WMO Reports Say Climate Change Actions Have Not Produced Positive Results
The multi-agency report released last month by the World Meteorological Org. described results of past climate change actions as “heading in the wrong direction.” Apparently, the physical and socioeconomic actions undertaken in recent years have not improved the Earth’s conditions, as demonstrated by the huge gaps between actual and projected goals. Moreover, year 2022 went by without any ambitious projects rolled out, which makes it clear that we are heading toward increased devastations.
Captioned as United in Science, the compilation of multi-agency reports shows that CO2 emissions surpassed prepandemic levels, while the concentrations of various green house gas emissions have been rising to record highs. Atmospheric levels have shot up despite the improvements achieved during the 2020 lockdown period.
As a result, efforts applied to achieve the 2030 pledges to reduce emissions should increase by 7 folds, in order to maintain the target temperature at 1.5 °C as was agreed upon during the Paris Summit.
UN General Secretary Said Natural Disasters are No Longer Natural
According to UN Sec-Gen António Guterres, the natural calamities experienced globally, such as the extreme storms, floods, wildfires, drought and heatwaves have been occurring frequently whilst getting worse, and at record-breaking levels. Actually, the UN Secretary emphasized that recent disasters can no longer be described as natural since they are the results of humankind’s addiction to fossil fuel.
In separate news reports, the European Union Commission has been issuing a series of policies that aim to totally break off Europeans’ reliance on fossil fuel. Besides, the sanctions imposed on Russia has made imposing the mandatory phase out of fossil fuels imperative and mandatory.
Dutch Government Mandates the Use of Green Heat Pumps
The Netherlands is the most recent EU member country to announce the mandatory shift to non-fossil fuels as energy efficient sources. The most recent plan of action to reduce CO2 and green house gas emissions is the mandatory replacement of fossil-fueled boilers with gas boilers, in warming up indoor temperatures. The mandate is for Dutch homes, old or new, to cease using boilers running on coal.
Instead, an eco-friendly heat pump and underfloor heating systems must be in place. The only exceptions are houses that are too antiquated to support the heat pump and boiler combination.
Preferably, the Dutch government supports the hybrid heat pump or the air/water heat.
What Exactly are Hybrid Heat Pumps?
A hybrid heat pump as the title denotes refers to a heating system that has dual capability to draw heat from both the air of natural surroundings and from the central boiler but using an alternative green fuel.
Hybrid heat pumps, often referred to as bivalent heat pumps, basically consist of a heat pump and a boiler built as a single heating system to act as underfloor heater of an indoor space. At the same time, the boiler of the system can supply the hot water demand of a household.
While there are different types of heat pumps, the hybrid kind is the most energy efficient for having the ability to draw heat, either from outdoor air or from the water boiler. The source-shift depends on which is more efficient as a source of heat. If the outdoor temperature drops, it denotes that little to no warm air can be drawn. Such a condition makes the water boiler more efficient as a source of heat.
The Dutch government is actually pushing for the nationwide use of the hybrid pumps by 2026 as the immediate uptake of these heating systems can be of great help in achieving zero carbon effect.