Transcript Climate Change

Sustainability &
Leadership
Mr. Howard Shaw
Executive Director
Singapore Environment Council
LIVING PLANET INDEX
WORLD CO2 EMISSIONS FROM FOSSIL
FUELS
Energy Demand
By 2050:
• 9 billion people,
2.5 billion more than today
• 2 billion cars, double the number today
• China and India dominate Asia’s
energy demand, with China alone accounting for 40 %
of primary energy needs; China will be responsible for 60 % of
emissions
• Double the energy, using twice as much
energy as now
Three hard truths will shape
the future of the ecosystem
• Surge in energy demand
• Supply of Resources will struggle to
keep pace
• Environmental stresses
are increasing
Energy &
Climate Change
Impacts from climate change:
• Temperature rise
• sea level rise
• massive biodiversity loss
• increase of extreme events
• Depletion of fresh water resources
• Increase of vector born diseases
• economic and social instabilities
The greatest challenge
of the 21st century
….
Climate change is real and a very serious threat to global stability
People at the heart of the storylines …
individually and collectively
• People choose the easiest
option for them
• Fear is not enough to
change behaviours
• Climate change is too difficult
• Delegating action to the state
• Adapt rather than change
Solution:
Biofuel Generation from
Algae
• The current biofuel production process is highly
unsustainable (land use, energy requirements)
=> negative impact on agriculture
• Biofuel generated from algae could solve these
issues:
- saving in energy
- saving in land use
- high yield
• Fuel of the future?
Solution: Carbon Sequestration
• Sequestrating carbon emissions
underground is a safe process
• Similar technology used for the
extraction of natural gas can be
applied
• The carbon will remain trapped
for millions of years
Solution: Renewable
Energies on a Large Scale
A combine use of renewable energy sources
could meet our current energy needs:
-
Solar energy (photovoltaic and thermal)
Hydroelectric energy
Wind energy
Geothermal energy
Ocean Thermal energy
Ocean wave energy
Tidal and currents energy
These technologies are available today …
We must however rapidly make the shift going
away from fossil fuel based energies
Solution: Sustainable
Transportation
•
•
Transportation accounts for almost one
third of all greenhouse gas emissions
Improving energy efficiency and
emission reducing technologies within
transport is a priority
-
Hybrids
Fuel cells
CNG vehicles
Mass public transportation
-
Human energy vehicles
Solar and wind energy vehicles
Tesla Roadster
•
0 – 60 mph in 3.9 Secs
•
244 mile range
•
2 X more efficient than a Prius
Source: McKinsey & Company - Pathways to a Low Carbon Economy 2009
Hope: Nuclear Fusion
•
Currently used nuclear fission is a clean
process when it comes to emissions but it
generates radioactive waste and poses
security risks
•
•
•
Fusion is the energy of the future by
excellence
Clean process occurring within the sun
It can be done
•
Major problems remaining to be solved:
-
Maintaining a stable reaction
Confining the extremely hot plasma
•
We might be able to harvest fusion energy in 50
years time
However, our climate will not wait…other alternatives
must be put into place
Waste
Facts:
• Cities are growing fast
• Landfills are reaching saturation/
incineration produces emissions
• Waste has a lot of value but is not
exploited
• We must shift from a global unsustainable
waste management model to a sustainable
one
Garbage Output
Waste Output 2002: 7,677 tonnes/day
• Equivalent to 1,100 truck loads!
Equivalent to 2.8 million tonnes/yr
If stacked to an average man’s height
(1.7m), it would occupy 350 football
fields
Tuas South Incineration Plant
Waste Disposal at
Pulau Semakau
Pulau Semakau Landfill:
•Completed 1999
•Cost: $610 million
•Life Span : 30 years
•350 hectare
Pulau Semakau Yesterday – 5 Nov 2009
Solution: Waste to
Energy
•
By 2050 80% of the world population
will be living in mega cities
•
The tremendous amount of waste
generated can be valued
•
Entire cities can be powered out of
energy generated from waste
-
Capture of gases (CO2 & CH4)
Use of heat energy generated from the
decomposition process
Solution: Waste
Engineering
•
Non-traditional waste recovery
•
Bio-plastics
•
Hi-Tech & Hi Value Add
Solution: Traditional
Recycling
•
•
•
Value waste
Use of recycled content within
products
Reduce massive consumerisms
1) Educating the community
2) Implementation of infrastructures to
treat the waste accordingly
Technology will not solve all our problems,
we must also change our behaviors
Nature &
conservation
Facts:
. Species are going extinct at least 1000 times
faster than the natural rate
• We could lose 30-40% of all species on the
planet through the impacts of climate change
alone by the end of the century
• At the current rate primary forests will have
completely disappeared in places such as Borneo
or PNG within 20-30 years
Solution: Sustainable
Cities
• Cities of the future must incorporate
nature (green walls, green roof tops,
natural parks, connectors)
• Green buildings (energy efficiency)
• Good water management
• Good waste management
Most importantly, biodiversity and
natural ecosystems around cities
should be preserved at all costs
They have a critical role to play
…
Solution: Learning
from Nature
• We have a lot to learn from our
environment:
We must understand that there is
tremendous amount of knowledge which
will disappear with the loss of
biodiversity
Biomimetics is the study of nature to
come up with innovative ideas and
optimal designs
Potential remedies and medicines
Potential for optimal design
(biomimetics)
• The preservation of biodiversity is crucial
in our own interest
We know more about our solar system them we do about life in
the deep oceans of our own planet!
Solution: Valuing
Nature
• There is a lot of economical gain in
preserving our environment:
Revenues generated from:
• Ecotourism
• Agroforestry
• Medicines
• We must learn to work with our
environment and not against it
The destruction and loss of natural
ecosystems will end up costing much more
than their destruction for short term profit
Share your knowledge
Awareness
• In order to judge we need to know what we are
losing
• Sharing of knowledge => Snow-Ball effect
• Awareness is primordial
• Small actions by individuals can lead to
significant changes if applied on a large scale
You are in a
position to
influence people
Schools’ Green Audit Awards
• Schools achieve awards of varying levels based
on their performance in environmental audits.
Project Carbon Zero
www.climatechange.sg
180 in contest trial. Average: 22% reduction
Current Model vs. Future Sustainable Society
• At the current rate we will
need at least 2 planet Earth
by 2050
• Our current business model
Is not sustainable
OUR BANK
DEPOSITS
DEPOSITS
WITHDRAWALS
WITHDRAWALS
USEUSE
OF RESOURCES
OF RESOURCES
POLLUTION
POLLUTION
ENVIRONMENTAL
ENVIRONMENTAL
ACTION
ACTION
NATURAL
NATURAL
RESTORATION
RESTORATION
Thank you for your
attention
www.sec.org.sg
The SEC team