Low Carbon Development

Key Issues

Frauke Urban, Johan Nordensvard

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781136266676
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Economics
• Subtopic: Development Economics
• Index: Economics

Low Carbon Development: Key Issues is the first comprehensive textbook to address the interface between international development and climate change in a carbon constrained world. It discusses the key conceptual, empirical and policy-related issues of low carbon development and takes an international and interdisciplinary approach to the subject by drawing on insights from across the natural sciences and social sciences whilst embedding the discussion in a global context.

The first part explores the concept of low carbon development and explains the need for low carbon development in a carbon constrained world. The book then discusses the key issues of socio-economic, political and technological nature for low carbon development, exploring topics such as the political economy, social justice, financing and carbon markets, and technologies and innovation for low carbon development. This is followed by key issues for low carbon development in policy and practice, which is presented based on cross-cutting issues such as low carbon energy, forestry, agriculture and transportation. Afterwards, practical case studies are discussed from low carbon development in low income countries in Africa, middle income countries in Asia and Latin America and high income countries in Europe and North America.

Written by an international team of leading academics and practitioners in the field of low carbon development, this book is essential reading for students, academics, professionals and policy-makers interested in the fields of low carbon development, climate change mitigation, climate policy, climate change and development, global environmental change, and environment and development.

Part 1

Introduction

Editorial for Part 1

Introduction

Frauke Urban and Johan Nordensvärd

Part 1 provides an introduction to the book. This part introduces low carbon development by discussing the origins, concepts and key issues relevant for low carbon policy and practice. This part further elaborates some of the critiques that relate to low carbon development.

Overview of Part 1

Low carbon development is crucial for mitigating emissions that lead to climate change and enabling development in a carbon constrained world. Low carbon development is being pursued by high income countries and emerging emitters to reduce emissions, increase economic growth and firm competitiveness. At the same time, low carbon development is an option for lower income countries to access modern energy, low carbon technology and to reduce poverty. Chapter 1 elaborates what low carbon development is, why it is needed, how it is defined, how it differs from other key concepts in the field of environment and development, and how to achieve low carbon development in practice.

1 Low carbon development

Origins, concepts and key issues

Frauke Urban and Johan Nordensvärd

Low carbon development is crucial for mitigating emissions that lead to climate change and for enabling development in a carbon constrained world. Low carbon development is being pursued by high income countries and emerging emitters to reduce emissions, increase economic growth and firm competitiveness. At the same time, low carbon development is an option for lower income countries to access modern energy, low carbon technology and to reduce poverty. This chapter elaborates what low carbon development is, why it is needed, how it is defined, how it differs from other key concepts in the field of environment and development and how to achieve low carbon development in practice.

Introduction

The popularity of low carbon development has rapidly increased in recent years. Low carbon development has received attention from academics, policy-makers, practitioners, the media and the wider public. Low carbon development is situated at the interface of two major fields of study: climate change mitigation and international development. Both climate change and development are two of the most important global issues of our times, but at the same time they are highly contentious and debated. This chapter aims to provide an introduction to low carbon development, its definition and origins, how to achieve low carbon development in practice, as well as a critique of low carbon development.

Global climate change

We will start this chapter by examining the role of global climate change, as mitigating climate change is one of the key goals of low carbon development. Box 1.1 then defines low carbon development.

Global climate change is considered to be one of the greatest challenges to international development efforts. It poses risks to humans, the environment and the economy (Urban, 2010). It is well documented that so-called greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions contribute to anthropogenic (or human-induced) climate change (IPCC, 2007). Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆) (UNFCCC, 1997). The most important GHG is CO₂, which is often only referred to as carbon, such as in relation to carbon emissions and low carbon development. These GHGs are emitted from the combustion of fossil fuels, from land use changes and deforestation, from industrial activity and transport (IPCC, 2007). The effects of climate change are reported to be rising temperatures, melting glaciers, sea level rise, changes in precipitation and increases in extreme weather events like floods, droughts and cyclones (IPCC, 2007). Nevertheless impacts of climate change vary across different regions, intensities and scales. A degree of uncertainty is associated with climate change, however, there is consensus among the overwhelming majority of scientists about the anthropogenic causes of climate change, the main climatic impacts and their severity.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (IPCC, 2007) reports that in terms of climate change, the global mean surface temperature has risen by 0.74°C ± 0.18°C during the last century. This increase has been particularly significant over the last 50 years (IPCC, 2007). From a global perspective, the IPCC (2007) reports that they found high increases in heavy precipitation events, while droughts have become more frequent since the 1970s, especially in the (sub)tropics. There is also documentation about changes in the large-scale atmospheric circulation and increases in tropical cyclone activity since the 1970s (IPCC, 2007; Urban, 2009).

Global climate change is not a distant vision of a troubled future, but very much a reality of today that requires urgent action. Former United Nations (UN) Secretary General and President of the Global Humanitarian Forum, Kofi Annan, mentioned a few years ago that ‘Today, millions of people are already suffering because of climate change’ (Annan, 2009: i). The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon confirmed recently on a trip to the small Pacific nation Kiribati that ‘climate change is not about tomorrow. It is lapping at our feet – quite literally in Kiribati and elsewhere’ (Ban, 2011: 1). Ban further said ‘I have watched the high tide impacting those villages. The high tide shows it is high time to act.’ He also addressed the current development model and suggested that something is ‘seriously wrong with our current model of economic development’ (Ban, 2011: 1).

Increasingly, scientists agree that the possibility of staying below the 2°C threshold by 2100 between ‘acceptable’ and ‘dangerous’ climate change becomes less likely as no serious global action on climate change is taken (Tyndall Centre, 2009; Richardson et al., 2009; Urban, 2009; Urban et al., 2011). A rise above 2°C by 2100 is likely to lead to abrupt and irreversible changes (IPCC, 2007). These changes could cause severe societal, economic and environmental disruptions that could severely threaten international development throughout the 21st century and beyond (Richardson et al., 2009; Urban, 2010; Urban et al., 2011).

The need for climate change mitigation

Many climate scientists therefore call for an urgent limit to global carbon emissions. This cap on the total quantity of GHG emissions is often referred to as the carbon budget. In the late 1990s, Greenpeace calculated that a global carbon budget of about 585 Gigatons of carbon (GtC¹) is required to achieve a stabilization at 400 to 450 parts per million (ppm) to limit global warming to 2°C by 2100 (Greenpeace, 1997). However, in the late 1990s there was still optimism that there might be a chance to limit global warming to 1°C.

Two decades later, climate scientists are less optimistic: at the global scale, the atmospheric concentration of CO₂ has increased from a pre-industrial value of approximately 280 ppm to around 380 ppm in 2005 (IPCC, 2007) and 396 ppm in 2007 (Richardson et al., 2009). Climate scientists estimate that for a 50 per cent chance of achieving the 2°C target, a global atmospheric CO₂ equivalent concentration of 400 to 450 ppm needs to be achieved (Richardson et al., 2009; Pye et al., 2010). To limit global warming to 2°C by 2100 will require an immediate reduction in global GHG emissions and a total reduction of about 60–80 per cent of emissions by 2100 (Richardson et al., 2009). This would require a peaking of global emissions by 2020 or earlier. Nevertheless, the 400 ppm target seems to have been reached recently (see the figures above from Richardson et al., 2009) while emissions are still rising, which shows the urgency of needing to limit emissions now to avoid dangerous climate change.

There is thus an urgent need for serious global commitment to mitigate climate change by reducing GHG emissions and implementing low carbon development. Climate change mitigation is defined as ‘an anthropogenic intervention to reduce the anthropogenic forcing of the climate system; it includes strategies to reduce greenhouse gas sources and emissions and enhancing greenhouse gas sinks’ (IPCC, 2001: 379).

Low carbon development

Until recently, there was a predominant focus on mitigation efforts and transitions to low carbon economies in high income countries as they used to be the major GHG emitters since the Industrial Revolution about two centuries ago. Developed countries are reported to be responsible for about 75 per cent of historic or accumulated emissions (WRI, 2005). This emission balance has changed in recent years with the rise of emerging economies such as China, India, South Africa, Brazil and other large developing countries that have rapidly growing emissions and strive for low carbon development. Today, China alone accounts for almost 25 per cent of total global CO₂ emissions, but in per capita terms the average Chinese is responsible for about three times less CO₂ emissions than the average US citizen (IEA, 2012). In addition, some low and middle income countries increasingly seem to favour the benefits low carbon development can offer to enable development in a carbon constrained world, such as access to modern energy, low carbon technology and reducing poverty. Examples are Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Guyana and other countries. This is despite the fact that historically, developing countries – in particular Least Developed Countries (LDCs) – have contributed very little to climate change. LDCs were reported to account for only about 4 per cent of global GHG emissions in 2005 and only 0.3 per cent of accumulated CO₂ emissions from energy use (WRI, 2005), while being at the same time the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (IPCC, 2007).

As climate change is a global challenge, low carbon development is of global relevance in low income, middle income and high income countries. Nevertheless its facets and characteristics can differ significantly depending on local and national priorities and concerns. Box 1.1 defines low carbon development.

Box 1.1 Defining low carbon development

There are two key definitions for low carbon development.² One definition is in broader development terms and the other is more specifically geared towards growth. In broader development terms, low carbon development is a development model that is based on climate-friendly low carbon energy and follows principles of sustainable development, makes a contribution to avoiding dangerous climate change and adopts patterns of low carbon consumption and production (Skea and Nishioka, 2008; Urban, 2010; Urban et al., 2011).

In growth terms, low carbon development is defined as using less carbon for growth, which includes switching from fossil fuels to low carbon energy, promoting low carbon technology innovation and business models, protecting and promoting natural carbon sinks such as forests and wetlands, and formulating policies that promote low carbon practices and behaviours (DfID, 2009: 58; Urban et al., 2011).

The ultimate aim of low carbon development is to mitigate emissions to avoid dangerous climate change, while at the same time achieving social and economic development (Urban, 2011). In this book, we will use the definition of low carbon development, not low carbon growth.

Low carbon development emerged primarily as a concept that was developed by donor agencies in the development field, particularly the UK Department for International Development (DfID). While it started out as a term used mainly by development aid agencies of the developed world, it has in recent years been taken up by many governments around the world, and has made its entry into the academic world.

Operationally and conceptually, low carbon development has emerged from a number of other concepts in the field of environment and development, which are outlined in Box 1.2.

Box 1.2 How does low carbon development differ from other concepts in the field of environment and development?

Low carbon development is a new concept that partly overlaps with other development concepts, such as sustainable development, green growth and climate compatible development. This textbox briefly elaborates the key similarities and differences between low carbon development and other related concepts.

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts:

• the concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which overriding priority should be given;

• the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs.

(WCED, 1987: 43)

Skea and Nishioka (2008: 6) indicate that actions leading to low carbon development need to follow the principles of sustainable development and ‘ensuring that the development needs of all groups within society are met’. low carbon development has the goal of achieving sustainable development; nevertheless, unlike sustainable development, low carbon development does not directly address issues of environmental sustainability in broader terms beyond climate change (Urban, 2011).

Green growth focuses on sustainable consumption and production, greening business and markets, developing sustainable infrastructure, introducing green taxes and budget reforms as fiscal policies, investing in natural capital such as ecosystems, and developing and using indicators for eco-efficien...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Series page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of figures and tables
• Notes on contributors
• Acknowledgements
• List of acronyms and abbreviations
• Preface
• Part 1 Introduction
• Part 2 The politics of low carbon development
• Part 3 The social dimensions of low carbon development
• Part 4 The economics of low carbon development
• Part 5 Technology and innovation for low carbon development
• Part 6 Key issues for low carbon development in policy and practice
• Part 7 Key issues for low carbon development in low, middle and high income countries: Case studies
• Index