AR4: Mitigation of Climate Change

- Almost always cost-effective, reduces or eliminates local pollutant emissions and consequent health impacts, improves indoor comfort and reduces indoor noise levels, creates business opportunities and jobs and improves energy security

- Government and industry programmes can help overcome lack of information and principal agent problems

- Programmes can be implemented at all levels of government and industry

- Important to ensure that low-income household energy needs are given due consideration, and that the process and consequences of implementing mitigation options are, or the result is, gender-neutral

- CO2 reduction costs may be offset by increased health benefits

- Promotion of public transport and non-motorized transport has large and consistent social benefits

- Switching from solid fuels to modern fuels for cooking and heating indoors can reduce indoor air pollution and increase free time for women in developing countries

- Institutionalizing planning systems for CO2 reduction through coordination between national and local governments is important for drawing up common strategies for sustainable transportation systems

- Diesel engines are generally more fuel-efficient than gasoline engines and thus have lower CO2 emissions, but increase particle emissions.

- Other measures (CNG buses, hybrid dieselelectric buses and taxi renovation) may provide little climate benefit.

- Important to ensure that DAES is cost-effective

- Reduces local air pollutant emissions.

- Can create new indigenous industries (e.g., Brazil ethanol programme) and hence generate employment

- Balance of trade improvement is traded off against increased capital required for investment

- Fossil fuel-exporting countries may face reduced exports

- Hydropower plants may displace local populations and cause environmental damage to water bodies and biodiversity

- Almost always reduces local pollutant emissions

- Implementation may be more rapid than DAES

- Important to ensure that IAES is cost-effective

- Economies and societies of energy-exporting countries would benefit

- Could reduce energy security

- Balance of trade may worsen but capital needs may decline