IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007
Climate Change 2007: Working Group III: Mitigation of Climate Change

Technical Summary

1 Introduction

Structure of the report, the rationale behind it, the role of cross-cutting themes and framing issues

International response

Article 2 of the Convention and mitigation

2 Framing issues

Climate change mitigation and sustainable development

Decision-making, risk and uncertainty

Costs, benefits, concepts including private and social cost perspectives and relationships with other decision-making frameworks

Mitigation and adaptation relationships; capacities and policies

Distributional and equity aspects

Technology research, development, deployment, diffusion and transfer

Regional Dimensions

3 Issues related to mitigation in the long-term context

Baseline scenario drivers

Stabilization scenarios

The role of technologies

Mitigation and adaptation in the light of climate change impacts and decision-making under uncertainties

Linkages between short term and long term

4 Energy supply

Status of the sector and development until 2030

Global and regional emission trends

Description and assessment of mitigation technologies and practices, options, potentials and costs in the electricity generation sector

Interactions of mitigation options with vulnerability and adaptation

Effectiveness of and experience with climate policies, potentials, barriers, opportunities and implementation issues

Integrated and non-climate policies and co-benefits of mitigation policies

Technology research, development, diffusion and transfer

Long-term outlook

5 Transport and its infrastructure

Status and development of the sector

Emission trends

Description and assessment of mitigation technologies and practices, options, potentials and costs

Effectiveness of and experience with climate policies, potentials, barriers and opportunities/implementation issues

6 Residential and commercial buildings

Status of the sector and emission trends

Mitigation technologies and practices

Interactions of mitigation options with vulnerability and adaptation

Effectiveness of and experience with policies for reducing CO2 emissions from energy use in buildings

Co-benefits and links to sustainable development

Technology research, development, deployment, diffusion and transfer

Long-term-outlook

7 Industry

Status of the sector, development trends and implications

Emission trends (global and regional)

Interaction of mitigation options with vulnerability and adaptation

Effectiveness of and experience with climate policies, potentials, barriers and opportunities/ implementation issues

Integrated and non-climate policies affecting emissions of greenhouse gases

Co-benefits of greenhouse gas mitigation policies

Technology research, development, deployment, diffusion and transfer

Long-term outlook

8 Agriculture

Status of the sector, future trends in production and consumption, and implications

Emission trends

Mitigation technologies, practices, options, potentials and costs

Interactions of mitigation options with vulnerability and adaptation

Effectiveness of climate policies: opportunities, barriers and implementation issues

Integrated and non-climate policies affecting emissions of greenhouse gases

Co-benefits of greenhouse gas mitigation policies

Technology research, development, deployment, diffusion and transfer

Long-term outlook

9 Forestry

Status of the sector, development trends including production and consumption, and implications

Emission sources and sinks; trends

Description and assessment of mitigation technologies and practices, options and potentials, costs and sustainability

Regional modelling assessments

Interactions of mitigation options with vulnerability and adaptation

Effectiveness of and experience with climate policies, potentials, barriers and opportunities/implementation issues

Forests and Sustainable Development

Technology research, development, deployment, diffusion and transfer

Long-term outlook

10 Waste management

Status of the sector, development trends and implications

Emission trends

Description and assessment of mitigation technologies and practices, options and potentials, costs and sustainability

Effectiveness of and experience with climate policies, potentials, barriers and opportunities/implementation issues

Technology research, development and diffusion

Long-term outlook, systems transitions

11 Mitigation from a cross-sectoral perspective

Mitigation options across sectors

Mitigation costs across sectors and macro-economic costs

Technological change across sectors

Spill-over effects from mitigation in Annex I countries on Non-Annex I countries

Co-benefits of mitigation

Adaptation and mitigation

12 Sustainable development and mitigation

Relationship between sustainable development and climate change mitigation

Making development more sustainable

Implications of development choices for climate change mitigation

Implications of mitigation choices for sustainable development trajectories

13 Policies, instruments and co-operative agreements

Introduction

National policy instruments, their implementation and interactions

Initiatives of sub-national governments, corporations and non-governmental organizations

International agreements (climate change agreements and other arrangements)

14 Gaps in knowledge

Authors:

Terry Barker (UK), Igor Bashmakov (Russia), Lenny Bernstein (USA), Jean E. Bogner (USA), Peter Bosch (The Netherlands), Rutu Dave (The Netherlands), Ogunlade Davidson (Sierra Leone), Brian S. Fisher (Australia), Sujata Gupta (India), Kirsten Halsnæs (Denmark), BertJan Heij (The Netherlands), Suzana Kahn Ribeiro (Brazil), Shigeki Kobayashi (Japan), Mark D. Levine (USA), Daniel L. Martino (Uruguay), Omar Masera (Mexico), Bert Metz (The Netherlands), Leo Meyer (The Netherlands), Gert-Jan Nabuurs (The Netherlands), Adil Najam (Pakistan), Nebojsa Nakicenovic (Austria/Montenegro), Hans-Holger Rogner (Germany), Joyashree Roy (India), Jayant Sathaye (USA), Robert Schock (USA), Priayadarshi Shukla (India), Ralph E. H. Sims (New Zealand), Pete Smith (UK), Dennis A. Tirpak (USA), Diana Urge-Vorsatz (Hungary), Dadi Zhou (PR China)

Review Editor:

Mukiri wa Githendu (Kenya)

This Technical Summary should be cited as:

Barker T., I. Bashmakov, L. Bernstein, J. E. Bogner, P. R. Bosch, R. Dave, O. R. Davidson, B. S. Fisher, S. Gupta, K. Halsnæs, G.J. Heij, S. Kahn Ribeiro, S. Kobayashi, M. D. Levine, D. L. Martino, O. Masera, B. Metz, L. A. Meyer, G.-J. Nabuurs, A. Najam, N. Nakicenovic, H. -H. Rogner, J. Roy, J. Sathaye, R. Schock, P. Shukla, R. E. H. Sims, P. Smith, D. A. Tirpak, D. Urge-Vorsatz, D. Zhou, 2007: Technical Summary. In: Climate Change 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [B. Metz, O. R. Davidson, P. R. Bosch, R. Dave, L. A. Meyer (eds)], Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.