Sustainable Development & Brundtland Report

• Engineering design & communication information:
  • Dr. Vincenzo Oliveri, MSG-016, [email protected]

Sustainable Development

• The United Nations Brundtland Commission in 1987 created a report on sustainable development.
• Gro Harlem Brundtland, a Norwegian politician, chaired the commission.
• The Brundtland Report is titled "Our Common Future".
• The Brundtland Commission raised awareness and set a common definition for sustainable development.
• The commission introduced the concept of intergenerational equity.
• Sustainable development meets present needs without compromising future generations' ability to meet their own needs.

Sustainable Development Goals

• A plan was created in 2015 to be implemented by 2030
• The plan contains seventeen goals:
  • No Poverty
  • Zero Hunger
  • Good Health and Well-being
  • Quality Education
  • Gender Equality
  • Clean Water and Sanitation
  • Affordable and Clean Energy
  • Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
  • Reducing Inequality
  • Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • Responsible Consumption and Production
  • Climate Action
  • Life Below Water
  • Life On Land
  • Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
  • Partnerships for the Goals
• Ban Ki-moon stated "We don't have plan B because there is no planet B" in Nov. 2016

EU Priorities 2024-29

• There are seven priorities for the EU to meet between 2024-29.
• A new plan for Europe's sustainable prosperity and competitiveness.
  • Europe is to become a continent of economic growth, ensuring competitiveness, prosperity, and fairness.
• A new era for European Defence and Security involves meeting Europe's security and defence challenges and crisis management.
• Support people, strengthening our societies, and our social model.
  • Promoting fairness and solidarity and ensuring equal opportunities for all.
• Delivering together and preparing our Union for the future is to implement a modern, reinforced EU budget with an ambitious reform agenda.
• Sustaining food security, water and protecting nature.
  • Building a competitive and resilient agriculture and food system, safeguarding biodiversity, and preparing for climate change.
• Protecting democracy and upholding its standards.
  • Putting citizens at the heart of democracy to empower all to help shape the future of the European Union.
• Focusing on the wider neighbourhood to tackle global challenges and promote peace, partnerships, and economic stability.

European Strategy for Plastics

• Rules for 10 single-use plastic products were proposed in May 2018.
  • These products are most often found on Europe's beaches and seas, comprising 70% of all marine litter.
• These rules came into force on 2 July 2019.
  • Where sustainable alternatives are easily available and single-use plastics cannot be placed on the markets of EU Member States.
  • This applies to cotton bud sticks, cutlery, plates, straws, stirrers, and sticks for balloons.

Engineers Ireland - Code of Ethics

• Engineers Ireland has a Code of Ethics.
  • Part 2 addresses environmental and social obligations.
• Section 2.0 explains these
  • 2.1 Members must be conscious of their work's impact on health, safety, and society.
  • Members should eliminate risks to health and safety and minimize any adverse impact on the natural environment.
  • 2.2 Members need to promote sustainable development principles to work effectively for present and future generations.
  • 2.3 Members accomplish objectives with efficient consumption of natural resources.
  • Economical decisions include reducing energy usage, waste, and pollution.
  • 2.4 Members should promote social and environmental factors with colleagues, employers, and clients.
  • 2.5 Members need to foster environmental awareness within the profession and among the public

Keeling Curve

• Atmospheric CO2 has been measured at Mauna Loa, Hawaii since 1958.
• A volcanic eruption disrupted measurents on 28 Nov. 2022
• Data collection moved to Mauna Kea since 14 Dec.
• Most recent measurement was 424.0 ppm on 24th Feb. 2025.
• There has been an increase of 33% in the volume of CO2
• Since the industrial revolution in 1750 it has increased by 50% (280 ppm).

Greenhouse Gases

• These include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, chlorofluorocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons.

IPCC Reports

• The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change publishes reports.
• Assessment Reports:
  • First (1990)
  • 1992 supplementary report
  • Second (1995)
  • Third (2001)
  • Fourth (2007)
  • Fifth (2014)
  • Sixth (2022, final synthesis report March 2023)
• Special Reports:
  • Emissions Scenarios (2000)
  • Renewable energy sources (2012)
  • Extreme events and disasters (2012)
  • Global Warming of 1.5 °C (2018)
  • Climate Change & Land (2019)
  • Ocean & Cryosphere (2019)
• A first report in 1990, determined, "CO2 has been responsible for over half the enhanced greenhouse effect"
• The report also predicted "[...] increase of global mean temperature [...] of about 0.3 °C per decade"
• A fifth climate report in 2014, it was determined that there was "clear human influence on the climate"
• There also was predicted, "global water cycle will change" greater variations.
• This predicted "global surface temperature increase by the end of the 21st century is likely to exceed 1.5 °C relative to the 1850 to 1900 period for most scenarios"
• A sixth climate report in 2022, it was determined that "Human-induced climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe"
• Scientists have predicted "Many changes due to past and future greenhouse gas emissions are irreversible for centuries to millennia, especially changes in the ocean, ice sheets and global sea level"
• Also that "With further global warming, every region is projected to increasingly experience concurrent and multiple changes in climatic impact-drivers."
• The IPCC has stated in its reports that "limiting human-induced global warming to a specific level requires limiting cumulative CO2 emissions, reaching at least net zero CO2 emissions, along with strong reductions in other greenhouse gas emissions.”

COP 26 & 27

• COP 26 was the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference in 2021
  • The key action was to “keep 1.5 °C alive"
  • Glasgow Climate Pact led to a "Phasedown" (not out) of coal power and reaffirmed Paris agreement.
  • Keep average well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels. Pursue efforts to limit increase to 1.5 °C
  • Aim to Reach net-zero emissions: 140 countries and Reverse deforestation by 2030: 100 countries
• COP 27 provided, Loss and damage funding for vulnerable countries hit hard by climate disasters
• There was no commitment to phase out fossil fuels.

Energy in Ireland

• The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is Ireland's national sustainable energy authority
• SEAI facilitates transition to more sustainable energy sources
• As part of the EU 2030 climate and energy framework the targets include:
  • 40% cuts in GHG (relative to 1990)
  • 27% renewable energy
  • 27% improvement in energy generation efficiency
• SEAI role: policy advice and technical support

Electricity Energy

• Primary sources include wind, imports, hydro, solar, gas,
• Final electricity consumption users, commercial services, residential, industry, public services, agriculture and transport
• Final distribution for use included, own use & transmission losses, Exports, Storage, Statistical difference, other.

Carbon Emissions

• Lifecycle median (g CO2-eq/kWhe) include coal, natural gas, biomass, solar, geothermal, Nuclear, wind and hydroelectric.
• Coal has the highest in excess of 1000 versus low for hydroelectric.

Principles of Sustainable Engineering

• Strive to ensure that material/energy inputs and outputs are not hazardous to reduce intrinsic hazards.
• Waste minimization increases reuse of by-products to Lower expenses in purchasing and disposal.
• Design for easy separation makes easy waste management
• All components need to design for maximum mass, energy, and temporal efficiency, leads to Lowers expenses.
• Avoid unnecessary consumption of mass/energy.
• Production must respond to real-time demands for minimum overproduction.
• use entropy and complexity guidelines to decide end-of-cycle and use disposal solutions that are no longer be seen as one-size-fits-all.
• Design of high performance needs planned to prevent high-tech waste
• Design for realistic uses reduces components needed
• Minimize the use of different materials to simplify waste management.
• Account for resource extraction and transportation that minimizes environmental impact of related life-cycle steps.
• life-cycle analysis should be carried out to minimize environmental impact.
• Avoid using non-renewables can minimize overall impact.

Life Cycle Analysis

• Is a study on determining how “sustainable” a product is, usually the comparison of re-usable vs disposable.
• Example is KeepCups.
• Results show the need for KeepCups to be reused 30 plus to be sustainable
• washing impacts sustainability, handwashing is more effective with minimal energy.
• Impact of keep-cup use is outside the users, the water, use and disposal are key determinates.
• Purpose of LCA is to assess what it will take manage a product environmentally and improve the life cycle.
• Standards are published to cover the frameworks of a lifecycle products analysis, ISO 14040/44.

LCA Scoping

• The international standard identifies, definition, life cycle inventory, and how life cycles need to be assesed
• reporting, limitations and relationships.
• Consecutive and interlinked stages of a product from raw material to final disposal. Function units must be assessed and analyzed.
• Environmental superiority and differences with similar products is part of LCA
• Framework uses a four phase iterative studies, inventory, analysis, interpretation and review.
• Scoping needs system boundaries, functional units, applications,
• System ranges from cradle to gate review of systems.
• Inventor has a method of collection with constraints but looks at energy products, emissions and other impacts.

Lifecycle Impact Assessment

• The life cycle impact helps understand environmental factors, using data to compare
  • water use (L/functional unit), CO2 emissions (kg CO2e/functional unit)
  • only addresses what is needed scope.
• Interpretation summarize results, impact, conclusions and limitations.
• LCA need sdecisions based scientific decisions and environmental implications, from cradle to grave.
• A mini LCA will incorporate reuse, and disposal from raw materials.