Carbon Management - Report Example

Carbon Management [Name] [Institutional Affiliation] [Date] Introduction Millions of people across the world are affected by the effects of climate change (Stocker 2014). The effects of climatic change range from floods, loss of life, rise in the level of sea and consequent submerging of parts of the world below the sea level, drought, famine and escalating of temperatures (Desonie 2008). A Report conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC) in the 2012 unveils that, if mitigation measures are not taken, the effects would be severe and devastating(IPCC 2012). Emission of carbon dioxide, if not minimized, can threaten human life on the planet and that’s why several countries are embracing carbon management as a key mitigation measure. The term carbon management refers to a management process that emphasizes on the need to preserve and conserve environment by diverse organizations in a country (Kreith and Goswami 2008).The key goal of carbon management is to promote a culture where resources that contribute to climate change are efficiently consumed.  An effective carbon management process has quite a number of environmental and socio-economic impacts. If carbon emissions to the environment are effectively minimized, global warming will be reduced. Note that Carbon Dioxide emitted to the environment contributes to depletion of the ozone layer (a layer that that prevents the ultraviolet rays from reaching the earth’s surface). Thus, minimization of CO2 will go a long is protecting destruction of the ozone layer. This means that the human population will be protected from adverse effects of global warming like extreme temperatures, famine, drought, floods, climate change, and death resulting from devastating effects of climate change (Perry at al. 2013). With regard to socio-economic impact of climate change, there are varied positive impacts. One, there is definitely going to be increased food production because of favourable climate. The agricultural sector is one key pillar of some economies of the world as it creates both jobs and goods for export, thus helping in economic growth (Dries et al 2012). On the other hand, increased food production ensures food security in a nation. A well-fed nation is a healthy nation. A healthy nation is a productive nation. In the recent years, in a bid to curb adverse effects of climate change, several countries have utilized a better share of their national budget to cushion the citizenry from devastating effects of climate change. In this regard, if carbon management processes are successfully managed, these huge sums of money could be used to develop other sectors of the economy. This essay examines the policies that countries like France, German, and USA have taken to manage carbon dioxide emission. In addition, the essay identifies and explains the contemporary issues that the three countries are facing in respect to carbon management. It then appraises the issues associated with the implementation and enforcement of regulation and policy related to climate change in France, USA, and German. Finally, the essay critically describes and analyses environmental/energy auditing techniques in the three countries while giving a detailed comparison. Carbon Emission Policies in France, German, and USA France For the last thirty years, the French government has been committed towards minimizing pollution of the atmosphere and climate change by reducing or limiting the amount of specific air pollutants (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development 2005). It is in this respect that French authorities have entered into several international conventions and protocols on climate change. In addition, French being a member of the European Union, it subscribes to European legislation that outlines international regulations, decisions, and directives on climate change. The French government ascribes to the Kyoto protocol and its subsequent amendments. The goal of this protocol is to stabilize the emission of CO2 among member states at an average of 20% below base year by the year 2020 (Fletcher 2007). The French policy on climate change is better described by the EU conventions and commitments. The EU commits itself to reducing the reducing emission of CO2 from industries by administering tax on industries that emit carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. France itself adopted in 2014, a tax on CO2 emissions resulting from, heating oil and coal, and other gases. The policy stipulates that money generated from the taxes should be used to use to develop non-renewable sources of energy across the world. United States of America The US government is equally concerned about its contribution to climate change through emission of Carbon dioxide. Being a major exporter of fossil fuels, its contribution to global warming has been wanting over years now. The US has a number of policies in place to minimize emission of carbon dioxide. They range from mere regulations whose target is to minimize emission to legislative measures that are geared towards increasing efficiency in carbon management. One such policy is keeping carbon emission below 20 %( a product of the Kyoto Protocol).The other policy is manifested in the Clean Air Act. The Clean Air Act aims at reducing emissions of the greenhouse gases by the largest sources through improving the efficiency of power plants, industries, cars, and trucks. The aim of this regulation is to minimize pollution by providing clean air for breathing, create jobs in green technology, and reduce emissions of CO2. On the other hand, the US advocates for use of cars that emit less CO2 to the environment. German German has one of the most stringent policies on carbon emissions. In fact, most companies in German have complained ceaselessly that the climate change policies in German hinder them from competing globally. In overall, German aims at cutting down on CO2 emissions in households by 62 million tons from it households (Klein 2012). It, further, gears at cutting down emissions of CO2 in the automobiles and agricultural sectors German, just like France, is a member of the EU and thus subscribes to the EU policies and regulations on green house gases. In addition, it has subscribes to the Kyoto Protocol that saw German reduce its CO2 emissions by 26 % by 2011 from the base year, 1990. Further to this, German has developed several domestic policies to minimize green house gases (German Yearbook of International Law 2011). One of them is Renewable Energy Act. This provides a Feed-In Tariff System which gives priority to and encourages production and use of renewable sources of energy. Similarly, German insists that all households should use renewable sources of energy. Some of these sources include solar energy, geothermal and biomass. The governments offer incentives in form of money for persons or companies that using renewable sources of energy. By the year 2009, all the newly renovated houses in German had managed to slice down energy use by 3 per cent. Contemporary Issues of France, Germany, USA in Carbon Management USA In a bid to come up with policies for climate change, the USA is facing many challenges. Some of the contemporary issues that USA is facing include sustaining the cost of carbon management and its impacts as well. Economic Sustainability of Carbon Management in USA USA is one of the leading exporters of fossil fuels in the world. For a long time now, this sector has been a backbone of the US economy providing both revenue and creating jobs for millions of Americans (Dredge 2008). The US energy plan is geared towards creating and employing renewable sources of energy like nuclear energy, solar energy and wind energy that do not emit any carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. The use of these renewable sources of energy has far reaching economic consequences that the American government is not ready to meet. While the American government is under pressure to minimize its pollution to the environment, there are concerns among economists over its sustainability(Dredge 2008).This process seems a gradual process that may take a bit of some before it is fully realized. External Pressure Over a period, the American government has been heavily criticized for its contribution to global warming. However; these criticisms have been met with counter criticisms that are poised to derail the process of carbon management. The American government cites lack of co-operation by other states in the combat against global warming and climate change (Vidas et al 2011). This has created a hurdle in the efforts meant to curb emission of green house gases. The American government feels that it can only agree to implement particular international conventions only if other countries implement them too. It considers it unfair if the US is the only country implementing such policies. Its industries will lack fair playing ground that will enable them compete favourably with other global industries. German Ban of Nuclear Energy Following the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011 in Japan has had to reconsider its use of nuclear energy. In consideration of the delicate safety of nuclear energy German began shutting down its 17 nuclear power plants across the country. As a result of this, there was sharp increase in German’s dependence on coal as means of producing energy for the German people. Nuclear energy, as much as it is one of the most dangerous, is still stands out as one of the most cleanest (Aced Nuclear Energy Agency, & Organisation For Economic Co-Operation And Development 2012).The act of turning the back to nuclear in German has raised concern among ecologists on the possibility of German reducing its emission of Carbon dioxide. It should be noted that nuclear energy is a double-edged sword. While its use is economically sustainable the threats to human lives is devastating (Murray, R. L. (2001). Nevertheless, if German is to help the world combat global warming it might need to reconsider reopening some of its nuclear plants. Economic Sustainability of the Carbon Management Policies Just like in the United States, in German the issue of economic sustainability of the goals and initiatives of carbon management have far reaching economic consequences that German is struggling with. For instance, the use of coal in German has been the cheapest source of fuel for a long time. Moreover; coal mining and fuel production provide jobs for millions of people in German. This is what puts German is state of confusion. Adopting economically sustainable carbon management translates to budgetary implications that German has to deal with. This is certain cause loss of jobs in some sectors of the economy and increase operating costs of major industries thus rendering them less competitive in the globe. These are the contemporary issues that German has to deal with. France Popular Backlash In the past few years France has had to withhold implementing some carbon management policies due to fear of public rejection(www.legovt.fr).For instance, additional annual taxes for car that emit the most carbon would not be passed by parliament as this was likely to cause public outcry. Despite the fact that the revenue generated from such taxes would be used to develop other renewable sources of energy it is hard for some people to accept though. In other circumstances, taxes on gasoline were rejected. It was feared that this would render most industries less competitive when compared to others in the European Union. While the intentions of the governments are just, the opposition they meet is what curtails them from fully implementing carbon management processes. Given the high economic cost of the implementation, there is need for drastic changes to be taken as this will go a long way in curbing overall green house effects. Sustaining Healthy Competition while at the Same Time Managing Carbon Most of the industries in France are global in nature. There are concerns as to how some carbon management strategies are to be applied in France without giving undue advantage to competitors from other countries. For instance, cutting down use of fossils fuels in some industries in France means raising the operation costs for particular industries (Iarc Working Group on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans 2010). This in effect raises the product of their goods that are consequently going to lower their competitiveness in the market. Issues Associated with the Implementation and Enforcement of Regulation and Policy Related to Climate Change in France, Germany, and USA Implementation of the regulations on climate change has faced uniform challenges across the three countries. One of the key issues facing the three countries has been economic sustainability of implementation of policies related to climate change. The three countries-France, German and USA, have been relying on fossil fuels for a long time as the cheapest source of energy. Implementation of these policies implies discarding/cutting down the use of fossil fuels and pave way to alternative sources of energy (Solberg 2010). Such a move necessitates budgetary allocation of huge sums of money to renewable sources of energy. At the same time, these countries are recovering from effects of economic recession, a factor that has since destabilised their economies. There is willingness to accommodate climate change by both countries but at the same there are economic challenges likely to be felt if the changes are made (Song et al 2008).  While France and USA have embraced nuclear energy as an alternative source of energy there are concerns in German on the safety of nuclear. German began closing down its nuclear plants in 2011 thus giving rise to the increase in overreliance on fossil fuels. The USA, on the other hand, is at crossroads as to whether it should abandon fossils fuels (one of its key exports) for renewable energies. There is one similarity though in the implementation issues of both countries. German, USA and France all have fear of implementing and enforcing one or two climate change policies. The USA, for instance, rather sceptic about fully implementing the reduction of carbon dioxide if other countries are still reluctant about doing the same thing (Mitschang 2010). France too, as illustrated earlier, is keen on creating a fair playing ground for its industries in the European Union. That’s why it is reluctant to introduce some policies especially on additional taxes to gasoline products. A similar sentiment is shared by the German. The other issue associated with enforcement of climate change policies in the three countries is resistance from the citizens. In German, the industries have resented on the stringent policies terming them as dangerous in that they will face them out of the global market. Nevertheless, the German just like the Americans have welcomed most policies since they deem them necessary in aiding their countries minimise pollution and effects of global warming. Public opposition in France has been a major hindrance though to enforcement of taxes on carbon products or cars that emit and high quantities of carbon. Critically Describe and Analyse Environmental / Energy Auditing Techniques of France, Germany and USA Energy audit is the process of inspecting, surveying, and analysing how energy flows for purposes of setting conservation measures for homes and industries (Standards Australia Organization 2014). In the three countries, various forms of energy audit are conducted. They include both home and industrial energy audits Home Energy Audits In the three countries, energy is audited at the home level and industrial level. The main aim of this audit is to investigate how efficiently energy is used at home with a view to coming up with recommendations on ways in which this energy can be better utilised (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and United States 2010). United States and German governments carry out energy audits often. In the USA, the Obama administration is key on encouraging households to use renewable sources of energy and appliances that consume the least amount energy and those that emit the least amount of carbon. In home energy audits, the processes involved are similar across the three countries. The process involves investigating the forms of energies used by various homes, conservation measures employed by each home and the consumption rate (Dall'o' 2013). In order to carry out such a survey, a number of areas are inspected. They include electrical appliances installations, energy consuming gadgets in the house, ventilation, contributory factors in high or low energy consumption. The audits aim at coming up with the overall thermal performance of the building and efficiency of the sources of energy available at the building. Industrial Energy Audit This form of audit is conducted at the industrial level. In the three countries such form of energy audit has been used to gauge the amount of carbon emission to the environment, as well as, other gases. At the industrial level, emphasis is given to the lighting system, HCAC and the equipments used in production of products (Turner 2001).  Industrial energy auditing in German is slightly different from that of USA and France in that in German the businesses are the ones that decide on what form of energy auditing system to be applied (Barton 2006). In German too, the governments has invested in financial rewards for firms or persons who innovate newer methods of energy consumption. France does not have any incentives for innovation but rather the authorities have worked hand in hand with automobile industries to give bonus to customers upon purchase of cars that consume less fuel and emit less carbon to the atmosphere. The US has not yet come up with incentives for conservation of energy but has invested heavily on research and innovation on methods of energy conservation. Conclusion In conclusion, this paper has examined critically the socio-economic impact of carbon management. Some of the impacts identified include curtailment of climate change, economic growth and stability, improved healthcare, substance of food production and reduction in mortality rates among the population. The essay, further, examines the policies that countries like France, German, and USA have taken to manage carbon dioxide emission. Given that the three countries subscribe to similar international conventions, there are similarities in the policies that they have taken. In addition, the essay identifies and explains the contemporary issues that the three countries are facing in respect to carbon management. It then appraises the issues associated with the implementation and enforcement of regulation and policy related to climate change in France, USA, and German. Finally, the essay critically describes and analyses environmental energy auditing techniques in the three countries while giving a detailed comparison. In general, the essay unveils that most countries are cognisant of the need to minimise emission of carbon dioxide to the environment. While measures are being taken, it is important to note that there are challenges to be addressed. Perhaps educating the population might help change the mindset of people and inculcate positive attitudes towards care and concern for climate change. References Barton, B. 2006. Regulating energy and natural resources. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Dall'o', G. 2013. Green energy audit of buildings a guide for a sustainable energy audit of buildings. London, Springer. Desonie, D. 2008. Climate: causes and effects of climate change. 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