Climate Change and Global Warming

Biography

Hans-Josef Fell, former member of the German parliament and energy policy spokesperson for the Green Party (1998–2013) is an internationally known advocate for renewable energy and global cooling. He is the President of the Energy Watch Group (EWG) and Senior Advisor at DWR eco. During the 15 years in Parliament, he  was  spokesperson  of  the  parliamentary  group  for  the committee  on  the  environment,  nature  conservation  and nuclear safety and member of the parliament’s defense and economy committees. As Rapporteur for Technology Assessment, he initiated many reports that still offer important foundations for legislative developments today. He wrote the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) draft which was adopted in 2000 in the face of strong political opposition. The EEG is the foundation for technological developments in renewables in Germany; its basic principle has now been copied in about 100 countries worldwide.

Abstract

The landmark Paris Agreement 2015 has sent a historical sign. If we are to keep the global temperature rise under 1.5°C, the transition to a 100% renewable global energy system, which is already underway in many communities, cities and countries, should be dramatically accelerated. Today, the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is more than 400 parts per million (ppm), compared to pre-industrial levels of 280 ppm. Even if we stopped emitting carbon dioxide by 100% renewables immediately, the world temperature would still increase due to the inertia of atmospheric processes. This means, we need to protect and expand carbon sinks parallel to increasing zero emission technologies, to achieve 330 ppm CO2 in the atmosphere. The measures for strengthening carbon sinks are well known, but not yet well developed. These include: biochar and biocoal for fertilising degraded land, organic farming and appropriate husbandry instead of intensive farming and factory farming, afforesting and nature conservation, regreening degraded and semi-arid land for agriculture. As costs of solar, wind energy and battery storage keep falling, a global energy system based on 100% renewables is no longer a long-term vision, but a tangible reality. Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) on behalf of the Energy Watch Group has simulated a global transition to 100% renewable energy in the power sector, published at COP 23 in Bonn. The study shows that a global transition to 100% renewable electricity is feasible at every hour throughout the year and is more cost-effective than the existing system, which is largely based on fossil fuels and nuclear energy.