6.9C - Mitigation Strategies

Re-balancing the carbon cycle could be achieved through mitigation (carbon taxation, renewable switching, energy efficiency, afforestation, carbon capture and storage) but this requires global agreement and national actions, both of which have proved to be problematic. (A: attitudes of different countries, TNCs, and people)

The long-term solution to the global warming crisis lies in rebalancing the carbon cycle, particularly reducing the concentration of GHGs in the atmosphere. None of the mitigation strategies is straightfoward, except possibly afforestation. Successful implementation requires a society to change the way it thinks and acts. Some mitigation has a high technological tariff. 

The UK has the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) which is responsible for mitigation policies.  

Carbon taxation

• The carbon price floor tax sets a minimum price companies have to pay to emit carbon dioxide. It was unpopular with both industry and environmental groups and had a debatable effect on emissions. In 2015, the policy was 'frozen'
• Lower road taxes for low-carbon-emitting cars were scrapped in 2015 
• In 2015, oil and gas exploration tax relief was expanded to support fossil fuels, hence the fracking debate

Renewable Switching

• The relationship between the big energy producers and the government dictates the amount of switching from fossil fuels to renewables and nuclear power. Renewables provide intermittent electricity, while fossil fuels provide the continuous power essential for our current infrastructure. 
• The Climate Change Levy, designed in 2001 to encourage renewable energy investment and use, was cut in 2015

Energy Efficiency

• The Green Deal scheme encouraged energy-saving improvements to homes, such as efficient boilers and lighting, and improved insulation. It was scrapped in 2015. 
• Energy suppliers must comply with the Energy Company Obligation scheme to deliver energy-efficient measures to households. 

Afforestation

• Tree planting in the UK is increasing, helping carbon sequestration. It involves the Forestry Commission, charities such as the National Trust and the Woodland Trust, landowners and local authorities. 
• The Big Tree Plant campaign encourages communities to plant 1 million new trees, mostly in urban areas. 
  

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)

• Few actual geologic CCS projects exist globally, despite its potential. Canada's Boundary Dam is the only large scale working scheme. 
  
• In 2015, the UK government cancelled its investment in full-scale projects at gas- and coal-powered plants in Peterhead in Scotland and Drax in Yorkshire, respectively. 
  

 

Important Points about Adaptation and Mitigation

1. There is a range of possible human intervention options and targets that runs from 'business as usual' (but perhaps making some adaptations) to 'aggressive mitigation'. Even with strong mitigation measures, there is no guarantee that even if emissions are halved by 2080 the mean global temperature will not rise by more than 2°C. 
2. RCPs (recommended concentration pathways) are four different concentrations of GHGs in the atmosphere identified by the IPCC (Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change). Here are the possible outcomes in 2100:
   1. Business as usual 
      1. Emissions continue rising at current rates. RCP 8.5
      2. Temperature rise: as likely as not to exceed 4°C -> businesses impacted by climate change
      3. Sea level rises by half to one metre
      4. More acidic oceans
   2. Some mitigation
      1. Emissions rise until 2080, then fall. RCP 6.0.
         1. Temperature rise: likely to exceed 2°C
         2. More heatwaves, changes in rainfall patterns and monsoon systems
         3. Carbon dioxide concentrations three to four times higher than pre-industrial levels
      2. ​Strong mitigation
         1. ​Emissions stabilise at half today's levels by 2080. RCP 4.5
            1. ​Temperature rise: more likely than not to exceed 2°C
            2. Arctic summer sea ice almost gone
      3. ​​'Aggressive mitigation'
         1. ​Emissions halved by 2080. RCP 2.6
            1. ​Temperature rise: not likey to exceed 2°C
            2. Business impacted by policy change
            3. May require 'negative emissions' (removing CO2 from the air) before 2100
            4. CO2 concentration falling before end of century
            5. Climate impacts generally constrained, by not avoided
            6. Reduced risk of 'tipping points' and irreversible change​
3. If mitigation, at whatever level, is to have any change of success, it not only requires concerted actions at a national level but, more critically, it requires effective international agreements. Global warming is a global problems requiring global action. 

The latter point was first accepted by the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, an international agreement which aimed to cut GHG emissions by 5% by 2012. Since then, the reduction targets have been revised upwards and emissions have been reduced. It remains to be seen whether enough is being done or whether the global mitigation strategy should be made even more aggressive. It has to be said that not every country has been enthusiastic about signing up to the succession of agreements tabled since 1997. 

(Also Copenhagen meeting 2009; Paris meeting in 2015 (COP21) - agreement in 2016)
The most recent of these, the Paris Agreement of 2016, aims to keep the rise in global temperature to less than 2°C above its pre-industrial level. The Agreement now has 140 national signatures. Among the more reluctant signatories are the three largest producers of GHGs: China, India and the USA (withdrew in 2017)

The attitude of a large proportion of the world's population to the threat of global warming is one of indifference. TNCs may express concern, but are often found wanting when it comes to taking appropriate action. When it comes to government attitudes, those whose contributions to GHG emissions are relatively small are vociferous in drawing attention to those countries that are large contributors.