Search results for "Greenhouse gas"
showing 10 items of 259 documents
Evolution of the Global Distribution of Carbon Dioxide: A Finite Mixture Analysis
2015
Economists and environmental policymakers have recently begun advocating a bottom-up approach to climate change mitigation, focusing on reduction targets for groups of nations, rather than large scale global policies. We advance this discussion by taking a quantitative perspective, focusing on econometric identification of groups of countries that have statistically similar distributions of carbon emissions using a broad range of finite mixture models. Nearly all of our results yield a consistent pattern: after 1980, there are two distinct emissions distributions, and that these distributions continue to evolve over time. We provide a rigorous analysis of these distributional differences al…
Systems-dynamic analysis of employment and inequality impacts of low-carbon investments
2016
Abstract This paper provides a macroeconomic framework to evaluate the social and economic consequences generated by a shift of investment to low-carbon options. We introduce into a standard growth framework a modified Lotka–Volterra model for wage and employment determination to address both the long-run dynamics of the economic system in terms of carbon emission and GDP growth and the short-term macroeconomic fluctuations in terms of unemployment and inequality. We use this framework to compare the results of different combinations of three strategies for carbon emissions reductions: improvement in energy efficiency, expansion of the renewable energy sector, and the direct reduction in ca…
Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions by adopting anaerobic digestion technology on dairy, sow and pig farms in Finland
2011
Abstract The impact of anaerobic digestion (AD) technology on mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from manure management on typical dairy, sow and pig farms in Finland was compared. Firstly, the total annual GHG emissions from the farms were calculated using IPCC guidelines for a similar slurry type manure management system. Secondly, laboratory-scale experiments were conducted to estimate methane (CH4) potentials and process parameters for semi-continuous digestion of manures. Finally, the obtained experimental data were used to evaluate the potential renewable energy production and subsequently, the possible GHG emissions that could be avoided through adoption of AD technology on th…
Assessing the marginal cost of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the English and Welsh water and sewerage industry: A parametric approach
2021
Abstract Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions involves effort from different sectors of the economy, including the water and sewerage industry. This study estimates the marginal cost of curtailing GHG emissions in the water and sewerage industry using stochastic frontier analysis techniques for a sample of ten English and Welsh water and sewerage companies over the 2010–2019 period. Results illustrated that the average marginal cost of reducing GHG emissions was 0.181 £/Kg CO2 equivalent. The marginal cost estimated notably differs across companies and over time. Findings further illustrate the impact of water companies' operating characteristics on the marginal cost of reducing carbon e…
Disregarding Wind Power: Introduction to Finnish Feed-in Tariff Policy
2011
In 2001, the Third Assessment Report (TAR) presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) identified some major barriers inhibiting the deployment of technology that has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The TAR classifies such barriers into categories including prices; financing; trade and environment; market structure; institutional frameworks; information provision; and social, cultural, and behavioral norms and aspirations (IPCC 2001, 355). Similar categorizations have been made prior to and following the TAR (see e.g., Reiche and Bechberger 2004; Painuly 2001; Roos et al. 1999). This chapter examines the institutional framework of Finnish energy…
Greenhouse gas emissions from integrated urban drainage systems: where do we stand?
2018
As sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, integrated urban drainage systems (IUDSs) (i.e., sewer systems, wastewater treatment plants and receiving water bodies) contribute to climate change. This paper, produced by the International Working Group on Data and Models, which works under the IWA/IAHR Joint Committee on Urban Drainage, reviews the state-of-the-art and modelling tools developed recently to understand and manage GHG emissions from IUDS. Further, open problems and research gaps are discussed and a framework for handling GHG emissions from IUDSs is presented. The literature review reveals that there is a need to strengthen already available mathematical models for IUDS to take …
Bayesian calibration of the nitrous oxide emission module of an agro-ecosystem model
2008
1. NitroEurope Open Science Conference on Reactive Nitrogen and the European Greenhouse Gas Balance ; Ghent (Belgique) - (2008-02-20 - 2008-02-21) / Conférence; Nitrous oxide (N2O) is the main biogenic greenhouse gas contributing to the global warming potential (GWP) of agro-ecosystems. Evaluating the impact of agriculture on climate therefore requires a capacity to predict N2O emissions in relation to environmental conditions and crop management. Biophysical models simulating the dynamics of carbon and nitrogen in agro-ecosystems have a unique potential to explore these relationships, but are fraught with high uncertainties in their parameters due to their variations over time and space. H…
Long-term organic farming on a citrus plantation results in soil organic carbon recovery
2019
[ES] Se ha demostrado que el manejo del suelo bajo agricultura ecológica puede aumentar el contenido de carbono orgánico en el suelo moderando el incremento de los gases de efecto invernadero, pero hasta la fecha las evaluaciones cuantitativas basadas en mediciones a largo plazo han sido escasas, especialmente bajo condiciones mediterráneas. En esta investigación se examinaron los cambios en el contenido de carbono orgánico como respuesta a la agricultura ecológica con cobertura vegetal en una plantación de cítricos en el área mediterránea, utilizando una base de datos de 21 años. El incremento de contenido de carbono orgánico en el suelo fue más evidente tras cinco años desde el cambio del…
Biowaste in a circular bioeconomy in Mediterranean area: A case study of compost and vermicompost as growing substrates alternative to peat
2020
European policies are advocating a transition toward circular bio-economy, an economy aiming at reducing the dependence from fossil-based resources, limiting greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts. The aim of this paper is to assess the potential for circularity for bio-waste and related by-products, to highlight the role of compost and vermicompost in the circular bioeconomy and their use in the agricultural sector. Three different substrates were tested in the soilless cultivation of Salvia officinalis, a Mediterranean nutraceutical and healthy plant: vermicompost (40%), compost (40%) and peat (100%). The average values of the main biometric parameters were calculated and comp…
Minimizing membrane bioreactor environmental footprint by multiple objective optimization.
2020
This paper presents a modelling study aimed at minimizing the environmental foot print of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) for wastewater treatment. Specifically, an integrated model for MBR was employed in view of the management optimization of an MBR biological nutrient removal (BNR) pilot plant in terms of operational costs and direct greenhouse gases emissions. The influence of the operational parameters (OPs) on performance indicators (PIs) was investigated by adopting the Extended-FAST sensitivity analysis method. Further, a multi-objective analysis was performed by applying the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). The results show-up that the sludge …