Global Challenges Summary Stud

Summary Engineer and
sustainability: global challenges

Type Lecture
Materials
Reviewed
Writer Robinja
Summary based on the lectures on "global challenges", for the part " Philosophy"
there is a separate summary on studforum. GLHF
Lecture 1: Climate and Energy

Climate
The biggest cause of global warming is greenhouse gas emissions
Summary Engineer and sustainability: global Challenges 1

Gases create a greenhouse effect in which heat cannot escape but only enters.
Effects of global warming

Climate change : more extreme storms, drought... acidification
oceans
sea level rise,
biodiversity decline
Climate scenarios: Emission pathways
Highest scenario represents the scenario we are currently on without too many
additional measures
Consequence of business-as-usual scenario: warming of 5 degrees , while looking at

an absolute limit of 2 degrees!
Most warming occurs around the polar regions, which has its effect on rising sea levels
and increasing precipitation in certain areas and less so in others.

Intense showers/exceptional weather
phenomena are more likely to occur
due to temperature rise
Acidification of the ocean due to greater concentrations of CO2, if the ocean becomes
too acidic, lime (shells) dissolve and these species become extinct, this also applies to
coral reefs.
In the business-as-usual scenario, we have to take into account a sea level rise of 1
meter AND a higher risk of flooding.
The countries most affected by global warming are not the ones most responsible.
Climate actions:

Mitigation:
reduce emissions → renewable energy, reduce energy consumption, electrify...
Removing CO2 from the atmosphere → Co2 sequestration: forrestation, (marine)

carbon capture (algae) and storage.
Adaptation:
Peaceing climate change and taking measures to deal with these changes.
Climate resilient cities and coasts (against flooding, earthquake...)
Coastal adaptation:
managed retreat: Specify land in certain places
hold the line: large amount of sand needed to leave coast coastal
progression: further out to sea to protect coastline
Energy: status and evolution

Energy consumption accounts for the largest share of our
greenhouse gas emissions (75%)
The share of coal in the energy market is 40% on average, while that of solar and
wind energy is still very small.
Trias energetics method

1. First reduce your demand (energy saving features)
2. Fill your question as much as possible with sustainable/renewable energy sources
3. Optimizing fossil fuel efficiency
COmfort must be maintained here, lowering the indoor temperature from 20.5 to 16
degrees is an action that does not belong to the Trias Energetica.
Comparison of technologies
capacity factor: time during a year that this technique can be operational (very high at
nuclear plant [90%], slightly less at coal [60%] and very low at solar and wind [10-
40%])
power density: how much energy can be produced per surface emits CO2
per kWh (LCA)

cost per kWh(LCOE) levelised cost of energy
amount of power vs amount of energy

the same power does not result in the same amount of energy produced (depends on
capacity factor)
You should be able to perform the exercise below on the exam
e.g. 1kWh costs 4 times more CO2 in Belgium than in Denmark because its energy mix
consists more of fossil fuels.
CHP: calculate efficiency of a CHP and savings

Always calculate back to the energy it was made with, your gas fire uses primary
energy while electricity is secondary energy.
starting from the same amount of energy demand. Always calculate back in relation to
the energy with which it was made. Electricity from your socket is secondary togas,
windmills, coal... is a primary energy source. The aim → to make primary energy as
sustainable as possible.

ensure that primary energy is as low as possible and try to make it 100% renewable.
CHP = CHP

Lecture 2: Sustainability & Energy
Technology
Energy: possibility of a system to perform work in Joule
Power: speed at which energy is converted or transferred in kWh,hp...
Energy can easily be converted into water, but not the other way around
According to the UN commission, something is sustainable if the possibilities for the

next generations do not mortgage.
The energy mix

How sustainably do we fill in our current energy portfolio ?
80% fossil fuels, 2.2% nuclear energy, 18% renewable of which

7.5 Traditional biomass and 10.6% modern renewable energy sources

Biomass
First generation biomass
directly derived from cultivated energy crops reed
grass, corn, palm oil, rapeseed...
production of 1 liter of biodiesel requires use of 0.75 liters of fossil fuel (growing reed
grass...)
→ return far too low
EROI: Energy return on energy invested. How much energy do you need to produce
energy:
For example, it appears that hydroelectric power plants and coal have one of the
highest EROI values and primary biodiesel has very low EROI.
second generation biomass

Use of industrial residues
used cooking oil, animalfats, wood chips, pellets...

Third generation biomass
biomass derived from cultivated organisms/plants e.g.
growing seaweed (consists of 30% oil)
not such a high EROI(2.56)
Hydropower:
covers 3.6% of all energy supplied in the world
Different types of power stations:
River power plant: relatively low efficiency on Flemish rivers (75%)
Dam power plant: 75% efficiency but much more energy to generate
Pumped-storage plant(in Coo): pump turbine system that pumps water to upper
reservoir in case of surplus and lowers in case of energy shortage.( 70-75% efficiency)
→ very flexible way of energy storage, pumping up with cheap energy and generating
with expensive energy.
Offshore pumped-storage plant: energy storage at sea, building more in the sea
closed with a dam and turbines, pumping out inland lake with wind energy if there is
an energy surplus and flooding it in case of energy shortage → not profitable enough
for the time being (no energy excess).
Tidal power plants: ebb and flow or mixing power plant possible→ locks close at
highest or lowest point and turbine → generate energy half the time
→ mix: halfway through the lock → close more constantly, historically this turns out not
to be so profitable, disturbance tides not good for aquatic organisms
wave energy: making the system move with waves to generate energy
Hydropower in Belgium is not that interesting compared to other countries, in China, for
example, there is a gigantic dam that could provide energy for the whole of Belgium.
Solar photovoltaics
Solar irradiation

Only certain wavelengths of sunlight reach the earth, trying to convert to energy with
semiconductors but only within a limited wavelength, therefore it is best to use
multijunction cells (layers of different semiconductors on top of each other) in order to
convert all wavelengths of sunlight into energy
Peak power of solar panels
calculated with different variables of different seasons → not so representative,

just shows what it could yield
Direct and diffuse irradiation
Energy comes from light, not solar radiation
EROI depends on where you install your panel
In winter, 60 is better, while in summer 30 degrees is better

The theoretical yield is based on the peak power can be compared with the
measured yield in kWh. Allows to compare installation SIN Spain with one in
Belgium
→ Performance ratio: typically 70-90%
PR = measured yield in kWh Theoretical

yield
→ Capacity factor: typically 10-20%
CF = Measured annual yield in kWh

Rated power in kWp ∗ 8760h
says how much of the time your nominal power works, sun only shines for half the
time so quite low number. Already seen in previous lecture
Energy yield PV(photo voltaic)

The orientation of solar panels on an annual basis actually remains the same, as long
as they are at a small angle.
EROI varies greatly from different sources, consensus is that after a year in a good
location you would have energy payback.
Important: Solar energy is not zero-emission but a major reduction
50 grams of CO2 per kWh versus 820g CO2 per kWh with coal-fired power
plant The cost has also decreased significantly over the years
Photovoltaic energy is the cheapest form of electricity in many places in

the world. We do encounter limits in terms of material scarcity of
metals.
Wind power
From kinetic energy of airflow
Highly location-dependent on the local average wind strength.

Power curve of a wind turbine
Capacity factor is used more often here since there is always or more wind than sun
and is calculated in the same way based on nominal power.
The biggest challenge lies in the construction of the windmills.
Disadvantages
it must be windy
No problems with air traffic Doje
Vogels
Local residents suffer from drop shadow
noise pollution
distance between turbines is ideal minsterns 5 times the rotor diameter
Tests show time and time again that small windmills are not worth it , wind is
slowed down far too hard by the landscape at low altitude.

Nuclear energy
The greater the mass defect per particle, the more energy is released when splitting
or fusing atoms. Nuclear fusion is not possible to this day.
Nuclear fusion
successful in hydrogen bomb but not in controlled environment.
ITER project: cooperation EU, China, US, Canada
First plasma expected in 2025, by 20235 the first deuterium-trytium fusion would be
possible
Nuclear fission
1st and 2nd generation reactors

Nuclear waste:
Nuclear waste can only be salvaged after 80 years and is therefore more something for
the future generation.
3rd generation reactors

Advanced and simplified version of the 2nd generation, minimum construction time is 70
months.
4th generation reactors
China plans to have a first major version of a fourth-generation thorium reactor by 2030,
again in the long term. Thorium has the advantage that the waste has to be stored
securely for much less time.
Of the above takeaways, 10 must actually be known for the exam as mentioned in the
lesson recording: SEE BELOW (note, may vary per year)

Lecture 3: Governance
Liberalization of energy market
Since 2003, there has been a liberalisation of the energy market in Belgium .
Before that, the energy market was fully vertically integrated by the same public
company for both gas and electricity. It was decided to no longer leave electrabel
monopoly, to create competition and to get competitive prices on the market. various
entities for production, transport of energy and home delivery that can guarantee the
supply of energy at all times.

generate electricity transmission of electricity Conversion middle
and
over high-voltage grid low voltage and
home delivery
No natural gas production in Belgium, entirely on import. Fluxys distributes the gas on
high-pressure pipelines to energy hubs, fluvius distributes the gas from those energy
hubs
to the customer and also takes care of the maintenance of these supply channels.
You are not a customer of fluvius but of the company that supplies the energy and
provides a contract. Players such as elegant and watz try to estimate customer demand
and make group purchases in electricity, if necessary buy electricity the day itself, these
daily prices can be very fluctuating.
NOV 2019 Flanders OCT 2023 Flanders
Levelized cost of electricity(LCOE)

Enables to compare different techniques on an economic level

with the result: euro per kWh
You must be able to take the
exam:
Answer: 0.09 euros per kWh by dividing 6000 euros.... fill in formula So is
much cheaper than the 50/60 cents per kWh on the market
Operational costs
Depending on the energy demand, the lowest opex method will always be used first
Profile energy
demand
throughout the day

Renewable energy additions to the range:
Profile energy
demand
throughout the day
Coal-fired power plants are not flexible enough, will eventually fall out → double
sustainable action
The European Green Deal & "Fit For 55"

Emission Trading System

Incentive for companies to invest in generating less emissions instead of paying to
emit more.
It is necessary to arrange among ourselves how this reduction will be achieved and
who must adapt → free market. A company that has more emissions will have to buy
permits from a company that has fewer emissions.
Unused permits are removed after some time and never come back on the market
Carbon leakage/migration: bedropes move to prevent them from falling under the
ETS system.
ETS makes Europe a world leader in sustainability and emission-reducing technology.

All electricity production is included in the system!
Adding a technique that emits more has no effect since other sectors simply have to
do more to reduce emissions. The ca p imposedby ETS remains unchanged.

Lecture 4: Material demand and circularity
global material demand seems to be rising exponentially with about 2.6% per year.
Some categories even reach higher percentages.
I-PAT equition
If you want to know a total impact(material demand, emissions...), then that impact is
dependant on population, the level of welfare(GDP/capita) and the impact(material
demand in impact/dollar). If we want the percentage growth for the future we can get
the derivative of this equation in function of the Impact.

The green curve is the actual population, the purple curve is the derivative(growth
rate ). 1970 gave the biggest growth rate, after that the growth rate was lower but
still positive. The second factor is the GDP growth rate.

DT/T < 0: countries where material demand grows slower than GDP(good)
DT/T > 0: countries where material demand grows fast er than GPD(bad)
countries in an early phase of development need a lot of materials. GDP growth is
coming from services made possible by technology and buildings.
check lecture explanation//
Interpreting graphs: optimistic view vs pessimistic view

both sides may use correct graphs but different kind of graphs to support their point.
They pick the data they like and try to convince you.
e.g. material use per capita or per GDP is a different POV, can both be right but differ
whether things are getting better or not.
Understanding global material demand with respect to

scarcity
Absolute scarcity: depletion horizons

These depletion horizons don't seem to be right as they've stayed about the same for
100 years. This is because with calculation we look at reservers and current
consumption but that does not take into account the resources that become viable to
extract from due to new technology. There are also more resources that haven't been
found yet.
Copper ores had a much higher concentration than now, more and more energy is
needed for the same amount of copper.
Geo-political drivers of scarcity

EU is heavily dependant on import from other regions

Which could become a big challenge when political problems arise. Especially for high
tech production.
Understanding global material demand: what about

direct environmental impact of producing the
materials?
Rapidly developing countries like India & China use most of steel produced and
therefore have a big contribution to co2 emission as steel production is responsible for
9% of global CO2 emission.
Every resource has their own impact in all kinds of negative impact categories.

Understanding global material demand: What about
indirect link between the climate challenge and
materials?
How will the energy transition influence material demand
Clean energy technology requirements(STEPS and SDS)

STEPS: Stated Policies Scenario that reflects on current policy settings. All the
commitments that countries have already made to reduce their impact on climate
change.
SDS: sustainable development goals, the thinks we should actually be doing to comply
with the Paris Agreement.
Advanced economies reach net zero emission by 2050
China by 2050 and all other countries by 2070
There is a risk for EU and other parts of the world that we currently try to get away
from a dependence from Russia but that we are replacing it with a dependency with
other parts of the world.

Summary
Circularity
What makes a material " critical"?
Lack of alternative materials
Monopoly position in supply
Risk of conflicts in supply region
high environmental impact of mining
Economic value of the industrial sector using the material
Not:
absence of local material extraction
high price of raw material
projected depletion of known ores → predictions aren't always right
To achieve circularity, the material and energy loops need to be:
CLOSED → otherwise there is no loop

LENGTHEN or SLOW down → interval between the cradle to grave has to be as
big as possible
Narrowing the loop

being more lean in both the material and energy use
example 1: low carbon steel production
example 2: cement free concrete(shrink carbon footprint)
Slowing the loop

extending lifetime of material, good quality and repair
DILEMMA: reduce lifetime of a car to benefit from improved fuel efficiency or

increase lifetime of a car to reduce material use.
Depending on the environmental impact of car production, end of life solution, car
use, annual reduction of environmental impact of a new car... an ideal lifetime for
a car can be calculated.
Using this model, we can determine what market share of hybrid carsis needed to
compensate lifetime reduction with a fuel car.
What will the future bring

electrical car in society:
lower operational cost
less mechanical components, lower temperatures
Uncertainty about battery lifetime
car sharing will reduce lifetime but less cars will be needed
country policies towards EVs vary a lot, some countries subsidise and some don't
Closing the loop

What are the priorities in terms of waste treatment?
1. Waste prevention
2. Recycling in closed loops: keep the material flowing in the same application

3. Upcycling: use material in applications that are more demanding
4. Downcycling: Use waste to create lower-value or lower-grade product than the

original
5. Energy recovery: We only recover the energy, not the material. So, downcycling
is preferred
6. Landfill disposal: last resort
EOL Recycling Rate(RR) vs. EOL Recycling Input

Rate(RIR)
RIR: reflects the total material input into the production system that comes from
recycling of post-consumer scrap
RR: looks at the output and compares how much material goes in and how much is
eventually included in the end product.
RR < RIR: Because there are always some new, not recycled materials being used. A
growing economy results in a growth of production, a higher demand thus more
overall material needed even when recycling with a 100% success rate. Having these 2
be equal would be ideal.
Info about exam : most exam content is covered in the video clips
on toledo
Toledo clips:
Critical raw materials
I = PAT equation: impact is dependant on growing population, affluence and cannot be
countered by technological/efficiency growth.
supply problems: availability becomes less → more expensive to mine, resource

monopolies for certain materials, resources in conflict areas are hard to access.
→ critical raw materials are labeled by EU
CRITERIA FOR CRITICAL RAW MATERIALS

We should aim for circular use of resources in a sustainable way
Circularity
circular economy: regenerative system in which resource input and waste, emission
and energy leakage are minimised by slowing, closing and narrowing material and
energy loops. This can be achieved through long-lasting design, maintenance, repair,
reuse, remanufacturing, refurbishing and recycling. opt for a cradle-to-cradle approach
rat her than a cradle-to-grave.
in between cradle and grave, introduce as much cradle-cradle loops along the way.
Creating circularity:

Narrowing the loop:
optimise use of material and energy within a material/energy stream by analysing
which phase is consuming the highest amount of energy(manufacturing, transporting,
EOL disposing...)
increase material efficiency throughout material:

Toledo clips Biotic materials circularity
Biobased materials : alternatives for depleting materials like oil

EU has banned single use-plastics, and even oxo-degradable plastic bags which
aren't actually that degradable, it will fall apart quicker than a normal bag and turn into
microplastics, which is even worse. a bio-degradable bag does not leave
microplastics.
Paper bags: made from renewable resource but requires 4 times more energy to make
and it is less durable, they would need 3-43 reuse loops which is never done in
practice. But the fact that it is 68% recyclable makes up for this
→ the best bag remains a reusable plastic bag , which needs only 11 cycles to
make up for its energy and material investment compared to using a one use-plastic
bag
Changing to bioplastics
The majority of current plastic production is still oil, but forecasts state that recycling
and bio-based will take up a way bigger portion than it does now, even eliminating
using fossil-fuels but instead going for carbon capture, bio-based and recycling methods

Bioplastics are biodegradable and/or biorenewable
Biorenewable:
requires sustainable production and harvesting(soil depletion, fertilization

aspects, heavy machinery...)
plastics based on energy intensive natural resources which can cause soil
depleting.
The lifetime of the product that is being made has to have a lifetime that
exceeds the whole duration of growth and harvesting phase, if this is not the
case, this material will deplete in the long run.
Biodegradable
When Digestion and composting is possible(turning into nutrients, no waste

residual)

Resources for biobased plastics
Agrobased feedstocks: plants rich in carbohydrates
Ligno-cellulosic feedstocks: not eligible for food(tree bark and such)
organic waste feedstocks(compost jongeh)
Land use for bioplastics

Majority is used for livestock and food sector, a small part for biofuels but only a
very small fraction for bioplastics.
Lignin as a biorenewable resource:
used as biomass → just burn that shit. But there is way more potential to extract
multiple resources instead of burning.
Polyamide 11 as a biorenewable resource:
Castor oil extracted from Castor beans, turned into polyamide 11. Some of its properties
are similar than synthetic plastics. Currently being used for 3d printed components but

there are quite some steps to be taking in order for those plastics to be competitive on
the market.
Closing the loop for bioplastics
Make a distinction to non-biodegradable and biodegradable materials:

Closing the loop for:
non-biodegradable:
recycle into technical materials
biodegradable
clean recovery and separation
Cascading
use as fertilizer for soil restoration...

Organic recycling
optimize separate collection, make sure there is no waste that goes back in nature
reduce impurities
...
Organic recycling has some difficulties
production and harvesting doesn't happen at the same place as use and composing
→ urban areas get too much nutrients, while rural areas have a nutrient depletion →
increase use of fertilizers(toxification)
these effects are further enhanced by globalization, modern agricultural practices

and urbanization
All these points make the biogeochemical nutrient cycle severely distorted, it is believed
we even reached a point of no return here.

Chemical recycling
mostly thermal conversion or depolymerization and provides a full circular solution!
Cascading:
sequential use of resources as long as many times and as efficiently as possible for
material applications and only to recover energy from them when no other material
application is feasible.
Maximizing material value
In cascading we accept the quality loss when recovering material whilst trying to
minimise this loss and use it for a different purpose. This will keep on happening until
it is not useable anymore, then it can be burned for energy, burning this will emit co2
and balance everything that was done with the material.
The challenge is to determine the highest value pathway through multiple use-phases.
example wood:

Carbon capture and storage
Separate CO2 emission from a certain process, compress it and transport the CO2 to
a suitable geological storage location and systematically inject the CO2 in the soil.
(coal areas)
putting all the waste under the carpet is not such a good method → better to utilize it.
Carbon capture and UTILIZATION

Convert captured CO2 into products(polymers, plastics production, concrete...)
Friendly reminder to take a Break and Drink🚰 enough water
Lecture 5: Strategy
Climate impact can be traced back to our use of materials, especially steel production,
which is responsible for just under 10% of global CO2 emissions.
not only climate impact
Waste problems

For developed countries this is not really a big problem, they already recycle quite well
compared to less developed countries that still use garbage dumps too much.
The largest share is electronic and plastic waste , going to less developed countries
where waste rules are less strict.
Some waste products have along, or even almost infinite degradation time.
Commemorating products
Dematerialization → use less material to perform the same function without sacrificing
quality.
Topology optimization: Let software calculate iteratively in order to arrive at a

topology where as little material as possible is used for the same or even better
stiffness.
Design for recycling: build in such a way that parts and therefore different
materials are easy to disassemble.
Modular design: Fairphone where outdated or defective parts can simply be

replaced.
Rethinking product systems

Dematerialisation
e.g. selling a copier → instead of a copier, selling the copy service and imposing a rate
per copy, motivates themanufacturer to make his machine last as long as possible . To
reuse parts and repair machines in the event of defect.
Such systems can also be found in the paint industry, paying per painted car instead of
per liter of paint → motivates the manufacturer to make more efficient paint.

We need to look for strategies where we have an absolute decoupling (no relative
improvements) between economic growth (well-being) and environmental impact
(materials demand)
eg: 10% efficiency gain, but material demand doubles then the absolute impact will be
greater than before.
Rebound effects: part of the savings is negated. an effect where you

have a plan/strategy for a technology that increases efficiency (e.g. 50% energy savings)
if you only measure 30% instead of 50%
There may be several reasons behind this :
hidden benefits that you overlooked/didn't include
e.g. incandescent lamp is no longer used because it was very inefficient, a lot of
energy converted into heat. During the winter, however, this is desirable, so what
you gain by not using a light bulb you lose in the winter by having to make extra
changes, a factor that was not taken into account.
Indirect rebound effects:
E.g. going on holiday by plane with the money saved
Refurbished smartphones:

No rebound effects in hindsight but here comes a respending effect and an
imperfect substitution (buy a good refurbished as a 2nd mobile phone...)
The same for light: as your lighting technology becomes more efficient, the demand
for lighting increases by the same extent. Over the years almost always 0.72%
of the total GDP
Overview Cluster 2

Lecture 6 & 7: Urbanization part 1 + 2
Urbanisation: complex socio-economic process that converts formally rural areas into
urban areas. This includes changes in occupation, lifestyle, demographic, social and
cultural structure of existing places(both rural and yet civilized).
Ancient Rome is a good example of urbanisation but nowadays it is not a special event
anymore.
Global urban trends

Migration
Migration is a driving force in urbanization, urban growth comes from demographic
growth and migration(both internal and international). International migration takes up
one third of urban growth.
Economic growth
cities generate more than 80% of global GDP, urbanization can contribute to sustainable
growth through increased productivity and innovation
economy of scale: services and infrastructure is also 30-50% cheaper → education

and health sector benefit from this
Urbanization in the future: a growth of urban population is expected with a peak

reached around 2050.
Sustainable development goal 11: sustainable

cities and communities
Subgoals of this method:

If we want to achieve sustainable cities we also have to reach a lot of other SDGs
related to this
relation urbanization and societal challenges: one can cause or solve another
Societal challenges of urbanization

Inequality
despite reported economic growth, urban areas tend to be more unequal than nations
as a whole.
social inequalities: based on age, gender, ethnicity, disability...

economic inequalities: income, pay, salary, wealth...
Urban inequality is influenced by certain
factors shrinking of global economy
irregular/forced migration
Pandemics like COVID-19(online schooling, health & safety)
effects of inequality
preventing vulnerable low-income groups from accessing proper healthcare, good

schools, sanitation...
The gini index shows this inequality per

year, the higher the bigger the inequality
Inequalities have a spatial dimension
→ slums: poor areas with lack of infrastructure and inadequate housing.
There is a slowly decreasing trend for slums but still no bueno
affordability of housing: not to be underestimated, seems to be getting worse these

days
Climate change
urban areas are a major contributor to climate change, generating 70% of global
carbon emissions and consume 2/3 of worlds energy.
GHG emissions contribution:
directly:
heating, cooling, electricity

energy use(fossil fuels for transportation)
industrial processes
indirectly:
urban shape and density
transition from agriculture to industry and services, including the land use
change
urban density: high density and mixed use can positively influence energy consumption
→ reducing dependency on motorized transport. encouraging walking and cycling or
public transport rather than burning dead dinosaurs with your own car.
Comparing neighborhoods
varied urban lifestyles can result in vast environmental and economic differences.
cost of infrastructure can be up to 7 times higher for more spread urban areas than city
centers.
Urban sprawl: rapid expansion of geographic extent of cities and towns.

Climate change also affects urbanisation:
torrential rain and storms, often result in in floods, hit urban areas and especially
those living in marginalised, informal settlements like slums
more frequent extreme temperatures
sea level rise for people living in coastal areas
desertification
Urban heat island(UHI) effect
significant temperature difference with rural and urbanised areas. The effects depend on
reduced natural landscapes, heat from materials and human activities
preventing UHI → increase of natural landscape, use different(reflective) materials
example of handling UHI: lobe-city
lobe city model is developed in first half of 20th century and proposes an
alternative model to polarization between urban and rural areas.

mitigation strategies: renovation of building, renewable energy sources, sustainable
transport
Adaptation strategies: nature-based solutions, water-saving strategies, flood

protecting tech
Connecting the societal challenges with what we have seen
Air pollution
more than 80% of people living in urban areas are exposed to low air quality(WHO).
Populations in urban areas of low-income countries are most at risk
DALY(disability-adjusted life per year): time-based measure tha combines years of

life lost due to premature mortality and years of life lost due to time lived in states of
less than full health or disability.
Pollutants:
PM: particular matter → mixture of solid and liquid particles. PM10 is dust shizzle
with pollen and fragments of bacteria while PM2.5 is more present in poorer
countries and primarily comes from combustion(cars, industry)
NO2 and SO2: mainly bad effect on respiratory system but SO2 also causes acid
rains
Ozone(O2): photochemical smog reduces lung function and visibility
Strategies to mitigate air pollution
1. Reduce direct sources of air pollution
a. clean and efficient power generation, fuels, public transport...
2. Reduce indirect sources of air pollution

a. build high-density cities, improve domestic, industry and municipal
waste management
3. improve monitoring and communication systems to inform people about the risks
Water depletion & pollution

Amount of cities exposed to water scarcity is expected to increase a lot by 2050
Urban development can alter the drainage system in a good way and benefit from
natural streams
The result is a drastic reduction in the infiltration of groundwater with less and less area
available for groundwater recharging
Water pollution : Nutrient pollution(nitrate/phosphate from agriculture), Sediments

causing decreased infiltration, bacteria(e coli)
Accessibility: affordability becomes a problem when water has to be imported,

especially in poorer regions. → link to inequality
Material depletion
cities consume 75% of material resources used globally, most info about materials is
covered in a previous lecture.
Land take
It does not only influence quantity but also quality of land.
land is a finite source, urbanization competes with other vital uses like food production
through agriculture.
Land Use Efficiency:
construction shift in Flanders:

prevent open spaces to be built up and opt to preserve these spaces. Use the land
more efficiently and only build in efficient places(close to cities with good access to all
kinds of services).
Exercise:

What challenges does this project entail?
using vertical space → using the roof(reduce land
consumption) inclusion and fighting inequality → social space
inequality, GHG emissions and climate change → feeding people
efficient land use, climate change, GHG → reused/renovated building with

increased efficiency
Lesson 8: Demographics and migration

Demographic growth is a major problem → overpopulation
Is our population growth an exponential function? Increasing growth that doesn't stop

→ YES! We even have superexponential growth, worse than a classic exponential
func
If we break down this data by region or country, we see that this varies greatly per
country/region
Industrial Revolution
Official start is when Steam Engine was invented in 1762, mortality has since fallen
sharply → people lived longer.
Because of the industrial revolution there was suddenly much more energy, this causes
a chain reaction → your entire society changes from agricultural with control of land
owners to an industrial society built on capital and labor.
This drop in mortality started in the UK and Europe and has spread over the years to
countries that have been able to absorb this knowledge easily and only a lot later to
less developed countries or countries that have abstained from an industrial/capitalist
society. The countries that later fall in

mortality is also falling faster because many technologies are already developed
or already exist in other developed countries.
Fertility
There is no country where fertility is declining earlier than mortality rates. Why
was fertility so high in the past and why is it declining now? EARLIER
Chances of 100% of your children surviving are small → more children. In the
past, children were also children or life insurance (they work and take care of you
when you are old).
.vb. Nigeria → mortality rate was quite high recently, here we see a fertility of 6-
7 children per woman, which is due to the high child mortality of 40%
Causing fertility to decline in Nigeria
ensuring that fewer children die ( contraintuitive)
In almost every country there is a high fertility with high mortality (independent
of culture or region)
fertility rates also decrease as women receive more education, can build a
career (culture-related)
government policies
Government can e.g. implement a policy to reduce unwanted pregnancies
Fertility is a socio-cultural process and is subject to socio-cultural changes such as

mortality decline.

Conclusion: the current population growth is not due to higher fertility but to a lower
mortality (longer lifespan).
Urbanization, migration & socio-ecnonmic

inequality(2nd part of lecture)
"Superdiversity is the foretaste for the world of tomorrow"
What is the role of technology and what is the responsibility of an ingenieur
Demolition of a primary school in a multicultural neighborhood in

Denmark

Due to problems of poverty and crime in these regions due to poor policy, the school
had to be demolished. What can a policy, technology and engineer do about this?
Because of integration problems and political pressure, it has been demolished.
Iceberg model

Assumes that we see certain things and that we tend to react to them in a fairly
direct way without knowing the background or underlying patterns.
Hipsterification: middle class moves to these multicultural neighborhoods or do a lot of

shopping here because it is hip
Matheus effect: rich get richer, poor get poorer
e.g . subsidies for investments in renovations → pre-financing is needed to be

able to receive a subsidy, people who cannot afford it fall out of the boot
Neoliberalism: the market takes the upper hand and has its influence on basic needs
such as housing, healthcare... getting into trouble
Taking those pitfalls into account, we get gentrification
gentrification
Form of migration, social oppression whena neighborhood is populated by middle
class, causing prices to rise and people having to migrate to neighborhoods that are
financially feasible.
Migration

immigration → society → emigration (can cancel each other out, positive or negative
net migration)
Pretty boring lecture: Man reads GWN the slides so here the summary is
mainly screenshots of the slides.

The right to asylum
Also discussed in the past (Egyptians, Greeks etc in the form of ten commandments)
Now also through human rights (right to apply for asylum, to take on a nationality...)
by United Nations.
2018: Global Compact of Refugees and Global Compact For Safe, Orderly and
Regular Migration
Global compacts(2018): enabling migration

putting pressure on countries where refugees can go
help find solutions for these countries and try to improve countries of origin
reduce counter-movements of migration and reduce risks for refugees
People's reasons for migrating

push-pull theory:

push: forced migration due to conflict or environmental problems
e.g. mandatory migration due to natural disasters but also having it

migrated in advance due to predictions due to rising sea levels
pull: attractive economy → jobs, wages, prosperity...
Lesson 9: Inequality
SDG 10: reduce inequalities
Despite these human rights, we see that there is still inequality in many areas
gender: women in education, in the labour market...
race: ethnicity → caste system in India, apartheid, Jewish problems Hitler
Age: losing a job due to seniority, taking out loans, receiving care and financial
assistance
people with disabilities: both physically and mentally
At the global level, extreme poverty has fallen everywhere except Africa since 1990 .
global inequality in 2020 is lower between countries than inequality within countries
(Theil index)
In affluent countries, there is an increase in private capital and a decrease in public

capital.

Women's income inequality in the labour market is narrowing but at a slow pace
and strongly country-bound.
Humand development index
examples Uganda: role of engineer

BidiBidi as a refugee camp can still offer space for employment, entrepreneurship... as
the seeds of a new urban environment
An urban experiment with a future, not only in Uganda do such projects occur.
botskebots, luyten kan ni drink
Also regarding waste management in Kampala where waste treatment is a major

problem , the national bank has invested to solve this problem and this project has
been supported by partner organizations such as local as well as belgian organizations
(humasol as a technical partner → role of ingenieurs)
Humasol: efforts from a Western country to support can be successful, but not always.
The compost that was tried to be realized was of not good enough quality and had to
stop because the project was not profitable. → problemwith incentive of such
organization
Pitfalls in entrepreneurship (Donella Meadows)

recycling waste can set trend to produce more waste (opposite
effect)
purely financial (ROI) approach
reduction of amibition levels
escalation as a result of free market and competition between companies and

within industries
Final conclusion
We see that there are many inequalities based on wealth, ethnicity, carbon emissions...
At the same time, we see that large migration flows are coming our way and that they
will only increase by 2050. We also have the trapped populations, people whocannot flee
because of their (financial) vulnerable position. We also have the pressure of refugees
increasing, arriving here and urban inequalities increasing.
Seeing the multicultural society as a cornerstone for the future rather than a sign of
failure.
What role can an engineer play in this → example Uganda

Lesson 10: Biodiversity
Types of biodiversity
Genetic diversity
Within the same species already quite a bit of genetic biodiversity (DNA enal) but also
betweenspecies of course (characteristics, features, skill level → L dodos)
evolution in biodiversity to adapt to environment → otherwise doowd
Genetic biodiversity in agriculture:
different "varieties" of a type of crop last century and 80 years later

→ biodiversity within these species has decreased sharply, may cause problems in the
future, but fortunately there are seed banks (your mother) that still preserve these
"extinct" species.
Genetic biodiversity causes a chemical biodiversity, different genetics produce different

chemicals (blood type).
Diversity in research is also important, for example, when researching

cardiovascular medicines, one must take into account the genetic biodiversity
of people (gender, age, race...).
But also taking social and biological diversity into account → there are many things in
daily life that determine our phenotype (total of all observable characteristics of an
organism) and genotype.
Ecosystem diversity
An ecosystem is a geographical place where organisms of all species live together to
form a "life bubble" that sustains itself. One

Ecosystem contains both abiotic ( non-biological) and biotic elements. Abiotic:
non-living aspects, mountains, temperature, humidity.... biotic: plants, animals,
microorganisms...
A coreel reef is an example of an ecosystem (which is bustled )
An ecosystem keeps its own state and the ecosystems around it stable.
Types of diversity
Global diversity? → we dunno how many species there are, we can make estimates,
these differ greatly depending on which models are used for animals and
microorganisms with slightly more accuracy for plants.
Patterns of biodiversity
Some regions have more biodiversity than others
There is greater diversity in regions with a favourable and stable climate
Importance of biodiversity

Food (safety) and nutritional value
WEF: biodiversity is important for our food
Pollinators: crucial for growing certain crops (e.g. apples) → animals such as bees
take on the role of pollinator (35% of all crops require pollinators).
40% of instectes, including pollinators, are endangered species 😢 Biodiversity is
important for resistance to pathogens by bacteria, viruses and other infections.
example ticks that carry Lyme bacteria:
Some ticks will be carriers of the Lyme virus. More different animals means more spread
of Lyme across different species instead of a few species. If this includes species that
can get the Lyme virus, the chance of further spread is much greater than that the ticks
waste all their Lyme bacteria on animal species that are immune to it
Change of biodiversity over time

mass extinctions in history → extinction peaks that ended a kind of era and
started a new era with more new species.
In general, the number of species is increasing:

Recent extinctions: Do(o)do
Important endangered species: https://youtu.be/ywthKNqI7uI
Threats to biodiversity
It is suggested whether another mass extinction is coming or we are even in this
yet. Humans are not in danger, but other endangered animals are. This mass extinction
is strongly linked to the influence that humans have on it.
Climate change as a threat to biodiversity
habitat loss by humans

agriculture, urbanisation, deforestation, fishing...

habitat loss due to human needs:
need for physical space(cities and villages)
productive space(wood for constructions) cultural
space(travel/tourism such as ski slopes)
door climate change induced by human pollution changing/damaging habitats such as

ice sheets.
Unconscious change: organisms such as insects that spread transcontinentally
through worldwide transport. → invasive species that destroy ecosystems (My bush
really sucks because of that boxwood moth).
Pollution
little data on pollution in the past (insights from unexpected angles such as painting of
London full of smog).
There are also habit-changing/devastating phenomena that have minimal human

influence:
Volcanic Activity and Earthquakes
See if we have no impact on these natural e.g. If ice melts (partly due to
phenomena based on historical and human emissions) this has an
geological information but also effect on movements in the earth's
contemporary observations (weather, crust and therefore possible
seismographic data...) and try to volcanic activity

find a link between the phenomena and the
data.
Change of Human Behavior → Incentives Needed

Incentives:
support changes financially, scientifically and technologically Exerting social
pressure on society by informing
→ specifically: introduce environmental taxes, ban straws (save the turtles 🐢),...
Many African countries have banned plastic bags.
Everyone has their

influence on each
other and
therefore also our
impact on
biodiversity.
conservation of biodiversity
habitat repair

One can also use genetic diversity by isolating certain genes, allowing the animals to
develop within the same corridor and later allowing gene distribution again.
Role of breeding animals in captivity (zoo)
Releasing nearly extinct species → does not always work

Important educational role
Biodiversity at European level

Europe's role in biodiversity is very important and is reflected in the Green Deal.
These are policies imposed on member states of Europe with the climate objective. →
list of strategies with the main objective of being climate neutral by 2050.
Specifically, → reduce GHG emissions by at least 55% by 2030 and continue this
trend to be climate neutral by 2050.

Biodiversity strategy by 2030
integrate nature more into daily life, restore biodiversity protected
land and sea areas must increase by 30% limit degrading
ecosystems to 50%
Farm to fork by 2030

Guaranteeing food supply in a sustainable way
Specific content really fascinates Ni(she went over this NI in the lecture)
EU Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity

gives a lot of information in an accessible way make the
people aware
Effect of the EU on your job as an engineer

The above things in combination with the learning goals on first slide (see beginning)
Lesson 11: Land Use

The beginning of this lecture mainly includes things that have already been seen in
previous lectures and are therefore not included in this summary. After watching the
lectures, it appears that the important things are explained with examples and then
summarized in a slide, so the summary is mainly limited to these summary slides.

Our emissions depend heavily on our land use
division of the land
From this one can deduce the protein problem in which meat production takes up a lot
of land but provides relatively few calories and proteins compared to agriculture.
One sees a lot of hockey stick patterns when it comes to emissions, land use,
production...
→ The great acceleration → try to flatten these curves

Land degradation loses its resilience to a threshold point where land becomes unusable.

Farm to fork strategy of EU green deal → previously discussed in previous lectures
Lesson 12+13: Food & Nutrition Security +

Protein Transition
Problem statement:
expanding world population → all mouths must be fed → potential undernourrishment
(10% at this point with a rising trend) → effects include unhealthy diets, obesity...
Food and Nutrition Security (FNS)
Components of FNS:

1. Food availability
relates to agriculture, trade & logistics
2. Food Accessibility
ability for a household to obtain (sufficient) food
relates to physical, social and economical factors
3. Food utilization
One's ability to select and consume certain food nutrients
relates to food choices, preparation, hygiene practices and culture
4. Stability of the aforementioned points over time
How to achieve NFS
Sustainable food production: agriculture

Global food production has been strongly increasing which causes some regions to
reach it's limits and lead to negative consequences for those regions:
Solution

Achiever greater yields using fewer inputs: new crop varieties(CRISPR-Cas
modification)
efficient use of crop protection products
smart farming → use technology for creating optimal circumstances
Food waste
EU: Households account for 55% of all food waste!
Solution
Dietary changes: Plant-based products have a lower environmental impact compared
to animal-based products
Protein Transition

Lternative protein sources
Plant proteins: soy, beans, peas, wheat, rice...
Single cell protein: bacteria, micro-alagae, yeast, fungi...
edible insects: excellent nutritional composition, efficient feed conversion and

very environment-friendly
cultured meat/cultured meat(separate lesson
video): most of the meat we eat comes from
muscle
make cultured meat → muscles outside the body for medical and possibly food
sector in the future
Collecting and multiplying stem cells in a lab
Technology is still in its infancy and it is not yet possible to grow full-fledged
muscles, bioprinting is also only done in very small quantities and there is not
yet much knowledge of the nutritional values and health impact.
It is also unclear whether it is economically feasible, so the price has to fall by

a thousand times
In practice, a hybrid product will probably come on the market first

TODO list to pass this course
Studied this summary ?
Studied the summary of philosophy ?
Checked the screenshots of the "things to remember" slides?
Treated me to a pint in the Recup?

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Summary Engineer and

sustainability: global challenges

Lecture 1: Climate and Energy

Summary Engineer and sustainability: global Challenges 1

Effects of global warming

sea level rise,

Climate scenarios: Emission pathways

Consequence of business-as-usual scenario: warming of 5 degrees , while looking at

Summary Engineer and sustainability: global Challenges 2

Summary Engineer and sustainability: global Challenges 3

reduce emissions → renewable energy, reduce energy consumption, electrify...

Removing CO2 from the atmosphere → Co2 sequestration: forrestation, (marine)

Climate resilient cities and coasts (against flooding, earthquake...)

progression: further out to sea to protect coastline

Energy: status and evolution

Summary Engineer and sustainability: global Challenges 4

Trias energetics method

2. Fill your question as much as possible with sustainable/renewable energy sources

3. Optimizing fossil fuel efficiency

Summary Engineer and sustainability: global Challenges 5

amount of power vs amount of energy

You should be able to perform the exercise below on the exam

CHP: calculate efficiency of a CHP and savings

Summary Engineer and sustainability: global Challenges 6

Summary Engineer and sustainability: global Challenges 7

Summary Engineer and sustainability: global Challenges 9

Energy: possibility of a system to perform work in Joule

Power: speed at which energy is converted or transferred in kWh,hp...

According to the UN commission, something is sustainable if the possibilities for the

The energy mix

80% fossil fuels, 2.2% nuclear energy, 18% renewable of which

Summary Engineer and sustainability: global Challenges 10

grass, corn, palm oil, rapeseed...

→ return far too low

second generation biomass

used cooking oil, animalfats, wood chips, pellets...

Summary Engineer and sustainability: global Challenges 11

Different types of power stations:

River power plant: relatively low efficiency on Flemish rivers (75%)

Summary Engineer and sustainability: global Challenges 12

Peak power of solar panels

calculated with different variables of different seasons → not so representative,

Direct and diffuse irradiation

Energy comes from light, not solar radiation

EROI depends on where you install your panel

In winter, 60 is better, while in summer 30 degrees is better

Summary Engineer and sustainability: global Challenges 13

→ Performance ratio: typically 70-90%

PR = measured yield in kWh Theoretical

→ Capacity factor: typically 10-20%

CF = Measured annual yield in kWh

Energy yield PV(photo voltaic)

Important: Solar energy is not zero-emission but a major reduction

Photovoltaic energy is the cheapest form of electricity in many places in

Highly location-dependent on the local average wind strength.

Summary Engineer and sustainability: global Challenges 14

The biggest challenge lies in the construction of the windmills.

No problems with air traffic Doje

Local residents suffer from drop shadow

distance between turbines is ideal minsterns 5 times the rotor diameter

Summary Engineer and sustainability: global Challenges 15

ITER project: cooperation EU, China, US, Canada

Summary Engineer and sustainability: global Challenges 16

3rd generation reactors