World leaders are unable
to agree on a joint global climate policy.
If we seriously want to reduce the world’s
CO2 emission, we should be focusing instead
on the contracts made by companies in Europe
and the USA with their suppliers in developing
countries. Research shows that large amounts
of CO2 could be saved.
2013.10.04 | IDA HAMMERICH
NIELSON - Until now, we have tried to reduce
CO2 emission by focusing on joint global
legislation in this area. However, this
does not appear to be working. PhD student
Katerina Peterkova has shown that it could
be an advantage to focus on corporate contracts
as a way to demand less CO2 emission.
Until now, we have tried
to reduce CO2 emission by focusing on joint
global legislation in this area. However,
this does not appear to be working. PhD
student Katerina Peterkova has shown that
it could be an advantage to focus on corporate
contracts as a way to demand less CO2 emission.
When a factory in China
emits a sizeable amount of CO2 into the
atmosphere, it can result in tornadoes in
the USA. The climate problem is global,but
the countries of the world are unable to
reach agreement on a global solution.
Instead, they have different
regulations regarding how much CO2 companies
may emit. But what is the use of strict
regulations for CO2 emission in a country
like Denmark if Danish companies move their
production to a country that allows significantly
more CO2 emission? This brings us back to
square one.
Katerina Peterkova has
studied law, and she has just submitted
her PhD dissertation on sustainability.Her
work included studies of a new type of CO2
regulation that could provide better results
internationally than agreements and regulations
within the individual countries. She proposes
taking a look at the companies’ agreements
with their suppliers.
“When Danish companies
move their production to a country like
China, they must have a contract with the
supplier. In this regard, it could be an
advantage if they influenced the supplier
to emit less CO2, for example by writing
that they’ll only approve a supplier that
reduces their emission of CO2 by five per
cent per year,” she says.
Legislation must help
companies
More and more companies
in Europe and the USA are already using
their contracts with suppliers in developing
countries to reduce CO2 emission – partly
because they are under pressure from consumers,
NGOs and investors in their own countries.
And this is the way
ahead, according to Katerina Peterkova.
“However, the countries’ governments must
to a greater extent help the companies to
include demands for less CO2 emission in
their contracts and to do so in a standardised
way,” she says.
“One option is that
the governments ask the companies to report
what efforts their suppliers are making
to reduce their CO2 emission.At the same
time, the governments could advise the companies
and provide them with financial incentives
to include CO2 emission requirements in
their contracts,” she adds.
Large amounts of CO2
could be saved
Katerina Peterkova tried
to calculate the amount of CO2 emission
that could be saved if the companies systematically
made demands on their suppliers regarding
their CO2 emission. Her findings include
estimates for specific industries, including
the food and drink industry, which emits
a considerable amount of CO2.
“If the world’s eight
largest companies in this branch – including
Danone and Coca-Cola – demanded that their
suppliers reduce CO2 emission by ten per
cent, it would be the equivalent of saving
the annual CO2 emission from an entire country
like Greece. It would really make a difference,”
she says.
Katerina Peterkova’s
research results were presented at the Science
for the Environment conference, which attracted
approximately 150 participants from all
over the world to Aarhus University last
Thursday and Friday.
+ More
MOST EXTENSIVE COLLECTION
OF KNOWLEDGE REGARDING EUROPEAN ADAPTATION
TO CLIMATE CHANGE SO FAR
European policy-makers
will be served the most extensive collection
of knowledge and experience regarding adaptation
to climate change seen so far. The collection
of knowledge will be developed in a large
EU project led by Aarhus University. It
will ease the way for policy-makers when
reaching long-term decisions regarding climate
change adaptation measures.
2013.10.04 | JENS CHRISTIAN
PEDERSEN - Green roof near Peblinge Lake
in Copenhagen. Green roofs can be aesthetically
attractive at the same time as contributing
to the insulation of houses and sewer relief
for large amounts of rainwater. Photo: Dorthe
Rømø, City of Copenhagen.
Green roof near Peblinge Lake in Copenhagen.
Green roofs can be aesthetically attractive
at the same time as contributing to the
insulation of houses and sewer relief for
large amounts of rainwater. Photo: Dorthe
Rømø, City of Copenhagen.
Read more (in Danish only) below. For contact
details in English, go to the bottom of
the page.
Oversvømmelser,
storme, hedebølger. Klimaændringerne
trænger sig på i disse år,
og politikerne må erkende at det ikke
længere er muligt at forebygge alle
ændringer. Tilpasning til et ændret
klima trænger sig derfor frem på
dagsordenen, men beslutningstagerne mangler
et ordentligt beslutningsgrundlag. Det skal
et nyt stort EU-projekt kaldet BASE, "Bottom-Up
Climate Adaptation Strategies for a Sustainable
Europe", rette op på.
Projektleder er seniorforsker
Hans Sanderson, Aarhus Universitet. Han
forklarer:
”Vi skal bruge rigtigt
mange kræfter i BASE på systematisk
at studere eksempler på klimatilpasning
på tværs af lande og sektorer
i Europa. Det mangler man i dag, hvor der
er langt imellem snapsene. Der er primært
enkeltstående studier, hvor man ikke
mindst mangler oplysninger om cost-benefit
og borgerdeltagelse og ikke rigtigt kan
sammenligne projekterne.
Vi investerer små
200 mandmåneder i at studere de eksempler
man har rundt omkring i Europa på
klimatilpasning.”
Forskerne analyserer
erfaringerne med klimatilpasning inden for
landbrug, hådtering af vand, sundhed
og byer.
”Det er vigtigt at understrege
at vi analyser disse emner på tværs
af sektorer. Når vi er færdige
vil vi have leveret eksempler så man
kan sammenligne 3,4 eller 5 sammenlignelige
cases. Det kan fx være i byer som
København, Prag, Venedig, Cascais,
Madrid og Leeds, hvor vi ser på klimatilpasningstiltag,
fx i forhold til håndtering af skybrud,
byudvikling mv.”
Data giver bedre beslutningsgrundlag
”De faglige mål
er at få hentet empiriske (erfaringsbaserede,
red.) informationer ind til de store cost-benefit-analyser
som er afgørende for om man overhovedet
laver klimatilpasning eller ej. Hvis ikke
det kan betale sig, og man ikke har et nogenlunde
præcist estimat, så sker det
ikke. I dag kigger beslutningstagerne meget
efter de tilfælde hvor man gør
noget man alligevel gerne ville gøre
og være glad for - selv om klimaforandringerne
eventuelt ikke bliver så store som
der er lagt op til. Det kan fx være
at skaffe grønne områder til
byerne eller færre biler.
Men når man kommer
til de vanskelige beslutninger, fx om man
skal bygge et kraftværk der skal stå
i 50 år, så har man brug for
nogle mere præcise cost-benefit analyser.
Og det er her vores projekt skal være
med til at levere data, som kan øge
præcisionen på cost-benefit
analyserne,” slutter Hans Sanderson.
EU har fået en
klimatilpasningstrategi her fra foråret
som blandt lægger op til at Europas
lande deler deres erfaringer i den europæiske
klimatilpasningsportal, Climate Adapt, der
er tænkt som et one-stop shopping
center for de europæiske beslutningstagere.
Derfor vil alle resultater fra BASE vil
blive lagt ind i portalen.
Planerne i BASE blev
fremlagt på konferencen ”Science for
the Environment”, som torsdag-fredag havde
samlet ca. 150 deltagere fra hele verden
på Aarhus Universitet.
BASE-projektet omfatter
14 partnere i 9 lande. Det har et samlet
budget på 7,5 millioner Euro og afsluttes
i november 2016 med en samlet rapport som
analyserer erfaringerne med klimatilpasning.
Hans Sanderson forventer imidlertid at BASE
allerede vil kunne fremlægge mange
resultater på en stor europæisk
konference om klimatilpasning, som holdes
i København i maj 2015.
