Greenhouse Gas Emissions In Order Research Articles

Assessing the penetration of bioethanol in the andean community: a review

The sustainable development agenda of the United Nations aims to ensure affordable energy for all and to diminish greenhouse gas emissions in order to mitigate the effects of climate change. A way to achieve these goals is by the substitution of fossil fuels with biofuels. This study compares three Andean countries: Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, in terms of bioethanol blending mandates current scenario and its sustainability. For this analysis, a review of the state of the art of first and second generation bioethanol in the three countries were developed, including a social network analysis to understand the interactions that have enhanced or delayed the achievement of their blending objectives as countries. So far, Colombia is near to reach its blending target; Ecuador has recorded a bioethanol deficit, estimated at 75%; and regarding Peru, in the last years they have achieved their national target. In addition to blending mandates, the countries appear not to rely on a sustainability policy for the development of first or second generation bioethanol. Furthermore, these Andean countries are planning to increase their blending targets. In order to achieve this, political efforts must be focused on feedstock availability as well as on the development of guidelines related to sustainability and technologies to be applied in their own context.

The Ecological Paw Print of Companion Dogs and Cats.

As an indicator of sustainable development, the ecological footprint has been successful in providing a basis for discussing the environmental impacts of human consumption. Humans are at the origin of numerous pollutant activities on Earth and are the primary drivers of climate change. However, very little research has been conducted on the environmental impacts of animals, especially companion animals. Often regarded as friends or family members by their owners, companion animals need significant amounts of food in order to sustain their daily energy requirement. The ecological paw print (EPP) could therefore serve as a useful indicator for assessing the impacts of companion animals on the environment. In the present article, we explain the environmental impact of companion dogs and cats by quantifying their dietary EPP and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions according to primary data we collected in China, the Netherlands, and Japan and discuss how to reduce companion dietary EPP and GHG emissions in order to understand the sustainability of the relationship between companion animals and the environment.

An overview of climate change in Iran: facts and statistics

BackgroundThe climate change fact is intensive among the Middle East countries and especially Iran. Among the Middle East countries, Iran will experience an increase of 2.6 °C in mean temperatures and a 35% decline in precipitation in the next decades. In vice versa, Iran by total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions nearly to 616,741 million tons of CO2 is the first responsible country to climate change in the Middle East, and seventh in the world. The high-level contribution of Iran to emissions of GHG depends on a significant production of oil, gas, and rapid urbanization. The present study aimed to reveal an overview of climate change facts and statistics in Iran.ResultsIn this manuscript, the evidential facts on climate change were investigated in global, regional, and national scales. For this purpose, the main increasing annual temperature and GHG emissions were considered. Besides, the variations of meteorological characteristics such as surface temperature, total precipitation, and upward longwave radiation (ULR) were reviewed in Iran indicating an anomalous decrease in precipitation events and anomalous increase in ULR and temperature characteristics confirming the global warming/climate change effects. Afterward, the legislative agreements on climate change concerning international adoptions and conventions were reviewed from Rio 1992 to NY 2016.ConclusionsThe results showed that further research and development should be considered the novel methods to explore renewable energy applications and to mitigate GHG emissions in order to overcome the increased risk of climate change effects. Technological affairs and international participants should support this target.

Optimal Sizing and Location of Co-Digestion Power Plants in Spain through a GIS-Based Approach

The promotion of the development of co-digestion power plants will be intensified in many European Union member states as the main target of the Union concerning energy generation is complete decarbonisation by 2050. This potential expansion prompts the need for optimal resources allocation according to several techno-economical parameters, highlighting energy costs, power infrastructures access, and social and environmental aspects and restrictions. In Spain, agricultural and livestock biogas production trough co-digestion power plants is still poorly deployed, although the EU Directive 2009/28/EU stipulates that energy from bio-fuels and bio-liquids should contribute to a reduction of at least 35% of greenhouse gas emissions in order to be taken into account, and many authors agree that biogas produced from energy crops and livestock waste fulfils this criterion. Moreover, biogas can be used to upgrade gas pipelines and may have other efficient thermal uses. In this paper, through a Geographical Information System approach, eight different co-digestion mixtures have been evaluated and the most profitable ones have been optimized for the Spanish Iberian Peninsula according to the geographical distribution of the resources. Furthermore, the best locations for co-digestion power plants siting have been calculated, minimizing transport costs and considering technical, environmental and social restrictions. In contrast with other studies, this proposed approach is focused on a holistic optimization. Results show that in Spain the most feasible co-digestion mixtures are based on slurry, glycerine and animal meals, and four areas arise with an outstanding energetic potential up to 208 MW exploitable in large electrical power plants, while 347 MW can be reserved for distributed generation based on this technology.

LA CONSTRUCCIÓN SOSTENIBLE FRENTE A LA MITIGACION DEL CAMBIO CLIMATICO

The construction sector and its production system greatlycontribute and impact the environment where it is developed. This is measured by the resource consumptionand the waste it generates. Consequently, this economicsector has a high responsibility in the context of changeclimate. Therefore, its actions are considered within thestrategies for climate change adaptation and mitigation.This sector should then be included in the search forsustainability and work towards the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in order to keep global warmingfrom exceeding +2 °C. This paper aims at reflecting onArchitecture’s responsibility on the implementation ofclean production strategies in order to mitigate climatechange effects and impact.

Green innovation and the development of sustainable communities

With nearly one-third of the UK’s total consumption of energy devoted to the domestic household sector, sustainable housing developments have an important part to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in order to combat climate change. This study analyses a sustainable housing development in the city of Nottingham in the United Kingdom that takes the form not merely of a sustainable housing project, but rather an experiment in developing sustainable communities. In terms of green or eco-innovation, it incorporates innovations in housing design geared to curbing the demand for energy; technological innovations in energy supply centred on a novel community energy system; and innovations in the governance models employed. The scheme is notable for the novel public–private partnership carrying out the development, which specializes in developments characterized by an emphasis on quality urban design and a strong commitment to environmental sustainability.

Carbon price interaction between allocated permits and generated offsets

The Kyoto Protocol established targets for curbing greenhouse gas emissions in order to mitigate climate change, and it introduced two kinds of market-based mechanisms: the emission allowance market and the carbon offset market. We identify stylized features of the two mechanisms with a partial equilibrium model. Our work is the first to derive a closed form solution incorporating most policy instruments, such as abatement and offset usage, and delivery risks in offsets. We show that policy changes will impact one market directly and the other indirectly, generating unequal price responses that affects the spread between the two compliance instruments. We show how the price spread between allowances and offsets is affected by market conditions such as the offset import limit, abatement and offset cost, penalty rate, emission cap, and baseline emissions.

On determining the point of no return in climate change

Abstract. Earth's global mean surface temperature has increased by about 1.0 °C over the period 1880–2015. One of the main causes is thought to be the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases. If greenhouse gas emissions are not substantially decreased, several studies indicate that there will be a dangerous anthropogenic interference with climate by the end of this century. However, there is no good quantitative measure to determine when it is too late to start reducing greenhouse gas emissions in order to avoid such dangerous interference. In this study, we develop a method for determining a so-called point of no return for several greenhouse gas emission scenarios. The method is based on a combination of aspects of stochastic viability theory and linear response theory; the latter is used to estimate the probability density function of the global mean surface temperature. The innovative element in this approach is the applicability to high-dimensional climate models as demonstrated by the results obtained with the PlaSim model.

Multi-objective optimization of greenhouse gas emissions in highway construction projects

With the increasing interest in relationships between built environments and ecosystems, the environmental impacts of the construction industry have been a subject of many studies. Based on the results of previous studies using construction systems modeling and life cycle assessment, the authors treated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as an additional project objective to time and cost, and applied multi-objective optimization to derive optimal solutions for transportation projects. Two highway construction case studies were analyzed for relationships between time, cost and environmental impacts. The results showed strong positive correlation between time and cost, moderate positive correlation between cost and GHG emissions, and weak positive correlation between time and GHG emissions. The results suggest that it is less likely that time and GHG emissions may affect each other. It is more so to time and GHG emissions. In addition, it is unlikely that there are common factors that can simultaneously affect cost and GHG emissions, or time and GHG emissions. Future studies are needed to include other types of environmental impacts and further understand the advantages and disadvantages of the lack of dependency between time and GHG emissions, as well as cost and GHG emissions in order to enhance sustainable construction.

The potential of molecular biology and biotechnology for dealing with global warming: The biosciences will have to play a leading role in developing new technologies for mitigating the impact of greenhouse gas emissions.

The Paris climate conference last December was heralded as the first major breakthrough to set concrete targets for dealing with global climate change. The signatories, including the major industrial nations, finally agreed to limit their greenhouse gas emissions in order to limit the global temperature increase to 2°C from pre‐industrial levels by 2100. In addition, Article 5 of the Paris agreement requires that “Parties should take action to conserve and enhance, as appropriate, sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse gases” (http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/l09.pdf). While it does not explicitly mention it, the agreement thereby throws down a gauntlet to scientists and biotechnology to accelerate their efforts on creating technologies that would help the world to keep atmospheric CO2 levels in check while preserving the environment. > … agriculture and forestry are fertile grounds for applying biotechnology: they are not just major contributors to climate warming but also play a potential role in reducing emissions. Indeed, agriculture and forestry are fertile grounds for applying biotechnology: They are not just major contributors to climate warming but also play a potential role in reducing emissions. Agriculture generates more than a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions, while the combined impact of forest fires and deforestation accounts for another 20% (http://www.un-redd.org/aboutredd). Vice versa, forests are major carbon sinks and have a lot of potential to sequester CO2 from the atmosphere. Agriculture will have to play a crucial role for sustainable energy production. The task for molecular biology would fall into two categories while overlapping with a third. The first is the development of new technologies for solar energy conversion, not just for generating electricity, but also for synthesizing carbohydrates from atmospheric CO2 for fuel and as raw material for the chemical industry. The second category focuses on plant biotechnology to increase food production and carbon sequestration. …

Analysis of projected temperature changes over Saudi Arabia in the twenty-first century

An analysis of surface air temperature changes over Saudi Arabia is presented using the Climate Wizard Tool. Projections of temperature departures from four global circulation models (GCMs) under three emission scenarios (Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) A2, A1B, and B1) were used in the analysis. The analysis has been carried out for two future time periods: mid-century (2040–2069) and end-century (2070–2099). Results indicate positive departures throughout Saudi Arabia with the greatest warming generally focussed on the central region. A clear transition to a hotter climate from the mid-century to end-century was evident from the results. Analysis of projected temperature departures at four locations, namely Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, and Jazan, revealed that Riyadh is likely to experience the highest warming with projected departures under A2 scenario exceeding 3.5 and 5.5 °C for the mid-century and end-century, respectively. Results of ensemble analysis indicate that, under A2 scenario, 80 % of the models project an increase of 3 °C for the mid-century and 5 °C for the end-century period. About 20 % of the models indicated increases, under the conservative B1 scenario, of 1.67 and 2.24 °C for the mid-century and end-century periods, respectively. Among the four models, the highest and the lowest departures were generally projected by the CGCM3.1 and CSIROMk3.0 models, respectively. Of the three emission scenarios, A2 tends to force greater warming than the other two scenarios. With significant warming projected for mid-century as well as end-century, socioeconomic systems in Saudi Arabia will face tremendous pressure. Urgent measures are required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to mitigate the impacts of enhanced warming. The results presented herein could provide valuable aid to policy makers in formulating adaptation and mitigation strategies to counteract the adverse impacts of climate change in Saudi Arabia.

New York City Panel on Climate Change 2015 Report. Conclusions and recommendations.

New York City Panel on Climate Change 2015 Report. Conclusions and recommendations.

Assessment of urgent impacts of greenhouse gas emissions—the climate tipping potential (CTP)

The impact of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on climate change receives much focus today. This impact is however often considered only in terms of global warming potential (GWP), which does not take into account the need for staying below climatic target levels, in order to avoid passing critical climate tipping points. Some suggestions to include a target level in climate change impact assessment have been made, but with the consequence of disregarding impacts beyond that target level. The aim of this paper is to introduce the climate tipping impact category, which represents the climate tipping potential (CTP) of GHG emissions relative to a climatic target level. The climate tipping impact category should be seen as complementary to the global warming impact category. The CTP of a GHG emission is expressed as the emission’s impact divided by the ‘capacity’ of the atmosphere for absorbing the impact without exceeding the target level. The GHG emission impact is determined as its cumulative contribution to increase the total atmospheric GHG concentration (expressed in CO2 equivalents) from the emission time to the point in time where the target level is expected to be reached, the target time. The CTP of all the assessed GHGs increases as the emission time approaches the target time, reflecting the rapid decrease in remaining atmospheric capacity and thus the increasing potential impact of the GHG emission. The CTP of a GHG depends on the properties of the GHG as well as on the chosen climatic target level and background scenario for atmospheric GHG concentration development. In order to enable direct application in life cycle assessment (LCA), CTP characterisation factors are presented for the three main anthropogenic GHGs, CO2, CH4 and N2O. The CTP metric distinguishes different GHG emission impacts in terms of their contribution to exceeding a short-term target and highlights their increasing importance when approaching a climatic target level, reflecting the increasing urgency of avoiding further GHG emissions in order to stay below the target level. Inclusion of the climate tipping impact category for assessing climate change impacts in LCA, complimentary to the global warming impact category which shall still represent the long-term climate change impacts, is considered to improve the value of LCA as a tool for decision support for climate change mitigation.

Quantifying soil carbon stocks and greenhouse gas fluxes in the sugarcane agrosystem: point of view

Strategies to mitigate climate change through the use of biofuels (such as ethanol) are associated not only to the increase in the amount of C stored in soils but also to the reduction of GHG emissions to the atmosphere.This report mainly aimed to propose appropriate methodologies for the determinations of soil organic carbon stocks and greenhouse gas fluxes in agricultural phase of the sugarcane production. Therefore, the text is a piece of contribution that may help to obtain data not only on soil carbon stocks but also on greenhouse gas emissions in order to provide an accurate life cycle assessment for the ethanol. Given that the greenhouse gas value is the primary measure of biofuel product quality, biorefiners that can show a higher offset of their product will have an advantage in the market place.

Linkage between the Emission Allowance Market and the Offset Credit Market in Partial Equilibrium

The Kyoto Protocol established targets for curbing greenhouse gas emissions in order to mitigate climate change, and it introduced two kinds of market-based mechanisms: the emission allowance market and the carbon offset market. We identify stylized features of the interaction between the two mechanisms. Our partial equilibrium model is the first analytic work that derives a closed form solution incorporating most policy instruments, such as abatement and offset usage, and delivery risks in offsets. The equilibrium solution enables to show an asymmetric price change of allowances and offsets in both directions and magnitude. We show how the price equilibrium and the price spread between allowances and offsets are affected by market conditions, such as the offset import limit, abatement and offset cost, penalty rate, emission cap, and base emissions.

Soil structure and greenhouse gas emissions: a synthesis of 20 years of experimentation

Soil structure affects microbial activity and thus influences greenhouse gas production and exchange in soil. Structure is variable and increasingly vulnerable to compaction and erosion damage as agriculture intensifies and climate changes. Few studies have specifically related the impact of structure and its variability to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over a wide range of soils and management treatments. The objective of this study was to draw from research in Scotland, Japan and New Zealand, which examined how soil structures affected by wheel compaction, animal trampling, tillage and land‐use change influence GHG emissions in order to help identify key controlling properties. Nitrous oxide (N2O) is the main focus, though carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitric oxide (NO) are included. Gas emissions were measured by using static chambers in the field or incubated intact cores. Poor structure, measured as small relative gas diffusivities and air permeabilities, restricted aeration, resulting in N2O emission or consumption dependent on mineral nitrogen contents. Structural damage (identifiable using the Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure) was especially important near the soil surface where microsites of microbial activity were exposed and aeration was impaired. Moist, well‐aerated soils favoured CH4 oxidation and CO2 exchange. N2O emissions were not necessarily increased in anaerobic soils because of possible N2O consumption and microbial adaptation. Soil matric potential, volumetric water content, relative diffusivity, air permeability and water‐filled pore space are relevant indicators for N2O and CH4 flux and aeration status. As pore continuity and size are so relevant, pore‐scale models are likely to have an increasing role in understanding mechanisms of GHG production, transport and release.

Cost Estimation of Fossil Power Plants with Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage

CCS will play an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in order to limit global warming to 2° Celsius by 2050. Amongst other things, both the costs and the technologies associated with CCS are subject to uncertainties. Cost estimations in the literature vary significantly. Some analyses provide cost estimation for CCS as a generic value, giving only a few distinctive technical options and only a few attempts to investigate the costs separately for each technology. The objective of this paper is therefore to analyze the cost spectrum for CCS provided by different studies and to determine realistic cost estimations for carbon dioxide capture and storage, as well as to investigate the impact of costs on the economic maturity of CCS. Results show that costs of CCS vary significantly along the CCS process chain. Furthermore, it becomes apparent that further efforts need to be taken, both in technology development and in terms of the willingness of an economy to pay high prices for mitigating CO2 emissions, before CCS may be referred to as economic feasible.

Determinants of cities' GHG emissions: a comparison of seven global cities

Purpose – Urban areas are responsible for significant amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but cities can have quite different values of carbon footprints. The purpose of this paper is to identify the determinants of urban GHG emissions in order to explain these differences.Design/methodology/approach – Seven global cities – Bangkok, Chicago, London, Madrid, Mexico City, Milan and New York City – have been included in the paper's sample. These cases have been chosen in order to represent a variety of characteristics and contexts of developed and developing countries and according to data availability. A first level of analysis regards local GHG emission inventories, which attribute emissions to activity sectors. Sectorial emissions are then evaluated to quantify the relevance of several determinants: climate conditions, urban form, economic activities in place, state of technology, mobility and housing infrastructures and costs, and income and life style.Findings – Determinants show different weight...

Assessment of climate change mitigation and adaptation in cities

Cities are faced with a number of sustainability challenges in the context of climate change. There is an urgent need to limit greenhouse gas emissions from cities if ambitious mitigation targets are to be met. Meanwhile, cities are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change unless adaptation plans can be put in place. The need to connect climate change adaptation and mitigation with broader assessment of sustainability is becoming increasingly recognised. This paper describes an urban integrated assessment facility developed by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, which simulates socio-economic change, climate impacts and greenhouse gas emissions over the course of the twenty first century at the city scale. The urban integrated assessment facility adopts a broad-scale systems approach to urban development and sustainability assessment. It incorporates a multi-sectoral model of the regional economy, hierarchical city-scale spatial interaction model and modules for assessment of climate impacts, adaptation options and greenhouse gas emissions. The paper demonstrates how the urban integrated assessment facility quantifies synergies and conflicts between adaptation to climate change and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions in order to improve decision making and facilitate the development of portfolios of planning policies that together have a realistic prospect of achieving sustainable outcomes for cities.

Future prospects for ethanol fuel use - a review

Countries inspired by a desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to meet their Kyoto Protocol targets, have turned to ethanol fuels as a cheap and proven alternative to reduce vehicular emissions. Political instability in the Middle East has further motivated countries to develop their own fuel supply to ensure the security of supply and promote internal economic growth. The use of fuel ethanol has attracted considerable negative press and public comments in the early part of 2000s. Because of the importance of ethanol fuel as alternative to petrol, this review presents discussions outlining the various benefits and costs of using fuel ethanol with the objective of highlighting the future prospects of its use to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, provide cheap energy source for vehicles and also provide income to farmers producing bio-ethanol. Key words: ethanol fuel, future prospects, conflicting needs