (e.g. green roofs), gene banks - Services
– Food banks, essential public health services, enhanced medical services - Economic options
– Payment for ecosystem services, microfinancing, disaster funds - Laws and regulations
– Building standards, laws to support disaster risk assessment, fishing quotas - National and government policies and programs
– National, regional, sub national and local adaptation plans
– Urban upgrading programs, e.g. improved housing and access to social support services
–> Governments start to develop adaptation plans and policies to integrate climate change considerations in broader development plans, e.g. Europe: coastal and water management, Africa disaster risk management, Asia early warning system - Educational options
– Awareness rising & integration into education, sharing indigenous, traditional and local knowledge - Behavioral options
– Evacuation planning, migration, changed cropping practices
Challenges of current adaptation strategies
- Progress in most countries regarding efficient strategies is very slow
– e.g. changes in farming practices known for many years, but barley applied - Most vulnerable people are often not adequately considered
– e.g. insurance for extreme weather events is very expensive - Many measures are very expensive
– e.g. resettlement of a water treatment facility - Funding is not sufficient, especially for poor countries
– e.g. 100 billion USD per year through 2025 financial commitment of developed countries for developing countries not yet met (83.3 billion USD in 2020) - Especially in already poor regions, many other issues occur next to climate change which have to be tackled first
– e.g. Malaria in Africa or political unrest
Climate Finance
- Local, national or transnational financing from
public, private and alternative sources - To support mitigation and adaptation actions
- Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement call for
financial assistance from Parties with more
financial resources to those that are less endowed
and more vulnerable
–> UNFCCC Adaption Fund (AF), set up in 2007 as part of Kyoto, continued under Paris Agreement, partically funded by the CDM project activities
Green climate fund (GCF)
- Established in 2010 by 194 countries party to the UNFCCC Framework
– Kept under Paris Agreement - For mitigation and adaptation projects
– 20 9 projects
– 666 million people with increased resilience
– 2.4 billion tonnes CO2 eq avoided
GCF Financing
- Funding through grants, loans, equity, results based payments, guarantees
- 66 % funded by public sector
- 34 % by private sector
GCF Safeguards
- Ensures that the climate finance it allocates does not harm local communities or ecosystems
- Indigenous People’s Policy
- Gender Perspectives
- Environment and Social Management System (ESMS)
- Independent Redress Mechanism (IRM
- Accredited Entities
– Partner with GCF to implement projects
Possible Forms of Carbon Compensation
Emission Reductions, e.g.:
- Renewable Energy
- Waste reduction
CO2 Removal/ Negative emission technologies (NETS), e.g.:
- Bioengery with carbon capture and stoarge (BECCS)
- Direct Air carbon (DAC) capture storage
CO2 Removal vie Geoengineering, e.g.:
- Ocean fertilization
- Wetlands
- Enhance weathering
Renewable Energy Projects as Carbon Offsets
- Renewable Energy (RE) projects are an accepted offsetting mechanism in all three major o ffsetting programs : Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), Gold Standard (GS)
- Projects aim to foster a sustainable development of the energy system in Non Annex I countries = developing countries
- RE project needs to be deemed as „additional“ by the CDM executive board
CER calculation for renewable energy projects
- The amount of certified emission reductions (CERs) issued for RE projects is calculated according to the theoretically saved emissions of the project
- The emission baseline is determined by the emissions that would occur by providing the same amount of electricity as supplied by the RE project
- Only use phase is considered for both renewable energy projects and fossil fuel baseline scenario –> thats why RE (e.g. PV) is emission free
Challenges RE
- Market effects
- Low additionality
- Emission calculation
based on use phase
BECCS
Negative emissions technology (NET) and part of geoengineering proposals
to keep the global temperature under 2 C
BECCS Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
* NET
* Existing technology
* Renewable source
* Decarbonization
* Energy security
* Permanent sequestration
Weaknesses
* Requires significant inputs of land,
nitrogen, phosphorus and water
* High costs for capture and storage and also biomass growth
* Many trade offs and uncertainties
–> BECCs deployment should be limited only to circumstances where is it proven to be beneficial
Direct Air Capture (DAC)
- Direct Air Capture (DAC) is another possible negative emission technology (NET)
- Direct Air Capture (DAC) has the potential to remove 0.5 5 Gt CO2/year by 2100, limited by technology readiness, upscaling capabilities and costs
– two basic concepts: either DAC high temp (absorption and calcination) or DAC low temp (absorption and desorption)
Options Carbon Capture
- Closed carbon cycle via biomass -> „carbon neutral“
- Closed carbon cycle via DAC carbon usage -> „carbon neutral“
- Carbon offsetting via biomass, DAC carbon storage -> „carbon negative“
- Carbon offsetting via fossils, DAC carbon storage -> „carbon neutral“
–> DAC plants indepent from CO2 source –> flexibale carbon offsetting
Strengths and weaknesses DAC
Strengths
– scalable technical plants for CO2 removal with low area demand
– can be built at places independent from CO2 source to create carbon offsets
– predictable CO2 removal price and capacity
– important enabler for ‘carbon neutral’ synthetic fuels
– low energy demand when integrated in excising plants with heat sources
Weaknesses
– currently in research and development phase
– many uncertainties due to development status, especially the costs
– uncertainties for the water demand
– requires the availability for cheap renewable energy to run at full load
– possible material/waste and chemicals implications to be assessed LCA topic
