Reduce and Control the Greenhouse Effect

Posted: January 4th, 2023

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Reduce and Control the Greenhouse Effect

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has aptly demonstrated that the adverse outcomes of the greenhouse effect can be controlled if transport is grounded to a near halt, despite the unprecedented health and economic crises it has precipitated. Many cities across the world reported a significant improvement in air quality following the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions after the cessation of transportation at the height of the pandemic occasioned by lockdowns. Le Quéré, et al. (674) reported that the world had witnessed a 17% reduction in the emissions of carbon dioxide by early April of 2020, hardly three months since the pandemic was first declared, and was expected to register an estimated 7% reduction if the movement restrictions remained to the end of 2020. Similarly, Liu, et al. (1) noted that the reduced greenhouse gas emission during the pandemic was larger than that witnessed during the Second World War and economic downturns, like the Great Depression of the 1930s and Great Recession of 2007. The United States registered are 13.3% reduction of carbon dioxide emissions in the first half of 2020, which was mainly attributed to the lockdown measures during the pandemic (Liu, et al. 2). However, while this is encouraging, especially to climate change advocates and environmentalists, it is not sustainable because high emission levels are bound to resume once the pandemic is controlled and a cure is found.

Greenhouse gasses, comprising mainly carbon dioxide (CO₂), nitrous oxide N₂O), and methane (CH₄), are not necessarily detrimental to earth (Romanov 10). Romanov (10) explains that these gases, and especially carbon dioxide, are responsible for maintaining a habitable average temperature of 15^OC on earth by trapping solar energy, which would have been otherwise -18^OC in their absence, rendering the world a frozen void (Romanov 10). However, these gases become detrimental when their content in the atmosphere increases and the anthropogenic emissions and removals are out of balance, continuously raising the earth’s temperature. Although the release of these gases into the atmosphere has been increasing in the last one-and-a-half centuries since the advent of the industrial revolution in the 1850s, causing a 1^OC rise in global temperature, the release rate has accelerated since the 1990s and is expected to cause a temperature increase of 1.5^OC in the 2030-2052 period (Zhai, et al. 4). The emissions have escalated by 45% after the 1990s, with the global rate increasing every year, especially after 2016 (Ge and Friedrich para 1). In turn, the contribution of the different greenhouse gases to the rising global temperature has been rising, as illustrated in figure 1.

Figure 1. Heating influence of different greenhouse gases

Source: Dahlman (para 5)

Therefore, there is concern that with the continuing pace of greenhouse gas emissions due to the increasing anthropogenic activities would raise the global temperature to above 2^OC, upon which the earth’s habitability would be compromised. Already, the temperature increases being experienced are thought to have caused the extremely cold winters and hot summers, the unpredictable weather, and accelerating desertification being experienced nowadays (Zhai, et al. 31). Carbon dioxide, specifically, contributes most to the greenhouse effect because of its abundance in the atmosphere compared to the other emitted gasses. Human activity produces much carbon dioxide, which constitutes 76% of the greenhouse gases worldwide, as illustrated in figure 2.

Figure 2. Amount of greenhouse gases emitted globally

Source: Environmental Protection Agency

Therefore, there is an urgent need to control and reduce the greenhouse effect by reducing the anthropogenic emissions or increasing the anthropogenic removal of the greenhouse gases. Already, several attempts have been made to address this issue with focus being on taming the high emissions from the highly industrialized countries in the western hemisphere and rapidly industrializing countries, like China and India. This project focuses on the reduction and control of the greenhouse effect in the United States. This country is the second largest contributor of the global greenhouse gas emissions after China, by contributing 13% compared with China’s 26% of the global emissions (Ge and Friedrich para 10). Therefore, controlling these emissions in the United States wound contribute significantly the prevention of the global temperature from surpassing the 2^OC increase and the subsequent catastrophic consequences. This project provides a solution and analyses the stakeholders that would facilitate the realization of greenhouse effect reduction and control by the year 2040.    

Description of Solution

The proposed solution is a promotion of electric vehicles through tax incentivisation. It means that electric vehicles can be bought not only cheaply but also with a reduction in taxes for those that buy or import such vehicles. In the same vein, discouraging the purchase and use of petrol and diesel-powered vehicles by imposing a tax burden also facilitate the switch to electric cars. In the same vein, subsidizing car manufacturers along with encouraging the importation of electric vehicles from outside the United States’ borders would lower the cost of purchasing electric cars and encourage the American public to adopt the technology. In addition, an increase in the selection of electric vehicles that satisfy the different tastes of diverse customers in the country would facilitate the switching process. This will encourage Americans to covert from the petroleum-fueled vehicles to electric ones. The electric car technology is emission free and therefore, is expected to cut down the greenhouse gas emissions significantly, thus reducing the greenhouse effect considerably. This strategy can emulate examples from other countries that are leading the world in the transition from fuel-powered vehicles to electric ones, which are more effective than those existing in the United States, currently. For instance, in the United States, the federal taxes that are premised on fuel consumption are waived when purchasing new electric cars. Additionally, owners of electric cars benefit from a tax credit of $7,500 from manufacturers that have not sold more than 200,000 units (Volkswagen AG para 8). However, according to Volkswagen AG (para 17), the Romanian government avails the biggest financial incentive for adopting electric cars in the world. A new electric car buyer is eligible for €10,000 with every purchase. Moreover, Romanian residents are eligible to an additional €1,500 for scrapping fuel-powered vehicles that are older than 8 years, as illustrated in figure 3 (Volkswagen AG para 17). These incentives saw the sale of electric cars in the country increase by 222% in 2018 (Volkswagen AG para 17).

Figure 3. Cash incentives afforded by various countries in 2019 for purchasing elective cars

Source: Volkswagen AG (para 17)

China, which is the largest market of electric cars, has also registered tremendous progress in the switching efforts. The purchase of electric cars grew by 117%, courtesy of the wide selections of vehicle models, numerous low-cost offers, and a €7,300 purchasing incentive. In turn, the country has over 788,000 electric cars on its roads currently, pitting it way ahead of the United States, which has just over 240,000 electric vehicles. The Chinese government has formulated policies to support the transition to electric car. Specifically, it set a target of 5 million electric cars by 2020, which is has since revised to having 25% of new car purchases being electric vehicles by 2025 (Tian and Chen para 2). These incentives have made China the leader in electric car numbers and sales in the world, accounting for about half of the global new electric car sales, which indicates that the transition from fuel-powered vehicles is feasible with governmental support.

This solution targets the transports industry, which is a significant contributor of greenhouse gas emissions, particularly, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and sulphur-based compounds. In 2018, the transport sector in the United States accounts for 28% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the country, as illustrated in figure 4 (Environmental Protection Agency). This is over a quarter of all the greenhouse gases produced by the entire country, and therefore, its reduction would contribute significantly to the air quality in the country, and more importantly, the contribution of the country to the greenhouse effect across the globe.

Figure 4. Economic sector contribution to the greenhouse gas emission in the United States.

Source: Environmental Protection Agency

Transportation produced greenhouse gasses through the burning of fossil fuels, especially gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel in cars, trucks, airplanes, trains, and ships. However, cars and trucks dominate surface transportation in the country. The electric vehicle technology has undergone tremendous improvements lately and several brands are already in the market.

However, the uptake of these vehicles has been slow in the United States because of the prohibitive costs. In this regard, the United States lags behind countries like China. Therefore, cheapening the price of these vehicles is expected to increase their acceptability in the American society, while promoting the intended conversion from the traditional ubiquitous technology on gasoline-powered or diesel-powered vehicles.   

Stakeholder analysis

This project will succeed if the multisectoral stakeholders of the transport industry are actively engaged. Several stakeholders, comprising private and public entities, have a stake in the transport sector. These stakeholders will be instrumental in the formulation and implementation of the strategy of promoting the adoption of electric vehicles in the untied states. However, their power, influence, and interest varies, which influences the nature and amount of support that they would lend to a greenhouse effect control and reduction initiative (Colvin, Witt, and Lacey 266). In this regard, these stakeholders are divided into primary, secondary and tertiary ones, based on how much they will be affected by the by the problem and their interest in the solution. The primary stakeholders at those that are impacted the most by the greenhouse effect and its solutions, while the secondary stakeholders are indirectly affected. The tertiary stakeholders are those that are least affected by the problem and the solution proposition (Colvin, Witt, and Lacey 268). The key stakeholders include the federal and state governments, governmental agencies, such as the environmental protection agency, the public, vehicle owners, community and neighborhood associations, environmentalists, vehicle insurers, vehicle manufacturers, environment activists and lobby groups, legislators in the Congress and Senate, and the American public. After mapping these stakeholders, their power and interest was identified, as illustrated in table 1.

Stakeholder	Kind	Interest	Power	Influence
US Government (federal and state)	Primary	High	High	High
Governmental agencies (EPA)	Primary	High	High	High
Vehicle owners	Secondary	High	Medium	Medium
Insurers	Tertiary	High	Low	Medium
Legislators/policymakers (Congress and Senate)	Secondary	Medium	High	High
Environmentalists	Primary	High	Low	Low
American public	Secondary	Medium	Low	Low
Environment activists and lobby groups	Secondary	High	Low	Medium
Vehicle manufacturers	Primary	Medium	Medium	High
Community and neighborhood associations	Secondary	High	Low	Low

 These stakeholders can also be categorized based on the urgency, legitimacy, and power, according to the salience model. In this regard, the different stakeholders groups can be definitive, dependent, dominant, demanding, discretionary, dangerous, or dormant (Colvin, Witt, and Lacey 269). The American government and its agencies are dominant stakeholders because despite their formal legitimacy and power, the have little agency in addressing the greenhouse effect issue. This was demonstrated when the United States Government expressed its intentions of withdrawing from the Paris Agreement on the mitigation of climate change of 2015, citing that it undermined the American interests. The Trump Administration notified the United Nations (UN) of its withdrawal intentions, which indicate the lack of a political will to advocate and promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the country because it might hurt the economy of the country (Hersher para 1).

The power and influence of the stakeholders will determine the urgency and effort exerted into approaching and engaging them to elicit their support of the proposed solution to the rising levels of greenhouse gases in the United States. The United States government and its governmental agencies, have the formal and legitimacy to address climate change issues occasioned by the greenhouse gases emitted in the country. They have set broad expectations about the reduction of greenhouse gases, and have formulated strategies of encouraging the search and adoption of alternative energy sources, such as solar, wind, and nuclear power, which have minimal or no carbon footprints. However, their efforts are yet to be formalized through legislation, which is a duty left to the Congress, House of Representatives and the Senate, to be enforced by the judiciary. In this regard, the legislators can also be considered as dominant stakeholders, who despite their legitimacy and power to facilitate the change from petroleum fuel to electrically-powered motorization, have been reluctant to initiate and pass any bills and laws that significantly change the status quo in the transport industry. For this reasons, there are no legal incentives to Americans to change to electric cars, which remain out of reach for the minority of citizens. Lobbying, calling, and written petitions will be used to attract the attention of the legislators and solicit their support. Financial incentives to purchase new electric cars while discarding the old fuel-powered ones require laws that would facilitate enforcement of the transition. The support that legislators can lend to this course is to help make electric cars cheap by subsidizing manufacturers and combining tax breaks and punishments to car owners. In the same vein, governmental agencies, like the environmental protection agency (EPA), which are dominant stakeholders can be approached directly and indirectly though legislators and other prominent industry players who I will seek out. I will use telephone calls, face-to-face meetings with the agency’s officials, to encourage them to educate the public the importance of electric cars in lowering carbon emissions and reducing the carbon footprint of the transport sector in the country.

Vehicle manufacturers are definitive stakeholders because they have legitimacy and power and also recognize the need to address the carbon footprint of their products to remain in business and retain their social license to operate. These manufacturers will be approached directly through car shows and dealerships to inspire them to provide Americans with numerous electric car choices that satisfy the different segments of the market. Similarly, environmentalists, lobby groups, and environmental activists are demanding stakeholders, who despite their minimal power and legitimacy, are very vocal about the environmental damage caused by the intense use of fuel-powered vehicles as the dominant mode of transport in the country. These advocacy groups can be approached directly through their office to encourage them to increase their voices and direct them towards policymakers in the government and vehicle manufacturers to embrace the switch to electric cars. Equally demanding stakeholders are the community and neighborhood associations, and the American public, who are ravaged by the vagaries of climate change occasioned by the rising global temperatures due to the accumulation of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. These publics will be approached through public forums and the media to raise their awareness about the benefits of adopting electric vehicles as an environmentally-friendly alternative to fuel-powered ones in their midst.

In the same vein, the car owners are are dependent stakeholders who, despite their little urgency and legitimacy, have little power to address the problem because they are dependent on the vehicles available in the market. They depend on the steps taken by the government and vehicle manufacturers to conform to the expectations of reducing the carbon footprint of their transportation modes. They will be approached through the media and advertisements, and through the vehicle sale points, like dealerships, from where they will be convinced to purchase electric vehicles and the environmentally-friendly vehicles that would help control and reduce the greenhouse effect. Insurers are also dependent stakeholders who rely on government policies to set their premium rates for automotive insurance. If the government demands that electric cars rather than diesel and gasoline-powered vehicles are be encouraged, they can set high premiums for the fuel-powered vehicles while lowering the those levied on electric cars, which could be supported by government subsidies to the electric car purchasers. Insurers will be accessed through their associations, like the National Association Of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), who can then encourage their member automotive insurers to adopt electric car-friendly insurance policies to incentivize the purchase of electric cars in the country (NAIC para 1).

In summary, while there are diverse stakeholders with diverse power, interest, and influence on the greenhouse effect problem and electric cars as a viable solution, their ability to impact the switching to electric cars differs, with the government holding most power and influence. The government can demand the change in transportation modes by providing several regulatory, financial, and structural incentives. Meanwhile the American public has the least power and influence, although with significant interest. They would like the calamities caused by global warming, such as frequent and intense weather events, like hurricanes, storms, typhoons, and excessive precipitation to be mitigated because they suffer the most.

Conclusion

This project proposes the adoption of electric cars in the United States as the solution to the escalating levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Electric cars are emission free, unlike the diesel and gasoline-powered ones, which are the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the country and around the world. However, the implementation of this proposal needs the engagement of critical stakeholders, like the federal and state governments to enact laws that incentivize the manufacture and purchase of electric vehicles. Equally, car purchasers need to be encouraged to purchase electric vehicles instead provided the automotive manufacturers presents diverse choices at low prices.

Works Cited

Colvin, Rebecca M., G. Bradd Witt, and Justine Lacey. “Approaches to identifying stakeholders in environmental management: Insights from practitioners to go beyond the ‘usual suspects’.” Land Use Policy 52 (2016): 266-276.

Dahlman, LuAnn. “Climate change: Annual greenhouse gas index.” 14 August 2020. https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-annual-greenhouse-gas-index.

Environmental Protection Agency. Greenhouse gas emissions. 8 September 2020. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases.

Ge, Mengpin and Johannes Friedrich. “4 Charts explain greenhouse gas emissions by countries and sectors. World Resource Institute. 6 February 2020. https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/02/greenhouse-gas-emissions-by-country-sector.

Hersher, Rebecca. “U.S. formally begins to leave the Paris Climate Agreement. 4 November 2019. https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-annual-greenhouse-gas-index.

Le Quéré, Corinne, Robert B. Jackson, Matthew W. Jones, Adam JP Smith, Sam Abernethy, Robbie M. Andrew, Anthony J. De-Gol, David R. Willis, Yuli Shan, Josep G. Canadell, Pierre Friedlingstein, Felix Creutzig, and Glen P. Peters. “Temporary reduction in daily global CO₂ emissions during the COVID-19 forced confinement.” Nature Climate Change (2020): 1-7.

Liu, Zhu, Philippe Ciais, Zhu Deng, Ruixue Lei, Steven J. Davis, Sha Feng, Bo Zheng. “Near-real-time monitoring of global CO₂ emissions reveals the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Nature Communications 11.1 (2020): 1-12.

Romanov, Vyacheslav. Greenhouse Gases and Clay Minerals: Enlightening Down-to-Earth Road Map to Basic Science of Clay-Greenhouse Gas Interfaces. Springer, 2017.

Tian, Ying and Feifei Chen. “China raises 2025 electrified-car sales target to about 25%. 3 December 2019. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-03/china-raises-2025-sales-target-for-electrified-cars-to-about-25.

Volkswagen AG. “How electric car incentives around the world work.” 28 May 2020. https://www.volkswagenag.com/en/news/stories/2019/05/how-electric-car-incentives-around-the-world-work.html.

Zhai, Panmao, Hans-Otto Pörtner, Debra Roberts, Jm Skea, Priryadarsgi R. Shukla, Anna Pirani, Wilfran Moufouma-Okia, Clotilde Péan, Roz Pidcock, and Sarah Connors. Global Warming of 1.5 ^oC: An IPCC Special Report on the Impacts of Global Warming of 1.5° C Above Pre-industrial Levels and Related Global Greenhouse Gas Emission Pathways, in the Context of Strengthening the Global Response to the Threat of Climate Change, Sustainable Development, and Efforts to Eradicate Poverty. Ed. Valérie Masson-Delmotte. Geneva, Switzerland: World Meteorological Organization, 2018.