The talk with present the key results of the IPCC Working Group III 5th assessment report. Concluding four years of intense scientific collaboration by hundreds of authors from around the world, the report responds to the request of the world's governments for a comprehensive, objective and policy neutral assessment of the current scientific knowledge on mitigating climate change. The report has been extensively reviewed by experts and governments to ensure quality and comprehensiveness.

Climate change 2014 - Mitigation of climate change

Climate change 2014 - Synthesis Report

This chapter discusses leading problems linked to energy that the world is now confronting and to propose some ideas concerning possible solutions. Oil deserves special attention among all energy sources. Since the beginning of 1981, it has merely been continuing and enhancing the downward movement in consumption and prices caused by excessive rises, especially for light crudes such as those from Africa, and the slowing down of worldwide economic growth. Densely-populated oil-producing countries need to produce to live, to pay for their food and their equipment. If the economic growth of the industrialized countries were to be 4%, even if investment in the rational use of energy were pushed to the limit and the development of nonpetroleum energy sources were also pursued actively, it would be extremely difficult to prevent a sharp rise in prices. It is evident that it is absolutely necessary to pursue actively the development of coal, natural gas, and nuclear power if a physical shortage of energy is not to block economic growth.

World energy outlook

4. UNHCR notes with concern that although the country acceded to the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol in 1999, incorporation of the 1951 Convention obligations into national legislation and normative acts has been slow and to date Kazakhstan has failed to comply with its obligation to give full effect to the Covenant in the domestic legal order, inter alia providing for effective judicial and other remedies for violations of these rights

United Nations High Commission for Refugees

Climate change and global warming as the main human societies’ threats are fundamentally associated with energy consumption and GHG emissions. The residential sector, representing 27% and 17% of global energy consumption and CO2 emissions, respectively, has a considerable role to mitigate global climate change. Ten countries, including China, the US, India, Russia, Japan, Germany, South Korea, Canada, Iran, and the UK, account for two-thirds of global CO2 emissions. Thus, these countries’ residential energy consumption and GHG emissions have direct, significant effects on the world environment. The aim of this paper is to review the status and current trends of energy consumption, CO2 emissions and energy policies in the residential sector, both globally and in those ten countries. It was found that global residential energy consumption grew by 14% from 2000 to 2011. Most of this increase has occurred in developing countries, where population, urbanization and economic growth have been the main driving factors. Among the ten studied countries, all of the developed ones have shown a promising trend of reduction in CO2 emissions, apart from the US and Japan, which showed a 4% rise. Globally, the residential energy market is dominated by traditional biomass (40% of the total) followed by electricity (21%) and natural gas (20%), but the total proportion of fossil fuels has decreased over the past decade. Energy policy plays a significant role in controlling energy consumption. Different energy policies, such as building energy codes, incentives, energy labels have been employed by countries. Those policies can be successful if they are enhanced by making them mandatory, targeting net-zero energy building, and increasing public awareness about new technologies. However, developing countries, such as China, India and Iran, still encounter with considerable growth in GHG emissions and energy consumption, which are mostly related to the absence of strong, efficient policy.

A global review of energy consumption, CO2 emissions and policy in the residential sector (with an overview of the top ten CO2 emitting countries)

Local food, food miles and carbon emissions: a comparison of farm shop and mass distribution approaches.

https://purehost.bath.ac.uk/ws/files/200897/Coley_Building-Environment_2012_ii.pdf

The implications of a changing climate for buildings

Weather data are used extensively by building scientists and engineers to study the performance of their designs, help compare design alternatives and ensure compliance with building regulations. Given a changing climate, there is a need to provide data for future years so that practising engineers can investigate the impact of climate change on particular designs and examine any risk the commissioning client might be exposed to. In addition, such files are of use to building scientists in developing generic solutions to problems such as elevated internal temperatures and poor thermal comfort. With the publication of the UK Climate Projections (UKCP09) such data can be created for future years up to 2080 and for various probabilistic projections of climate change by the use of a weather generator. Here, we discuss a method for the creation of future probabilistic reference years for use within thermal models. In addition, a comparison is made with the current set of future weather years based on the UKCIP...

https://emps.exeter.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/research/microsites/prometheus/pdfs/On_the_Creation_of_Future_Probabilistic_Design_Weather_Years_from_UKCP09.pdf

On the creation of future probabilistic design weather years from UKCP09

In the following, measurements of CO2 levels in seven classrooms in four schools are reported. Measurements were taken for approximately one week in each classroom during the heating season and the time-varying ventilation rates estimated. The results of the experiments show CO2 concentrations which are far beyond the guideline value of 1000 ppm (the average concentration during the occupied period was 1957 ppm). In some classrooms the level exceeded the range of the detector (4000ppm). Calculated air supply rates vary from unacceptably low levels to rates which are in line with guidance (the average occupied rate was 0.84 ac/h or 1.38 l/s.p). The occurrence of periods with acceptable supply rates, and the rates found during purge ventilation, show that the surveyed classrooms have the potential to provide adequate fresh air.Anecdotal evidence from the classroom teachers suggest that the reason enough fresh air is not being provided is the reluctance of staff to open windows: firstly because of th...

Carbon Dioxide Levels and Ventilation Rates in Schools

Several studies have suggested that recommended ventilation rates are not being met within schools. However these studies have not included an evaluation of whether or not this failure might have an impact on pupil performance and learning outcome. The work reported here was designed as an initial investigation into this question.Using the Cognitive Drug Research computerised assessment battery to measure cognitive function, this study demonstrates that the attentional processes of school children are significantly slower when the level of CO2 in classrooms is high. The effects are best characterised by the Power of Attention factor which represents the intensity of concentration at a particular moment, with faster responses reflecting higher levels of focussed attention. Increased levels of CO2 (from a mean of 690 ppm to a mean of 2909 ppm) led to a decrement in Power of Attention of approximately 5%. Thus, in a classroom where CO2 levels are high, students are likely to be less attentive and to ...

David Coley

Papers

Local food, food miles and carbon emissions: a comparison of farm shop and mass distribution approaches.

The implications of a changing climate for buildings

On the creation of future probabilistic design weather years from UKCP09

Carbon Dioxide Levels and Ventilation Rates in Schools

The Effect of Low Ventilation Rates on the Cognitive Function of a Primary School Class