Humanity Can Still Stop Climate Change by Implementing a New International Climate Agreement and Applying Radical New Technology

Zvonimir Glasnovic, Karmen Margeta and Nataša Zabukovec Logar
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Zvonimir Glasnovic: Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, University of Zagreb, Savska cesta 16, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Karmen Margeta: Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, University of Zagreb, Marulicev trg 20, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Nataša Zabukovec Logar: National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova ulica 19, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 24, 1-32

Abstract: There is a broad consensus worldwide that anthropogenic climate change is a scientific fact. Likewise, the fact is that the UN’s efforts to address climate change over the last 28 years have not been successful enough. It is evident that the global average temperature is on the rise (1.1 °C above pre-industrial levels in 2019). A particular concern comes from the fact that the Paris Agreement on keeping increases in the global average temperature to below +2 °C is an unenforceable ambition, since the focus is more on consequences than causes. In addition, economic policies regarding global taxes, as well as adaptation and mitigation measures, are questionable, as there is no evidence that changes in the climate system will proceed at the same rate in the coming years. This paper proposes an engineering approach that considers all relevant aspects of the climate change problem and proposes a new policy, named the “Climate New Deal”. It deals with: (i) Reorientation from a high-carbon economy to a green economy; (ii) The intensive use of radically new technology, e.g., “Seawater Steam Engine” technology for the simultaneous production of thermal and electric energy and drinking water; and (iii) The intensive use of energy efficient technologies and RES technologies, especially in transport.

Keywords: climate change; Paris agreement; Seawater Steam Engine; energy; drinking water; sustainable development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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