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This study is an exploratory analysis to provide a prioritisation and indication of extensiveness of review activities related to measures that currently exist for eight product groups: Domestic Washing Machines, Domestic Dishwashers, Domestic Washer-Driers, Domestic Cold Appliances, Lighting products (non-directional, tertiary and "special purpose"), Set-top Boxes. For water pumps only a review of tolerances was required.
The analysis focused on possible energy savings as basis for prioritisation, but - following the request of the European Commission made during the kick-off meeting - also considers resource efficiency aspects insofar feasible within the constraints of the study. The conclusion of this exploratory study is that for all product groups considered (except pumps) a revision of existing regulations (or introduction of new regulations) is the preferred policy option.
The analysis shows that these product groups are expected to (continue to) meet eligibility criteria for the introduction of ecodesign and/or energy labelling measures, with simple set top boxes as sole exemption as its market and environmental significance is in rapid decline (sales are expected to be marginal by 2020).
The brochure summarises the project's objectives and methodological approach, its key findings as well as conclusions. Both case studies have shown that technological solutions for low carbon development should be embedded in a well-developed institutional framework to foster their deployment and implementation. Therefore, recommendations for Wuxi include examples of innovative and integrated technical projects for increasing energy and resource efficiency, combining them with recommendations for the development of institutional frameworks. One element of such a framework could be a local energy agency in Wuxi, which would offer support and expertise to potential investors in low carbon technologies. Also for the German pilot region, the brochure offers concrete recommendations how to facilitate low carbon planning within the region.
Rethink rather than rebound : a sufficiency revolution must precede the efficiency revolution
(2014)
Prospects of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in India's power sector : an integrated assessment
(2014)
Objective: The aim of the present article is to conduct an integrated assessment in order to explore whether CCS could be a viable technological option for significantly reducing future CO2 emissions in India. Methods: In this paper, an integrated approach covering five assessment dimensions is chosen. However, each dimension is investigated using specific methods (graphical abstract).
Results: The most crucial precondition that must be met is a reliable storage capacity assessment based on site-specific geological data since only rough figures concerning the theoretical capacity exist at present. Our projection of different trends of coal-based power plant capacities up to 2050 ranges between 13 and 111 Gt of CO2 that may be captured from coal-fired power plants to be built by 2050. If very optimistic assumptions about the country's CO2 storage potential are applied, 75 Gt of CO2 could theoretically be stored as a result of matching these sources with suitable sinks. If a cautious approach is taken by considering the country's effective storage potential, only a fraction may potentially be sequestered. In practice, this potential will decrease further with the impact of technical, legal, economic and social acceptance factors. Further constraints may be the delayed commercial availability of CCS in India, a significant barrier to achieving the economic viability of CCS, an expected net maximum reduction rate of the power plant’s greenhouse gas emissions of 71-74%, an increase of most other environmental and social impacts, and a lack of governmental, industrial or societal CCS advocates.
Conclusion and practice implications: Several preconditions need to be fulfilled if CCS is to play a future role in reducing CO2 emissions in India, the most crucial one being to determine reliable storage capacity figures. In order to overcome these barriers, the industrialised world would need to make a stronger commitment in terms of CCS technology demonstration, cooperation and transfer to emerging economies like India. The integrated assessment might also be extended by a comparison with other low-carbon technology options to draw fully valid conclusions on the most suitable solution for a sustainable future energy supply in India.
Using results-based finance for climate action : existing initiatives and the role of the CDM
(2014)
Results-based finance is receiving increasing attention, being considered as a potential key funding mode in climate finance. The Clean Development Mechanism has been cited to potentially contribute to this goal. Against this background, the policy brief outlines the rationale of the concept and analyses six climate change mitigation initiatives that build on the results-based finance approach. The analysis puts a special focus on the role of the CDM.
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is in crisis. More and more market participants are leaving the sector. In the light of this development, some argue that governments should step in as buyers of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs). Given the limited volumes of public funding, however, governments will have to prioritise some projects over others. This policy brief therefore analyses national purchase programmes and multilateral carbon funds in order to identify criteria public investors are applying in the selection of the projects they finance. The aim is to identify a vision of a high quality CDM project that be can be made use of when designing a possible support programme.
This policy brief discusses the opportunities and obligations of host country DNAs within the Standardized Baselines framework and identifies options for strategic intervention. Host countries can, for example, intervene by selecting the right sectors for which they develop an SB in the first place. DNAs can also tailor their SBs to some extent to support certain technologies, fuels or feed- stocks over others by choosing the right level of aggregation of the sector to be covered. Last but not least, the paper discusses the DNAs' role in managing the data for the development and maintenance of the SB. Host countries should take full advantage of potential synergies between data collection for SBs and other data intensive processes such as national greenhouse gas inventories or national statistics. SBs and the data gathered in the process of developing them can also be a basis for the development of other mitigation instruments such as Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) or New Market Mechanisms (NMM).
Industry
(2014)
Achieving sustainability has become one of the fundamental goals of many urban transportation systems in the past two decades. The emerging concept of sustainability has developed enormous interests among researchers and practitioners to develop a sustainable transport system. While many have focused on developing an appropriate definition of a sustainable transport by measures and indicators of sustainability to assess if a transport system is moving towards or away from sustainability, many others have put forward different strategies to make a transport system sustainable. Defining sustainable transport and identifying indicators are important to make this concept more correct, focused, and measurable.
This study tries to measure and monitories urban transportation sustainability from viewpoint of anÿurban planner. The question comes out from the relation between urban transportation sustainability and usage of public transportation. How these two facts link to each other? Are there any logical relations between usage of public transportation and sustainable development? How we can define specific indicator for measuring sustainability of transportation or on the other words, how can we standardized indicator to measure and monitor the urban sustainable transportation?
For response, exceeding questions two cities are selected which have a similarity and differences in structure and data sets. Our approach is to draw upon a raft of suitable analytical techniques to find out the approach base for comparison of structure between different cities, and then to apply the examples to examine the degree to which specified policy targets might be met in the future. The analytical framework includes Descriptive statistics, correlation and Regression analysis, and application of sustainable transportation indicator for case studies distributions.
The techniques proposed to provide a starting point for that dialogue toward more appropriate policies and their monitoring. It can be concluded that the new approach of sustainable transportation indicator for measuring sustainability of transportation is highly correlated with selected variables, which indicates that the new indicator has meaningful applicability to be used as indicator for transportation certificate system. This methods can be used for measuring, monitoring, and evaluating the sustainability of urban transportation for different areas and used the results as a standardize indicator for transportation certificate system for comparing and ranking the transportation sustainability of different cities. In addition, the result of this study can be used as for monitoring and assessment of plan for (SUMP) Sustainable urban mobility planning.
The EU has set itself ambitious targets with regards to a significant reduction of its greenhouse gas emissions and has presented roadmaps depicting an overall decarbonisation of its economy by the middle of the century. In this context European policymakers and stakeholders are currently discussing the targets and the level of ambition of the 2030 climate and energy policy framework. The Commission is expected to present its own vision for the further development of the energy and climate policy framework in its White Paper "For a 2030 climate and energy policy framework". At this decisive point in the political debate the Wuppertal Institute presents a brief working paper that analyses some of the analytical work - particularly the underlying energy and GHG emission scenarios - behind the Commission's proposals to be presented in the forthcoming White Paper.
Technology cooperation : update on the technology mechanism and options for using carbon markets
(2014)
This policy brief provides a general overview on the setup of the UNFCCC's Technology Mechanism, exploring potential synergies between the mechanism and carbon market instruments such as the CDM.
There are two branches of the Technology Mechanism: the Technology Executive Committee (TEC), which is tasked to give political advice, and the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), providing support and fostering the operationalization of technology transfer. Both institutions strongly focus on capacity building.
The CDM, instead, has contributed to technology transfer in practice. However, the transfer has largely focused on equipment and basic operational knowledge. The transfer of knowledge to adapt, advance and innovate has been limited so far.
Therefore, the two mechanisms could well complement each other. In theory, Programmes of Activities and Standardized Baselines under the CDM could be a means for developing country governments to strategically address financial barriers to technology transfer.
This paper analyses the results of the climate conference in Lima 2014 in the light of the coming climate summit in Paris by the end of this year (COP21). The authors from the Wuppertal Institute make recommendations for the improvement of the current cooperation in the context of the climate convention and they suggest to complement the existing UN regime with a club of forerunner countries in order to provide new breath for international climate policy.
The 2014 United Nations Climate Change Conference had been scheduled from 1 to 12 December in Lima/Peru. While in the run-up to the conference, China and the US in a surprise bilateral move had announced plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions that exceeded expectations, the conference was characterised once again by a deep division between key players from the former so-called "developed" and "developing" world. The negotiations thus took 32 hours longer than planned and ended on Sunday morning at 1.22 am. More importantly, the conference failed almost completely to resolve the tasks it was supposed to do in order to prepare the last round of negotiations before next year's conference in Paris 2015, which is supposed to deliver a comprehensive future climate agreement. A team of researchers from the Wuppertal Institute attended the conference and have compiled a first assessment of the results.