CICERO Research Archive (CICERO Senter for klimaforskning)
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Five criteria for global sustainable development
Get PDFA clear understanding of the global-level sustainable development concept is necessary before applying it to projects at a national, local or firm level. Such lower-level projects may concern managing production and consumption of energy, organization of cities and using land productively. However, the Sustainable development goals adopted at the United Nations Summit in September 2015 do not provide adequate guidance, even at the global level, because the goals are too many, too vague and often not quantified. Based on the 1987 report Our Common Future, we derive five criteria for the development of primary goals and corresponding indictors and quantified thresholds to be met.publishedVersionacceptedVersio
The Paris Agreement: Short-term and Long-term Effectiveness
Get PDFThe 2015 Paris Agreement was widely greeted with enthusiasm. We assess the short-term and long-term potential effectiveness of Paris. Concerning short-term effectiveness, we contend that while Paris scores high on participation, and reasonably high on the depth of the parties’ commitments (ambition), its Achilles’ heel will likely be compliance. Concerning long-term effectiveness, we argue that Paris does little to restructure states’ incentives so as to avoid free riding. At worst, it might end up as a failure, much like Kyoto did. On the other hand, domestic and international norms could continue to develop in a direction that makes it more and more difficult for individuals, firms, and states alike to ignore the plea to limit and reduce their carbon footprints. Technological progress that gradually reduces abatement costs, combined with leadership by major emitters such as the United States, might further strengthen climate cooperation and enhance other countries’ willingness to follow through. However, deep political polarization continues to represent a significant barrier to U.S. leadership on climate change.publishedVersio
Visjoner av lavkarbon Norge
Get PDFVi har utviklet visjoner av Norge i 2050 som et lavkarbon og klimarobust samfunn, basert på innspill fra en referansegruppe fra næringsliv, organisasjoner, myndigheter, forskningsmiljø og miljøorganisasjoner. De viktigste kjennetegnene for lavkarbon Norge er:
Veitrafikk og skipstrafikk har blitt karbonfrie; Flytrafikken er basert på bio-drivstoff; I energisektoren har det skjedd en stor utbygging av fornybar energi, mens petroleum har gått betydelig tilbake; Prosessindustrien er blitt karbonfri ved hjelp av nye teknologier, bruk av biomasse, og karbonfangst og –lagring; Karbonfangst og –lagring har blitt koplet til biomasse-energi, slik at noe CO2 fjernes fra atmosfæren; Klimagassutslippene fra bygnings-sektoren har blitt kraftig redusert på grunn av null-utslipps hus som standard, byggematerialer med mindre klimaavtrykk, og resirkulering av byggematerialer; En større del av befolkningen bor i kompakte og miljøvennlige byer; Diett, matproduksjon og jordbruket er fundamentalt endret - det er stort sett slutt på animalsk proteinbruk; Avfall, materialer, råstoffer, vann, og varme fra avløpsvann resirkuleres og gjenbrukes effektivt. Veien mot lavkarbon Norge har vært mulig gjennom en langsiktig og troverdig strategi fra norske myndigheter, underbygd av tilstrekkelige tiltak, instrumenter og støtte
Norrköping kommun
No full textCategory: Second Opinion, Sector: Municipal Government, Issuer type: Local Government, Shading: Dark GreenpublishedVersio
Urban infrastructure choices structure climate solutions
Get PDFCities are becoming increasingly important in combatting climate change, but their overall role in global solution pathways remains unclear. Here we suggest structuring urban climate solutions along the use of existing and newly built infrastructures, providing estimates of the mitigation potentialacceptedVersio
Klimapolitikken i Norden - En sammenligning av mål og virkemidler i de nordiske landene
Get PDFRapporten sammenligner klimapolitikken i Danmark, Finland, Island, Norge og Sverige. Hovedvekten er lagt på landenes klimamål, overordnet lovverk og sentral virkemiddelbruk. Det gis også en mer dyptgående beskrivelse av klimalovene som er innført eller under utarbeidelse i de nordiske landene, og av klimainnsatsen i transportsektoren.
Rapporten påpeker at de nordiske landene framviser en rekke grunnleggende likhetstrekk i sin klimapolitikk, samtidig som det også er flere iøynefallende forskjeller. Variasjoner i energisystem og næringsstruktur knyttet til energi er en nøkkel til å forstå de forskjellige klimapolitiske valgene landene har tatt. Samspillet mellom likheter og forskjeller kan ses som et godt utgangspunkt for økte klimapolitiske ambisjoner, gjensidig inspirasjon og læring.
Fra 2020 oppstår det en ny situasjon der alle de nordiske landene vil være en del av EUs felles klimapolitikk, både i og utenfor de kvotepliktige sektorene. Dette kan forsterke mulighetene for nordisk samarbeid i klimapolitikken. Rapporten peker på flere områder der de nordiske landene står overfor felles klimapolitiske utfordringer i tiden som kommer, og der økt nordisk koordinering og samarbeid kan være verdt å diskutere
What controls the vertical distribution of aerosol? Relationships between process sensitivity in HadGEM3-UKCA and inter-model variation from AeroCom Phase II
Get PDFhe vertical profile of aerosol is important for its radiative effects, but weakly constrained by observations on the global scale, and highly variable among different models. To investigate the controlling factors in one particular model, we investigate the effects of individual processes in HadGEM3–UKCA and compare the resulting diversity of aerosol vertical profiles with the inter-model diversity from the AeroCom Phase II control experiment. In this way we show that (in this model at least) the vertical profile is controlled by a relatively small number of processes, although these vary among aerosol components and particle sizes. We also show that sufficiently coarse variations in these processes can produce a similar diversity to that among different models in terms of the global-mean profile and, to a lesser extent, the zonal-mean vertical position. However, there are features of certain models' profiles that cannot be reproduced, suggesting the influence of further structural differences between models. In HadGEM3–UKCA, convective transport is found to be very important in controlling the vertical profile of all aerosol components by mass. In-cloud scavenging is very important for all except mineral dust. Growth by condensation is important for sulfate and carbonaceous aerosol (along with aqueous oxidation for the former and ageing by soluble material for the latter). The vertical extent of biomass-burning emissions into the free troposphere is also important for the profile of carbonaceous aerosol. Boundary-layer mixing plays a dominant role for sea salt and mineral dust, which are emitted only from the surface. Dry deposition and below-cloud scavenging are important for the profile of mineral dust only. In this model, the microphysical processes of nucleation, condensation and coagulation dominate the vertical profile of the smallest particles by number (e.g. total CN > 3 nm), while the profiles of larger particles (e.g. CN > 100 nm) are controlled by the same processes as the component mass profiles, plus the size distribution of primary emissions. We also show that the processes that affect the AOD-normalised radiative forcing in the model are predominantly those that affect the vertical mass distribution, in particular convective transport, in-cloud scavenging, aqueous oxidation, ageing and the vertical extent of biomass-burning emissions.submittedVersio
Effectiveness of integrated low-carbon technologies: Evidence from a pilot agricultural experiment in Shanghai
Get PDFThis is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Emerald in International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management November 2016, available online: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/IJCCSM-04-2015-0045Purpose – Constructing a low-carbon agriculture park is considered an effective means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries. This study explores the effectiveness of integrated low-carbon agricultural technologies based on evidence from a pilot low carbon agriculture experiment in Shanghai of China from 2008 to 2011. Design/methodology/approach – Integrated low-carbon technologies in an agricultural park were adopted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Reduced emissions and net economic benefits were calculated by comparing emissions before and after the implementation of the experiment. Findings – Results show that the low-carbon agricultural park experiment markedly reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This outcome can be attributed to the integrated technologies adopted in the experiment including the reuse and recycle of resources, control of environmental pollution and GHG emissions, and improvement of economic efficiency and social benefit. All the technologies adopted are already available and mature, thus indicating the great potential of low-carbon agriculture (LCA) to reduce GHG emissions despite the lack of advanced technologies. However, supporting policies may be necessary to motivate private interests in LCA because of the considerable starting investments. Originality/value – Previous macro-level and policy studies on low-carbon agriculture (LCA) are based on knowledge from experimental studies, which typically specify environmental conditions to explore solely the effects of one low-carbon technology. Practically, integrating several low-carbon technologies in one experiment may be more effective, particularly for extensive agriculture, in developing countries. The effectiveness of integrated technologies is insufficiently discussed in the literature. Therefore, this study explores how effective integrated feasible LCA technologies can be in terms of both emission reduction and economic benefits based on the data obtained from an experiment in Shanghai of China.submittedVersio
