Preview on the Book “Managing the Transition
to Low Carbon Economy”
The book has a good review of the policies that promotes and motivates the development of a Low Carbon society.
It covers the failures of Carbon Trading and how it could be restored.It has much good to offer in Policies and problems in the world of Carbon. It delves in the intrigues of Carbon trading and its failings.It also deals with matters relating to UN’s Financing Loans they provides to help developing nations to be Low Carbon nation. Overall it serves the purpose to introduce the subject.
This book forewarn clearly the issues at hand and delves in areas of Macro economy and down right to help and engaging the poor. that they may be in the receiving end . That the poor are not marginalized and receive nothing in the transition to Low Carbon Economy.
Managing Transition to a Low Carbon Economy
Policies for Low Carbon Economy
It deals with the aspects of macro economies and policies that motives the public, private and semi
private sector and the structural reforms to enhance the development of Low Carbon Economy.
It draws examples from Indonesia and Japan as model nations to follow. But Japan’s economy
is some what in a stagnant situation and Indonesia is still in a poverty stricken nation. But the
correlation ship between Indonesia’s growth and Low Carbon Economy is connected.
Japanese Government has placed emphasis on the Low Carbon policies as a basis of growth for
the economy ,but in a real sense the logic of Japan economy developing because of the Low Carbon
emphasis does not hold water, as it has not proven to have produced substantial growth.
Perhaps authors contributing to the book, should have been from a building background
such as Architects,Planners or Landscape to give a balanced view point. As buildings contributes
to a massive 45% of the carbon emission. Architect, Urban Planner or even ecologist would
have done much justice to the idea of transition to a Low Carbon Economy. The reason are
simply 50% of the world population will live in the Urban areas by 2016, And building create
more than 50% of the carbon emission.
Policies on Carbon trading, Green Bonds, Green Financing, global cooperation with regards to
financing of Carbon Trading and how the Carbon Trading can be revived.
Fore warnings a high Carbon Global Economy
The dangers of failure to address the problem by the global communities would result in weather changes
–flooding, droughts, rising sea-water levels, melting of glaciers, increase of global temperatures.
Municipal and Industrial wastage for Low Carbon Economy
It deals with global wastage that are creating water pollution, GHG emissions etc.The reduction of wastage
will help in the reduction of carbon emission. But what are the solution for wastage reduction. It does not deal
with issues such as How do we address the wastage reduction. Richer nation have higher wastage not eh poorer
nations and does not deal with Wastage from the municipal wastage can be converted to energy and industrial
wastage can be recycled.
Bhutan’s- the first Carbon negative country
He fails of draw example from Bhutan’s- the first Carbon negative country in the world. Using green alone in Bhutan and
using the green Hydro electric power to generate power and this power is given free to citizens so that they would not burn wood for cooking etc. He fails to see the simple solution in the Net Zero Energy by planting trees which sequesters the Carbon. Carbon sinks are created in the forest covers.Realistic approaches to Net Zero Carbon has not been addressed but great discussion are held on polices, funding, trading etc to motivate the economy.
Biodiversity for a Low Carbon Economy
It deals with loss of global biodiversity which in turn will affect the sustainability of human beings in the future.
Bhutan’s experience was to use Green Biodiversity such as creating a massive interconnected jungle for Tigers to
roam from one end to the other end by 4000 km of forest.This is to preserve the biodiversity. Using Biodiversity is
cheapest ways to transit to a Low Carbon Economy and even so the Best. Therefore the ideas from Town Planner,
Archtitect,Ecologist and Engineers were nopt engaged.
Japanese Carbon Policies on Low Carbon Economy
It make an example of Japan’s successful policies as a reference model. But is Japan a good show case model.It economy has relegated to below India after the Tsunami disaster . Perhaps the policies are eccentric and not bent on surviving a disaster. In fact Bali has a better model to follow with regards to surviving a disaster and sustainability.
Helping the “Poor Centrist”
However the center of focus seems to be helping the poor centrist. The authors missed the point that Low Carbon needs is to be implanted for the poor and the rich. The attempt is often diverted to aid the poor through the transition seems to Low Carbon Society.a Low carbon will support the poor and support the rich.Finally no real solution are proposed on how to help the poor, but this theme is replete throughout the book.
Readability of Book
The readability of content is not made for the ordinary; most people will be exhausted by reading a chapter or two, as it
requires much energy to get through the chapter.The readability need improvement to help the excellent ideas presented
for the masses and the busy executives and the policy makers who we are trying the reach.
Not an Introduction but a Mid Level Book
It is nevertheless a great book but not at a introductory level. Its does not define Low Carbon or terms that are generally
uses such as GHG emission, ecological footprints etc. it should have made a great introductory to the subject for the simple and completed it with a depth articles on the subjects to reach all the sector to the general masses, the e poor, the educated, the busy and the man with little time.
Some Interesting Graphs for Low Carbon Economy
Many graphs have been used and this is useful to explain a point.Some of which has been illustrated here.
these graphs show the dangerous circumstances we are in and show the great urgency to thwart the
calamities, we heading towards too.
Carbon-emissions-of-Asian-countries
Some Very Interesting Points discussed in the Book are:
- Even the most conservative prediction of future climate change foresees that the average global temperature
at the end of this century will rise by 1.8o C– 6.0o C from the average at the end of the 20th century (IPCC 2007).
The climate system is a shared resource and its stability is affected by emissions of carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases. The average temperature of the earth’s surface has risen by 0.74 degrees Celsius (C)since
the late 1800s and is expected to increase by another 1.8°C to 4°C by the year 2100 with massive environmental
and socioeconomic implications for all of humanity (Solomon et al. 2007). - The year 2007 marked the first time in history that over one-half of the world’s population lived in urban
places. By 2030, 60% of the world’s population—almost 5 billion people—will live in cities. By mid-century
the forecast is for two of every three people to be living in urban places. In Asia alone, 1 billion more people will
live in cities in 2030 than in 2005. By 2015, there will be 22 mega-cities with populations of 10 million or more;
12 of these will be in Asia. - Ecosystems supporting current urban areas are already under stress.Infrastructure is one of the defining
features of urban life and landscapes, and plays a critical role in shaping social resilience as well as the economic
dynamism of cities. Infrastructure reflects the choices that governments make, both economically and socially,
and provides insight into issues of equity, governance, and the strength of local institutions. Fast paced growth,
both in terms of spatial area and resource demands, will outstrip the capacity of existing infrastructure to provide
water,sanitation, and transportation, and will strain the carrying capacity of ecosystem services. - The lack of climate-smart infrastructure is not just a problem in the global South—it is endemic in the
industrialized countries as well. New York, for example, is struggling to adapt current infrastructure to the
future effects of floods and storms, and to better plan future infrastructure projects. The transit, water supply,
and sanitation infrastructure, among others, are all extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change and
the city is ill-equipped to handle even today’s severe weather events, let alone increased severity and frequency
of storms and sea level rise in the future. - Effects of Global warming:An increase in temperature has the potential to disrupt rainfall patterns,cause
sea levels to rise, and produce significant changes 12 Managing the Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy in
agricultural production.Other expected impacts include changes in crop yields,modifications to shipping lines,
glacier melt,biodiversity loss, and an increase in diseases because of vector mutations.These events have the
capacity to destroy lives, force vulnerable people to migrate, and contribute to food and water shortages. - About 40 million people are exposed to coastal flooding events and by the 2050s the population exposed could
rise to 150 million (Nicholls et al. 2007). - Collectively, these climate challenges will severely constrain the ability of developing Asia to sustain its recent
economic prosperity. - Today Japan is a leader in energy conservation and has developed an industrial system that continuously
improves its energy efficiency. They imposed taxes and encouraged energy efficient systems in buildings.
A energy conservation law enacted in 1979. This energy conservation law stipulates the need to
(i) identify energy intensive sectors;
(ii) appoint licensed energy managers for energy-intensive industries; and
(iii) buy and use products that meet mandatory energy performance standards - The carbon intensity of developing Asia remains 1.4–4 times greater than that of the G7 industrialized
countries.Asian economies aiming to reach a target of 20% of total supply from clean energy sources by 2020
would require an investment of almost $1 trillion by 2030 (IPCC 2007). - The IEA has estimated that $20 trillion worldwide is required by 2030. Of this, more than 60% will have to
be invested in developing Asia. - Most developing countries in Asia—with the exception of the PRC and India—spend little on research and
development (R&D) on low-carbon technologies and have a chronic shortage of competent scientists,
engineers, and managers with the skills needed to develop and apply low-carbon technologies. Toward a
Low-Carbon Asia: Challenges of Economic Development 23 Instead, these countries rely on imported
technologies and skills originating in developed countries. -
- instigating fiscal incentives to harness market forces;
- creating safety nets for socially vulnerable people;
- improving energy efficiency for high impact sectors;
- avoiding carbon leakages; and
- using public funding for low-carbon technologies.Realizing a low-carbon society hinges on the
following key policy choices:
- Coal remains the major source of energy for the PRC (70%) and India (37%).
- Extensive deployment of technology-based policies in developing Asia reflects a range of factors.
First and foremost, governments have acted on the more immediate motivations discussed in Section
4.2 (i.e., energy security, local environmental problems, and technological advantage) by setting the targets
shown in Table 4.4. As discussed further below, carbon pricing remains largely a prospective activity in
developing Asia; therefore technology instruments are the only real means to pursue these targets at present.- Feed-in tariffs
- Renewable energy certificates
- Subsidies, Tax Incentives, and Lending for Deployment and Creating Market Demand
- Public Finance for Research, Development, and Deployment (RD&D)
- Technology Transfer
- Carbon Pricing
15.)Challenges in Policy
a)If patent protection limits the ability of domestic manufacturers in 128 Managing the Transition to a Low-
Carbon Economy Asia to adapt externally developed technologies, then, of course, their dissemination is
ikely to be more limited. In order to mitigate this obstacle, Mathur (2011) proposes that developing countries
be involved in international collaborative partnerships from the research and development stage
b)Carbon Pricing-to ensure that carbon pricing is a realistic policy option as soon as possible.
c) Energy Policy
-Rapid rate of energy growth
-Presence of energy subsidies
– Politicization of energy pricing
– Presence of energy rationing
– Reliance on captive power
– Constraints on flexibility in dispatch– Reliance on central planning in the electricity sector
– Divergence from commercial orientation
– Political difficulty of reform
Check out with us on how to design a Low Carbon home or Low Carbon Building or village, or factory.
We are Net Zero Carbon Architect.
Preview of Book Prepared by Net Zero Energy Architect Perumal Nagapushnam.
Key words: Managing the Transition to Low Carbon Economy, Helping the Poor Centric, Bhutan’s-
the first Carbon negative country, first Carbon negative country,Carbon negative country,Carbon negative
Zero Carbon Emission country, Carbon Emission economy,Net Zero Carbon Emission country,
Net Zero Architect, Net Zero Emsiion,Architect,Green Architect, Biodiversity, Japanese Carbon Policies
