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Impacts: I) Development of carbon credit certification schemes, including the expansion by the Gold Standard Foundation into land-use and forestry and the creation of the Natural Forest Standard by Ecometrica Ltd (both in 2012). II) Enhanced cross-sector collaboration for the quantification of forest-loss risks and implications for financing risks, through the 2011 creation of a Forest Finance Risk Network (FFRN).
Significance and reach: The Gold Standard Foundation represents nine forestry projects worldwide (benefiting >8,500 people) and over 1.8million ha. of Brazilian land is managed through two Natural Forest Standard projects. The FFRN connects 80 member organizations globally.
Underpinned by: Research into carbon emissions associated with forest-loss, undertaken at the University of Edinburgh (2005 onwards).
Impact: Improved awareness and development of professional practice related to the financial accounting of carbon, including: its addition to the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) work programme and its designation by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) as a priority research project (both during 2012).
Significance and reach: The CDSB is a consortium of eight business/environmental organisations (including the World Economic Forum and the World Resources Institute). The IASB is the independent standard-setting body of the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation.
Underpinned by: Research into corporate carbon accounting practices, undertaken at the University of Edinburgh (2008 onwards).
The Scottish Government is aiming to generate all of its electricity through renewable energy sources by 2020. Research by the University of Aberdeen has produced a freely available tool - the Windfarm Carbon Calculator - that has overhauled the planning process for windfarm developments in Scotland. In changing public policy and planning regulations, and informing the public debate, Aberdeen's calculator is helping the Government fulfil its pledge to become "the green energy powerhouse of Europe" while protecting some of the country's most environmentally fragile areas. It continues to guide the actions of politicians, planners, the wind industry, NGOs and community groups.
The claimed impact therefore is on: the environment, economy and commerce, public policies and services, practitioners and services.
Our research on the economics of low carbon cities has impacted on energy and low carbon strategies and on investment decision-making in major UK cities including Leeds, Sheffield and Birmingham. It has also influenced guidance issued to local authorities by the Committee on Climate Change and the Department for Communities and Local Government, and has helped to embed strategies and targets for green growth in the next five-year plan for China. The research was voted one of the most transformative ideas to be presented at the UN climate negotiations in Durban in December 2011, and the approach is now being replicated in cities in India, Peru, Malaysia and Indonesia.
International and national political negotiations and public debates about climate change mitigation policies can only progress with accurate and timely updates about the global carbon budget. Annual carbon updates have been supplied over many years, as a result of our work. The "Global Carbon Project" (GCP) has become the definitive source on carbon budgets for political and policy processes dealing with climate change mitigation and the GCP draws heavily on the School's work on the ocean carbon cycle, including ocean iron fertilisation, and its relevance to the contemporary global carbon budget. This is evidenced by its citation and influence on national (e.g. UK, Germany, Australia, USA, Sweden and Canada) and international (e.g. UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) deliberations.
Research in the UoA developed a methodology for Carbon Calculations over the Life Cycle of Industrial Activities (CCaLC), providing `cradle to grave' carbon footprint estimates for commercial products. The methodology was embedded in a set of software tools designed to be used by non- experts, allowing companies to perform carbon footprinting in-house. The software is free to download, currently with 3300 users in more than 70 countries. The methodology and software tools have been endorsed by BERR (now BIS), DEFRA and the World Bank, and used widely by industry, across a range of sectors, to reduce carbon footprints of their products. This has resulted in significant environmental and socio-economic benefits, including estimated climate change mitigation gains in excess of £450m.
Carbon dioxide sequestration is the process by which pressured CO2 is injected into a storage space within the Earth rather than released into the atmosphere. It is one of the major ways that carbon dioxide emissions can be controlled.
Research since 2004 by applied mathematicians at the University of Cambridge into the many different effects that might be encountered during this process has had considerable impact on government and industry groups in determining how the field is viewed and how it should and might be industrially developed. The work played a major role in the CO2CRC conferences and was subsequently reported to the Australian Government by the CO2CRC chair and organisers.
Impact: Public and private sector investment in technologies for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), including a major UK Government CCS Commercialisation Programme.
Significance and reach: In the 2010 Spending Review the UK government re-affirmed a £1billion commitment to CCS funding, which since 2012 has been referred to as a CCS Commercialisation Programme. [text removed for publication]. The European Commission have placed CCS pipelines into 2012 infrastructure package negotiations, with allocated funds of ~ €2.5billion.
Underpinned by: Research into the sub-surface storage of carbon, undertaken at the University of Edinburgh (1999 onwards).
The research reported in this case study demonstrates that in order to achieve a carbon neutral future whole life building carbon footprinting should be undertaken by using Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) at all stages of design, construction and throughout the lifespan of buildings. Practical tools in this area are few, and the award winning research projects reported here address this need and have had impacts in the following areas; firstly, through their direct applications in building procurement and management, secondly through changes to national standards and specifications and thus professional practice, and thirdly through enhanced public awareness at local, national and international levels.
Since 2005 the Agriculture and Environment Research Unit has undertaken an extensive programme of research related to mitigating the climate change impacts arising from agricultural land management policies and practices. The research findings that identified the impact on climate change of various policies, schemes and farming initiatives have been instrumental since 2008 in providing UK policy makers, farmers and their advisors with data and tools that helped to formulate improved climate change mitigation policies. They also contributed to the development of key guidance materials that supported the implementation of these policies on the farm.