In a special feature for create digital, new GHD CEO Jim Giannopoulos CPEng FIEAust explains how engineers need to lead the charge towards decarbonisation.
At the 28th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations climate convention in 2023, the world witnessed the launch of the first-ever “global stocktake” of climate action.
The results were unsettling but set the stage for our engineering community to tackle the climate challenge through leadership, innovation and collaboration.
The COP28 report found that current emissions reduction commitments are falling short of the Paris Agreement, which seeks to limit the average global temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, a base period defined as between 1850 and 1900.
Limiting average global temperature increase in this way is estimated to require reducing carbon dioxide emissions from 49 Gt/year currently to 25-30 Gt/year by 2030, as indicated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Putting this figure in context, this reduction would be equal to the combined current emissions of China, United States, India, Russia and Japan, the five largest emitters in the world. This underscores the magnitude of the challenge, and the compounding factor is that we are already considered to be on a trajectory beyond the 1.5°C target.
Current projections by the IPCC indicate a likelihood of temperature increase between 2°C and 4.5°C. The gap between intention and progress is clear, and it is widening. The requirement to drive down emissions significantly is pressing.
“It’s our responsibility”
In Australia, the commencement of climate reporting requirements is expected to serve as a prompt to large companies to reduce their carbon emissions.
This measure will complement other regulatory drivers such as the Safeguard Mechanism, which requires Australia’s highest greenhouse gas emitting facilities to reduce their emissions in line with Australia’s emission reduction targets of 43 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, and net zero by 2050.
Similar corporate reporting requirements have been or are being introduced in other jurisdictions such as New Zealand, the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States. However, understanding and reducing emissions is a complex and daunting task. How can we implement the necessary change at scale?
The challenges are multifaceted, interlinked and interdependent. This is where engineering professionals can play a central role in identifying, analysing and selecting options, and plotting pragmatic and implementable emissions reduction plans.
This is not just our role, it’s our responsibility.
Reducing emissions through real projects
Engineers are already actively involved in many decarbonisation projects in Australia and around the world, working with governments, industry and original equipment manufacturers. These efforts span operational as well as embodied emissions associated with the full project life cycle.
In Canada, the City of Toronto is decarbonising its natural gas systems by diverting organic waste from landfills and turning it into renewable natural gas. Once the project is completed, it is expected that half of the natural gas the city purchases will be renewable.
In Western Australia, large-scale battery systems are being constructed alongside the decommissioned Kwinana Power Station – both functionally and symbolically replacing coal-fired generation, and helping the electrical grid to accommodate a significant increase in residential rooftop solar production due to the battery systems’ high energy storage capacity.
In the mining sector, some of the world’s largest mining companies are working together with manufacturers to electrify haulage fleets. Similarly, the infrastructure sector is exploring “greener” versions of materials such as steel, aluminium and concrete, as well as alternative design and construction approaches to achieve lower embodied emissions.
The concept now has shifted to one of embedded energy, to create necessities such as steel and concrete using embedded renewable energy. The role engineers play in both materials development and infrastructure design will be significant.
“The era of e-fuels has arrived”
In Victoria, engineers have worked with the state government to identify and model carbon emissions from freight and, even more importantly, analyse the efficacy of policy designed to reduce those emissions through a transition to low emissions vehicles. Similar work has been done for buses and associated shared charging infrastructure.
Additionally, hydrogen and its derivatives have the prospect of replacing fossil-fuel derived hydrocarbons with more sustainable alternatives. We are very slowly moving away from hydrocarbons to artificially synthesising green feedstocks such as hydrogen and ammonia.
The challenge, of course, is scaling up these processes in a way that is commercially viable and takes into account all environmental and social elements.
The era of e-fuels has arrived.
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is an excellent example, where green molecules such as hydrogen can be used to create new synthetic fuels in hard-to-abate sectors. At the same time, hydrogen and its derivatives can be transported across the world, launching an era of exportable renewables.
Of course, not all decarbonisation efforts require new systems; just new thinking. Decarbonisation can also involve optimising existing infrastructure – such as using smart devices to shift electricity usage to times when there is an excess of renewable generation.
The biggest gains will likely come when we go beyond reducing emissions to “designing out” carbon – making design choices that prevent emissions, and waste, from occurring in the first place.
This is especially true for embodied carbon where less intensive construction methods are still very nascent, but the potential to reduce carbon is immense.
Engineers need to lead and innovate
All these efforts are impressive in their own right yet pose unique technical, environmental and commercial challenges. Current strategies are largely about applying existing technologies. Engineers also need to work with the broader scientific community to develop new technologies, new ways of storing energy, new materials and less carbon-intensive processes.
Without innovation, leadership and collaboration we may not be able to reach global emissions goals while also achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The energy sector accounts for nearly 92 per cent of Australia’s net national emissions, according to the latest National Inventory Report published in April 2024. Innovation and decarbonisation of this sector towards a sustainable energy future will take time. How engineers contribute to the public discussion about the energy transition is thus a crucial aspect of the economic and social transition that must also occur.
Public support may waver, especially at a time of rising costs, high interest rates and other competing priorities. Unfortunately, much of the jargon such as “net zero” or “ESG” can be hard to understand for a general audience.
Engineers must play their part in the public conversation, bringing their know-how to explain what we are doing and why, and doing so in a way that is understandable and meaningful. We can use our scientific, technical, environmental and commercial knowledge to help policymakers develop informed policies.
To this end, GHD has joined the Engineering Leadership Group, an organisation of leading engineering firms committed to advocating for infrastructure sustainability, resilience, equity and climate action.
We also need to exercise our leadership and partnerships with project owners. While being responsive to their needs, we have an opportunity to also help guide them towards a low-carbon future. This includes working with emissions-intensive industries on projects that will enable them to transition and succeed in a decarbonised economy.
Complexity and collaboration
It must also be remembered that decarbonisation is just one aspect of sustainability and should not be pursued in isolation. Many of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are interrelated and often need to be considered together. Meeting one goal cannot come at the expense of the others. At the same time, a lack of long-term planning and coordination can limit the reach and impact of individual projects or initiatives.
The experience and expertise of engineers in managing complex systems is needed to prevent unintended consequences resulting from a focus on just a few factors. For example, the electricity sector is seeking to transition away from fossil fuel generation while simultaneously ensuring power supplies remain reliable and affordable.
Inevitably, there will be difficult choices about priorities. The solution lies in integration, collaboration and partnering. Partnering and teaming where engineers work with all stakeholders, united by a shared purpose to tackle complex problems.
Faced with the seemingly intractable climate challenge, the role of engineers includes leadership, innovation and collaboration.
Jim Giannopoulos is CEO of GHD and a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Solving problems for humanity’s benefits are engineers’ bread and butter. The upcoming Climate Smart Engineering Conference 2024 (CSE24) brings together some of the profession’s best thought leaders to navigate the clean energy transition.
