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CEE March 2014 NEWSLETTER V9

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CEE March 2014 NEWSLETTER V9 Newsletter #11 Mitigating Greenhouse Gases — Engineers Can Make the Difference! April 2014 Engineers can initiate programs to maximize energy efficiency and reduce demand, thereby reducing users' costs for energy and lowering GHG emissions. By Darrel Danyluk, P.Eng. FEC, FCAE, FEIC, FCSCE Darrel Danyluk chairs the WFEO Standing Committee on Engineering and the Environment (CEE). The 2009 UNFCCC meetings in Copenhagen held the promise of political continuation of the Kyoto Protocol and renewed efforts to address the discharge of GHGs. Record numbers of NGOs and registrants attended, each expressing their views through every means of communication available. WFEO-CEE has to be considered, as well as 3. The technologies needed to supply and the Danish Society of Engineers primary and renewable energy sources energy to substantially improve (IDA) put forward the engineering and efficiencies in utilization and quality of life globally are available perspective outlined in WFEO's transmission, and include assessment or at an advanced stage of develop- Geneva Declaration on Energy, and in of the environmental and economic ment. consequences. The solutions are of the Future Climate – Engineering Furthermore, the Declaration assumes necessity customized for each region. Solutions Report. that society will acknowledge that Sustainable models for power inter- These messages state very clearly engineers are recognized as legitimate connection of countries in a given that, by using current technologies, the contributors to the debate and that region to complement local supply will amounts of energy societies require engineers will take action. have to be pursued and implemented.” now and in the future are available, and Future Climate – Engineering Solutions The Declaration concludes: that GHG concentrations can be reported on 11 assessments on the reduced to required levels by improving 1. To guarantee a good quality of life potential to lower national GHG efficiencies in all consumption sectors for everyone, all available energy emissions by using existing tech- and by increasing the contributions of sources must be considered. nologies and improving efficiencies. renewable energy. The report concluded that while results 2. The use of any technology requires varied by country, major emission The Geneva Declaration states: a thorough analysis of the tech- reductions were feasible. This was an “We can do it – let's do it! nological, economical and important and optimistic statement, led environmental feasibility of imple- “To achieve the goals suggested by by IDA and endorsed by WFEO, related menting scientifically sound, and IPCC, the entire energy cycle to the Copenhagen agenda and goals. efficiently engineered solutions. (generation, transmission, distribution) Continued page 7 with the support of: Phase 2 and Phase 3 The Future Climate — Engineering Solutions Project By Daniel Kenning, CEng. ! An updated and enhanced (http://www.fc-es.net/wp- Framework was developed to enable content/themes/fces/uploads/2012/0 A principal of Splendid Engineering and participating national organisations 8/UK+2050+Energy+Plan+2011.pdf) based in Essex, the United Kingdom, to develop better national energy ! Altogether, 11 national plans were Daniel Kenning is a Fellow of the IMechE and climate plans, retaining the published on the website overall project objectives to meet the and a Chartered Environmentalist. ! The network of national overall target of achieving a <2C rise organisations was expanded to Phase 2 (2009 – 2011) of the Future in average global temperatures, and include the following 23 countries; Climate – Engineering Solutions the achievement of an energy Project was characterised by system that is resilient to peak oil. Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, institutional support from the Institution China, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, ! A better website was developed in of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), Finland, Germany, Honduras, Hong collaboration with the Mayden and yielded an increase in the size of Kong, India, Ireland, Jamaica, Foundation (www.fc-es.net) the network and the number of national Japan, New Zealand, Norway, ! energy and climate plans published. A new plan was published in July Russia, South Africa, Sweden, the The project was led during this phase 2011 for the UK, UK 2050 Energy United Kingdom and U.S.A. Plan - The challenge continues, by Dr. Alison Cooke, a Fellow of ! A conference at IMechE in London which also delivered the UK IMechE, who brought the support and in September 2011 to disseminate government commitment to reduce influence of the Cambridge University the results. Engineering Department, and built a GHG emissions by 80% by 2050 very strong Steering Group. compared to 1990 levels. Continued next page Phase 3 (2011-2014) has been Transition Engineering characterised by a lack of institutional support, as both IMechE and Cambridge University were no longer involved, the engagement of the Steer- ing Group diminished, and Dr. Cooke handed over to Daniel Kenning, also a Fellow of IMechE and a Chartered Environmentalist, and Paul Jowitt, Fellow of ICE, supported by the Institution of Civil Engineers. Work therefore focused on maintaining the project and its profile as a stand-alone contributor to the global energy and climate debate, and on preparations for the project's transfer for Phase 4 to a new, properly resourced, institution in the next host country. Transition Engineering’s Seven Steps: Phase 2: 2009 – 2011 Step 1: History: use of historic data to understand how an energy using system has reached the current status; “how did we get here?” The project was developed substantially Step 2: Current Status: use of high-quality data to create a detailed description of the during Phase 2 in terms of outputs and current status in terms of energy use and energy supply, influence. The Steering Group as- Step 3: Scenarios: an exploration of future scenarios that are possible based on sembled by Dr. Cooke at Cambridge extrapolation of past trends. This step highlights any false assumptions about whether the University included Dr. David Mackay, current pace of change is likely to lead to a sustainable future. Chief Scientific Officer to the Depart- Step 4: Path-break concepts: this is an envisioning step in which a desirable, sustainable, ment of Energy and Climate Change future scenario is described, separately from past trends. This becomes the objective for future activity instead of the current, possibly inadequate, future scenarios. (DECC), among others. Strong links Step 5: Back-casting: this is a relatively familiar concept, used to identify a planning were developed with DECC, and its pathway that could achieve the desirable future vision. innovative and parallel work on the Step 6: Trigger events: this is a challenging change activity; the engineers must identify “Pathways to 2050” open source means to break the momentum that forces adherence to possibly inadequate and calculator tool for national energy unsustainable trajectories. This requires the identification of specific actions that can serve planning. Financial support was also to get out of a rut; for a national climate and energy plan the act of participating in a global secured from Shell. alliance like FC-ES may prove to be the required trigger event. Other trigger events include changes of national government (a new government may be more amenable to During Phase 2 the support of IMechE sustainable change), a climate change disaster (after which change may be more and Cambridge University enabled acceptable), or others that national project teams may identify. these substantive outcomes: Step 7: Action plans: this is the stage at which engineers establish workable plans to implement the bold visions and courageous change-making activities in the previous steps. www.wfeo.net/environment 2 Phase 3: 2011-2014 is also a need to adapt to a future Learning Lessons From Others – During Phase 3, the nature and output which will include more constrained because so many others are working of the project was much more limited, energy supply. on similar endeavours, and because but included the following key steps Whole-System Climate and Energy the FC-ES project is as much about designed to ensure that the project can Plans – National climate and energy “how” a national climate and energy continue, ideally with renewed and plans should address sectors that are plan is created as it is about “what” increased energy and effectiveness, sometimes omitted from purely supply- goes into that plan, participants are when a new and well-resourced side energy plans, including: water, encouraged to collaborate with and national host organisation is food (growing, processing, tran- learn lessons from other organisations established for Phase 4. sporting), transport, waste mini- in their home countries. A new Phase 3 Framework was misation and recycling, the built The project's profile and presence was developed for use by and in environment, and industry and maintained at key conferences, with consultation with participating national manufacturing. the objective of ensuring that the engineering organisations. This built on Transition Engineering Methodology momentum built up so far is the Phase 1 & 2 framework documents – the Framework incorporates a new maintained for Phase 4. and incorporated some key enhance- approach to engineering which enables 2012 – COP 18 – Doha ments to enable the creation of much and facilitates change from unsustain- A small project delegation
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