Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy
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Triple I: Drei Integrationsherausforderungen auf dem Weg zur klimaneutralen Stadt von morgen : Gedanken zu vertikaler, horizontaler und sektoraler Integration für nachhaltige Stadtentwicklung
Full text linkViele Städte haben Nachhaltigkeitsziele, etwa ambitionierte Ziele der Klimaneutralität bis 2030 oder 2035 gesetzt. Dafür haben sie sich beraten lassen, Strategien entwickelt, Konzepte erarbeiten und politisch beschließen lassen und doch fällt auf, dass es mit der Umsetzung der nachhaltigen Stadtentwicklung in konkreten Projekten nicht recht voran geht. Es fällt auch auf, dass unterschiedliche Nachhaltigkeitsziele im Konflikt miteinander stehen: Ein mangelnder Zugang zu bezahlbarem Wohnraum und der Ruf nach Neubau steht im Konflikt zu Flächen-, Klima- und Ressourcenschutz, um nur ein Beispiel zu nennen. Durch unsere Arbeit auf unterschiedlichen politischen Ebenen, vielen inter- und transdisziplinären Projekten für und mit Kommunen, sehen wir in dreierlei Hinsicht Gründe hierfür:
Kommunale Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten sind eingebettet in übergeordnete Rahmenbedingungen auf Landes-, Bundes- bis hin zur EU und internationalen Ebene. Regulatorische, strategische oder finanzielle Richtungssetzung wirkt sich auf kommunaler Ebene aus. Hier sehen wir den Bedarf einer besseren vertikalen Integration, die den Kommunen eine nachhaltige Entwicklung erleichtert.
Auf Ebene der Kommunen selbst sehen wir die Herausforderung der horizontalen Integration von Nachhaltigkeit in die diversen Zuständigkeiten und Entscheidungsprozesse, die durch derzeit bestehende Prozesse und mögliche Konflikte bis hin zu Haushaltsfragen verzögert oder auch verhindert werden.
Und schließlich sehen wir komplementär hierzu die Notwendigkeit der sektoralen Integration, um bestehende Synergien zwischen unterschiedlichen Nachhaltigkeitsdimensionen zu nutzen und mögliche Zielkonflikte in gute Kompromisse zu überführen.
Im Rahmen des Projekts Triple I haben wir unsere Erfahrungen und Ergebnisse aus diversen Projektkontexten zusammengetragen und möchten sie in diesem Wuppertal Report als Anregung zur Verfügung stellen, sich mit optimierten Prozessen und den dafür nötigen Strukturen im Rahmen einer nachhaltigen Stadtentwicklung auseinanderzusetzen
Energy and socioeconomic system transformation through a decade of IPCC-assessed scenarios
No full textCharting future emissions pathways is a central tenet of IPCC assessment reports (AR), yet it is unclear how underlying drivers (including around policy and technology) have influenced the evolution of emissions pathways. Here we compare scenarios in AR5 and AR6 and find that scenarios without specific climate policies enforced have shifted lower in each scenario generation, owing to falling low-carbon technology costs and reduced expectations for economic growth, reducing fossil-fuel shares in energy and industry. Mitigation pathways consistent with 1.5-2 °C have seen increasing electrification rates and higher shares of variable renewables in electricity in more recent scenario generations, implying reduced reliance on coal, nuclear, bioenergy and carbon capture and storage, reflecting changing costs. Despite the shrinking carbon budget due to insufficient recent climate action, mitigation costs have not increased given more optimistic low-carbon technology cost projections. Moving forward, scenario producers must continually recalibrate to keep abreast of technology, policy and societal developments to remain policy relevant
Breaking the silos : integrated approaches to foster sustainable development and climate action
Full text linkA number of critical disconnects across sectors, actors continue to affect implementation action on sustainable development and climate action. Even when technical solutions, political commitments, and funding streams are avaiable, implementation often remains siloed and fragmented. This debate piece does not present definitive solutions or conclusive evidence; rather, it aims to foster critical reflection on how co-design, participatory approaches, Living Labs, and epistemically connected actor coalitions may help break down institutional and conceptual barriers. It proposes the SCALE framework [Shared epistemic foundations, Cross-sectoral integration, Adaptive co-design, Local enabling environments, and Evaluation & expansion) as way of operationalising the Safe Systems for Sustainable Development concept presented in Lah 2024, exploring how knowledge integration, iterative experimentation, and locally grounded solutuions can help creating implementation partnerships that last. This approach highlights questions concerning resource intensity, longevity, and scalability that must be addressed. By facilitating co-design, testing and validation of concrete solutions at the local level, the approach presented in this paper invites policymakers, researchers, practitioners, and civil society actors to engage in a more nuanced and constructive debate on whether, how, and under what conditions sustainable development solutions are considered to be viable and hence can endure even in politically volatile environments
Who is self-committed to climate action? : Exploring decarbonisation actions and target gaps using carbon footprint calculator data in Japan
No full textGiven the urgent need to promote climate-friendly behaviours, the implementation of carbon footprint calculators with actionable recommendations is increasing. This study analysed data from >7000 users of a Japanese carbon footprint calculator to investigate the characteristics and factors affecting voluntary commitment to decarbonisation actions and the gaps in achieving the 1.5-degree mitigation target. The results showed voluntarily committed actions were insufficient to meet the 2030 personal carbon footprint target, with only 31 %, 18 %, and 7.3 % of users potentially achieving targets in the domains of housing, mobility, and goods/services, respectively. The seven user segments that were identified exhibited very different levels of engagement. For example, "lifestyle change enthusiasts" committed to as many as 25 actions, corresponding to an equivalent of 2.8 tCO2e of footprint reduction, while "curious bystanders" rarely committed to any actions. Demographically, younger and male users tended to prioritise high-impact actions, whereas female users and users aged 50–60 years old were more likely to commit to a range of actions. Notably, actions requiring substantial financial investment had an 8 % lower commitment probability, and "shift" actions were 6 % less preferred than "avoid" actions". These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the considerable gap between self-committed actions and mitigation targets, and suggest that more effective use of footprint information could facilitate greater engagement. Tailored strategies could better motivate the "curious bystanders" segment and encourage female and older users to focus on high-impact actions
Providing the transport sector in Europe with fossil free energy : a model-based analysis under consideration of the MENA region
Full text linkFor reaching the European greenhouse gas emission targets, the phase-in of alternative technologies and energy carriers is crucial for all sectors. For the transport sector, synthetic fuels are - next to electromobility - a promising option, especially for long-distance shipping and air transport. Within this context, the import of synthetic fuels from the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region seems attractive due to low costs for renewable electricity in this region and low transport costs of synthetic fuels at the same time. Against this background, this paper analyzes the role of the MENA region in meeting the future synthetic fuel demand in Europe using a cost-optimizing energy supply model. In this model, the production, storage and transport of electricity, hydrogen and synthetic fuels by various technologies in both European and MENA countries in the period up to 2050 are explicitly modeled. Thereby, different scenarios are analyzed to depict regional differences in investment risks: a base scenario that does not take into account regional differences in investments risks and three risk scenarios with different developments of regional investment risks. Sensitivity analyses are also carried out to derive conclusions about the robustness of results. Results show that meeting the future synthetic fuel demand in Europe to a large extent by imports from the MENA region can be an attractive option from an economic point of view. If investment risks are incorporated, however, lower import quotas of synthetic fuels are economically attractive for Europe: the higher generation costs are outweighed by the lower investments risks in Europe to a certain extent. Thereby, investment risks outweigh other factors such as transport distance or renewable electricity generation costs in terms of exporting MENA regions and a synthetic fuel import is especially attractive from MENA countries with low investment risks. Concluding, within this paper, detailed export relations between MENA and EU considering investment risks were modeled for the first time. These model results should be complemented by a more in-depth analysis of the MENA countries, including evaluating opportunities for local value chain development, sustainability concerns (including social factors), and optimal site selection
