Spring 2009 Climate Alert
Achieving Economic Prosperity and Climate Protection [ PDF ]
In this Newsletter:
The Carbon World Cup
By Heidi Heller
With the threats of climate change and global warming, many organizations and societies are seeking methods to improve their environmental and economic outlooks. As society progresses, using current energy options will become increasingly costly as well as environmentally degrading. One promising solution is the goal of “climate neutrality.” Climate neutral is a term used to describe different companies, cities, and even countries that aim to reduce their net greenhouse gas emissions to zero. The two concepts involved with becoming climate neutral include the practice of reducing current total emissions through available technologies and renewable energy sources, and offsetting the remaining carbon emissions by paying others to sequester them. These efforts rely on new technologies to reduce costs and create more innovative solutions for environmental sustainability. To help those interested in becoming climate neutral, the United Nations Environment Programme formed the Climate Neutral Network. This organization works to publicize current information and achievements within the climate neutrality field. It also serves as a forum and network to bring together climate neutral communities and encourage others to follow. Four cities that have already pledged to become climate neutral are Växjö, Sweden; Rizhao, China; Samsø, Denmark; and Vancouver, Canada. The Maldives also recently vowed to become climate neutral, joining Costa Rica, Iceland, Norway, New Zealand and Monaco in a race to be the first climate neutral nation.
Rizhao, China
Situated on the eastern coast of China, Rizhao is one of the first cities in the world to see the sun rise every morning. “Rizhao” translates to “City of Sunshine,” a characteristic which seems to have been the inspiration behind many of the city’s projects. In 1992, the city mandated that all new buildings install solar water heaters, and now 99% of the homes in central Rizhao use solar power to heat their water. Because of technological advances, the price of installing these solar water heating systems is approximately $190 - about the same as electric heaters - yet they save almost 350 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year. In addition to the water heaters, many light sources, specifically traffic lights and street lamps, are now powered completely by solar panels.
Apart from the focus on solar, Rizhao has been cutting emissions with other innovative technologies. Using the idea of a “circular economy,” industries in Rizhao are developing systems that utilize the waste generated from production. For example, a local biochemical plant is able to use two types of waste it produces to create energy and usable byproducts. After mold is used to make a weak acid from corn and sweet potatoes, the liquid waste is separated into a “biodigester” where microbes are able to produce methane. This methane is then burned, helping to dry the solid waste which can then be sold to local farmers as animal feed or fertilizer. It also creates electricity for four different generators at the plant. Technologies such as these boost energy efficiency, and utilize waste that would otherwise become a pollutant.
Due to these efforts, Rizhao has recently achieved considerable success towards climate neutrality. The city has experienced a significant rise in economic output, reduced its energy use by a third, and halved CO2 emissions. The Chinese State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) has named Rizhao a model city. However, there are still a few indirect carbon contributions that Rizhao will have to address in the race to climate neutrality. First, Rizhao is the 9th largest shipping port in China. While this boosts its economy, it also associates Rizhao with greenhouse gas emissions currently beyond its control. Rizhao cannot force the shipping companies to use methods that don’t emit CO2, and therefore is prevented from truly being climate neutral. Rizhao is also a tourist community, which contributes more unaccountable fossil fuel burning. These will be two important factors for Rizhao to tackle throughout their transformation to climate neutrality.
This March the Maldives announced plans to become the first carbon neutral country. The Maldives, a small island nation comprised of 26 atolls in the Indian Ocean, is already experiencing the effects of climate change. The Maldives’ population of over 300,000 is threatened by coastal erosion, overcrowding, intensifying storms, and sea level rise. The highest point in the country is a mere 2.3 meters above sea level, and scientists’ predicted rate of sea level rise will submerge many Maldivian islands by 2100.
President Mohamed Nasheed, recognizing that his nation’s very existence is in jeopardy, vowed to become carbon neutral in a decade. Since the Maldives’ per capita greenhouse gas emissions are tiny compared with the United States’ (1.9 vs. 23 tons per capita), the Maldives’ goal of carbon neutrality is largely symbolic, intending to demonstrate to larger nations the urgency of combating climate change and the feasibility of swift action. "Climate change threatens us all. Countries need to pull together to de-carbonize the world economy," Nasheed said in a statement. "We know cutting greenhouse gas emissions is possible and the Maldives is willing to play its part."
The Maldives’ $1.1 billion plan will require 155 wind turbines supplying 1.5 megawatts each and a half a square kilometer of solar panels to meet the population’s electricity demands. A power plant in the capital, Malé , will be fueled by coconut husks and will charge $315 million worth of batteries for use during windless nights. Since much of the nation’s economy is based on tourism, the greenhouse gas emissions from air travel will be offset with EU carbon credits. An education program will teach citizens that everyone’s individual efforts contribute to strong collective action.
In addition to the environmental and climate benefits, there are financial incentives to carbon neutrality: for a remote island nation like the Maldives, where oil and diesel imports are extremely expensive, the shift to renewable energy will pay for itself in ten years. By eliminating the use of fossil fuels and drastically cutting their greenhouse gas emissions, the Maldives will lead the world in the necessary shift to renewable and sustainable energy systems to stimulate a prosperous economy and society.
The Danish island of Samsø has enjoyed remarkable success on the journey to climate neutrality. The island lies off the coast of Denmark in the North Sea and has a population of 4,400. In 1992, a focus on sustainability within the European Commission’s Community Strategy and Action Plan helped to start the ALTENER Programme in Samsø. This plan encouraged islands and cities in the European Union to use renewable energy, and Samsø, one of the few participants, has done very well. The program ended in 1997, but the island still depended largely on oil and petroleum, so ALTENER developed an extension program which continued through 2002. Also in 1997, Samsø was declared “Denmark’s Renewable Energy Island” due to its progress, and in the past 10 years has cut its carbon footprint by 140%. Samsø is able to over-comply by selling extra electricity generated on the island to the rest of Denmark.
The bulk of the transformation on Samsø was achieved in the transportation, heating, and electricity sectors. Currently it isn’t possible for transportation to become completely dependent on renewable energy, though the government provides incentives for residents to purchase electric cars. To compensate for transportation’s high energy consumption, the island has built extra wind turbines offshore. The electricity produced from these turbines can be used to power electric vehicles as well as hydrogen production, which is also useful for renovating transportation. Samsø is also looking at the use of biodiesel to decrease total oil consumption.
Unlike transportation, the electricity sector has been extremely successful in becoming climate neutral. As of 2002, 100% of electricity on Samsø comes from wind. There are currently 11 onshore turbines, each generating 1 MW, and 10 offshore turbines able to generate 2.3 MW each. The turbines are owned largely by residents of the island, keeping the economic benefits local and within the Samsø community.
Heating has been an interesting field because of the multiple solutions for Samsø. On the island, multiple systems have been developed for district heating plants as well as individual heating systems. Though most of the heating comes from burning biomass especially for the larger plants, solar panels and heat pumps have also been installed across the island. The heating industry has been specifically significant because of the economic benefits and job opportunities it has presented. The installation and maintenance of heating systems has helped create more opportunities for plumbers, carpenters, and general tradesmen. These systems are also using readily available resources on the island, and are affordable for locals.
Växjö, one of the first cities in the world to take on the challenge of becoming climate neutral, has seen many accomplishments. Recently honored with the sustainable energy award from the European Commission in February of 2007, Växjö has been called the “Greenest City in Europe,” and has been working towards becoming fossil fuel free since 1996. As of 2006, 52% of the city’s energy comes from renewable sources. Some of Växjö’s current goals include promoting the use of bikes as a form of transportation and designing the city to remove barriers to cycling, increasing the use of public transportation for local and regional travels by 20% and 12% respectively, and cutting CO2 emissions 30% from Växjö’s 1999 levels by 2015.
Two of the primary focuses in Växjö have been on the energy supply for heating and transportation, with the goal of independence from fossil fuels for energy. Already, heating in the district has improved. In 2005, about 88% of the energy used for heating was renewable, largely from biomass but also from peat, geothermal, and solar.
Transportation has been a harder issue to tackle for the city. Though they hope to decrease their fossil fuel consumption through an increased use of public transportation, they are still working to cut gasoline (the primary fuel source) entirely from the transportation sector. So far four stations have been established for ethanol distribution, and one filling station for biogas. The city is currently considering biofuels to continue their decreased dependence on fossil fuels.
Vancouver is the third largest city and one of the largest industrial centers in Canada. As a world leader in active climate awareness, the city began work in 1990 to increase sustainability and reduce emissions. It has been ranked as one of the top three livable cities for the past ten years by the Worldwide Quality of Living Survey, and Vancouver continues to set high goals for further reduction targets.
Part of Vancouver’s success has been due to its prime location. British Columbia has an abundance of rivers available for hydro electricity, making it an easy and plentiful renewable energy source. Also, because of the mild climate and lack of a freeway system, communities that develop around Vancouver can encourage cycling and walking as modes of transportation, which reduces the need for automobile use. These factors have contributed to Vancouver’s general strategy of reducing emissions, which focuses on civic buildings, transportation, and waste management. In 2003, the city enacted a Corporate Climate Change Action Plan, which asked companies to continue reducing their green house gas emissions and set an example for the public. This led to the Community Climate Change Action Plan in 2005 which targeted the whole Vancouver population. Both of these projects helped achieve a stabilization of green house gas emissions at 5% above Vancouver’s 1990 levels, even though there has still been significant population and economic growth within the city.
Though Vancouver has already achieved admirable emissions reductions, in 2007 the city set ambitious and long-term goals to come closer to climate neutrality. These targets mandate that municipal operations become climate neutral by 2020, all new buildings be carbon neutral by 2030, and community emissions be reduced 80% from their 1990 levels by 2050. For these targets to be reached, changes must be made at the corporate and community levels.
Vancouver is also scheduled to host the 2010 Winter Olympics, which has received mixed reviews among many due to the environmental implications. Hosting such an event is bound to affect the local environment as well as require a large increase in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. To accommodate and support the sporting events, participants, and spectators, the city must develop a whole new infrastructure which may damage the habitats of local animals, including grizzly bears, which has been a main concern. The production of CO2 from building and travel is also a major issue partly because of accountability, and also due to fact that the greenhouse gas output will remain much higher than current levels even after the Olympics.
In response to these concerns, the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) has been working to reduce the possible environmental effects as much as possible and has produced very specific and detailed plans. In October of 2007, VANOC met with the United Nations Environment Programme, or UNEP, and agreed to work as partners and decided on environmental goals to set for the 2010 Winter Games. These goals will focus on six different categories which are specified on the Vancouver 2010 website: accountability, environmental stewardship and impact reduction, social inclusions and responsibility, aboriginal participation and collaboration, economic benefits, and sport for sustainable living. In general VANOC hopes to make the whole process, from building the infrastructure to the actual Olympic events, as sustainable as possible and with minimal impact on energy use, habitat, and the lifestyle of Vancouver residents.
Along with these objectives, VANOC will also host the 8th World Conference on Sport and the Environment in Vancouver at the end of March. The conferences are held every two years and are hosted by a partnership between UNEP and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The conferences developed around two major concerns: the environmental impact of sports, specifically the Olympics, and the impact of a degraded environment on the athletes and sports. This year’s conference will focus on “Innovation and Inspiration,” discussing the best practices currently available for sustainability and using the Olympics as a method of educating the individuals involved as well as the public on global warming and climate change.
Other Articles in this Newsletter:
Good Economics: A Strategy That Might Save the Climate
Does a Big Economy Need Big Power Plants?
Output-Based Allowances for Efficient Greenhouse Gas Reductions
Green Provisions in the U.S. Stimulus Bill: Reducing Emissions While Saving the Economy?
A Practical Roadmap for Efficient Vehicles