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| Emissions from power generation account for around 40 percent of all global carbon pollution, and demand for energy is predicted to rise globally for years to come (AFP Photo/Patrick Pleul) |
Paris (AFP) - Switching to renewables could cut the health impacts of air pollution from power generation as much as 80 percent by mid-century, experts said Tuesday.
Scientists
and environmental groups have long advocated a switch to low-carbon power to
cap the rise in global temperature to two degrees Celsius (3.6 Farenheit), as
stipulated in the Paris climate treaty.
Despite
several nations committing to "net-zero" emissions by 2050, few have
so far explained precisely how they plan to get there.
Emissions
from power generation account for around 40 percent of all energy-related
carbon pollution, and demand for energy is predicted to rise globally for years
to come.
Despite an
overwhelming scientific consensus on the need to slash emissions, relatively
little attention has been paid to the human health impacts of climate action.
A team of
experts at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) used climate
and energy efficiency models to sketch out three scenarios for decarbonising
the power sector by 2050.
Writing in
the journal Nature Communications, they then combined their calculations with
human health indexes and analyses of the emission levels throughout a power
unit's lifespan.
They found
that a scenario where the majority of energy is derived from solar and wind
power could cut adverse health effects from electricity production by 80
percent compared with our current fossil-heavy economies.
"The
main winner of decarbonisation is human health," said lead author Gunnar
Luderer.
"That's
a very substantial benefit, if climate change policies can be key contributors
to reducing human health impacts," he told AFP.
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The World
Health Organization estimates 4.2 million people die prematurely each
year due
to air pollution (AFP Photo/Sajjad HUSSAIN)
|
The World
Health Organization estimates 4.2 million people die prematurely each year due
to air pollution, much of which comes from the burning of fossil fuels for
energy.
The PIK
models predicted current energy trends would see six million years of life lost
globally to air pollution by 2050. If the next three decades are dominated by
renewables, that figure drops to about one million.
"This
is mainly due to a reduction of air pollution from combusting fuels,"
Luderer said.
He said all
decarbonisation pathways the team studied showed significant health benefits,
but the renewables-led approach showed by far the biggest health upside.
Biofuel
vs solar
The study
also looked at the environmental and ecological impact of green energy
generation heading towards mid-century.
While
bioenergy -- the harvesting and burning of CO2-absorbing crops for electricity
-- has the potential to be low-emission, the team found such schemes would have
significant environmental consequences.
In fact,
measured per kilowatt-hour, the team found that bioenergy required roughly 100
times the amount of land needed to harvest the same energy from solar panels.
"Land
is a finite resource for our planet," said Alexander Popp, head of land
use management at PIK.
"Given
the growing world population with a hunger for both electricity and for food,
pressures on the land and food systems will increase, too."
The United
Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in August released a
landmark assessment of how land can both ease and contribute to the climate
emergency.
It warned
of looming tough choices, and a radical reduction in pastureland for livestock
if the more ambitious 1.5-C Paris temperature benchmark is to be met.
Dutch inventors roll out river plastic clean-up barge
Ocean Cleanup move to the Pacific, ‘a milestone’ says Dutch inventor
Related Articles:
"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth, 4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical) 8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)
“… 4 - Energy (again)
The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet; again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!
Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much…
Water
We've told you that one of the greatest natural resources of the planet, which is going to shift and change and be mysterious to you, is fresh water. It's going to be the next gold, dear ones. So, we have also given you some hints and examples and again we plead: Even before the potentials of running out of it, learn how to desalinate water in real time without heat. It's there, it's doable, and some already have it in the lab. This will create inexpensive fresh water for the planet.
There is a change of attitude that is starting to occur. Slowly you're starting to see it and the only thing getting in the way of it are those companies with the big money who currently have the old system. That's starting to change as well. For the big money always wants to invest in what it knows is coming next, but it wants to create what is coming next within the framework of what it has "on the shelf." What is on the shelf is oil, coal, dams, and non-renewable resource usage. It hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, has it? Now you will see a change of free choice. You're going to see decisions made in the boardrooms that would have curled the toes of those two generations ago. Now "the worst thing they could do" might become "the best thing they could do." That, dear ones, is a change of free choice concept. When the thinkers of tomorrow see options that were never options before, that is a shift. That was number four.”
There is a change of attitude that is starting to occur. Slowly you're starting to see it and the only thing getting in the way of it are those companies with the big money who currently have the old system. That's starting to change as well. For the big money always wants to invest in what it knows is coming next, but it wants to create what is coming next within the framework of what it has "on the shelf." What is on the shelf is oil, coal, dams, and non-renewable resource usage. It hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, has it? Now you will see a change of free choice. You're going to see decisions made in the boardrooms that would have curled the toes of those two generations ago. Now "the worst thing they could do" might become "the best thing they could do." That, dear ones, is a change of free choice concept. When the thinkers of tomorrow see options that were never options before, that is a shift. That was number four.”
- Stagnation of the current US Politics: Compassioned (US) leaders will arise in the future
- Shortage of fresh/drinking water: Invention to make salt from salt water magnetic and remove it with water desalination process in high volumes
- Pollution on Earth: 1 - Stop killing the environment! / 2 - The rise of temperature on Earth is “temporary” and is part of the "regular" Watercycle.
- Replacement of current fossil energy source: Use of magnetics based (small/big) engines to produces electricity / free energy
- Plastic pollution in the oceans: Invention to remove the plastics gradually from the oceans
Dutch inventors roll out river plastic clean-up barge
Ocean Cleanup move to the Pacific, ‘a milestone’ says Dutch inventor
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Photo: The Ocean Cleanup
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