China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Introduction
Published in Yatish T. Shah, Modular Systems for Energy and Fuel Recovery and Conversion, 2019
In parallel, social and political commitment to environmental protection and emissions reduction has grown meaningfully in some areas of the world as public concern over climate change continues to rise. Growing public concern has propelled policy-makers towards action. At the local level, policy commitment has become widespread through a variety of support schemes to spur investment in renewable energy (e.g., subsidies, feed-in tariffs, emissions, and efficiency requirements). As pointed out by the McKinsey report, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has reinforced climate change action as a global priority by aligning 195 countries towards a shared objective to limit global warming by reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. Roundtable participants viewed the Paris Agreement as a major milestone. The plans submitted in 2015 by each country—the nationally determined contributions (NDCs)—set targets for emissions reductions by 2030, relying primarily on increasing the share of (near) zero-carbon sources (e.g., renewable energy, nuclear, or fossil fuels with carbon capture, utilization, and storage). To this end, local production of hydrogen by steam reforming, electrolysis, or thermochemical dissociation of water for hydrogen filling station will increase as use of hydrogen in fuel cell vehicles increase. This growth is best accomplished by the distributed modular energy systems.
Kenya
Published in Susanne Hanger-Kopp, Jenny Lieu, Alexandros Nikas, Narratives of Low-Carbon Transitions, 2019
Oliver W. Johnson, Hannah Wanjiru, Mbeo Ogeya, Francis X. Johnson
Like many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya has high development ambitions, aiming to become a middle-income country by 2030 (Government of Kenya, 2007). These ambitions are based upon a low-carbon, climate-resilient development pathway, as set out in Kenya’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) to global climate change mitigation under the UNFCCC (Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, 2015). These ambitions depend on rapid expansion of the energy sector to increase the access, security, and affordability of energy service provision (Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, 2016). There are multiple, complementary pathways that Kenya might pursue to achieve these goals. In this chapter, we focus on two of those pathways: expansion of geothermal power development and development of greater sustainable charcoal production.
De-risking low carbon investments in the GCC
Published in Hisham M. Akhonbay, The Economics of Renewable Energy in the Gulf, 2018
In the lead-up to the COP21 meeting in 2015, all GCC countries submitted intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) to the UNFCCC, outlining their voluntary domestic climate actions. To reduce GHG emissions while also achieving national development goals, the INDCs included commitments to expand renewable energy, increase energy efficiency, and reduce energy consumption. These climate mitigation targets and commitments, which upon ratification of the COP21 Paris Agreement became Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), will shape the low carbon development path globally, including for GCC countries. Putting in place measures to scale up implementation of the NDCs demonstrates the political will to achieve low carbon development. The immediate challenges are to develop implementation strategies and to mobilize partners to raise the climate financing needed to achieve them. In the GCC context, the NDCs provide national climate policy frameworks with immense opportunities to accelerate the transition to low carbon development by further catalyzing private investments as a complement to public financing.
Optimum Site Selection of Hybrid Solar Photovoltaic (PV) - Hydro Power Plants in off Grid Locations in Cameroon using the Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA)
Published in Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, 2023
Chu Donatus Iweh, Guy Clarence Semassou, Roger Houèchénè Ahouansou
Perspectives on the application of these tools are much needed with the increasing variation in weather patterns due to climate change. It is even more useful in supporting national commitments such as the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) aimed at adapting and mitigating the effects of climate change. With the growing initiatives of climate action, coupled with their intricacies and inadequate resources, this MCDM tool can help stakeholders in making informed developmental decisions. Moreover, Cameroon like other countries has abundant RE resources to meet its NDCs but the main challenge is prioritizing these resources to solve the country’s climate change mitigation goals. Despite the availability of MCDM tools in literature, their practical application in prioritizing climate action initiatives is still scarce. Further research should focus on using these tools to prioritize climate action initiatives in countries.
Decarbonization scenarios for residential building sector in South Korea toward climate neutrality in 2050
Published in International Journal of Sustainable Energy, 2022
In 2020, Korea declared a goal for climate neutrality by 2050. In 2021, the country strengthened its 2030 nationally determined contribution (NDC) plan and the 2050 carbon-neutral scenario plan (Korean Government 2021; Korean Government 2021). The strengthened NDC plan pledged to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40% from the 2018 level by 2030. In this context, the National Assembly was the first to specify the reduction target in the ‘Framework Act on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth’ in 2021 (Ministry of Environment 2021). However, the plan has been criticised for being vague and unrealistic in its policy measures, such as public behaviour changes. Moreover, the government's carbon-neutral scenario implies that net zero emissions cannot be achieved by 2050 and that is excessively dependent on sinks such as carbon capture, utilisation, and storage, and overseas reduction, indicating the need for the establishment of a more ambitious and concrete decarbonisation plan.
Feasibility analysis of off-grid hybrid energy system for rural electrification in Northern Ghana
Published in Cogent Engineering, 2021
During the last decades, global energy demand has increased substantially (International Energy Agency, International Renewable Energy Agency, United Nations, World Bank Group and World Health Organization, 2018). This phenomenon is attributed to population growth, which has a significant impact on energy production, distribution and consumption (Menyah & Wolde-Rufael, 2010). While the generation of electricity from fossil fuels such as coal, diesel, and natural gas results in the emission of greenhouse gases in quantities that have adverse effects on humans and the environment (Awopone, Zobaa, & Banuenumah, 2017b; Reddy et al., 2013), it is generally agreed that the use of renewable energy resources will greatly reduce the current global environmental problems. Following a global shift in behaviour, the United Nations, in its Sustainable Development Goals, has explicitly demonstrated the need for clean energy transition in its seventh (7th) goal (International Energy Agency, International Renewable Energy Agency, United Nations, World Bank Group and World Health Organization, 2018). This together with the commitment of nations towards reducing their overall contribution to carbon emissions in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) from the Paris Agreement has increased the development rate for renewable energy technology