Cap-and-trade Research Articles

An Overview of Green Bioprocessing of Algae-Derived Biochar and Biopolymers: Synthesis, Preparation, and Potential Applications

Algae have the potential to be used as a feedstock for the synthesis of valuable compounds and biofuels. In addition, algal waste can be further transformed into biofuel, biogas, and biochar using different thermochemical processes such as microwave pyrolysis, pyrolysis, torrefaction, and hydrothermal conversion. Due to its high specific surface area, rapid electron transport, and graphitic carbon structure, algal biochar carbonized at high temperatures has shown outstanding performance for applications as CO2 adsorbents, supercapacitors, and persulfate activation. Due to the combination of various functional groups and porous structures, the algae biomass pyrolysis at a moderate temperature produced high-quality biochar that shows high performance in terms of pollutant removal, while low-temperature pyrolysis produces coal fuel from algae via torrefaction. Over time, there have been exponentially more petroleum-based polymers created that have harmful impacts on both humans and the environment. As a result, researchers are becoming more interested in algae-based biopolymers as a potential alternative strategy for establishing a sustainable circular economy globally. The advantages of microalgal biopolymer over other feedstocks are its capacity to compost, which provides greenhouse gas credits, its quick growth ability with flexibility in a variety of settings, and its ability to minimize greenhouse gas emissions.

Cradle-to-Gate life cycle assessment of recycling processes for carbon fibers: A case study of ex-ante life cycle assessment for commercially feasible pyrolysis and solvolysis approaches

Waste that derives from manufacturing processes and end-of-life products of the transportation industry is a cause of increasing concern globally. Therefore, systems must be developed to manage such waste and to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this study, the carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) recycle process was analyzed to assess its environmental friendliness. The recycling processes at the Carbon Fiber Recycling Co., i.e., pyrolysis, and Hitachi Chemical, i.e., solvolysis, both of which are currently in production scale, were analyzed. The scaling effect was employed to assess the environmental impacts of the production scale. The results showed that either recycling method offers promising results for reducing environmental impacts, as compared with producing virgin carbon fibers (vCFs). GHG emissions from the Carbon Fiber Recycling Co. pyrolysis were 1.52 kg-CO2 eq/kg while that of Hitachi Chemical solvolysis was 1.92 kg-CO2 eq/kg. GHG emissions resulting from both methods were below the GHG emissions produced by vCFs (24.00 kg-CO2eq/kg). By factoring the GHG credits created from the by-products of these processes, the GHG emissions from the Carbon Fiber Recycling Co. pyrolysis were 0.57 kg-CO2 eq/kg and that from Hitachi Chemical solvolysis was −0.54 kg-CO2 eq/kg. Additionally, the results of this study were consistent with other GHG studies, suggesting credibility.

Exporting global warming? Coal trade and the shale gas boom

AbstractWe examine the effect of the US shale gas boom on the international trade and consumption of coal and emissions. We estimate a structural model that links the domestic to the international coal market and use it to simulate counterfactual scenarios. Our results show that the total quantity of coal traded around the world in the absence of the boom is essentially the same as the actual. Moreover, the change in total coal consumed worldwide is also small. Although a compositional change towards coal with different heat content could have significant environmental effects, we show that this is not the case either. Hence, US coal exports simply displaced other coal exports without affecting the total CO and SO emissions. Despite the small overall effects, several countries experience a substantial decrease in their imports of US coal and the associated emissions in the absence of the boom.

The political influence of ecological economics in the European Union applied to the cap-and-trade policy

This paper analyzes the influence of ecological economics (EE) in the European Union (EU) political agenda, specifically the agenda-setting dynamics of the cap-and-trade (CAT) EE policy concept. We follow the model developed by Boezeman, Leroy, Maas, and Kruitwagen (2010), elaborating on the important factors for the rise of CAT in the EU political agenda, and on the EU emissions trading scheme (ETS) implementation issues.Although EE features are present in the EU political agenda, particularly in periods when international works and forums raised environmental awareness globally, its impact has been moderate and intermittent. Since the 80s, neoclassical economics views tend to dominate EU policy, furthering a “win-win” discourse between economic growth and environmental sustainability. More recently, climate change has rekindled EE concerns without shifting the prevailing paradigm.We conclude that EE did not influence significantly the rise of the CAT policy in the EU political agenda. Instead, this resulted from a combination of the political context around the Kyoto Protocol, the agency of EU actors and the CAT flexible framing among multiple stakeholders. Also, the EU ETS operationalization shows that political obstacles hindered the policy's success, suggesting that EE would benefit from further integrating in its theory political economy aspects.

Optimal purchase planning of initial emission permits with the paid use and trading system based on mean–variance model

The paid use and trading of emission permits system are a major mechanistic innovation in the field of environmental resources management in China. In this system, manufacturers must purchase emission permits on the primary market under the precondition that the purchase ceiling and price will be determined by the government; subsequently, they may trade emission permits with other manufacturers on the secondary market subject to established rules. This inevitably leads to uncertainty regarding the emissions trading price on the secondary market, while the manufacturer is making the initial purchase decision; it highlights the need to investigate optimal purchase planning solutions under conditions of uncertainty from the perspective of production optimisation. This paper examines the manufacturer's random profit function, as well as its mean and variance, under uncertain emission trading prices. Using the mean–variance framework, an optimisation model with differentiated decision objectives is established. Accordingly, the manufacturer's optimal initial purchase planning approach is demonstrated with respect to each decision objective. The conclusions demonstrate that when the manufacturer exhibits risk preference, the optimal purchase planning process may systematically deviate from the risk-neutral approach.

Oil Prices, Emission Permits Trade of Carbon, and the Dependence Between Their Quantiles

The relations between carbon and oil market is concerned by many scholars but little research has focused on the dependence between their quantiles. We use Quantile on Quantile Regression method to study the impact of WTI crude oil price and Daqing crude oil price on carbon price and use wavelet analysis to clean and decompose the time series. Results show that the impact of crude oil on carbon is heterogeneous. Research based on the original sequence shows that crude oil price has a positive impact on carbon price at all quantile levels. Research based on decomposition sequence shows that the positive impact of crude oil on carbon begins to weaken, the zero effect begins to increase, and the negative impact also begins to appear. However, the negative impact on carbon price becomes stronger with the stability of the time series data obtained from the decomposition of crude oil price series gradually improving, while the positive impact gradually weakens.

Hydropower potential assessment using spatial technology and hydrological modelling in Nigeria river basin

This paper describes the procedure for an extensive survey of hydropower potential locations to be employed at the originating hydropower development planning stage in a basin. The approach utilized spatial tools such as Arc-Hydro, Remote Sensing (RS), and GIS to characterize the Osse Sub-basin (OSB) and Natural Resources Conservation Service - Curve Number (NRCS-CN) hydrological model to compute the stream Peak discharge Qp. This method permits identification of Small Hydropower (SHP) potential locations by considering obtained catchment parameters along the drainage network in a run-of-river project that satisfies the requirement of establishing hydropower plants, which is difficult to achieve in traditional survey study. Results indicate 18 out of 148 points examined in OSB can produce between 677.485 kW and 7622.877 kW clean energy at 92% flow exceedance annually, preventing between 555.8 and 6543.0 tCO2/yr emission from polluting the environment if developed against GHG emission sources. The calculated project cost range is £ 937,167.48–4,048,733.99. This study establishes first clean development mechanism (CDM) procedure in Nigeria to help future activation of SHP resources by identifying SHP promising project sites that can earn saleable certified emission reduction (CER) credits in the optimization model named SHP Resource Assessment and Sustainability Analysis (SHPRASA).

Three-Echelon Closed-Loop Supply Chain Network Equilibrium under Cap-and-Trade Regulation

This paper investigates the impacts of cap-and-trade (CAT) regulation on a three-echelon closed-loop supply chain network (CLSCN) that consists of suppliers, high-emission and low-emission manufacturers, demand markets and carbon trading centers. The presented CLSCN model includes both product trading and carbon trading subnets. Combining variational inequality theory (VI) with complementary theory, we first characterize the optimal conditions for members in each tier first, and then derive that of the entire CLSCN. In addition, we focus on the effects of carbon caps and EOL collection rate target on CLSCN performances with numerical examples. The results reveal that, in some cases, there is a consistency between carbon emission reduction target of the government and the profit target of enterprises. The government should choose reasonable and moderate carbon caps for all the enterprises to balance the CLSCN members’ economic interests, carbon emissions, as well as resources utilization rate. Moreover, the government should not blindly pursue a high collection rate target. The above conclusions can provide practical guidance for governments and enterprises in a CLSCN under CAT regulation.

Life cycle analysis of renewable natural gas and lactic acid production from waste feedstocks

Producing fuels and chemicals from waste is considered economically favorable, due to low feedstock cost, and environmentally favorable, due to avoided emissions from conventional waste management practices. In this study, we evaluate the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction benefits of renewable natural gas (RNG) and lactic acid (LA) production from four types of wet waste feedstocks (wastewater sludge, food waste, swine manure, and fats, oil, and grease [FOG]) via anaerobic digestion (AD) and LA fermentation, respectively. RNG can be used as an alternative to fossil natural gas, while LA from waste feedstocks can displace conventional LA production pathways (mainly from corn via fermentation). Providing comprehensive life cycle GHG emissions of the combinations of waste feedstocks and products through different routes helps identify the GHG hotspots and show where emissions savings come from. The results show that the carbon intensities (CIs) of waste-derived RNG and LA are much lower than those of their counterparts. We estimated the life cycle GHG emissions for RNG to be between −146 and 27 g carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)/MJ, much lower than the CI of fossil fuels. Waste-derived LA pathways also show substantially lower CIs, ranging from −4.2 to −1.4 kgCO2e/kg LA, compared to the CIs of LA from corn and corn stover (1.2 and 0.3 kgCO2e/kg LA, respectively). We will also discuss that the low CIs of waste-derived products can come from low yields leading to high emission credits. Thus, life cycle analysis results presented per weight of treated waste can be used to support decisions about which waste feedstocks and products are to be used for sustainable waste valorization. In addition, we found that monetary emission reduction credits can play an important role in driving waste valorization.

Modeling of aboveground tree stand-level biomass in Erukot Forest of Oban Division, Cross River National Park, Nigeria

This research estimated aboveground tree stand level Biomass in Erukot Forest of Oban Division, Cross River National Park. A total of 872 individual trees were identified and measured for diameter at breast height and total height (dbh ≥ 5cm). The 872 individual trees spread across 51 species belonging to 25 different tree families. Simple random sampling was used with sampling intensity of 0.3% to lay 15 nested plots (7m x 7m, 25m x 25m and 35m x 35m). Diameter at breast height, total height and specific density of each wood species were used to determine aboveground biomass for each tree. Conversion factors were applied to estimate stand level green and dry biomass, sequestered carbon and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission in the study area. Simple linear regression models were fitted into the stand level growth data for the forest (basal area and volume). The mean diameter at breast height and mean total height were 38.5cm and 18.5m respectively. Mean basal area of 39.8 m2 ha-1 was obtained with a mean volume of 177.3 m3 ha-1 . Average green biomass, dry biomass, carbon stock and carbon-dioxide emission of 521.8113 ton ha-1 , 341.5880 ton ha-1 , 183.196 ton ha-1 and 694.2067 ton ha-1 respectively were obtained in the study area. Stand level biomass model developed for the forest showed that common logarithm of volume per hectare is significantly related to common logarithm of stand biomass (R2 = 58%). The actual and predicted biomasses were not significantly different (Paired T-test at p ˂ 0.05). Estimated bias of 0.10% for the stand biomass model means that the developed model can be used to predict the aboveground biomass of the study area without any adjustment. The research has provided easy to use regression model for determining aboveground biomass at stand level. This is very useful for carbon trade and assessment of carbon-dioxide emissions through deforestation in the study area. The model is also a tool for assessing the wood productivity of the study area and for better management of the park.
 Keyword: Sequestered carbon, aboveground biomass, dry biomass, conversion factor

Does the trade of aviation emission permits lead to tourism-led growth and sustainable tourism?

One of the biggest challenges facing the tourism industry is carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the greenhouse gases emitted from aviation indispensable for tourism. Thus, governments have introduced emission permits trading to the aviation industry. However, as this is in the introductory stages, it is unclear how this environmental policy will influence tourism and the environment and whether the policy can contribute to the decarbonisation of the aviation industry. Using an R&D-based growth model considering aviation for tourism, this study investigates how introducing emissions permit trading in aviation influences tourism-led growth and sustainable tourism. Domestic tourism aviation, and not international tourism aviation, was considered because it is estimated that the former short-distance aviation movements emit more greenhouse gases than the latter. The findings demonstrate that fewer permits lead to sustainable tourism despite a generous permit allocation for the manufacturing sector if the goal of tourism-led growth is excluded. This is because the policy improves environmental quality and results in a trade-off between tourism consumption and the economic growth rate. For a generous permit allocation in aviation, the policy leads to decreased tourism consumption and pollution-intensive aviation. These findings imply that emissions permit trading between the aviation and manufacturing sectors inhibits the compatibility of tourism-led growth and sustainable tourism. Finally, this study suggests that sustainable tourism could be realised when manufacturing countries such as Germany and the UK increase aviation permits, while tourism countries such as Spain and Italy decrease aviation permits.

Trade in Carbon and Carbon Tariffs

Carbon-based import tariffs are proposed as a policy measure to reduce carbon leakage and increase the global cost-effectiveness of unilateral CO2 emission pricing. We investigate the case for carbon tariffs. For our assessment, we combine multi-region input–output and computable general equilibrium analyses based on data from the World Input–Output Database for the period 2000–2014. The multi-region input–output analysis confirms that carbon embodied in trade has increased during this period, but trade flows from Non-OECD to OECD countries became less important in relative terms since the 2007–2008 financial crisis. The computable general equilibrium analysis suggests that carbon tariffs’ efficacy in combating leakage increases in periods when trade in carbon increases. However, its potential to improve the global-cost effectiveness of unilateral emission pricing remains modest. On the other hand, we find that the potential of carbon tariffs to shift the economic burden of CO2 emission reduction from abating developed regions to non-abating developing regions increases sharply between 2000 and 2007, but declines after the financial crisis.

Attaining Net-Zero through a GHG-Economic Sector

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters haven’t faced the costs of using the atmosphere. Limiting climate change requires internalizing that economic externality. Trading GHG emissions is a possible solution, yet the trading implemented to date is based on the issuance of permits, which are licenses to emit, meaning net-positive emissions. To attain net-zero, positive emissions must be traded against negative emissions. Modeling an economy in which GHG credits are earned for removing emissions reveals a GHG-Sector through which economic activity limits climate change. Analysis of the model indicates that if direct air capture of CO2 is part of attaining net-zero, then market prices will direct all pre-emission captured CO2 (e.g., flu gas) to sequestration. The policy implications of a GHG-Sector for sustainable transitions in aviation, food production, and elsewhere are discussed.

Price Exuberance in the Carbon Emissions Trading Market

The pricing of carbon is an essential element in addressing climate change through market activity. Price exuberance can potentially result in a loss of confidence in these markets. We test to see whether the time-series changes from a random walk to an explosive process during the first five months of the European Union’s Emission Trading System Phase IV. Our finding is that the market exhibits market exuberant behavior over this period.

Trade and FDI thresholds of CO2 emissions for a Green economy in sub-Saharan Africa

PurposeThis study aims to focus on assessing how improving openness influences carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).Design/methodology/approachThis study focusses on 49 countries in SSA for the period 2000–2018 divided into: 44 countries in SSA for the period 2000–2012; and 49 countries for the period 2006–2018. Openness is measured in terms of trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows. The empirical evidence is based on the generalised method of moments.FindingsThe following main findings are established. First, enhancing trade openness has a net positive impact on CO2 emissions, while increasing FDI has a net negative impact. Second, the relationship between CO2 emissions and trade is a Kuznets shape, while the nexus between CO2 emissions and FDI inflows is a U-shape. Third, a minimum trade openness (imports plus exports) threshold of 100 (% of gross domestic product (GDP)) and 200 (% of GDP) is beneficial in promoting a green economy for the first and second samples, respectively. Fourth, FDI is beneficial for the green economy below critical masses of 28.571 of net FDI inflows (% of GDP) and 33.333 of net FDI inflows (% of GDP) for first and second samples, respectively. It follows from findings that while FDI can be effectively managed to reduce CO2 emissions, this may not be the case with trade openness because the corresponding thresholds for trade openness are closer to the maximum limit.Originality/valueThis study complements the extant literature by providing critical masses of trade and FDI that are relevant in promoting the green economy in SSA.

The Hidden Disequities of Carbon Trading: Carbon Emissions, Air Toxics, and Environmental Justice

So long as transaction costs are low, the creation of a tradeable permit to emit carbon should allow bargaining for emission rights among buyers and sellers, resulting in an efficient allocation of carbon emission rights. However, the trading of carbon credits may have socially unjust consequences. In this article, we explore some hitherto unrecognized disequities. One of these may be the creation of toxic hotspots as the trade of carbon may bring with it a transfer of air toxics, as well. We illustrate the argument by examining emissions from refineries participating in California's cap-and-trade program. These considerations are a concern for the larger question of carbon mitigation as the global community strives to identify feasible, yet just, approaches to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Contrary to the idea of alienable rights, the transfer of carbon affects people and place in ways not internalized by these market instruments.

Reducing the Cost of Delay: On the Interaction of Cap-and-Trade and Subsidies for Clean Energy

Relying on analytical and numerical modeling, I show that subsidies for clean energy can be welfare enhancing when a cap-and-trade (CAT) program is in place and if there is only the carbon externality. The growth rate of the permit price in the CAT program is too high if intertemporal permit trading is unconstrained implying too low prices and too high emission levels early on. Subsidies shift emissions to the future and thus, reduce carbon damage during the transition to carbon neutrality. The optimal subsidy path does not directly affect the permit price, but it is not time-consistent. The time-consistent subsidy has a direct permit price-reducing effect but is still welfare enhancing compared to a CAT-only policy. Subsidies also affect the regulator’s choice of the cap and reduce the permit price volatility. Overall, subsidies can be a reasonable second-best alternative if more efficient instruments are not available.

Analytics of cap-and-trade policy for dual supply chain network structures

Nowadays, managing clean and green supply chain activities by reducing carbon footprint is a prominent aspect of the research. This study presents a dual supply chain (DSC) model under the cap-and-trade (CAT) emission reduction for the manufacturer-led five different DSC network structures, namely vertically integrated, decentralized, partially integrated retail, partially integrated direct, and horizontally integrated to minimize the carbon footprint. It uses a backward induction method to find optimum decision variables namely wholesale price, selling price, demand, and emission reduction rate. It presents a mathematical analysis to evaluate how the permitted emission quota and emission level of channel members affect the decision variables of various network structures. Further, it conducts a sensitivity analysis to measure how consumers’ channel preferences affect price and emission reduction rates. This study illustrates that (1) the emission reduction investment can increase demand and improve the emission reduction rate with a considerable drop in price. Also, (2) the additional purchased carbon quota can help maintain emission levels up to a certain extent only because any additional buying will be considered a short-term salutation. As a result, channel members are encouraged to invest in emission reduction technology instead of buying additional permits. These results conclude that promoting CAT can help achieve targets to reduce emissions and foster economic and social development.

Reducing Road Transport Emissions in Europe: Investigating A Demand Side Driven Approach †

The European Union aims at net-zero emissions by 2050. A key sector to achieve this goal is road transport, where emissions show no signs of reducing but continue to grow. A review of policies undertaken by EU member states and the G20 to reduce transport emissions reveals that both present and planned policies focus on binding supply-side measures, but offer only weak demand-side incentives. To address this imbalance, we developed a downstream, demand-side policy prototype through an expert interview design process. We call the prototype “cap-and-surrender” because it caps road emissions, and then allocates tradable emission allowances to individual vehicles that drivers surrender at each fill-up. Allowance pricing, both by the state and in the secondary market, is designed to incentivize decarbonization of the sector. Though the system would require significant investment, its revenue potential to the state should exceed this investment by several multiples. We discuss the potential economic, environmental and social impacts of the policy, as assessed by European transport experts. We find that the approach can deliver significant transport emission reductions in an effective and economically efficient manner. Through the appropriate design of national allocation rules and a gradual phasing in of cap and surrender, potential negative social consequences can be mitigated, and public acceptance of the policy promoted.

Analysis on complementarity between a CO2 tax and an emissions trading system to reduce industrial emissions in Chile

This study aims to analyze the behavior of Chilean industrial sources when a CO2 tax, an emissions trading system with a total reduction target of 30%, or both instruments simultaneously are applied. For the above, an optimization model is built that is then calibrated with firm -level data obtained from the Annual National Industrial Survey (ENIA). Specifically, the model assumes that industrial sources have the option of maintaining their original emissions, replacing their current fuels with less polluting ones to pay fewer taxes and/or trade of emissions in a carbon market. The results show that to reduce emissions by at least 30% a tax close to US $17.5/tCO2 could be applied with a total cost of US $106 million, but it would be better to apply an emissions trading system with a similar price because the total cost would be US $21.3 million. If both economic instruments are applied together, the total cost of reduction is higher than when the instruments are implemented independently. Thus, it is concluded that Chile could move from a CO2 tax to an emissions trading system in order to reduce the costs of its environmental regulation.