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What is a Climate and Energy Indicator?

What is Climate and Energy? The burning of carbon-based fuels for energy has greatly increased concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases. The accumulation of these gases in the atmosphere is changing the Earth's climate and is dangerously affecting human health and ecosystems. Three indicators in the EPI measure countries' abilities to reduce carbon intensity. What generates CO,? co, is the predominant greenhouse gas. While emissions have a variety of natural sources, the steep increase since the Industrial Revolution is the result of human activity. Electricity Transportation Industry Land-Use Change 1 % 8% Nitrous F-gases Oxide Global Greenhouse Carbon Dioxide Concentration Gas Emissions Although fluctuations in concentration of atmospheric CO, occur naturally between glacial cycles, the present levels appear to be the highest in the last 800,000 years. CURRENT HIGHEST HISTORICAL CO, LEVEL 1950 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 thousands of years past Earth's Carbon Cycle CO, is naturally present in the atmosphere, contributing to the circulation of carbon between organisms, the atmosphere, oceans, and soils. Adding carbon is not the only way human activities have altered this carbon cycle. The destruction of carbon sinks - like forests and wetlands - have diminished the ability of natural systems to remove carbon from the atmosphere. atmosphere burning of fossil fuels photosynthesis respiration air-sea gas exchange destruction of natural sinks soils How do we know? Whereas other indicator scores reflect the degree to which a target has been met, there are no globally agreed-upon targets for CO2 reductions. Therefore, the EPI Climate and Energy indicators should not be interpreted as a proximity-to-target, but rather a relative position globally. The EPI indicators for Climate and Energy are weighted depending on a country's level of economic development. Least-developed countries (LDCS) are not scored on emissions indicators, as their historic contributions of atmospheric CO2 are insignificant. raised for SCORING high-income The score for this indicator is countries based on three trends: Trend Weighting in Carbon Intensity, Change of Trend in Carbon Intensity, and Trend in CO2 Emissions per kWh. х, The Trend in Carbon Intensity and Change of Trend in Carbon Intensity indicators are weighted according to a country's GDP. Wealthier countries have scores where x+y = 100% Trend in Carbon Intensity 2000-2010 raised for lower-income countries weighted more on Trend in Carbon Intensity (x), while scores for lower-income countries are weighted more on Change of Trend in Carbon Intensity (y). y, where x+y = 100% Change of Trend in Carbon Intensity 2000-2010 Trend in CO2 emissions per kWh scores countries based on the change in the carbon intensity of the average unit of electricity and heat produced. A few top performers are scored solely on their CO2 emissions per kWh for the year 2010, as they already perform well enough that there is little room for additional improvement. 100% weighted equally for all countries CO2 Emissions per kWh 2000-2010 Current + Projected Emis Goal for Reduced П Developed Countries Developing Countries WHY WEIGHT THE INDICATORS? Climate change is largely the legacy of developed and industrialized countries. These include OECD states in Europe, as well as the U.S., Japan, Australia, and Canada. Expectations under current climate arrangements, including the Kyoto Protocol, are that these countries will reduce their emissions to a baseline (i.e., 1990 levels) by a certain target date. We score this group based on their efforts to reduce emissions. Developing countries, particularly major emerging economies like China and India, are or will be responsible for the majority of future emissions. Still, nobody expects these countries to deliberately stop growing. It is vital that they at least slow the rate at which carbon intensity grows. Our scores for this group emphasize the need for slowed growth in intensity. Countries that slow their rates of emissions growth are scored better than countries that remain steady or are increasing emissions more rapidly than at earlier times. Least- Developed Countries (LDC) ACCESS TO ENERGY For LDCS, emissions are simply not as im transitioning people to more sustainable and accessible forms of energy. No score is given to LDCS for Climate and Energy. Instead, an indicator showing Access to Electricity is presented but not calculated in the overall EPI score. rtant as Why does it matter? Global temperature rise as a result of climate change has been shown to be correlated with a number of natural phenomena, including: Sea-level Rise Increased Precipitation Reduced Predictability of Monsoons ..... Increased Intensity of Natural Disasters Flooding Shifts Temperature Extremes in Global Currents Droughts Environmental References Performance Index • "Climate Change," The World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/climatechange • Houser, Trevor. (2010). "Copenhagen, the Accord, and the Way Forward", Peterson Institute for International Economics: http://www.iie.com/publications/pb/pb10-05.pdf • "Overview of Greenhouse Gases", United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/co2.html • Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M. Tignor and H.L. Miller, "Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change", Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): http://www.ipcc.ch/ • "What are the Main Sources of Carbon Dioxide Emissions?", What's Your Impact (WYI): http://www.whatsyourimpact.org/co2-sources.php projected Emiss for Reduced Emissions 3% Current Emission 17%CO2 Biomass Other 14% Methan orestation, Emissions 57% CO, Fossil Fuel Use Total Carbon Dioxide Emissions

What is a Climate and Energy Indicator?

shared by EPI on Feb 12
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This infographic is from the 2014 Environmental Performance Index. The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) ranks how well countries perform on high-priority environmental issues in two broad policy ...

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