Climate Change by GHG Emission - Essay Example

Climate change by GHG emission: the role of IPCC and the leading nation s as two global actor groups The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established by World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) to assess scientific, technical and socio- economic information relevant for the understanding of climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation (Bodansky, 1993). The terms of reference include: (i) to assess available scientific and socio-economic information on climate change and its impacts and on the options for mitigating climate change and adapting to it and (ii) to provide, on request, scientific/ technological/socio-economic advice to the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Role of IPCC The major activity of the IPCC is to prepare in regular intervals comprehensive and up-to-date assessments of policy-relevant scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant for the understanding of human induced climate change, potential impacts of climate change and options for mitigation and adaptation. The First Assessment Report was completed in 1990, the Second Assessment Report in 1995 and the Third Assessment Report in 2001. The reports cover the following aspects of climate change: Analyses an enormous body of observations of all parts of the climate system. Catalogues increasing concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases. Assesses our understanding of the processes and feedbacks which govern the climate system. Projects scenarios of future climate change using a wide range of models of future emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols. Makes a detailed study of whether a human influence on climate can be identified. Suggests gaps in information and understanding that remain in our knowledge of climate change and how these might be addressed. The IPCC have taken several options for reducing greenhouse gas emission. Sectors/ applications covered are refrigeration, stationary, and mobile air conditioning, foams, medical aerosols, fire protections, non medical aerosols, solvents and HFC-23 by products emission. Gases covered are CFCs, HCFCs, HFCs, PFCs, methyl-bromide. Emission reduction options included CFCs, HCFCs, HFCs, PFCs containment, recovery, recycling, destruction, alternative fluids (no GWP) and reduction from indirect emission from energy use. (IPCC/TEAP, 2005). The Nation States: Energy policies and promotion measures for GHG mitigation Countries who are party to the Kyoto protocol are obliged to regularly report their emissions and policies to the Secretariat of the Convention. The baseline against which growth or reduction of aggregate emissions are to be measured for most of the parties are the sum of the 1990 emissions of CO2, CH4 and N2O, and the 1995 emissions of the F-gases (HFCs, PFCs, and SF6). The target emission is the average annual emission in the period 2008-2012-the so-called first commitment period (CERs). Countries are obliged to make national inventories of their emissions and to report on the reductions or changes achieved. The U.S. The US is committed to cut the nation's greenhouse gas intensity by 18 percent through 2012. In the last three years, the United States has launched a series of bilateral and multilateral initiatives to cooperate with both developing and industrialized countries in adopting new energy sources, from cleaner use of coal, to hydrogen vehicles, to solar and wind power, to the production of clean-burning methane, to less-polluting power plants (US, 2005). Besides coordinating and integrating scientific research on global change and climate change sponsored by 13 participating departments and agencies, the Climate Change Technology Program is responsible for accelerating climate-related technology research and development. The United Kingdom The United Kingdom has set itself the challenging target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% below 1990 levels by 2008-2012. The Programme details how the UK plans to deliver its Kyoto target to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 12.5%, and move towards its domestic goal to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20% below 1990 levels by 2010.The UK Climate Change Impacts Review Group has published two reports which detail likely changes in climate and the responses of 12 sectors ranging from Agriculture and the Water Industry to Transport and Manufacturing. France The French Government through its "PLAN CLIMAT 2003" aims at stabilizing the French Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 2008-2012, thus being in line with the internal agreement of the European Union on the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol (Newsletter, 2003). European Space Agency (ESA) is providing data from its Earth observation satellites to monitor the tropical forests in French Guiana and help the French government meet its obligations under the international Kyoto Protocol agreement on global warming. The Netherlands The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Government of the Netherlands are setting up a Carbon Fund to promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in central and Eastern Europe. The funds will be used to buy carbon credits from projects such as modernised district-heating systems that cut emissions in central and Eastern Europe. This will help the Netherlands to meet its emission-reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol and, in the process, will contribute to the establishment of a market in these credits. The Fund also fits well with the EBRD's environmental mandate: a carbon credits market should attract additional investors to climate-friendly projects, enabling the Bank to finance more such work. Canada The Canadian Ministry of environment have announced the details of 28 specific Government of Canada climate change initiatives, totalling $ 425.15 million that will cut Canada's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by more than 23.7 mega-tonnes by 2010. The initiatives target key sectors like transportation, energy, technology, industry, commercial and residential buildings, forestry and agriculture that accounts for 90 per cent of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions. Impacts and adaptation initiative aims to better coordinate the impacts and adaptation research community, improve knowledge of Canada's vulnerabilities to climate change and enhance research capacity, leading to future GHG reductions. Germany Germany was responsible for about one third of all EU emissions in 1990 and has to reduce 75% of the total European GHG reduction. Germany's climate protection program was passed on 18th October , 2000 with the targets of reduction of CO2 emissions until 2005 by 25% (base year 1990) and reduction of all 6 GHG emissions of the Kyoto Protocol within the EU burden sharing by 21%. The target in the renewable energy is to double the 2.5% share of renewable energy of TPES until 2010. It is targeted that until 2050, half of the energy consumption shall come from solar, hydro, wind, biomass and geothermal energy (Lutz, 2003) The EU burden sharing (Art.4, Kyoto Protocol) Member state Per capita emission in 1990 (in t) Burden sharing (2008-2012) Development (1990-2000) Distance to target Belgium 13.6 -7.5% +6.2% -13.7% Denmark 13.5 -21.0% -1.2% -19.8% Germany 15.1 -21.0% -18.9% -2.1% France 9.5 0.0% -1.7% +1.7% Great Britain 12.6 -12.5% -12.6% +0.1% Greece 10.2 25.0% 23.8% +1.2% Ireland 15.2 13.0% 24.0% -11.0% Italy 9.1 -6.5% +4.1% -10.6% Luxembourg 36.9 -28.0% -45.1% +17.1% Netherlands 14.0 -6.0% +3.1% -9.1% Austria -13.0% +3.1% -16.1% Portugal 6.3 27.0% +30.1% -3.1% Sweden 8.1 4.0% +1.7% +2.3% Spain 7.8 15.0% 34.8% -19.8% EU total 11.4 -8.0% -3.5% -4.5% Source: Lutz, 2003 The debate on GHG caused climate change While the IPCC has provided a wealth of scientific information on climate, it has not convincingly made its case that increases in carbon dioxide levels are occurring and that increase will have harmful effects (Gray, 2002). Among several lines of attack are reflections on the quality and reliability of measurements; views on what weight should be given to different influences on the earth's temperature; the validity of computer modelling in this context. There is insufficient ground to attribute the observed warming over last fifty years to green house gas concentrations. Model simulations are still largely inadequate to base public policy upon these. As long as the initiatives of actors like the national governments are based on impact mitigation preparedness policy emerging out of a precautionary principle, it seems to be the sensible thing to do. Dismissing potential climate change impact to be unreal may make particularly the developing countries to pay dearly. So, the developed countries have the dual role of safeguarding themselves and facilitating risk assessment and mitigation for developing nations through necessary technology transfer and other means such as identifying stakeholders, reviewing existing information, interviewing experts and building a sound knowledge base. Comprehension of the situation is indeed at an early stage, and particularly IPCC and the nation states as actor groups would have to tread on somewhat weak premises despite a range of ardent initiatives undertaken. If scientific authors like Gray (2002) are to be believed to be even only half-right, that the IPCC consensus relies on poor science and inadequate reasoning, then the policy decisions beginning to flow from the IPCC consensus are themselves flawed too. Conclusion Over the past 10 years, energy consumption related to global warming has been the focus of environmental legislation and economic development for pursuing sustainable development and raising energy efficiency. Currently, HFCs are the most acceptable alternatives to CFCs and HCFCs. Although HFCs have zero ODP, they have become one of the six GHGs targeted by the Kyoto Protocol owing to their high GWP. Therefore, the development of natural and environmentally sound alternatives, cleaner production, or reduction/recycling technology of HFCs emissions are urgent tasks (Tsai, 2006). In seeking a fair outcome, an equal per capita distribution of the global atmosphere holds great promise, as well as broad support (Leigh, 2006). References Bodansky, D., (1993). The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: a commentary, Yale Journal of International Law, vol. 18, pp. 451-588. Canadian government (2001) (http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/english/newsroom/2001/) EPA, (2000) Global warming actions- Government Programmes, retrieved from the website: (http://yosemite.epa.gov/OAR/globalwarming.nsf/) on 13th March, 06. ESA (2003) Providing Kyoto estimates of French Guiana's tropical forests, retrieved from the website: 2003http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEMOBRS1VED_environment_0.html On 15th March, 2006. GrayVincent (2002) The Greenhouse Delusion: A Critique of "Climate Change 2001"August 2002 - ISBN 0 906522 14 5 - pp. vi + 96 IPCC (2001): Climate Change Working Group II: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability) IPCC (2001) "Climate Change 2001, the Scientific basis" IPCC/TEAP special report (2005) Safeguarding the ozone layer and the global climate system, UNFCCC/SBSTA 22, Bonn, Germany). Leigh, Raymond. (2006) Cutting the "Gordian knot" in climate change policy, Energy Policy, Vol. 34, Issue 6, pp. 655-658 Mez, Lutz (2003) Germany's Green House Gas reduction policy towards beyond 2012, Open Symposium on "International Climate regime beyond 2012: Issues and Challenges, Tokyo, Environmental policy research centre, Freie Universitt Berlin MGR Cannell, M.G.R., Palutikof, J.P., and Sparks, T.H. (1999) Indicators of climate change, a report, Updated October, 2003, retrieved from the website: (http://www.nbu.ac.uk/iccuk) on 12th March, 06 Newsletter (2003) Climate change initiative newsletter, Archive, March 2003 (33), retrieved from the website: (http://www.climate.org.ua/news/newslet/mar2003.html#a14) Tsai, W.T., (2006) Energy and environmental policies relating to hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) emissions mitigation and energy conservation in Taiwan, Energy Conversion and Management xxx (2006) xxx-xxx, Article in press. UNFCCC, ( 1997) The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. UNFCCC Secretariat, Bonn. US policy on climate change (2005) retrieved from the website: usgovinfo.about.com/od/thepresidentandcabinet/a/g8energy.htm - 25k. on 13th March, 06. Read More