Mitigation Goals Research Articles

The multiple makings of a supervised consumption service in a hospital setting

BackgroundWhereas supervised consumption services (SCSs) are common in many community settings, they are seldomly found in acute care hospitals. As hospitals present unique circumstances that can shape the impacts of an SCS, careful consideration of local implementation contexts and practices is required. We explored the pre-implementation stage of an SCS, to examine how an SCS is made and made differently in relation to the material-discursive context of the hospital. MethodsWe conducted 11 focus groups with 83 staff and clinicians at an inner-city hospital in Toronto, Canada. Data analysis followed principles of grounded theory and was informed by an ‘evidence making interventions’ framework. ResultsWhile most participants indicated they would support the establishment of an SCS at the hospital, multiple enactments of an SCS emerged. An SCS was enacted: as a means to reduce drug-related risks for all people who use drugs, as an opportunity to intervene on patients’ drug use, as a means to centralize drug use, and as a transformative intervention for the hospital. In our findings, harm reduction, abstinence, security, and risk mitigation goals existed closely together, yielding overlaying realities. ConclusionOur findings revealed various enactments of an SCS, some of which are likely to negatively affect people who use drugs and service access. As more hospitals consider the implementation of an SCS, understanding how an SCS is made in practice will be key to building a service that focuses on the needs of people who use drugs.

Carbon storage in old hedgerows: The importance of below‐ground biomass

AbstractAmbitious climate change mitigation goals require novel carbon (C) sinks in agricultural systems. Thus, the establishment of new hedgerows is increasingly attracting attention as a C sequestration measure. Despite hedgerows being a traditional agroforestry system, few studies have been conducted on hedgerow C stocks. Data on below‐ground biomass (BGB) in particular are limited. The aim of this study was therefore to quantify both above‐ground biomass (AGB) and BGB C stocks, as well as litter and soil organic C stocks, of established hedgerow systems by destructive sampling at three sites in northern Germany. The total biomass C (TBC) stock of the sampled hedgerows was 105 ± 11 Mg ha−1 on average. An additional 11 ± 2 Mg ha−1 were found in hedgerow litter and dead roots. Coarse roots (34% of TBC), stumps (22%) and harvestable biomass (20%) were the largest biomass C pools of the hedgerows. The BGB:AGB ratio was 0.7 ± 0.1, showing the importance of BGB in old hedgerow systems. Compared with other woody systems, these old hedgerows seem to have a different biomass distribution, with more biomass allocated below‐ground. About 15% of BGB C stock was stored in fine roots, whereas 85% was stored in coarse roots. The topsoil (0–30 cm) contained 85% of coarse root biomass C and 51% of fine root biomass C. Hedgerow C stock exceeded that of average German forests, and thus demonstrated their large potential for C sequestration when newly planted. This study provides detailed empirical data on C stocks in old hedgerow systems, and thus can be used to take hedgerow C sinks into account in C farming frameworks.

How politicians and the population attribute responsibility for climate change mitigation: no indication of a ‘governance trap’ in Norway

ABSTRACT Previous research claims that ‘the most significant risk’ to achieving climate change mitigation goals is the ‘governance trap’, whereby governments and the public attribute responsibility for action to one another. While it is well documented that individuals call for political action on climate change, there is limited knowledge about how politicians attribute responsibility for climate change mitigation. The present study examines whether there is evidence of a ‘governance trap’ in Norway, by using two online surveys to compare how politicians (N = 1211) and the population (N = 2030) attribute responsibility for climate change mitigation to individuals, the local and regional authorities, the national authorities, the international community, and business and industry. Contrary to expectations, politicians and the population attribute responsibility to the actors in the same order. Thereby, the study contests the assumption that governments attribute primary responsibility for climate change mitigation to the population.

Current Ripple Mitigation Strategy of Modular Multilevel DC/DC Converter for Battery Energy Storage System

For modular multilevel DC/DC converter (MDC) with conventional modulation strategies, the inductor current ripple will increase if DC/DC units' input voltages and/or output references are unbalanced. In this paper, a current ripple mitigation strategy is proposed for MDC battery energy storage system, which is based on harmonic model for ripple analysis using Fourier series. By varying the duties and phase-shifted angles simultaneously, multiple current harmonics are eliminated. Moreover, in order to freely adjust batteries' current under the condition of duties are calculated by ripple suppressing method in every modulation process, the control period is divided into several intervals and variables in each interval are separate. Through constraining every unit's average duty of all intervals, battery current is dominated under distribution scheme while achieving the goal of ripple mitigation. Experimental result on a four-unit MDC converter is presented to verify the feasibility and effectivity of proposed modulation method.

Potential reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from waste banks and 3R waste treatment facilities in Bandung City

The Indonesian government has established a 30% reduction by 2030 target for reducing GHG emissions, through the 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) approach. In the City of Bandung, various institutions are involved in waste handling and reduction. The objectives of this study were to determine the GHG emissions, resulting from household waste disposal at Sarimukti Landfill, without (scenario 1) and with (scenario 2) the utilisation of Waste Banks, 3R Waste Treatment Facility (TPS 3R), and an incinerator in a TPS 3R, at Ciwastra Market, as well as to estimate the GHG emissions, once Bandung City successfully achieves its waste reduction and waste management target in 2025, as stated in the Bandung Mayor Regulation No. 1426 of 2018, leveraging all existing facilities with the landfilling (scenario 3) and incineration (scenario 4) method. The calculations made were aligned with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2019 Guidelines Tier 1. The findings of this study revealed that, in the first scenario, the GHG emissions amount to 185,271.934 tons of CO2eq. In the second scenario, the emissions amount to 150,423.096 tons of CO2eq. Consequently, the reduction in GHG emissions achieved is 34,848.847 tons CO2eq. In the third scenario, the emissions are 64,373.560 tons of CO2eq, while in the fourth scenario, GHG emissions are 70,001.973 tons of CO2eq. These findings highlight the substantial GHG emission reductions achievable through the implementation of waste management strategies. By adopting these approaches, it is possible to mitigate the environmental impact of waste disposal and contribute to the reduction of GHG emissions, well in tandem with the climate change mitigation goals.

Riverine nitrogen footprint of agriculture in the Mississippi–Atchafalaya River Basin: do we trade water quality for crop production?

Increasing food and biofuel demands have led to the cascading effects from cropland expansions, raised fertilizer use, to increased riverine nitrogen (N) loads. However, little is known about the current trade-off between riverine N pollution and crop production due to the lack of predictive understanding of ecological processes across the land-aquatic continuum. Here, we propose a riverine N footprint (RNF) concept to quantify how N loads change along with per unit crop production gain. Using data synthesis and a well-calibrated hydro-ecological model, we find that the RNF within the Mississippi–Atchafalaya River Basin peaked at 1.95 g N kg−1 grain during the 1990s, and then shifted from an increasing to a decreasing trend, reaching 0.65 g N kg−1 grain in the 2010s. This implies decoupled responses of crop production and N loads to key agricultural activities approximately after 2000, but this pattern varies considerably among sub-basins. Our study highlights the importance of developing a food–energy–water nexus indicator to examine the region-specific trade-offs between crop production and land-to-aquatic N loads for achieving nutrient mitigation goals while sustaining economic gains.

A Conceptual Model for Climate Change Mainstreaming in Government

Abstract‘Mainstreaming’ climate change by embedding climate change considerations in government policies, processes, and operations can bolster the realization of climate mitigation and adaptation goals and reduce risks of counter-productive actions. Some climate laws around the world now contain explicit mainstreaming duties, in parallel with emissions reduction targets and adaptation planning requirements. This article proposes a conceptual model for climate change mainstreaming in government, with two pillars. Firstly, it defines objectives of climate mainstreaming, emphasizing that mainstreaming activities occur along a spectrum of ambition towards a goal of ‘mature mainstreaming’. Secondly, it proposes three complementary pathways to mature mainstreaming – regulatory, institutional, and capacity and capability-building pathways – to classify mainstreaming activities, and barriers to and enablers of mainstreaming. Grounded in empirical insights from a leading jurisdiction (Victoria, Australia), the model can assist governments to clearly articulate mainstreaming objectives and to identify, prioritize, and monitor mainstreaming initiatives to help in achieving their climate policy goals.

Solution of trade‐offs between food production, water use, and climate change mitigation in global agriculture

AbstractTrade‐off conflicts among the Sustainable Development Goals have been a challenge. To reconcile frictional relationships among food production security (Goal 2), water use efficiency (Goal 6), and climate change mitigation (Goal 13), an empirical examination using deterministic frontier analysis was conducted globally. A single volume‐based index for each goal is too simple to evaluate the agricultural sustainability of different areas from the nexus assessment perspective. Our major findings are threefold. First, approximately two‐thirds of African countries have suffered from small food production and excess water use. Second, marked contrasts are observed in the possibilities of an increase in food production and reduction in water use and CO2 emissions among regions. Asian countries use water efficiently, whereas countries in the western regions control CO2 emissions. Third, trade‐offs among food production, water use, and CO2 emissions in agriculture are observed. It is almost impossible to reduce water use in Asia and CO2 emissions in the western regions for food production security. Based on the nexus approach, local strategies need to be compatible with global sustainability. Future research should identify the factors that determine the agricultural efficiency to devise local strategies, and develop policies simultaneously pursuing relevant environmental and well‐being goals.

Achieving decent living standards in emerging economies challenges national mitigation goals for CO2 emissions

Emerging economies, low- and middle-income countries experiencing rapid population and GDP growth, face the challenge of improving their living standards while stabilizing CO2 emissions to meet net-zero goals. In this study, we quantify the CO2 emissions required for achieving decent living standards (DLS) in emerging economies. The results show that, compared to other regions, achieving DLS in emerging Asian and African economies will result in more additional CO2 emissions, particularly in the DLS indicators of Mobility and Electricity. Achievement of DLS in emerging economies will result in 8.6 Gt of additional CO2 emissions, which should not jeopardize global climate targets. However, a concerning trend arises as more than half of the emerging economies (62 out of 121) will face substantial challenges in aligning their expected emission growth for achieving DLS with their national emission mitigation targets.

In Situ Raman Methodology for Online Analysis of CO2 and H2O Loadings in a Water-Lean Solvent for CO2 Capture.

Carbon capture represents a key pathway to meeting climate change mitigation goals. Powerful next-generation solvent-based capture processes are under development by many researchers, but optimization and testing would be significantly aided by integrating in situ monitoring capability. Further, real-time water analysis in water-lean solvents offers the potential to maintain their water balance in operation. To explore data acquisition techniques in depth for this purpose, Raman spectra of CO2, H2O, and a single-component water-lean solvent, N-(2-ethoxyethyl)-3-morpholinopropan-1-amine (2-EEMPA) were collected at different CO2 and H2O concentrations using an in situ Raman cell. The quantification of CO2 and H2O loadings in 2-EEMPA was done by principal component regression and partial least squares methods with analysis of uncertainties. We conclude with discussions on how this simultaneous online analysis method to quantify CO2 and H2O loadings can be an important tool to enable the optimal efficiency of water-lean CO2 solvents while also maintaining the critical water balance under operating conditions relevant to post-combustion CO2 capture.

Environmental Law for Sustainable Palm Oil Development to Combat Deforestation and Climate Change Impact

Purpose: The aim of this study is to examie how environmental law to mitigate the impact of climate change caused by deforestation in Indonesia due to the high demand for palm oil. Theoretical framework: Theoretical framework incorporate principles from international agreements such as the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), aligned with environmental law with Indonesia's national policies and strategies, such as the National Action Plan for Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO). Design/methodology/approach: The research method used a qualitative approach with data collected through library research. Various sources, including articles, journals, books, reports, and documents, were utilized to gather comprehensive and reliable information on the Indonesian palm oil problem and its environmental and societal impact. Findings: The result of the study concluded that addressing deforestation and the environmental impact of palm oil production requires several measures. These include reducing global demand for palm oil, promoting sustainable palm oil production, and adopting best practices in the palm oil industry. Implementing environmentally friendly approaches, protecting critical conservation areas, respecting the rights of local communities, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions are essential steps to mitigate the issue Research, Practical & Social implications: The study outline the role of engage all stakeholders, including producers, companies, governments, civil society, and global consumers, in these efforts. Striking a balance between economic interests and environmental concerns is vital. By promoting sustainable agricultural practices, negative impacts on the environment and society can be minimized, and progress can be made towards achieving climate change mitigation and sustainable development goals. Originality/value: The value of the study lies in its holistic approach to addressing multiple interconnected issues. It not only focuses on environmental conservation but also considers the socioeconomic aspects of small-scale farmers in Indonesia. This integrated perspective is vital for finding sustainable solutions that benefit both the environment and local communities.

Developing integrated direct air capture and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage systems: progress towards 2 °C and 1.5 °C climate goals

Negative emissions technologies are gaining widespread acceptance as crucial tools in achieving climate goals, such as keeping global temperatures below 2 °C of pre-industrial levels by 2100. Two technologies central to carbon dioxide removal efforts are direct air capture and Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage. While both technologies have undergone extensive study, only a few studies have explored the potential of using biomass as an energy source for direct air capture technology. This is despite bioenergy with carbon capture having the ability to provide carbon-negative heat and power, as well as its potential impact on the climate mitigation goals of the century. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of meeting the energy requirements of a direct air capture unit using bioenergy. Combining these units will result in compounded negative emissions for the integrated system. The objective is to examine the thermal and electrical requirements of the two primary approaches used in direct air capture design: the liquid solvent and solid sorbent direct air capture units, and to calculate the compounded negative emissions achieved by integrating them with bioenergy. The results of this study demonstrate that for a direct air capture plant capturing 1 mega ton of carbon dioxide per year, approximately 1200 and 2400 tons of biomass per day would be sufficient to meet the energy needs of the solid sorbent and liquid solvent direct air capture systems, respectively. The combined capture efficiency of both types of direct air capture systems integrated with bioenergy stands at 91.19% to 93.9% with overall carbon captured up to 1.51 mega tons of carbon dioxide per year. Over the century, integrating bioenergy into direct air capture units can remove gigaton levels of carbon from the atmosphere without disrupting the demand–supply dynamics of existing and future energy systems.

Equalising the evidence base for adaptation and loss and damages

AbstractSince the UNFCCC Paris Agreement came into force after 2015 international climate policy rests on three pillars: mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage. However, while there are clear agreed‐upon metrics to measure emissions, base mitigation goals against and hold countries and companies accountable to, the evidence base for the impacts of climate change to inform adaptation and loss and damage is very different. There are no agreed‐upon metrics, nor are there guidelines or criteria to delineate the impacts of climate change from other drivers of losses and damages. This imbalance is reflected in the lack of ability to set and enforce goals. With a new body of scientific evidence introduced in the IPCC, we argue that this can change. Especially with an increasing number of climate litigation cases being recognised as a legitimate root to justice, and thus being given due consideration in courts, the imbalance in evidence could change and put adaptation and loss and damage on more equal footing with mitigation.

Specifying the Gap between Nations’ Outward-Looking and Domestic Climate Policies: A Call for Measures of Domestic Climate Policy Stringency

As nations fail to meet their climate emission mitigation goals, the ambition gap is widening between international climate policy (enacted by the United Nations) and domestic climate policy (what nations propose and enact). A widely held but little verified conventional wisdom exists that nations over-promise internationally and under-deliver domestically. While little data exist to directly test this hypothesis, we documented this gap by constructing heuristic indexes of domestic and international climate policy performance, showing that nations tend to “lead with the international”. We found that nations’ domestic policies are not significant in explaining emissions, although their international policies are significant. We concluded that beyond identifying this gap, analysts must devise metrics to assess domestic climate policy across a range of issue areas, as domestic policies are the foundation of any global effort to manage climate change.

Multi-objective optimization of energy-efficient retrofitting strategies for single-family residential homes: Minimizing energy consumption, CO2 emissions and retrofit costs

The retrofitting of buildings for improved energy efficiency has been recognized as crucial for achieving climate mitigation goals in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). However, performing multi-objective optimizations for retrofitting existing buildings poses challenges, as it requires balancing conflicting objectives such as retrofit costs, energy savings, and CO2 reduction. To tackle this challenge, we employed a multi-objective analysis approach that aims to identify Pareto-optimal solutions for retrofitting, striking a balance between energy consumption, CO2 emissions, and retrofit costs. In this study, we utilized a combination of Full Factorial Design (FFD) and the state-of-the-art NSGA-III framework to evaluate energy-efficient (EE) retrofit strategies for residential buildings in B&H. The analysis was based on the existing building database from the national TABULA study, serving as a fundamental reference. By analyzing this data, we aimed to determine the optimal approach for EE retrofitting in single-family homes (SFH). Key results indicate that upgrading external walls and improving heating system efficiency are the most effective measures for reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions. However, these measures come with higher retrofit costs. A multi-objective optimization approach identifies a set of non-dominated solutions representing energy efficiency retrofit measures with the lowest specific final energy for heating, specific CO2 emissions, and overall retrofit costs. The top-ranked set of measures achieves a Simple Payback Period (SPP) of 19.9 years. The insights gained from this study are intended to provide valuable guidance to decision-makers in formulating cost-effective and energy-efficient retrofitting strategies that simultaneously minimize annual energy consumption, CO2 emissions, and retrofit costs.

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN EMBODIED, OPERATIONAL, AND LIFE CYCLE CARBON IN PASSIVE HOUSE MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS

ABSTRACT The building sector is responsible for a significant portion of global CO2 emissions and any attempt to meet global climate change mitigation goals requires dramatic reductions in CO2 emissions from building construction and use. Among the many green building certification programs intended to reduce the environmental impact of buildings, the passive house standards are one of the most stringent certifications with respect to reducing operational energy. While there is significant research demonstrating the reductions in operational energy use in passive house and passive house inspired buildings, there is comparatively little research into the embodied energy and embodied carbon emissions associated with these buildings. The aim of this research was to evaluate the relationship between embodied carbon emissions, operational carbon emissions, and overall carbon use intensity in passive house certified residential buildings, using a recently completed, multifamily passive house as a case study. First, the case study building was defined, and a partial life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed to evaluate the embodied and operational carbon emissions associated with this base case. Second, a catalog of alternative wall and roof assemblies were defined and the LCA of the case study was updated for each alternative assembly to assess the impact on the embodied carbon, operational carbon, and overall carbon use intensity. The results of this analysis indicate that the material composition of the exterior envelope assemblies can have significant impact on the overall, cumulative carbon impact of a particular building. Moreover, the results also indicate that there are clear scenarios in which operational energy efficiency should be sacrificed in favor of reducing upfront embodied carbon emissions, particularly when evaluated over critical time spans. Based on these results, this study recommends that green building standards and certifications, including passive house but also USGBC LEED, Living Building Challenge, and others, should place greater emphasis on embodied carbon and holistic carbon accounting in addition to operational efficiency.

International technology innovation to accelerate energy transitions: The case of the international energy agency technology collaboration programmes

International cooperation in technology innovation can help accelerate energy transitions globally. If they are to promote global systemic change, partnerships need to move beyond nurturing niches and increase their geographical reach. Moving beyond niches brings challenges for such international partnerships traditionally focused on technological-hardware innovation in advanced countries. Based on an analytical framework rooted in innovation and transition studies, this paper explores how international technology innovation partnerships can help accelerate transitions globally by conducting a unique empirical study of the almost five decades-old IEA Technology Collaboration Programmes (TCPs). Results suggest that well-established networks for knowledge diffusion, growing compatibility of activities with climate change mitigation goals, and increased global participation currently enable TCPs to contribute to the energy transition. Improving outreach to non-scientific audiences, knowledge diffusion beyond technical knowledge, and cross-sectoral coordination, as well as ensuring equal-footing participation of developing countries, remain challenges to be addressed, especially as the transition accelerates.

Home range sizes of red deer in relation to habitat composition: a review and implications for management in Sweden

Knowledge about deer spatial use is essential for damage mitigation, conservation, and harvest management. We assess annual and seasonal home range sizes in relation to habitat composition for red deer (Cervus elaphus) in Sweden, using GPS-data from two regions with different management systems. We compare our findings with reviewed data on red deer home range sizes in Europe. Annual and seasonal home ranges during calving, hunt, and winter-spring, decreased with increasing proportion forest. Female annual home ranges in a mixed agricultural-forest landscape were three times larger than in a forest-dominated landscape. Core areas (50% Kernels) were approximately 1/5 of the full annual and seasonal home ranges (95% Kernels) regardless of habitat composition. Home range size in the forest-dominated landscape showed little inter-seasonal variation. In the agricultural-forest landscape, home ranges were larger during calving, hunt, and winter-spring compared to summer and rut. In the forest-dominated landscape, management areas are large enough to cover female spatial use. In the agricultural-forest landscape, female spatial use covers several license units. Here, the coordinated license system is needed to reach trade-offs between goals of conservation, game management, and damage mitigation. Males had in general larger home ranges than females, and the majority of the males also made a seasonal migration to and from the rutting areas. The license system area in the agricultural-forest landscape is large enough to manage migrating males. In the forest landscape, a coordination of several management areas is needed to encompass male migrations. We conclude that management needs to adapt to deer spatial use in different types of landscapes to reach set goals.

Spatiotemporal Variation and Development Stage of CO2 Emissions of Urban Agglomerations in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China

As the world’s largest developing country, China has played an important role in the achievement of the global CO2 emissions mitigation goal. The monitoring and analysis of CO2 emissions in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) urban agglomerations is strategic to the carbon peak and carbon neutrality in China. In this paper, we revealed the spatial and temporal variations of CO2 emissions in Cheng-Yu urban agglomeration (CY-UA), Yangtze River Middle-Reach urban agglomeration (YRMR-UA), and Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration (YRD-UA) in YREB and investigated the carbon emission development stage of YREB urban agglomerations. Particularly, a carbon emission development stage framework that considered the relationship between economic growth and carbon emissions was built based on Environmental Kuznets Curves (EKCs). Meanwhile, multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) was used to analyze the impact of different influencing factors, including population (POP), GDP per capita (GDPPC), the proportion of secondary industry (SI), carbon emission intensity (CI), and urbanization (UR), on the CO2 emissions of three urban agglomerations. The results illustrate the following: (1) The CO2 emissions of YREB urban agglomerations decreased, with YRD-UA having the highest CO2 emissions among the three urban agglomerations and contributing 41.87% of YREB CO2 emissions in 2017. (2) CY-UA, YRMR-UA, and YRD-UA reached the CO2 emissions peak in 2012, 2011, and 2020, respectively, all of which are at the low-carbon stage. (3) POP and GDPPC show the greatest impact on the CO2 emissions of the three YREB urban agglomerations.

Counting (on) blue carbon—Challenges and ways forward for carbon accounting of ecosystem-based carbon removal in marine environments

The latest IPCC assessment report highlights once more the need for negative emissions via carbon dioxide removal (CDR) measures to reach ambitious mitigation goals. In particular ecosystem-based CDR measures are currently the focus of national net-zero strategies and novel carbon crediting efforts. Blue carbon dioxide removal (blueCDR) options are anthropogenic activities that aim to enhance such ecosystem-based carbon sinks in the marine environment. The protection and conservation of existing marine ecosystems that naturally sequester carbon, does not qualify as CDR. Using blueCDR as an example, we highlight key challenges concerning the monitoring and evaluation of marine carbon fluxes for carbon crediting. Challenges specific to ecosystem-based CDR measures are i) the definition of baseline natural carbon fluxes, which is necessary for ii) clear anthropogenic CDR signal attribution, as well as iii) accounting for possible natural or anthropogenic disturbances of the carbon stock and hence an assessment for the durability of the carbon storage. In addition, the marine environment poses further monitoring and evaluation challenges due to i) temporal and spatial decoupling of the carbon capturing and sequestration processes, combined with ii) signal dilution due to high ecosystem connectivity, and iii) large pre-existing carbon stocks which makes any human-made increase in carbon stocks even harder to quantify. To increase the scientific rigour and ensure additionality behind issued carbon credits, we support the current trend of focusing monitoring efforts on carbon sequestration rather than on capturing processes, and on establishing a baseline for natural carbon sequestration in diverse marine ecosystems. Finally, we believe that making carbon credits subject to dynamic adjustments over time, will increase their credibility.