7.4 Climate Solutions

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7.4 Envisioning Solutions

Former president Bill Clinton has argued that
combating climate change doesn’t have to mean
economic hardship.

It could be the biggest development stimulus since
World War II, creating millions of jobs and saving
trillions of dollars in foreign fuel imports.

What are some of the strategies we have available?

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There are Many Ways We Can
Control Greenhouse Emissions

We can reduce dependence on coal, which produces
more CO2 per energy unit than any other fuel.

We could institute fees for selling fossil fuels–these
would help fossil fuel prices represent their many
hidden costs.

We can invest in new technologies and energy
efficiency.

We can institute emissions trading by instituting a legal cap on emissions then allowing companies to buy and sell shares of that total cap.

Multiple Select

Which of the following are strategies available for reducing carbon emissions? (Select all that apply)

• reduce dependence on coal

• increase dependence on fossil fuels

• institute fees for selling fossil fuels

• institute emissions trading

• create more factories

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International Protocols Have Tried

to Establish Common Rules

In 1992 The United Nations Earth Summit meeting in Rio de Janeiro set an objective of stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions.

In Kyoto, Japan, in 1997, 160 nations agreed to roll
back CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions
about 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012, but
China and India were exempted from the agreement and the U.S. never ratified this agreement.

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A Wedge Approach

Could Fix the Problem

An alternative approach is wedge analysis,
breaking down a large problem into smaller, bite-size pieces.

Each one might start small now, but their
impacts will grow over time, producing a larger wedge-like impact in 50 years.

Pacala and Socolow’s paper described 14 “wedges”, each represents 1 Gigatonne (1 billion tons) of carbon emissions avoided in 2058.

Multiple Choice

There are ____ wedges described that each represent ____ Gigatonnes of carbon emissions

• 1, 14

• 41, 14

• 14, 1

• 14, 41

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Wedge Analysis

Accomplishing just half
of these wedges could
level off our emissions.

Accomplishing all of
them could return to
levels well below those
envisioned in the Kyoto
protocol.

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Multiple Select

Which of the following were wedges that could lead to a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions? (Select all that apply.)

• Vehicle efficiency, less driving

• Powerplant efficiency

• Protect forests, soil

• Nonrenewable energy

• More buildings

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Local Initiatives are Everywhere

Britain has already started to substitute natural gas
for coal, promote energy efficiency in homes and
industry, and raise its already high gasoline tax.

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark pledged
that her country will be the first to be “carbon
neutral”.

Germany has reduced its CO2 emissions at least 10
percent by switching from coal to gas and by
encouraging energy efficiency throughout society.

Denmark now gets 20% of its electricity from
windmills.

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Carbon Capture Stores CO2

but is Expensive

It is possible, though expensive, to store CO2 by
injecting it deep into geologic formations.

Since 1996, Norway’s Statoil has been pumping more
than 1 million metric tons of CO2 per year into an
aquifer 1,000 meters below the seafloor in the North
Sea.

The pressurized CO2 enhances oil recovery and saves on
carbon taxes in Norway.

Around the world, deep, briny aquifers could store a
century’s worth of CO2 output at current fossil fuel
consumption rates.

Multiple Choice

Deep, briny aquifer's could store _____ year's worth of CO2 output at current fossil fuel consumption rates.

• 1

• 100

• 1,000

• 10,000

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Conclusion

Temperatures are now higher than they have been in
thousands of years, and climate scientists say that if
we don’t reduce greenhouse gas emissions soon,
drought, flooding of cities may be inevitable.

Exhaustive modeling and data analysis by climate
scientists show that these changes can only be
explained by human activity.

The “stabilization wedge” proposal is a list of
immediate steps that could be taken to accomplish
needed reductions in greenhouse gases.