Managing Greenhouse Gas Emissions Research Articles

Going Beyond the Call of Duty to Manage Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Going Beyond the Call of Duty to Manage Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Are peatland farming systems sustainable? Case study on assessing existing farming systems in the peatland of Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

Economically, peatland plays an important role since they can be reclaimed for agriculture. Shallow peat (<100 cm) can be used to grow food crops including vegetables. Peatland has also become attractive for development of large-scale oil palm and rubber plantations. However, peatland has a number of constraints in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, especially CO2 emissions in the degraded peatland. These arise from decomposition of peat. Common sense suggests three alternatives to manage GHG emissions from degraded peatland: conservation and restoration, natural recovery, and agricultural use. In this context, the challenge is to utilize degraded tropical peatland for agriculture while avoiding the negative impacts, and ensuring its environmental sustainability. This research attempts to contribute toward developing better management plans. Results of this study show that rice farming has highest sustainable score in degraded peatland. Rice farming secured a 52.14% sustainability score, while oil palm and rubber farming exhibited 47.55 and 47.67% sustainable scores, respectively. Therefore, rice farming can be considered as the first alternative for development of degraded peatland. Improved oil palm and rubber farming systems may also be subsequently considered if their sustainability can be improved.

Spatial apportionment of urban greenhouse gas emission inventory and its implications for urban planning: A case study of Xiamen, China

Cities have become a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and controlling urban GHG emissions is a critical response to global climate change. Many previous studies on urban GHG emissions focused on inventories, changes and impact factors but few investigated the distribution of spatial sources within a city. Although inventories of a city can give information of GHG emissions from different sectors, urban government and planners need to know where emissions occur and how (or why) they occur where they do. It is thus important to spatially apportion GHG emission within a city for the practical application of GHG emission management and policies. In this study, we develop a framework for the spatial apportionment of urban GHG emissions. Xiamen is taken as a typical rapidly urbanizing city in China to demonstrate the framework of spatial apportionment. Results show that the ranking of GHG emission intensity for different land-use types of the city is manufacturing, mining, warehouse land, service industry land, transportation land, residential land and agriculture land with a ratio of 89:54:23:14:1. The vast majority of land for GHG sequestration was located in the peripheral area of the city and most land-use types in the central region of Xiamen had high GHG emissions. The implication for low-carbon urban planning is then discussed in terms of structure and connection strategies. Integrated with socioeconomic factors and urban land-use distribution, the spatial apportionment of GHG emission inventory can provide a more accurate analysis of emission sources and better management of emission sources through urban planning.

3-Hydroxypropionaldehyde production from crude glycerol by Lactobacillus diolivorans with enhanced glycerol uptake

BackgroundIn their quest for sustainable development and effective management of greenhouse gas emissions, our societies pursue a shift away from fossil-based resources towards renewable resources. With 95% of our current transportation energy being petroleum based, the application of alternative, carbon-neutral products—among them biodiesel—is inevitable. In order to enhance the cost structure of biodiesel biorefineries, the valorization of the crude glycerol waste stream into high-value platform chemicals is of major importance.ResultsThe purpose of this study is the production of 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde (3-HPA) from biodiesel-derived crude glycerol by Lactobacillus diolivorans. Particular focus is given on overcoming potential limitations of glycerol transport into the cell, in order to use the cells’ total glycerol dehydratase capability towards the formation of 3-HPA as the main product. Recombinant overexpression of the endogenous glycerol uptake facilitating protein PduF results in a significant increase of glycerol conversion by a factor of 1.3. Concomitantly, glycerol dehydratase activity increased from initially 1.70 ± 0.03 U/mg protein to 2.23 ± 0.11 U/mg protein. With this approach, an average productivity of 4.8 g3-HPA/(gCDM h) yielding up to 35.9 g/L 3-HPA and 0.91 mol3-HPA/molGlycerol have been obtained.ConclusionLactobacillus diolivorans proves to be a valuable cell factory for the utilization of crude glycerol delivering high-value C3 chemicals like 3-HPA, 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) and 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP). Enhancing the glycerol influx into the cell by genetic engineering was successful paving the way towards the commercial production of 3-HPA.

Nitrogen nutrition in cotton and control strategies for greenhouse gas emissions: a review

Cotton (Gossypium hirustum L.) is grown globally as a major source of natural fiber. Nitrogen (N) management is cumbersome in cotton production systems; it has more impacts on yield, maturity, and lint quality of a cotton crop than other primary plant nutrient. Application and production of N fertilizers consume large amounts of energy, and excess application can cause environmental concerns, i.e., nitrate in ground water, and the production of nitrous oxide a highly potent greenhouse gas (GHG) to the atmosphere, which is a global concern. Therefore, improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of cotton plant is critical in this context. Slow-release fertilizers (e.g., polymer-coated urea) have the potential to increase cotton yield and reduce environmental pollution due to more efficient use of nutrients. Limited literature is available on the mitigation of GHG emissions for cotton production. Therefore, this review focuses on the role of N fertilization, in cotton growth and GHG emission management strategies, and will assess, justify, and organize the researchable priorities. Nitrate and ammonium nitrogen are essential nutrients for successful crop production. Ammonia (NH3) is a central intermediate in plant N metabolism. NH3 is assimilated in cotton by the mediation of glutamine synthetase, glutamine (z-) oxoglutarate amino-transferase enzyme systems in two steps: the first step requires adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to add NH3 to glutamate to form glutamine (Gln), and the second step transfers the NH3 from glutamine (Gln) to α-ketoglutarate to form two glutamates. Once NH3 has been incorporated into glutamate, it can be transferred to other carbon skeletons by various transaminases to form additional amino acids. The glutamate and glutamine formed can rapidly be used for the synthesis of low-molecular-weight organic N compounds (LMWONCs) such as amides, amino acids, ureides, amines, and peptides that are further synthesized into high-molecular-weight organic N compounds (HMWONCs) such as proteins and nucleic acids.

Greenhouse gas disclosures by Chinese power companies: trends, content and strategies

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the greenhouse gas (GHG)-related disclosure trends, content and strategies of the eight most high GHG-emitting Chinese power companies, over a period when government pressure to manage GHG emissions increased.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from the 2000-2009 annual reports, corporate social and environmental responsibility reports and websites of eight Chinese power companies. Content analysis results were supplemented with excerpts from documents written in English or Chinese. Legitimacy theory informed the interpretation of the findings.FindingsGHG-related disclosures increased from 2002 when the Chinese Government ratified the Kyoto Protocol and promulgated stringent environmental regulations. However, some expected types of GHG-related disclosure were absent or rare. Disclosure practices were found to be underpinned by reputation management objectives and reflected a symbolic rather than substantive legitimation strategy.Research limitations/implicationsThis study extends the literature on GHG-related disclosures by carbon-intensive firms and points to the need for future research to examine such disclosures in different countries to appreciate the variety in practice.Practical implicationsWhile the Chinese Government appears to have driven the emergence of GHG-related disclosure practices, companies can effect improvement by expanding the scope and content of what they disclose. Also, the growing emphasis on website disclosures may present challenges in ensuring the reliability and assurance of GHG disclosures.Originality/valueThis is the first study to examine GHG-related disclosure practices by Chinese power-generating companies, a sector crucial to managing the GHG effects of China’s significant economic growth.

A robust fuzzy stochastic programming model for the design of a reliable green closed-loop supply chain network

ABSTRACTRecently, governmental legislations, limitation of natural resources and adverse effects of End-of-Life products on ecological system have spurred researchers to design closed-loop supply chains (CLSCs). Accordingly, designing green supply chains (SCs) that manage greenhouse gas emissions and prevent air pollution can be helpful for companies to heighten profitability and customer loyalty, besides, uncertainty of parameters and disruption strikes could adversely affect performance of SCs and lower quality of output decisions. Effective planning prevents great losses and increases reliability of manager's decisions against uncertainties. Therefore, this paper is proceeding to design a reliable bi-objective green CLSC that minimizes total costs of network aside with minimizing harmful gas emissions. The proposed model is capable of controlling adverse effects of disruptions via applying scenario-based stochastic programming approach. Also, an effective hybrid robust fuzzy stochastic programming method is extended to effectively control uncertainty of parameters and risk-aversion level of output decisions. Extended model analyzing is based on lead-acid battery SC case study that output results approve applicability and effectiveness of model.

THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF A MEAT PROCESSING COMPANY

Plans for mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the agri-food sector should not only include the production of agricultural raw materials but also the food processing industry. The aim of the research was to determine the carbon footprint of a meat processing enterprise and to analyze the intensity indicators of GHG emissions. The study was conducted in a medium-sized company, located in the Wielkopolska Province, for which pork is a basic feedstock for the production (over 81.0%). The results show that the largest GHG emissions were related to the consumption of electricity, natural gas and fuels in the transport of products. There were estimated values of several indicators of emission intensity. The main indicator of GHG emissions related to the unit of product was 519 g CO2 eq. per 1 kg. It is concluded that the analysis of the carbon footprint can be an important instrument for the management of GHG emissions at the company level and can also serve the purpose of assessing the effects of implementing plans for a low-carbon economy in the meat processing sector.

Tree mortality from fires, bark beetles, and timber harvest during a hot and dry decade in the western United States (2003–2012)

High temperatures and severe drought contributed to extensive tree mortality from fires and bark beetles during the 2000s in parts of the western continental United States. Several states in this region have greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets and would benefit from information on the amount of carbon stored in tree biomass killed by disturbance. We quantified mean annual tree mortality from fires, bark beetles, and timber harvest from 2003–2012 for each state in this region. We estimated tree mortality from fires and beetles using tree aboveground carbon (AGC) stock and disturbance data sets derived largely from remote sensing. We quantified tree mortality from harvest using data from US Forest Service reports. In both cases, we used Monte Carlo analyses to track uncertainty associated with parameter error and temporal variability. Regional tree mortality from harvest, beetles, and fires (MORTH+B+F) together averaged 45.8 ± 16.0 Tg AGC yr−1 (±95% confidence interval), indicating a mortality rate of 1.10 ± 0.38% yr−1. Harvest accounted for the largest percentage of MORTH+B+F (∼50%), followed by beetles (∼32%), and fires (∼18%). Tree mortality from harvest was concentrated in Washington and Oregon, where harvest accounted for ∼80% of MORTH+B+F in each state. Tree mortality from beetles occurred widely at low levels across the region, yet beetles had pronounced impacts in Colorado and Montana, where they accounted for ∼80% of MORTH+B+F. Tree mortality from fires was highest in California, though fires accounted for the largest percentage of MORTH+B+F in Arizona and New Mexico (∼50%). Drought and human activities shaped regional variation in tree mortality, highlighting opportunities and challenges to managing GHG emissions from forests. Rising temperatures and greater risk of drought will likely increase tree mortality from fires and bark beetles during coming decades in this region. Thus, sustained monitoring and mapping of tree mortality is necessary to inform forest and GHG management.

Examining the effect of managing GHG emissions on business performance

AbstractUnprecedented climate changes menace not only the planetary ecosystem, but also the stability of the global economy. The European Union has for years promoted the transition of the economy towards a model of sustainable development, stimulating companies to adopt a strategic approach based on quality and environmental efficiency, rather than on quantity and reduction of costs.The aim of this study is to analyze how greater attention to the environmental effects of a company's activities (environmental management) and monitoring and reduction of CO2 emissions (emission management) can improve the company's economic performance. We analyze the financial data and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission figures for a sample of large Italian companies, searching for potential relations between increasing returns on capital invested and the reduction of pollutants. The results show that the companies examined are ever more attentive to environmental policies, and that those with a green vision achieve better operating performance. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

The management of greenhouse gas emissions and its effects on firm performance

Climate change is a reality and the dramatic reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by developed countries is a moral obligation. It represents also a unique opportunity to modernize the economy and to improve the competitiveness of firms. The purpose of this study is to analyze how greater consideration to the impact of their activities on the environment, as well as the control and reduction of CO2 emissions can improve the economic performance of firms. A modern and efficient approach to the management of emissions helps to identify the activities with high-energy consumption which can lead to potential savings and also to maximize image return to customers sensitive to environmental issues. An econometric model that quantifies these effects is here applied to a sample of large Italian firms and evidence demonstrates that the adoption of an EMS (Environmental Management System) together with an appropriate control of emissions could lead to profits through an increase in demand and productivity. However, the improvement of productivity is weaker than the increase in demand suggesting that there is a delay between the start of the environmental efforts and the realization of economic performances.

Methanogenic biodegradation of paraffinic solvent hydrocarbons in two different oil sands tailings.

Microbial communities drive many biogeochemical processes in oil sands tailings and cause greenhouse gas emissions from tailings ponds. Paraffinic solvent (primarily C5-C6; n- and iso-alkanes) is used by some oil sands companies to aid bitumen extraction from oil sands ores. Residues of unrecovered solvent escape to tailings ponds during tailings deposition and sustain microbial metabolism. To investigate biodegradation of hydrocarbons in paraffinic solvent, mature fine tailings (MFT) collected from Albian and CNRL ponds were amended with paraffinic solvent at ~0.1wt% (final concentration: ~1000mgL-1) and incubated under methanogenic conditions for ~1600d. Albian and CNRL MFTs exhibited ~400 and ~800d lag phases, respectively after which n-alkanes (n-pentane and n-hexane) in the solvent were preferentially metabolized to methane over iso-alkanes in both MFTs. Among iso-alkanes, only 2-methylpentane was completely biodegraded whereas 2-methylbutane and 3-methylpentane were partially biodegraded probably through cometabolism. 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing showed dominance of Anaerolineaceae and Methanosaetaceae in Albian MFT and Peptococcaceae and co-domination of "Candidatus Methanoregula" and Methanosaetaceae in CNRL MFT bacterial and archaeal communities, respectively, during active biodegradation of paraffinic solvent. The results are important for developing future strategies for tailings reclamation and management of greenhouse gas emissions.

Risk analysis of the governance system affecting outcomes in the Great Barrier Reef

The state and trend of the Great Barrier Reef's (GBR's) ecological health remains problematic, influencing United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) statements regarding GBR governance. While UNESCO's concerns triggered separate strategic assessments by the Australian and Queensland governments, there has been no independent and integrated review of the key risks within the overall system of governance influencing GBR outcomes. As a case study of international significance, this paper applies Governance Systems Analysis (GSA), a novel analytical framework that identifies the governance themes, domains and subdomains most likely to influence environmental and socio-economic outcomes in complex natural systems. This GBR-focussed application of GSA identifies governance subdomains that present high, medium, or low risk of failure to produce positive outcomes for the Reef. This enabled us to determine that three “whole of system” governance problems could undermine GBR outcomes. First, we stress the integrative importance of the Long Term Sustainability Plan (LTSP) Subdomain. Sponsored by the Australian and Queensland governments, this subdomain concerns the primary institutional arrangements for coordinated GBR planning and delivery, but due to its recent emergence, it faces several internal governance challenges. Second, we find a major risk of implementation failure in the achievement of GBR water quality actions due to a lack of system-wide focus on building strong and stable delivery systems at catchment scale. Finally, we conclude that the LTSP Subdomain currently has too limited a mandate/capacity to influence several high-risk subdomains that have not been, but must be more strongly aligned with Reef management (e.g. the Greenhouse Gas Emission Management Subdomain). Our analysis enables exploration of governance system reforms needed to address environmental trends in the GBR and reflects on the potential application of GSA in other complex land and sea-scapes across the globe.

Telecommunications energy and greenhouse gas emissions management for future network growth

A key aspect of greener network deployment is how to achieve sustainable growth of a telecommunications network, both in terms of operational and embodied energy. Hence, in this paper we investigate how the overall energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of a fast growing telecommunications network can be minimized. Due to the complexities in modeling the embodied energy of networks, this aspect of energy consumption has received limited attention by network operators. Here, we present the first model to evaluate the interdependencies of the four main contributing factors in managing the sustainable growth of a telecommunications network: (i) the network’s operational energy consumption; (ii) the embodied energy of network equipment; (iii) network traffic growth; and (iv) the expected energy efficiency improvements in both the operational and embodied phases. Using Monte Carlo techniques with real network data, our results demonstrate that under the current trends in overall energy efficiency improvements the network embodied energy will account for over 40% of the total network energy in 2025 compared to 20% in 2015. Further, we find that the optimum equipment replacement cycle, which will result in the lowest total network life cycle energy, is directly dependent on the technological progress in energy efficiency improvements of both operational and embodied phases. Our model and analysis highlight the need for a comprehensive approach to better understand the interactions between network growth, technological progress, equipment replacement lifetime, energy consumption, and the resulting carbon footprint.

Managing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Warehousing and Transshipment with Environmental Performance Indicators

When considering a complete ecological assessment of logistics activities and the development of comprehensive decarbonization strategies, it's important to address not only transportation but the warehousing and transshipment processes as well. In national inventories, the total energy demand of warehousing can equal around one quarter of the transport emissions. The issue of energy-efficient processes at logistics facilities gains importance because of changing regulations and market requirements (e.g. the new European Energy Efficiency Directive which prioritizes the energy demand of buildings). Furthermore, logistics companies tend to realize energetic and/or ecological improvements at logistics facilities and report savings achieved.As opposed to logistics facilities, the ecological assessment of transportation and the derivation of appropriate environmental performance indicators (EPI) are widely standardized (cf. EN 16258). How to assess, monitor and manage greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) at warehouses or terminals are still major research and standardization issues. That is why the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics has defined a comprehensive assessment approach for logistics facilities, calculated specific emission factors and developed a flexible yet detailed allocation scheme for different logistics services (e.g. refrigerated warehousing). This article addresses the developed method and provides an argumentative basis for further standardization. This will be realized by the presentation of a classification scheme for logistics facilities based on ecological aspects and the consideration of attributes of logistics items in the discussion about how GHG emissions of logistics facilities are usually influenced. To illustrate strengths and weaknesses of the method, exemplary implementations at facilities of the research partner, DB Schenker, will be published. Focus will be on the emissions of a cross-docking center, a warehouse and a spare parts depot.The provided assessment method for GHG emissions of logistics facilities and the allocation scheme for EPIs enable logistics companies to monitor and manage the emissions of goods storage and transshipments on a continual basis. Consequently, the method can trigger the development of decarbonization strategies at logistics facilities and foster an organizational or technological improvement process.

Management of greenhouse gas emissions from maritime operations - challenges and mitigation opportunities

Maritime activities are one of the important sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. By 2050, the GHG emissions are expected to increase by at least 50% over the 2007 levels. The currently practiced GHG emission mitigation measures include adoption of appropriate energy sources including conventional, renewable, and alternative energy sources or their blends; development and application of cleaner technological and operational mechanisms; adoption of intermodal shifting and demand management-based approaches; and development of sustainable shipping governance system. Each mitigation measure is related to certain implementation challenges. This study investigated different estimations of GHG emissions, the relevant mitigation options, and associated challenges, and analysed a possible international mitigation governance system, and proposed approaches to overcome barriers of mitigation options. It is concluded that the pertinent global community should take initiatives to improve the understanding of respective merits of different mitigation options, establish reduction potential and effectiveness of each viable measure, and assess the potential impacts of mitigation measures with particular reference to the global trade and market distortions. The persuasive cooperation with strong commitment among decision makers and stakeholders will best ensure development and implementation of sustainable mitigation measures.

Biorefinery Concept: An Overview of Producing Energy, Fuels and Materials from Biomass Feedstocks

Biomass, as a renewable resource, has the potential to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels, provide energy security and mitigate environmental problems. Shifting dependence from petroleum-based to renewable biomass-based resources is generally viewed as key to the sustainable development and effective management of greenhouse gas emissions. There has been an increasing research interest in the assessment of bio-sourced materials recovered from residual biomass and their conversion techniques. Biomass which is generally considered as less important due to its light weight, bulkiness and less economic value can be a valuable feedstock in biorefineries. Many countries of the world are now on the way to effectively utilizing the so called neglected energy source for achieving greater and cleaner energy efficiency by adopting biorefinery approach. This review paper hereby critically examine the idea of biorefineries as a strategy for sustainability by using different available biomass feedstocks, techniques for their multipurpose conversion into useful chemicals, fuel and materials, and the associated challenges on the basis of relevant researches.

Cement industry greenhouse gas emissions – management options and abatement cost

Growing anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and increasing global demand for cement are general drivers for managing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in the cement industry. Overall CO2 dominates cement sector GHG emissions. The aim was to study how the management of GHG emissions in the cement production chain is related to (1) clinker substitutes, (2) primary source of energy, (3) electricity emissions, (4) technology in use and (5) geographic location. Therefore regional CO2 emissions in the cement industry were analyzed by applying a climate impact management matrix on a cradle-to-gate basis. The use of clinker substitutes in cement varied from 3% to 36.4%. The results show that the variation of process technology and thermal energy use related CO2 emissions is more significant than that of electricity emissions. The highest near term potential to avoid emissions is replacing clinker with mineral components (MIC). Increasing the global use of MIC to a level of 34.2%in cement would save 312 Mt CO2 with the 2013 level of annual cement production. Similarly, a 2.7% reduction in thermal energy use would save 28 Mt CO2 annually, and a 10% decrease of emissions from electricity use would save 26 Mt CO2. The best long term options from 2030 onwards are different carbon capture technologies and MgO and geopolymer cements. In addition, the CO2 abatement costs of different investment projects were compared by using a uniform capital recovery factor. The abatement cost of avoided emissions varied from US$4 to US$ 448 per ton of CO2 depending on the technology, geographical location and initial level of CO2 emissions.

An analysis of the greenhouse gas emissions profile of airlines flying the Australian international market

International commercial flights (with the exception of flights between countries in European Union including Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein) are currently not subject to greenhouse gas emission reduction regulation. To formulate effective and efficiency policy to manage greenhouse gas emissions from air transport, policy makers need to determine the emissions profiles of all airlines currently flying into their country or region. In this paper, we use 2012 data on airlines' aircraft characteristics, passenger load and cargo load (obtained from statistics reported by Australian Government Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics) to estimate the volume and carbon efficiency on each international route flying to and from Australia. This is the first study to use actual passenger and cargo load data to determine the greenhouse gas (specifically CO2) efficiency of airlines operating in the Australian international aviation market. Airlines' CO2 emission profile is dependent on many factors including but not limited to the aircraft used, payload, route taken, weather conditions. Our results reveal that the airlines’ CO2 emission profile is not only dependent on the aircraft used and the number of passengers but also the amount of cargo on each flight.

Energy and GHG emissions management of agricultural systems using multi objective particle swarm optimization algorithm: a case study

In the recent centuries, one of the most important ongoing challenges is energy consumption and its environmental impacts. As far as agriculture is concerned, it has a key role in the world economics and a great amount of energy from different sources is used in this sector. Since researchers have reported a high degree of inefficiency in developing countries, it is necessary for the modern management of cropping systems to have all factors (economics, energy and environment) in the decision-making process simultaneously. Therefore, the aim of this study is to apply Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO) to analyze management system of an agricultural production. As well as MOPSO, two other optimization algorithm were used for comparing the results. Eventually, Taguchi method with metrics analysis was used to tune the algorithms’ parameters and choose the best algorithms. Watermelon production in Kerman province was considered as a case study. On average, the three multi-objective evolutionary algorithms could reduce about 30 % of the average Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in watermelon production although as well as this reduction, output energy and benefit cost ratio were increased about 20 and 30 %, respectively. Also, the metrics comparison analysis determined that MOPSO provided better modeling and optimization results.