Energy And Climate Change

Energy is the main source of greenhouse gas emissions, contributing over two thirds of the share. This is from industry, electricity production, transport and heating/cooling. When combined, all these sectors using energy in one form or the other produce over 75% of emissions from the global tally.

When we talk of energy and the emissions produced, it refers to fossil fuels (coal, gas and oil) which are the main source of energy used in the planet. In the year 2018, 81% of all energy used was fossil fuels. Energy is necessary for economic development, and so fossil fuels have been used since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution to power economic growth. Of note is that these emissions largely come from the developed world, the west, with 75% of current emissions from the G20 countries. In the EU, energy produced 78% of carbon emissions in the year 2015.

Energy security is defined as the constant supply of energy at inexpensive prices. Long term energy security is the ability to invest in energy supply for development in the future. Short term energy security is just the capacity to be able to counter any hitches or fluctuations in immediate energy supply. For most countries in the world, energy security is attained through fossil fuels which are easily available and cheap, and for a growing number of others, a mix of renewables and non-renewable sources.

Energy security ensures economic development and enables a country to achieve goals for growth without facing supply impediments.

Electricity and heat production combined accounts for 31% mainly because of coal power plants, where coal is burnt to produce energy. These plants also release a lot of other air pollutants as well, which are harmful to human health. Coal power plants were a normal feature in the USA, Europe, and China etc. in the past, but these are slowly being decommissioned and shut down because of both climate concerns and the renewable energy revolution that is taking over the world. Africa is more reliant on hydropower as a source of electricity. The off grid small scale renewable energy is also catching up in many areas of the continent, which experiences a lot of year round sunshine.

As per the International Energy Agency (IEA), use of coal accounts for 0.3% of the 1 degree temperature rise since preindustrial era. Coal driven electricity generating plants produced slightly less than a third of total carbon emissions worldwide, coming in at 30%. This is often from Asia, which continues to build and use plants powered by coal.

Power generated by renewable sources increased by 7% in the year 2018, something that continues to grow yearly.

Wind turbines on the Ngong wind farm in Kenya.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tidal energy is a growing and novel type of energy generation. It basically means energy produced from the flow of water in the difference between high tides and low tides. It has some environmental disadvantages but is a tad bit more reliable than solar or wind. Solar and wind depend on weather conditions and availability of the resource. For example, solar cannot be generated at night, and wind power needs high velocity air movement.

Improvements in battery storage capacity for solar energy is one of the things that would and is making solar a cheap and available option for mass consumption.

Industry is a major source of energy use accounting for 30% of global emissions. This is because a lot of the processes used in the manufacturing and processing sector need large scale uninterrupted supply of energy, and that usually means fossil fuels. Some, like cement and steel burn these fuels directly to produce energy and other like the fashion industry rely on electricity derived from fossil fuels or direct derivatives of these fuels such as synthetic fabrics.

Transport is another source of climate warming emissions. Millions of cars take to the roads each day and 95% of them depend on the internal combustion engine, which uses gasoline, directly derived from crude oil. These vehicles, alongside other fossil fuel dependent means of transportation, in total release about 15% of emissions, and 23% of the total energy tally. However, the sector shows a promising change of course because of the rise of electric vehicles, which are charged by renewable energy.

Heating and cooling, especially in modern buildings are a major source of climate warming emissions. The energy used for cooling across sectors produces about 1 billion tons of CO2 yearly. Already the refrigeration and cooling industry generates emissions because the electricity used is non-renewable and the gases used as coolants, hydro fluorocarbons, are strong greenhouse gases on their own.

The cooling industry is important, encompassing air conditioning, refrigeration, food preservation, industrial processes and the pharmaceutical industry as well. Air conditioning in particular is set to increase by more than thirty times by the end of the century as the global South industrializes. An example would be in the Indian city of Mumbai, it consumes 40% of the electricity.  The IPCC projects that the need for air conditioning will burgeon to 10000 terawatts hours annually by 2100, compared to 300 Tw/h in 2000.

As climate continues to change and the planet warms, the demand for cooling will steadily rise and soon overtake the demand for heating as winters become warmer and summers hotter.

Some of the solutions for the energy sector include energy efficiency, use of renewable energy, and carbon capture and storage.

Energy efficiency is the maximizing of little energy as possible. Using the minimum amounts of energy to the utmost. There are many ways to do this, chief of which is to use energy efficient appliances and equipment.

In place of the modern air conditioned buildings, adoption of greener methods of construction is encouraged. This includes insulating buildings, so that less heat is lost in winter or gained in summer. Buildings can also be integrated with rooftop solar and natural ways of cooling especially in the designing and architectural phase.

Renewable energy consists mainly of wind and solar power and hydropower. According to the IEA, in 2020, the capacity for renewable energy grew by 45% and of all the new capacity for power installed worldwide, renewables accounted for 90%, and these were high capacity.

As per the IPCC, clean energy capacity needs to grow to 6 times the current state by the half century mark in order to attain the goals of climate action.

In line with this, the IEA projects that solar photovoltaic will increase exponentially, being 50% more in 2020 than in 2019.

Carbon capture and storage is one of the solutions put forward by the IPCC concerning climate change mitigation. CCS methods operate just like green plants do, absorbing carbon dioxide from the air, but instead of sequestering it in plant bodies, the gas is captured at source and buried underground, in sedimentary rock formations.

Notably, these methods are still expensive and localized, and so not easily available. It still not possible to scale them in a large way. In coal factories, the plants are fitted with technology that aims to capture escaping CO2 at source.

Of the three fossil fuels; coal, oil and natural gas, natural gas produces the least emissions of carbon dioxide. Used as an alternative to coal in power generation, for a similar amount of energy generated, natural gas, a hydrocarbon, releases significantly lesser waste CO2.

It is important to note that not only does energy affect climate change, it is also impacted by it. These changes like extreme weather and long droughts affect energy production and use in various ways. Unexpected droughts can affect water supply which is necessary for electricity generation in hydropower dams. Floods on the other hand can submerge or interfere with energy installations.

Typhoons damage energy infrastructure and intense heat waves require more energy for cooling. Intense periods of cold require more energy for heating.

When there are droughts, thermal power plants like coal and nuclear experience stress as there is not enough water for cooling. This means their electricity output is lowered. Additionally due to higher demand and insufficient supply given the high temperatures, it might result to rationing and even complete blackouts in affected areas.

Affordable and clean energy is goal 7 of the sustainable development goals and is interlinked with other goals namely economic growth (8), industry and innovation (9), sustainable cities and communities which is 11 and climate action which is number 13. As a matter of fact, energy is part of most of the SDGS.

If the 1.5 degree goal of the Paris Agreement is to be met, then emissions need to halve by 2030 and be net zero by 2050. In order for this to be achieved, it is a must to radically lower emissions from the energy sector, which means the world needs to pivot away from fossil fuels, embracing more investment in renewable energy sources.

With a growing world population, (The UN projects the numbers to grow to 9 billion by 2050), energy supply and access is going to be an important part of the future in all sectors, particularly the capacity to ensure food security for all.