Misusing the Future
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This document summarizes a talk about how climate change scenarios can misused to focus attention on some policy options over others. It provides three examples: 1) Scenarios have assumed high rates of spontaneous decarbonization that have not occurred. 2) The most extreme scenario, RCP 8.5, is often misused to overstate future impacts. 3) Scenarios have assumed wide adoption of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), but its feasibility is uncertain. Instead of relying on scenarios, the talk advocates a "today-forward" approach focused on increasing carbon-free energy use.
![slide 17
Fudge factors are larger than policy impact
“as a practical matter the
[assumed energy efficiency
improvement] is a “fudge
factor” which allows the results
of climate-economy simulations
to be tuned according to the
analyst’s sense of plausibility.”
Sue Wing, I., & Eckaus, R. S. (2007). The decline in US
energy intensity: Its origins and implications for long-run
CO2 emission projections. Energy Policy, 35(5267),
U5286.
• Assumed spontaneous decarbonization generally has a larger
impact on future emissions than do explicit climate policies;
• To produce scenarios assumptions must be made;
• Policy options should be generated to cover a broader
scenario space in both short and long terms](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/20180209-pielke-jr-alps-tokyo-180213011732/85/Misusing-the-Future-17-320.jpg)
![slide 18
“[E]vidence indicates RCP8.5 does not provide a physically
consistent worst case BAU trajectory that warrants continued
emphasis in scientific research. Accordingly, it does not provide a
useful benchmark for policy studies.”
Ritchie, J., & Dowlatabadi, H. (2017). Why
do climate change scenarios return to
coal?. Energy, 140, 1276-1291.
Example 2. Costs of Inaction
RCPs are the most
recent scenarios.
RCP 8.5 is the
most popular for
use in climate
impact studies.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/20180209-pielke-jr-alps-tokyo-180213011732/85/Misusing-the-Future-18-320.jpg)
![slide 23
“[Bioenergy with carbon
capture and storage] is
explicitly being put forth as an
important mitigation option by
the majority of integrated
assessment model (IAM)
scenarios aimed at keeping
warming below 2°C in the IPCC’s
fifth assessment report (AR5).
Indeed, in these scenarios, IAMs
often foresee absorption of CO2 via
BECCS up to (and in some cases
exceeding) 1,000 Gt CO2 over the
course of the century, effectively
doubling the available carbon
quota.”
Fuss, Sabine, et al. "Betting on negative
emissions." Nature Climate Change 4.10 (2014): 850.
http://cicero.uio.no/no/posts/klima/love-it-or-hate-it-heres-three-reasons-why-we-still-need-ccs
Example 3. Policy feasibility and BECCS](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/20180209-pielke-jr-alps-tokyo-180213011732/85/Misusing-the-Future-23-320.jpg)
Misusing the Future
- 1. CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY RESEARCH CIRES/University of Colorado at Boulder http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu Misusing the Future Roger A. Pielke, Jr. University of Colorado 9 February 2018 ALPS Symposium Tokyo, Japan
- 2. slide 2 Overview of the talk This talk is about how we use the future to think about the present; Specifically, how we use scenarios of the future to focus attention on some policy options and lessen attention on others; Scenarios are important and necessary. Much excellent work has been done on climate and energy scenarios over decades, especially under the IPCC; But like any technology, scenarios can be well or poorly used in practice;
- 3. slide 3 Outline: Three examples and an alternative 1. The magnitude of the challenge – Spontaneous decarbonization 2. The costs of inaction – RCP 8.5 3. Policy feasibility – BECCS 4. An alternative approach – Today-Forward planning – Focused on increasing the proportion of carbon-free energy consumption
- 4. slide 4 The problem: emissions continue to increase Source: Global Carbon Project
- 5. slide 5 Where do emissions come from? People engage in economic activity that uses energy from carbon emitting generation
- 6. slide 6 Where do emissions come from? Carbon emissions = C = P * GDP * TE * C ------ ---- ---- P GDP TE The “Kaya Identity” People Engage in economic activity that Uses energy from Carbon emitting generation Population GDP per capita Energy intensity of the economy Carbon intensity of energy P GDP/P TE/GDP C/TE
- 7. slide 7 Where do emissions come from? Carbon emissions = C = P * GDP * TE * C ------ ---- ---- P GDP TE People Engage in economic activity that Uses energy from Carbon emitting generation Population GDP per capita Energy intensity of the economy Carbon intensity of energy P GDP/P TE/GDP C/TE energy intensity carbon intensity
- 8. slide 8 No acceleration in rates of change of CI or EI Carbon Intensity Energy Intensity Source: Global Carbon Project 2017
- 9. slide 9 Example 1. Spontaneous decarbonization
- 10. slide 10 Spontaneous decarbonization does most of the work in the IPCC SRES scenarios
- 11. slide 11 Short-term reality fell outside all SRES scenarios for assumed spontaneous decarbonization Pielke Jr, R., Wigley, T., & Green, C. (2008). Dangerous assumptions. Nature, 452(7187), 531.
- 12. slide 12 Also through 2010 Pretis, F., & Roser, M. (2017). Carbon dioxide emission-intensity in climate projections: Comparing the observational record to socio- economic scenarios. Energy, 135, 718-725.
- 13. slide 13 Heroic assumptions were repeated in RCPs Stevenson, S., & Pielke Jr, R. 2015. Assumptions of Spontaneous Decarbonization in the IPCC AR5 Baseline Scenarios. Center for Science and Technology Policy Research, University of Colorado.
- 14. slide 14 Surprise because reality didn’t match assumptions ”One surprise over the past 15 years is how little change there has been in the CO2 emissions per unit of primary energy consumption” Jackson, R. B., Le Quéré, C., Andrew, R. M., Canadell, J. G., Peters, G. P., Roy, J., & Wu, L. (2017). Warning signs for stabilizing global CO2 emissions. Environmental Research Letters, 12(11), 110202. Source: Global Carbon Project 2017 Little change
- 15. slide 15 Projections continue to assume near-term historically unprecedented rates of decarbonization Loftus, P. J., Cohen, A. M., Long, J., & Jenkins, J. D. (2015). A critical review of global decarbonization scenarios: what do they tell us about feasibility?. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 6(1), 93- 112.
- 16. slide 16 Heroic assumptions in the new IPCC SSPs? Riahi, Keywan, et al. "The shared socioeconomic pathways and their energy, land use, and greenhouse gas emissions implications: an overview." Global Environmental Change 42 (2017): 153-168.
- 17. slide 17 Fudge factors are larger than policy impact “as a practical matter the [assumed energy efficiency improvement] is a “fudge factor” which allows the results of climate-economy simulations to be tuned according to the analyst’s sense of plausibility.” Sue Wing, I., & Eckaus, R. S. (2007). The decline in US energy intensity: Its origins and implications for long-run CO2 emission projections. Energy Policy, 35(5267), U5286. • Assumed spontaneous decarbonization generally has a larger impact on future emissions than do explicit climate policies; • To produce scenarios assumptions must be made; • Policy options should be generated to cover a broader scenario space in both short and long terms
- 18. slide 18 “[E]vidence indicates RCP8.5 does not provide a physically consistent worst case BAU trajectory that warrants continued emphasis in scientific research. Accordingly, it does not provide a useful benchmark for policy studies.” Ritchie, J., & Dowlatabadi, H. (2017). Why do climate change scenarios return to coal?. Energy, 140, 1276-1291. Example 2. Costs of Inaction RCPs are the most recent scenarios. RCP 8.5 is the most popular for use in climate impact studies.
- 19. slide 19 Studies citing each RCP scenario Source: Google Scholar
- 20. slide 20 How to misuse RCP 8.5 in climate impact studies 1. Project future climate impacts from 2000 to 2100 using RCP 8.5 2. Document large climate impacts in 2100 under RCP 8.5 3. Divide impacts by 6 (2017 is 1/6th of the way until 2100), the impacts will still be large 4. Publish in a journal 5. Get headlines 6. Watch this questionable scientific work become routinely cited by other climate researchers, in the media and in policy debates
- 21. slide 21 Example of the (mis)use of RCP 8.5 November 2017 Emanuel, K. (2017). Assessing the present and future probability of Hurricane Harvey’s rainfall. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 201716222. “For each model, 100 events were run for each of the years 1981–2000 from the historical climate simulations, and again for the period 2081–2100 under Representative Concentration Pathway RCP 8.5”
- 22. slide 22 Why use RCP 8.5 as a primary scenario? November 2017 Emanuel, K. (2017). Assessing the present and future probability of Hurricane Harvey’s rainfall. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 201716222. “As the SSPs systematically cover plausible combinations of the primary drivers of emissions, this finding suggests that 8.5 W/m2 can only emerge under a relatively narrow range of circumstances.” (in only 1 of >100 scenarios) Riahi, Keywan, et al. "The shared socioeconomic pathways and their energy, land use, and greenhouse gas emissions implications: an overview." Global Environmental Change 42 (2017): 153-168. January 2017 “For each model, 100 events were run for each of the years 1981–2000 from the historical climate simulations, and again for the period 2081–2100 under Representative Concentration Pathway RCP 8.5”
- 23. slide 23 “[Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage] is explicitly being put forth as an important mitigation option by the majority of integrated assessment model (IAM) scenarios aimed at keeping warming below 2°C in the IPCC’s fifth assessment report (AR5). Indeed, in these scenarios, IAMs often foresee absorption of CO2 via BECCS up to (and in some cases exceeding) 1,000 Gt CO2 over the course of the century, effectively doubling the available carbon quota.” Fuss, Sabine, et al. "Betting on negative emissions." Nature Climate Change 4.10 (2014): 850. http://cicero.uio.no/no/posts/klima/love-it-or-hate-it-heres-three-reasons-why-we-still-need-ccs Example 3. Policy feasibility and BECCS
- 24. slide 24 Policy lock-in based on a constrained scenario space 1. The costs of action are reasonable – Spontaneous decarbonization 2. The costs of inaction are high – RCP 8.5 3. Policy action is feasible – BECCS But what if these assumptions are wrong?
- 25. slide 25 4. An alternative approach: Back to Kaya Factor Lever Approach to Policy P GDP/P TE/GDP C/TE Population GDP per capita Energy intensity Carbon intensity Less people Smaller economy Increase efficiency Switch energy sources Population management Limit generation of wealth Do same or more with less energy Generate energy with less emissions Carbon emissions = C = P * GDP * TE * C ------ ---- ---- P GDP TE GDP Technology
- 26. slide 26 The Iron Law of climate policy A Boundary Condition for Policy Design: Climate policies must not cost too much, better yet, they should foster economic growth
- 27. slide 27 If we focus only on emissions, we have already lost Carbon emissions = C = P * GDP * TE * C ------ ---- ---- P GDP TE GDP TechnologyEmissions= x Emissions =________ GDP Technology A reduction in this ratio is decarbonization
- 28. slide 28 How are we doing? (from PwC 2017) https://www.pwc.co.uk/services/sustainability-climate-change/insights/low-carbon-economy-index.html
- 29. slide 29
- 30. slide 30 Global carbon-free energy
- 31. slide 31 How do we go from here to there?
- 32. slide 32 The scale of the challenge
- 33. slide 33 Final words: A need to open up climate policy Scenarios of the future have the power to open up possibilities and close them down; The use of climate scenarios has arguably helped to reinforce a climate policy status quo, characterized by very little progress; An alternative is to focus on today-forward planning – We are at 16% carbon-free global energy consumption, how do we get to >90%? – We consume 11,000 mtoe of fossil fuels per year, how do we get close to zero? Climate policy needs more options, more debate
- 34. slide 34 How to provide feedback! pielke@colorado.edu Papers etc. can be downloaded from: http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu http://theclimatefix.wordpress.com Thank you!