A fair mechanism for efficient reduction of global CO2-emissions

Energy-related activities are a major contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A growing body of knowledge clearly depicts the links between human activities and climate change. Over the last century the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil and other human activities has released carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and other heat-trapping GHG emissions into the atmosphere and thus increased the concentration of atmospheric CO2 emissions. The main human activities that emit CO2 emissions are (1) the combustion of fossil fuels to generate electricity, accounting for about 37% of total U.S. CO2 emissions and 31% of total U.S. GHG emissions in 2013, (2) the combustion of fossil fuels such as gasoline and diesel to transport people and goods, accounting for about 31% of total U.S. CO2 emissions and 26% of total U.S. GHG emissions in 2013, and (3) industrial processes such as the production and consumption of minerals and chemicals, accounting for about 15% of total U.S. CO2 emissions and 12% of total ...

Major US electric utility climate pledges have the potential to collectively reduce power sector emissions by one-third

At the UN climate change conference in Paris in November 2015, Norway committed itself to a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Agriculture accounts for 8% of Norway’s total GHG emissions. If GHGs from drained and cultivated wetland (categorized under land use, land use change and forestry) are included, the share is 13%; this for a sector that accounts for roughly 0.3% of GDP. As is the case in most countries, agriculture is currently exempt from emission reduction measures, including the European Union’s Emissions Trading System (ETS), in which Norway participates. But the country has recently signaled its intention to include agriculture in future emission reduction efforts. Consideration is being given to how best to achieve GHG reductions in the sector. A recent report by the Norwegian Green Tax Commission, established by the government to evaluate policy options for achieving emission reductions, (Government of Norway, 2015) emphasizes the importance of including agriculture. The Commission suggests that agricultural emissions should be taxed at the same rate as for other sectors. It also recommends that reductions in the production and consumption of red meat should be specifically targeted, through cuts in production grants to farmers and the imposition of consumption taxes. Unsurprisingly, this proposed policy shift is extremely controversial and faces resistance, particularly from the farmers’ unions. Farmers argue that the maintenance of domestic agricultural production is crucial for achieving national food security objectives, in addition to pursuing other aims such as the maintenance of economic activity in rural areas and landscape preservation. Food security, which has been a key policy objective since the end of the Second World War, has been interpreted in Norway as requiring high levels of selfsufficiency in basic agricultural commodities. To achieve this, substantial subsidies are provided to farmers and domestic prices of many commodities are kept at high levels by restricting imports. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimates that the total financial support provided to Norwegian agriculture in 2015 was equivalent to 62% of the value of gross farm receipts, which made Norway (along with Switzerland) a leader in the amount of support provided to agriculture by the 50 OECD member and non-member countries monitored by the Organization (OECD, 2016). In this paper we analyze policy options for achieving a 40% reduction in agricultural GHG emissions, consistent with the economy-wide target, while imposing the restriction that national food production measured in calories should be maintained (the food security target). This is consistent with the way that the Norwegian government identifies the country’s food security objective. In section 2 we outline the current situation with respect to GHG emissions in Norwegian agriculture. In section 3 we illustrate the policy issues involved by considering two product aggregates that are intensive in the use of land for crop production (grainland) and grassland, respectively. The aggregates are based on data for the main commodities in Norwegian agriculture relating to GHG emissions, land use, caloric content, subsidies, and costs per unit of production. We show that even though the opportunity set (i.e., the production combinations that are possible within technical constraints) is narrow, a 40% cut in emissions is achievable by substituting from ruminant products that are intensive in the use of grassland to products based on grainland. We also show that the emissions reduction both reduces government budgetary costs and land use, i.e., ruminant products are characterized by relatively high subsidies and land use. Two-dimensional analysis ignores the fact that per unit emissions from dairy production are low compared to other ruminant products (i.e., beef and sheep production). Both in terms of production value and agricultural employment, dairy farming is the most important component of Norwegian agriculture. Consequently, milk production deserves to be separated from ruminant meat production. Finally in section 4, we present a detailed analysis 3 of policy options derived from a disaggregated model that includes all the major products in Norwegian agriculture. In the model-based analysis, we examine first the imposition of a carbon tax, while maintaining existing agricultural support policies and import protection, and achieving the food security (production of calories) target. Since the imposition of a carbon tax in agriculture presents both technical and political challenges, we then examine an alternative approach of changing the existing structure of agricultural support to approximate the same result. We show that it is possible to change current subsidy rates to mimic the carbon tax and calorie target solution. The explanation for this is that ruminant products not only generate high emissions per produced calorie, but they are also the most highly subsidized products. Meat from ruminants is relatively unimportant in achieving Norway’s food security objective of calorie availability.

Indonesia has targeted 29 % Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction in 2030 and Industry is one of the big two contributors for GHG emissions. As an industry, mining is an energy-intensive industry, and reducing energy consumption is one of the strategies to improve mining environmental performance. The aim of this paper is to estimate the GHG emission reduction in a mining project through energy reduction initiatives. A copper mine in Indonesia with processing plant capacity of 120,000 t/d and operate 111 Caterpillar 793C Haul Truck was taken as a case study. This mine site has two sources of an electricity namely coal-fired power plant with 112 MW output and diesel power plant with 45 MW output. The analysis method for calculating CO2 emission is using IPCC method where fuel consumption and emission factor are two main variables for GHG emissions. Business as usual scenario (TIER 1) showed that the average of diesel fuel consumption for fleets operation generated 294,006 t CO2-eq/y. A coal-fired power plant with average coal consumption of 350 t/d/unit generated 1.15 Mt CO2-eq/y and diesel power plant consumed 4.35 ML/y produced 11,632 t CO2-eq/y. Two energy initiative programs were identified namely fuel conversion and used oil utilisation program. The initiative scenario focused on substituting, reducing and reusing of fossil fuels including coal, diesel fuel, and used oil. This scenario was estimated to contribute the carbon emission reduction (t CO2-eq) of 258,381 annually. The involvement of mining industry in carbon emission reduction is not only helping Indonesia in achieving its GHG emissions reduction target but also increases mine site environmental performance and company image.

دراینمقاله،میزانو ارزش انتشارگازهایگلخانه‌ای اکسید‌نیتروس(N2O) و دی‌اکسید‌کربن(CO2)حاصلازتولید حبوبات منتخب ایران (شامل نخود، لوبیا و عدس) با استفاده از مدل GHGE،برایسالزراعی91-90برآورد شده است.نتایج نشان‌داد که استان‌هایفارسوبوشهر، به‌ترتیبباتولیدسالانه271/79 و 004/0 تنN2O، بیشترینوکمترینمیزانتولیدگاز گلخانه‌ایN2Oرا دارامی‌باشند. همچنین استان‌هایلرستانوبوشهر نیز به‌ترتیب باتولیدسالانه83/10327 و33/1‌تنCO2،بیشترینوکمترینمیزانتولیدگاز گلخانه‌ایCO2را به‌خود اختصاص داده‌اند. مجموعهزینه‌هایزیست‌محیطی انتشار گازهای گلخانه‌ای N2O و CO2 کلکشورنیزحدود705/32‌میلیاردریالبرآوردگردید. باتوجهبه یافته‌ها، مدیریت کودهای نیتروژنه مصرفی در مزارعوتوسعهسیاست‌کاهشمیزانانتشاربه‌همراه مالیات زیست‌محیطی انتشار گازهای گلخانه‌ای بر سطوح مختلف تولید پیشنهاد شده ‌است. واژه‌های کلیدی: اکسید‌نیتروس، دی‌اکسید‌کربن، حبوبات، گازهای گلخانه‌ای

The production of six regionally important cellulosic biomass feedstocks, including pine, eucalyptus, unmanaged hardwoods, forest residues, switchgrass, and sweet sorghum, was analyzed using consistent life cycle methodologies and system boundaries to identify feedstocks with the lowest cost and environmental impacts. Supply chain analysis models were created for each feedstock calculating costs and supply chain requirements for the production 453,592 dry tonnes of biomass per year. Cradle-to-gate environmental impacts from these supply systems were quantified for nine mid-point indicators using SimaPro 7.2 LCA software. Conversion of grassland to managed forest for bioenergy resulted in large reductions in GHG emissions, due to carbon sequestration associated with direct land use change. However, converting forests to energy cropland resulted in large increases in GHG emissions. Production of forest-based feedstocks for biofuels resulted in lower delivered cost, lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and lower overall environmental impacts than the studied agricultural feedstocks. Forest residues had the lowest environmental impact and delivered cost per dry tonne. Using forest-based biomass feedstocks instead of agricultural feedstocks would result in lower cradle-to-gate environmental impacts and delivered biomass costs for biofuel production in the southern U.S.

Article 2 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) calls for stabilization of greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations at levels that prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference (DAI) in the climate system. However, some of the recent policy literature has focused on dangerous climatic change (DCC) rather than on DAI. DAI is a set of increases in GHGs concentrations that has a non-negligible possibility of provoking changes in climate that in turn have a non-negligible possibility of causing unacceptable harm, including harm to one or more of ecosystems, food production systems, and sustainable socio-economic systems, whereas DCC is a change of climate that has actually occurred or is assumed to occur and that has a non-negligible possibility of causing unacceptable harm. If the goal of climate policy is to prevent DAI, then the determination of allowable GHG concentrations requires three inputs: the probability distribution function (pdf) for climate sensitivity, the pdf for the temperature change at which significant harm occurs, and the allowed probability (“risk”) of incurring harm previously deemed to be unacceptable. If the goal of climate policy is to prevent DCC, then one must know what the correct climate sensitivity is (along with the harm pdf and risk tolerance) in order to determine allowable GHG concentrations. DAI from elevated atmospheric CO2 also arises through its impact on ocean chemistry as the ocean absorbs CO2. The primary chemical impact is a reduction in the degree of supersaturation of ocean water with respect to calcium carbonate, the structural building material for coral and for calcareous phytoplankton at the base of the marine food chain. Here, the probability of significant harm (in particular, impacts violating the subsidiary conditions in Article 2 of the UNFCCC) is computed as a function of the ratio of total GHG radiative forcing to the radiative forcing for a CO2 doubling, using two alternative pdfs for climate sensitivity and three alternative pdfs for the harm temperature threshold. The allowable radiative forcing ratio depends on the probability of significant harm that is tolerated, and can be translated into allowable CO2 concentrations given some assumption concerning the future change in total non-CO2 GHG radiative forcing. If future non-CO2 GHG forcing is reduced to half of the present non-CO2 GHG forcing, then the allowable CO2 concentration is 290–430 ppmv for a 10% risk tolerance (depending on the chosen pdfs) and 300–500 ppmv for a 25% risk tolerance (assuming a pre-industrial CO2 concentration of 280 ppmv). For future non-CO2 GHG forcing frozen at the present value, and for a 10% risk threshold, the allowable CO2 concentration is 257–384 ppmv. The implications of these results are that (1) emissions of GHGs need to be reduced as quickly as possible, not in order to comply with the UNFCCC, but in order to minimize the extent and duration of non-compliance; (2) we do not have the luxury of trading off reductions in emissions of non-CO2 GHGs against smaller reductions in CO2 emissions, and (3) preparations should begin soon for the creation of negative CO2 emissions through the sequestration of biomass carbon.

انتشار گازهای گلخانه‌ای و اثرات آن بر گرمایش جهانی یکی از چالش‌های جدی کشورهای توسعه‌یافته و درحال‌توسعه محسوب می‌شود. بر اساس پیمان کیوتو، کشورهای مختلف موظف به محاسبه و اعلام میزان انتشار گازهای گلخانه‌ای شدند. بررسی میزان انتشار گازهای گلخانه‌ای کشورهای مختلف این امکان را فراهم می‌آورد تا ضمن ارائه تصویری از سهم کشورها در تولید گازهای گلخانه‌ای، جایگاه ایران نیز در این مجموعه مشخص شود. این مقاله تلاش دارد تا میزان و ارزش انتشار گازهای گلخانه‌ای اکسید نیتروس (N2O) و دی‌اکسید کربن (CO2) حاصل از دانه های روغنی تولیدی منتخب در ایران (سویا، کلزا، ذرت دانه ای و سایر دانه های روغنی) را با استفاده از مدل GHGE، برای سال زراعی 91-90 برآورد نماید. نتایج نشان داد استان‌های خوزستان و زنجان به ترتیب، با تولید سالانه 49/341 و 004/0 تن، بیش ترین و کم ترین میزان تولید گاز گلخانه‌ای N2O را در سطح کشور دارا می‌باشند. همچنین استان‌های گلستان و هرمزگان نیز به ترتیب، با تولید سالانه 47/7841 و 24/0 تن دی‌اکسید کربن بیش ترین و کم ترین میزان تولید گاز گلخانه‌ای CO2 را به خود اختصاص داده‌اند. مجموع هزینه‌های انتشار گازهای گلخانه‌ای N2O و CO2 کل کشور نیز حدود 331/27 میلیارد ریال برآورد گردید. باتوجه به یافته ها، اصلاح و تغییر شیوه‌های مدیریتی کشاورزی نسبت به سطح زیرکشت محصولات زراعی، مدیریت و افزایش کارایی کودهای ازته مصرفی در مزارع و توسعه سیاست‌های کاهش میزان انتشار به‌همراه مالیات زیست-محیطی انتشار گازهای گلخانه ای به سیاست‌گذاران این عرصه پیشنهاد شد.

Aktualnie ważnym wyzwaniem dla sektora rolniczego jest redukcja emisji gazów cieplarnianych (GHG) w celu złagodzenia skutków zmian klimatycznych. Istnieje potrzeba dokładnej identyfikacji źródeł emisji oraz upowszechnienia praktyk rolniczych, które przyczyniałyby się do zmniejszenia emisji we wszystkich ogniwach produkcji roślinnej. Do przeprowadzenia obiektywnych porównań i wyboru najlepszych rozwiązań technologicznych według kryterium emisyjności potrzebna jest szczegółowa ocena ilościowa emisji GHG. W opracowaniu przedstawiono ocenę emisji GHG w produkcji roślinnej za pomocą śladu węglowego (CF). Udział operacji technologicznych w powstawaniu CF scharakteryzowano na przykładzie rzepaku ozimego. Wyniki badań wskazują, że największe znaczenie w kształtowaniu CF ma proces nawożenia mineralnego. Wpływ pozostałych procesów na CF jest wielokrotnie mniejszy. Miejscem głównych emisji GHG w nawożeniu mineralnym rzepaku są emisje bezpośrednie i pośrednie GHG z pól. Po emisjach GHG z pól, produkcja nawozów stanowi drugie źródło emisji z nawożenia. Zmiany praktyk rolniczych polegających na zwiększeniu efektywności nawożenia azotowego oraz stosowaniu nawozów o niskich współczynnikach emisji stwarzają obecnie możliwość redukcji emisji GHG i przez to, tym samym mogą przyczynić się do zmniejszenia CF produktów roślinnych.

As addressed by many studies, greenhouse gas has a significant impact on the different aspects of life and more importantly on the whole environment. The excessive emission of green gas leads to climate change which is regarded as one of the most significant challenges of 21 century. Hence, in this regard, this paper has addressed the changing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 18 countries of the MENA region. For this purpose, ten different scenarios of this disease's future status and its restrictions were considered in an input–output modelling framework. The empirical results indicated that the emission of greenhouse gas is reduced under all scenarios. However, some countries experience more reduction due to the restriction because of COVID-19 like Syria, Iran, Yemen and Lebenon. Based on the ninth scenario, Iran and Syria have the highest reduction in emission of greenhouse gas by 13.1 and 13.8 per cent, and based on the tenth scenario, Lebenan and Syria will experience the highest reduction in emission by about 13.1 and 17.9 per cent. The results show that according to scenario 10 (explosive intensification of the pandemic without the wave subsiding over a while) and scenario 9 (the pandemic worsens step by step without subsiding over a while), Syria and Iran have the highest reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, respectively. According to scenario 1 (rapid and complete control of disease), Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait have the lowest reduction in GHG emissions. Besides, the study draws several fruitful implications regarding environmental concerns as sectoral analysis such as Hotels and Restaurants, Retail Trade, Fishing, Wholesale Trade, and Transport sectors. Moreover, policymakers should be alert that notwithstanding all limitations, Private Households and Public Administration develop their emissions during the pandemic since quarantine intensifies the supply of these services. Surprisingly, none of the policy restrictions have a significant impact on GHG emissions from Education, Health, and Other Services, Petroleum,Chemical, and Non-Metallic Mineral Products, Textiles and Wearing Apparel, and Re-export & Re-import, demonstrating the robust and established nature of these sectors' activities. To control the emissions of the quarantine-neutral sectors, long- and mid-term structural and environmental policies should be considered. The researchers are guided by the novel implications in terms of how various industries might reduce emissions in different ways.Graphical abstractSupplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10668-021-02018-3.

Mitigating the greenhouse gas emissions embodied in food through realistic consumer choices

Greenhouse Gases and Human Well-Being: China in a Global Perspective

With their increasing shares of global emissions developing economies are increasingly being pressured to assume a greater role in global greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction. Developed countries have invested tremendously in and proclaimed renewable energy (RE) and associated smart power technologies as solutions to meet their energy demands and reduce their GHG emissions at the same time. However, in the developing economies, these technologies may not deliver the desired results because they have their unique characteristics and priorities, which are different from those of the developed world. Many GHG emission reduction technologies are still very expensive and not fully developed. For the developing economies, the adoption threshold may become very high. Therefore, the cost effectiveness and practicality of each technology in reducing GHG emission in the developing economies may be very different from that of the developed economies. In this paper, available RE and other GHG emission reduction technologies are individually considered in a case study on Sabah, one of the 13 states in Malaysia, in order to assess the effects of the individual technologies on GHG emission and electricity cost reductions.

Hydrogen peroxide-aged biochar mitigating greenhouse gas emissions during co-composting of swine manure with rice bran.

Biochar addition (BA) has been considered a promising strategy for mitigating soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, it is essential to assess whether the benefits are retained under different water and fertilizer strategies (WFSs), particularly under the biogas slurry strategy (BSS), and the specific effects of different BA ratios on GHG emissions must also be assessed. This study examined the effects of two WFSs on soil GHGs emissions and bacterial sub-communities under different BA ratios and investigated their potential mechanisms using soil column experiments. Under the conventional chemical fertilizer strategy (CFS), BA reduced CO2 emissions by 29.19–36.51%, but simultaneously increased CH4 emissions by 21.62–135.08% and N2O emissions by 48.16–51.31%. Transitioning from CFS to BSS led to a 14.89% reduction in CO2 emissions and a 71.83% reduction in N2O emissions, whereas the CH4 emissions increased by 101.72%. Concurrently, BA concentrations of 4% and 6% intensified the modulatory effect of BSS on these GHGs, whereas a 2% BA concentration had an opposing regulatory effect. Both BSS and BA were also found to enhance the abundance of rare bacterial sub-communities within the soil. Furthermore, this study revealed that BSS reshaped the GHG emission pathway regulated by BA through bacterial sub-communities, emphasizing the ''priority effect'' of these communities in controlling GHG emissions. This study has also highlighted the integral role of carbon and nitrogen turnover processes within bacterial sub-communities for the regulation of GHGs emissions. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that the effectiveness of BA in reducing soil GHGs emissions depends on the WFS. Graphical Abstract