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Global Climate Change –A Monumental Mitigation Challenge
Citation:
Princiotta, F. Global Climate Change –A Monumental Mitigation Challenge. AWMA, Raleigh, NC, June 23 - 24, 2015.
Impact/Purpose:
This paper lays out the case that mitigating the potential for catastrophic climate change will be a monumental challenge, requiring the global community to transform its energy system in an aggressive, coordinated, and timely manner. If this challenge is to be met, new technologies will have to be developed and deployed at a rapid rate. Advances in carbon capture and storage, renewable, nuclear, and transportation technologies are particularly important. Even with an aggressive international mitigation effort, humanity will still need to adapt to significant climate change.
Description:
Population growth and the pressures spawned by increasing demands for energy and resource-intensive goods, foods, andservices are driving unsustainable growth in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Recent GHG emission trends are consistent withworst-case scenarios of the previous decade. Dramatic and near-term emission reductions likely will be needed to ameliorate thepotential deleterious impacts of climate change. To achieve such reductions, fundamental changes are required in the way thatenergy is generated and used. New technologies must be developed and deployed at a rapid rate. Advances in carbon capture andstorage, renewable, nuclear, and transportation technologies are particularly important; however, global research and developmentefforts related to these technologies currently appear to fall short relative to needs. Even with a proactive and internationalmitigation effort, humanity will need to adapt to climate change, but the adaptation needs and damages will be far greater ifmitigation activities are not pursued in earnest. In this review, research is highlighted that indicates increasing global and regionaltemperatures and ties climate changes to increasing GHG emissions. GHG mitigation targets necessary for limiting future globaltemperature increases are discussed, including how factors such as population growth and the growing energy intensity of thedeveloping world will make these reduction targets more challenging. Potential technological pathways for meeting emissionreduction targets are examined, barriers are discussed, and global and U.S. modeling results are presented that suggest that thenecessary pathways will require radically transformed electric and mobile sectors. While geoengineering options have beenproposed to allow more time for serious emission reductions, these measures are at the conceptual stage with many unansweredcost, environmental, and political issues.