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- ItemDeep decarbonisation of buildings energy services through demand and supply transformations in a 1.5°C scenario(Bristol : IOP Publ., 2021-5-12) Levesque, Antoine; Pietzcker, Robert C.; Baumstark, Lavinia; Luderer, GunnarBuildings energy consumption is one of the most important contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide, responsible for 23% of energy-related CO2 emissions. Decarbonising the energy demand of buildings will require two types of strategies: first, an overall reduction in energy demand, which could, to some extent, be achieved at negative costs; and second through a reduction of the carbon content of energy via fuel switching and supply-side decarbonisation. This study assesses the contributions of each of these strategies for the decarbonisation of the buildings sector in line with a 1.5°C global warming. We show that in a 1.5°C scenario combining mitigation policies and a reduction of market failures in efficiency markets, 81% of the reductions in buildings emissions are achieved through the reduction of the carbon content of energy, while the remaining 19% are due to efficiency improvements which reduce energy demand by 31%. Without supply-side decarbonisation, efficiency improvements almost entirely suppress the doubling of emissions that would otherwise be expected, but fail to induce an absolute decline in emissions. Our modelling and scenarios show the impact of both climate change mitigation policies and of the alleviation of market failures pervading through energy efficiency markets. The results show that the reduction of the carbon content of energy through fuel switching and supply-side decarbonisation is of paramount importance for the decarbonisation of buildings.
- ItemCommon but differentiated leadership: strategies and challenges for carbon neutrality by 2050 across industrialized economies(Bristol : IOP Publ., 2020) Schreyer, Felix; Luderer, Gunnar; Rodrigues, Renato; Pietzcker, Robert C.; Baumstark, Lavinia; Sugiyama, Masahiro; Brecha, Robert J.; Ueckerdt, FalkoGiven their historic emissions and economic capability, we analyze a leadership role for representative industrialized regions (EU, US, Japan, and Australia) in the global climate mitigation effort. Using the global integrated assessment model REMIND, we systematically compare region-specific mitigation strategies and challenges of reaching domestic net-zero carbon emissions in 2050. Embarking from different emission profiles and trends, we find that all of the regions have technological options and mitigation strategies to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Regional characteristics are mostly related to different land availability, population density and population trends: While Japan is resource limited with respect to onshore wind and solar power and has constrained options for carbon dioxide removal (CDR), their declining population significantly decreases future energy demand. In contrast, Australia and the US benefit from abundant renewable resources, but face challenges to curb industry and transport emissions given increasing populations and high per-capita energy use. In the EU, lack of social acceptance or EU-wide cooperation might endanger the ongoing transition to a renewable-based power system. CDR technologies are necessary for all regions, as residual emissions cannot be fully avoided by 2050. For Australia and the US, in particular, CDR could reduce the required transition pace, depth and costs. At the same time, this creates the risk of a carbon lock-in, if decarbonization ambition is scaled down in anticipation of CDR technologies that fail to deliver. Our results suggest that industrialized economies can benefit from cooperation based on common themes and complementary strengths. This may include trade of electricity-based fuels and materials as well as the exchange of regional experience on technology scale-up and policy implementation.
- ItemCoupling a Detailed Transport Model to the Integrated Assessment Model REMIND(Bussum : Baltzer Science Publ., 2021) Rottoli, Marianna; Dirnaichner, Alois; Kyle, Page; Baumstark, Lavinia; Pietzcker, Robert; Luderer, GunnarThe transport sector is a crucial bottleneck in the decarbonization challenge. To study the sector’s decarbonization potential in the wider systems perspective, we couple a large-scale integrated assessment model, Regionalized Model of INvestments and Development (REMIND), to a detailed transport model, Energy Demand Generator-Transport (EDGE-T). This approach allows the analysis of mobility futures in the context of long-term and global energy sector transformations, at a high level of modal and technological granularity and internal consistency. The runtime of the coupled system increases by ~ 15–20% compared with a REMIND standalone application, and first convergence tests are promising. To illustrate the capabilities of our modeling approach, we focus on a reference pathway for Europe. Preliminary results indicate that transport service demands grow in the next decades for both passenger and freight transport. Transport system emissions are expected to decrease in the same time range, due to a shift towards electric drivetrains, advanced vehicles, more efficient modes as well as a slight increase in the share of biofuels.
- ItemREMIND2.1: transformation and innovation dynamics of the energy-economic system within climate and sustainability limits(Katlenburg-Lindau : Copernicus, 2021) Baumstark, Lavinia; Bauer, Nico; Benke, Falk; Bertram, Christoph; Bi, Stephen; Gong, Chen Chris; Dietrich, Jan Philipp; Dirnaichner, Alois; Giannousakis, Anastasis; Hilaire, Jerome; Klein, David; Koch, Johannes; Leimbach, Marian; Levesque, Antoine; Madeddu, Silvia; Malik, Aman; Merfort, Anne; Merfort, Leon; Odenweller, Adrian; Pehl, Michaja; Pietzcker, Robert C.; Piontek, Franziska; Rauner, Sebastian; Rodrigues, Renato; Rottoli, Marianna; Schreyer, Felix; Schultes, Anselm; Soergel, Bjoern; Soergel, Dominika; Strefler, Jessica; Ueckerdt, Falko; Kriegler, Elmar; Luderer, GunnarThis paper presents the new and now open-source version 2.1 of the REgional Model of INvestments and Development (REMIND). REMIND, as an integrated assessment model (IAM), provides an integrated view of the global energy–economy–emissions system and explores self-consistent transformation pathways. It describes a broad range of possible futures and their relation to technical and socio-economic developments as well as policy choices. REMIND is a multiregional model incorporating the economy and a detailed representation of the energy sector implemented in the General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS). It uses non-linear optimization to derive welfare-optimal regional transformation pathways of the energy-economic system subject to climate and sustainability constraints for the time horizon from 2005 to 2100. The resulting solution corresponds to the decentralized market outcome under the assumptions of perfect foresight of agents and internalization of external effects. REMIND enables the analyses of technology options and policy approaches for climate change mitigation with particular strength in representing the scale-up of new technologies, including renewables and their integration in power markets. The REMIND code is organized into modules that gather code relevant for specific topics. Interaction between different modules is made explicit via clearly defined sets of input and output variables. Each module can be represented by different realizations, enabling flexible configuration and extension. The spatial resolution of REMIND is flexible and depends on the resolution of the input data. Thus, the framework can be used for a variety of applications in a customized form, balancing requirements for detail and overall runtime and complexity.
- ItemThe ongoing nutrition transition thwarts long-term targets for food security, public health and environmental protection([London] : Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature, 2020) Bodirsky, Benjamin Leon; Dietrich, Jan Philipp; Martinelli, Eleonora; Stenstad, Antonia; Pradhan, Prajal; Gabrysch, Sabine; Mishra, Abhijeet; Weindl, Isabelle; Le Mouël, Chantal; Rolinski, Susanne; Baumstark, Lavinia; Wang, Xiaoxi; Waid, Jillian L.; Lotze-Campen, Hermann; Popp, AlexanderThe nutrition transition transforms food systems globally and shapes public health and environmental change. Here we provide a global forward-looking assessment of a continued nutrition transition and its interlinked symptoms in respect to food consumption. These symptoms range from underweight and unbalanced diets to obesity, food waste and environmental pressure. We find that by 2050, 45% (39–52%) of the world population will be overweight and 16% (13–20%) obese, compared to 29% and 9% in 2010 respectively. The prevalence of underweight approximately halves but absolute numbers stagnate at 0.4–0.7 billion. Aligned, dietary composition shifts towards animal-source foods and empty calories, while the consumption of vegetables, fruits and nuts increases insufficiently. Population growth, ageing, increasing body mass and more wasteful consumption patterns are jointly pushing global food demand from 30 to 45 (43–47) Exajoules. Our comprehensive open dataset and model provides the interfaces necessary for integrated studies of global health, food systems, and environmental change. Achieving zero hunger, healthy diets, and a food demand compatible with environmental boundaries necessitates a coordinated redirection of the nutrition transition. Reducing household waste, animal-source foods, and overweight could synergistically address multiple symptoms at once, while eliminating underweight would not substantially increase food demand.