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ALTERNATIVE FUELS

Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the most promising alternative fuel for carbon dioxide emission reduction. It currently is produced from natural gas in a process relatively free of carbon dioxide and other pollutants, although with improved and more economic technology, it can be produced from photovoltaic-powered electrolysis, separating hydrogen from water, and from some natural seawater resources. Its most likely use is in fuel cells, which can be used for vehicle propulsion or stationary electricity production. Its combustion is virtually pollution free, recombining hydrogen and oxygen to release water. It is transportable in pipelines and utilizable in solid form in vehicles. The challenge for its widespread adoption is to bring down the cost of both hydrogen production and fuel cells.

Nuclear

Nuclear energy is derived from plutonium or uranium processed with high energy use into forms capable of utilization in reactors. If fossil fuels are used as the energy source to refine the uranium, which is usual at present, then nuclear energy has much of the same carbon dioxide and pollution evils as direct fossil fuel combustion. In addition, substantial unsolved environmental problems and costs are involved in nuclear power waste disposal and plant decommissioning. Lastly, there are safety problems with nuclear power plant operations and risks of diversion of nuclear fuel (particularly plutonium) to weapons production. As a result of the precautions needed to assure safety and the very large capital costs of construction, waste disposal and decommissioning, nuclear power is uneconomic today in the U.S. and no new plants have been constructed for more than forty years. Indeed, nuclear power is the world's slowest growing energy source, just 1% in 1996; worldwide around 90 nuclear plants have been retired after serving fewer than 17 years. Nuclear power is widely used in Japan, the rest of Asia, and Europe, however, although there is now considerable public resistance to construction of new nuclear plants, particularly in Japan following a major recent accident. Germany and Sweden are phasing out their existing nuclear plants.

Nevertheless, power production itself from nuclear reactors is free of carbon dioxide emissions. It is feasible that a new generation of smaller, less expensive, safer reactors can be produced, and doing so is the subject of substantial research in the U.S. and other nuclear power countries. However, the environmental risks and uncertainties still need to be addressed before nuclear power can be regarded as a partial solution to climate change. The problems of safe and economic waste disposal and decommissioning, uranium enrichment using non-fossil fuels, proliferation risks and other life cycle impacts first must be resolved.

LEGAL STRUCTURES IN USE FOR CLIMATE MITIGATION

Many legal structures have been successfully used around the world for realizing clean energy solutions by both the public and private sectors and in both developed and developing countries and their municipalities. The legal instruments discussed include economic and market mechanisms, government programs, utility regulatory requirements and programs, standards, government-encouraged voluntary programs, and citizen suit enforcement measures. These measures are by no means mutually exclusive, and in many cases more than one legal structure has been applied. They are categorized here according to their predominant characteristic.

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