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Climate change

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 Measuring global warming impact: carbon footprint
 Low carbon economy
Building sustainability and climate change into projects
Business responses to global warming
Urban buildings
Adaptation to climate change
Reducing global warming – energy from waste planning
Flood resilience

•  Measuring global warming impact: carbon footprint

  Card 38
  Topic: Climate change
  

  • How can I calculate my carbon footprint?

    • A carbon footprint is the measure of the total set of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused directly and indirectly by an individual, organisation, event or product; measured as ‘CO2 equivalent’
      (UK Carbon Trust, 2008)
      
      Typically a carbon footprint is calculated to manage the footprint and reduce emissions over time and to report the footprint accurately.
      
      From an engineering standpoint a carbon footprint is calculated to:
      ■ Compare the footprint of different project options
      ■ Help drive down the carbon emissions of the chosen option
      ■ Encourage engineers to propose innovative solutions that mitigate the carbon footprint
      ■ Assess, benchmark and report carbon emissions of existing and future assets/infrastructure, to assist in project and investment decision making
    • Basis of calculating the carbon footprint
      
      
      Where:
      GHG quantity is the quantity of GHG emissions. This can be expressed in Kg or m3. Emissions factor is the amount of GHGs emitted, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) and relative to a unit of activity e.g. kgCO2e/kg. For countries signed up to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), national sets of emission factors probably exist. However, for UNFCCC countries where a national set of emission factors does not exist, a specific set of emission factors developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) can be used. If not, then the GHG Protocol includes emission factors recognised in all countries worldwide.
      CO2e is the unit for comparing the radiative forcing of a GHG to carbon dioxide. 

  • Use whole life carbon and whole life carbon costing

    • ■ For any declared carbon footprint it is essential to know and understand the boundaries that have been assumed, to tell you what has been included and what has been left out. In the UK an industry standard, developed by BSI in 2008, is “PAS 2050:2008 - Specification for the assessment of the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of goods and services”
      
      ■ The methodology used in carbon footprinting is drawn from life cycle analysis (LCA) which defines the boundaries for carbon accounting. LCA measures the environmental impacts of a product or process from 'cradle to grave' - i.e. from the beginning of producing the raw materials through manufacturing and processing to product use and waste
      
      ■ Once boundaries are defined the Whole Life Carbon (WLC) can be calculated
      
      ■ The WLC is a function of the ‘embodied carbon’ from initial construction and periodic asset maintenance, annual operational carbon and the asset design life
       
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      To balance the relative merits of alternative project solutions, the WLC can be converted to the whole life carbon cost (WLCC) by determining the net present value of carbon emissions using the shadow price of carbon (SPC). The SPC captures the damage costs of climate change caused by each additional tonne of GHG emitted.
      
      Further reading
      PAS 2050:2008 - Specification for the assessment of the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of goods and services
      Carbon accounting in the UK Water Industry Guidelines for dealing with Embodied carbon and whole life carbon: UKWIR Report No. 08/CL/01/6
      The Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative
      Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC (2007) Climate Change 2007: Mitigation of Climate Change
      IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories
       

•  Low carbon economy

  Card 28
  Topic: Climate change
  

  • How can engineers promote a low carbon economy?

    • Awareness of the downside risks of climate change has not sparked action; another approach is need.
      
      If climate change continues unabated, estimates predict a decline in global GDP of 5%-20% [1]. Despite the impacts of business as usual, many institutions and individuals appear apathetic. Only 30% of companies frequently consider climate change when shaping overall cooperate strategy [2].
      
      “Developing countries will be hit earliest and hardest by climate change, even though they have contributed little to causing the problem” [1].
      
      The transition to a global low carbon economy is a key component in combating this threat and will require investment in the short term. There is a danger that mitigation is perceived as a real cost today to combat an uncertain danger tomorrow. However, the predicted human consequences of climate change range from moderate to catastrophic; prudence and sound risk management therefore call for action.
      
      Uncertainty is an argument for a more, not less, demanding goal (Stern Review, 2006)
    • Humanity has a poor record of mitigation; we learn by getting burnt. With climate change, trial and error is not an option.
      
      Delay will, at best, increase the cost of mitigation and has the potential to render action useless. The challenge is to persuade investors, individuals and governments to act decisively and immediately.
      
      
      
      References:
      1. Stern Review (2006) The Economics of Climate Change, Executive summary
      2. McKinsey & Company (December 2007) McKinsey Quarterly survey on climate change

  • Highlight the economic benefits of low carbon business

    • Highlighting the economic opportunities of a low carbon economy could kick start the path to long term ecological sustainability. Developing countries have a particular opportunity to incorporate low carbon practice into new economies. However, this must be balanced with many immediate challenges. The world’s low carbon market is already estimated to be worth £3 trillion1; more than the global agricultural sector . . .
      
      
       
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      References:
      1. Innovas (2009) Low Carbon and Environmental Goods and Services: an Industry Analysis
      2. HM Government (2009) The UK Low Carbon Transition Plan, National strategy for climate and energy

•   Building sustainability and climate change into projects

  Card 19
  Topic: Climate change
  

  • What do your clients know about climate change, and its opportunities and risks?

    • Concerns
      
      Clients may not know what sustainability and climate change response options are available to them and may not understand how these relate to their own goals/profitability.
      
      Engineering consultants may not have the right skills/information to bring sustainable solutions to their clients, or may be unable to persuade them to use them.
      
      In developing nations, which are expected to be generally worse hit by the effects of climate change, governments and populations may have concerns other than climate change, which are more immediately pressing than emissions reductions and sustainability for their own sake.
      
      
      
      
      "Both real estate developers and institutional investors are understandably uncertain about how far to go in implementing environmental investments" – Doing Well By Doing Good? Analysis of the financial performance of green office buildings in the USA (RICS, 2009)
    • Barking Riverside, London – sustainable housing development and community regeneration
      The largest regeneration site in Europe (175 hectares, to become home to 26,000 people) is being developed for mixed commercial and residential use by a joint venture, which has recognised the need for sustainability to be considered in all aspects of the development.
      
      Features include an extensive sustainable drainage system across the site, water re-use and saving measures, green roofs, river restoration and inclusion of energy reduction features in the new homes being built.
      
      There was much early discussion between the engineers and client, to negotiate and agree on these sustainable measures.
      
      This example highlights the possibility of aligning commercial objectives with sustainable aims on a large scale, for the regeneration of an environmentally degraded area.
      
      Further information
      Barking Riverside
      

  • Demonstrate benefits to clients and their business

    • Consider
      ■ Selling the benefits of sustainable technologies
      ■ Sharing knowledge; learning from local experience
      ■ Building awareness – see ideas on previous page
      ■ Holding client seminars/briefings
      ■ Keeping abreast of developments in legislation ■ Questions to ask in understanding clients:
      - Where does my client's interest lie?
      - At what point does their involvement in the project start and end?
      - Are they looking long-term or short term?
      Then consider how best to demonstrate possible solutions to them so that they understand the benefits?
      
      In developing nations particularly...
      What other socio-economic benefits could be derived from implementing sustainable engineering solutions?
      
      References:
      for ideas on influencing
      
      - The Carbon Trust, Management Guide CTV039 (2009) Making the business case for a carbon reduction project – How to win over the board and influence people for drivers of sustainable engineering
      
      - Engineering a sustainable future, Vol 75, No's 23 & 24 (1998)
       
    • Sustainability 'Toolkits' – for education
      
      ■ There is increasing availability of sustainability services for clients in the form of 'toolkits'.
      ■ These focus on looking at a proposed engineering project throughout its lifecycle across all disciplines to analyse sustainability opportunities, costs and benefits
      ■ If effectively used, such tools can also help to educate clients about the options open to them and act as a central point for the project team to refer to sustainability aspects of the project at both a specific and holistic level
      ■ By displaying a range of quantified sustainability options in a visual format, engineers can help clients to make informed choices about where and how they can make their products or projects more sustainable
      
      Examples include:
      
      ■ Aspire, primarily targeted at development projects
      
      ■ Project Sustainability Assessment and others from DFID, IUCN and OECD
      
      ■ And, for sustainable buildings, see: www.istructe.org/Technical/db/810.asp
       

• Business responses to global warming

  Card 27
  Topic: Climate change
  

  • How can my business respond to the global warming challenge?

    Possible climate change impacts (after Stern, 2006)
     

    

    
    
    Global warming and climate change:
    The stock of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is rising as a result of human activity and causing a global temperature rise. This impacts the basic elements of human life such as food, water and the environment.
    
    ■ The frequency of major natural disasters is now three times what it was in the 1960s
    
    ■ If climate change continues unabated, estimates predict a decline in global GDP of 5% – 20% (Stern, 2006) ■ The poorest will suffer earliest and most. The developing world will not achieve the MDGs if it replicates industrialised countries' inefficient use of resources
     

    

    
     

    References:
    Stern Review (2006) The Economics of Climate Change Lovins, LH (2009)
    The Business Case for Climate Protection

    
     

  • Capture the opportunities, and manage the risks for your business

    Key business drivers
     

    

    (Diagram: Ernst & Young). For further information on climate change and business case studies, also see UNFCCC and IPCC websites
    
    References:
    RICS (2009) Doing Well by Doing Good Ernst & Young (2009)
    The Business Response to Climate Change – Choosing the Right Path Lovins, LH (2009)
    The Business Case for Climate Protection
     

• Urban buildings

  Card 17
  Topic: Climate change
  

  • Are our buildings shaping us negatively by contributing to global warming?

    • "We shape our buildings, thereafter, they shape us" Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)
      
      
      Buildings and greenhouse gases
      
      ■ Buildings contribute significantly to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions which give rise to global warming. According to the Stern Review (2006), buildings account for almost 14% of carbon emissions in the UK alone. Non-domestic buildings are estimated to account for approximately half of this.
      
      ■ In the lifetime of an average building most energy is consumed not for construction, but during the period when the building is in use.
      
      ■ The absence of building codes/sustainability ratings or the slow pace in implementing them in some countries, has led to the construction of many energy-inefficient buildings that silently pollute the environment with carbon.
      
      ■ Business-as-usual paths of emissions point to irreversible impacts of global warming, which do not respect national/geographical boundaries.
       
    • The need for different solutions
      
      Despite the global impacts of global warming, it is not feasible to have a one-size-fits-all building solution to combat this menace or its effects, for the following reasons:
      
      ■ Differences in availability of sustainable energy sources
      
      ■ Climatic/geographical differences
      
      ■ Differences in accessibility to efficient and clean technologies
      
      ■ Differences in cultures, development paradigms and levels of industrialisation
      
      ■ Differences in land tenure and land use systems
      
      ■ Differences in regulations/legislations
      
      References
      Building solutions to climate change, innovative policy solutions to global climate change (November 2006)
      Stern Review (2006)
       

  • Develop a vision for buildings which spans a wide range of technologies and purposes

    • The future of the building sector...
      
      The right mix of appropriate government regulation, greater use of energy saving technologies and behavioural change can substantially reduce carbon emissions from the building sector. To achieve this goal:
      
      ■ Governments should promote and implement the green building agenda as much as possible
      ■ Building regulations should encourage the adoption of appropriate technologies with low carbon emission features, to replace polluting ones
      ■ Building owners should be incentivised to renovate existing buildings consistent with the requirements of the national/local sustainable rating system
      ■ Governments should develop/adapt/adopt appropriate sustainability rating systems for the building sector along the lines of such as LEED (USA), BREEAM or CEEQUAL (UK), Estidama (Abu Dhabi)
       
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      Source: The Natural Edge Project (2007)
      
      
      
       

•   Adaptation to climate change

  Card 20
  Topic: Climate change
  

  • Why adapt to climate change?

    • Mitigation, adaptation, or both?
      
      Despite debates around the causes and effects of climate change, scientific evidence shows that global temperature, sea levels and rainfall are rising faster than previously thought. Climate change will permanently alter the land and water we all depend upon for survival. More disasters are expected.
      
      Yet mitigation measures are still not developed, and require substantial time for development and implementation. Therefore, adaptation is a key response for the impacts that will occur over the next few decades before mitigation measures start to have an effect.
      
      "A recently published report from the United Nation Environment Programme's Finance Initiative (UNEP FI, 2006) estimated that losses from weather events are doubling globally every 12 years."
      
      
      
      Working example (a better drainage system to adapt to greater flooding problems)
      There has been severe flooding in low-lying Sheung Wan District in Hong Kong. To resolve the flooding problem, in 2009 the HK Government completed a $220 million project which comprises construction of intercepting drains and a stormwater pumping station. (www.dsd.gov.hk)
       
    • Climate change consequences
      
      
      
      
      
      Approximately 20-30% of plant and animal species assessed so far are likely to be at increased risk of extinction if increases in global average temperature exceed 1.5-2.5 °C.
      
      As a result of increased atmospheric CO2e concentrations and resulting higher temperatures, there are projected to be major changes in ecosystem structure and function, species' ecological interaction and shifts in species' geographical ranges, with predominantly negative consequences for biodiversity and ecosystem goods and services, e.g. water and food supply.
      
      For more consequences, see www.ipcc.ch
      
       

  • Improve adaptation capacity

    Three components of improved adaptation capacity (Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change)

     

    
    
     

• Reducing global warming – energy from waste planning

  Card 40
  Topic: Climate change
  

  • Can we make waste matter?

    • What is waste?
      Waste is directly linked to human development, both technologically and socially. The composition of different wastes have varied over time and location, with industrial development and innovation being directly linked to waste materials. Some components of waste have an economic value and can be recycled once correctly recovered.
      
      Waste is sometimes a subjective concept, because items that some people discard may have value to others. It is widely recognised that waste materials are a valuable resource, whilst there is debate as to how this value is best realised.
      
      Why should we generate energy from waste?
      Fossil fuels are an unsustainable source of energy which are running out.
      
      The UK and other developing countries are running out of space for landfill sites. Even after waste reduction measures a significant amount of waste is still sent to landfill. Developing countries have problems producing enough energy.
      
      Methane produced from waste decomposition is a greenhouse gas that is 20 times more damaging than carbon dioxide.
       
    • Waste reduction hierarchy
      
      The waste hierarchy is waste management strategy which aims to extract the maximum practical benefits from products and to generate the minimum amount of waste.
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      Delay will, at best, increase the cost of mitigation and has the potential to render action useless. The challenge is to persuade investors, individuals and governments to act decisively and immediately.
      
       

  • Generate energy from our waste

    • How can we generate energy from waste?
      
      The energy content of waste products can be harnessed directly by using them as a direct combustion fuel, or indirectly by processing them into another type of fuel. Examples include:
      
      Thermal technologies:
      ■ Incineration
      ■ Gasification
      ■ Pyrolisis
      
      Non thermal treatment:
      ■ Biogas from food waste
      ■ Waste to ethanol
      ■ Anaerobic digestion
      ■ Composting and landfill gas
      
      What are the barriers to generating energy from waste?
      
      ■ Methane is a greenhouse gas and burning it releases CO2, another greenhouse gas. There are concerns about toxic emissions from incineration
      ■ Incinerators may reduce the incentive to recycle or minimise waste. They may destroy valuable resources
      ■ Burning genuine waste has been overshadowed by the argument about biomass plants
      ■ Collection issues in developing countries – Infrastructure
      ■ Public perception issues in developed countries – Not In My Back Yard
      
      Further reading
      
      www.foe.co.uk
      www.seas.columbia.edu
       
    • What do developing countries have to gain from generating energy from waste?
      ■ One man's waste is another man's treasure - business opportunities in a new business chain from waste collectors to entrepreneurs generating energy from waste
      ■ Advantages in improving sanitation through the use of biodigesters. Incentivising people to use sanitation facilities where health education has failed. (The photographs show a biodigester in Kiberia. The lower photograph shows a toilet; the gas generated is used to cook in a cafe shown in the upper picture)
      ■ Technology and principles are simple, so it is easy to implement in a wide range of situations. The Kiberia biodigester can easily be replicated, scaled up or down (domestic biolatrines) and provides a real solution to energy and sanitation problems in densely populated areas such as slums
      
      
      
      
       

• Flood resilience

  Card 41
  Topic: Climate change
  

  • How can we defend against flooding caused by climate change?

    • Globally our climate is changing. As a result, sea levels will rise and storms will happen more frequently and be more intense, providing real challenges to both the developed and developing world, but it is the developing that will be hardest hit because it is least prepared.
      
      Sea level rise
      Rising sea levels will cause a variety of problems. Low-lying parts of the coast may be lost and fertile areas may be submerged. Saltwater intrusion may make water from aquifers undrinkable. Coral reefs may be destroyed. Entire ways of life will have to change to combat these changes. Ultimately large numbers of people may have to migrate away from the coasts, putting pressure on inland areas.
      
      Natural disasters
      More frequent natural disasters will also result in costly societal effects, such as food and water shortages and loss of human lives. Developing countries are hit particularly hard by natural disasters such as flooding because they do not have the civil infrastructure, emergency planning, or trained human resources to cope with such extreme events.
       
    • Small Island Developing States (SIDS) suffer most
      
      Small Island Developing States comprise some of the poorest and most vulnerable nations in the world. Small island nations are inherently vulnerable to natural disasters including storm surges, floods, droughts, tsunamis and cyclones given their geographic, topographic and physical characteristics, such as proximity to sea level.
      
      Many reefs surrounding islands also serve to protect the coast from storm surges, but degradation of these reefs due to pollution and climate change also leaves coasts vulnerable.
      
      Some SIDS do not have enough elevated ground to move people displaced due to sea level rise and so entire islands or countries may have to be evacuated.
      
      Moving people to higher ground has its own problems, people live in deltas or by the sea so they can fish or farm. Not only does new housing need to be provided in higher locations, a livelihood must be provided too.
       

  • Adapt and become more flood resilient

    • Regardless of the debate over how climate change is caused, the effects of it are already being felt around the world and we must adapt how we live.
      
      
      How important is it that we adapt to flooding?
      
      The Copenhagen Accord placed a great deal of emphasis on adaption for climate change. It said, "adaption to the adverse effects of climate change and the potential impacts of response measures is a challenge faced by all countries."
      
      
      How can we adapt to sea level rise and increasing flood frequency?
      
      ■ Monitor land use, stop people building in floodplains
      ■ Improve or build flood defences
      ■ Educate people living in flood prone areas
      ■ Raise land
      ■ Abandon land to the sea or the rivers, managed retreat
      ■ Raise homes or floor levels
      ■ Floating homes
       
    • Case Study - The Maldives
      
      In 1992, President Gayoom of the Maldives said, "I stand before you as a representative of an endangered people. We are told that as a result of global warming and sea-level rise, my country, the Maldives, may sometime during the next century, disappear from the face of the Earth."
      
      This statement was made before the impacts of climate change were widely understood, but were already being felt on the Maldive islands. At first the President tried political solutions; the Maldives were amongst the first to sign up to the Kyoto Protocol. However, when this made little difference the President tried a more hands on approach. The capital city Male is now protected by a huge flood defence, which whilst protecting the city, it is not very attractive.
      
      The President's latest strategy is to use giant barges to dredge up coral sand and raise entire existing islands or create new, higher ones such as Hulhumale. The new island is a success, people want to live there and they are better protected from the sea.
      
      Further reading
      Pitt Review: Learning lessons from the 2007 report
      Adapting to climate change: developing a policy framework, 2010
      www.tearfund.org
      risingsea.net
      www.ipcc.ch