Environment
Peak Oil----Energy Price Rises----Climate Change----Non-polluting Energy----Kyoto Protocol----Carbon Tax
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Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources—such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat—which are renewable (that is they are naturally replenished and are unlimited). Examples of renewables are biomass (ie. wood), hydroelectricity, solar hot water/heating, geothermal energy, wind power, solar power (photovoltaic), and ocean energy. In general, renewable energy sources are cleaner in that they do not produce pollution directly. However, the materials, industrial processes and construction equipment used to create them may generate some waste and pollution. Concerns about climate change, high oil and gas prices, pollution as well as the reducing supplies of hydrocarbons (oil, gas) are the main reasons for the current shift towards renewable energy. Many countries also wish to be more energy independent. This means that a country would generate more of its own energy and therefore would be unaffected by any disruptions in supply and would avoid reliance on unstable regions in the world. There is increasing government support in many countries throughout the world in terms of renewable energy legislation and grant aid support. The EU has reached an agreement in principle in 2007 that 20 percent of energy in the EU should be produced from renewable sources by 2020. Ireland recently announced an ambitious target of 40% output from renewables by 2020. There is a lot of investment capital flowing into the growing renewable energy sector. For further information on Renewable Energy click here.
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Many energy experts believe that we are very soon approaching Peak Oil. Peak Oil is the point when exactly half of the oil is used up and only half remains in the ground. The supply of oil starts to shrink after Peak Oil. At the same time, global demand for oil is constantly rising especially as such as countries such as China and India want more oil to fuel their vast emerging economies. There is then a mismatch between the increasing demand and the shrinking supply. This imbalance causes prices to escalate as oil gets more scarce with diminishing supply. Many retired petroleum geologists who once worked for the giant oil companies believe that Peak Oil is occurring very soon. Other geologists thinks it is going to happen in 10 years or more while some even think that it has already occurred and that we have gone past Peak Oil. For further information on Peak Oil click here.
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Crude oil prices have increased greatly since 2002 as global supplies struggle to keep up with rising demand in emerging economies, such as China. Many energy experts believe that as the era of a plentiful supply of cheap oil is coming to an end. Geologists agree that at some future date, it is inevitable that conventional oil supply will no longer be capable of satisfying growing world demand. See Peak Oil. Ireland is uniquely exposed to global energy shocks because 90% of our energy comes from imported fossil fuels - which is almost twice the European average! Sweden recently announced its plans to become oil-free and to switch completely to renewable energy sources by 2020. Many will remember when the first oil shock hit in 1973. The Arab oil embargo and tripling of oil prices brought serious economic disruption felt for many years afterwards. Oil prices have been hitting new record peaks with it recently being $147 a barrel. This has huge implications for all of us who use energy in all aspects of our everyday lives as well for as the smooth running of our economy. In order to ensure that we are not as vulnerable to oil price rises, we must reduce our reliance on oil and gas imports by (a.) significantly increasing indigenous Irish renewable energy sources such as wind, solar PV, biomass, ocean energy and tidal energy and (b.) improving the energy efficiency in every sector by not being so wasteful of energy. For further information on Energy Price Rises click here.
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Electricity produced using fossil fuels such as oil, gas or turf emits CO2 (carbon dioxide) which is one of the main greenhouse gases that causes climate change. However, electricity produced using renewables such as wind power, solar PV, hydropower does not emit CO2. For example, each MW (megaWatt) of wind power installed in Ireland avoids the release of 2,700 tonnes of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. It is not only when you use oil or gas to produce electricity that you release greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are released anytime you burn oil or gas such as in a boiler to heat water or heat your home. There is a renewable alternative to burning oil or gas in a boiler: a solar thermal system. A typical domestic solar water heater can reduce CO2 emissions by up to half a tonne per year, depending on the fuel replaced. Climate change is potentially catastrophic for everyone on the planet. If climate change is not tackled there are very serious consequences for humanity and the rest of the planet: rising sea levels, droughts, flooding, water shortages, crop failure, famine, mass migration of refugees, and species extinction. Fortunately, we have a small window of opportunity of less than 8 years to turn things around and start to drastically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Ireland has signed up to the Kyoto Protocol which means we can only release a certain amount of greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide, CO2) into the atmosphere. If we exceed our given limit we will be fined. Fines could be 100s of millions of euro or even billions of euro. Ultimately, moving to renewables will benefit the country as it will help us meet our climate change and renewable energy target while also creating jobs in Ireland. For further information on Climate Change click here.
Clean sources of power such as wind, solar thermal, solar PV, biomass, ocean energy produce far, far less pollution when generating electricity compared to dirty fossil fuels such as oil, gas or coal. Fossil fuels cause air pollution, the release of chemicals and particulates into the atmosphere. Air pollution can cause many adverse health problems such as respiratory disease and can even cause death. Exposure to air pollution contributes to the development of cardiovascular diseases (heart disease and stroke). An assessment of air quality by the European Commission in 2005 revealed that, air pollution is prematurely killing 310,000 Europeans annually and costing EU countries 80 billion euro a year in sick leave (Irish Times, 23 Feb. 2005 Environment Editor) In the same article, air pollution is now considered to be responsible for reducing the life expectancy of Europeans by an average of almost nine months. For further information on Clean Energy click here.
The Kyoto Protocol was agreed on 11December 1997 in Kyoto in Japan and as of now some 188 countries have ratified the treaty. The Kyoto protocol limits the emissions of greenhouse gases by each country to a percentage increase or decrease from their 1990 levels. During the period 2008 -2012 each country can only emit their allowed limit. If they exceed this limit they will have to pay a heavy fine at the end of this period. For example highly developed countries were required to reduce their emissions - Germany by 21%, the UK by 12.5%, Denmark by 21%, Luxembourg by 28%. France and Finland were required to stay the same. Countries which were undergoing development were allowed an increase - such as Portugal (27%), Greece (25%) and Spain (15%). Ireland was considered a developing country and was permitted to increase its CO2 emissons by 13% above 1990 levels. It now seems that Ireland will exceed its Kyoto targets as things currently stand. The boom in Ireland's Celtic Tiger economy in the last decade, the increase in car usage and decline in public transport compared with population surges as well as poor building standards are being blamed for the overshoot. There are various measures that are being undertaken to reduce emissions including improvements in public transport, higher building standards, significantly increased renewable energy sources, higher taxes for more polluting vehicles and public awareness campaigns. As Ireland will exceed its target we will need to buy carbon credits in an international trading system for countries that don't meet their targets. The Government had recently set aside a total of €270m to foot this bill so that Ireland will meet its Kyoto target by buying credits to make up the deficit. If the Government failed to buy credits to meet the Kyoto targets, it faces massive annual fines running into hundreds of millions of euros. For further information on Kyoto Protocol click here.
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A carbon tax is an environmental tax on emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Carbon is present all fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) and are released as CO2 when they are burnt. In contrast, non-combustion renewable energy sources — wind, sunlight, ocean power and hydropower — do not produce carbon dioxide. The intention of a carbon tax is to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and thereby tackling climate change by punishing fossil fuel use and rewarding renewable energy use. In addition, the proceeds from a carbon tax may be used to fund environmental projects. A carbon tax is expected within the lifetime of the current Irish government. For further information on Carbon Tax click here.