Climate-friendly Energy Policy by naresh

Pitch

GHG emissions are in the form of CO2 resulting from fossil fuel combustion, energy policies reduce fossil fuel use will reduce GHG emission.

Description

Summary

A climate-friendly energy policy is not a substitute for climate policy. More significant GHG emissions reductions would be necessary in order to address climate change than can be justified solely on the basis of traditional energy policy.

Fossil fuel use can be reduced by: (1) deploying technologies that increase energy efficiency (e.g., more efficient power plants, cars, and appliances) and (2) employing non-fossil fueled energy sources (e.g., solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, hydroelectric, nuclear energy, or renewables-based hydrogen).

CO2 emissions also can be reduced by shifting from high-carbon to lower-carbon fuels (e.g., shifting from coal to natural gas in the electricity production sector), and by employing carbon capture and sequestration technologies.

Conversely, energy policies that increase fossil fuel consumption, discourage or miss opportunities for efficiency improvements, and expand reliance on high-carbon fuels will increase CO2 emissions and thereby exacerbate climate change.

Category of the action

Reducing emissions from electric power sector.

What actions do you propose?

The key actions are:

a) Fossil Fuel

Expand natural gas transportation infrastructure: Encouraging expansion of the natural gas transportation system which will increase the delivery capability for natural gas and lower the price of the delivered product. This will facilitate the use of gas as a substitute for coal in electricity production and thus reduce GHG emissions.
Increase natural gas production: Encouraging increased production of natural gas. For example, tax incentives, royalty relief, and access to public land for resource development will lower the price and increase the availability of natural gas. This will, in turn, permit the use of gas as a substitute for coal in electricity production and thus reduce GHG emissions.

b) Electricity:

Encourage deployment of efficient electricity production technologies: Encouraging developers of new generation capacity to employ very efficient generation technologies—with tools such as tax incentives for combined heat and power and high-efficiency distributed generation—can significantly increase the amount of useful energy gleaned from fuels, and thus reduce both energy costs and emissions. Moreover, support for repowering existing plants with technology that improves the efficiency of electricity generation can reduce electricity prices and reduce fuel consumption per kilowatt-hour (kWh), with corresponding GHG reduction benefits. Incentives for investment in advanced technologies such as carbon capture and sequestration would allow future use of coal resources without net GHG emissions.
Maintain role for nuclear and hydroelectric power: Policies that allow the safe continued use of nuclear power plants—such as granting license extensions, approving plant upratings where warranted, and finding new solutions to the nuclear waste problem—preserve diversity of energy supply, may reduce electricity prices, and avoid very substantial coal consumption for electricity generation. Likewise, maintaining or expanding hydroelectric capacity in a way that protects natural resources provides low-cost electricity without GHG emissions.

3. Encourage development of renewable energy resources: Policies that encourage the development of renewable energy resources—such as production tax credits, a renewable portfolio standard, electricity transmission policies that do not discriminate against intermittent renewable resources such as solar and wind, and net metering for small distributed renewable resources—can help diversify our energy portfolio and are environmentally attractive. Wind, solar, geothermal, and hydropower generation produce no GHG emissions, and use of biomass produces no net GHG emissions.

c) Buildings End-Use Efficiency

i) Promote use of efficient technologies and green design in buildings: Policies that require increased efficiency of energy end-use (such as building codes or appliance efficiency standards), and policies that encourage use of highly efficient equipment and technologies (such as tax incentives, product efficiency labeling, and Energy Star™ programs) can significantly reduce energy consumption, consumer operating costs over a product’s or building’s lifecycle, the need for investment in new power plants, and emissions related to energy use.

d) Industrial End-Use Efficiency

i) Promote the use of more efficient processes and technologies in industry: Policies that provide incentives for investment in efficient processes and combined heat and power technologies, expand coverage of efficiency standards to standard-design industrial equipment, and provide more information on efficient technologies to industrial consumers can lead to further emissions reductions in the industrial sector.

e) Transportation

i) Enhance end-use efficiency of automobiles and light trucks: Regulatory and tax policies—such as more stringent CAFE standards, reforms to the “gas guzzler” tax, efficiency standards for tires, and tax or other incentives for the purchase of highly efficient hybrid vehicles—can significantly reduce fuel consumption per mile, thus reducing oil consumption and mitigating reliance on oil imports. Very significant energy and climate policy benefits can be gained in this area.

f) Research and Development

i) Promote research and development on efficient electricity production technologies: Tax incentives for R&D on improving the efficiency of the electricity generation process, regardless of fuel source, can provide options to reduce future energy prices and reduce future fuel consumption per kWh, with corresponding GHG benefits.

ii) Promote research and development on efficient end-use technologies: Tax incentives for R&D on improving transportation, building, and industrial end-use efficiency can provide options to reduce future energy costs to consumers and to reduce future energy consumption, with corresponding GHG benefits. Support for R&D is particularly important in areas where fundamental changes are possible, such as the widespread use of hydrogen in fuel cells to power vehicles.

iii) Promote research and development on non-fossil fuels and carbon sequestration: Tax incentives for R&D on alternatives to fossil fuels, such as biofuels and hydrogen, can provide future viable alternatives to oil. Development of economical carbon sequestration technologies could enable continued reliance on coal consistent with a GHG regulatory regime.

Who will take these actions?

Climatologist, Governments, Local government, International organizations, Environmentalist, Economist, Engineer, Researchers, Transportation sector, energy sectors organizations, NGOs, INGOs, Communication medias, Banks, Private sector, automobile industry, industries, individuals and other concerned parties.

Where will these actions be taken?

Any part of the world especially developed countries.

How much will emissions be reduced or sequestered vs. business as usual levels?

Depending upon type of energy policy.

What are other key benefits?

The key benefits are:

(1) Reduce GHG emissions

(2) Promote technology advancement or infrastructure development that will reduce the costs of achieving GHG emissions reductions in the future; and

(3) Minimize the amount of new capital investment in assets that would be substantially devalued (or “stranded”) if a GHG program were implemented

What are the proposal’s costs?

Proposal cost will be determined by the type of project, site of project, duration of time, implementing agencies, type of technology used in the project site, amount of GHGs reduction and vice versa.

Time line

Depending on the nature of project, site of project, amount of budget, type of technology used in project site and amount of GHGs reduction. Generally, the project time line in short term 5-15 years for baseline survey, creating awareness of local communities, building networks, developing infrastructure, making energy policies and Research. After, 15 years, in medium term 15-50 years, implement the project activities timely and monitor regularly. After, 50 years, long term evaluate the project goals and outcomes as well as calculate the amount of GHGs reduction.