19 September 2017
Mitigation How-to’s: Publications Outline Options and Strategies to Accelerate Mitigation Actions
UN Photo/Mark Garten
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This Article summarizes recent publications providing actionable knowledge on mitigation options.

Issues addressed include: How to Avert Catastrophic Climate Change; How to Use the CDM to Achieve Post-2020 Commitments for Emissions Reductions; How to Boost Mitigation Ambition in Urban Environments and Land Use; and How to Mitigate Methane Emissions from Rice Production.

September 2017: Knowing what options for mitigation action exist and how they can be realized is an important first step towards effective mitigation action. Around the world, academic institutions, international organizations, expert panels and research networks are assessing mitigation knowledge to develop viable policies and actions. This article summarizes recent publications ranging from a global strategy to avert catastrophic climate change to hands-on advice for boosting mitigation in urban and rural environments.

How to Avert Catastrophic Climate Change

There are several ways to fight climate change; however, which combination of strategies and targets will avert catastrophic climate change? A recent report authored by the Committee to Prevent Extreme Climate Change proposes three cooling “levers” that will reduce the probability of catastrophic climate change below 5%. They include: drastically reducing emissions of short-lived climate pollutants like hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), methane, and black carbon by 2020; decarbonizing the global energy system by mid-century; and undertaking atmospheric carbon extraction.

Reducing emissions of short-lived climate pollutants is key to slowing near-term warming. This strategy can be implemented today with existing technologies and some laws and regulations to do so are already in place, such as the Montreal Protocol’s Kigali Amendment, which regulates the phase down of HFCs. The second strategy requires novel technologies and regulations that accelerate energy efficiency and a global transition towards carbon neutral energy sources to achieve a peaking of emissions by 2020 and reduction to zero by 2050. Bending the CO2 emissions curve by 2020 will lead to a less than 5% probability of exceeding 2°C warming, the authors suggest; however, this objective may turn out to be unrealistic. The authors therefore propose a third strategy to extract carbon from the atmosphere as insurance against failure to implement the second because of policy lapses or surprises.

If CO2 emissions peak only in 2030, for example, extraction of one trillion tons of CO2 will be necessary to ensure that the probability of catastrophic climate change stays below 5%. The report ‘Well Under 2 Degrees Celsius: Fast Action Policies to Protect People and the Planet from Extreme Climate Change’ was released by the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development (IGSD). A peer reviewed summary of the report was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS). [IGSD Press Release][Scripps Institution of Oceanography Press Release] [Well Under 2 Degrees Celsius: Fast Action Policies to Protect People and the Planet from Extreme Climate Change] [PNAS Article] [Article Summary]

How to Use the CDM to Achieve Post-2020 Commitments for Emissions Reductions

One open question for the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is the role of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). As a contribution to this discussion, researchers at the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) have assessed the global emissions reductions that can be expected if countries were to use certified emissions reductions (CER) of CDM projects to achieve mitigation targets established in their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The report titled, ‘Using the Clean Development Mechanism for Nationally Determined Contributions and International Aviation,’ finds that doing so would lower overall compliance costs, support stranded projects, and supply sufficient credits for CORSIA implementation.

On the other hand, the author notes that this strategy would achieve few additional emissions reductions compared to a situation in which such a policy or programme did not exist. To achieve additional emissions reductions, the author recommends prioritizing or limiting eligibility to CERs generated from new projects that were developed in response to the policy or programme and have a high likelihood of additionality. The study further recommends ensuring robust accounting to address the risk of double counting 2020 targets and accounting for the “vintage of CERs and the time frame of mitigation targets.” [Using the Clean Development Mechanism for Nationally Determined Contributions and International Aviation] [Report Abstract]

How to Boost Mitigation Ambition in Urban Environments and Land Use

The UNFCCC Secretariat has released updated versions of two technical papers summarizing information on mitigation benefits and co-benefits of policies, practices and actions for enhancing mitigation ambition in urban environments and regarding land use. The paper on urban mitigation covers, among other issues, information to realize mitigation potential in buildings, transportation, energy, waste and ‘urban form’ that is the physical layout of urban buildings and infrastructure. It also summarizes strategies to accelerate implementation, such as city-level collaboration, cross-city partnerships, and financial and technical support; as well as possible next steps.

The land use paper covers policies, practices and actions to unlock mitigation potential in the agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) sector focusing on existing practices and lessons learned, available support and enabling activities that could increase mitigation ambition. It concludes with potential next steps to improve the technical examination process (TEP) on mitigation from policy and action identification to transformational policy and action implementation. [Technical Paper: Urban environment related mitigation benefits and co-benefits of policies, practices and actions for enhancing mitigation ambition and options for supporting their implementation][Technical Paper: Land use related mitigation benefits and co-benefits of policies, practices and actions for enhancing mitigation ambition and options for supporting their implementation]

How to Mitigate Methane Emissions from Rice Production

In related news on mitigation options in land use the Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security Research Program (CCAFS) of the CGIAR System Organization has released a peer-reviewed article on a novel way to reduce methane emissions from rice production. The ‘Alternate Wetting and Drying’ technology reduces water use in a way that also reduces methane production. The authors develop a model for rice production in the Philippines that shows that the technology could be applied to 60% of rice production in the Philippines, potentially reducing methane emissions by up to 265,000 tons. The article concludes with specific recommendations for application in the Philippines as well as using the model applied to estimate methane mitigation potential in other rice producing countries. [CCAFS Press Release][Climate-based suitability assessment for alternate wetting and drying water management in the Philippines: a novel approach for mapping methane mitigation potential in rice production]

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