Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Given the emergent international consensus that climate change was an
immediate threat to both the social and economic well-being of human-
ity, the intuitive international response should have been to cast vested
national interests aside, hoist the sails of initiative, and embark on a journey
of rigorous greenhouse gas abatement. However, such departures have not
materialized. In fact, one is tempted to glibly question whether members of
the international policy community have misconstrued the Stern Review's
admonition “delay in taking action on climate change would make it neces-
sary to accept both more climate change and, eventually, higher mitigation
costs” (p. xv) as a policy recommendation.
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1.2 ENERGY AND THE GLOBAL IMPERATIVE
Of the six greenhouse gases covered under the Kyoto Protocol—carbon
dioxide (CO
2
), methane (CH
4
), nitrous oxide (N
2
O), and three luorine gases
(HFCs, PFCs, and SF
6
)—CO
2
emissions represent by far the largest anthro-
pogenic contribution to elevated greenhouse gas concentrations due to the
sheer volume of annual CO
2
emissions. Figure 1.1 provides an indication of
how substantial CO
2
emissions are in comparison to other key gases.
9
As
the chart illustrates, CO
2
emissions from all sources accounted for approxi-
mately 75% of all GHG emissions in 2004, while energy-related CO
2
emis-
sions alone accounted for over 57% of all GHG emissions. In terms of the
Fluorinated Gases
1.1%
Nitrous Oxide
7.9%
Carbon Dioxide
(Fossil Fuels)
56.6%
Methane
14.3%
Carbon Dioxide
Deforestation/
Biomass Decay)
17.3%
Carbon Dioxide
(Other)
2.8%
Figure 1.1
. Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions, 2004
Source of data
: IPCC AR4 (2007).
