Konadu, D. Dennis, Mourão, Zenaida Sobral, Allwood, Julian M., Richards, Keith S., Kopec, Grant M., McMahon, Richard A. and Fenner, Richard A. (2015) Not all low-carbon energy pathways are environmentally “no-regrets” options. Global Environmental Change, 35 . pp. 379-390. doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.10.002

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Abstract

Energy system pathways which are projected to deliver minimum possible deployment cost, combined with low Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, are usually considered as ‘no-regrets’ options. However, the question remains whether such energy pathways present ‘no-regrets’ when also considering the wider environmental resource impacts, in particular those on land and water resources. This paper aims to determine whether the energy pathways of the UK’s Carbon Plan are environmental “no-regrets” options, defined in this study as simultaneously exhibiting low impact on land and water services resulting from resource appropriation for energy provision. This is accomplished by estimating the land area and water abstraction required by 2050 under the four pathways of the Carbon Plan with different scenarios for energy crop composition, yield, and power station locations. The outcomes are compared with defined limits for sustainable land appropriation and water abstraction.

The results show that of the four Carbon Plan pathways, only the “Higher Renewables, more energy efficiency” pathway is an environmental “no-regrets” option, and that is only if deployment of power stations inland is limited. The study shows that policies for future low-carbon energy systems should be developed with awareness of wider environmental impacts. Failing to do this could lead to a setback in achieving GHG emission reductions goals, because of unforeseen additional competition between the energy sector and demand for land and water services in other sectors.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor T Technology > TD Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering
Divisions:	Faculty of Science > WMG (Formerly the Warwick Manufacturing Group)
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Carbon dioxide mitigation, Land use, Water use, Environmental policy -- Great Britain
Journal or Publication Title:	Global Environmental Change
Publisher:	Pergamon
ISSN:	0959-3780
Official Date:	November 2015
Dates:	Date Event November 2015 Published 28 October 2015 Available 12 October 2015 Accepted 30 April 2015 Submitted
Volume:	35
Page Range:	pp. 379-390
DOI:	10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.10.002
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access
Funder:	Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Grant number:	EP/K039326/1

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