ECE Energy Series

Considerable progress in energy efficiency in the building sector is reported in the majority of the UNECE member States, and still reaching the potential often falls short due to flawed policy frameworks, and lack of public awareness on available modern technologies and education on long-term economic and social benefits of energy efficiency improvement. This publication is prepared in response to the outlined challenges and aims to elucidate the status of implementation of energy efficiency standards in buildings and deployment of appropriate technologies, and to identify good policy practices and replicable solutions. It also proposes a set of general recommendations and priority actions arising from the analysis.

Coal production, transportation, storage and use account for roughly 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas with a 100-year global warming potential 25 times that of carbon dioxide (CO2) and a 100-year global temperature potential 6-fold greater than CO2, once released from coal seams in which it is trapped creates number of problems even after cessation of mining activities. Following mine closure, methane emissions decrease, but do not stop completely. They initially decline, but can later stabilize and maintain a near-constant rate for an extended period of time. The document presents recommended principles and standards for effective methane recovery and use from abandoned coal mines in a clear and succinct way, providing decision-makers with a solid base of understanding from which to direct policy and commercial decisions. The Best Practice Guidance does not replace or supersede laws and regulations or other legally binding instruments, whether national or international. The principles outlined therein are intended to complement existing legal and regulatory frameworks and to support development of safer and more effective practices where industry practice and regulation continue to evolve. At the same time, being envisioned primarily as a tool to support performance- and principle-based regulatory programmes, the Best Practice Guidance can also complement more prescriptive regulation and support transition to performance-based regulation.

The United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) is a global classification and management system applicable to mineral, petroleum, nuclear fuel, renewable energy and anthropogenic resources, as well as injection projects for geological storage. Since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), managing energy and raw material resources in a sustainable manner has become paramount to all stakeholders including governments, industry, investors and communities. This updated version of UNFC is intended to satisfy the requirements of different resource sectors and applications, as well as making it fully aligned to the sustainable resource management called for by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The key changes, including the normalization of the text, make UNFC applicable for all resources.

The adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has made it essential to have a ground-up review of all resources and that this indispensable for the successful delivery of all goals, notably for SDG 7 on access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all and SDG 13 on climate action. The energy and climate-related goals have a bearing on uranium resources, one of the clean, low-carbon energy sources. This report shows how uranium resources could create a platform for innovative engagement with the integrated challenge of natural resource management and climate action. The United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC), the comprehensive resource management scheme, provides the necessary tools and conditions for the redesign of the uranium resource pathway. This report argues that the conventional model of uranium as a mineral commodity needs to give way to a new model of uranium as a “critical energy material” for meeting the global sustainability objectives on energy and climate action.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) regional Global Tracking Framework report is part of a series of multi-agency assessments that monitor progress towards the three Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) objectives. This first edition of the report builds upon the 2017 Global Tracking Framework report, by tracking the indicators of each SDG 7 objective within the UNECE sub-regions. The report then goes further to identify the current status of sustainable energy across a broader set of energy indicators, identifies key issues along the energy value chain, and highlights UNECE country responses to initiate change. The report further argues that this broader set of energy indicators is required to comprehensively track energy for sustainable development.

Natural gas, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), has clear environmental benefits over other, more carbon-intensive fossil fuels. Substituting other fossil fuels by natural gas can substantially reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and of other pollutants (particulate matter, and oxides of nitrogen and sulfur) and contribute to the decarbonisation policy objectives. Regasification terminals can play a key role in ensuring security of supply, diversification of supply, as well as enabling the integration of renewable energy. This publication looks into a case study in truck loading.

The purpose of the document is to provide non-mandatory guidance for the application of the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources 2009 (UNFC) to uranium and thorium resources. These Guidelines are intended to assist all those responsible for finding, classifying, quantifying, financing, permitting, mining, and processing these minerals such that they are fit to enter the nuclear fuel cycle. The Guidelines help to align the various resource classification systems currently in use for uranium and thorium resource management and reporting, such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)/International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ‘Red Book’ resource reporting scheme and various national systems, in a coherent and consistent manner.

This publication includes a set of 14 case studies on the application of the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) to geothermal energy from Australia, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines and Russian Federation. The case studies presented here illustrate the application of the geothermal energy specifications for the uniform use of UNFC in different contexts. These application examples from different countries provide a range of scenarios in the classification of geothermal resources in a manner consistent with the classification of other energy resources.

Today coal supplies around 30 per cent of global primary energy and 40 per cent of global electricity. Coal extraction has become increasingly challenging as shallow reserves are exhausted and deeper seams, with significant content of methane, are mined. Societies are demanding and expecting safer mine working conditions, and greater environmental stewardship from the coal industry. The global coal industry, national governments, trade unions, and worker safety advocates are concerned that the frequency and severity of methane explosions, especially in emerging economies, are unacceptably high. Coal mine methane (CMM) only becomes flammable and creates an explosion hazard when allowed to mix with air. Methane-rich gases, generally containing 80 per cent to 95 per cent methane at underground mining depths, occur naturally in coal seams and are released as CMM when coal seams are disturbed by mining activities. Methane is an explosive gas in the range of 5 per cent to 15 per cent methane in air. The application of best practices for methane drainage and use is critical to reduce methane-related accidents and explosions that all too often accompany coal mining, while also contributing to environmental protection through reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Good mining practices need to be transferred to all countries to ensure that risks are managed professionally and effectively. No mine, even in the most developed countries, is free from safety risks. Regardless of location or mining conditions, it is possible to significantly reduce the risk of methane related incidents and explosions. Good safety practice in coal mines is to reduce explosion risk by preventing the occurrence of explosive mixtures and, where practical, by monitoring and rapidly diluting explosive mixtures to safe concentrations.