Mitigation Strategies

Question 1

To cut global emissions of ghgs…

Answer 1

• energy efficiency and conservation
• fuel shifts And low carbon energy sources
• carbon capture and storage
• forest conservation
• geoengineering

Question 2

Energy efficiency and conservation

Answer 2

• improvements in this to reduce energy consumption, leads to low carbon economy
• 1/3 of primary energy accounts consumption for domestic demand in uk
• building regs demand new homes to conform to minimum standards of heat insulation and door to window space
• financial incentives to insulate lofts

Question 3

Fuel shifts and low carbon energy sources

Answer 3

• steady decline in overall energy consumption since 2005 in uk
• marked reduction in use of fossil fuels 1990 and 2014
• contribution of renewables expanded
• explained by advances in energy efficiency and decarbonising uk
• 15 % renewable generation by 2020, expanding renewables, closing fossil fuel plants

Question 4

Carbon capture and storage

Answer 4

• technology that extracts carbon dioxide from coal burning station
• transfers to long term storage to ground
• potential to cut anthropogenic ghg emissions
• limited by shortage of storage sites

Question 5

Reforestation

Answer 5

• deforestation response for 1/5 of carbon emissions
• reforestation cheapest strategy to combat climate change
• UN taken lead in promoting REDD programme
• financial to carbon storage to developing countries for reducing emissions

Question 6

Geoengineering

Answer 6

• use of technology to modify env on large scale
• focused on reducing insulation absorbed by earth and atm, and removing co2 from atm
• increasing reflection of solar radiation reduces energy absorbed (done by creating reflective plates and aerosols)
• removing co2 done by fertilising oceans to increase plankton photosynthesis and enhanced weathering (silicate minerals absorb co2 to form carbonates)