Climate Action: Building Consensus
Multiple Visions and Values in a Changing Climate: Multimedia Mapping for Knowledge Co-creation for Climate Change Adaptation
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Christian Reichel
In this article, I will address the opportunities and challenges of multimedia tools in climate impact research. I will show, how in the time of the Anthropocene, local environmental knowledge, its underlying perceptions of nature, and the resulting handling strategies of climate-related risks may be integrated into an adaptive governance approach. The presented research is based on his anthropological fieldwork in a high Alpine region of Switzerland. Participatory GIS mapping (PGIS) and ethnographic immersion in the local society (participatory observation, un- and semi-structured interviews) are the primary research methods used. Based on applied visual anthropological methods, PGIS is a cartographic approach that integrates local perceptions and strategies of action drawn from interviews and participant observation. One of the principal outcomes of this research is an interactive multimedia map, which combines video and audio material with geo-referenced data. The map offers a possibility for visualizing the hidden structures of culturally specific environmental knowledge by directly linking research results, images, as well as audio and video sources with specific locations in the high mountain areas where the research was conducted.
Global Assessment of Photovoltaic Potential to Meet Electricity Access Needs
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Amy Schweikert
Rapid decarbonization is an essential component of addressing climate change. However, electricity poverty is widespread in the developing world and associated with increased mortality, reduced educational levels, and economic and social disadvantages, especially among women. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has emphasized securing access to reliable and sustainable energy for all (Goal 7). For climatological and health reasons, particular attention has been focused on expanding the use of low-carbon generation sources (Goal 13), including renewables for electricity production. Photovoltaics, coupled with energy storage, is an attractive option for dispatchable electricity production, but the degree to which they can be used to address global electricity poverty is poorly understood. Here we present a global geospatial analysis to identify areas suitable for the production of dispatchable electricity using photovoltaics and energy storage. We consider land use restrictions, 25 years of hourly solar irradiance, population, nighttime light (as a measure of electrification), as well as the feasibility of above and below ground energy storage. We show that 77% of the global population resides in regions with contiguous land area capable of sitting photovoltaics and storage sufficient to provide 3,000kWhe of dispatchable electricity per capita per year with a capacity factor of 0.85. These same systems could provide this level of dispatchable electricity for 98% of the population living in areas with no measurable nighttime light.
