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Chapter 4 - Changes in Impacts of Climate Extremes: Human Systems and Ecosystems
- from Section III
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- By John Handmer, Yasushi Honda, Zbigniew W. Kundzewicz, Nigel Arnell, Gerardo Benito, Jerry Hatfield, Ismail Fadl Mohamed, Pascal Peduzzi, Shaohong Wu, Boris Sherstyukov, Kiyoshi Takahashi, Zheng Yan, Sebastian Vicuna, Avelino Suarez, Amjad Abdulla, Laurens M. Bouwer, John Campbell, Masahiro Hashizume, Fred Hattermann, Robert Heilmayr, Adriana Keating, Monique Ladds, Katharine J. Mach, Michael D. Mastrandrea, Reinhard Mechler, Carlos Nobre, Apurva Sanghi, James Screen, Joel Smith, Adonis Velegrakis, Walter Vergara, Anya M. Waite, Jason Westrich, Joshua Whittaker, Yin Yunhe, Hiroya Yamano
- Edited by Christopher B. Field, Vicente Barros, Thomas F. Stocker, Qin Dahe
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- Book:
- Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation
- Published online:
- 05 August 2012
- Print publication:
- 28 May 2012, pp 231-290
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Summary
Executive Summary
Extreme impacts can result from extreme weather and climate events, but can also occur without extreme events. This chapter examines two broad categories of impacts on human and ecological systems, both of which are influenced by changes in climate, vulnerability, and exposure: first, the chapter primarily focuses on impacts that result from extreme weather and climate events, and second, it also considers extreme impacts that are triggered by less-than-extreme weather or climate events. These two categories of impacts are examined across sectors, systems, and regions. Extreme events can have positive as well as negative impacts on ecosystems and human activities.
Economic losses from weather- and climate-related disasters have increased, but with large spatial and interannual variability (high confidence, based on high agreement, medium evidence). Global weather- and climate-related disaster losses reported over the last few decades reflect mainly monetized direct damages to assets, and are unequally distributed. Estimates of annual losses have ranged since 1980 from a few US$ billion to above 200 billion (in 2010 dollars), with the highest value for 2005 (the year of Hurricane Katrina). In the period 2000 to 2008, Asia experienced the highest number of weather- and climate-related disasters. The Americas suffered the most economic loss, accounting for the highest proportion (54.6%) of total loss, followed by Asia (27.5%) and Europe (15.9%). Africa accounted for only 0.6% of global economic losses. Loss estimates are lower bound estimates because many impacts, such as loss of human lives, cultural heritage, and ecosystem services, are difficult to value and monetize, and thus they are poorly reflected in estimates of losses. [4.5.1, 4.5.3.3, 4.5.4.1]
Chapter 6 - Ocean Energy
- Edited by Ottmar Edenhofer, Ramón Pichs-Madruga, Youba Sokona, Kristin Seyboth, Susanne Kadner, Timm Zwickel, Patrick Eickemeier, Gerrit Hansen, Steffen Schlömer, Christoph von Stechow, Patrick Matschoss
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- Book:
- Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation
- Published online:
- 05 December 2011
- Print publication:
- 21 November 2011, pp 497-534
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Summary
Executive Summary
Ocean energy offers the potential for long-term carbon emissions reduction but is unlikely to make a significant short-term contribution before 2020 due to its nascent stage of development. In 2009, additionally installed ocean capacity was less than 10 MW worldwide, yielding a cumulative installed capacity of approximately 300 MW by the end of 2009. All ocean energy technologies, except tidal barrages, are conceptual, undergoing research and development (R&D), or are in the pre-commercial prototype and demonstration stage. The performance of ocean energy technologies is anticipated to improve steadily over time as experience is gained and new technologies are able to access poorer quality resources. Whether these technical advances lead to sufficient associated cost reductions to enable broad-scale deployment of ocean energy is the most critical uncertainty in assessing the future role of ocean energy in mitigating climate change. Though technical potential is not anticipated to be a primary global barrier to ocean energy deployment, resource characteristics will require that local communities in the future select among multiple available ocean technologies to suit local resource conditions.
Though ocean energy resource assessments are at a preliminary phase, the theoretical potential for ocean energy easily exceeds present human energy requirements. Ocean energy is derived from technologies that utilize seawater as their motive power or harness its chemical or heat potential. The renewable energy (RE) resource in the ocean comes from six distinct sources, each with different origins and requiring different technologies for conversion: waves; tidal range; tidal currents; ocean currents; ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC); and salinity gradients.