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Climate Change Impacts and Responses Topic 8: Climate Change Mitigation

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Introduction Sources and sinks of greenhouse gases 3. Sector specific mitigation opportunities 4. Sustainable development and mitigation 5. Geoengineering Topic outline Image: UN Photo, Eskinder Debebe

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Learning outcomes for this topic Define climate change mitigation Name a range of options for reducing emissions and capturing carbon Discuss sector specific technologies and identify barriers and opportunities for achieving them Define sustainable development and explain its relationship to mitigation Outline global policies and initiatives for mitigation

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Section 1: Introduction

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What is climate change mitigation? Anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHG) revision Major sources of anthropogenic GHGs Total GHG emissions by country Per capita GHG emissions by country Outline: Introduction

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Human interventions to reduce the sources or enhance the sinks of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Examples include using fossil fuels more efficiently for industrial processes or electricity generation, switching to solar energy or wind power, improving the insulation of buildings, and expanding forests and other "sinks" to remove greater amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere - UNFCCC Climate change mitigation

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Anthropogenic greenhouse gases emissions IPCC AR5 WG3, 2014, SPM.1

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The ultimate objective of the UNFCCC is to achieve, stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Such a level should be achieved within a time-frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner. (UNFCCC, 1992) UNFCC Article 2

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Greenhouse emissions by sectors IPCC AR5 WG3, 2014, SPM.2

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Drivers of increases in CO IPCC 2014

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Section 2: Sources and sinks of greenhouse gases

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Sources of carbon dioxide Sources of methane Sources of nitrous oxide Greenhouse gas sinks Outline: Sources and sinks of greenhouse gases

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Sources of greenhouse gases: Carbon Dioxide CARBON DIOXIDE (CO) Combustion of fossil fuels Deforestation Image: UN, Nasim Fekrat

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Sources of greenhouse gases: Methane METHANE (CH 4 ) Fossil fuel production Animal husbandry Paddy rice cultivation Biomass burning Waste management Image: UN Photo, Kibae Park

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Sources of greenhouse gases: Nitrous Oxide NITROUS OXIDE (N 0) Synthetic fertilizer production and usage Transport fuel combustion Livestock waste (urine and manure) Image: UN photo, Martine Perret

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Carbon sinks: Terrestrial vegetation and soils Soils Plant biomass Grasslands Peat bogs Forests Carbon sequestration is the process by which carbon is removed from the atmosphere. Image: UN Photo, Eskinder Debebe

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Carbon sinks: Ocean Largest active carbon sink on Earth Capacity to absorb carbon by the ocean depends on pH and temperature Small fraction of carbon is transported to the seafloor and buried Coastal vegetation very effective carbon sink: Blue carbon Image: UN Photo, Martine Perret

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Methane Sinks in the troposphere Humans cannot affect methane sink Needs to be reduced at its source Nitrous oxide Sinks in the atmosphere Difficult to control this sinks Needs to be reduced at its source Sinks for other greenhouse gases

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Section 3: Sector specific mitigation opportunities

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Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) Energy (renewable sources and bioenergy) Transport Waste Outline: Sector specific mitigation opportunities

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Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) IPCC AR5 2014 (WGIII), Fig_11.17 OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development EIT: Economies in Transition LAM: Latin America and Caribbean MAF: Middle East and Africa

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AFOLU: REDD + REDD+: Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation. UN REDD programme aims to create financial value for the carbon stored in forests Image: UN Photo, Mark Garten UN Secretary General meets Indonesian communities affected by deforestation

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AFOLU: Agriculture Three key mitigation strategies: Reduction of emissions (better management of carbon and nitrogen flows) Enhancement of sinks (enhancing soil organic carbon reserves or above ground carbon stocks) Avoiding emissions (using crops as fuel) Image: UN photo, Eskinder Debebe Songhai sustainable agriculture research and training centre in Benin

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Cropland management: Improved crop varieties, perennial crops, cover and catch crops, nitrogen fixing-legumes, reduced or no-tillage systems, good water management, agroforestry Grazing land and pasture management: Management of grazing intensity, promotion of grassland productivity, careful fire management, use of productive, deeper-rooting grass species Peaty soils: avoid further draining, raise water tables Livestock and manure emissions: improved feeding practices, dietary additives, manure management (aerobic rather than anaerobic) Biodiesel: production of bio-diesel or bio-ethanol to displace fossil carbon usage Read more: Agriculture mitigation options

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Energy supply sector IPCC AR5 2014 (WGIII), Fig.7.4

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Energy supply: Resources and mitigation options Energy resources: Fossil fuels Nuclear Renewables Mitigation options: Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) Nuclear energy Renewable energy technologies UN Photo/Pasqual Gorri

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Read more: Energy Renewable energy sources Renewable energy sources Bioenergy: Large range of feedstocks. Different conversion technologies at different stages of development. Solar energy: Photovoltaics produce energy directly from sunlight. Modular and scalable, but solar energy supplies can vary. Geothermal energy: Heat from Earths interior can generate electricity as well as providing heat. Supplies are typically constant. Hydropower: Dams and reservoirs, rivers and streams. Ocean energy: Kinetic energy from currents, saline gradients and waves. Wind energy: Onshore and offshore, captured using turbines. Image: UN Photo, Kibae Park Hydro transmitting towers in Korean republic

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Transport Fastest GHG emissions growth amongst sectors with the majority from road vehicles World transport energy use predicted to increase by 2% per year Image: UN photo, Kibae Park

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Read more: Transport types Road Rail Shipping Aviation IPCC AR5 2014 (WGIII), Fig.8.1 Direct GHG emissions of the transport sector

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Waste Image: UN Photo, Kibae Park

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Section 4: Sustainable development and mitigation

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Sustainable development and climate change Development pathways and implications for mitigation Impact of mitigation on sector specific development Nationally appropriate mitigation actions Outline: Sustainable development and mitigation

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Sustainable development and climate change ECONOMICENVIRONMENTAL SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT To be in harmony with sustainable development, mitigation must consider: Social justice Rights to resources Rights to security Political rights Rights to living standards Image: UN photo, Stuart Price Image: UN photo, Eva Fendiaspora Image: UN photo- Martin Perret

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Development pathways and implications for mitigation Biogas plant for energy production from chicken waste in Beijing, China Image: UN photo, Mark Garten

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Impacts of mitigation on sector specific development Mitigation actions may have some aspects of sustainability, but they are not necessarily classed as sustainable development. Mitigation choices have: economic impacts ecological impacts social impacts A hydroelectric project in Nicaragua Image: UN Photo, Yutaka Ngata

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Impacts of mitigation on sector specific development: trade-offs Image: UN Photo, Sebastiao Barbosa Transporting sugar cane for bioethanol in Brazil Careful assessment of mitigation is required to determine its value for sustainable development

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Nationally Appropriate Mitigations Actions (NAMAs) A policy, program or project that shifts a technology or sector into a low carbon development pathway. First used at UNFCCC climate conference in Bali 2007. NAMA facility launched in 2012, with funds of approximately 70 million Euros. Mexican NAMA for Sustainable Housing

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Read more: Funded NAMA projects Chile: self-supply and renewable energy for decentralized renewable energy systems in small and medium enterprise infrastructure Indonesia: sustainable urban transport program to build transport capacity in selected Indonesian cities Image: UN Photo, Marianne Rummery Image: UN Photo, J.C. McIlwaine Image: UN Photo, Martine Perret Colombia: transit-oriented development to reduce growth in car traffic Costa Rica: low carbon coffee

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Section 5: Geoengineering

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What is geoengineering? Is geoengineering mitigation? Solar radiation management (SRM) Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) Critiques of geoengineering Outline: Geoengineering

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What is geoengineering?

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Is geoengineering mitigation? IPCC 2012: Expert meeting on geoengineering

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Solar radiation management Modifying the Earths shortwave radiative budget to reduce climate change. Possible mechanisms include: Stratospheric sulphur aerosol injections Cloud reflectivity modifications Most projects are currently purely theoretical. Potentially fast acting and relatively low-cost. Stratospheric particle injection for climate engineering Image: Hughhunt

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Carbon dioxide removal Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) Biochar Direct air capture Ocean fertilization Enhanced weathering Image: NASA Earth Observatory

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Overall, geoengineering may remove incentives to curb greenhouse gas emissions and is likely to have unintended consequences. Strategies for solar radiation management on a grand scale will have environmental and ecological implications and produce non- uniform effects on weather Carbon dioxide removal will be a lengthy process. There are also concerns about impacts on biodiversity, and adverse environmental impacts. Critiques of geoengineering

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Avoid climate change by reducing GHGs and enhancing sinks Undertake mitigation in all sectors Think about sustainable development Pursue NAMAs Explore geoengineering Summary

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IPCC (2007). Climate Change 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [B.Metz, O.R. Davidson, P.R. Bosch, R. Dave, L.A. Meyer (eds)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA. IPCC (2012). Meeting Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Expert Meeting on Geoengineering [O. Edenhofer, R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, C. Field, V. Barros, T.F. Stocker, Q. Dahe, J. Minx, K. Mach, G.-K. Plattner, S. Schlmer, G. Hansen, M. Mastrandrea (eds.)]. IPCC Working Group III Technical Support Unit, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Potsdam, Germany, pp. 99. IPCC (2014). Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of climate change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schlmer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA. Metz, B. (2010). Controlling Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. http://www.thebluecarbonproject.com/ References

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Image: UN Photo, Eskindar Debebe End of Topic 8: Climate Change Mitigation Next Topic: Climate Change Policy and Regulation