ZeroCarbon World
We are not alone…
zerocarbonbritain2030 demonstrates how Britain can eliminate emissions from fossil fuels and break our dependence on imported energy by 2030 by significantly increasing energy efficiency and by installing massive renewable energy generation.
In Europe, America and across the world, many organisations are examining how their nations and regions can do the same.
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The Centre for Alternative Technology is a member of INFORSE, the International Network for Sustainable Energy. INFORSE is a worldwide NGO network that works for the implementation of sustainable energy solutions by exchange of information, awareness creation, formulation and implementation of strategies, and lobbying of international forums.
INFORSE have launched the Vision2050 programme which shows how we can change the world's unsustainable energy system into a sustainable one. According to this Vision, 100% of our energy needs can come from renewable sources by 2050. INFORSE members have developed Vision2050 models for global, regional and national scales. The Global Vision2050 is described on the INFORSE homepage:
An EU Vision and several individual country Visions are available on the INFORSE-Europe's Vision2050 homepage:
http://www.inforse.org/europe/Vision2050.htm
Also based in Europe is the Low Carbon Societies Network project. This runs until September 2011 and focuses on the development of low carbon scenarios for Germany and France. These scenarios will respect the 2°C limit of global temperature rise and be focused on energy efficiency and proven renewable energy technologies.
It will involve a close examination of the economic and employment impacts of such measures through the use of roundtables gathering economic stakeholders such as trade unions and consumer associations, as well as the use of macroeconomic models developed by research institutes in France and Germany. You can find out more about this project by visiting the Low Carbon Societies Network homepage:
http://www.lowcarbon-societies.eu
The German Federal Environment Agency, Umwelt Bundes Amt (UBA), has recently demonstrated how Germany’s electricity supply could be powered completely by renewable energies using technology already on the market today. The agency shows how every region in Germany can contribute by tapping into the most viable renewable energies in their area, in a so-called “region’s network” approach. There are a range of pathways to their aim of 100% renewable electricity. These vary on assumptions for energy demand and on the expected level of imports (0-15%).
The results of the study demonstrate that electricity supply can be generated completely from renewable energies by 2050 and that a secure supply can be guaranteed at all times. There may also be the potential to generate more electricity than is needed domestically, which would enable Germany to sell exported electricity. In a follow-up study the Federal Environment Agency will investigate two possible alternatives to the “region’s network” scenario - the “international large scale application of technology” and “local energy autarky”.
The report, 100% renewable electricity supply by 2050 (“Energieziel 2050: 100% Strom aus erneuerbaren Quellen”) is available in German at:
http://www.umweltdaten.de/publikationen/fpdf-l/3997.pdf
A more ambitious proposal for Germany has been developed by WWF, whose report, Blueprint Germany: A strategy for a climate safe 2050, shows how Germany can achieve a 95 % reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050.
Summaries in English can be downloaded from:
10 page summary: http://www.wwf.de/fileadmin/fm-wwf/pdf_neu/blueprint_germany_folder.pdf
36 page summary: http://www.wwf.de/fileadmin/fm-wwf/pdf_neu/blueprint_germany_wwf.pdf
The full report is available in German only from: http://www.wwf.de/fileadmin/fm-wwf/pdf_neu/WWF_Modell_Deutschland_Endbericht.pdf
In France, a group of energy efficiency and renewable energy experts have joined forces to envision a sustainable energy path – the Negawatt scenario. The approach is based on applying three complementary steps - energy sufficiency, energy efficiency and renewables – to a business-as-usual scenario up to 2050. The website for this project is:
For a summary in English, download “A negawatt scenario for 2005–2050” by Salomon et al. (2005) at:
http://www.eceee.org/conference_proceedings/eceee/2005c/Panel_1/1113salomon/
In Northern France, Virage-énergie has produced a plan for a nuclear-free 75% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions within the Nord-Pas de Calais region. By working on the regional scale, Virage-énergie hope to arouse a stronger awareness and mobilisation of local citizens as well as more opportunity to facilitate choices on concrete actions by regional political decision-makers. For more information, visit the Virage-énergie website:
http://www.virage-energie-npdc.org
In Ireland, a conference entitled Zero Carbon Ireland - Where do we want to be by 2050? was recently hosted by the Dublin Institute of Technology. Now a website has been set up which seeks your comments and articles. You can find out more about the conference, and participate by providing your comments by visiting:
Across the Atlantic, the Carbon Free, Nuclear Free project offers a roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy. The report, Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free: A Roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy shows how the U.S. can achieve a carbon-free nuclear-free U.S. energy system that we can create by 2050, through efficiency savings and the development of solar and wind power technologies, as well as other renewable technologies, all at a reasonable cost. Find out more, and download the report or summaries of it, from the Carbon Free, Nuclear Free website:
http://www.carbonfreenuclearfree.org
In Australia, Zero Carbon Australia Plan (ZCA2020) reports on how the nation can achieve 100% renewable energy by 2020. The project is entirely the work of a team of volunteer contributors - ordinary Australians with experience and expertise in engineering and other relevant disciplines - working to provide an empowering vision of decisive action to combat climate change in the Australian context. Further information on the project is available from the website:
http://www.beyondzeroemissions.org/zero-carbon-australia-2020