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What is the background of this initiative? |
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What is the expertise of the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering
with regard to climate policy? |
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For years, the faculty has made contributions to what
we know about the relationship between human activity, ecosystems
and climate change. The expertise of the faculty in the field of
research and scientific capacity is covering five key issues that
are important in order to take a sustainable, source-oriented and
cost-efficient approach to the greenhouse gas problem, both in
Flanders and in other parts of the world. These key issues are:
Greenhouse gases inventory
First the causes of greenhouse gas emission and the
contribution of various other sources and sectors to the problem
have to be listed: industrial energy consumption, the services
sector, agriculture and households, emissions from land use and
animal production systems. Then a three-dimensional emission
survey needs to be created, for example by using sensors monitoring
the exchange processes between the ecosystem and the atmosphere.
Present expertise
Avoiding greenhouse gas emission
This activity includes the prevention and limitation
of emissions in various ways. One example is to change of consumer
behaviour with regard to food, mobility and energy consumption.
Products and production processes should become more eco-efficient
through the optimisation of existing technologies and the development
of new ones. New innovations in the environmental technology field
are also useful, such as the catalytic conversion of greenhouse
gases at the source.
Present expertise
Recording greenhouse gases
Photosynthesis in green plants is an efficient way to
reduce greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. The biomass and organic
material in the soil absorb the carbon. Under certain sustainable
conditions, afforestation, conservation agriculture and
CO2 absorbing greenhouse crops are promising carbon
dioxide sequestration techniques. However, they should not
necessarily be considered end-of-pipe measures, as an estimated
25 % of CO2 emissions is coming from unsustainable
land use. The 'Arenberg Climate Change Initiative©' is very
experienced in monitoring, three-dimensional modelling and
optimising the greenhouse gas balance in ecosystems. Optimisation
is possible by genetically improving the used organisms and by
improving cultivation techniques.
Present expertise
Replacement of fossil fuels and high energy cost materials
Another efficient strategy to reduce the greenhouse
gas emissions is replacing fossil fuels by renewable energy
sources or replacing materials that require a lot of fossil
energy by other less energy-intensive materials. It is important
here that vegetable biomass is recycled and treated to produce
substitute fuels (such as wood chips, ethanol, biodiesel, methane)
or industrial products that have a high added value after
technological treatment (such as starch, sucrose and their
derivates). It is vital to assess the energy and material balance
of these strategies in a life cycle approach and to evaluate their
social and economic impact.
Present expertise
Adaptation to the consequences of climate change
Greenhouse gas emissions have first-line
consequences
for climate patterns in temperature and precipitation, which include
changes in both averages and extremes. These in turn have second-line
consequences for human society and the ecosystems, so that a
realistic risk analysis is necessary.
Adaptation is an interdisciplinary knowledge domain in
full development. It focuses on the development of strategies and
methods to increase the defences of society and the ecosystem and
requires knowledge about human behaviour as well as the ecology of
spontaneous and cultivated plant and animal species.
Present expertise
The 'Arenberg Climate Change Initiative' is a
multidisciplinary experience and presents itself as a key player
in technology and policy developments to monitor and reduce
greenhouse gases and to soften and adapt their consequences.
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How does the 'Arenberg Climate Change Initiative©' work? |
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The 'Arenberg Climate Change Initiative©' is a
knowledge portal for company managers, policymakers, politicians and
the media. It is a channel for objective information to narrow the
gap between research and practice by offering clear, concrete answers
to complex questions.
'The Arenberg Climate Change Initiative©' aims to shorten the
distance between scientists and today's real world with regard to
new insights and technological developments.
If further information is required, please contact
Marleen
Suckers, pr-responsible of the faculty, by e-mail
(klimaatpark@biw.kuleuven.be),
by telephone (Tel. 016/32.16.29) or by fax (016/32.19.99). The
applicant will be introduced directly to the relevant expert who
will provide further advice.
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Chair Boerenbond 'Kyoto in agriculture and horticulture' |
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In 1990, the 'Chair Boerenbond' was
established to support academic initiatives related to
agriculture in response to the centenary of the Boerenbond.
The set up of the 'Arenberg Climate Change Initiative©',
the high cost of energy, the impact on the environment and
international agreements defined the content of the
Chair 2006.
The presentations of 'Kyoto in agriculture and
horticulture' are listed below.
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To implement the Climate Treaty, the European Union agreed in
December 1997 to reduce its emission of greenhouse gases between
2008 and 2012 to 8 % below the 1990 level. The gases concerned
are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4),
nitrous oxide (N2O) and three ozone depleting
fluorocarbons already included in the Montreal protocol. Ever
since then, the Kyoto protocol has been in the picture, affecting
Flemish policy, industry and households. The key question is how
our climate can be stabilised without affecting our prosperity and
wellbeing.
Climate policy is related to important policy problems, such as
the future of nuclear power, the use of substitute fuels and other
non-depletable energy sources and the creation of a society that
is more sustainable and depending less on energy resources in
general. Climate policy also raises a social debate about other
issues, for example whether it is useful to achieve part of the
emission reduction by purchasing so-called clean air credits abroad
or whether large-scale deforestation in the tropics can be reduced
through climate policies. These are all issues that touch upon the
essence of our responsibility with regard to international
environment and development policies.