Our February
seminar was opened by Martin Livermore of the CETC Committee, with
an erudite outline of the issues facing the international community and of the
difficulties faced in making any headway to reduce the negative impacts of
global warming. There
may be arguments about the causes of climate change, but the message is clear:
we must find effective ways to reduce Mankind’s contribution, while adapting
to the changes which will inevitably occur.
Julian Parens,
retired Head of Information at the British Antarctic Survey opened with a
passionate presentation of the prevailing views on Man’s influence on climate,
emanating from the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The Kyoto Agreement requires industrialised countries to reduce emissions
and it is a first small step along the road to stabilisation of atmospheric
levels of greenhouse gases. The
earth is a complex environment having an atmosphere made up mainly of nitrogen
and oxygen, but also containing water vapour, CO2, methane and other trace gases
which directly impact on global temperatures.
The level of CO2 is rising steadily because of Mankind’s use
of fossil fuels. History provides a
foretaste of the future. During the Ice Age Greenland was 20 degrees colder.
Doubling CO2 could increase the temperature by 3-4 degrees centigrade. Increased
population and industry have contributed towards warmer summers and by 2025 two
thirds of the population will be water stressed. The poor nations will be most
at risk from desertification and rising sea levels.
If the IPCC is right, our target must be to reduce CO2 levels by 60% by
2100 to avoid a global disaster. The developing nations of China and India will
pump out more CO2 than will be saved under the Kyoto Agreement.
The “burning” question is whether we can convert to energy sources
that do not emit CO2?
Julia
Knights of the Department
For Environment, Food and Rural Affairs gave us a Government perspective.
Global warming is not a fantasy and the Government is committed under the
Kyoto Agreement to reduce CO2 emissions by 20% by 2010 and 60% by 2050.
It is important to strive for these targets, even if it is unlikely that
the UK will meet them. There are a
number of initiatives and devices to reduce CO2 - e.g. the UK Climate Change
Programme, collaboration by Government Departments, company car taxation based
on exhaust emissions, grants for the production of energy crops for biomass fuel
and renewable energy schemes. In
some EU member states, municipal waste is being used as a feedstock to make
bio-ethanol, but the UK is lagging in this area. Biomass fuel is only an interim
solution, as converting just one third of transport to biofuels would utilise
40% of the UK’s agriculture land. The
answer for transport lies in the use of fuel cells and using hydrogen generated
from renewable energy sources, but mass use of these techniques is still some
years away.
Adam
Workman, Investment Manager of The Carbon Trust gave the business
perspective. That the USA had not signed up to the Kyoto Agreement did not mean
that the US turned a blind eye to reducing CO2. Many individual states have CO2
reduction programmes and US business was engaged in "Technological
Push" to reduce CO2 emissions. In the UK cost reduction, reputation and
regulation would force companies to manage their energy use and wastage more
efficiently. Cambridge is very innovative and Carbon Trust had made 25% of its
investments in the area. He identified local companies such as TMO Biotec,
Enersys, CMR Fuel Cells, Camsemi and Camfridge and other new companies elsewhere
in the UK who were making their mark in CO2 reduction technologies.
The Club is very fortunate in benefiting from the sponsorship
of the following organisations:-
There are also other companies who give us generous help with
specific meetings and services.
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