E DTR = E HH
6.2 The Case Study: Sectoral Policy Implications
6.2.1 Summarizing the Research and Policy Implications
Two expected research outcomes were framed with the objective of carrying forward the work of NGR and link entropy to development process, and secondly to mainstream concept of entropy in climate change and sustainability debate by conducting a real world case study.
It was proposed that a development process is a function of a set of economic processes, which in turn are functions of a number of physical, chemical and biological processes. Each of these processes in the end depends upon energy and matter input to produce useful goods and services (in form of energy and matter) and generates waste in form of energy (waste heat) and waste matter. The study proposed, thereafter, to take two measurable parameters namely CO2 emission and entropy in an urban development process comprised of seven economic activities (as per UNISIC classification) in the city under four study sectors i.e. Electricity, Fossil Fuels, Building and AFOLU, and thereafter broken down into 20 physical and chemical processes, out of which 12 processes, namely agricultural fermentation, logging and deforestation, combustion of fuels, calcination and clinker formation, heat of hydration, heat of carbonation, baking of clay, steel manufacturing, thermal power generation from coal, grid transmission, distribution and household electricity consumption were studied. The energy input (direct and indirect) was
worked out from the available datasets, and resultant entropy generation and CO2 emission were calculated accordingly as per methodology already outlined. It was found through literature review and city case study that entropy and development process are intrinsically coupled through exchange of energy and matter, and improvements in QoL are accompanied by generation of large amounts of emissions and waste heat. The city is an engine of development transforming energy and matter to provide improved QoL and in process and generating waste (waste heat and CO2). In the case study, it was found that Guwahati city currently (2015) uses almost 64 PJ of energy annually (36 PJ in 2010), of which 55 PJ goes as waste ( 30 PJ in 2010).
Therefore, development and entropy are directly linked. Entropy generation appears to be rising as development progresses. Though from the city case study, the result holds good, but further studies are required to be conducted to triangulate the results and to form a firm relationship. As entropy generation rises due to development process, issues about its sustainability arise. The more is the development, the more shall be the entropy generated. This places automatically limits on the source as well as the sink. Given the present day development approach based on the pattern of the industrialized nations, the Thesis, in no way, talks against development, but suggests new approaches to development, improvement in QoL and well being keeping in environmental health of the earth system in mind and scarce resources. When talking of entropy reduction or minimization, we need to also consider reduction of entropy within the system by self organizing entities. Any entity that reduces its own entropy, does so at the cost of the environment (i.e. entropy rise in the surroundings). However, such a behaviour of entropy reduction would not bring sustainability. The waste heat and CO2 emissions released in a development process impinge upon the the climate stability that again adversely impacts sustainable development. Sustainable development does not appear to be possible unless the existing economic processes are replaced by newer process that are low in entropy production
and work at near normal temperature and pressures. The following are some of the emerging policy paradigms from the study:
1. The earth is a closed thermodynamic system of which the economy is only a sub system.
The earth can receive energy from the sun, but being a closed system, must radiate back all the heat to space, else the plant would get hotter. This implies that the sum of the energy budget of the earth must always be zero. NASA studies are already showing that the earth has developed tendency to retain a part of the heat (0.6 Wm-2). NGR opined in 1975 that such a situation was not at all good for the planet, and the challenge of the thermal pollution would be more challenging than the impending resource crisis. The question is if NGR was right 45 years ago, then, what are we doing today to allay thermal pollution? Despite global agendas and agreements, solutions of reducing the GHG emissions are not in sight mainly due to our Business As Usual (BAU) approaches.
Policy makers need to address through effective policy interventions and regulations to help shift away from BAU pathways.
2. The case study and analysis of urbanization in this Thesis clearly show that the world is moving rapidly towards urbanization, and humanity is moving towards an urban future.
Development and improved Quality of Life is possible only with high uptake of energy.
Given the level of technology, energy and emission cannot be separated with ease (100%
decoupling would be against the Entropy Law), even with the promises made by the green technologies such as solar power, and the overarching operatives of Jevons' paradox and rebound effect. Thus, the source and sink side challenges would become larger in view of bigger population and better life styles in urban environs. Therefore, minimization of entropy should become a part of the policy paradigm at appropriate levels. Rethinking on urban planning and urban re-engineering is recommended.
3. In the context of NGR's theories “new processes” must emerge that have the following characteristics:
(a) Technological innovations: Highly efficient low entropy processes that operate at nearly normal temperature and pressures, and generate almost zero waste, or else chain of such processes which feed on the waste of other processes (but definitely not perpetual motion machines!) .
(b) Life Style changes: The new processes must be driven by new life styles and societal values and choices that are environment friendly, close to nature and promote togetherness, well being and happiness.
4. Mainstreaming of entropy in policy and decision making in the development sector is required. Entropy is a very good measure of resource use and efficiencies of processes, and hence is best suited as instrument of environmental levies and taxation. The following interventions are required for mainstreaming of entropy:-
(a) It is important to create research wing that would conduct research on entropy centric strategies and improve entropy study methodologies. This research group could provide the necessary inputs based on ground realities and international best practices which policy makers could incorporate in the regulatory and implementation frameworks, also by making the entropy computation for various process standardized and in easy to comprehend ways.
(b) Standard entropy values and efficiency values of energy transformation should be made available for various processes.
(c) Most policies relating to sustainable development & climate change are framed at national level, and decision making happens at national level. This needs to be also
brought at city level. Inventories of climate change protocols are also at global/ national levels, making it difficult to incorporate climate change related action plans based on metrics at local levels. Sectoral regulations and policies need to be revisited to incorporate entropy perspective as stated above.