Greenhouse Gas Abatement Potential Research Articles

Study on Cost-Effective Performance of Alternative Fuels and Energy Efficiency Measures for Shipping Decarbonization

Within the context of global initiatives to address climate change, the shipping industry is facing increasingly intensified pressure to decarbonize. The industry is engaging in the exploration and implementation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction measures, including energy efficiency technologies and alternative fuels, with the objective of accelerating the progression towards greenhouse gas mitigation. The application of various GHG emission reduction measures usually requires different levels of investment costs, and economic feasibility is a key factor influencing policy formulation and investment decisions. In this regard, this paper developed a cost-effective model for energy efficiency measures and alternative fuels based on the marginal abatement cost (MAC) methodology. This model can distinguish the differences between energy efficiency measures and alternative fuels in terms of Tank-to-Wake emissions and Well-to-Wake emissions in the GHG emission evaluation system. By taking typical ship types with significant emission contributions as study cases, i.e., bulk carriers (61–63K DWT), container ships (8000 TEU), product tankers (115K DWT), crude oil tankers (315–320K DWT), and Ro-Ro passenger ferries (3500 DWT), the GHG abatement cost-effective performance of major categories of measures such as operational measures, technical measures, renewable energy sources, and alternative fuels were calculated. According to the MAC results, the marginal abatement cost curves were plotted based on the ranking of energy efficiency measures and alternative fuels, respectively. The impacts of bunker fuel prices and carbon market prices on the cost-effectiveness were analyzed. The research results provided the GHG abatement potential of the integrated application of cost-effective energy efficiency measures, the cost-effectiveness ranking of alternative fuels, and the carbon emission price expected to bridge the price gap between alternative fuels and conventional bunker fuel. The presented methodology and conclusions can be used to assist shipping companies in selecting emission reduction measures, and to support maritime authorities in developing market-based measures.

Mitigation of gaseous emissions from dairy livestock: A farm-level method to examine the financial implications

Feeding the world's population while minimising the contribution of agriculture to climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing modern society. This challenge is particularly pronounced for dairy production where the carbon footprint of products and the mitigation costs are high, relative to other food stuffs. This paper reviews a number of mitigation measures that may be adopted by dairy farmers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their farms. A simulation model is developed to assess the cost-benefit of a range of mitigation measures. The model is applied to data from Ireland, a country with a large export-oriented dairy industry, for a range of farms including top, middle and bottom performing farms from a profitability perspective. The mitigation measures modelled included animal productivity, grass production and utilisation, better reproductive performance, early compact calving, reduced crude protein, decreased fertiliser N, protected urea, white clover, slurry tank cover and low emission slurry spreading (LESS). The results show that over half of the greenhouse gas abatement potential and most of the ammonia abatement potential were realised with cost-beneficial measures. Animal and feed-related measures that increased efficiency drove the abatement of GHG emissions. Low-emission slurry spreading was beneficial for the bottom and middle one-third of farms, while protected urea and reducing nitrogen use accounted for most of the ammonia abatement potential for the most profitable farms. Results showed that combining mitigation measures resulted in a decrease of 23%, 19%, and 12% in GHG emissions below 2020 levels for the bottom, middle, and top performing dairy farms, respectively. The findings imply that top dairy farms, that are already managed efficiently and optimally, may struggle to achieve the national and international GHG reduction targets with existing technologies and practices.

Decarbonisation strategies for manufacturing: A technical and economic comparison

Decarbonisation strategies for eight German manufacturing companies of different industries (electrical, chemical, beverage, mechanical engineering, automotive, polymer processing) are developed and analysed. The abatement potential and economic feasibility of strategies depend to a large extent on individual preconditions e.g., the area available for renewable energy systems, and dynamic effects, for example the changing emission intensity of local electricity generation. The strategies lead to a reduction of between 41 % and 88 % for seven of the eight companies.The in-depth case studies show that energy efficiency measures and expanding the company's own renewable energy plants, except for solar heat, are particularly cost-effective, while shutting-down existing combined heat and power plants has the highest abatement costs between 169 and 1686 EUR/tCO2e. Decarbonising electricity procurement and switching from natural gas to biomethane have the highest greenhouse gas abatement potential in Scope 1 and 2.The novelty of this work is the linking of economic and ecological considerations of measures in the context of company-specific decarbonisation strategies. Using marginal abatement cost curves, different options for emission reductions are discussed and general conclusions for the development of decarbonisation strategies in the manufacturing sector are drawn.

GHG Abatement Potential Due to the Implementation of Slow Steaming

All branches of industry as well as the maritime transport industry are encountering the challenge of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to pre-vent hazardous climate change. The ratification of the Paris agreement has set a restrain for global average temperature significantly lower than 2 °C and preferably restrains the growth to 1.5 °C compared to preindustrial levels. Therefore, International Maritime Organization (IMO) has imposed an aim to decrease carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per transport work by a minimum of 40 % by 2030 and to 70 % by 2050 compared to 2008. IMO has proposed various short-term, mid-term, and long-term measures for accomplishing this aim. Speed reduction i.e., slow steaming is a crucial short-term measure, that can be effortlessly implemented, and does not depend upon any supplementary infrastructure. Even a slight speed reduction will lead to substantial fuel reduction and therefore substantial CO2 abatement considering the hypothesis that ship speed and fuel oil consumption are related with the cubic function. The implementation of slow steaming leads to a larger voyage time and consequently to a larger number of ships to attain yearly transport work constant. Therefore, it is essential to analyse the increase in fuel oil consumption and CO2 emissions due to the larger number of ships engaged in maritime transport. This paper provides an extensive review of slow steaming and GHG abatement potential and points out the disadvantages of its application.

Assessing transition pathways to low-carbon electricity generation in Kenya: A hybrid approach using backcasting, socio-technical scenarios and energy system modelling

This paper establishes a bottom-up LEAP-Kenya-Centralized-Electricity model to simulate the mitigation potential of chief atmospheric pollutants and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 2010-2040 under different scenarios: Business as Usual (BAU), Vision 2030+Least Cost Power Development Plan (VLCPDP), and four low-carbon scenarios spanning Full Renewables (FRE), UN Agenda 2030 SDGS (SDGs) and AU Agenda 2063 (AU). A comparative analysis of the alternative generation scenarios is presented and assesses multiple indicators including electricity demand, technology stocks, air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, marginal abatement costs, and air pollution health impacts. Total electricity demand is projected to reach 57.4 thousand gigawatts-hours by 2040 under VLCPDP and the low-carbon scenarios; 11.8% greater than the BAU scenario. Total GHG emissions under SDGs and AU will be 99.7% and 97.6% lower than VLCPDP whose GHG emissions will be 14.7% greater than BAU. PM2.5 concentration in both BAU and VLCPDP will increase by 0.54µg/m3 by 2040. Besides, renewable energies will account for 99% of total electricity generation capacity under SDGs 2 in 2040; 26.7% and 20.9% higher than BAU and VLCPDP respectively. Importantly, FRE and SDGs 2 emerged as the most promising scenarios for achieving the highest greenhouse gas abatement potential and least impacts on human health at least costs.

An assessment of opportunities for cogenerating electricity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the oil sands

The purpose of this research is to evaluate greenhouse gas emission reduction opportunities from cogenerated electricity in oil sands production. A novel combined market penetration and bottom-up energy system modelling framework was developed to assess the long-range potential and marginal costs of cogenerated electricity in the oil sands. Feasible scenarios for incorporating cogeneration into the in situ, surface mining, and upgrading subsectors were developed along with four additional scenarios incorporating electricity-based technologies to improve in situ plant efficiencies. These scenarios were evaluated under three different carbon pricing policies; twenty-one scenarios in total covering the time period 2019 to 2050. The use of cogeneration in the oil sands for new production during this period was determined through market penetration modelling and the results were compared to a reference scenario of limited cogeneration growth. It was found that there is potential to provide 76 million tonnes of greenhouse gas abatement (2% of cumulative projected oil sands emissions) at a marginal cost of $15 per tonne of carbon abated compared to the reference scenario. The incorporation of electrical equipment, specifically well-pad boilers, well-pad compressors, additional steam compressors, and steam superheaters, resulted in additional costs that outweighed the benefits. A $50 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent carbon price (within the current Alberta emission reduction regulation) resulted in a 2% increase in forecasted greenhouse gas abatement potential and a $1.4/tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent decrease in marginal abatement costs compared to no carbon pricing. This research provides quantification of the greenhouse gas emission abatement potential and marginal abatement costs of cogeneration technologies to allow industry stakeholders and policymakers to compare these technology options to others when considering long-term greenhouse gas emission reduction.

Greenhouse Gas Abatement Potentials and Economics of Selected Biochemicals in Germany

In this paper, biochemicals with the potential to substitute fossil reference chemicals in Germany were identified using technological readiness and substitution potential criteria. Their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were quantified by using life cycle assessments (LCA) and their economic viabilities were determined by comparing their minimum selling prices with fossil references’ market prices. A bottom up mathematical optimization model, BioENergy OPTimization (BENOPT) was used to investigate the GHG abatement potential and the corresponding abatement costs for the biochemicals up to 2050. BENOPT determines the optimal biomass allocation pathways based on maximizing GHG abatement under resource, capacity, and demand constraints. The identified biochemicals were bioethylene, succinic acid, polylactic acid (PLA), and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA). Results show that only succinic acid is economically competitive. Bioethylene which is the least performing in terms of economics breaks even at a carbon price of 420 euros per ton carbon dioxide equivalent (€/tCO2eq). With full tax waivers, a carbon price of 134 €/tCO2eq is necessary. This would result in positive margins for PHA and PLA of 12% and 16%, respectively. From the available agricultural land, modeling results show high sensitivity to assumptions of carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration in biochemicals and integrated biochemicals production. GHG abatement for scenarios where these assumptions were disregarded and where they were collectively taken into account increased by 370% resulting in a 75% reduction in the corresponding GHG abatement costs.

Cost-effectiveness of large-scale deep energy retrofit packages for residential buildings under different economic assessment approaches

In this study we present a method for the assessment of the economic potential of deep energy retrofit packages for a national building stock, based on three main economic assessment approaches: 1) full investment cost and energy savings (approach FULL), 2) an approach only considering the cost of energy efficiency improvement and the related energy savings (approach IMPROVEMENT) and 3) an approach which is in line with the IMPROVEMENT approach but additionally assigns a residual value to each building element (approach DEPRECIATION). These three economic assessment approaches allow to assess the cost-effectiveness of large-scale retrofit packages according to different strategies, i.e. profit-oriented in the case of FULL, retrofitting only at end of lifetime in the case of IMPROVEMENT and pursuing a balance between environmental/energy and economic aspects in the case of DEPRECIATION. A case study for Switzerland shows that deep energy retrofit packages offer a technical energy saving potential of 55–86% and a technical greenhouse gas abatement potential of 50% to 80% (compared to current levels). The different approaches result in economic energy saving potentials of 3% (FULL), 14% (DEPRECIATION) and 50% (IMPROVEMENT). The respective marginal levelized costs for reaching a 50% reduction in final energy demand amount to 120 CHF/MWh (FULL), 40 CHF/MWh (DEPRECIATION) and 1 CHF/MWh (IMPROVEMENT). The results show an economic greenhouse gas saving potential of 1% (FULL), 13% (DEPRECIATION) and 65% (IMPROVEMENT) with respective marginal levelized costs for a 50% reduction of 350 CHF/t CO2eq., 90 CHF/t CO2eq. and −40 CHF/t CO2eq. The findings indicate that, without subsidies or with rather low subsidies, large-scale deep energy retrofit is economically viable only if it is part of the regular refurbishment cycle (IMPROVEMENT approach). Since full alignment with regular refurbishment cycle is not practically possible across the building stock, policy design is recommended to rather follow the DEPRECIATION approach according to which a subsidy of 40 CHF/MWhsaved (or 90 CHF/ t CO2, avoided) would be needed in order to achieve a 50% final energy and greenhouse gas emission reduction in the building stock.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Cropping and Grazed Pastures Are Similar: A Simulation Analysis in Australia

The agricultural sector has potential to provide greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation by sequestering soil organic carbon (SOC). Replacing cropland with permanent pasture is one practice promoted for its potential to sequester soil carbon. However, pastures frequently support livestock, which produce other GHG emissions that could negate the abatement from increased SOC, especially given the declining rate of SOC sequestration through time. Our purpose was to determine whether the abatement provided by SOC storage in permanent pastures was offset by livestock emissions, and to thus compare emissions from grazed pasture systems with those from cropping systems. We investigated this question for three case study farms in locations with contrasting climate, soils and management representative of Australian cropping and livestock systems. Three cropping scenarios were defined that had increasing amounts of SOC inputs: Cropburn, crop residues burned before sowing (lowest SOC input); Cropstubble, crop residues retained; and Cropintensity, uncropped fallow phases replaced with short-term green manure legume crops. The on-farm GHG emissions profiles of these cropping scenarios were compared with those from two livestock scenarios utilizing continuous stocking: Livestockgrass, stocked permanent grass pasture; and Livestocklegume, stocked permanent legume pasture; the latter having higher SOC input than the former. Crop yields, pasture growth rates and emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) from the soil were simulated with the APSIM farming systems model. Livestock emissions were predicted using Australian GHG accounting emission factors. For the farms in this study, the SOC sequestered in the stocked permanent pastures was offset by emissions from livestock, and emissions from cropping scenarios were similar to or significantly less than those from the livestock scenarios. These findings: (1) demonstrate the importance of using net GHG abatement potentials from combined emissions rather than a single GHG abatement process when evaluating potential abatement practices, and (2) question the potential for GHG mitigation through the agricultural sector because climate and soil characteristics in different locations can alter the abatement potential of management practices, and because change in management practice can have feedbacks on other management practices and hence on GHG abatement potential.

Greenhouse gas abatement optimal deployment of biofuels from crops in Germany

The optimal role of biofuels from energy crops for greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement in the German transport sectors is investigated under different progressive long-term scenarios, from a set arable land area corresponding to current use. The sectors included are land passenger and goods transport, shipping and aviation. The GHG abatement from the same land area can be increased by a factor of five through switching to higher yielding biofuel options. Silage maize based biomethane and wood based Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG), in either gaseous or liquefied form are the options with the highest GHG abatement potential per arable land unit, and thus markets where such fuels are an option should be prioritised. Sector fuel restrictions combined with fuel yields resulted in the land passenger sector to be the first priority for maximising GHG abatement, followed by land goods transport, shipping and finally aviation. Only when the previous sectors have been covered by renewable options do the following become relevant and thus a large transition is required before aviation biofuels or any liquid advanced biofuel become the climate optimal use of biomass. Applying admixture quotas to sub-sectors yields a lower GHG abatement than an optimal strategy.

Optimal Housing and Manure Management Strategies to Favor Productive and Environment-Friendly Dairy Farms in Québec, Canada: Part II. Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Methods

Abstract. Several strategies are available for mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with dairy manure management in barns, storage units, and fields. For instance, incorporation of manure into the soil, solid-liquid separation, composting, enclosed manure storage, and anaerobic digestion have been identified as good options. However, these strategies are not widely adopted in Canada because clear information on their effectiveness to abate the whole-farm GHG footprint is lacking. Better information on the most cost-effective options for reducing on-farm GHG emissions would assist decision making for dairy producers and foster adoption of the most promising approaches on Canadian dairies. In this context, whole-farm modeling provides a tool for evaluating different GHG abatement strategies. An Excel-based linear optimization model (N-CyCLES) was used to assess the economics and the nutrient and GHG footprints of two representative dairy farms in Québec, Canada. The farms were located in regions with contrasting climates (southwestern and eastern Québec). The model was developed to optimize feeding, cropping, and manure handling as a single unit of management, considering the aforementioned mitigation options. Greenhouse gas emissions from the different simulated milk production systems reached 1.27 to 1.85 kg CO2e kg-1 of corrected milk, allowing GHG reductions of up to 25% compared to the base system described in Part I. Solid-liquid separation had the greatest GHG mitigation potential, followed by the digester-like strategy involving a tight cover for gas burning. However, both options implied a decrease in farm net income. Manure incorporation into the soil and composting were associated with high investment relative to their GHG abatement potential. The most cost-effective option was using a loose cover on the manure storage unit. This approach lessened the manure volume and ammonia-N volatilization, thereby reducing fertilizer and manure spreading costs, increasing crop sales and profit, and enhancing the whole-farm N and GHG footprints. Consequently, covering the manure tanks appears to be an economically viable practice for Québec dairy farms. Keywords: Anaerobic digestion, Composting, Dairy cow, Farm net income, Greenhouse gas emission, Incorporation, Nutrient footprint, Solid-liquid separation, Storage cover, Whole-farm model.

Evaluation of environmental and cost tradeoffs of producing energy from soybeans for on-farm use

There has been interest in producing fuel from oil seed crops for use on farms, however little guidance is available on where this may be profitable, the extent to which greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions may be mitigated or the cost associated with that mitigation. We conduct a national analysis to evaluate the economics of on-farm processing of soybeans, the GHG mitigation potential of several on-farm uses of the oil, and the cost of achieving the mitigation. We found that significant GHG mitigation is possible when substituting soybean oil for on-farm energy use, however, often the food market has higher economic value. When we characterized the conditions and consequently, the regions where on-farm soybean processing was profitable, we found that the economics and greenhouse gas abatement potential of processing soybeans on-farm improves as farm location moves towards the coastal Atlantic and Gulf regions where the economic value of the meal is higher. Overall, we found that on-farm pressing of soybeans can add value to soybean production, but the market for the extracted oil will depend on the price of soybean meal and the market for food uses of the meal.

The greenhouse gas abatement potential of productivity improving measures applied to cattle systems in a developing region

Developing countries are experiencing an increase in total demand for livestock commodities, as populations and per capita demands increase. Increased production is therefore required to meet this demand and maintain food security. Production increases will lead to proportionate increases in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions unless offset by reductions in the emissions intensity (Ei) (i.e. the amount of GHG emitted per kg of commodity produced) of livestock production. It is therefore important to identify measures that can increase production whilst reducing Ei cost-effectively. This paper seeks to do this for smallholder agro-pastoral cattle systems in Senegal; ranging from low input to semi-intensified, they are representative of a large proportion of the national cattle production. Specifically, it identifies a shortlist of mitigation measures with potential for application to the various herd systems and estimates their GHG emissions abatement potential (using the Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model) and cost-effectiveness. Limitations and future requirements are identified and discussed. This paper demonstrates that the Ei of meat and milk from livestock systems in a developing region can be reduced through measures that would also benefit food security, many of which are likely to be cost-beneficial. The ability to make such quantification can assist future sustainable development efforts.

Greenhouse gas abatement costs are heterogeneous between Australian grain farms

Globally, agriculture is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. The environment (e.g., soils and climate) and management influence agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and the potential to reduce emissions. For agriculture to contribute to greenhouse gas abatement in the long term, it is important to identify low-cost mitigation actions that farmers can adopt. It is hypothesized that greenhouse gas abatement potential and the associated costs will differ substantially between environments in Australia. Seven alternative management scenarios were identified as both suitable for adoption across different grain growing environments in Australia and potentially able to provide greenhouse gas abatement. The Agricultural Production Systems Simulator was used to simulate these alternative management scenarios over a 25-year period and analyze the potential for Australian grain farmers, across contrasting environments, to increase soil organic carbon stocks and/or reduce nitrous oxide emissions. This analysis was paired with a whole-farm economic analysis to determine the implications of the different greenhouse gas abatement scenarios on farm profitability. Results from case studies in Australia’s three main grain growing regions demonstrate that significant heterogeneity exists in the biophysical potential and costs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across locations. The maximum predicted abatement potential for the case study sites varied from 0.34 to 2.03 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per hectare per year. In most simulations, greenhouse gas abatement came at a cost to farmers ranging from 0.11 Australian dollars (AUD) to more than 300 AUD per metric ton of abated carbon dioxide equivalent. This is the first study to explore the costs of mitigation including multiple greenhouse gases and grain farming case studies across Australia. These findings can inform the future development of effective climate change mitigation policies, which frequently use national default values in their design.

Is rail cleaner and greener than bus?

The popular consensus is that urban passenger rail is more environmentally friendly than urban passenger bus. This position is largely associated with the key energy source for each mode, respectively electricity and diesel, where electric vehicle use will typically result in local air quality improvements away from the electricity generation source. Surveys of community perceptions reflect this sentiment; however the relationship between the source of energy and its resultant emissions is not something that citizens fully understand. There is a general lack of awareness of the resource base of much of electricity generation in some countries. Where generation sources are suitably renewable or low-carbon, electricity use will offer greenhouse gas abatement potential. However, in countries which still rely heavily on coal-fired power stations, such as Australia, abatement is not as assured and estimating emission outcomes can require careful assessment. Supporters of alternatives to diesel use can focus on the future supply of fossil-fuels, an argument which has merit; however such arguments are often confounded with environmental qualities related to local air pollution and enhanced greenhouse gas emissions. This paper takes a close look at the greenhouse emissions that are associated with urban rail and bus in Australia. Estimated intensities, when presented in the context of effective service delivery (primarily in terms of emissions per passenger kilometre), raise questions about the distortions that are present in the widespread promotion in Australia (at least) of rail as a more environmentally friendly and hence a sustainable mode of urban passenger transport than bus.

한국의 폐기물부문의 온실가스 배출량 및 감축잠재량 분석

Waste sector has been a target of abatement policies by the most governments, even though its greenhouse gas (GHG) emission is not so high, since it is related to almost of other sectors. This study propose new GHG calculation equations which resolves logical contradiction of IPCC GL (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Guideline) equations by including waste-to-energy effects. According to two GHG calculation equations, GHG emission inventory and BAU by the year 2050 have been computed. And GHG abatement potential and marginal cost for the five abatement policies carefully selected from the previous researches have been calculated for the year 2020. The policy that makes solid fuel like RDF from flammable wastes and uses them as combustion fuel of electricity generations has been found to be the most efficient and effective one among five policies. The cumulative abatement amount when five policies not mutually exclusive are applied sequentially has been reckoned.

From Cradle to Junkyard: Assessing the Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Benefits of Electric Vehicles

U.S. programs subsidize electric vehicles (EVs) in part to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We model a suite of life cycle GHG emissions considerations to estimate the GHG abatement potential from switching from an internal combustion engine vehicle (ICE) to an EV in the continental U.S. The GHG intensity of EVs hinges on the electricity and ambient temperature when charged and operated. Both have high spatial and temporal heterogeneity, yet are typically modeled inadequately or overlooked entirely. We calculate marginal emissions, including renewables, for electricity by region and test forecasted grid composition to estimate future performance. Location and timing of charging are important GHG determinants, but temperature effects on EV performance can be equally important. On average, EVs slightly reduce GHGs relative to ICEs, but there are many regions where EVs provide a decisive benefit and others where EVs are significantly worse. The forecasted grid shifts from coal towards renewables, improving EV performance; the GHG benefit per EV in western states is roughly $425 today and $2400 in 2040.

Developing a nationally appropriate mitigation measure from the greenhouse gas GHG abatement potential from livestock production in the Brazilian Cerrado

Brazil is one of the first major developing countries to commit to a national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions target that requires a reduction of between 36.1% and 38.9% relative to baseline emissions by 2020. The country intends to submit agricultural emissions reductions as part of this target, with livestock production identified as offering significant abatement potential. Focusing on the Cerrado core (central Brazilian savannah), this paper investigates the cost-effectiveness of this potential, which involves some consideration of both the private and social costs and benefits (e.g. including avoided deforestation) arising from specific mitigation measures that may form part of Brazil's definition of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Measures (NAMAs). The analysis used an optimisation model to define abatement costs. A baseline projection suggests that beef production in the region will emit 2.6Gt CO2e (CO2 equivalent) from 2010 to 2030, corresponding to 9% of national emissions (including energy, transport, waste, livestock and agriculture). By implementing negative-cost measures identified in a marginal abatement cost curve (MACC) by 2030, the 2.6Gt CO2e could be reduced by around 24%. Pasture restoration, involving avoided deforestation, offers the largest contribution to these results. As the Brazilian Cerrado is seen as a model for transforming other global savannahs, the results offer a significant contribution by identifying alternatives for increasing productivity while minimizing national and global external costs.

Greenhouse gas abatement costs of hydrogen production from underground coal gasification

The demand for hydrogen is likely to increase in the next decade to satisfy the projected growth of the bitumen upgrading industry in western Canada. This paper presents GHG (greenhouse gas) abatement costs and the GHG abatement potential in producing hydrogen from UCG (underground coal gasification) along with CCS (carbon capture and sequestration). Seven hydrogen production scenarios are considered to assess the competitiveness of implementing UCG compared to SMR (steam methane reforming). The analysis is completed through a LCA (life cycle assessment) of large-scale hydrogen production from UCG and SMR with and without CCS. Considering SMR technology without CCS as the base case, the GHG abatement costs of implementing the UCG-CCS technology is calculated to be in the range of 41–109 $CAD/tonne-CO2-eq depending on the transportation distance to the CCS site from the UCG-H2 production plant. Life cycle GHG emissions are higher in UCG than in SMR. The GHG abatement costs for SMR-CCS-based scenarios are higher than for UCG-CCS-based scenarios; they range from 87 to 158 $CAD/tonne-CO2-eq in a similar manner to UCG-CCS. Consideration of revenues for selling the CO2 captured for EOR (enhanced oil recovery) reduces the GHG abatement costs. An opportunity for revenue generation is realized in the UCG-CCS case.

The greenhouse gas abatement potential of enterprise cloud computing

In this paper we present a dynamic, country level methodology and model to determine the energy related Green House Gas (GHG) emissions abatement potential of enterprise cloud computing. The developed model focused upon demonstrating the impact of a move to cloud computing from traditional on-site computing, by creating country specific estimates of energy and GHG reductions. The methodology presented includes variables for market penetration, organisation size, and organisational adoption of on-site and cloud computing. Using the current enterprise cloud service applications of email, customer relationship management (CRM), and groupware against selected global countries, results indicated that 4.5 million tonnes of CO2e could be reduced with an 80% market penetration for cloud computing. The majority of reductions were calculated to be from small and medium size organisations. A sensitivity analysis of the market penetration and current organisational adoption of cloud computing highlights the possible large variability in overall energy and GHG reductions. An analysis of the model and data used within this study illustrates a requirement for industry and academia to work closely in order to reach the large energy reductions possible with enterprise cloud computing.