Climate Change and Travel Plans Robert Mulvaney William Ray Rod Downie TfW Network Breakfast 12 June 2007.

Climate Change and Travel Plans

Robert MulvaneyWilliam RayRod Downie

TfW Network Breakfast12 June 2007

Contents

1. Climate Change – The evidence from Antarctica

2. BAS Carbon Reduction Strategy3. BAS Cambridge Site Travel Plan

Variations of the Earth’s surface temperature for the past 140 years – meteorological records

IPCC 2002

The increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

Carbon Dioxide / Mauna Lau, Hawaii

310

320

330

340

350

360

370

380

1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

Year

CO

2 /

pp

m

Extraction produces about 100mL air per kg ice

Stable Isotopes course, 2007

-40

-35

-30

-25

-20

3 2 1 0-250

-200

-150

-100

D18

O

Depth from surface /m

18O

‰ (o

xygen

isoto

pes

)

D ‰

(de

uteriu

m o

r hyd

rogen

isoto

pes

)

Dyer Plateau, Antarctic Peninsula

Seasonal cycles in 18O and D in a shallow ice core

Annual layer Summer

Winter

European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA)

• Dome C: aimed to collected oldest ice• Drilling finished in December 2004• Depth of 3270m (i.e. 2 miles of ice core!) • 800,000 years of climate history (almost

2 times older than previous oldest ice) 0 2500

kilometres

Deuterium/Hydrogen ratio of Dome C ice

Siegenthaler et al., Science (2005)Petit et al., Nature (1999)

CO2 concentration in Dome C ice

CO2 concentration in Vostok ice

160

320

240

220

200

180

CO

2 (

ppm

)

300

280

260

Deuterium/Hydrogen ratio of Dome C ice

600,000 400,000 200,000 100,000300,000500,000700,000 Presentyears ago

-460

-360

-380

-400

-420

-440

D (

per

mil)

Temperature and carbon dioxide have been closely linked over the past 750 000 years

Glacial

Interglacial

Today 380

Modern day CO2 level and rate of change is unprecedented over the last 750 000 years

1000years ago

Temperature from Vostok iceCO2 in Vostok ice

150

CO2 in Law Dome iceCO2 at Mauna Loa, Hawaii

Etheridge et al., JGR (1996)Petit et al., Nature (1999)

650

150,000 100,000 50,000years AD

20001500

Tem

per

atur

e ch

ange

(oC

)

CO

2 (

ppm

)

4

-10

0

2

-2

-4

-6

-8

600

550

500

450

400

350

300

250

200

2006: 380 ppmIncreasing at 2 ppm per year

Lowest possible stabilisation by 2100

50% chance of limiting global warming to 2oC

“Business as usual” CO2 level by 2100

Double pre-industrial

CO2 level

“Dangerous” climate change likely

Fastest rate of change:

30 ppm increase over 1000 years

30 ppm increase over last 17 years

Energy

CO2

76%

11% 9%

4%4% +

What is in the Carbon Reduction Strategy:• Do better accounting, monitoring and reporting • Educate staff • Make operational changes (no work impact)• Install energy efficiency upgrades & retrofits• Install Renewable and alternative energy • Develop innovative science infrastructure

• Reduce scale/intensity of operations X• Use alternative fuels X• Buy outside carbon offsets X

What is the impact of the Strategy?

• >20% less CO2 from Cambridge & Antarctic Stations by 2012• >5% less CO2 from ships by 2012• 7-9% less CO2 overall

• Transport – Carbon accounting & budgets by division– All new purchases to be ‘best of breed’– Staff education – video conferencing– Retrofits to ships– More innovative science infrastructure

• Aim: to encourage the use of sustainable travel options and to reduce our carbon footprint

• Sits within BAS’s EMS (ISO 14001)• Agreed October 2006• Action Plan with Short, Medium and Long Term goals

Cambridge Site Travel Plan

• Video-conferencing e.g. NERC Green Teammeetings, Antarctic Tourism Meeting-Hobart

• Travel information on web and staff inductions• BAS Bicycle Users Group • Lift-share database

Cambridge Site Travel Plan

• Web based lift-share scheme:

BAS staff sharing lift from Welwyn 3 days weekReduces combined mileage by 210 miles/ weekCombined carbon reduction (11 to 7.7 tonnes p/a)

• Widen scope to High Cross site users

BAS Lift-Share Database

• Greenhouse gases and climate have been closely correlated for at least the last 750 000 years, but today’s level of GH gases are unprecedented

• BAS Carbon Reduction Strategy - 7-9% less CO2 by 2012 across our operations

• Site travel plan an integral part of EMS at BAS Cambridge

Summary