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Vernacular architecture's use of passive building techniques has been developed in response to the prevailing climatic conditions of the past. Today, buildings are designed with complete indifference to the climate and materials. Energy consumption in buildings is mainly connected to space cooling, supply of hot water, lighting, cooking and, use of appliances. Space cooling and lighting are directly influenced by the design of the building. Energy codes should be concerned with "sufficiency" as well as "efficiency". A more economic and ecological approach to building design is needed.
Measures to address climate change can result in human rights violations when the rights of affected populations are not taken into consideration. Climate change projects in so-called "developing" countries are often financed and/or also implemented by industrialised countries. The research project ClimAccount Human Rights Accountability of the EU and Austria for Climate Policies in Third Countries and their possible Effects on Migration focused on the accountability of the EU and its Member States with regard to negative impacts of climate change measures they are involved in on human rights in third countries - especially those associated with "migration effects". Based on three case studies - projects registered under the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism - the human rights dimension of climate change action was discussed, areas of human rights concerns that were discernible in all three case study projects were identified, the issue of extraterritorial human rights obligations was analysed and the subject of access to justice was scrutinized.
This thesis investigates the relationship between public and private sector efforts to optimise energy efficiency finance initiatives in an emerging country context, using Thailand as a case study. Demand-side energy efficiency measures could significantly reduce pressures on energy systems in emerging economies in Southeast Asia while at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Rapidly increasing energy needs, combined with dependence on fossil fuel imports have put energy systems in the region under pressure. Due to high urbanisation growth rates, and comparatively inefficient industries, demand-side energy efficiency measures could be part of the solution. The lack of external energy efficiency finance for industry and building owners is a major barrier, but reports and country examples contain mixed messages about how to best overcome this challenge. The dominant discourse around energy efficiency finance originates from international organisations who advocate for the public sector to focus all efforts on maximising private sector investments. However, developed country experience and some emerging country examples, suggest that the problem is more complex. Therefore, this thesis focuses on how to optimise energy efficiency finance. Thailand serves as a case study due to the range of energy efficiency initiatives designed and implemented in that country since the early 1990s. Transition studies and Multi-Level Perspective, were chosen as the theoretical framework and heuristic tool for the analysis. Qualitative data in the form of interviews with forty-eight experts from government, the private sector and academia form the core of this research. The research found that in Thailand, after more than 10 years of public sector support for energy efficiency finance initiatives, success in the private sector has been limited. Challenges identified include: (1) a lack of de-risking measures (2) renewable energy projects receiving most funding; (3) lack of guidance from the Central Bank of Thailand and (4) missing cross-coordination with relevant ministries to create additional demand for energy efficiency finance services. Suggestions for next steps are provided. The main finding from this research is that EEF in an emerging country context will never be transitioned 100% to the private sector, but will be reliant on long-term consistent support from the public sector. Policy makers and international organisations must therefore carefully evaluate the existing framework conditions before choosing which energy efficiency finance initiatives to support. The Multi-Level Perspective analytical framework could provide such an analytical tool to further unleash the energy efficiency potential in Southeast Asia.
The core objective of Energy Efficiency Watch 3 (EEW3) is to establish a constant feedback loop on the implementation of European and national energy efficiency policies and thus enable both compliance monitoring and mutual learning on effective policy making across the EU. The project team applied a mixed-method approach to assess energy efficiency policy developments in EU Member States. EEW3 analysed the progress made in the implementation of energy efficiency policies in European Member States since the publication of the second National Energy Efficiency Action Plans (NEEAPs) in 2011 by screening official documents, sought experts' knowledge via an EU-wide survey and has been creating new consultation platforms with a wide spectrum of stakeholders including parliamentarians, regions, cities and business stakeholders. Results are presented in Country Reports for each of the 28 Member States, the Expert Survey Report, 10 Case Studies presenting outstanding energy efficiency policies in Europe, the Key Policy Conclusions, the project summary report in brochure format and this Feedback Loop Report, which summarises the overall EEW3 portfolio.
This Policy Brief outlines the "identity crisis" in which voluntary carbon standards find themselves after the adoption of the Paris Agreement. It describes how the new international legal framework threatens to undermine the legitimation and credibility of voluntary carbon standards and discusses first ideas how the arising challenges could be dealt with.
A fundamental problem has been the lack of widely-accepted methods for analysing the impact of walking and cycling on transport network performance. By trying to put walking and cycling on an equal footing with motorised transport, the FLOW multimodal urban road transport network performance analysis methodology (the FLOW methodology) aims to contribute to a more informed debate on the role of walking and cycling on transport network performance.
The Portfolio of Measures describes the actual effects of different types of measures on congestion by presenting case studies and drawing conclusions out of them.
The portfolio presents information on the potential of walking and cycling measures to relieve urban congestion. Cities are actively seeking information and implementation experience from other cities. However, information available on websites, portals and good-practice guides is of mixed quality. In providing more information on the impact of walking and cycling measures, this portfolio aims at contributing to political agenda setting and measure selection.
The first part of the portfolio provides some general findings about the role of walking and cycling measures in relieving congestion, based on literature review and an expert survey carried out within the FLOW project. It is then followed by 20 cases in which walking measures, cycling measures or combinations of measures have been successfully implemented in Europe and abroad. The case studies have been clustered in five big groups according to their topics: Cycling infrastructure (moving traffic); Walking and Cycling Infrastructure (moving traffic); Cycling infrastructure (parking and bike sharing); Traffic management strategies; Mobility management and Measures for more than one mode. The final chapter summarises the effects of the 20 cases and elaborates some general lessons learned. On general finding is - the measures described have helped reduce congestion or at least have increased walking and/or cycling levels without increasing congestion.
On 8 November 2016, Donald Trump was elected to become the 45th President of the United States of America. In his campaign, he repeatedly expressed his intention to "cancel the Paris Agreement". How can the course set with the adoption of the Paris Agreement be continued independently of the developments in the US? The authors sketch possible consequences of the sea change of US climate policy for the international negotiation process and identify options for a "Trump-resilient" way forward.
Carbon markets in a <2 °C world : will there be room for international carbon trading in 2050?
(2016)
This JIKO Policy Paper analyses a series of very ambitious mitigation scenarios and complements this analysis with a review of several sectoral technology roadmaps. The results are quite clear: there is no reason to believe that international carbon trading will become obsolete any time soon. Whether or not international carbon trading is to play a role in international climate protection efforts is in the end not a physical or economic question, but a political one.
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement established three approaches for countries to cooperate with each other: cooperative approaches, a new mechanism to promote mitigation and sustainable development ("sustainable development mechanism"), and a framework for non-market approaches. However, while the "sustainable development mechanism" seems familiar as its principles strongly resemble the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), the other two approaches have so far not been clearly defined conceptually. This JIKO Policy Paper summarizes the views by Parties and observes that were submitted at the end of September and reveals some sharp differences in opinions on how Art. 6 should work.
The European Horizon 2020-project COMBI ("Calculating and Operationalising the Multiple Benefits of Energy Efficiency in Europe") aims at estimating the energy and non-energy impacts that a realisation of the EU energy efficiency potential would have in the year 2030. The project goal is to cover the most important technical potentials identified for the EU27 by 2030 and to come up with consistent estimates for the most relevant impacts: air pollution (and its effects on human health, eco-systems/crops, buildings), social welfare (including disposable income, comfort, health and productivity), biotic and abiotic resources, the energy system and energy security and the macro economy (employment, economic growth and the public budget). This paper describes the overall project research design, envisaged methodologies, the most critical methodological challenges with such an ex-ante evaluation and with aggregating the multiple impacts. The project collects data for a set of 30 energy efficiency improvement actions grouped by energy services covering all sectors and EU countries. Based on this, multiple impacts will be quantified with separate methodological approaches, following methods used in the respective literature and developing them where necessary. The paper outlines the approaches taken by COMBI: socio-economic modelling for air pollution and social welfare, resource modelling for biotic/abiotic and economically unused resources, General Equilibrium modelling for long-run macroeconomic effects and other models for short-run effects, and the LEAP model for energy system modelling. Finally, impacts will be aggregated, where possible in monetary terms. Specific challenges of this step include double-counting issues, metrics, within and cross-country/regional variability of effects and context-specificity.
This article explores recent developments in the field of remunicipalisation in the German electricity market. Actually, the established socio-technical regime of the electricity market generates considerable inertia and impedes fundamental change. But regarding the energy transition (German Energiewende) a fundamental change is needed; it is essential to promote a broader range of actors and institutions to overcome the existing regime resistance. Many local policy-makers and municipalities in Germany discover chances and possibilities for local action which arise from remunicipalisation. The establishment of municipal power utilities offers the opportunity of implementing an independent energy policy at local level which is critical in creating a transformation to a sustainable energy system based on renewable energies and energy efficiency. The municipal ownership allows a strong governance towards more political influence on the local energy market but the current court decisions regarding the takeover of electricity grids taken by the former concession holder of municipal utilities (Stadtwerke) in Germany make it difficult to realise the full potential of energy policy at a local level. The requirements for a legitimate process are still very high and far too complex to be fulfilled by the local authorities without the help of specialised legal advice.
A learning experience : integrating theory and practice for the implementation of INDCs ; thinkpiece
(2016)
A major cornerstone on the way to low-carbon sustainable development on a global scale will be a swift and effective implementation of all countries' INDCs submitted to the UNFCCC prior to Paris. However, doing so will require transforming development pathways away from currently pervasive carbon lock-ins. This can only be successful if countries take a systemic view on their development agendas, and link mitigation, adaptation and other developmental priorities together for a coherent overarching sustainable development strategy. The ownership for this process needs to be with the countries themselves as such strategies touch fundamentally upon national policy-making and implementation. At the same time, developing countries have access to bi- and multilateral financial and technical cooperation. To enable a systemic, country-led perspective, development cooperation needs to shift its paradigms away from currently prevalent project-level interventions.
A truly innovative and transformational shift with the objective of pursuing a low-carbon and climate resilient society needs to open up space for experimentation as new ways of doing things need to be put into practice. Experiments will not always be successful, but foster learning on a national as well as an international level on pitfalls and solutions in new approaches to low-carbon sustainable development. Not least, there needs to be a renewed focus on programmatic approaches that link various topical domains for a country-led process, and a critical look at development work that is "doomed to succeed".
Our article draws from systems theory, development studies and recent work on transitions studies and transformational change in the international domain. It links up different theoretical concepts with practical approaches in order to outline a future development agenda that will be owned by developing countries and supported non-invasively by bi- and multilateral development cooperation to foster low-carbon development pathways that are urgently needed to solve the climate crisis.
Washing laundry is one of the most widespread housework tasks in the world. Washing machines, performing this task already in many private households, are now responsible for about 2% of the global electricity consumption. Worldwide, more than 840 million domestic washing machines are in use, with an annual consumption exceeding 92 TWh of electricity and 19 billion m3 of water as well as causing emissions of more than 62 megatons CO2eq. In North America, Western Europe and Pacific OECD countries, most households own a washing machine. In these economies standard and label policy programs already addressed and reduced the specific electricity and water consumption of washing machines per wash cycle. Nevertheless, in other world regions, the level of ownership for washing machines is still well below saturation and high growth rates can be observed in developing and newly industrialising countries. As washing machines use water, electricity, chemical substances and process time as resources, also the absolute worldwide resource consumption and emissions of these appliances are still on the rise. Due to different washing habits and practices as well as types of washing machines in different world regions, the specific consumption of resources for doing the laundry is varying to a large extent. On that score, this paper presents an overview of the current situation worldwide as well as respective saving potentials. Bottom-up scenario calculations, carried out for the 11 world regions according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change classification, show that large energy, water and greenhouse gas savings are possible with the "Best Available Technologies" today, and even higher savings will be possible with next generation "Best Not yet Available Technologies". According to model results, these savings are usually also very cost-effective. Following these calculations, it is highly advisable for policymakers world-wide to pay even more attention to improvement options in order to implement ambitious and product-specific policy packages, including minimum performance standards and labelling schemes.
This paper analyses the risks to environmental integrity associated to the transfers of mitigation outcomes in the context of Art. 6 of the Paris Agreement and provides an overview on approaches and tools that could be used for addressing them. The analysis shows that some of the environmental integrity risks can be dealt with at the technical level. This relates, inter alia, to the risks of mitigation outcomes being unreal or non-permanent as well as to carbon leakage and rebound effects. Here, robust MRV provisions should be established. Other risks will be difficult to address without touching the new and open structure of the Paris Agreement. This applies, for example, to risks associated to the diverse nature of NDCs, and requires further investigation.
The economic assessment of low-carbon energy options is the primary step towards the design of policy portfolios to foster the green energy economy. However, today these assessments often fall short of including important determinants of the overall cost-benefit balance of such options by not including indirect costs and benefits, even though these can be game-changing. This is often due to the lack of adequate methodologies.
The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive account of the key methodological challenges to the assessment of the multiple impacts of energy options, and an initial menu of potential solutions to address these challenges.
The paper first provides evidence for the importance of the multiple impacts of energy actions in the assessment of low-carbon options.
The paper identifies a few key challenges to the evaluation of the co-impacts of low-carbon options and demonstrates that these are more complex for co-impacts than for the direct ones. Such challenges include several layers of additionality, high context dependency, and accounting for distributional effects.
The paper continues by identifying the key challenges to the aggregation of multiple impacts including the risks of overcounting while taking into account the multitude of interactions among the various co-impacts. The paper proposes an analytical framework that can help address these and frame a systematic assessment of the multiple impacts.
The South African government started the development of a basic energy efficiency policy framework in 2005, including a voluntary label for refrigerators. This initial label was the intended precursor to a mandatory standards and labelling (S&L) programme, but the impacts achieved were only very limited. Based on this first experience, the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) formed in 2008 a working group for the development of the new and more specific South African National Standard SANS 941. This standard identifies energy efficiency requirements, labelling and measurement methods as well as the maximum allowable standby power for a set of appliances as reliable basis for introducing a mandatory regulation. Nevertheless, due to many existing barriers, such as lack of funding and low priority assigned to the initiative, a very long period passed by between the S&L planning and final policy implementation. Finally, in November 2014, the South African government published mandatory performance standards coming into force in 2015/2016 for a first set of appliances consisting of refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, electric water heaters, ovens, A/C and heat pumps. To analyse the effectiveness of the new S&L programme and the potential influence of delays in the implementing process, the authors performed an immediate first-hand evaluation of the new policy.
As analytical reference base for available energy efficiency potentials, results from bottom-up scenario calculations will be presented exemplarily as case study for cold appliances covered by the S&L programme. A retrospective market study will show market trends before policy implementation and compare results with the new mandatory requirements. For the further policy analysis, a programme theory approach will be applied, in order to better understand why, how and under what conditions the policy works. Relationships with other energy efficiency policies and measures as well as positive or negative effects will be described. Furthermore, cause-impact relationships will be analysed to explain the functioning of the policy. Finally, success and failure factors will illustrate what needs to be done to achieve the desired energy efficiency targets. Henceforth, even though this study does not assess the direct transferability of the South African S&L programme to other regions, its findings could be relevant and useful for countries planning the implementation of similar policies.
On 12 December 2015, the Parties to the UNFCCC adopted the "Paris Agreement". With this step, the world community has agreed on a collective and cooperative path to fight human-induced climate change: After 25 years of UN climate diplomacy, the world's governments have for the first time in history negotiated a treaty which envisages climate action by all nations. The Agreement sets the world on a path that might lead to a decarbonised economy in the second half of the century. Researchers from the Wuppertal Institute have observed COP 21 and elaborated a detailed analysis of the results. The assessment provides an overview of the most important negotiation outcomes, assesses their results as well as shortfalls and provides an outlook of the next steps needed to implement the Paris Agreement's goals and to set the world firmly on a non-fossil based development path.
The international governance landscape on climate change mitigation is increasingly complex across multiple governance levels. Climate change mitigation initiatives by non-state stakeholders can play an important role in governing global climate change and contribute to avoiding unmanageable climate change. It has been argued that the UNFCCC could and should play a stronger role in "orchestrating" the efforts of these initiatives within the wider climate regime complex and thus inspire new and enhanced climate action. In fact, the Lima-Paris Action Agenda supporting cooperative climate action among state and non-state actors was supposed to be a major outcome of COP21.
There is little doubt that successful mitigation initiatives can create a momentum for climate protection. What is missing, is a systematic analysis of how this momentum can feed back into the UNFCCC negotiation process, inspiring also enhanced and more ambitious climate mitigation by states in future iterations of the cycle of nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement. This paper aims to close this gap: building on a structurational regime model, the article [1] develops a theory of change of how and through which structuration channels non-state initiatives can contribute to changing the politics of international climate policy; [2] traces existing UNFCCC processes and the Paris Agreement with a view to identifying entry points for a more direct feedback from non-state initiatives; and [3] derives recommendations on how and under which agenda items positive experiences can resonate within the UNFCCC negotiation process.
Marketing and rewarding
(2016)
This review of sources has assessed existing evidence for economic benefits arising from marketing / social marketing and rewards-based schemes encouraging greater use of more sustainable modes and travel behaviours. It is designed to support cities in their decision making and measure selection process. The article is one of 22 reviews published in this volume.
Cleaner vehicles
(2016)
This review of sources has assessed existing evidence for economic benefits arising from innovations or interventions that aim to improve the environmental performance of vehicles - such as enhancements to engine and vehicle technologies or improved fuels. It is designed to support cities in their decision making and measure selection process. The article is one of 22 reviews published in this volume.
This review of sources has assessed existing evidence for economic benefits arising from activities fostering the use of vehicles that use electricity to power an electric motor. It is designed to support cities in their decision making and measure selection process. The article is one of 22 reviews published in this volume.
The adverse environmental impacts from inefficient building construction increase if measures to reduce energy and resource use, through stringent building policies and efficient technology, are not implemented in developed and developing countries. To illustrate a holistic approach to reducing buildings' energy and resources, the comparison of energy efficient and green buildings in terms of their technological aspects and their policy context in developed and developing countries, mainly in Europe, the USA and India, is presented together with a policy package recommendation for Nepal. A quality review of multiple literature sources, supported by various expert opinions, were the methods used for this in-depth analysis.
It discusses that mandatory building standards, voluntary labels, information instruments and financial incentives are the most effective combination for the shift towards market transformation, that results in a higher share of energy efficient and green buildings. The lesson such as higher compliance with, and enforcement of, building energy standards can be seen in developed countries (e.g. Germany). Looking at a building's life cycle perspective, it is not sufficient to focus solely on operational energy reduction in higher energy efficient buildings as this is achieved by the increased use of energy intensive materials. Green requirements must be considered in updating building energy standards and labels, particularly for developed countries. Green building certification will also become more effective when the stringency of energy standards is higher and when the whole building life cycle assessment is considered. Due to the increasing scarcity of energy and resources, many developing countries are forced to face up to the need for holistic green buildings. Although baseline standards are not as high as in most developed countries and national financial support is low, the gradual move towards making the standards more stringent and incorporating the wider scope of resource saving are positive developments in developing countries (e.g. India). However, to achieve significant success, strategies must include the establishment of a suitable funding environment, a political commitment and a strong government vision for long term and sustainable building construction. The challenges faced by Nepal are even greater due to the fast pace of urban growth and the absence of energy and resource efficient buildings policies, highlighting the need for an effective policy package. Overall, this dissertation demonstrates how energy efficient and green buildings are interlinked. Green buildings reinforced with higher levels of energy efficiency and energy efficient buildings incorporating green requirements are stepping-stones for achieving greater building energy and resource efficiencies. And a suitable policy package fosters its development.
The so-called "Semesterticket" is a special tariff for university students in Germany which enables them to use public transport in the area of their university. Semester tickets are financed in solidarity by the students: If a university runs a semester ticket, all students automatically have to buy a ticket for one semester (6 months), regardless of whether they want to use public transport or not. In return, the students can use public transport in the area of their university for a very low semester contribution as much as they want without purchasing any extra tickets. In Germany, the first semester ticket was introduced 25 years ago in Darmstadt (1991) as a result of student initiatives. Today, most German universities run a semester ticket.
This article describes the concept of semester tickets in Germany, their development over the time and presents empirical research data on student acceptance and the effects of semester tickets on mode shift to public transport and the reduction of car ownership.
Global climate
(2016)
This article summarises the main outcomes of the Lima UN Climate Conference (COP20 / CMP10). It starts with the discussions under the Durban Platform on developing a new comprehensive climate agreement and increasing short-term ambition and subsequently covers the issues relating to near-term implementation of previous decisions in the areas of transparency, reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, loss and damage, adaptation, finance, and carbon markets.
Offsetting for international aviation : the state of play of market-based measures under ICAO
(2016)
This JIKO Policy Brief summarizes the state of play of the negotiations on a global market-based mechanism (global MBM) under ICAO. It specifies the respective responsibilities and different approaches of ICAO and the UNFCCC. It traces the historic activities in regard of climate protection under ICAO and provides an overview of the current negotiation process that is to culminate at the upcoming ICAO General Assembly in autumn 2016. Furthermore, the Policy Brief reflects on the CDM experience and derives recommendations.
The Paris Agreement marks a milestone in international climate policy. Though, the positive appraisal was not unanimous. This article will argue that the Paris Agreement embraces a new paradigm. Climate change is no longer seen as a clear-cut environmental problem, nor as a developmental issue, but as a challenge to fundamentally transform global societies. While criticism through the lens of the former paradigms is worthwhile, the Paris Agreement should be acknowledged as a pacemaker for the transformation processes that lay ahead of us.
The Paris Agreement adopted in December 2015 provides the basis for future international cooperation on the field of climate change mitigation. While truly global in reach, the agreement will however result in an increasingly complex new climate regime: Instead of using a uniform formula, Parties are allowed to autonomously define their NDCs (nationally determined contributions), resulting in a large diversity of contributions. This poses significant challenges for emissions accounting and the transfer of emission units.
This Policy Paper explores how these challenges can be addressed by analysing different types of NDCs and assessing their compatibility with the export and use of emission units. On that basis, the authors develop opt-in provisions for Parties willing to participate in unit transfers under the new climate regime and illustrate how potential risks to environmental integrity can be addressed.
In order to reconfigure global socio-economic systems to be compatible with social imperatives and planetary boundaries, a transition towards sustainable development is necessary. The multi-level perspective (MLP) has been developed to study long-term transformative change. This paper complements the MLP by providing an ontological framework for studying and understanding the role of narratives as the vehicle of meaning and intermediation between individual and social collective in the context of ongoing transitions. Narratives are established as an analytical entity to unpack how disturbances at the level of the socio-technical landscape are translated into and contribute to the transformation of socio-technical regimes. To illustrate and test the approach, it is applied to the case of the Fukushima catastrophe: The narratives in relation to nuclear power in Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom are scrutinized and it is explored how these narratives have co-determined the policy responses and thus influenced ongoing transformation processes in the power sectors of the respective countries.
The paper presents the results of an ex-ante evaluation of the economy-wide benefits that may be achieved through the implementation of the 20-year Energy Efficiency Action Plan (EEAP) in Thailand. The objective of the EEAP is to reduce energy intensity by 25 % in 2030 compared to 2010. This is to be reached by reducing the projected energy consumption by 20 % or 38 Mtoe until 2030. We have specified an analytical framework, which allows for a calculation of the overall energy cost savings, energy import cost reductions and reduced CO2 emissions. Moreover, we calculated the induced energy efficiency investments, employment effects and impacts on governmental budget. The evaluation shows that an effective implementation of the plan may lead to a reduction in energy expenditure of 37.7 billion EUR by 2030. Moreover, the EEAP-induced energy savings will significantly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions as well as Thailand’s energy import costs and generate private investment in energy efficiency of about 5 billion EUR annually in 2030, which in turn may lead to about 300,000 new jobs. The size of the net impact of the plan on Thailand’s governmental budget is uncertain due to positive and negative effects on corporate and income tax revenues, expenses for unemployment benefits, governmental energy consumption, expenses for energy subsidies and energy tax income.