Tag: Zero Emission

Who is responsible for climate change?

This video is part of a series about climate change supported by Breakthrough Energy – a coalition founded by Bill Gates, that is working to expand clean-energy investment and support the innovations that will lead the world to net-zero carbon emissions.

https://www.gatesnotes.com/Climate-an… Also a special thanks to the team at Our World for helping us out with data and research! https://ourworldindata.org/ Sources & further reading: https://sites.google.com/view/sources…

Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have released over 1.5 trillion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the earth’s atmosphere. In the year 2019, we were still pumping out around 37 billion more. That’s 50% more than the year 2000 and almost three times as much as 50 years ago. And it’s not just carbon dioxide. We’re also pumping out growing volumes of other greenhouse gases such as methane and nitrous oxide. Combining all of our greenhouse gases, we’re emitting 51 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents each year. And emissions keep rising – but they need to get down to 0.

View more

Guide to developing net zero carbon buildings in SA launched

A guide to developing net zero carbon buildings in South Africa gives a thorough overview on net zero carbon buildings in South Africa. It provides guidance to professional teams considering developing a net zero carbon building and shows those shaping the built environment in South Africa that it is possible.

While it may be considered ambitious, it is certainly achievable.

Sparked by engagement between the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the eThekwini Energy Office, the guide is a collaborative production, led by the ASHRAE South Africa Chapter with input from the C40 South Africa Buildings Programme, Sustainable Energy Africa (SEA), and the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA).

When it comes to getting a building to net zero carbon status, the basic idea is to reduce energy consumption as much as possible, and then to provide the building’s minimal energy needs through renewable energy. Exactly how this can be done, is explained in this guide.

For those keen to take the sustainability of their property to the next level ahead of regulatory changes that will make higher efficiencies in buildings mandatory, this guide can assist.

GETTING TO ZERO gives practical tips on how net zero carbon can be achieved. From identifying the right people to have on your project team, to the actual energy use intensity of lighting and mechanical equipment that should be targeted in a commercial building. Furthermore, it highlights renewable energy considerations to bear in mind on your project.

The guide features numerous case studies, showcasing projects that have already achieved net zero carbon status. These projects provide inspiration and share learning to motivate those seeking to make net zero carbon a reality.

Local context

GETTING TO ZERO emphasises that building energy use intensity should be about one-third of current standard practice in South Africa. It advises of ways to reduce the energy use intensity, through passive design, building simulation and highly efficient active design/mechanical equipment and appliances.

It details the most effective passive design strategies to use in the South African context. And when implementing active systems such as air conditioning, it gives the pros and cons of different systems and guidance on choosing the most effective systems for particular regions in South Africa. The guide also highlights some of the intricacies of the renewable energy landscape in South Africa.

The imperative

Reliance on fossil fuels to power buildings and cities damages the health of our people and our environment. The building sector has the potential for significant greenhouse gas emissions reduction at a lower cost than many other sectors.

The motivation for net zero carbon buildings is driven by South Africa’s national and local climate change commitments, including the C40 Global Net Zero Carbon Buildings Declaration. Johannesburg, Tshwane, Cape Town and eThekwini are C40 cities and signatories to the 2018 declaration, alongside 24 other global cities. These cities have committed to developing regulations and/or planning policy to ensure new buildings operate at net zero carbon by 2030 and all buildings reach net zero carbon status by 2050.

Meeting these commitments will require a step change in building energy efficiency policies and regulations in most cities.

The biggest challenges facing the uptake of net zero buildings are challenges of perception (when people think it’s more difficult than it is), technical challenges and financial challenges. All of these are being rapidly overcome.

Technically, it is absolutely possible to achieve net zero carbon buildings. It requires determination and enabling building standards, bylaws and policies to make it happen at scale. Critical mass of net zero carbon buildings is required to meet political and planetary climate goals.

GETTING TO ZERO: A guide to developing net zero carbon buildings in South Africa is freely available and can be downloaded here.

View more

Qantas operates world’s first zero-waste flight

The first-ever commercial flight to produce no landfill waste took to the skies last week, marking the start of Qantas’ plan to cut 100-million single-use plastics by end-2020 and eliminate 75 percent of the airline’s waste by end-2021. All inflight products onboard QF739, flying from Sydney to Adelaide and staffed by cabin crew from the Qantas ‘Green Team’, will be disposed of via compost, reuse or recycling.

Speaking at the flight’s departure, Qantas Domestic CEO Andrew David said the trial flight was an important milestone for the national carrier’s plan to slash waste. “In the process of carrying over 50 million people every year, Qantas and Jetstar currently produce an amount of waste equivalent to 80 fully-laden Boeing 747 jumbo jets,” Mr David said. “We want to give customers the same level of service they currently enjoy, but without the amount of waste that comes with it.” Mr David said this flight would typically produce 34 kilograms of waste – with the Sydney to Adelaide route producing 150 tonnes of waste annually.

“This flight is about testing our products, refining the waste process and getting feedback from our customers,” he said. About 1000 single-use plastic items were substituted with sustainable alternatives or removed altogether from the flight, including individually-packaged servings of milk and Vegemite. Alternative products used during the flight include meal containers made from sugar cane and cutlery made from crop starch, all of which is fully compostable.

At the end of the meal service, Qantas cabin crew collected the items left over for reuse, recycling or composting in multiple waste streams. Customers used digital boarding passes and electronic bag tags where possible, with staff on hand to make sure any paper passes and tags were disposed of sustainably. The Qantas lounges at Sydney Airport’s domestic terminal also went ‘green’ for the flight, with multiple waste streams in use. In its effort to remove 100 million single-use plastic items every year by the end of 2020, Qantas and Jetstar will replace 45 million plastic cups, 30 million cutlery sets, 21 million coffee cups and 4-million headrest covers with sustainable alternatives.

Airlines are legally required to dispose of some materials permanently, such as quarantined food from international flights. Qantas will work with suppliers and government to reduce the volume of this waste.

The national carrier’s waste reduction initiative has been called The Bowerbird Project, named after the Australian bird that reuses small plastic items. The name was nominated by a cabin crew member in a staff competition. The zero-waste flight will be 100 percent carbon offset. Qantas operates the largest carbon offset scheme in the aviation industry, with a passenger offsetting their flight every minute. From mid-2019, customers will earn 10 Qantas Points for every dollar spent offsetting their travel from Australia, which is the highest standard earn rate of any frequent flyer initiative.

Last year, Qantas operated the first biofuel flight between Australia and the United States using biofuel processed from mustard seed, and in 2012 Qantas and Jetstar operated Australia’s first biofuel trial flights. More information can be found in this factsheet.

View more