Emissions Gap Report 2018 © 2018 United Nations Environment Programme November 2018
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Personal Carbon Trading
Personal carbon trading Tina Fawcett, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford [email protected] Yael Parag, School of Sustainability, IDC Herzliya [email protected] Aims of presentation 1. Introduce the concept of personal carbon trading and the mechanisms by which it could deliver change. 2. Summarise research evidence and ongoing research activity. 3. Suggest how this idea can be taken forward. Personal carbon trading • Equal allowances for adults • Reducing annual allowance, signaled well in advance • Tradable • To include personal transport & household energy use • Mandatory • By electronic card Inspired by “Contraction and Convergence” (www.gci.org.uk) How would PCT work? Economic behaviour Carbon price signal, Incentive to maximise External benefits constraint Emissions Reduction Intrinsic Energy PCT Carbon perception Demand Allocation, visibility, Reduction awareness, budgeting motivation Social support Social norms (new) definition of acceptable personal carbon consumption From: Parag, Capstick and Poortinga (2011) Some research findings In theory, PCT is a serious alternative to increased energy taxation, with some understanding of what institutions and systems would be needed to introduce it. Overall, PCT should be a progressive policy, but some poorer individuals will be worse off. Given the (theoretical) choice between PCT and increased carbon taxation, more people say they favour PCT. Technology to enable an electronic card PCT system already exists. PCT would cost more to introduce than upstream trading or direct taxation. Current research Good News NICHE trial in Australia – the Norfolk Island Carbon / Health Evaluation Study “the first real test of Personal Carbon Trading in the world” “Orlem ai orn Norf'k. 350 people registered for the trial, electronic carbon Liiden d' wieh tu wan accounting system, rewards for participation, energy sastienebl fyuutcha. -
Personal Carbon Allowances Revisited
PERSPECTIVE https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00756-w Personal carbon allowances revisited Francesco Fuso Nerini 1 ✉ , Tina Fawcett2, Yael Parag 3 and Paul Ekins4 Here we discuss how personal carbon allowances (PCAs) could play a role in achieving ambitious climate mitigation targets. We argue that recent advances in AI for sustainable development, together with the need for a low-carbon recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, open a new window of opportunity for PCAs. Furthermore, we present design principles based on the Sustainable Development Goals for the future adoption of PCAs. We conclude that PCAs could be trialled in selected climate-conscious technologically advanced countries, mindful of potential issues around integration into the current policy mix, privacy concerns and distributional impacts. limate change could undermine the achievement of at were proposed to be sold by individuals via banks and post offices to least 72 Targets across the Sustainable Development Goals fossil fuel companies11. In California, household carbon trading was C(SDGs)1. The development of a just and equitable transition proposed for household energy, and managed by the utilities12. In to a net-zero society is vital to avoiding the worst impacts of climate France, centrally managed tradable transport carbon permits were change1. However, by May 2021, Climate Action Tracker2 estimated assessed related to private transport13. Scholars from the University that climate policies implemented across the world at present, of Groningen have proposed European Union (EU)-wide emis- including the effect of the pandemic, will lead to a temperature rise sions trading for households and transport, embedded in the EU of 2.9 °C by the end of the century. -
Nonstate Actors in the Climate Arena
Sponsored by The Stanley Foundation, National Defense University, and World Future Society November 19, 2014 Being There: The Nonstate Role in Multilateral Cooperation Conference Washington, DC Nonstate Actors in the Climate Arena by Josh Busby, University of Texas-Austin and Jennifer Hadden, University of Maryland-College Park This Working Paper was prepared for Being There: The Nonstate Role in Multilateral Cooperation. Participants neither reviewed nor approved this paper; the views expressed are the personal views of the author and not necessarily those of the Stanley Foundation, the National Defense University, or the World Future Society. This paper is in draft form and has not been edited for publication. The author's affiliation is listed for identification purposes only. Nonstate Actors in the Climate Arena Josh Busby, University of Texas-Austin, [email protected] Jennifer Hadden, University of Maryland-College Park, [email protected] Greenhouse gas concentrations peaked above 400 parts per million in 2013, the highest level in 800,000 years (Freedman 2013). With some climate change now inevitable, concern has shifted to containing the expected increase and minimizing the consequences. Political leaders have previously committed to restraining global temperatures to no more than a 2 degrees Celsius increase above pre-industrial levels, a level beyond which scientists fear “dangerous” consequences. Since the main greenhouse gas -- carbon dioxide -- persists in the atmosphere for about one hundred years, analysts note with urgency that the world has only a few decades to move towards dramatic decarbonization of the global economy in order to avoid overshooting the 2 degrees target. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has been the main instrument for international negotiations on climate since 1992. -
Fact Sheet on the Kyoto Protocol
The U.S. View FACT SHEET ON THE KYOTO PROTOCOL t a conference held December 1–11, 1997, in Kyoto, Japan, the Parties to A the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change agreed to an historic Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by harnessing the forces of the global marketplace to protect the environment. Key aspects of the Kyoto Protocol include weather, either of which could spike emissions targets, timetables for industrial- emissions in a particular year. ized nations, and market-based measures for meeting those targets. The Protocol • The first budget period will be makes a down payment on the meaning- 2008–2012. The parties rejected bud- ful participation of developing countries, get periods beginning as early as but more needs to be done in this area. 2003, as neither realistic nor achiev- Securing meaningful developing country able. Having a full decade before the participation remains a core U.S. goal. start of the binding period will allow more time for companies to make the transition to greater energy efficiency Emissions Targets and/or lower carbon technologies. A central feature of the Kyoto Protocol is a set of binding emissions targets for • The emissions targets include all six developed nations. The specific limits major greenhouse gases: carbon diox- vary from country to country, though ide, methane, nitrous oxide, and three those for the key industrial powers of the synthetic substitutes for ozone-deplet- European Union, Japan, and the United ing CFCs that are highly potent and States are similar—8 percent below 1990 long-lasting in the atmosphere. emissions levels for the European Union, 7 percent for the United States, and 6 • Activities that absorb carbon, such as percent for Japan. -
Personal Carbon Trading and British Columbia's Climate Policy
Beyond the Carbon Tax: Personal Carbon Trading and British Columbia's Climate Policy by Laura Isela Guzmán Flores B.A., Universidad Tecnológica de México, 1999 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts IN THE DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY FACULTY OF ENVIRONMENT Laura I. Guzmán 2014 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2014 All rights reserved. However, in accordance with the Copyright Act of Canada, this work may be reproduced, without authorization, under the conditions for “Fair Dealing.” Therefore, limited reproduction of this work for the purposes of private study, research, criticism, review and news reporting is likely to be in accordance with the law, particularly if cited appropriately. Approval Name: Laura Isela Guzmán Flores Degree: Master of Arts (Geography) Title of Thesis: Beyond the Carbon Tax: Personal Carbon Trading and British Columbia's Climate Policy Examining Committee: Chair: Janet Sturgeon Associate Professor Alex Clapp Senior Supervisor Associate Professor Mark Jaccard Supervisor Professor School of Resource and Environmental Management Stephanie Bertels Internal Examiner Assistant Professor Beedie School of Business Date Defended: August 11th, 2014. ii Partial Copyright License iii Ethics Statement iv Abstract This thesis proposes a policy framing, communication and implementation model for personal carbon trading in British Columbia. Personal carbon trading is a scheme under which all individuals are allocated a number of free carbon allowances forming a personal carbon budget. Persons whose carbon emissions are lower than their carbon budgets can sell their surplus to persons who have exceeded theirs. As distributed allowances are reduced annually, consumers are encouraged to modify their behaviour and/or adopt technologies in order not to exceed their carbon budget. -
Ocean Acidification
Ocean acidification: Obligations under international and regional treaty law Candidate number: 8023 Submission deadline: 1 December 2018 Number of words: 17.996 Table of contents 1 INTRODUCTION - THE PROBLEM OF OCEAN ACIDIFICATION .................. 1 1.1 Methodology, structure and legal sources used ................................................................ 2 1.2 The science behind ocean acidification and the problems repercussions ......................... 3 1.2.1 Scientific background of ocean acidification ...................................................... 3 1.2.2 Artificial contribution to ocean acidification ...................................................... 4 1.2.3 Consequences of ocean acidification for the ocean as an ecosystem .................. 4 1.2.4 Consequences of ocean acidification on particularly sensitive areas .................. 5 1.2.5 The problem of inconsistent results .................................................................... 6 1.2.6 The effects of ocean acidification on human life ................................................ 6 1.2.7 Implications ......................................................................................................... 7 2 ANALYSIS OF THE OBLIGATIONS UNDER INTERNATIONAL TREATY LAW IN REGARD TO OCEAN ACIDIFICATION .................................................. 9 2.1 Ocean acidification under the International Climate Change Regime ............................. 9 2.1.1 The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ... 9 2.1.2 Kyoto -
Climate Change: a Research Brief
CLIMATE CHANGE: A RESEARCH BRIEF June 2021 Introduction The Centre of Expertise of Global Governance project named “Global Challenges in 365 Days” has come to life. This project aims at creating a database about Global Challenges, to be informed about them, know factual background, and find interesting topics for research. The following briefing provides a historical overview and scientific findings at base level on the global challenge of Climate Change. It also defines the legal grounds of this issue, and finally explores the still unanswered issues that could be of interest for further research. 1. Historical overview The scientific concern regarding the impact of human activities on global climate kept growing in intensity and information overload over the past 100 years. Climate change has always been part of the human evolution, considering ice ages and changes on the planet. Yet due to numerous factors induced by anthropogenic impacts climate changes are happening unnaturally rapid. From the historical perspective, the development of humankind and our activities are tied to our better understanding, and therefore the increasing concern about the evolution of the climate system.1 Reflecting upon climate change and its correlation with the human behaviour brought a gradual, but overwhelming amount of international apprehension from governments, organisations, and general public. The great concern was, and still is, manifested among various historical events and developments. Firstly, the effects of increasing amounts of CO2 atmospheric concentration were taken under serious consideration starting from 19582, and therefore providing, by the mid- 1970', compact and thorough scientific data analysis on the said issue3. The following timeline shows the details on how climate change became more and more important in history. -
Personal Carbon Trading: a Review of Research Evidence and Real-World Experience of a Radical Idea
Energy and Emission Control Technologies Dovepress open access to scientific and medical research Open Access Full Text Article REVIEW Personal carbon trading: a review of research evidence and real-world experience of a radical idea Yael Parag1 Abstract: Personal carbon trading (PCT) is a radical and innovative mitigation approach for Tina Fawcett2 the residential and personal transport sectors. PCT is an umbrella term for various downstream cap-and-trade policies, all of which aim to limit carbon emissions within a society by engag- 1School of Sustainability, The Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, ing individuals in the process, and could cover more than 40% of national carbon emissions. Israel; 2Environmental Change This policy idea is unique because it provides an overarching approach to personal emissions Institute, Oxford University Centre for the Environment, Oxford, UK from energy use and because it combines a number of mechanisms to drive behavior change: economic, psychological, and social. This paper presents a review of research evidence and real-world experience of PCT. Most of the political interest, research, and experimentation with PCT has taken place in the UK. During 2006–2008, the UK government commissioned a number of studies on PCT, following high-level political interest. It concluded that public acceptability and the cost of the scheme were serious barriers to its introduction. However, a variety of other research work has subsequently demonstrated that public acceptability may not be such a barrier as feared. Nevertheless, there are a number of other barriers, including costs and technical challenges, some adverse distributional effects, and the low carbon capa- bilities of citizens. -
Urban Heat Island Mitigation and Life Cycle Co2 Reduction by Installation of Urban Heat Island Countermeasures
1.6 URBAN HEAT ISLAND MITIGATION AND LIFE CYCLE CO2 REDUCTION BY INSTALLATION OF URBAN HEAT ISLAND COUNTERMEASURES Tomohiko Ihara1*, Yukihiro Kikegawa2, Kazutaka Oka3, Kazuki Yamaguchi4, Yasuyuki Endo4, Yutaka Genchi1 1 National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan 2 Meisei University, Hino, Tokyo, Japan 3 Mizuho Information & Research Institute, Inc., Tokyo, Japan 4 Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan 1. INTRODUCTION Achievement Plan in April 2005. In order to meet the * goal, even when UHI countermeasures are installed, it 1.1 Background is required that there should be no significant increase in CO2 emissions. From the viewpoint of global In Japan, the air temperature in big cities has warming, it is very important to evaluate not only been increasing rapidly since the 1980s. This changes in CO2 emissions for air-conditioning demand phenomenon is referred to as the “urban heat island of the building by UHI countermeasures but also (UHI) phenomenon.” UHI is an environmental problem increases in CO2 emissions for the construction and that results in increases in energy consumption due to the operation of UHI countermeasures. the increased cooling demand, and in unfavorable conditions for human health. Various local activities 1.2 Objectives against UHI have been promoted after the enactment of the Outline of Countermeasures to Urban Heat This study evaluated both the changes in the Island in March 2004. urban air temperature and life cycle CO2 (LCCO2) Many countermeasures against UHI have been emissions resulting from the installation of various UHI developed so far in order to decrease the air countermeasures. -
304 EN Full Document NOV-15 EN.Indd
CLIMATE CHANGE Mitigation: Solving the Rubik’s cube Why institutional investors matter Getting policies in line Supporting investment and disclosure No 304 November 2015 www.oecdobserver.org Nuclear vision Decarbonising transport No jobs on a dead planet Economics for the Anthropocene Spotlight: Ville Lumière–Paris lights the way Climate change Seeing the light ©Marcelo Del Pozo/Reuters ©Marcelo ©Rodi Said/Reuters ©Rodi CONTENTS No 304 Novemberr 2015 EDITORIAL 30 Business brief: ARDCI on how regional BOOKS 2 Overcoming climate change and unleashing authorities in Africa are now getting involved 65 Reviews: Renewable workers; Groundwater a dynamic, zero-carbon economy in the fi ght against climate change by making is not so well Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD concrete commitments 66-67 New publications 3 Paris attacks 31 There are no jobs on a dead planet 68 Review: Fossil folly; Crossword John Evans, General Secretary, Trade Union NEWS BRIEF Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC) DATABANK 4-5 Growth prospects cloudy; OECD-G20 BEPS 32 Decarbonising transport: From smart technology to smart use 69 Mapping carbon emissions; Breaking down project endorsed; Drug spending slows; carbon emissions Soundbites; Economy; Country roundup; 34 Build more, build right: Development fi nance, infrastructure and climate change 70 Main economic indicators Helmut Schmidt; Other stories; Plus ça 72 Supporting green growth in Southeast Asia change Naeeda Crishna Morgado and Juan Casado- Asensio ORDER FORM… ORDER FORM CLIMATE CHANGE 36 Energy transitions, -
French Climate Plan
ECOLOGY, ENERGY, MINISTER'S JOURNAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT November 2009 & THE SEA French Climate Plan Implementation of Policies and Adapting to Climate the Environment Measures: Change: Round Table: All Sectors are Four Major Conclusions Ambitious Objectives to Affected, p. 8 and a National Strategy, Stop Climate Change, p. 4 p. 23 Climate Plan 03 Editorial n Copenhagen, leaders of 192 countries will meet in an attempt to seek a climate agreement to follow of the Kyoto Protocol. The objective is to limit temperature increase to 2°C maximum, a threshold beyond which the world would enter a period of strong climactic uncertainty. ITo achieve this, we must have precise objectives for reducing greenhouse gas emissions over the short, medium and long terms. France is thus campaigning, on the basis of research conducted by scientists at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, for a reduction in developed countries' emissions of between 25% and 40% by 2020 and a 50% reduction in world emissions by 2050. France, which is already one of the only countries in the world to comply with the Kyoto Protocol, has chosen, in the framework of the Environment Round Table (Grenelle), to set an example by planning a 75% reduction in its carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. For more than two years and by mobilising of all sectors, France is intensively investing in a new green growth model based on restraint in carbon and energy consumption: almost unanimous adoption of the “Grenelle 1 Act”, 800 million euros in assistance for building 50 public transports projects in 38 metropolitan areas in France, creation of an ecological loan at zero percent with already more than 50,000 energy-efficiency improvements made by private individuals, a request for proposals for building at least one solar power plant per region by 2011, cutting by half within two years the time for connection to the electricity grid for solar energy, passage of an ecological bonus for automobiles, launch of a clean vehicle plan, etc. -
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The Local Government Climate Roadmap – Mission [Almost] Accomplished!
1 A brief history of local government climate advocacy: the Local Government Climate Roadmap – mission [almost] accomplished! ICLEI BRIEFING SHEET - Climate Series, No. 01 On the eve of COP21, and what is hoped to be an ambitious and breakthrough global climate agreement, ICLEI takes a look back at 25 years of climate advocacy by local and subnational governments. In particular, the Local Government Climate Roadmap is concluding its eight year quest for the recognition, engagement, and empowerment of local and subnational governments as governmental stakeholders in the global climate regime. Key Messages • 2013 - 2015: the Local Government Climate Roadmap mission is accomplished, as the world • The threats to humanity and the planet posed by climate heads towards a climate deal at COP21 in Paris change cannot be addressed without the engagement 2015. After eight years of immense mobilization at all of local governments. However, prior to the founding of levels, the Local Government Climate Roadmap has ICLEI in 1990, cities did not widely discuss the threat of managed to reach its overarching goals. It has secured climate change, nor did they have a representative voice recognition of local and subnational governments in international climate discussions. (e.g. through COP decisions), engagement (e.g. in ADP Technical Examination Processes, Friends of Cities) and • In 2007, ICLEI launched the Local Government Climate empowerment (e.g. with new financing programs) within Roadmap with the mission to promote the recognition, the global climate