GHG Reduction Research Articles

The risk of increasing energy demand while pursuing decarbonisation: the case of the e-fuels in the EU aviation sector

The European Union target of a net-zero economy by mid-century requires an unprecedented effort in the reduction of carbon emissions. Aviation is among the most difficult sectors to decarbonize, and since direct electrification is unlikely to become a viable option in the short-term, other alternatives are considered, including biofuels and e-fuels. The blending mandates recently approved in the ReFuelEU Aviation package (35% of e-fuels at 2050) will require devoting an important amount of renewable electricity to produce e-fuels, increasing the relative weight of aviation with respect other sectors in terms of energy consumption. Aviation accounts today for 13% of the EU27 (2019) energy consumption for transport, while in 2050 this is expected to reach the 22%. This “magnifying effect” for the energy required by the sector, due to the low overall conversion efficiency of e-fuel production, will likely foster a competition for the access to renewable energy. This shift toward the aviation sector may occur to detriment of other applications potentially most effective in decreasing carbon emissions per unit of electricity. This apparent dichotomy between GHG reduction and energy efficiency could reduce the actual effectiveness of existing policies and the possibility of fostering similar initiatives in other countries.

Unveiling the potential for decarbonization of the building sector: A comparative study of technological and non-technological low-carbon strategies

There is an urgent need to mitigate carbon emissions in the building sector, particularly from existing buildings. The existing literature focuses predominantly on technological strategies such as low-carbon materials. This prompts the question: Can technological strategies alone drive the decarbonization of buildings, or are non-technological strategies also essential? Although recent research considers the benefits of the latter, studies assessing the potential of non-technological strategies for decarbonization of buildings are lacking because of the challenges involved in evaluating the indirect impacts and potential trade-offs associated with these strategies such as their ripple effects on mobility. This study pioneers a comparative assessment to evaluate the environmental mitigation potential of non-technological strategies (adaptation, a subset of the sharing economy, and behavioral changes) against technological strategies (low-carbon materials, retrofitting, and recycled materials) to ascertain the effectiveness of non-technological approaches. Through life cycle assessment, this study extends beyond solely evaluating the GHG reduction potential to assess the overall environmental mitigation capacity. A single-family house in Montreal was used as a reference scenario. With significant mitigation potential observed from a non-technological perspective, the results robustly reveal that the adaptation scenario surpasses all scenarios, including retrofitting, which is the primary mitigation strategy for existing buildings, by up to 50 % and 41 % at the midpoint and damage levels, respectively. Furthermore, the adaptation scenario potentially provides sufficiency by saving considerable amounts of material and energy, thereby alleviating the environmental impact of the production and use stages by up to 27 % and 15 %, respectively. This study also evaluates the combined effects of adaptation and retrofitting for existing buildings, revealing by up to 8 % greater environmental benefits at the midpoint and damage levels than in the adaptation scenario individually. These results highlight the potential of non-technological strategies that are currently overlooked in the building sector. However, their implementation requires fewer resources and less energy than technological changes. Therefore, further investigation is warranted to explore how adopting these strategies, along with technological ones, is advantageous.

Anaerobic digestion of dairy cow and goat manure: Comparative assessment of biodegradability and greenhouse gas mitigation

This study evaluated the anaerobic digestion (AD) of dairy cow and goat manure from dairy farming operations. The physicochemical characteristics, biodegradability and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) reduction potential were assessed. Dairy goat manure exhibited higher volatile solids (16 % vs. 10 %) and 34 % greater chemical oxygen demand content (COD) compared to cow manure, indicating better suitability for AD. However, biochemical methane potential tests revealed higher methane yields from cow manure (81 % biodegradability) compared to goat manure (26 % biodegradability), attributed to slower hydrolysis rates and recalcitrant composition of goat manure. Both manures displayed suboptimal carbon-to-nitrogen ratios (<20:1) and excessive levels of mineral nutrients such as calcium. The ammonia–nitrogen and volatile fatty acid levels remained below threshold limits throughout the anaerobic digestion process, indicating no significant accumulation or inhibition. Recovering biogas through AD showed potential GHG reductions of 64 % (2.21 t CO2-eq/cow·year) and 69 % (0.27 t CO2-eq/goat·year) compared to conventional manure management practices. While pretreatment and co-digestion could enhance biogas production, further research is needed to optimise these strategies for efficient resource recovery and environmental sustainability in dairy farming operations.Abbreviations: AD, anaerobic digestion; AWMS, animal waste management systems; BMP, biochemical methane potential; CHNS, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and sulphur; C/N, carbon-to-nitrogen, COD, chemical oxygen demand; GC-FID, gas chromatography-flame ionisation detection; GHG, greenhouse gas; GWPM, global warming potential of methane; He, helium; ICP-MS, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; I/S, inoculum-to-substrate ratio; IPCC, International Panel on Climate Change; NH3-N, ammonia–nitrogen; SD, standard deviation; TBMP, theoretical biochemical methane potential; TN, total nitrogen; TS, total solids; VFAs, volatile fatty acids; VS, volatile solids.

The Triple Bottom Line: Prioritizing CSR, Human Capital, and GHG Reduction for Sustainable Economic Growth in Indonesia

Our study, which covered the years 2008 to 2022, aimed to create “autoregressive vectors” to investigate the interrelationships between corporate social responsibility (CSR), greenhouse gas net (GHG), human capital (HCPT), and human resources in Indonesia. We used data from the World Bank, OECD, and Bank Republic Indonesia to conduct an analysis of the correlation between these variables. Our results showed that there are significant relationships between corporate governance self-assessment (CGS), GHG, and HCPT in Indonesia. The positive correlation between GHG and CGS suggests that as GHG emissions increase, the level of corporate governance self-assessment also increases. This finding implies that companies that prioritize reducing GHG emissions tend to have better corporate governance practices. Moreover, investing in reducing GHG emissions can have a positive impact on human capital development. However, the negative correlation between HCPT and CGS implies that an increase in human capital may result in a decrease in the level of corporate governance self-assessment. This finding highlights the importance of balancing investments in human capital with maintaining good corporate governance practices to ensure sustainable economic growth. Furthermore, promoting corporate social responsibility can enhance companies’ reputation and increase their brand value, which can positively impact their CGS. Therefore, it is essential for companies to prioritize CSR practices, invest in human capital development, and reduce GHG emissions to ensure sustainable economic growth and maintain good corporate governance practices in Indonesia. Keywords: corporate social responsibility, greenhouse gas net, human capital

A GIS-based assessment of the carbon emission reduction potential of the solar-enhanced char-cycling biomass pyrolysis process in China

Bioenergy and solar energy are the two widely used renewable energies, which have great potential to satisfy the global energy demand. Solar enhanced char-cycling biomass pyrolysis (SCCP) was proposed to integrate bioenergy and solar energy, could be used to make bioenergy fully carbon-negative. A geographical information system (GIS) based method was used to assess the GHG reduction potential and biofuel production potential of SCCP in China. Existing datasets were used to obtain geographical potential and biomass resource amount. Process simulation was conducted to obtain the technical data. The geographical potential results showed that with a DNI (direct normal irradiance) threshold of 1400 kWh/m2, the national suitable area for SCCP plant construction was 3.25 % of the total national area, the total convertible biofuel potential ranges from 1.86E+06 to 1.94E+06 GWh with different concentrating solar technologies. When considering biochar sequestration, the GHG emission reduction potential increased further, the total GHG emission reduction potential increased from 13.97 Mt CO2 eq to 15.42 Mt CO2 eq. Notably, Yunnan has the highest GHG emission reduction potential per unit of energy when running the pyrolysis process with solar energy, which was −8.58 g CO2 eq/kWh. The results revealed that the SCCP process could further decarbonize biofuel production in China.

A meta-analysis of the schematic design process of deep retrofit projects

Deep retrofits of the existing building stock will be necessary to meet global emissions reductions targets. One building archetype, low-rise MURBs have been neglected in terms of research and funding for deep retrofits. A meta-analysis was conducted that compares and contrasts the schematic design approach taken for six such buildings in British Columbia which are scheduled to undergo deep retrofits with the goal of reducing GHG emissions by 80%. The analysis showed that design teams had converged toward common solutions for each building while achieving the GHG reduction target. The recommended measures include electrification of space and domestic hot water heating, adding insulation through overcladding, air sealing, ventilators for each unit, and double pane windows. A life cycle cost analysis showed that the economic viability of deep retrofits were dependent on energy price forecasts, capital cost reductions through market forces and transformation, or incentives cover the non-monetizable co-benefits of deep retrofits such as improved resiliency to climate-change or reducing overheating and air quality risks. The meta-analysis can help to streamline the early-stage and schematic design process for such buildings, which is critical to increasing the retrofit rate. This process could be replicated for other building types and construction archetypes.

Assessment of Climate Change Mitigation Potential for Heating System in Kosovo

Objective: In this study is we have provided a prediction model for the improvement of heating system in Kosovo, following the implementation of an energy efficiency program, the consumption of energy commodities in heating system will decrease and the problem of deforestation will be mitigated. Theoretical Framework: We suppose a degree of reduction variable due to the renewable energy sources use, new technology options and energy efficiency toward GHG and air pollution reduction and policy initiative for District Heating in Kosovo. Method: For modelling impacts of the technology and policy options for reducing GHG and air pollution due to improvement of heating system in Kosovo, the model STELLA software has been used. Projection for emission factors and total annual emission for Air Pollutants and GHG (CO2) are calculated with US EPA methodology Results and Discussion: The resulting reductions of Air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the loss of heat and water and increasing the energy efficiency will have a direct and positive impact on the environment and climate change. Research Implications: Implementing the emission reduction policies EE, Renewable energy and introducing new technologies in heating system in Kosovo for the total emission of CO2, we will have reduction for about 20% (3.36 Mt CO2) in 2025 in comparison with (4.41 Mt CO2) in year 2015; also, we will have a significant reduction for other GHG. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by impruvemment of heating system in Kosovo.

Improving soil carbon estimates of Philippine mangroves using localized organic matter to organic carbon equations

BackgroundSoutheast Asian (SEA) mangroves are globally recognized as blue carbon hotspots. Methodologies that measure mangrove soil carbon stock (SCS) are either accurate but costly (i.e., elemental analyzers), or economical but less accurate (i.e., loss-on-ignition [LOI]). Most SEA countries estimate SCS by measuring soil organic matter (OM) through the LOI method then converting it into organic carbon (OC) using a conventional conversion equation (%Corg = 0.415 * % LOI + 2.89, R2 = 0.59, n = 78) developed from Palau mangroves. The local site conditions in Palau does not reflect the wide range of environmental settings and disturbances in the Philippines. Consequently, the conventional conversion equation possibly compounds the inaccuracies of converting OM to OC causing over- or under-estimated SCS. Here, we generated a localized OM-OC conversion equation and tested its accuracy in computing SCS against the conventional equation. The localized equation was generated by plotting % OC (from elemental analyzer) against the % OM (from LOI). The study was conducted in different mangrove stands (natural, restored, and mangrove-recolonized fishponds) in Oriental Mindoro and Sorsogon, Philippines from the West and North Philippine Sea biogeographic regions, respectively. The OM:OC ratios were also statistically tested based on (a) stand types, (b) among natural stands, and (c) across different ages of the restored and recolonized stands. Increasing the accuracy of OM-OC conversion equations will improve SCS estimates that will yield reasonable C emission reduction targets for the country’s commitments on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) under the Paris Agreement.ResultsThe localized conversion equation is %OC = 0.36 * % LOI + 2.40 (R2 = 0.67; n = 458). The SOM:OC ratios showed significant differences based on stand types (x2 = 19.24; P = 6.63 × 10–05), among natural stands (F = 23.22; p = 1.17 × 10–08), and among ages of restored (F = 5.14; P = 0.03) and recolonized stands (F = 3.4; P = 0.02). SCS estimates using the localized (5%) and stand-specific equations (7%) were similar with the values derived from an elemental analyzer. In contrast, the conventional equation overestimates SCS by 20%.ConclusionsThe calculated SCS improves as the conversion equation becomes more reflective of localized site conditions. Both localized and stand-specific conversion equations yielded more accurate SCS compared to the conventional equation. While our study explored only two out of the six marine biogeographic regions in the Philippines, we proved that having a localized conversion equation leads to improved SCS measurements. Using our proposed equations will make more realistic SCS targets (and therefore GHG reductions) in designing mangrove restoration programs to achieve the country’s NDC commitments.

Characterizing hydrogen-diesel dual-fuel performance and emissions in a commercial heavy-duty diesel truck

This study investigates hydrogen (H2) as a supplementary fuel in heavy-duty diesel engines using pre-manifold injection. A H2-diesel dual-fuel (H2DF) system was implemented on a commercial class-8 heavy-duty diesel truck without modifying the original diesel injection system and engine control unit (ECU). Tests were conducted on a chassis dynamometer at engine speeds between 1000 and 1400 rpm with driver-demanded torques from 10 to 75%. The hydrogen energy fraction (HEF) was strategically controlled in the range between 10 and 30%. Overall, CO2 reduction (comparable to the HEF level) was achieved with similar brake-specific energy consumption (BSEC) at all loads and speeds. To maintain the same shaft torque, the driver-demanded torque was reduced in H2DF operation, which resulted in a lower boost pressure. At higher loads, engine-out BSNOx slightly decreased, while BSCO and black carbon (BC) increased significantly due to lower oxygen concentration resulting from the lower boost pressure. At lower loads, engine-out BSCO and BSBC decreased moderately, while NO2/NO ratio increased substantially in H2DF operation. Deliberate air path and diesel injection control are expected to enable higher HEF and GHG reductions.

Eco-techno-economic assessment of methanol production: A comparative study of GHG mitigation strategies through CCS and electrified CCU pathways

Mitigating GHG emissions from industries and other sectors of our economy is a vital aspect of having a sustainable economy. This paper offers an in-depth process development and eco-techno-economic performance analysis of different methanol production pathways, namely CCU-assisted electrified reforming and CCS-assisted pathways, in comparison to conventional methanol production using natural gas. Through model simulations with Aspen Plus, eco-techno-economic analyses, and extensive sensitivity analysis, the research aims to provide valuable insights into the economic and environmental implications of these pathways. Our results revealed that our proposed electrified pathways, E-CRM-80 and E-CRM-90, show substantial reductions in capital investment by 27 % and 19 %, in comparison to TRM. In terms of economic viability, the MSP of methanol for E-CRM-80 and E-CRM-90 in regions with cheaper renewable energy sources is $291 and $319/tonne CO2, lower than the $377 and $670/tonne CO2 required for CCS and TRM. Notably, E-CRM-80 and E-CRM-90 surpass CCS in cost when the mitigation credit exceeds $300 and $350/tonne CO2. The integrated e-TEA/LCA model underscores the significance of electricity consumption in CCU processes, providing insights into the achievable lifecycle GHG reduction across all pathways. In Quebec, characterized by the lowest electricity cost, the electrified pathway requires a reduced life cycle GHG reduction credit, even lower than the CCS technology. For E-CRM-80 and E-CRM-90 to achieve lower GHG mitigation credits than the CCS pathway, the electricity grid must emit less than 37 and 11 g CO2/kWh. Conversely, in Alberta, with high electricity prices, CCU pathways are less favorable compared to CCS.

Towards developing a national climate change framework in Tanzania: Evidence from taxing energy sources to enhance use of renewable energies as a mitigation policy

A stable mitigation policy requires an adequate legal framework for climate change. The energy sector contributes to about 80 % of total GHGs. The use of renewable energies is a solution to GHG reduction. A carbon tax has been acknowledged as one of the best mitigation policies as it tends to shift the tax burden to polluters and yields revenue, which relieves households.This study focused on developing Tanzania's national climate change framework by taxing energy sources to enhance the use of renewable energies as the mitigation policy. The study draw extensively on interviews and documentary data sources that reviewed international instruments, regional instruments, legislations, the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, the National Energy Policy of 2015, the National Environmental Policy of 2021, Tax Statutes and the Tanzania Development Vision of 2025.The study revealed that, first, there are supplies not been carbon taxed irrespective of their qualification. Second, there are chapters within policies and sections within laws that hinder access to renewable energies. Third, there is no guiding framework that coordinates approaches across sectors and levels of government.The study concludes that from 2023, 9.7 % were using renewable energies and by 2033 getting to 80 % usage, requires investment leading to redressed policies and laws aligning to the introduced national climate change framework towards renewable energy access for carbon reduction.

Factors Influencing Greenhouse Gas Reduction Measures in European Ports: Implications for Sustainable Investing

European Union cargo and container ports are under pressure to reduce GHG emissions and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, as mandated by the European Commission. The pace of progress varies among ports. This study examined the characteristics influencing GHG reduction measures in European cargo and container ports and their implications for sustainable investing. The methods used in this study, such as linear regression models to analyze predictive variables, can be applied in sustainable investing to assess which factors most strongly predict a company’s environmental, social, and governance performance. Using linear regression models to analyze data from the 33 busiest European ports, we identified five predictive variables: port size, cargo mix, surrounding population density, access to the sea, and the economic wealth of the host country. Our findings revealed that the port size significantly correlates with the adoption of measures to reduce scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. This study underscores the importance of contextual and operational factors in evaluating sustainability efforts across sectors. The results contribute to drawing parallels with the field of sustainable investing within finance. This offers valuable insights for sustainable investing, emphasizing the importance of considering various contextual and operational factors when evaluating the sustainability efforts of entities in different sectors.

Forecast distribution of technologies for processing pig and poultry manure in the Russian Federation to take measures for GHG reduction

Forecast distribution of technologies for processing pig and poultry manure in the Russian Federation to take measures for GHG reduction

Occupancy Comfort Evaluation in Green Building Rating Tools in Malaysia: A Comparative Review

Passive design strategy is the approach that maximizing utilization of natural resources to achieve occupancy comfort which covers the thermal comfort, visual comfort and acoustic comfort while minimizing secondary energy usage. Adapting passive design strategy during building design-stage is beneficial in reducing energy load of the building for long term, furthermore to reduce the energy consumption in day to day building operation. Applying Green Building Rating Tools, GBRT promotes passive design strategy for non-residential building and will assist the building designer to comply with the local and international standard. The minimum requirement of occupancy comfort is captured in GBRT rating system with different approach and intension of the system. This review summarize the coverage of passive design strategy sectors for non-residential building in Malaysia by comparing three GBRT system namely Green Building Index, GBI NCNR, MyCREST ICSAS and GreenRE NRB system. GreenRE NRB seems more aggressive in occupancy comfort evaluation compared to GBI NCNR and MyCREST ICSAS. GreenRE allocates 48.7% of total marks focus on occupancy comfort aspect while GBI and MyCREST allocates 14% and 13.2% respectively from the total score. MyCrest had enforce the mandatory compliance of OTTV, RTTV and Uroof to meet baseline requirement as per MS1525:2019 with zero marks allocation. Based on marks percentage allocation, GBI and MyCrest prioritizing visual comfort while GreenRE give more focus on thermal comfort with higher marks allocation. All rating system give less focus on acoustic comfort. On average, 16.3% of marks covers the thermal comfort, 9% covers visual comfort and 1% cover acoustic comfort. GBI and MyCrest focus more on green building materials which covers the building lifecycle includes water management and waste disposal. All system contributes to Malaysia-UNFCCC ratification of Paris Agreement on 45% GHG reduction in longer runs.

Interpretable GHG emission prediction for papermaking wastewater treatment process with deep learning

The content of pollutants in papermaking wastewater is highly varied due to heterogeneous raw materials, product types, and biochemical process conditions, resulting in significant uncertainty of GHG emissions mitigation in the treatment process. This study established a modified Benchmark Simulation Model no.1-based mechanism model to reveal the characteristics of GHG emissions and support GHG reduction in the papermaking wastewater treatment process. Due to its heavy dependence on the Benchmark Simulation Model No. 1 (BSM1) and plentiful parameters, it was instead further proposed Deep Neural Networks (DNN) models and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) models to estimate GHG emissions with high accuracy (R2 > 0.94) greatly reduced computational complexity (8920.6 times). The global sensitivity analysis upon DNN revealed key factors for GHG emission with strong explainability, supporting the development of GHG reduction control strategies for the papermaking wastewater treatment process.

The projected impact of the inflation reduction act's climate provisions on cardiovascular and respiratory outcomes

OnjectiveClimate change and environmental pollution have known health effects. The recently introduced inflation reduction act (IRA) by the United States government includes funding initiatives to curb climate change, and reduce environmental pollution, in line with the nationally determined contribution (NDC) plan (40–50 % reduction in greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions by 2030, as compared with 2005). The projected cardiovascular health benefits of the IRA driven climate actions to achieve the NDC goals are not known. MethodsWe used the Energy Policy Simulator (EPS), a simulation algorithm based on systems dynamics modelling estimating the impact of various energy policies, to model the impact of achieving NDC targets in the United States on health outcomes by 2050. We further investigated race-specific impact on mortality (absolute and relative) by 2050.We estimated the projected reduction in six adverse health outcomes between 2022 and 2050: asthma attacks, non-fatal heart attacks, hospital admissions, respiratory symptoms and bronchitis, lost workdays, and deaths. ResultsAchievement of NDC targets by 2050 will result in 987,415 avoided asthma attacks, 41,565 avoided nonfatal heart attacks, 18,993 avoided hospital admissions, 1,493,010 avoided respiratory symptoms and bronchitis, 3,317,250 avoided lost workdays, and 32,659 avoided deaths (22,839 among white individuals, 4993 among Black individuals, 2801 among Asian individuals, and 2026 among other/multirace individuals). By 2050, minority racial groups had higher relative change in avoided deaths (white -0.74 %, Black -1.01 %, Asian -1.24 %, and other/multirace -1.75 %). Similarly, Hispanics/latinos higher relative reductions in deaths (-1.4 %) compared with non-Hispanic/Latinos (-0.7 %) by 2050. ConclusionThe IRA facilitated achievement of NDC GHG reduction goals by 2050 would result in substantial number of avoided adverse health outcomes and death. Racial and ethnic minorities are expected to have the largest relative reductions in deaths by 2050. The current report underscores the importance of continued climate action investment irrespective of political differences. The appreciation of this aspect of the IRA may be more important to overall preservation of health, beyond the reduction in medication costs.

Analysis of effects of pre-chamber orifices on torch flame behaviours in lean-burn gas engines

Fuel conversion from heavy oil to natural gas is favoured as a quick remedy for GHG re-duction from industrial engines in ship propulsion and power generation fields thanks to fewer carbon contents in natural gas. In medium-speed gas engines, the ejection of torch flame from a pre-chamber is often used to promote flame propagation within a main com-bustion chamber. Although orifice specifications affect the ejection behaviour of the torch flame and the following combustion in the main chamber, the effects are difficult to fully understand. Some of the authors developed a constant-volume combustion vessel that simu-lated the combustion chamber around the top dead centre of a pre-chamber type gas engine and observed the effects of orifice specifications on the torch flame ejection and the com-bustion in the main chamber. Still, the correlation was not concluded due to the lack of physical examination. In the paper, the above measurement results were confirmed by using RANS-type CFD considering the larger scale of the target engines, and the physical back-ground of the effects of orifice specifications was successfully reproduced.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Thai and Japanese Restaurants for Reduction Management Strategies

Abstract Quantifying the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions along the whole value chain is essential for effective greenhouse gas management. Two types of the most popular restaurants in Thailand were included in this study: 1) a restaurant that specialized in northeastern Thai cuisine with an area of 94 m2 and 41 000 clients per year and 2) a restaurant serving Japanese–Thai fusion meals with an area of 284 m2 with 59 000 clients per year. Notably, the scope 3 GHG emissions were the highest (76%–81% of total emissions). The main contributors at both restaurants were raw material acquisition, followed by transportation of raw materials and waste management. It was suggested that the restaurants should not overlook the major sources of scope 3 GHG emissions, especially in food procurement, transportation from suppliers, and waste management. GHG management measures that could be applied include using local food ingredients, buying raw materials from nearby locations, simulating transport routes to minimize the distance of transport, and separating food wastes and sorting recyclable packaging wastes for further use. In addition, the restaurants could flag low-carbon footprint meals on their menus to engage their customers in contributing to GHG reductions.

10-year progress on Forest Carbon Research in Canada

In 2012 &lt;i&gt;A Blueprint for Forest Carbon Science in Canada:2012–2020&lt;/i&gt; was published to guide policy and research and to support Canada’s obligations for climate change mitigation and adaptation, sustainable forest management, and international reporting. Over the past decade, the body of scientific research focused on forest carbon dynamics in Canada has significantly evolved, providing crucial insights into the intricate interplay between various forest ecosystems and the global carbon cycle. This comprehensive review synthesizes key findings from this period, highlighting improvements to Canada’s estimates of current forest greenhouse gas emissions and removals, the effects of global changes on Canada’s future forest carbon, and forest contributions to mitigate climate change. Collaborating with the forest carbon science community, we identified 426 peer-reviewed published articles on landscape-scale forest carbon research for Canada from 2012 to 2021. The review emphasizes anthropogenic influences and natural disturbances in contemporary GHG emissions and removals for managed forests in the national GHG inventory, highlights the existing dichotomy between management and research models, and stresses the need for integrating disturbance and climate effects for comprehensive GHG estimates. Despite significant progress in estimating and tracking forest carbon using modelled, remotely sensed and ground-based observations, challenges remain in reducing uncertainties, particularly regarding climate impacts on forest growth, decay, and disturbances. Furthermore, the review showcases recent advancements in climate change mitigation strategies and the use of a systems approach that includes forest ecosystem emissions and removals, wood product emissions and substitution benefits of avoided fossil emissions. Through comprehensive scenario analyses, the review underscores regional variations in assessing GHG reductions and notes a shift towards a more holistic approach that considers environmental, economic, and social values. By providing a nuanced understanding of the complexities underlying forest carbon dynamics in Canada, this review sets the stage for future research and policy initiatives aimed at fostering sustainable forest management practices and mitigating the impact of climate change on these vital ecosystems.

E-Heater Performance for Aftertreatment Warm-Up in a 48V Mild-Hybrid Heavy-Duty Truck over Real Driving Cycles

High-efficiency and low-emissions heavy-duty (HD) internal combustion engines (ICEs) offer significant GHG reduction potential. Mild hybridization via regenerative braking and enabling the use of an electric heater component (EHC) for the aftertreatment system (ATS) warm-up extends these benefits, which can mitigate tailpipe GHG and NOx emissions simultaneously. Understanding such integrated hybrid powertrains is essential for the system optimization of real-world driving conditions. In the present work, the potential of a low engine-out NOx (1.5–2.5 g/kWh range) ‘Low-NOx’ HD diesel engine and EHCs were analyzed in a 48V P1 mild-hybrid system for a class 8 commercial vehicle concept and compared with those in an EPA-2010-certified HD diesel truck as a baseline under real-world driving cycles, including those from the US, Europe, India, China, as well as the world harmonized vehicle cycle (WHVC). For analysis, an integrated 1-D vehicle model was utilized that consisted of models of the ‘Low-NOx’ HD engine, the stock ATS, and a production EHC. For the real driving cycles, ‘GT-RealDrive’-based vehicle speed profiles were generated for busy trucking routes for different markets. For each cycle, the effects of the Low-NOx and EHC performances were quantified in terms of the ATS warm-up time, engine-out NOx emissions, and net fuel consumption. Depending on the driving route, the regenerative braking fully or partly neutralized the EHC power penalty without a significant impact on the ATS thermal performance. For a two-EHC system, the fueling penalty associated with every second reduction in the warm-up time FCEHC (g/s) was several-fold higher for the real driving routes compared with the WHVC. Overall, while a multi-EHC setup accelerated the ATS warm-up, a single EHC integrated at the SCR inlet showed minimized EHC heating power, leading to a minimized fueling penalty. Finally, for the India and China routes, being highly transient, the P1 hybridization proved inadequate for GHG reduction due to the limited energy recuperation. A stronger hybridization was desirable for such driving cycles.