WWF-Australia - for a living planet

Climate change solutions

According to the best science, an average global warming of 2°C or more would result in dangerous climate change, leading to irreversible social, economic and environmental impacts.

We must act now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Delays will make the transition to reduced emissions increasingly expensive and difficult, with much greater risk of failure.

Other developed countries with large industrial sectors have reduced emissions since 1990 using a combination of energy efficiency, renewable and low-emission technologies and re-forestation. Norway has reduced emissions by 18%, Germany by 17% and the United Kingdom by 14%.

The good news is that Australia is well-placed to reduce emissions. We are a wealthy nation; we have plentiful renewable sources and access to world-class skills and technology. WWF's Climate Solutions report demonstrates that the solutions are available now! It finds that it is possible to meet the growing global demand for energy by using clean and sustainable energy sources and technologies that will protect the global climate.

Read on to learn about the solutions available and then find out what you can do to help us reduce global warming.

Set targets

Emission reduction targets are a crucial component of policies and measures to reduce future greenhouse gas emissions.

These targets should be based on the best available scientific evidence rather than economic models as targets based on economic models do not necessarily deal with the underlying problem - namely preventing dangerous climate change.

Australia is not on target to combat climate change. Our greenhouse gas emissions levels are going up when they should be going down.

As a wealthy developed country, Australia can afford to set targets to:

Price on greenhouse gas pollution

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions we need to impose a cost on releasing greenhouse gases – this will encourage more efficient use of energy and support low-emission energy sources.

Many countries now require greenhouse gas pollution to be paid for under schemes known as carbon taxing or emissions trading schemes.

Emissions trading is the most commonly used scheme, with several emission trading schemes operating around the world (i.e. the European Union, Norway, Japan, New Zealand, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative covering ten U.S. States).

Emissions trading schemes allow polluters across the economy to choose the cheapest way to reduce their emissions. The government sets a limit, "cap", on the amount of greenhouse gases that can be released into the atmosphere. A permit, or "credit" allows the holder to emit up to this specified amount. Businesses that exceed their quotas must buy carbon credits for their excess emissions, while businesses that are below their quotas can sell their unused credits. Carbon credits can also be generated by activities such as reforestation.

Establishing an emissions trading scheme as soon as possible is desirable because it would provide market incentives for the more efficient use of energy and investment in renewable and low-emission technologies. The longer we delay, the harder and more costly it gets.

Australia has not yet introduced a national emissions trading scheme. The government has indicated it intends to present its Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme to Parliament before the end of 2009.

Reduce energy use

We currently waste a lot of energy. Measures to use energy more efficiently could play a large, essentially painless and non-controversial role in ensuring a more sustainable future. In fact, WWF's Discussion Paper A Prosperous Low Carbon Future found that Australia could reduce its greenhouse emissions by 30% (below 1990 levels) by 2030 simply through energy efficiency improvements

Major energy savings can be made by adopting currently available best practice technologies, using innovative materials and putting more efficient processes and systems in place. While the upfront costs of doing so are higher, they usually result in lower operating costs.

Energy efficiency gains can be made in the way we use appliances, design, build and occupy buildings (domestic, commercial and industrial) move ourselves and our goods. In the home, for example, savings can be made by installing better insulation, a solar hot water system, lower emission lighting, and more efficient appliances, heating and cooling systems.

Vehicle efficiency standards need to be improved but this must also be coupled with measures to reduce vehicle use and improve public transport and freight options.

There are many savings you can make at home and at work. Governments can help by setting efficiency standards for buildings, appliances and vehicles.

Low-emission energy sources

Natural gas

Natural gas can be used as a 'bridging fuel'. Its use avoids locking in new coal-fired power stations and provides significant carbon savings in the shorter term, while other energy sources and technologies are developed.

Clean coal and carbon capture and storage (CCS)

Clean coal is a term used to describe technologies designed to reduce the amount of CO2 emitted by coal-fired power stations.

'Clean' coal technologies can include fluidised bed combustion, integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC), oxy-fuel combustion and supercritical boilers. They produce fewer emissions than conventional coal, but still have quite high emissions compared to other available sources, such as renewable energy and gas. WWF does not support the use of these technologies in new power plants unless they are accompanied by carbon capture and storage.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is the process of capturing carbon dioxide gas (CO2) from coal or gas power plants and storing it in deep underground formations, instead of releasing it into the atmosphere.

CCS can probably reduce emissions from a power station by 70-80% (there are presently no CCS coal-fired power stations operating in the world) and could make an important contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, because CCS is not zero emissions it will only comprise about 25% of the emission reduction solution and renewable or other low and zero technologies must provide the remaining reductions.

Stop deforestation

Deforestation accounts for nearly 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Tropical forests and their soils absorb and retain carbon dioxide. When deforestation occurs or land practices are changed, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. While afforestation (restoring forests) is positive, the primary focus needs to be on preventing deforestation in the first place.

Deforestation occurs for many reasons, including agricultural expansion, grazing, infrastructure development and logging. Population pressures and increasing consumption demands (domestic and foreign) act as prime motivators for deforestation. With better governance, land-use planning and accurate data, it is plausible to halve the current rate of global deforestation by 2015 and achieve a zero rate by 2020.

Renewable energy

Australia is blessed with an abundance of renewable energy resources like solar, wind, hydro, wave, tide and geothermal power, as well as various forms of bio-energy.

Countries with the strongest markets in renewable energies include Brazil (particularly for biofuels), China (solar hot water and small hydro), Denmark (wind), Germany (wind and solar PV), India (wind, rural solar and biomass), Japan (solar PV), Spain (wind) and the United States.

Is renewable energy reliable? Yes! - Today's commercial renewable energy technology is mature and reliable. Some sources, such as hydro, biomass and geothermal energy, are controllable. Others, like wind and solar, cannot be controlled. A stable energy supply can be maintained by using a range of renewable sources.

Is renewable energy affordable? Yes - The cost of renewable energy varies depending on the source. Currently, the cheapest renewable energy sources, like wind and bio-energy, are more expensive than coal and gas but cheaper than low-emission coal and nuclear power. However the key advantage of renewable energy is that it is pollution and waste free. When we factor in the cost of pollution and waste, renewable energy sources are significantly lower in cost than coal and nuclear.

Is Australia doing enough to encourage renewable energy take-up? Australia’s renewable energy target of 20% by 2020 will increase renewable energy as part of the energy mix in Australia. However, the scheme does not do enough to encourage development of emerging technologies which can provide baseload energy (like wave, geothermal and solar thermal).

To provide a level playing field for resources like wave, geothermal and solar thermal which present significant potential to supply low cost baseload energy in the future, they need targeted support now so that their development is fast and seamless.

WWF-Australia's Clean Energy Future for Australia study outlines how Australia can reduce its emissions from the electricity sector while still meeting demand through a combination of wind, biomass, natural gas and improved energy efficiency. WWF has also produced state-specific Clean Energy Future reports for NSW, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia.

Offset

Individuals, businesses or governments can 'offset' the emissions produced from electricity generation and transport by investing in projects that will lead to the prevention of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere (for example, building renewable energy power stations to reduce the amount of energy required from a coal plant).

WWF has chosen Climate Friendly as its offset provider because it is the only Australian provider of Gold Standard offsets.

A New Global Climate Deal

Effective international co-operation is essential to maximise the chances of avoiding dangerous climate change.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol form the primary international response to the climate change threat. In December 2009 world leaders will meet again in Copenhagen to negotiate a global agreement to take over from the Kyoto Protocol. The new agreement must: