The Climate Bonus: Co-benefits of Climate Policy

449 Pages·2.953 MB·English

by  Alison Smith

The Climate Bonus
We urgently need to transform to a low carbon society, yet our progress is painfully
slow, in part because there is widespread public concern that this will require
sacrifice and high costs. But this need not be the case. Many carbon reduction
policies provide a range of additional benefits, from reduced air pollution and
increased energy security to financial savings and healthier lifestyles, that can offset
the costs of climate action.
This book maps out the links between low carbon policies and their co-benefits,
and shows how low carbon policies can lead to cleaner air and water, conservation
of forests, more sustainable agriculture, less waste, safer and more secure energy,
cost savings for households and businesses and a stronger and more stable economy.
The book discusses the ways in which joined-up policies can help to maximise the
synergies and minimise the conflicts between climate policy and other aspects of
sustainability.
Through rigorous analysis of the facts, the author presents well-reasoned and
evidenced recommendations for policy makers and all those with an interest in
making a healthier and happier society. This book shows us how, instead of being
paralysed by the threat of climate change, we can use it as a stimulus to escape
from our dependence on polluting fossil fuels, and make the transition to a cleaner,
safer and more sustainable future.
Alison Smithis an environmental policy consultant with 15 years’ experience of
advising the UK government and the European Commission, and has been a lead
author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
‘The Climate Bonus comes at a crucial time in national and international climate
policy. It provides a compelling vision and strategy for a path forward to carbon
reduction by linking climate change to the immediate concerns of policy makers:
human health, land management, resource security and economic stability.’
Douglas Crawford-Brown, Director of the Cambridge Centre for
Climate Change Mitigation Research, University of Cambridge, UK
‘Policies to address climate change can yield many immediate benefits – cleaner
air, improved health, a stronger economy, greater energy security, reduced waste
and more robust ecosystems. The Climate Bonus documents these potential co-
benefits of climate change policies. We need to act now to address climate change
and to reap these numerous co-benefits.’
Erik Haites, President of Margaree Consultants Inc., Canada
‘This book brings some fresh thinking to tackling climate change. It makes the key
point that saving the planet is not rocket science and that there is much we can do
now. It also brings out the often overlooked role of material resource efficiency,
pointing out that it is just as important as energy efficiency for meeting climate
targets.’
Marcus Gover, Director of the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), UK
‘This book makes a very important contribution to the climate debate. It will enable
both policy makers and the general public to understand that reducing our fossil
fuel dependency won’t just benefitthe climate, but people’s health across the board,
as a result of cleaner air, healthier diets and more opportunities for walking and
cycling.’
Génon Jensen, Executive Director of the Health and Environment Alliance and member of the
World Health Organization’s European Health and Environment Task Force, Belgium
The Climate Bonus
Co-benefits of climate policy
Alison Smith
First published 2013
by Routledge
2Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
byRoutledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
©2013 Alison Smith
The right of Alison Smith to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice:Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Acatalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Smith, Alison (Alison J.)
The climate bonus : co-benefits of climate policy / Alison Smith.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Climate change mitigation. 2. Restoration ecology. 3. Restoration
ecology–Economic aspects. 4. Conservation of natural resources. I. Title.
QC903.S587 2013
363.738'74561–dc23
2012024557
ISBN: 978-1-84971-340-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-84971-341-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-10957-1 (ebk)
Typeset in Baskerville by
Keystroke, Station Road, Codsall, Wolverhampton
Contents
List of figures xi
List of tables xv
List of boxes xvii
Acknowledgements xix
Anote on units xxi
Abbreviations xxiii
1 Introduction 1
2 The big picture: how climate policies are linked to
co-benefits 4
Fossil fuels and industrial processes 4
Land use and agriculture 7
Forest protection 7
Agriculture 7
Waste management 8
Grouping the co-benefits 8
3 Cleaner air: cutting fossil fuel pollution 10
Acid, dust and ozone: the downside of fossil fuels 10
Health effects 13
Ecosystem effects 15
The big clean-up: is it working? 17
Relevant climate policies 20
Cutting energy consumption 21
Low-carbon energy 22
Emission controls 30
Forests and other land-use changes 32
vi Contents
Co-benefits 33
Health benefits in the UK 34
Health and ecosystem benefits in Europe 35
Health and ecosystem benefits worldwide 37
Methane, ozone and black carbon 41
Indoor air pollution 42
Conflicts 43
End-of-pipe solutions 43
Diesel for transport 45
Air pollution from biofuels 45
Nuclear pollution 47
Geo-engineering 51
The way forward 51
4 Greener land: forests, food and farming 54
Relevant climate policies 56
Protecting and increasing forest carbon 56
Increasing carbon stored in agricultural soils 60
Agroforestry and perennial crops 63
Reduced emissions from nitrogen fertilisers 64
Reducing methane emissions 64
Bioenergy 65
Improving yields 67
Eating less meat and dairy produce 67
Co-benefits 68
Forests 68
Agriculture 78
Conflicts 87
Problems with forest carbon schemes 87
Bioenergy and biochar 90
Feeding the world 94
The way forward 96
Food, fuel, forests: a balanced approach to land use 96
Valuing ecosystems: making REDD work 98
Sustainable biofuels 104
Sustainable food 106
5 Secure and safe energy: adapting to Peak Oil 113
Cheap energy – the end of an era? 114
Peak Oil 114
Peak Gas 121
Contents vii
Peak Coal 122
Market concentration: who’s got the power? 123
Diminishing returns: the EROI problem 126
Energy crunch: growing demand; inadequate investment 128
Relevant climate policies 129
Cutting energy consumption 129
Renewables 132
Nuclear 135
Fuel switching 135
Co-benefits 136
Secure energy 136
Affordable energy 139
Safe, clean, sustainable energy 146
Energy access for all 150
Conflicts 152
Fossil fuels: ‘Drill, baby, drill!’? 152
Nuclear power 154
Variable renewables: what happens when the wind stops? 161
Biofuels 167
Other impacts of renewables 168
The way forward 169
6 Less waste: a resource-efficient economy 172
Materials: a hidden source of carbon emissions 172
Trends in material use 173
Carbon omissions 175
The material efficiency challenge 175
Relevant climate policies 178
Recycling 179
Reuse and re-manufacture 180
Resource-efficient production 182
Cutting consumer waste 184
Dematerialising the economy 185
Co-benefits 186
Peak everything: conserving valuable resources 186
Resource wars: reducing conflict 192
Clean planet: reducing environmental and social impacts 195
Less waste: reducing disposal problems 198
Saving money: don’t waste our waste 201
New businesses, happy customers 206
viii Contents
Conflicts 208
Rare metals for clean technology 208
Trade and international development 209
The way forward 210
Resource sufficiency: living within our means 211
Developing countries: escaping the resource curse 220
7 A stronger economy: long-term stability and prosperity 222
Relevant climate policies 223
Resource efficiency 224
Low-carbon energy 224
Lifestyle changes 225
Caps and taxes 225
Co-benefits 225
Jobs 226
Cost savings 237
Competitiveness, innovation and new business opportunities 239
Asecure and stable economy 242
Conflicts 246
The cost barrier: can we afford the future? 247
Competition: a mass exodus to pollution havens? 250
Fuel poverty: hitting the poor hardest 251
Developing countries: catch-up or leapfrog? 252
Cost savings versus carbon savings: the rebound effect 254
Is endless growth possible? The 9-billion-tonne hamster says no 257
The way forward 259
Safe carbon limits 260
Mobilising investment in low-carbon technologies 262
Cushioning the transition 266
New economic thinking 276
8 Health and well-being: benefits of a low-carbon lifestyle 284
Relevant climate policies 285
Eating better 286
Driving less 287
Less materialistic lifestyles 288
Co-benefits 288
Health and fitness 288
Safer, quieter streets 295
Stronger communities 300
Beyond shopping: buy less, work less, be happy? 301
Contents ix
Conflicts 308
The way forward 309
Promoting lifestyle changes 309
Encouraging low-impact diets 311
Enabling sustainable travel choices 312
Achieving a better work–life balance 313
9 Joining the dots 317
The Climate Bonus 317
Health and well-being: the heart of sustainability 319
Looking at the big picture 322
Atale of two strategies 325
Isolated policies: fossil fuel lock-in 327
Joined-up policies: a green economy 328
An integrated policy framework 331
General policies 332
Specific areas 333
Notes 335
References 371
Index 402