A significant portion of a building’s energy is used to provide air heating, water heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration. Heat is also used for cooking, dishwashing, and clothes washing and drying. Away from the tropics, demand for air heating in buildings is usually greatest during winter, whereas demand for air-conditioning is usually greatest during summer. In all locations, hot water and refrigeration are needed year-round, although energy demand for hot water peaks during cold months and demand for refrigeration peaks during warm months. In a 100 percent WWS world, air and water heating and air-conditioning in buildings will be provided either by district heating and cooling systems or by individual-building heating and cooling systems. In both cases, heating and cooling will be provided primarily by electric heat pumps, where the electricity comes from WWS sources and the heat or cold is extracted from either air, ground, water, or a waste stream of hot or cold air or water. The heat and cold may be stored or used immediately. Additional heat may come from geothermal and solar heat. The remaining energy used in buildings is for electric appliances and gadgets, such as lights, televisions, computers, and phone chargers. This chapter discusses how WWS will power district and individual-building heating and cooling systems. It includes a discussion of hot and cold storage options for both. It also discusses electric appliances and machines that will replace fossil-gas ones in buildings. The chapter also examines energy efficiency in buildings and techniques to reduce building energy use. Finally, it discusses a modern district heating and cooling system and an all-electric home.

The chapter begins with a brief history of paleoclimate modeling. It first outlines the main modeling approaches and types of models used to study Quaternary climate dynamics. The hierarchy of numerical models is presented, ranging from simple (box, conceptual and 1-dimensional) models to comprehensive 3-D Earth system models. The role of models of intermediate complexity and of individual components of the Earth system in understanding past climate variability is explored. The use of different types of models to study past climate conditions and climate variability is illustrated through a number of practical examples. The methods of conducting time slice and transient experiments are compared, and their potential limitations are discussed. The chapter also explains the objective and methodology of the paleoclimate intercomparison projects and their main results.

The chapter describes Quaternary glacial cycles. It begins by outlining the main empirical evidence regarding the magnitude, typical periodicity and spatial pattern of Quaternary climate variability at orbital time scales, including changes in atmospheric composition and global ice volume. The chapter explores the current understanding of the mechanisms of Quaternary glacial cycles, starting with the classical Milankovitch theory, highlighting its strengths and shortcomings, and then provides an overview of modeling work carried out with different types of models aimed at testing the theory and reproducing the reconstructed climate variability associated with glacial cycles. The role of glacial-interglacial variations in atmospheric CO2 concentrations and the proposed mechanism of this variability are examined. The cause of the onset of Quaternary glacial cycles 2.7 million years ago and the transition from obliquity-dominated glacial cycles to the dominant 100,000-year periodicity one million years ago are discussed in relation to recent modeling results.

The chapter provides a brief summary of Earth's geological history, spanning from its origin to the Quaternary. It presents the main geological periods, key events and qualitative transitions in atmospheric composition, climate variability and the complex interaction between climate and life. It discusses the role of the Great Oxidation Event for climate and biosphere, the so-called “faint young sun paradox,” and the mechanisms behind the Neoproterozoic snowball Earth. The role of plate tectonics and the formation and collapse of supercontinents in climate history is described. The Paleocene and Eocene greenhouse climates and possible mechanisms of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum are examined. The influence of a gradual Cenozoic cooling in the transition from a greenhouse to an icehouse world is explored alongside the leading hypothesis for the cause of Antarctic glaciation. Finally, the role of various factors in the transition to regular Quaternary glacial cycles is discussed.

This book explores the economic and financial impacts of climate change, highlighting the risks posed by extreme weather events and the transition to a low-carbon economy. It examines the challenges for central banks, financial institutions, and emerging markets, emphasizing the need for green finance mechanisms such as sustainability debt markets and blended finance. The book also addresses climate justice, ensuring equitable distribution of burdens and benefits. Through comprehensive analysis, it offers insights for policymakers and financial professionals on managing climate-related risks and promoting sustainable development.

The solution to air pollution, global warming, and energy insecurity is, in theory, simple and straightforward: Electrify or provide direct heat for all energy; obtain the electricity and heat from only wind, water, and solar sources; store energy; transmit electricity over long distance; and reduce energy use. This chapter first explores the main components of a wind–water–solar system and then focuses on the WWS electricity-generating technologies that will replace traditional energy sources, thereby eliminating all global anthropogenic emissions from such energy sources.

The industrial sector creates products made of metal, plastic, rubber, concrete, glass, and ceramics, among other materials. Energy is needed in industry for heating, cooling, drying, curing, melting, and electricity. Industrial heat ranges from low- to high-temperature heat. About half of industrial heat is high-temperature heat (above 400 degrees Celsius) and the other half, low- (30–200 degrees Celsius) and medium- (200–400 degrees Celsius) temperature heat. High-temperature heat is used for plastics and rubber manufacturing, casting, steel production, other metal production, glass production, lime calcining in cement manufacturing, metal heat-treating and reheating, ironmaking, and silicon extraction from sand. Low- and medium-temperature heat are used for drying and washing during food production, chemical manufacturing, distilling, cracking, pulp and paper manufacturing, and petroleum refining, among other processes. This chapter first discusses the current sources of energy used in industry and then discusses WWS alternatives to these sources. The chapter also includes methods of eliminating chemical emissions from steel, concrete, and silicon manufacturing.

Hydro, geothermal, tidal, and ocean-current electricity production can be steady for long periods; thus, these generators provide baseload (constant-output) electricity. However, wind, solar PV, and wave electricity outputs vary during the day and by season. As such, these electricity sources provide variable output. Given that solar and wind may end up supplying 90 percent or more of all WWS energy generation worldwide, on average, it is important to have electricity-storage technologies available to provide backup when solar and wind are unavailable. Storage also allows excess daytime WWS generation, for example, to be shifted to nighttime. Major electricity-storage options include existing hydroelectric dams, pumped hydroelectric storage, batteries, concentrated solar power coupled with thermal energy storage, flywheels, compressed-air energy storage, gravitational storage with solid masses, and green-hydrogen storage. This chapter discusses these technologies.

One of the greatest concerns facing the implementation of a worldwide 100 percent clean, renewable energy and storage system is whether electricity, heat, cold, and hydrogen will be available when they are needed. In other words, can a 100 percent WWS grid avoid blackouts? The electric grid in a 100 percent WWS world will be very different from that today. Today, electricity comprises about 20 percent of all end-use energy (or 40 percent of primary energy). In a 100 percent WWS world, electricity will comprise close to 100 percent of all end-use energy, which itself will equal primary energy less transmission and distribution losses. The nonelectricity end-use energy will come from geothermal heat and solar heat. The sectors that will be electrified (transport, buildings, industry, agriculture/forestry/fishing, and the military) will use more energy-efficient technologies than with a fossil-fuel system. Such technologies include battery-electric vehicles, hydrogen-fuel-cell-electric vehicles, and electric heat pumps, among others. The reduction in energy use due to the use of more efficient technologies will reduce overall energy demand substantially. Demand will also decrease because no more energy will be used to mine, transport, or process fossil fuels, bioenergy, or uranium for energy. End-use energy efficiency will increase, and policies will encourage less energy use. A future electric grid will also be coupled with electricity, heat, cold, and hydrogen storage. Finally, a future grid will have more long-distance electrical transmission instead of fossil-fuel pipelines. Thus, the main challenge in a future grid will be to match electricity, heat, cold, and hydrogen demand with 100 percent WWS electricity and heat supply plus storage while using demand response. This chapter discusses how to meet such demand both on short timescales (seconds to minutes) and long times scales (months to seasons to years).