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Xu, Bo. "Climate change mitigation in China." Doctoral thesis, KTH, Industriell ekologi, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-93109.
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China has been experiencing great economic development and fast urbanisation since its reforms and opening-up policy in 1978. However, these changes are reliant on consumption of primary energy, especially coal, characterised by high pollution and low efficiency. China’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with carbon dioxide (CO2) being the most significant contributor, have also been increasing rapidly in the past three decades. Responding to both domestic challenges and international pressure regarding energy, climate change and environment, the Chinese government has made a point of addressing climate change since the early 2000s. This thesis provides a comprehensive analysis of China’s CO2 emissions and policy instruments for mitigating climate change. In the analysis, China’s CO2 emissions in recent decades were reviewed and the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis examined. Using the mostly frequently studied macroeconomic factors and time-series data for the period of 1980-2008, the existence of an EKC relationship between CO2 per capita and GDP per capita was verified. However, China’s CO2 emissions will continue to grow over coming decades and the turning point in overall CO2 emissions will appear in 2078 according to a crude projection. More importantly, CO2 emissions will not spontaneously decrease if China continues to develop its economy without mitigating climate change. On the other hand, CO2 emissions could start to decrease if substantial efforts are made. China’s present mitigation target, i.e. to reduce CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by 40-45% by 2020 compared with the 2005 level, was then evaluated. Three business-as-usual (BAU) scenarios were developed and compared with the level of emissions according to the mitigation target. The calculations indicated that decreasing the CO2 intensity of GDP by 40-45% by 2020 is a challenging but hopeful target. To study the policy instruments for climate change mitigation in China, domestic measures and parts of international cooperation adopted by the Chinese government were reviewed and analysed. Domestic measures consist of administration, regulatory and economic instruments, while China’s participation in international agreements on mitigating climate change is mainly by supplying certified emission reductions (CERs) to industrialised countries under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The most well-known instruments, i.e. taxes and emissions trading, are both at a critical stage of discussion before final implementation. Given the necessity for hybrid policies, it is important to optimise the combination of different policy instruments used in a given situation. The Durban Climate Change Conference in 2011 made a breakthrough decision that the second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol would begin on 1 January 2013 and emissions limitation or reduction objectives for industrialised countries in the second period were quantified. China was also required to make more substantial commitments on limiting its emissions. The Chinese government announced at the Durban Conference that China will focus on the current mitigation target regarding CO2 intensity of GDP by 2020 and will conditionally accept a world-wide legal agreement on climate change thereafter. However, there will be no easy way ahead for China.QC 20120424
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Vaughan, Naomi Ellen. "Climate Change Mitigation & Geoengineering." Thesis, University of East Anglia, 2010. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.520435.
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Climate change mitigation via a reduction in the anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide (C02) is the principle requirement for reducing global warming, its impacts, and the degree of adaptation required. Here, the trade-offs between delaying mitigation action and the strength of mitigation action required to meet particular atmospheric CO2 concentrations are explored using a conceptual model of emission trajectories and a simple Earth system model. The results show that avoiding dangerous climate change is more likely if global mitigation action commences as soon as possible and that starting mitigation earlier is also more effective than acting more aggressively once mitigation has begun, given realistic limits of rates of decarbonisation. A detailed examination of the latest datasets on CO2 emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels and cement production show a significant shift in the dominant drivers of global CO2 emissions, with a substantial growth in emissions from coal since 2002, and coal surpassing oil as the main source of emissions from fossil fuels in 2006. When compared to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scenarios, recent emissions are shown to be higher than five of the six Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES) emission scenarios, and the growth rate in emissions for 2000 to 2007 are higher than the growth rates for the current decade, in four of the six scenarios. If the post-2002 emissions continue, driven by a growth in coal which is the most carbon intensive fossil fuel, then the task of mitigation becomes more challenging, the importance of building adaptive capacity more pressing and calls into question whether mitigation alone is sufficient to meet the aspiration of avoiding dangeriiious climate change. Given the significant and widening gap between the current trajectory of CO2 emissions and the trajectory that would provide the greatest probability of avoiding dangerous climate change, there has been a resurgence of interest in geoengineering in recent years. Climate geoengineering seeks to rectify the current radiative imbalance via either (1) reducing incoming solar (shortwave) radiation or (2) removing CO2 from the atmosphere and transferring it to long-lived reservoirs, thus increasing outgoing longwave radiation. A critical review of the geoengineering literature shows that shortwave geoengineering can rectify a global radiative imbalance but ocean acidification and residual regional climate changes would still occur and the intervention could bring about unforeseen Earth system responses that may in turn increase the radiative imbalance. Creation of CO2 sinks (longwave geoengineering) involves less risk than shortwave geoengineering, as it acts upon the primary cause of the radiative imbalance and has a more limited capacity for `failure'. Geoengineering does not provide a `solution' to anthropogenic climate change. In order to meet the ultimate objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), demonstrable and significant mitigation action must get under way soon, with the creation of CO2 sinks a potential complement. The necesscity of undertaking geoengineering will ultimately be dicated by the magnitude of climate interference judged to be dangerous and the strength of mitigation agreed and adhered to by the international community in Copenhagen in December 2009
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Dike, Jude C. "Climate change mitigation and OPEC economies." Thesis, University of Stirling, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/19443.
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This thesis focuses on the relationship between the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) economies and global climate change mitigation policies with a view to determining the energy exports demand security risks of OPEC member states. The successful implementation of a universally adopted climate regime has been marred with controversies as different interest groups have raised their concerns about all the options presented so far. OPEC as the major crude oil exporting group in the world has been in the forefront of these debates and negotiations. OPEC’s major concern is the envisaged adverse impacts of the industrialised countries carbon reductions on its members' economies. Several studies have shown that when industrialised countries adopt carbon dioxide emissions reduction policies in line with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, such as carbon taxes and energy efficiency strategies, OPEC’s net price of crude oil decreases at the same time as a reduction in the quantity of crude oil products sold. OPEC believes that such climate change policy-induced fall in crude oil exports revenues would have a significant negative effect on its members' economies. With the limitations related to the assumptions of the existing energy economy models on the impacts of climate change mitigation policies on OPEC’s economies (Barnett et al, 2004), this study opts for a risk based model. This model quantifies the energy exports demand security risks of OPEC members with special interest on crude oil. This study also investigates the effects of carbon reduction policies on crude oil prices vis-à-vis the impacts of crude oil prices on OPEC’s economies. To address these three main issues, this thesis adopts a three-prong approach. The first paper addresses the impacts of climate change mitigation on crude oil prices using a dynamic panel model. Results from the estimated dynamic panel model show that the relationship between crude oil prices and climate change mitigation is positive. The results also indicate that a 1% change in carbon intensity causes a 1.6% and 8.4% changes in crude oil prices in the short run and long run, respectively. The second paper focuses on the impacts of crude oil prices on OPEC economies using a panel vector auto regression (VAR) approach, highlighting the exposure of OPEC members to the volatile crude oil prices. The findings from the panel VAR model show that the relationship between OPEC members’ economic growth and crude oil prices is positive and economic growth in OPEC member states respond positively and significantly to a 10% deviation in crude oil prices by 1.4% in the short run and 1.7% in the long run. The third paper creates an index of the risks OPEC members face when there is a decline in the demand for their crude oil exports. To show these risks, this study develops two indexes to show the country level risks and the contributions to the OPEC-wide risks exposure. The results from the indexes show that OPEC members that are more dependent on crude oil exports are faced with more energy exports demand risks. The findings from this thesis are relevant for the development of a new OPEC energy policy that should accommodate the realities of a sustainable global climate regime. They are also useful to the respective governments of the countries that are members of OPEC and non-OPEC crude oil exporting countries. Finally, the outcomes of this thesis also contribute to the climate change and energy economics literature, especially for academic and subsequent research purposes.
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Roux, Louis Johannes. "Climate change mitigation strategies and its effect on economic change." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020816.
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Scientists started to study the relationship between changing weather patterns and the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other harmful gasses. They soon discovered compelling evidence that CO2 concentration and other gases have been increasing and it was causing temperatures to increase in certain areas on the earth, which disturb historic weather patterns. Climate change has become a very popular field of study in the modern science. Europe first introduced measures to reduce carbon emissions but it was the Kyoto in 1997 where global leaders were asked to participate in a joint protocol to reduce greenhouse gases. South Africa responded to climate change challenges in 2008 with the Long term Mitigation Scenarios (LTMS). The Integrated Resource Plan for electricity to 2030 was developed from the LTMS scenarios and after some major amendments it was accepted and promulgated by Government and has recently been included in the National Development Plan to 2030 (NDP). There are concerns about the achievability of some of the objectives listed in the NDP and this study explored the IRP2010 as the proposed strategy to meet energy demand and reduce emissions. The purpose for this study was to answer this question: Is there an optimum climate change mitigation strategy for South Africa and how can the effect thereof be simulated on economic growth? Through primary and secondary research during the study it was possible to define some 32 categories of energy producing assets that are commercially active or nearly market-ready. The characteristics of the various assets and the relevant fuel are defined in mathematical equations. It was found that the three portfolios that matched the 450TWh electricity requirement would perform substantially better than the NDP portfolio in terms of cost and similar on emissions with marginally fewer employment opportunities created. The proposed electricity strategy in this study was 390TWh and 33.5 Million tonnes of oil consumption by 2030. This strategy was substantially more affordable than the 450TWh strategy. Trends in the Supply and Use tables since 1993 were studied and then forecasted to 2030 to determine consumption levels on electricity and liquid fuel into the future. It was found that electricity demand is seriously overestimated and South Africa would end up with large excess capacity in electricity infrastructures if the NDP energy strategy (IRP2010) is implemented. It is concluded that the NDP energy strategy to 2030 is based on an incorrect electricity demand forecast. It would lead to excessive investment in an electricity infrastructure. Government has confirmed that part of the new infrastructure would be nuclear. It is also found that NDP has not clearly supported nuclear as part of the strategy. Nuclear is partly the reason why the capital requirement of the NDP portfolio is so much higher than the other portfolios. It is the conclusion of this study that South Africa do not need to invest in a nuclear build programme as the electricity demand would be adequately covered by adding the new Medupi and Kusile power stations, Ingula pump storage scheme, some wind and solar renewables, electricity from cogeneration, biogas, biomass, small hydro and imported hydro from neighbour countries. To invest in electricity capacity to generate 450TWh annually by 2030 would result in excessive energy cost, GDP growth could be up to 1% lower due to underperforming capital investments in the electricity infrastructure and higher energy cost would lead to a decline in global competitiveness.
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Chu, Thi Thu Ha. "Mitigation of climate change: which technologies for Vietnam?" Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden, 2012. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa-99232.
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Vietnam is one of the countries suffering from the most serious adverse effects due to climate change and sea level rise. The main cause of climate change is the increased activities generating greenhouse gases. Organic waste is the main source of carbon dioxide emission, which has the largest concentration among different kinds of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere. The conversion of organic waste and biomass into energy contributes not only to supply cleaner energy but also to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Vietnam has a large potential of biomass and agricultural by-products. The technologies to turn biomass into different kinds of bio-energies were developed and applied all over the world. Biogas was called as "brown revolution" in the field of new energy. Biogas production technology now has been studied and applied widely in the world, particularly in developing countries with warm climate that is suitable for anaerobic fermentation of organic waste. The biogas digester can be built with any capacity, needs small investment and the input materials are widely available. The biogas energy is used for many purposes such as cooking, lighting, running engines, etc. It is a production technology quite consistent with the economy of developing countries and really brings to life more civilized and convenient to rural areasViệt Nam là một trong những quốc gia bị tác động nghiêm trọng nhất do biến đổi khí hậu và nước biển dâng cao. Nguyên nhân chính của biến đổi khí hậu là các hoạt động gia tăng tạo ra các khí gây hiệu ứng nhà kính. Chất thải hữu cơ là nguồn chính phát thải khí carbon dioxide có nồng độ lớn nhất trong số các loại khí gây hiệu ứng nhà kính khác nhau trong bầu khí quyển của trái đất. Việc chuyển đổi chất thải hữu cơ và sinh khối thành năng lượng góp phần không chỉ cung cấp năng lượng sạch hơn mà còn giảm phát thải khí gây hiệu ứng nhà kính. Việt Nam có một tiềm năng lớn về sinh khối và phụ phẩm nông nghiệp. Các công nghệ biến sinh khối thành các loại năng lượng sinh học khác nhau đã được phát triển và áp dụng rộng rãi trên thế giới. Khí sinh học được gọi là "cuộc cách mạng màu nâu" trong lĩnh vực năng lượng mới. Công nghệ sản xuất khí sinh học đã được nghiên cứu và áp dụng rộng rãi trên thế giới, đặc biệt là ở các nước đang phát triển với nhiệt độ khí hậu nhiệt đới phù hợp cho quá trình lên men kỵ khí các chất thải hữu cơ để sản xuất khí sinh học. Bình phản ứng tạo khí sinh học có thể được xây dựng với công suất bất kỳ, nhu cầu đầu tư nhỏ, các nguyên liệu đầu vào sẵn có. Năng lượng khí sinh học đã được sử dụng cho nhiều mục đích như thắp sáng, nấu ăn, chạy động cơ, v.v... Đây là hoạt động sản xuất khá phù hợp với nền kinh tế của các nước đang phát triển và thực sự đem lại cuộc sống văn minh hơn và tiện lợi đến các khu vực nông thôn
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Scott, Kate Amy. "Integrating embodied emissions into climate change mitigation policy." Thesis, University of Leeds, 2016. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/13407/.
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International greenhouse gas emissions are typically monitored and regulated from a production perspective. This accounts for emissions produced directly by industries within a country’s territory. International climate regulation centres around decarbonisation, negative emissions technologies and energy efficiency, none of which are aligned in practice with a two degree future. Given the remaining emissions gap between limiting temperature rise to two degrees (or lower) and existing climate mitigation pledges, mitigation policies must be constantly reviewed. Materials act as a carrier of industrial energy that allows, through trade, the transfer of emissions between producers and consumers. Despite continual increases in aggregate consumption, industrialised countries have managed to stabilise their production emissions, partially from increasing imports from developing countries. For example, 20% of emissions growth in countries without climate targets under the Kyoto Protocol can be attributed to products exported for final consumption in countries with climate targets, who are not assigned any responsibility for reducing them. However international policies continue to prioritise production-related measures that reduce the carbon intensity of energy supply or reduce direct energy consumption. Reducing absolute demand for materials and products, which embody emissions, is absent from national climate policy packages in high-consuming developed countries. In this context, ‘sufficiency’ is seen as politically unpopular and often framed by companies and governments as denying consumers’ basic rights or by describing consumers unwilling to change their behaviours. Yet evidence suggests consumption patterns are instead heavily influenced by ingrained social practices, locked in by powerful marketing corporations. I investigate how the implementation of embodied emissions would redefine existing climate targets and policies, and explore further opportunities for resource consumption policies in climate mitigation. This is within the context of existing UK climate targets, however I also argue that the targets need to be reframed as they, in themselves, are not aligned with the international climate objective of preventing two degrees or lower temperature rise. I examine how the integration of embodied emissions would alter the UK’s 2050 climate target and mitigation policies, how the UK’s energy supply system might adapt when mitigating for emissions embodied in fuels and energy technologies, and the additional emissions scope of extending energy efficiency policies to include emissions embodied in resource use in the EU. I conclude that resource consumption policies increase the policy portfolio of energy dominant mitigation strategies and can contribute to bridging the remaining emissions gap. However, the tools and targets used to devise this evidence base are limited, and need further validation. I propose complementing mandatory production emissions accounting with mandatory consumption-based accounts. Their use in policy would ensure actions in one country do not result in a shift in production impacts to another and increases the policies available to meeting climate targets, particularly in combination with resource efficiency policies. In the discussion I make the case that the foundation of such a framework already exists and outline possible steps for implementation.
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Springer, Urs. "Portfolio diversification of investments in climate change mitigation /." [S.l. : s.n.], 2003. http://www.gbv.de/dms/zbw/373225342.pdf.
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Reeler, James. "Income inequality and mitigation burdens: An examination of climate mitigation fair shares for South African households." Master's thesis, Faculty of Science, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/33906.
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Equity is an essential issue for climate change mitigation, especially when considering the needs of a large global population in the developing world. The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR/RC) aims to ensure equitable sharing of the climate action burden for signatories given nations' differing historical and current circumstances, but equitable burden-sharing might also be achieved if implemented through policies at a national level. South Africa is highly unequal and effectively has two parallel economies, a developed one that primarily serves the wealthy, and a developing one in which the majority of the population lives (Mbeki, 2003). As such, it internally reflects the global tension between necessary climate action and essential developmental goals. This study evaluates fair intra-national household mitigation shares in South Africa considering the principle of CBDR/RC, and the policy implications of achieving equitable mitigation action. Emulating a study by Arndt et al (2013), an energy-integrated supply-use table (SUT) model is used to examine embodied emissions for aggregate products and industries in the South African economy for three time periods (2005, 2010 and 2015). Household emissions from direct and indirect fossil fuel consumption are assessed by integrating household consumption survey data through multiplier analysis. Household emissions reflect the same “two economies” disparity as income when measured by means of both Gini and Palma indices. A small decline in inequality is observed over the study period, but overall emissions and income inequality in 2015 remain high. Grouping households by mean per capita income and expenditure, household responsibility and capability are assessed as shares of total household emissions and income, respectively. Holz et al. (2017) propose a minimal developmental threshold of $7,500 PPP below which individuals should not bear any mitigation burden, and application of this threshold provides household threshold capability and a combined mitigation and responsibility household equity estimate. Simple equity measures indicate that the top household decile's fair share of all mitigation action is between 44% and 54%, whilst the share of the bottom four deciles is between 5% and 11%. When considering the development threshold, some three-quarters of households would have no burden at all. Finally, the combined equity estimate highlights that the top decile is overwhelmingly responsible for the burden of mitigation action, with the top 2% of households by income carrying 48.1% of the mitigation burden. An assessment of the correspondence between in South Africa's international and national policy concludes that intra-national mitigation equity is necessary to achieve developmental and mitigation goals. National mitigation implementation should therefore secure revenue for mitigation through progressive means. Direct revenue recycling may enhance the security net for low-income households and provide a safety net as the country experiences unavoidable employment shifts during the transition to a low-carbon economy.
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Schofield, Simon anthony. "The law of climate change mitigation in New Zealand." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Law, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/10347.
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As the world strives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate climate change, the law has a crucial role to play in supporting mitigation solutions. Starting with the common law's potential for the development of a climate change tort in New Zealand, this thesis analyses the applicability of New Zealand's environmental land use planning law before turning to how an New Zealand emissions unit under the Climate Change Response Act 2002 will work in theory and practice to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This thesis argues that the operation of corporations to drive these reductions as well as the development of renewable electricity from water, geothermal, wind and marine resources will require an integrated approach to sustainability. It explains that the transition from fossil fuels which can be owned to fugacious renewable resources which are incapable of ownership until capture requires reconsideration of the nature of property. Energy efficiency and conservation in addition to sequestration which reduce greenhouse gas emissions expose opportunities and problems associated with disaggregating property law rights. It concludes that New Zealand law must keep sight of the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions through all levels of society, namely, climate change mitigation.
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Bruhnke, Louis. "Climate change mitigation: can the U.S. Intelligence Community help?" Monterey California. Naval Postgraduate School, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10945/34635.
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CHDS State/LocalThe administration has declared climate change to be a threat to national security. Thus far, the national security establishment has focused its attention on adaptation to the effects of climate change rather than mitigation of the human cause, though evidence of the need to reduce global CO2 emissions continues to mount. This thesis asks whether the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) might be enlisted in the battle against climate change (global warming), by supporting the international monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) of a global greenhouse gas limitation treaty. This covert monitoring is already contemplated by the CIA, though the question remains open, Congress has conducted no public discussion of whether using the ICs unique covert sources and methods would in fact aid in climate change mitigation. This thesis compares various cases involving the ICs monitoring of weapons nonproliferationand in particular the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)with a hypothetical international CO2 emissions limitation agreement (ICELA) successor to the Kyoto Protocol. Using these case study findings, an analysis of four policy options for structuring an IC CO2 emissions limitation monitoring entity (ICCME) is conducted. By adopting the most promising of these options, Congress might ensure that the ICCME would support, rather than undermine, a future ICELA.
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WILLIAMS, Rebecca. "High steaks : climate change mitigation in the cattle sector." Doctoral thesis, European University Institute, 2022. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/74342.
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Defence date: 14 March 2022Examining Board: Prof. Joanne Scott (European University Institute); Prof. Neha Jain (European University Institute); Prof. Maria Lee (University College London, External Examiner); Dr Jolene Lin (National University of Singapore)
Increasingly, the environmental impact of animal agriculture is being recognised. In the past, climate criticism was largely reserved for the fossil fuel sector, or even the transport and aviation sectors. However, now it is being realised that the agricultural sector is also a major contributor to climate change, particularly in terms of livestock production. Despite this, little attention has been paid, either in academic writing or in policy making, to improving the climate impacts of the livestock sector. This thesis begins to address this gap. Using a novel critical frame analysis approach, it seeks to provide a broad macro-level analysis of various legal regimes on the international and European level that affect emissions from cattle (and where relevant, livestock more broadly). On the basis of this critical frame analysis, tensions, synergies and common themes for livestock emissions mitigation across these regimes can be identified and investigated. It is hoped that this can help to strengthen productive synergies and to reduce damaging tensions while promoting fairer and more effective emissions mitigation for the sector. Most importantly, the thesis highlights affluence as the ‘forgotten’ problem in reducing cattle emissions. The importance of this key insight in terms of tackling future livestock emissions trajectories is significant, particularly in relation to the climate justice dimension of climate mitigation.
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CHEN, CHEN. "Mitigation, Adaptation and Climate Change: Policy Balance under Uncertainty." Doctoral thesis, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10280/1062.
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CHEN, CHEN. "Mitigation, Adaptation and Climate Change: Policy Balance under Uncertainty." Doctoral thesis, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10280/1062.
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Kim, Kyungwoo. "Effects of Disasters on Local Climate Actions: Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Actions." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2017. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1062866/.
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This dissertation investigates the effects of natural disasters and political institutions on municipalities' climate change policies. Although most theoretical frameworks on policy adoption highlight the roles of extreme events as exogenous factors influencing policy change, most studies tend to focus on the effects of extreme events on policy change at the national level. Additionally, the existing theoretical frameworks explaining local policy adoption and public service provision do not pay attention to the roles of extreme events in local governments' policy choices. To fill those gaps, this dissertation explores the roles of natural disasters and political institutions on municipal governments' climate change policies. It does this by applying the theory of focusing events to local climate mitigation and adaptation actions. Based on the policy change framework, the political market model, and the institutional collective action frameworks, this dissertation develops and tests hypotheses to examine the effects of natural disasters and political institutions on municipalities' climate mitigation and adaptation policies. The dissertation uses 2010 National League of Cities (NLC) sustainability surveys and the 2010 International City/County Management Association (ICMA) sustainability survey to test the hypotheses. Analytical results show that floods and droughts influence local climate change policies and suggest that local governments can take advantage of extreme events when initiating a policy change. The results also suggest that political institutions can shape the effects of natural disasters on municipalities' climate mitigation and adaptation actions.
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Almaraz, Suarez Juan Jose. "Climate change and crop production in southwestern Quebec : mitigation and adaptation." Thesis, McGill University, 2007. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=103364.
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Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are the main cause of increasing global temperatures. Climate change will affect crop production in Canada and, in turn agriculture has the potential to mitigate climate change. Analysis of historical climate and corn yield data, and field and greenhouse experiments were carried out in order to study the effect of climate variability and changes on corn yield, the adaptability of cropping systems to climate change conditions, the effect of tillage on soil greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 and N2O) associated with corn and soybean production, and the potential of Nod factors to increase biomass as way to mitigate CO2 emissions. In southwestern Quebec, corn yield variability has been strongly associated to July temperature and May precipitation during the last three decades. Field studies showed that switchgrass and sorghum-sudangrass were best adapted to dry and warm climate events. No-till improved corn yield when spring temperatures were warmer than normal. Soil CO2 fluxes were associated with temperature, while soil N2O fluxes were associated with precipitation. Conventional tillage (CT) had greater CO2 emissions than no-till (NT), particularly after disking in the spring. Both tillage systems had large N2O emission peaks during the wettest part of the season. In corn, peaks of N 2O occurred after nitrogen fertilizer application. NT had greater N 2O emissions than CT in the corn production systems; however, CT had greater N2O fluxes than NT in the soybean production system. Nod factors sprayed on soybean increased photosynthesis and biomass under controlled conditions. In the field, yield was increased by Nod factors under CT, but not under NT, and drought reduced the soybean response to Nod factors.Les émissions anthropogènes de gaz à effet de serre sont la cause principale de l'augmentation globale des températures. Les changements climatiques vont affecter la production agricole au Canada, et en retour, l'agriculture pourrait limiter les changements climatiques. L'analyse de données historiques du climat et des rendements de maïs, combinés avec des expériences de serre et en champ ont été entreprises pour étudier l'effet de la variabilité et des changements de climat sur le rendement de maïs, l'adaptabilité des systèmes agricoles aux changements climatiques, l'effet du travail du sol sur les émissions de gaz à effet de serre (C02 et N20) associées avec la production de maïs et de soya, et le potentiel des facteurs Nod d'augmenter la biomasse pour limiter les émissions de CO2. L'analyse des données historiques ont démontré qu'au sud-ouest du Québec, la variabilité des rendements de maïs est fortement associée avec les températures de juillet et les précipitations de mai pendant les dernières trois décennies. Les expériences au champ ont démontré que le panic raide, et le sorghum-sudangrass sont les mieux adaptés aux conditions chaudes et sèches. Le semis direct a augmenté les rendements de maïs lorsque les températures printanières étaient plus chaudes que la normale. Les flux de C02 étaient associés avec la température, mais les flux de N20 étaient associés avec les précipitations. Le travail du sol conventionnel (CT) a produit plus d'émissions de CO2 que le semis direct (NT), particulièrement après le disquage au printemps. Les deuxsystèmes ont montré un large pic d'émission de N20 pendant les périodes les pluspluvieuses. Dans le maïs, les pics de N20 ont été détectés après la fertilisation enazote. NT a montré des émissions de N20 plus importantes que CT en productionde maïs, mais CT a montré des flux de N20 plus important que NT en productionde soya. Les facteurs Nod vaporisés sur le soya ont augmenté la photosynthèse etla biomasse sous conditions controllées. Au champ, le rendement a été augmentépar les facteurs Nod sous CT, mais pas sous NT, et la sécheresse a réduit laréponse du soya aux facteurs Nod.
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Ketterer, Janina. "Designing carbon and energy markets to encourage climate change mitigation." Diss., lmu, 2012. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:19-149915.
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Udalov, Vladimir [Verfasser]. "Climate Change Mitigation Behaviour: Theory and Empirical Analysis / Vladimir Udalov." Wuppertal : Universitätsbibliothek Wuppertal, 2019. http://d-nb.info/1178710297/34.
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Galante, Michael Victor. "Climate change mitigation through reduced-impact logging : a framework approach." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/20439.
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The implementation of reduced-impact logging (RIL) in Sabah is recognised in the literature as an activity to reduce the environmental impact of timber harvest activities, thus reducing carbon entering the atmosphere. With the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015, modalities for its application as a project-based activity under the Climate Convention have yet to be developed. Investigations on both, its potential to reduce carbon from being released into the atmosphere in Sabah, specifically, and its modalities as a project-based activity under the Climate Convention in Malaysia, broadly, are warranted. This thesis addresses a set of research questions related to modalities for its inclusion under the Climate Convention, temporal and spatial responses of the forest after its implementation, to the investigation of activity-specific modalities, and their effectiveness, and its associated finance under the Climate Convention in Malaysia. The improvement of the forest activities under the Climate Convention are conceptualised through the Hierarchy of Production Forest Management (HoPFM), i.e., a modular framework defining the progression of the forest industry through demonstrable benefits. The conceptual framework begins from the basic legal and regulatory frameworks that govern forest management activities, towards sustainable forest management as the ideology of the Framework, designed to recognise both local, and global, approaches to forest management, while highlighting the need for balanced considerations of environmental, social and economic values. Through the Framework, the components of RIL in Sabah are discussed, relative to the modalities of the Climate Convention. Since he inception of the GIZ programme to improve forest management systems in the Deramakot forest reserve, there has been limited research on its recovery after RIL activities. Data on aboveground alive tree biomass and deadwood necromass was collected, and tested against 'harvest intensity', and 'time since harvest', to assess the temporal and spatial variability of forest responses, both within diameter classes, and major functional species classes of 'dipterocarp' and 'non-dipterocarp'. It was identified that 'harvest intensity' was found to be affecting forest recovery, relative to 'time since harvest', which was similarly identified for 'dipterocarp' species, relative to 'non-dipterocarp', respectively. The few significant changes detected indicate that long-term periods of analysis are required to identify consistent trends over-time. Since the mandate of the RIL policy in Sabah, conventional harvest activities are no longer eligible to be practiced in commercial production reserves. Therefore, to measure changes in carbon between the practices under the Climate Convention, a baseline needs to be developed, where conventional harvest activities were historically, the only form of harvest practice. An analysis of the literature was undertaken to estimate the difference between the practices, whereby broad impact classes of ‘infrastructure created’, and ‘harvest damage’, were identified. In its application, the ‘crediting’ approach is applied, whereby a benchmark is set, counterfactually, to estimate carbon that would be released without RIL activities. A number of carbon reductions are withheld from issuance into the market, to create a buffer between actually and potential issuance. The approach is conservative, to account for changes in policy and project-based circumstances, which may impact the number of carbon reductions issued in a project timeframe. RIL is currently implemented in the commercial production reserves, however it its effectiveness to reduce carbon from entering the atmosphere under the Climate Convention in Malaysia is unclear. Representing extremes along a range of anthropogenic disturbance through RIL activities, data from RIL activities was collected in a lower montaine forest harvested once, and a lowland forest, harvested multiple times. Both areas were tested against the carbon baseline, to represent conventional harvest practices in Sabah. The estimates were comparable to literature values, with RIL activities found to reduce carbon from entering the atmosphere. The variability in the accumulation of carbon stocks of aboveground alive tree biomass was identified as an important consideration in the trends observed. The condition of the forest at the time of harvest, i.e., primary or severely degraded logged-over forest, was found to impact carbon stocks immediately after harvest and the rate of carbon accumulation over time. The variability of the result supports the concept of conservativeness, as advocated for project-based activities, under the Climate Convention. As a signatory Party, Malaysia is developing the necessary institutional infrastructure to facilitate project-based activities under the Climate Convention. Investigating RIL as a nationally appropriate mitigation action is undertaken, where distinctions are made between its integration at the national level, and its implementation at the sub-national level. Drawing on experiences from Sabah, implementing RIL as a project-based activity under the Climate Convention is broadly applicable to all States in Malaysia, whereby monitoring, reporting and verification at the sub-national level may be implemented through the existing domestic forest certification standard in Malaysia. At the current price of carbon over a 35-year harvest cycle, RIL is estimated to be approximately at the break-even price for its implementation in Sabah. Relative to the cost of restoring severely degraded forests harvested through conventional practices in Sabah, implementing RIL is financially viable. The knowledge gained by investigating RIL as a sub-national approach may be useful to assist Malaysia to meet their intended national emission reduction targets under the Climate Convention. This thesis aims to improve our knowledge of the application of RIL in logged-over forest of Sabah, and its applicability as a project-based activity under the Climate Convention in Malaysia. Several research questions were raised, to contextualise the modalities of RIL in Sabah and the institutional framework in Malaysia, relative to the architecture of the Climate Convention. It highlights the need for a systematic approach to gather observations on forest carbon dynamics and their integration into larger carbon accounting frameworks, to improve our understanding of the potential of RIL to contribute to reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere from the forest sector.
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Fugger, Carina [Verfasser], and Achim [Gutachter] Wambach. "Experiments on Climate Change Mitigation / Carina Fugger ; Gutachter: Achim Wambach." Köln : Universitäts- und Stadtbibliothek Köln, 2021. http://d-nb.info/1236302214/34.
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Taylor, Anna. "Urban climate adaptation as a process of organisational decision making." Doctoral thesis, University of Cape Town, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/27554.
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In a world that is increasingly urbanised, cities are recognised as critical sites for tackling problems of climate change, both by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing the impacts of changing climate conditions. Unlike climate change mitigation, adaptation does not have one clear, commonly agreed collective goal. Governing and making decisions on climate adaptation in cities entails contestation over knowledge, values and preferences. Currently, the two dominant conceptualisations of adaptation are as cycles or pathways. Do these models adequately theorise what can be empirically observed in cities as to how climate adaptation is undertaken? Most research on urban climate adaptation emanates from the Global North, where political, scientific, economic and administrative systems are well established and well resourced. There is a dearth of empirical research from cities of the Global South contributing to the development of urban climate adaptation theory. This thesis contributes to addressing this gap in two ways. Firstly, by drawing on both conceptual and methodological resources from the field of organisational studies, notably the streams and rounds models of decision making, organisational ethnography and processual case research. Secondly, by conducting empirical case study research on three processes of city scale climate adaptation in Cape Town, South Africa, a growing city facing many development challenges where the local government began addressing climate adaptation over ten years ago. The three adaptation processes studied are: the preparation and adoption of city-wide sectoral climate adaptation plans; the creation of a City Development Strategy with climate resilience as a core goal; and the inclusion of climate change projections into stormwater masterplans. Data were gathered through interviews, participant observation, focus groups and document review, through embedded research within a formal knowledge co-production partnership between the University of Cape Town and the City of Cape Town government. Processual analysis and applied thematic analysis were used to test models of adaptation and decision making against data from the three case studies. The findings suggest that both the cycles and pathways models of climate adaptation inadequately represent the contested and contingent nature of decision making that prevail within the governance systems of cities such as Cape Town. Based on ethnographic knowledge of how Cape Town's local government undertakes climate adaptation, it is argued that the rounds model of decision making provides conceptual tools to better understand and represent how the process of climate adaptation in cities is undertaken; tools that can be used to enhance the pathways model. The study concludes that progress in adapting cities to a changing climate is currently constrained by both the problems and potential solutions or interventions being too technical for most politicians to deal with and prioritize and too political for most technical and administrative officials to design and implement. It calls for urban climate adaptation to be understood as distributed across a multitude of actors pursuing concurrent, discontinuous processes, and thereby focus needs to be on fostering collaboration and coordination, rather than fixating on single actors, policies, plans or projects.
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Higham, Andrew. "Financing technology in a post-2012 international climate change agreement: leveraging private investment for climate change mitigation technologies." Thesis, Higham, Andrew (2010) Financing technology in a post-2012 international climate change agreement: leveraging private investment for climate change mitigation technologies. Masters by Coursework thesis, Murdoch University, 2010. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/4069/.
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The Bali Action Plan (UNFCCC, 2007a) acknowledges the central roles of finance and technology in the successful implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (‘the Convention’). They form two of the four building blocks for a post-2012 international climate change agreement. For developing countries, the conclusion of negotiations for an acceptable and successful agreement hinges upon the provision of financial and technology sup-port from developed countries, commensurate with the identified needs, in accordance with the polluter pays principle and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, and reflecting the full agreed incremental costs of meeting the objectives of the Convention.
This dissertation presents research undertaken in support of these negotiations and the design of new financing and technology development and transfer policies to underpin the mitigation and adaptation efforts of the post-2012 agreement, as mandated by decision 3/CP.13 of the Conference of the Parties. The research contained within this dissertation draws and builds upon the re-ports of the Expert Group on Technology Transfer (UNFCCC, 2008a; 2009a;b) which were pre-pared in response to the mandate of the Conference of the Parties.
Financing for technology will need to be scaled up by an order of magnitude, across all technologies and in all nations (UNFCCC, 2009b). In the order of USD 1 trillion in investment, both public and private, needs to be mobilized each year (IEA, 2008a). Using estimates of the incremental costs for developing countries, the cost for Annex II Parties is estimated at an additional USD 262–670 billion per year for mitigation technologies and USD 33–163 billion per year to adapt to climate change (see UNFCCC, 2009a, pp 31–33). A wide range of financing options and technology development and transfer policies are avail-able, some with greater potential than others to mobilise the necessary financial resources. Effectiveness varies across policy instruments. Combining policy options so as to exploit synergies, and matching of policy responses to local and national circumstances can be significant determinants of a successful regime.
This dissertation attempts to assess and compare the possible public and private financing needs, based on the policy concept of ‘leveraging the private sector’, which is commonly touted within the negotiations by many national governments as an essential policy objective for finance and technology. Available options are described and proposals are analysed according to their effectiveness.
Scenarios of public and private financing for technology development and transfer are developed based on the average leveraging ratios achieved by a wide range of policies and programmes at the national, regional and international level. Policies under consideration both at the international and national levels are included where estimates of their leveraging potential can be made. The assessment is made for each stage of the technology innovation cycle (research and development, demonstration, deployment, diffusion) and estimates are made of the amounts of public financing required.
The results of this dissertation point to the significant role that public finance will play in achieving the objectives of the Convention. Scenarios that involve a significant increase in the leveraging effect of public policies and investment programmes on the private sector will still require substantial public investment, in the order of USD 30–160 billion per annum. It is estimated that, under this scenario, the private sector share of total investment would be increased from the current levels of approximately 60 per cent to 75–80 per cent. The results also suggest that the financial mechanism of the Convention needs to take a more prominent role in coordinating the overall delivery of financing and to help optimize the potential for private sector financing. Integrated design of public policies and investment programmes will be important and a wide range of innovative financing instruments and types of finance will need to be deployed in a targeted way to address qualitative and quantitative gaps in the existing financial arrangements.
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Difs, Kristina. "District Heating and CHP : Local Possibilities for Global Climate Change Mitigation." Doctoral thesis, Linköpings universitet, Energisystem, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-58716.
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Global warming, in combination with increasing energy demand and higher energy prices, makes it necessary to change the energy use. To secure the energy supply and to develop sustainable societies, construction of energy-efficient systems is at the same time most vital. The aim of this thesis is therefore to identify how a local energy company, producing district heating (DH), district cooling (DC) and electricity in combined heat and power (CHP) plants, can contribute to resource-efficient energy systems and cost-effective reductions of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, along with its customers. Analyses have been performed on how a local energy company can optimise their DH and DC production and what supply-side and demand-side measures can lead to energy-efficient systems in combination with economic and climate change benefits. The energy company in focus is located in Linköping, Sweden. Optimisation models, such as MODEST and reMIND, have been used for analysing the energy systems. Scenario and sensitivity analyses have also been performed for evaluation of the robustness of the energy systems studied. For all analyses a European energy system perspective was applied, where a fully deregulated European electricity market with no bottlenecks or other system failures was assumed. In this thesis it is concluded that of the DH-supply technologies studied, the biomass gasification applications and the natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) CHP are the technologies with the largest global CO2 reduction potential, while the biomass-fuelled plant that only produces heat is the investment with the smallest global CO2 reduction and savings potential. However, the global CO2 reduction potential for the biomass integrated gasification combined cycle (BIGCC) CHP and NGCC CHP, the two technologies with highest electricity efficiencies, is highly dependent on the assumptions made about marginal European electricity production. Regarding the effect on the DH system cost the gasification application integrated with production of renewable biofuels (SNG) for the transport sector is the investment option with the largest savings potential for lower electricity prices, while with increasing electricity prices the BIGCC and NGCC CHP plants are the most cost-effective investment options. The economic outcome for biomass gasification applications is, however, dependent on the level of policy instruments for biofuels and renewable electricity. Moreover, it was shown that the tradable green certificates for renewable electricity can, when applied to DH systems, contribute to investments that will not fully utilise the DH systems’ potential for global CO2 emissions reductions. Also illustrated is that conversion of industrial processes, utilising electricity and fossil fuels, to DH and DC can contribute to energy savings. Since DH is mainly used for space heating, the heat demand for DH systems is strongly outdoor temperature-dependent. By converting industrial processes, where the heat demand is often dependent on process hours instead of outdoor temperature, the heat loads in DH systems can become more evenly distributed over the year, with increased base-load heat demand and increased electricity generation in CHP plants as an outcome. This extra electricity production, in combination with the freed electricity when converting electricity-using processes to DH, can replace marginal electricity production in the European electricity market, resulting in reduced global CO2 emissions. Demonstrated in this thesis is that the local energy company, along with its customers, can contribute to reaching the European Union’s targets of reducing energy use and decreasing CO2 emissions. This can be achieved in a manner that is cost-effective to both the local energy company and the customers.Den globala uppvärmningen i kombination med ett ökat energibehov och stigande energipriser gör det nödvändigt att förändra energianvändningen. Energieffektiva system är samtidigt en förutsättning för att kunna säkra energitillförseln och utveckla hållbara samhällen. Fjärrvärme har en viktig roll att fylla i den här omställningen. I fjärrvärmesystemen kan värmeresurser som annars kan vara svåra att nyttiggöras, som till exempel spillvärme och förbränning av avfall tas tillvara. Fjärrvärme kan även bidra till elproduktion i kraftvärmeverk där totalverkningsgraden är högre än vid separat el- respektive värmeproduktion. En omställning av energisystemet till en ökad användning av fjärrvärme och minskad användning av el genom effektiviseringar och konverteringar från olja och el till fjärrvärme kan bidra till att skapa energieffektiva system. Syftet med den här avhandlingen är att identifiera hur ett lokalt energibolag som producerar fjärrvärme, fjärrkyla och el i kraftvärmeverk kan bidra till att skapa energieffektiva system och kostnadseffektiva globala koldioxidreduktioner tillsammans med sina kunder. Det energibolag som framförallt har studerats i den här avhandlingen är Tekniska Verken i Linköping AB. För att optimera energibolagets fjärrvärme- och fjärrkylaproduktion har energisystemanalyser genomförts, där både åtgärder på tillförsel- och användarsidan har studerats. Genom att se energiförsörjningen ur ett systemperspektiv kan man undvika att ekonomiska och miljömässiga vinster vid en anläggning ersätts av förluster någon annanstans. Optimeringsmodeller, som MODEST och reMIND, har använts för energisystemanalyserna där även scenarier och känslighetsanalyser har inkluderats. För alla energisystemanalyser har ett europeiskt energisystemperspektiv använts där en totalt avreglerad europeisk elmarknad utan flaskhalsar eller andra systemfel antagits. Slutsatser från analyserna är att det lokala energibolaget kan bidra till kostnadseffektiva globala koldioxidreduktioner genom ett effektivt nyttjande av bränslen i kraftvärmeanläggningar och i bioraffinaderier. Speciellt kraftvärmeanläggningar med hög elverkningsgrad, som t.ex. biomasseförgasning- och naturgaskombianläggningar, har en betydande global koldioxidreduktionspotential. Även biomasseförgasningsanläggningar som är integrerade med produktion av förnybara drivmedel för transportsektorn har visat sig kostnadseffektiva med stor potential att reducera de globala koldioxidutsläppen. Styrmedel har dock en stor påverkan på det ekonomiska utfallet för förgasningsanläggningarna. Dessutom har studierna visat att energibesparingar kan åstadkommas genom att konvertera el och fossilbränsledrivna industriella processer till fjärrvärme och fjärrkyla. Eftersom fjärrvärme framförallt används för lokaluppvärmning är värmelasten i fjärrvärmesystem säsongsbetonad. Genom att konvertera industriella processer som inte är utetemperaturberoende till fjärrvärme kan fjärrvärmelasten bli mindre säsongsbetonad och mer jämt fördelad över året. En jämt fördelad värmelast är fördelaktig för driften av fjärrvärmeanläggningar och kan bidra till mer elproduktion i kraftvärmeanläggningar. Den extra elproduktionen, tillsammans med den el som blivit tillgänglig efter konvertering av eldrivna processer till fjärrvärme, kan ersätta europeisk marginalelsproduktion vilket kan reducera de globala koldioxidutsläppen. Det som har framkommit av dessa studier är att det lokala energibolaget, tillsammans med sina kunder, kan bidra till att uppfylla de mål den Europeiska Unionen har angående reduktionen av energianvändningen och koldioxidutsläppen. Dessutom kan detta ske på ett kostnadseffektivt sätt för både energibolaget och dess kunder.
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Baumstark, Lavinia [Verfasser], and Ottmar [Akademischer Betreuer] Edenhofer. "Investment Strategies for Climate Change Mitigation / Lavinia Baumstark. Betreuer: Ottmar Edenhofer." Berlin : Universitätsbibliothek der Technischen Universität Berlin, 2011. http://d-nb.info/1016533489/34.
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Meng, Sisi. "Economic Aspects of Climate Change Adaptation and Natural Hazard Risk Mitigation." FIU Digital Commons, 2016. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2630.
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According to Munich Re (2013), economic losses related to natural disasters have increased from an average of $50 billion in the 1980s to $200 billion over the last decade. The cost of natural disasters is accumulating rapidly and some claim that climate change is responsible. Others believe that human behaviors like population growth or land use should be blamed for these rising costs. The process of climate change has already taken place, and it is expected to continue to impact the future. As a result, people are more vulnerable today. Therefore, understanding the economic aspects of climate change and natural hazard risks should be considered as a major issue and addressed in greater detail. This dissertation aimed to explore household preferences of climate change adaptation and the economic impacts of natural hazards at both micro- and macro- levels.
The dissertation consisted of three related empirical studies based on the two main changes that will occur with climate change predicted by scientific climate models: stronger hurricanes and rising sea levels. The first chapter examined the impact of a recent hurricane on household activities. The objective was to find out whether a more intensified hurricane caused greater damages, and whether such damages had a long-lasting impact on household recovery. If the impact of natural hazards is worse than before, people should avoid putting themselves in harm's way. However, evidence indicates that the population in coastal cities is still growing fast, as people tend to reside near the beaches and attractive landscapes. Concerns are thus prompted by the possible lack of perceptions for future risks caused by natural hazards. Therefore, the second chapter focused on household perceptions and preferences for adapting to sea level rise in Florida. Lastly, although a disaster strikes rich or poor nations indifferently, some small island nations are among the most vulnerable. In the third chapter, the macroeconomic implications of natural hazards in Central America and the Caribbean were investigated. A careful examination of the economic factors that can lead to smaller losses and higher abilities to cope with disasters is crucial in such countries.
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Leedal, David Thomas. "Sequential decision-making in climate change mitigation : a control systems perspective." Thesis, Lancaster University, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.445476.
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Francart, Nicolas. "Buildings in municipal climate change mitigation strategies : towards life cycle thinking." Licentiate thesis, KTH, Hållbar utveckling, miljövetenskap och teknik, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-244063.
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Fulfilling climate targets requires ambitious changes. The building sector is a large contributor to emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), but also offers opportunities for climate change impact reductions. This thesis aims at supporting strategic decisions to reach climate change mitigation targets in the building sector, based on knowledge about what factors contribute significantly to climate impact from buildings in a life cycle perspective and how practitioners can influence these factors. More specifically, a first point of investigation concerns what aspects play a key importance in buildings’ climate impact, and what climate change mitigation strategies for the building sector should focus on. A quantitative analysis of backcasting scenarios for 2050 was performed using a spreadsheet model to estimate GHG emissions for the building sector. The parameters were adjusted to ensure that a GHG emission quota was reached in every scenario. This provided an illustration of four very different ways the building sector could contribute to the fulfillment of a global climate change mitigation target. The results were used to discuss what aspects of buildings were particularly important for target fulfillment. These aspects include a low-carbon energy mix, a reduction of GHG emissions from construction materials and an optimized use of space. A second point of investigation concerns how municipalities can influence practices through the use of environmental requirements in construction, in particular requirements based on a life cycle approach. A survey of Swedish municipalities was used to assess their current practices and knowledge level regarding mitigating climate change impact from construction, as well as the influence of a municipality’s size on these practices. It was followed up by semi-structured interviews investigating barriers to the use of environmental requirements in construction. Barriers were identified regarding in-house skills, access to data, resources, ambiguities regarding the law and guidance from national authorities. A stepwise strategy was suggested to overcome these barriers and successfully implement environmental requirements. Therefore, the thesis as a whole provides insight on how municipalities could use environmental requirements in construction to influence current practices in the building sector, so that the changes needed to fulfill the 1.5℃ target are implemented.QC 20190218
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Ali, Sheikh Muhammad. "Impacts and mitigation of latest climate change legislation on participant organisations." Thesis, University of Strathclyde, 2013. http://oleg.lib.strath.ac.uk:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=20283.
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In order to reduce the energy consumption from large non-energy-intensive businesses in UK, government has introduced the mandatory CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme. After several revisions, CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme is now pushing its participants to reduce their carbon emissions. Due to complex design and several revisions, participant organisations have struggled to identify and meet the requirements of the scheme. Research has been carried out by a number of researchers to analyse the impacts of CRC and their mitigation. However, the available information is only at a higher level, and there is lack of detailed information on practical measures that an organisation should take to comply with the scheme and reliably reduce / mitigate its impact. The need for research was identified to find and implement the measures, and develop a best practice approach to reduce the impacts of the scheme. This research was conducted at a CRC participant organisation which operates in a number of sectors, mainly Aggregates and Construction. The project identified the emerging challenges to the organisation due to CRC, and their possible solutions. It was identified that CRC has introduced serious implications to the participant businesses. Participant companies are now required to improve their systems and procedures to meet these challenges. In addition to that, it is now vital for participant companies to reduce their energy use and carbon emissions due to the financial implications of CRC. However, while implementing the carbon reduction opportunities, organisations have struggled to achieve the anticipated level of carbon emission reductions when using new and innovative technologies due to the underperformance of products. In addition to the dangers associated with new and innovative technologies, there are issues with comparatively longer existing opportunities, as their financial impacts change with time due to changes in the incentivising schemes. The project identified the requirements for the participating organisation's data & information to ensure compliance with the scheme. Opportunities were identified to mitigate the impacts of the scheme through new & improved systems, procedures, carbon reduction measures and renewable energy systems. Latest techniques were used for comparing the carbon reduction opportunities, and for informed decision making and as a result of the analysis a new tool, CALoRIC (Carbon Abatement Low Risk Investment Curve), was developed. Viable opportunities were implemented, and their performance monitored and verified. A best practice approach was then identified to reduce the risks associated with innovative and existing technologies. It was also identified that, in addition to the proposed and implemented projects, absolute carbon emissions in a company may reduce due to a number of factors, such as reduced business activity, an increase in energy awareness or indirect impact from ot her activities such as maintenance etc, and Energy Benchmarking was found necessary to find the actual reductions from various factors. Decision makers in an organisation require this information to decide their further carbon reduction strategy. It was concluded that that the company must implement the 10 suggested carbon reduction opportunities, in addition to increasing its emission reduction from other factors, in order to achieve its carbon reduction target.
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Baumstark, Lavinia Verfasser], and Ottmar [Akademischer Betreuer] [Edenhofer. "Investment Strategies for Climate Change Mitigation / Lavinia Baumstark. Betreuer: Ottmar Edenhofer." Berlin : Universitätsbibliothek der Technischen Universität Berlin, 2011. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:83-opus-31919.
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Liu, Liguang. "Understanding China’s Climate Change Mitigation Policy Development: Structures, Processes and Outcomes." FIU Digital Commons, 2011. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/429.
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Climate change is one of the most important and urgent issues of our time. Since 2006, China has overtaken the United States as the world’s largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter. China’s role in an international climate change solution has gained increased attention. Although much literature has addressed the functioning, performance, and implications of existing climate change mitigation policies and actions in China, there is insufficient literature that illuminates how the national climate change mitigation policies have been formulated and shaped. This research utilizes the policy network approach to explore China’s climate change mitigation policy making by examining how a variety of government, business, and civil society actors have formed networks to address environmental contexts and influence the policy outcomes and changes.
The study is qualitative in nature. Three cases are selected to illustrate structural and interactive features of the specific policy network settings in shaping different policy arrangements and influencing the outcomes in the Chinese context. The three cases include the regulatory evolution of China’s climate change policy making; the country’s involvement in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) activity, and China’s exploration of voluntary agreement through adopting the Top-1000 Industrial Energy Conservation Program. The historical analysis of the policy process uses both primary data from interviews and fieldwork, and secondary data from relevant literature.
The study finds that the Chinese central government dominates domestic climate change policy making; however, expanded action networks that involve actors at all levels have emerged in correspondence to diverse climate mitigation policy arrangements. The improved openness and accessibility of climate change policy network have contributed to its proactive engagement in promoting mitigation outcomes.
In conclusion, the research suggests that the policy network approach provides a useful tool for studying China’s climate change policy making process. The involvement of various types of state and non-state actors has shaped new relations and affected the policy outcomes and changes. In addition, through the cross-case analysis, the study challenges the “fragmented authoritarianism” model and argues that this once-influential model is not appropriate in explaining new development and changes of policy making processes in contemporary China.
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Machard, Anaïs. "Towards mitigation and adaptation to climate change : Contribution to Building Design." Thesis, La Rochelle, 2021. http://www.theses.fr/2021LAROS020.
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Compte tenu de l’augmentation de la fréquence des canicules, il est nécessaire de s’assurer que les bâtiments conçus et construits aujourd’hui seront adaptés aux futures températures plus élevées. Le périmètre de cette thèse consiste à proposer une méthodologie de contribution à la conception des bâtiments considérant à la fois les enjeux d’atténuation (réduction des besoins énergétiques) et d’adaptation (confort thermique estival, réduction du risque sanitaire en période de canicule) au changement climatique. La méthodologie a pour vocation d’être adaptable à différents types de bâtiments et de climats. Dans ce but, nous avons développé des fichiers météorologiques contenant des séquences typiques, ainsi que des vagues de chaleur futures. Par la suite, des méthodes d’analyse de sensibilité et d’optimisation couplées à des simulations thermiques dynamiques du bâtiment ont permis d’évaluer le potentiel de différentes techniques de rafraîchissement passif utilisées pour diminuer la surchauffe d’été en climats futurs. Les résultats de ces travaux de recherche mettent en évidence que les stratégies évaluées sont efficaces pour maintenir un confort thermique estival lors des étés futurs types à Paris et à La Rochelle. Cependant, à Carpentras, pour un été type futur, et pour ces trois villes en périodes de canicules futures récurrentes, les limites de ces solutions sont mises en exergue. En effet, les résultats de l’étude montrent que les occupants sont exposés à la chaleur lors de plusieurs jours consécutifs au-dessus de seuils à la fois diurnes et nocturnes ce qui résulte en un risque sanitaire pour les personnes vulnérables. Ces séquences ne sont pas détectées en utilisant des fichiers futurs types uniquement, ce qui démontre la pertinence de ces travaux. La combinaison d’enveloppes de bâtiments optimisées, de stratégies de rafraîchissement et d’adaptation des occupants se révèle être nécessaire afin d’atténuer le risque sanitaire récurrent auguré pour le milieu du siècle en FranceDue to climate change projecting increased heatwaves occurrence, ensuring that buildings designed and built today will be adapted to future warmer temperatures is essential. The scope of this Ph.D. is to propose a methodological contribution to the design of buildings that both mitigate (minimize yearly energy needs) and adapt (minimize summer indoor overheating, limit health-heat-related risk) to climate change. The methodology can be applied to any building case study in any climate. For this purpose, bias-adjusted weather files containing both present, future typical conditions and future heatwave periods were developed. The potential of different passive cooling mitigation and adaptation strategies to reduce summer indoor overheating is evaluated using these weather files through dynamic thermal simulations, sensitivity analysis and optimization methods. The results of this research work highlight that for the building case study, the evaluated strategies (buffer spaces, thermal mass, roof optical properties, glazing ratio, ventilative cooling) have a strong capacity to enable summer thermal comfort in future typical summers in Paris and in La Rochelle. However, in Carpentras, and under recurring heatwaves in all three cities, the limits of these mitigation and adaptation measures are recognized. In fact, the future heatwaves consistently lead to consecutive days of indoor overheating exposure during both daytime and nighttime for building occupants, leading to a health-heat-related risk especially for the most vulnerable. These sequences are not detected when using only future typical years, which stresses the relevance of this work. Only the combination of optimized building envelopes, ventilative cooling strategies and adaptive opportunities from building occupants (solar control, increased indoor air velocities) have the potential to offset the projected recurring health-heat-related risk, particularly elevated in the South of France
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Komba, Coretha. "The economics of climate change vulnerability, adaptation and mitigation in Tanzania." Doctoral thesis, University of Cape Town, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12867.
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Includes bibliographical references.In Sub-Saharan Africa, climate change is set to hit the agricultural sector the most severely and cause suffering particularly for smallholder farmers. To cushion themselves against potential welfare losses, smallholder farmers need to recognize the changes already taking place in their climate and undertake appropriate investments in adaptation. This study investigates whether these smallholder farmers in Tanzania recognize climate change and, consequently, adapt to it in their agricultural activities. The study also investigates the factors influencing their choice of adaptation methods. In order to achieve this, the study analysed data from 534 randomly selected households in a sample of districts representing the six of the seven agro-ecological regions of the country. The data shows that Tanzanian smallholder farmers have observed changes in mean and variance precipitation and temperature and responded to it. The farmers have generally used short-season crops, drought-resistant crops, irrigation, changing planting dates and tree planting to adapt to the negative impacts of climate change on their agricultural yields. In this study, selection bias is corrected using a Heckman sample selection model. A binary probit model is used as a selection equation to investigate the factors influencing a farmer’s decision to undertake any adaptation at all to climate change while a multinomial probit model is used as an outcome equation to investigate the factors influencing farmers’ choice of specific adaptation methods. The inverse Mill’s ratio reported selection bias in choosing three of the adaptation methods. The findings of the study suggest that the Tanzanian government needs to assist smallholder farmers overcome the constraints they face in their attempts to adapt. The government can play a significant role by promoting adaptation methods appropriate for particular circumstances e.g. particular crops for different agro-ecological zones.
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Berry, Jessica. "Boardroom warming – A role for company directors in climate change mitigation." Thesis, Berry, Jessica (2013) Boardroom warming – A role for company directors in climate change mitigation. Honours thesis, Murdoch University, 2013. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/22719/.
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Current climate change mitigation policy has been entirely ineffective in bringing about a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The adoption of a top down management approach combined with an over reliance on environmental law principles indicates that policy makers have failed to understand the unique nature of the climate change problem. Climate change is a ‘wicked’ problem – it does not respond to the top down and internationally focused approaches currently employed. Further, our approach to managing climate change and its impact is dependent on our understanding of the problem at any given time. This is particularly problematic with climate change as our understanding of its likely impacts and how we respond to them shifts rapidly. Climate change and the governance of climate change are complex and difficult issues involving many parties. Negotiations around national and international climate change policy must take into account a wide range of interests and have become more complex due to the increased role of non-state parties. It is argued here that forms of governance that work at a lower level and embrace the participation of non-state actors such as corporations are more effective in dealing with wicked problems such as climate change.
Despite the fact that corporations are among the largest greenhouse gas emitters and are responsible for almost all significant environmental outcomes, their potential to play a key role in climate change mitigation has been largely ignored. This essay proposes that the impact of climate change would be better managed by a bottom up approach that incorporates corporations and their directors as key decision makers. It is proposed that the best way to do this is by the introduction of a new directors’ duty that requires company directors to take into account the interests not only of shareholders, but also of future generations and the climate itself. Principles of intergenerational and intragenerational equity and stakeholder theory are called upon to inform this new approach. These theoretical tools allow for the development of a model that accommodates several stakeholders while still preserving the economic benefits brought by incorporation. Corporate social responsibility initiatives and separate legislation are examined and found wanting as alternative methods for incorporating corporations into a bottom up approach to climate change mitigation. It is argued that directors’ duties, because of their established legitimacy, wide acceptance and well understood enforcement mechanisms are the ideal legal tool for the job. Under the current law, directors face uncertainty about how far they can go in acting in the interests of stakeholders other than shareholders. It could even be said the current law creates a disincentive to divert corporate resources to reducing a corporation’s greenhouse gas emissions. It is argued here that a new duty that imposes an obligation on company directors to take into account the interests of shareholders, the climate and future generations will remove uncertainty and allow corporations to meaningfully participate in a bottom up approach to effective climate change mitigation.
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Krause, Michael. "Economic potential and sectoral impacts of forest-based climate change mitigation." Doctoral thesis, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Lebenswissenschaftliche Fakultät, 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.18452/17220.
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Die vermiedene tropische Entwaldung und zusätzliche Aufforstungen sind von zentraler Bedeutung für die Klimawandelvermeidung, üben aber zusätzlichen Druck auf die globalen Landressourcen zur Produktion von Nahrungsgütern, Futtermittel, Fasern, Bioenergie und Rundholz dar. Die Ziele der Studie beziehen sich auf die Analyse der Verzichtskosten in der Land- und Forstwirtschaft sowie das Potential zur Klimawandelvermeidung in globalen Wäldern durch normative und marktbasierte Klimaschutzprogramme. Das globale ökonomische Landnutzungsmodell ''Model of Agricultural Production and its Impact on the Environment'' (MAgPIE) wurde um eine konsistente Landnutzungsdatenbank und den Forstsektor erweitert. Es simuliert die räumlich-explizite Landnutzung und deren Änderungen während die Kosten land- und forstwirtschaftlicher Produktion unter gegebener Nachfrage nach Gütern geschätzt werden. Szenarien zu Klimaschutzmaßnahmen werden verglichen mit Referenzszenarien über Zeithorizonte bis zum Jahr 2100. Die Ergebnisse verweisen auf ein begrenztes Mitigationspotential normativen tropischen Waldschutzes zu geringen zusätzlichen Kosten in der Landwirtschaft. Lateinamerika profitiert von ausreichenden Landreserven und geringem Anstieg in der Güternachfrage und geringer Referenzentwaldung. Die Verlagerung von Emissionen durch regionalen Waldschutz hat Auswirkungen auf die sektoralen Produktionskosten und verringert das globale ökonomische Potential. Die Schlussfolgerungen betreffen 1) den Bedarf an substantieller Ertragssteigerung in Sub-Sahara Afrika als Voraussetzung für die erfolgreiche Umsetzung vermiedener Entwaldung, 2) die erhöhte Gefahr der Verlagerung von Emissionen aus Entwaldung durch die Umsetzung regionaler Klimaschutzprogramme und der Liberalisierung des Holzhandels, 3) das hohe ökonomische Potential integrierter Klimaschutzprogramme zu moderaten Verzichtskosten, sowie 4) die Notwendigkeit zusätzlicher Forschung bezüglich der Unsicherheiten in Parametern und Modellprozessen.Avoiding tropical deforestation and additional afforestation are of primary importance for climate change mitigation but exert additional pressure on global land resources for the production of food, feed, fibre, bioenergy and timber. The study objectives relate to the analysis of the foregone economic benefits, the opportunity costs, in agriculture and forestry and the climate change mitigation potential of global forests in normative and market-based programmes. The global economic ‘Model of Agricultural Production and its Impact on the Environment'' (MAgPIE) has been extended by a consistent land use database and the forestry sector. It simulates spatially-explicit land use and land use changes while estimating the costs of production in agriculture and forestry to satisfy a prescribed demand. Climate change mitigation scenarios are contrasted to baselines for time horizons up to the year 2100. The results show the limited mitigation potential of normative forest conservation in tropical regions at low additional costs in agriculture. Latin America benefits from sufficient land endowments and low increases in crop demand leading to relatively low baseline deforestation. The displacement of carbon emissions between regions impacts the regional agriculture and forestry production costs and reduces the global economic potential. The conclusions pertain to the 1) need for high rates of yield increase in Sub-Saharan Africa as a precondition for successfully avoided deforestation, 2) increased threat of regional carbon emission leakage from implementing mitigation programmes and liberalized trade of timber, 3) high economic potential of climate change mitigation from integrating afforestation and avoided deforestation at moderate costs, and 4) additional research needs to account for significant uncertainties from growth and cost parameters and model processes.
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Hogarth, James Ryan. "The evolutionary economic geography of climate change." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:4b415617-4b0c-4c5a-98d7-4a1c765bb69f.
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The evolutionary economic geography of climate change is concerned with the processes by which the landscapes of greenhouse gas emissions and vulnerability to climate change are transformed from within over time. Unlike neoclassical economics, evolutionary economic geography is interested in how economic change is driven by innovation and shaped by structural, historical, and contextual factors at different scales. This thesis articulates an evolutionary economic geography perspective on three debates: (1) What factors influence human systems’ capacity to adapt to climate change, and how can these factors be assessed? (2) What forces drive and inhibit economic change towards low-carbon economies, and how should governments induce and manage such shifts? (3) What role should climate finance play in promoting developing countries’ shifts to low-emitting and climate-resilient economies, and how should it be managed? The thesis includes five academic papers. The first reviews the literature on vulnerability and adaptation. It argues that the adaptive capacity of human systems is constrained by structural and historical factors, and that the rich data necessary to identify these factors can only be obtained through qualitative research methods. The next two papers offer case studies from the Global Islands’ Vulnerability Research Adaptation and Policy Development project, which assess the adaptive capacity of Soufriere, Saint Lucia and Whitehouse, Jamaica, respectively. The fourth paper examines the mechanics of three low-carbon shifts in Brazil: the diffusion of no-till agriculture, the decrease in the deforestation rate in the Amazon, and the growth of the ethanol biofuel industry. It found that the driving forces behind each of the shifts were far more varied and complex than the price-based market dynamics analysed in neoclassical economics. The final paper argues that climate finance will need to perform a variety of functions beyond attracting low-carbon private investment. It concludes that the institutional architecture governing climate finance should enable direct access to national governments to incentivise them to implement sustainable innovation policy regimes.
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Brown, Terry-Rene Wiesner. "Monitoring and Mitigation of Elevated CO2 Impacts using Microalgae." Scholar Commons, 2016. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/6188.
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Climate change is arguably the greatest environmental and economic challenge of our time. There are considerable documented and projected impacts to both human and natural systems as a result of climate change. These impacts include changes in temperature, sea level, precipitation patterns, and biogeography of ecologically and economically relevant species, including pathogens. One of the main drivers of climate change is elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas. Since pre-industrial times, atmospheric CO2 levels have increased from approximately 280 ppm to over 400 ppm, as a result of fossil fuel combustion, cement production and land use change.
In addition to being a driver of climate change and a direct contributor to the increase in global average temperatures, elevated atmospheric CO2 also affects biogeochemical cycles. When ocean surface waters equilibrate with higher levels of atmospheric CO2, there is an increase in acidification and resulting effects on marine biota, such as changes to community composition and decreases in calcifying organisms. Freshwater systems are less understood, but many freshwater systems are experiencing acidification and the resulting ramifications as well. Microalgae, as the primary producers in these systems, are often studied as sentinels of such change.
Here, I present studies using microalgae to monitor and mitigate elevated CO2. The goals of the investigation were to conduct 1) a field study to determine if microalgae in a freshwater stream were impacted by an elevated CO2 treatment; 2) a meta-analysis of elevated CO2 effects on freshwater microalgae; and 3) a laboratory study to optimize growth of microalgae for biofuels production.
In the first chapter, I provide background information and the framework for the studies that follow. Past, present and future atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are discussed as well as their impacts to marine and freshwater systems. The importance of microalgae to these aquatic systems is described. Then I discuss the role of microalgae in elevated CO2 monitoring and mitigation.
In the second chapter, I present a field study of elevated CO2 effects on a freshwater stream. The study took place at the University of Michigan Biological Station at the Stream Research Facility. Once-through artificial stream channels were employed to grow microalgae in simulated natural stream conditions. The stream channels were subjected to ambient or elevated CO2 treatments and impacts to stream water chemistry and microalgae were measured. Stream water chemistry was impacted by the elevated CO2 treatment such that there were significant decreases in pH and significant increases in dissolved inorganic carbon. However, these chemical changes did not have a measured impact on the stream microalgae, as measured by microalgal biomass, elemental composition, and community composition. Perhaps microalgae will not be the first to be impacted by increasing levels of atmospheric CO2, though freshwater systems vary considerably and more research is needed to confirm this conclusion.
In the third chapter, I present the results of a meta-analysis of elevated CO2 effects on freshwater algae. We conducted a literature search in ISI Web of Science of all publications on freshwater microalgal response to elevated CO2 and chose studies that used elevated CO2 levels of less than or equal to 2,000 ppm, which is the highest level projected for the future by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. From the twenty-two papers that met the inclusion criteria, qualitative and quantitative data were extracted and categorized into response classes including water chemistry, microalgal growth, carbon fixation and photosynthesis, nutrient uptake, and consumer response. Effect sizes for elevated CO2 were calculated, and CO2 enrichment significantly increased water acidity and dissolved inorganic carbon concentrations, microalgal growth, carbon fixation and photosynthesis, and algal nutrient uptake. Algal consumers (e.g., herbivores) in general were negatively affected, but the overall result was not statistically significant. We also analyzed a variety of experimental parameters and determined that experimental design and algal culture conditions did not impact elevated CO2 effects on freshwater microalgae in the studies conducted to date.
In the fourth chapter, I provide the results of a laboratory-based study of the marine microalgae Picochlorum oculatum, which has shown promise as a source of biofuel because of its high lipid production and relative ease of growing in culture. We ran a series of lab experiments to optimize growth conditions and maximize growth of P. oculatum. Experiments included tests of light source (LED or metal halide), CO2 delivery (continuously or in pH-controlled pulses), inoculum size (10%, 15% or 20%), and culture pH (7.0, 7.5, or 8.0); these variations did not significantly impact growth so future experiments were run in the most cost-effective manner using LED lights, with pH-controlled pulses, 10% inoculum size and at culture pH of 7.5. We also tested different sources of supplied nitrogen in an effort to reduce culture costs and potentially improve sustainability by using urea and ammonium, sources of nitrogen readily available from wastewater treatment. Growth was comparable using the standard artificial nitrogen source, nitrate, and the wastewater-constituent urea, indicating that urea may be a cost-effective and sustainable source of nitrogen for microalgal cultures grown on an industrial scale for biofuel production. Growth using ammonium was not successful even when concentrations were reduced and a buffer was added to reduce acidification of the growth medium resulting from ammonium uptake by the algae. More research is needed to determine if ammonium can be a suitable nitrogen source for microalgae. Experiments were also conducted in an outdoor setting to determine if high growth levels were maintained when the cultures were grown at a larger scale and in variable natural conditions; successful growth was demonstrated over 68 days, indicating that P. oculatum may be a promising candidate for biofuel production. Additional research is needed to further optimize culture growth and streamline operations.
The body of work herein examines the role of microalgae in elevated CO2 monitoring and mitigation. There is considerable evidence that elevated atmospheric CO2 impacts aquatic chemistry through increases in dissolved inorganic carbon and acidity. These chemical changes have varied impacts on aquatic biota, including microalgae, which play foundational roles in ecosystems as primary producers and bases of food webs. Microalgal responses to elevated CO2 may impact other trophic levels and have widespread effects on aquatic ecosystems. Additional research is needed on elevated CO2 effects on microalgae, particularly in freshwater systems, which are less understood than marine systems and perhaps less predictable due to the wide variability in their physical, chemical and biological compositions. Microalgae may also play a significant role in elevated CO2 mitigation because of their potential in biofuel production. With additional research focused on reducing costs and improving sustainability, microalgae may play an important role in reducing elevated CO2, one of the main drivers of climate change.
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Jones, Christopher David. "Quantitative carbon cycle modelling to inform climate mitigation policy." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/27943.
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The global carbon cycle is a central part of the climate system which forms a direct link between human activity and climate change. This thesis presents my contribution to the field of research into the global carbon cycle with complex numerical models and its use to inform climate mitigation policy. Firstly, I present work I led to build, configure and apply the Hadley Centre Earth System Model, HadGEM2-ES, that successfully delivered the CMIP5 simulations. Then I present work that led to the design of the next generation of coupled carbon cycle intercomparison experiments. The aim of these experiments is to understand and quantify future centuryscale changes in land and ocean carbon storage and fluxes and their impact on climate projections. A set of ESM simulations was devised, with a common protocol, which all participating modelling centres should follow. A theoretical framework is commonly used to quantify carbon cycle feedbacks. I played an active role in its recommended use and definitions of terms. A feedback analysis I performed of future carbon cycle projections formed a central component of the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report. This is the first time that that the IPCC carbon cycle chapter had a section devoted to the feedbacks and future projections from coupled carbon cycle ESMs. Finally, I present three specific applications of my research and their relevance to climate mitigation policy. 1) I was the first to define the concept of committed ecosystem changes and demonstrate that ecosystems may continue to respond for many years or decades after climate is stabilised, leading to the recommendation that such committed change should be included in definitions of dangerous climate change. 2) I performed the first Earth System model analysis of the carbon emissions reductions required to follow the RCP pathways leading to the IPCC AR5 statement that, “For RCP2.6, an average 50% emission reduction is required by 2050 relative to 1990 levels”. 3) My research on carbon cycle feedbacks, especially the response of the carbon cycle to low CO2 pathways, found that models predict significant weakening, or even potential reversal, of natural carbon sinks in response to removal of CO2, which potentially hinders the effectiveness of the negative emissions. My research presented in this thesis has been influential in setting international research priorities in this field. It continues to inform global negotiations on climate mitigation policy.
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Taconet, Nicolas. "Dynamics and distribution of climate change impacts : insights for assessing mitigation pathways." Thesis, Marne-la-vallée, ENPC, 2021. http://www.theses.fr/2021ENPC0001.
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Parce que le changement climatique affecte l’économie à différentes échelles, quantifier ses impacts est particulièrement difficile. Pourtant, la compréhension de ces impacts est essentielle pour élaborer une réponse appropriée en terme d'atténuation et d'adaptation. Elle permet de fixer des objectifs régionaux et globaux à la lumière du coût de l'inaction, et de préparer l'adaptation en identifiant les vulnérabilités futures. Cette thèse s’intéresse à la façon dont la dynamique et la distribution des impacts du changement climatique affectent l’évaluation des trajectoires d’atténuation. Dans un premier temps, je montre que la dynamique du système climatique joue un rôle important pour comprendre les dommages économiques qui en résultent, ce qui peut augmenter la valeur sociale du carbone. Dans un deuxième temps, en tenant compte de l'hétérogénéité des impacts entre pays, j'étudie les effets distributifs de différentes trajectoires d'émissions. Enfin, je montre comment les effets de propagation et le changement structurel peuvent modifier la distribution des coûts du changement climatique, à travers l’exemple des impacts sur la productivité du travailBecause climate change affects economies at different scales, quantifying its impacts is particularly challenging. Yet, understanding climate change impacts is key to design appropriate mitigation and adaptation response. Damage assessment allows to set global targets and regional policies against the cost of inaction, and to prepare for adaptation by highlighting future vulnerabilities and hotspots. This thesis analyse how the dynamics and distribution of climate change impacts affects the assessment of mitigation pathways. First, I show that climate system dynamics matters to evaluate the resulting economic impacts, which increases the present value of mitigation actions. Second, using different assessments of climate change impacts aggregated at the country level, I analyse the distributional effects of different emission pathways. Finally, I show how spillovers and structural change affect the distribution of impacts, through the example of heat stress on productivity
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Schmidt, Stephan Wayne. "INTEGRATING SOLAR ENERGY AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT RESILIENCE PLANNING." DigitalCommons@CalPoly, 2014. https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/1211.
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Resilience and solar energy are separately growing in popularity for urban planners and similar professionals. This project links the two discrete terms together and examines the extent to which solar energy can improve local government resilience efforts. It includes a detailed literature review of both topics, as well as the methodology and findings related to a survey and interviews of local government officials and key stakeholders across the country related to hazard mitigation and energy assurance planning.
This research finds that integrating the use of solar energy can improve local government resilience efforts related to mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery activities in the following ways: by being incorporated into hazard mitigation strategies as a means to maintain critical operations, thereby reducing loss of life and property; by being utilized in comprehensive planning efforts to increase capacity and decrease reliance and stress upon the grid, thereby reducing the likelihood of blackout events; by being used in tandem with backup storage systems as an integral part of energy assurance planning, which can help ensure critical functions continue in times of grid outage; by being used to provide power for response activities such as water purification, medicine storage and device charging; and by being used as an integral part of rebuilding communities in a more environmentally-conscious manner.
The result of the research is a document entitled Solar Energy & Resilience Planning: a practical guide for local governments, a guidebook for local government officials wishing to have more information about incorporating solar energy into current resilience initiatives; it is included at the end of the report as Appendix C.
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Bledsoe, April, Danika Mosher, Mitchell Ogden, Monica Ayala, T. Andrew Joyner Joyner, and Ingrid Luffman. "Ecological Niche Modeling and Sustainable Agroforestry: Climate Change Mitigation for Guatemalan Coffee." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2019. https://dc.etsu.edu/asrf/2019/schedule/64.
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Coffea arabica is a species with far-reaching impacts on the global economy. Nevertheless, climate-related challenges threaten the coffee industry at its source: its growing regions. The coffee industry is a significant economic driver in Guatemala, but farmers are increasingly reporting losses in crop yield and arable land due to climate-related challenges. Ecological niche modeling (ENM) can be employed to make predictions about the current and future suitability of regions for a species by identifying significant biotic or abiotic indicators. An ENM was used to project suitable land into the future using climate change projection models known as representative concentration pathways (RCPs), for the coffee plant and a number of other species. Due to the potential of shade trees to lessen heat stress on coffee plants, common shade trees for the region were modeled. Additionally, a fungus species responsible for detrimental coffee leaf rust was modeled. Results of these models indicated potential for substantial climate-related habitat losses for the coffee plant in the coming decades. Examination of model predictions allow for greater understanding of the climate-related variables affecting the ecology of the coffee plant, and the potential risks to the industry, in a changing climate. Additionally, ENM models for coffee rust and shade trees can help Guatemalan farmers make informed decisions about farm management.
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Bledsoe, April, Danika Mosher, Mitchell Ogden, Monica Ayala, Timothy Andrew Joyner, and Ingrid Luffman. "Ecological Niche Modeling and Sustainable Agroforestry: Climate Change Mitigation for Guatemalan Coffee." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2019. https://dc.etsu.edu/asrf/2019/schedule/70.
Full textAbstract:
Coffea arabica is a species with far-reaching impacts on the global economy. Nevertheless, climate-related challenges threaten the coffee industry at its source: its growing regions. The coffee industry is a significant economic driver in Guatemala, but farmers are increasingly reporting losses in crop yield and arable land due to climate-related challenges. Ecological niche modeling (ENM) can be employed to make predictions about the current and future suitability of regions for a species by identifying significant biotic or abiotic indicators. An ENM was used to project suitable land into the future using climate change projection models known as representative concentration pathways (RCPs), for the coffee plant and a number of other species. Due to the potential of shade trees to lessen heat stress on coffee plants, common shade trees for the region were modeled. Additionally, a fungus species responsible for detrimental coffee leaf rust was modeled. Results of these models indicated potential for substantial climate-related habitat losses for the coffee plant in the coming decades. Examination of model predictions allow for greater understanding of the climate-related variables affecting the ecology of the coffee plant, and the potential risks to the industry, in a changing climate. Additionally, ENM models for coffee rust and shade trees can help Guatemalan farmers make informed decisions about farm management.
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Traut, Michael. "Quantifying CO2 emissions from shipping and the mitigation potential of wind power technology." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2014. https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/quantifying-co2-emissions-from-shipping-and-the-mitigation-potential-of-wind-power-technology(72bcd198-578d-408f-b3cd-67047229dd3b).html.
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Responsible for CO2 emissions of the order of 1 Gt, about 2-3 % of the global total, the shipping sector is part of the challenge to reduce emissions, in order to avoid dangerous climate change. Aiming to inform the sector’s response to the challenge, this research addresses two knowledge gaps. Current methods of estimating carbon emissions from shipping are subject to large uncertainties and lacking with respect to a set of greenhouse gas accounting criteria. Based on Automatic Identification System (AIS) data, a new methodology is developed to monitor fuel consumption and ensuing carbon emissions around the globe. Results from applying the method to a sample fleet of 13 vessels and validating it against fuel consumption records covering a time interval of one year demonstrate that, for the first time, estimating shipping emissions from individual ship AIS movement data has become possible at the global scale. Lacking information on the performance of carbon abatement technologies is the second knowledge gap. Due to its geographical and temporal variability, wind power technology is particularly dependent on a transparent assessment to exploit its carbon saving potential as a freely available and renewable energy source. Numerical performance models of two wind power technologies - a Flettner rotor and a towing kite - are combined with wind velocity data from a weather model to calculate their propulsive power contribution. Average results along five analysed sample routes range between 0.3 MW and 1.0 MW for a single Flettner rotor andbetween 0.1 MW and 0.9 MW for the modelled towing kite. Both methodologies are ready for further use. Applying the AIS-based method to data covering the world fleet may provide a concise, up-to-date view of greenhouse gas emissions from shipping when and where they take place. The wind power technology model can be applied to any shipping route around the world. Next steps towards fully exploring and optimising the potential of wind power technology are outlined. A better understanding of greenhouse gas emissions from shipping and of mitigation options gained from applying the models may, in turn, contribute to the sector’s successful response to the climate change challenge.
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Bennett, Christopher D. "For the sake of future generations : intergenerational justice and climate change mitigation." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2017. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/103409/.
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[Introductory paragraph] The present generation must confront a challenge. The challenge is to determine what it must do for the sake of future generations. This challenge is quite puzzling because the present generation, like its predecessors, will pass on to future generations a complex mix of goods, inventions, institutions and opportunities containing a range of benefits and burdens. In this thesis, I focus on one key intergenerational problem – anthropogenic climate change – considering some of the questions of intergenerational justice that it raises. While it has not always been the case, climate and climate change have recently taken on new significance as a process to which humans can, and in fact do, contribute. More specifically, while paleoclimatic data show substantial variation in the Earth’s climate (Masson- Delmotte, Schulz, Abe-Ouchi, Beer, Ganopolski, J.F. González Rouco, E. Jansen, et al., 2013: 385), an ever-growing mass of evidence shows that human activity – particularly the sustained emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) – is beginning to change the global climate, with much greater changes still to come (IPCC, 2013b: 4, 19ff). This produces what is known as anthropogenic climate change, “a change in the state of the climate that can be identified (e.g., by using statistical tests) by changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties, and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer”, and that results from human activities (IPCC, 2013a: 1448, 1450).
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Pougy, Roberto. "Unconventional oil and natural gas supplies and the mitigation of climate change." Thesis, Paris, EHESS, 2017. http://www.theses.fr/2017EHES0075.
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Cette thèse en économie de l'énergie et de l'environnement étend le modèle de Hotelling du type exploration-extraction avec contraintes géologiques d’Okullo, Reynes et Hofkes (2015), afin de prendre en compte des trajectoires en forme de cloche pour l’ajout de réserves empiriquement observées par Laherrère (2003). Le modèle LOGIMA proposé (Images à Long terme sur le Pétrole et le Gaz) explique qu’elles sont la conséquence de « sweet spots » géologiques : des zones privilégiées où la concentration d’hydrocarbures est la plus élevée. Le modèle LOGIMA a été calibré sur une base de données issues couvrant les sept principaux bassins de pétrole et de gaz non-conventionnels du pays. Les résultats indiquent que la nécessité d’apprentissage par la pratique pour découvrir l’emplacement des sweet spots conduit à une mise en œuvre d’un effort d’exploration également en forme de cloche, ce qui permet de réduire le risque des activités d’exploration. Par conséquent, la réponse en termes des volumes offerts par les producteurs à des chocs sur les prix dévient fonction de l’ensemble des ressources mondiales antérieurement découvertes. Ensuite, nous appliquons le modèle LOGIMA pour étudier l’impact causé par l’offre de pétrole et de gaz naturel « non-conventionnels » aux États-Unis, sur les efforts mondiaux d’atténuation du changement climatique. Nous y parvenons en associant les scénarios à long-terme générés par LOGIMA avec le modèle d’évaluation intégrée, IMACLIM-R. Cette étude analyse comment des différentes cibles de prix de pétrole affecteraient son offre aux États-Unis. Nous estimons cette interaction au moyen de trois cadres de politiques en matière de climat : le cadre « business as usual » (BAU), les contributions décidées à l’échelle nationale (NDC) et les scénarios de 2°C (2DS). Les résultats de l’exercice indiquent que les approvisionnements non-conventionnels sont fortement susceptibles d’affecter les marchés énergétiques mondiaux, mais leur impact sur les émissions mondiales de gaz à effet de serre serait limité, car les différents effets déclenchés dans des différents secteurs viendraient les équilibrer approximativementThis thesis in energy and environmental economics extends the geological Hotelling-type extraction-exploration model from Okullo, Reynes and Hofkes (2015) in order to account for the bell-shaped reserve additions that were empirically observed by Laherrère (2003). The proposed model explains them as the result of geological “sweet spots”: premium areas within geological formations where the concentration of hydrocarbons is highest. The proposed theoretical formulation was programmed into the mathematical model LOGIMA – “Long-term Oil and Gas Images” – and calibrated on data covering the seven main unconventional oil and gas plays in the United States. Results indicate the need to learn the location of sweet spots through trial and error drillings leads to schedules of exploratory effort that allow the optimal “de-risking” of exploratory activities. As a result, the optimal response of producers to price shocks becomes contingent on the prevailing level of cumulative discoveries.We apply LOGIMA to investigate the impact, caused by the recent advent of large-scale supplies of unconventional oil and gas, in the United States, on the ongoing efforts to mitigate climate change. We do so by soft coupling long-term scenarios from LOGIMA with the integrated assessment model, IMACLIM-R, a recursive, computable general equilibrium model of integrated global energy, economy and environment systems. We analyze how different price targets, potentially pursued by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), would affect supplies of unconventional oil and gas from the United States. We control this interplay under three climate policy frameworks: business as usual (BAU), nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and 2°C scenario (2DS). The results of the exercise show that, despite having a significant potential to affect global energy markets, unconventional oil and gas supplies would have a limited potential to affect global cumulative greenhouse gas emissions to 2040, as the different effects triggered in different sectors approximately balanced each other out
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Sakai, Diaz Marco Antonio Hiroo. "An assessment of the compatibility between climate change mitigation and global development." Thesis, University of Leeds, 2013. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/6303/.
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Humanity’s greatest challenge is to improve the living standards of billions of people across the world without surpassing the planetary boundaries, and especially within the carbon space compatible with a 2°C future. Mitigation actions are thus required to create synergies and address climate and development goals simultaneously. It has been recognised that technology-led mitigation measures can accomplish this task, as long as they are also complemented with demand-side measures. Several bodies of literature have emphasised, for example, the urgent need to reduce consumption levels, particularly in industrialised economies. However, in the context of an ever more globalised world, the climate benefits delivered by demand-side mitigation policies can be offset by the existence of potential negative consequences in developing nations via international trade. This thesis assesses the compatibility between climate change mitigation actions taken in industrialised nations and improving development prospects in the developing world from a demand-side approach. The study contributes to the existing knowledge base by providing answers to four separate but related research questions that were proposed to examine relevant aspects associated with this issue. The results reveal that CO2 emissions have increased monotonically with income without showing signs of having decoupled over time. The findings also show that while curbing final demand for imports in developed countries can contribute to reduce their consumption-based emissions and free carbon space, they can also curtail the development opportunities available to the global South. Moreover, specific policy instruments, like border carbon adjustments, can potentially distort trade flows and jeopardise development in developing nations. Finally, the analysis unveils that the available carbon space compatible with a 2°C target is insufficient to deliver significant improvements in living standards in less developed countries given the continuity of the status quo. The sharing of the development and carbon spaces should be done in an equitable manner. The longer it takes developed countries to significantly cut their emissions, the smaller is the carbon space available particularly to the poorest nations who need it the most. The conclusions from this work evidence the necessity to formulate alternative development pathways capable of facilitating a transition towards an equitable, low-carbon, high-developed, and sustainable global economy.
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Scott, Catherine Elizabeth. "The biogeochemical impacts of forests and the implications for climate change mitigation." Thesis, University of Leeds, 2013. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/5888/.
Full textAbstract:
Vegetation emits biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) into the atmosphere which, once oxidised, may partition into the particle-phase, forming secondary organic aerosol (SOA). In this thesis, the climatic impacts of biogenic SOA are quantified, using a detailed global aerosol microphysics model, and the sensitivity of these radiative effects to the representation of various atmospheric processes is examined. By altering the size, composition and number of particles in the atmosphere, the presence of biogenic SOA very likely has a negative radiative effect on the climate (i.e. a cooling), via both the direct radiative effect (DRE) and first aerosol indirect effect (AIE). The DRE from biogenic SOA is sensitive to the large uncertainty in the amount of biogenic SOA being produced in the atmosphere (estimated to be between 12 and 1870 Tg(SOA) a-1). The presence of biogenic SOA increases the global annual mean concentration of particles with the potential to form cloud droplets (i.e. cloud condensation nuclei; CCN). Consequently, biogenic SOA exerts a global annual mean first AIE of between +0.03 W m-2 and -0.77 W m-2. Most of the range in the first AIE due to biogenic SOA can be attributed to uncertainty regarding the role of biogenic oxidation products in the very early stages of atmospheric new particle formation (i.e. nucleation). The most negative first AIEs (up to -0.77 W m-2) are simulated when BVOC oxidation products do participate in the very early stages of new particle formation; an approach which best captures the observed seasonal cycle in particle concentrations across the continental northern hemisphere. At the outside of the uncertainty range examined here, the DRE and first AIE due to biogenic SOA are almost half the strength (in terms of absolute magnitude) of the estimated net anthropogenic radiative forcing from 1750 to 2005 of +1.6 W m-2. The sign of the first AIE due to biogenic SOA is also sensitive to assumptions regarding the volatility of biogenic oxidation products and the manner in which their addition to the existing aerosol distribution is modelled. Taking a kinetic approach, in which SOA is partitioned according to particle surface area, gives a negative first AIE due to the role of secondary organics in the growth of newly formed particles. However, taking a thermodynamic equilibrium approach, in which SOA is added in proportion to existing organic mass, gives a positive first AIE because the growth of newly formed particles is suppressed in the presence of larger particles (i.e. due to the enhanced condensation sink). As a result, the thermodynamic approach is not able to capture the observed growth of new particles in the atmosphere and may not be suitable when examining processes that depend strongly on changes to ultrafine particle number, such as the first AIE. The negative radiative effects of biogenic SOA have implications for the climatic impact of forests and any changes to their distribution. The contribution of the first AIE, due to changes in the production of biogenic SOA, is quantified here using simplified deforestation scenarios. Globally, the replacement of forests with grass results in a first AIE of +0.26 W m-2 due to a 91% reduction in biogenic SOA production. This increases the total warming effect of deforestation, from the combined changes to carbon dioxide concentration and surface albedo, by 21%. Regionally, the strongest first AIE (+0.12 W m-2) comes from tropical (20°N – 20°S) deforestation which reduces global SOA production by 73%. The largest AIE per change in SOA comes from simulated temperate (20°N – 50°N and 20°S – 50°S) deforestation, which reduces global SOA production by only 15%, but leads to strong warming over remote ocean regions with high cloud fraction. This work suggests that present-day tropical deforestation is warming the climate more than previously thought, confirming that a reduction in deforestation should be a priority for climate change mitigation. These results also suggest that present-day afforestation in temperate regions may be exerting more of a cooling than would be attributed to CO2 sequestration alone, warranting further investigation.
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Wood, Justin. "Confronting the abatement paradox: Integrating aerosol cooling within climate change mitigation policy." Thesis, Wood, Justin (2013) Confronting the abatement paradox: Integrating aerosol cooling within climate change mitigation policy. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 2013. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/18774/.
Full textAbstract:
Anthropogenic climate change is a problem more confounding than commonly appreciated. For while greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions lead to a positive climate forcing and hence rising global mean surface temperature, parallel emission of particulate aerosol species does much the opposite, in parallel to their deleterious effects as local air pollutants. Through direct radiative interaction with incoming sunlight and complex indirect microphysical effects on cloud, anthropogenic aerosols exert a significant negative forcing — a counteracting cooling influence. Global temperature rise to date is thereby substantially less than would have occurred due to past GHG emissions alone. In fact, painstaking investigations find that aerosols mask between about 35 % and as much as 50 % of current GHG warming.
What is more, where GHGs remain in the atmosphere for decades to centuries after emission, aerosols are washed out within days to weeks. This large residence time asymmetry means that the ‘protection’ afforded by aerosol masking depends entirely on their continual emission. But that masking comes at the expense of well-documented damage to natural systems, physical infrastructure, and human health. Crucially, many activities that produce GHGs also emit aerosols and their precursor gases, fossil fuel combustion prominent among them. Climate change mitigation policies that abate GHG emissions therefore simultaneously reduce aerosols — not only their emissions, but actual atmospheric loading. Yet due to the residence time asymmetry, the positive forcing of existing GHG concentrations is little affected in the short term, while the aerosol mask weakens in direct consequence of those lost emissions. this weakened mask constitutes a ‘negative abatement feedback' of mitigation efforts.
If unmasking is large enough, near the full effect of existing GHG forcing will be exposed, leading to potentially strong and rapid increase in temperature. As thresholds for dangerous climate change are quickly approaching, including a range of climatic tipping points, a lost aerosol mask as an unintended side effect of genuine GHG abatement may hence, paradoxically, exacerbate rather than mitigate against dangerous anthropogenic interference. The current trajectory of ever-rising global GHG emissions and unambitious, ineffective international mitigation efforts therefore suggests that a policy response to lost aerosol cooling will be needed when abatement finally begins in earnest, as it must. However, critical assessment of current policy making and instrument design finds that this systemic risk is largely unrecognised, and that normative ontological bias in the conception of pollutant effects hinders adequate recognition of aerosols’full role. The objective of this thesis is then to investigate policy approaches by which that risk may be contained.
To do so, I construct a set of policy design criteria that must be met by any effective mitigation framework that explicitly confronts the aerosol abatement paradox. Chief among these is the need to avoid distortion of underlying real GHG abatement; to account for aerosol emissions via metrics that accurately represent their negative forcing character; to properly recognise temporal constraints on their removal; and to ensure that withdrawal of aerosol masking is ‘managed’. Analysing a range of conceivable implementation models uncovers further critical insights for effective design, in accordance with the physical science.
From these foundations, I propose the ‘balancing market’mechanism, a prototype policy instrument compliant with those criteria, integrated with a pre-existing carbon price mechanism under an assumed, and necessary, future international agreement. The central feature of the underlying implementation model is to prioritise abatement pathways in which GHG-emission sources without coupled aerosol emissions are shutdown first. The balancing market does this by paying for the quantity of negative forcing deemed required until mitigation efforts restore a ‘safe’ atmospheric configuration. In a stark illustration of the abatement paradox’s unprecedented challenge, this translates as payment for continued aerosol emissions during a transitionary period while alternative compensative technologies are developed — likely including carbon dioxide removal, and forms of geoengineering.
It is my hope that this proposal and the analysis on which it is founded may assist in expanding the policy discourse so as to take full and unvarnished account of all components of anthropogenic interference in the climate system — and the danger they represent. The ethical implications are enormously confronting, but such is the nature of the age of consequences.
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Fiorini, Giulia <1994>. "Climate change and mitigation policies: the case of the Republic of Korea." Master's Degree Thesis, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10579/16395.
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Questo elaborato analizzerà le politiche proposte e realizzate dalla Corea del Sud in ambito di mitigazione del cambiamento climatico, cercando di analizzare anche i risultati ottenuti. Il primo capitolo sarà composto da una parte di introduzione al cambiamento climatico e una parte di introduzione alla lotta al cambiamento climatico in Corea, compresi i tentativi di cooperazione internazionale e un ficus sulla società civile in ambito ambientale. Seguirà un capitolo che si concentrerà sulle politiche coreane di riduzione delle emissioni di gas serra, con la presentazione di piani nazionali e un'analisi dei risultati ottenuti. Per finire, il terzo capitolo tratterà delle energie rinnovabili e dei tentativi della Corea di aumentare l'uso di rinnovabili nel mix energetico del paese; in questo capitolo saranno inclusi inoltre un focus sullo smaltimento delle scorie nucleari (il nucleare è una delle principali fonti rinnovabili utilizzate in Sud Corea) e un focus sulla cooperazione in ambito energetico.
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Driscoll, Simon. "Climate impacts of stratospheric particle injection." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:5460c624-75d0-448e-b9a0-c1bc70cc9ad0.
Full textAbstract:
Geoengineering has attracted large attention over recent years as to being a possible way to ameliorate some of the effects of climate change. One of the proposals, involving injecting sulphate aerosols into the stratosphere in order to cool Earth's temperature back to pre-industrial levels, has been assessed as one of the leading geoengineering proposals. Despite this, large uncertainties remain in both the physical and social sciences. Small scale trials of sulphate aerosol injection are not seen as ways to provide large amounts of useful data to inform on the climate response to stratospheric sulphate aerosol loading (whilst also facing many social and ethical barriers). Large scale trials involving injecting amounts of aerosol more comparable to what would be required to cool the Earth's temperature back to pre-industrial levels are viewed as too risky. Assessments of the climate effects of sulphate aerosol geoengineering by the scientific community therefore have largely relied on climate modelling studies. The thesis begins by reviewing sulphate aerosol geoengineering and the modelling that have been conducted to date. In light of the need to verify modelling results with observations the thesis seeks to understand the effects of nature's analogue to sulphate aerosol geoengineering: large volcanic eruptions. When a volcano erupts it can inject large amounts of SO2 gas into the stratosphere, which then undergo conversion to form sulphate aerosol, cooling the Earth in a way analogous to sulphate aerosol engineering. The ability of the climate models submitted to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 (CMIP5) database is assessed, with a particular focus on dynamical changes in the Northern Hemisphere winter period. These models fail to capture the observed NH dynamical response following eruptions, which is of concern for the accuracy of geoengineering modelling studies that assess the atmospheric response to sulphate aerosol geoengineering. Simulations of volcanic eruptions are then performed with high-top and low-top configurations of the HadGEM2-CC climate model. The high-top version of HadGEM2-CC, with enhanced vertical resolution and model height, gives a markedly improved and statistically significant post-volcanic winter dynamical simulation to its low-top counterpart. The post-winter dynamical simulation in the high-top model agrees with the observed response following volcanic eruptions. Accordingly, mechanisms involved in the dynamical changes are analysed and it is concluded that the HadGEM2-CC high-top model would give more confident simulations of sulphate aerosol geoengineering over its low-top counterpart. Given the identification of a more suitable model for geoengineering simulations following extensive investigation, the final chapter analyses simulations of the HadGEM2-CC high-top model for asymmetries between the climate response to an immediate onset of geoengineering and a rapid cessation of geoengineering - known as a 'termination' of geoengineering. The project is summarised and discussed, and future work is proposed, involving a large host of projects.
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Sibanda, Patience. "Climate change mitigation and resilience by four major supermarkets in East London, South Africa." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/5406.
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Climate change is a human development challenge. Its negative impacts have the potential to reverse the human development gains made in Africa. South Africa, just like many other countries in the Global South, is being negatively affected by climate change. The country`s economy is largely dependent on agriculture, extractive industries and manufacturing, all of which are vulnerable to climate change in different ways. This vulnerability means different public and private stakeholders must institute sustainable climate change mitigation and adaptation measures so as to ameliorate climate change impacts. Gradually transforming to an environmentally friendly ‘green economy’ and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions are some of South Africa’s climate change mitigation priorities. Just like the public sector, the private sector has a major role to play in this transition to a low carbon economy through minimising its carbon emissions in their operations. Against this background, this qualitative research examines the role played by four major supermarkets (Shoprite, Spar, Pick n Pay and Woolworths), in climate change mitigation and resilience building. It does so through an appraisal of their mitigation and resilience programs. The four supermarkets were purposively selected in East London, Eastern Cape. Data collection combined heavy reliance on desktop discourse analysis with field interviews in the form of purposively sampled key informant interviews. The results show that the four major supermarkets are implementing a variety of climate change mitigation and resilience strategies. These include reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, prioritisation of renewable energy, recycling and environmentally friendly packaging, promotion of sustainable ways of farming and improved fuel efficiency in their transport systems. In terms of policy improvement, the study recommends that there is need for supermarkets to learn from each other’s’ climate change mitigation initiatives so as to advance South Africa’s ‘green economy’ agenda.
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Olawuyi, Damilola Sunday. "The human rights based approach to climate change mitigation : legal framework for addressing human rights questions in mitigation projects." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:ade6153c-9dc9-4250-8fe5-2ad62ef8ddf8.
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Over the last decade, the effects of an unprecedented rise in global temperature due to climate change, on the enjoyment of human rights, especially the right to life, have been subjects of intensive scholarly attention. Gallons of juristic ink have been spilled on the need for States to adopt policy measures aimed at combating climate change. However, recent findings show that policy measures and projects aimed at mitigating climate change are in turn producing even more serious human rights concerns, especially in developing countries. These human rights issues include: mass displacement of citizens from their homes to allow for climate change mitigation projects; lack of participation by citizens in project planning and implementation; citing and concentration of projects in poor and vulnerable communities; lack of governmental accountability on projects and the absence of review and complaint mechanisms for victims to obtain redress for these problems. These secondary human rights impacts of policy measures and projects aimed at mitigating climate change have not received sufficient attention in existing literature. The aim of this research is to examine and analyse the effects of climate change mitigation projects, specifically Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects, on the enjoyment of fundamental human rights. It considers how lessons from the approval and execution of CDM projects could inform thoughts on the value and requirements for mainstreaming human rights safeguards into international climate change regimes in general. It analyses the legal and theoretical prospects and paradoxes of adopting the United Nations Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) as a framework through which human rights standards may be systemically integrated and mainstreamed into extant and emerging international legal regimes on climate change.