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6. How could greenhouse gas emissions be reduced?

6.1. How is Climate Change a unique problem?

The following IPCC WG III documents support Paragraph 2:

• 1.2.5 Distributional impacts and equity considerations 
• 1.3 Equity and sustainable development 
• 10.1.2 Scope of the problem 
• 10.1.4 Progress since the second assessment report on decision analytical frameworks 
• 10.4.5 Who should pay for the response? 

The following IPCC WG III documents support Paragraph 3:

• 2.2.2 Mitigation and stabilization scenarios 
• 2.3.2 Quantitative characteristics of mitigation scenarios 
• 2.4.4 Global futures scenarios, greenhouse gas emissions, and sustainable development 
• 2.5 Special report on emissions scenarios (SRES) and post-SRES mitigation scenarios 

The following IPCC WG III documents support Paragraphs 4-5

• 1.3 Equity and sustainable development 
• 1.4 Global sustainability and climate change mitigation 
• 2.2.3 Scenarios and “development, equity, and sustainability (DES)” 
• 2.4.4 Global futures scenarios, greenhouse gas emissions, and sustainable development 
• 2.5 Special report on emissions scenarios (SRES) and post-SRES mitigation scenarios 
• 7.2.2 Cost estimation in the context of the decisionmaking framework 
• 8.2.4 Ancillary benefits 

The following IPCC WG III documents support Paragraph 6

• 2.5.1 Special report on emissions scenarios: summary and differences from TAR 
• 2.5.2 Review of post-SRES mitigation scenarios 
• 3.8.3 Historic trends and driving forces 
• 8.4 Social, environmental, and economic impacts of alternative pathways for meeting a range of concentration stabilization pathways 

6.2. What are the options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions?

6.2.1. What technologies could reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

The following IPCC WG III documents support Paragraph 7:

• 3.1 Technological and Economic Potential of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction: Introduction 
• 4.7 Biological uptake in oceans and freshwater reservoirs, and geo-engineering 
• 3.3 Buildings 
• 3.4 Transport and mobility 
• 3.5 Manufacturing industry 
• 3.8.4 New technological options 
• 3.6 Agriculture and energy cropping 
• Chapter 3 Appendix: Options to reduce global warming contributions from substitutes for ozone-depleting substances 

6.2.2. How can forests and agricultural lands help carbon mitigation?

The following IPCC WG III documents support Paragraph 8:

• 3.6 Agriculture and energy cropping 
• 4.3 Processes and practices that can contribute to climate mitigation 
• 4.4 Environmental costs and ancillary benefits 

6.2.3. What are the paths to a low emissions future?

The following IPCC WG III documents support Paragraph 9:

• 2.3.2 Quantitative characteristics of mitigation scenarios 
• 2.4 Global futures scenarios 
• 2.5 Special report on emissions scenarios (SRES) and post-SRES mitigation scenarios 

The following IPCC WG III documents support Paragraph 10:

• 1.4.3 Decoupling wellbeing from production 
• 5.3.8 Social, cultural, and behavioural norms and aspirations 
• 10.3.2 Development choices and the potential for synergy 
• 10.3.4 Decision-making frameworks for sustainable development and climate change 

6.3. What would be the costs of implementing the Kyoto Protocol?

6.3.1. Why do cost and benefits estimates of mitigation actions differ?

The following IPCC WG III documents support Paragraph 11:

• 7.2 Elements in costing 
• 7.3 Analytical structure and critical assumptions 
• 8.2.1 Gross aggregated expenditures in greenhouse gas abatements in technology-rich models 
• 8.2.2 Domestic policy instruments and net mitigation costs 
• 9.4 Why studies differ 

6.3.2. How can some mitigation actions carry no or negative cost?

The following IPCC WG III documents support Paragraph 12:

• 7.3.4 Assumptions about technology options 
• 7.3.3 Cost implications of different scenario approaches 
• 8.2.4 Ancillary benefits 
• 9.2.2 Coal 
• 9.2.8 Transport 
• 9.2.10 Households 
• 7.3.3 Cost implications of different scenario approaches 
• 8.2.2 Domestic policy instruments and net mitigation costs 
• 9.2.1 Impacts from multisectoral studies 

6.3.3. What will the Kyoto Protocol cost to developed countries?

The following IPCC WG III documents support Paragraph 13:

• 7.3.5 Cost Implications of Alternative GHG Emission Reduction Options and Carbon Sinks 
• 8.3.1 International Emissions Quota Trading Regimes 
• 9.2.3 Petroleum and Natural Gas 
• 10.4.4. Where Should the Response Take Place? The Relationship between Domestic Mitigation and the Use of International Mechanisms 

6.3.4. How will the mitigation costs vary with the CO₂ stabilization level?

The following IPCC WG III documents support Paragraph 14:

• 2.5.2 Review of post-SRES mitigation scenarios 
• 8.4.1 Alternative pathways for stabilization concentrations 
• 10.4.6 Towards what objective should the response be targetted? 

6.3.5. How will the mitigation costs be distributed among industries?

The following IPCC WG III documents support Paragraph 15:

• 9.2.1 Impacts from multisectoral studies 

6.3.6. How will the Kyoto Protocol affect developing countries?

The following IPCC WG III documents support Paragraph 16:

• 8.3.2 Spillover effects: economic effects of measures in countries on other countries 
• 9.3 International spillovers from mitigation strategies 
• 8.3.2.2 Effects of emission leakage on global emissions pathways 

6.4. What are the ways and means for mitigation?

The following IPCC WG III documents support Paragraph 17:

• 1.5 Integrating across the essential domains–cost-effectiveness, equity, and sustainability 
• 5.3 Sources of barriers and opportunities 
• 5.4 Sector- and technology-specific barriers and opportunities 

6.4.1. What policy instruments can be used to reduce greenhouse gas?

The following IPCC WG III documents support Paragraph 18:

• 6.2 National policies, measures, and instruments 

6.4.2. How can the effectiveness of mitigation be enhanced?

The following IPCC WG III documents support Paragraph 19:

• 2.2.3 Scenarios and “development, equity, and sustainability (DES)” 
• 2.4.4 Global futures scenarios, greenhouse gas emissions, and sustainable development 
• 2.4.5 Conclusions 
• 2.5.1 Special report on emissions scenarios: summary and differences from TAR 
• 2.5.2 Review of post-SRES mitigation scenarios 
• 10.3.2 Development choices and the potential for synergy 
• 10.3.4 Decision-making frameworks for sustainable development and climate change 

6.4.3. How can mitigation costs be reduced?

The following IPCC WG III documents support Paragraph 20:

• 6.3 International policies, measures, and instruments 
• 6.4.2 Conflicts with international environmental regulation and trade law 
• 10.2.7 Political science perspectives 
• 10.2.8 Implementation and compliance 

6.4.4. Should decision-making concentrate on the long term or near term?

The following IPCC WG III documents support Paragraph 21:

• 2.3.2 Quantitative characteristics of mitigation scenarios 
• 2.5.2 Review of post-SRES mitigation scenarios 
• 8.4.1 Alternative pathways for stabilization concentrations 
• 10.4.2 What should the response be? The relationship between adaptation and mitigation 

The following IPCC WG III documents support Paragraph 22:

• 10.4.3 When should the response be made? Factors influencing the relationships between the near-term and long-term mitigation portfolio 

6.4.5. What is the role of an international regime in climate policy?

The following IPCC WG III documents support Paragraph 23:

• 1.3 Equity and sustainable development 
• 10.2 International regimes and policy options 

6.5. What in the current knowledge needs to be improved?

The IPCC does not suggests any document to support Paragraph 24.

Contributors: IPCC references come from
 IPCC WG III,
other references are selected by GreenFacts

Climate Change 2001 Assessment

Adaptive Capacity, Vulnerability, and Key Concerns by Region

Facts on environmental matters

Table SPM.1 Estimates of potential global greenhouse gas emission reductions in 2010 and in 2020

The Emissions Scenarios from the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES)

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Other views on Climate Change

Footnotes for the Summary for Policymakers of IPCC Working Group III

Footnotes for Table 1 of IPCC SPM WG II

Footnotes for the Summary for Policymakers of IPCC Working Group 1

Footnotes for the Summary for Policymakers of IPCC Working Group II

Variations of the Earth's surface temperature for :

Indicators of the human influence on the atmosphere during the Industrial Era

The global mean radiative forcing of the climate system for the year 2000, relative to 1750

Simulated annual global mean surface temperatures

The global climate of the 21st Century

Documented Climate Change Impacts

Figure SPM-2 - Reasons for Concern

Figure SPM-3 - Projected Changes in Annual Runoff

Carbon in Oil, Gas and Coal Reserves Compared with Historic Fossil Fuel Carbon Emissions (in gigatonnes)

Footnotes to Table SPM-1 (Question 6.2.2)

Figure 8.1 Precipitation

Figure 8.2 Hurricanes

Schematic of observed variations of the temperature indicators / the hydrological and storm-related indicators

Many external factors force climate change

The annual mean change of the temperature (colour shading) and its range (isolines)

Analysis of inter-model consistency in regional relative warming

GCRIO

UNFCCC

Pew Climate

NCDC

Climate Ark

Climatic Research Unit

CICERO

World Business Council for Sustainable Development

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