Short communication. Potential to mitigate anthropogenic CO2 emissions by tillage reduction in dryland soils of Spain

Spain is one of the countries with the highest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within the EU-27. Consequently, mitigation strategies need to be reported and quantified to accomplish the goals and requirements of the Kyoto Protocol. In this study, a first estimation of the carbon (C) mitigation potential of tillage reduction in Mediterranean rainfed Spain is presented. Results from eight studies carried out in Spain under rainfed agriculture to investigate the effects of no-tillage (NT) and reduced tillage (RT) compared with conventional tillage (CT) on soil organic carbon (SOC) were used. For current land surface under conservation tillage, NT and RT are sequestering 0.14 and 0.08 Tg C yr-1, respectively. Those rates represent 1.1% and 0.6% of the total CO2 emissions generated from agricultural activities in Spain during 2006. Alternatively, in a hypothetical scenario where all the arable dryland was under either NT or RT management, SOC sequestration would be 2.18 and 0.72 Tg C yr-1 representing 17.4% and 5.8% of the total 2006 CO2 equivalent emissions generated from the agricultural sector in Spain. This is a significant estimate that would help to achieve GHG emissions targets for the current commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.

1.48 and 1.84 µm thulium emissions in monoclinic KGd(WO4)2 single crystals

By exciting at 788 nm, we have characterized the near infrared emissions of trivalent thulium ions in monoclinic KGd(WO4)2 single crystals at 1.48 and 1.84 mm as a function of dopant concentration from 0.1% to 10% and temperature from 10 K to room temperature. We used the reciprocity method to calculate the maximum emission cross-section of 3.0310220 cm2 at 1.838 mm for the polarization parallel to the Nm principal optical direction. These results agrees well with the experimental data. Experimental decay times of the 3H4!3F4 and 3F4!3H6 transitions have been measured as a function of thulium concentration.

Unconventional Determinants of Greenhouse Gas Emissions: The Role of Trust

[cat] Les normes socials han estat incloses en la teoria de l’acció col.lectiva per a superar les dificultats per explicar perquè la gestió del béns comuns podria ser més efectiva quan s’autoregula per les mateixes comunitats. El paper rellevant de la confiança en els altres s’ha identificat en diversos contextos d’acció social a nivell local, però només recentment s’ha considerat la idea que també podria ser rellevant en el cas de béns comuns de caire global, seguint l’evidència bàsicament descriptiva recollida per Elinor Ostrom. Però fins ara no hi havia proves quantitatives disponibles d’aquesta idea. Utilitzant un conjunt de dades de 29 països europeus durant el període 1990-2007, donem evidència empírica a favor del paper del nivell de confiança en els altres en el context dels béns públics globals. Concloem que el nivell de confiança en els altres té un impacte reductor de les emissions de gasos d’efecte hivernacle; per exemple, l’extrapolació dels resultats implicaria una reducció d’emissions d’Espanya del 12,5% si el nivell mitjà de confiança en els altres dels espanyols fos tan elevat com els dels suecs.

Unconventional Determinants of Greenhouse Gas Emissions: The Role of Trust

[cat] Les normes socials han estat incloses en la teoria de l’acció col.lectiva per a superar les dificultats per explicar perquè la gestió del béns comuns podria ser més efectiva quan s’autoregula per les mateixes comunitats. El paper rellevant de la confiança en els altres s’ha identificat en diversos contextos d’acció social a nivell local, però només recentment s’ha considerat la idea que també podria ser rellevant en el cas de béns comuns de caire global, seguint l’evidència bàsicament descriptiva recollida per Elinor Ostrom. Però fins ara no hi havia proves quantitatives disponibles d’aquesta idea. Utilitzant un conjunt de dades de 29 països europeus durant el període 1990-2007, donem evidència empírica a favor del paper del nivell de confiança en els altres en el context dels béns públics globals. Concloem que el nivell de confiança en els altres té un impacte reductor de les emissions de gasos d’efecte hivernacle; per exemple, l’extrapolació dels resultats implicaria una reducció d’emissions d’Espanya del 12,5% si el nivell mitjà de confiança en els altres dels espanyols fos tan elevat com els dels suecs.

The reform of the European Energy Tax Directive reform : effect on prices

[spa] Para hacer frente a los riesgos relacionados con la contaminación atmosférica, es ampliamente aceptada la necesidad de instrumentos de política encaminados a reducir las emisiones. La intervención tiene por objeto reducir las conductas contaminantes y incentivar una conducta más respetuosa y el uso de tecnologías más eficientes. La Unión Europea cuenta con dos importantes mecanismos económicos para el control de emisiones a escala europea: la directiva sobre los impuestos energéticos, un instrumento de fiscalidad ambiental aprobado en 2003 que afecta el precio de los productos energéticos, y el sistema de comercio de los derechos de emisiones, introducido en 2005, que afecta directamente a la cantidad de emisiones de CO2. En 2011, la Comisión Europea propuso una nueva versión de la directiva sobre los impuestos energéticos. El objetivo principal de la propuesta es aumentar la eficacia del instrumento a través de una mayor presión fiscal sobre los productos energéticos y de coordinar este instrumento de fiscalidad medioambiental con el sistema de comercio de los derechos de emisiones, para establecer una señal de precio de CO2 coherente para todos los sectores. Sin embargo, en mayo de 2012 el Parlamento Europeo bloqueó la propuesta de la nueva versión del impuesto, y el proceso de actualización se detuvo. La preocupación principal parecía ser el efecto de dicha propuesta en la competitividad, en particular para los sectores que serían los más afectados dado el uso intensivo de los productos energéticos, como el sector del transporte. El objetivo de este estudio es analizar el efecto que la reforma de la directiva sobre los impuestos energéticos podría tener sobre el nivel de precios, en particular en los países de la Unión Europea donde esta reforma implicaría un aumento de los impuestos energéticos. Utilizando datos del proyecto “World Input-Output Database”, la principal conclusión es que el nuevo sistema de impuestos energéticos tendría un impacto muy bajo sobre los precios. Por lo tanto, dado que los precios no serían fuertemente afectados por la reforma, no habrá inconvenientes para la competitividad y implicaciones en términos de distribución, pero, por otro lado, este resultado también implica una baja capacidad de esta reforma para provocar cambios en el consumo y la producción hacia menos presiones ambientales.

The reform of the European Energy Tax Directive reform : effect on prices

[spa] Para hacer frente a los riesgos relacionados con la contaminación atmosférica, es ampliamente aceptada la necesidad de instrumentos de política encaminados a reducir las emisiones. La intervención tiene por objeto reducir las conductas contaminantes y incentivar una conducta más respetuosa y el uso de tecnologías más eficientes. La Unión Europea cuenta con dos importantes mecanismos económicos para el control de emisiones a escala europea: la directiva sobre los impuestos energéticos, un instrumento de fiscalidad ambiental aprobado en 2003 que afecta el precio de los productos energéticos, y el sistema de comercio de los derechos de emisiones, introducido en 2005, que afecta directamente a la cantidad de emisiones de CO2. En 2011, la Comisión Europea propuso una nueva versión de la directiva sobre los impuestos energéticos. El objetivo principal de la propuesta es aumentar la eficacia del instrumento a través de una mayor presión fiscal sobre los productos energéticos y de coordinar este instrumento de fiscalidad medioambiental con el sistema de comercio de los derechos de emisiones, para establecer una señal de precio de CO2 coherente para todos los sectores. Sin embargo, en mayo de 2012 el Parlamento Europeo bloqueó la propuesta de la nueva versión del impuesto, y el proceso de actualización se detuvo. La preocupación principal parecía ser el efecto de dicha propuesta en la competitividad, en particular para los sectores que serían los más afectados dado el uso intensivo de los productos energéticos, como el sector del transporte. El objetivo de este estudio es analizar el efecto que la reforma de la directiva sobre los impuestos energéticos podría tener sobre el nivel de precios, en particular en los países de la Unión Europea donde esta reforma implicaría un aumento de los impuestos energéticos. Utilizando datos del proyecto “World Input-Output Database”, la principal conclusión es que el nuevo sistema de impuestos energéticos tendría un impacto muy bajo sobre los precios. Por lo tanto, dado que los precios no serían fuertemente afectados por la reforma, no habrá inconvenientes para la competitividad y implicaciones en términos de distribución, pero, por otro lado, este resultado también implica una baja capacidad de esta reforma para provocar cambios en el consumo y la producción hacia menos presiones ambientales.

Potential of local bio-geoengineering to mitigate dangerous temperature increases in a global warming scenario

Crops and forests are already responding to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide and air temperatures. Increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations are expected to enhance plant photosynthesis. Nevertheless, after long-term exposure, plants acclimate and show a reduction in photosynthetic activity (i.e. down-regulation). If in the future the Earth"s temperature is allowed to rise further, plant ecosystems and food security will both face significant threats. The scientific community has recognized that an increase in global temperatures should remain below 2°C in order to combat climate change. All this evidence suggests that, in parallel with reductions in CO2 emissions, a more direct approach to mitigate global warming should be considered. We propose here that global warming could be partially mitigated directly through local bio-geoengineering approaches. For example, this could be done through the management of solar radiation at surface level, i.e. by increasing global albedo. Such an effect has been documented in the south-eastern part of Spain, where a significant surface air temperature trend of -0.3°C per decade has been observed due to a dramatic expansion of greenhouse horticulture.

Industrial emissions abatement: Untangling the impact of the EU ETS and the economic crisis

In this study we use historical emission data from installations under the European Union Emissions Trading System, -EU ETS- to evaluate the impact of this policy on industrial greenhouse gas emissions during the first two trading phases, 2005-2012. As such the analysis seeks to disentangle two causes of emission abatement: that attributable to the EU ETS and that attributable to the economic crisis that hit the EU in 2008/09. Using a panel data approach the estimated emissions reduction attributable to the EU ETS is about 21 per cent of the total emission abatement during the observation period. These results suggest therefore that the lion’s share of abatement was attributable to the effects of the economic crisis, a finding that has serious implications for future policy adjustments affecting core elements of the EU ETS, including the distribution of EU emission allowances.

World Polarization in carbon emissions, potential conflict and groups: an updated revision

Typically, conflicts in world environmental negotiations are related, amongst other aspects, to the level of polarization of the countries in groups with conflicting interests. Given the predictable relationship between polarization and conflict, it would seem logical to evaluate the degree to which the distribution of countries – for example, in terms of their CO2 emissions per capita – would be structured through groups which in themselves are antagonistic, as well as their evolution over time. This paper takes the concept of polarization to explore this distribution for the period 1992-2010, looking at different analytic approaches related to the concept. Specifically, it makes a comparative evaluation of the results associated with endogenous multi-polarization measures (i.e. EGR and DER indices), exogenous measures (i.e. Z-K or multidimensional index) and strict bipolarization measures (i.e. Wolfson’s measure). Indeed, the interest lies not only in evaluating the global situation of polarization by comparing the different approaches and their temporal patterns, but also in examining the explanatory capacity of the different proxy groups used as a possible reference for designing global environmental policy from a group premise. JEL codes: D39; Q43; Q56. Key words: polarization; carbon emissions; conflict;

Avaluació de les emissions de gasos d’ efecte hivernacle a la ciutat de Girona i propostes de reeducació

En els últims 30 anys, la comunitat internacional ha anat agafant consciència dels efectes que pot tenir l’ increment de les emissions de gasos d’ efecte hivernacle (GEH). És per aquest motiu, entre d’ altres que es fan inventaris d’ emissions de GEH a nivell estatal i a gran escala. Aquest projecte té com a principal objectiu determinar i quantificar les emissions de GEH a escala local del municipi de Girona. Per tal de poder dur a terme aquest treball ha calgut buscar metodologies i softwares, que s’ han hagut d’ adaptar a la singularitat que té Girona, sobretot pel que fa al transport. Finalment es fan propostes que s’ adapten a la problemàtica del municipi

Simulating fuel consumption and vehicle emissions in an Australian context

Road transport is a major source of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions around the world. There is an increasing interest in accurate information on local vehicle emission levels for policy development and sustainable traffic management. Previous studies have shown that emission predictions for the Australian situation need to reflect both the Australian fleet and driving behaviour to avoid unreliable outcomes. This paper discusses a new Australian vehicle emission software (PΔP) and a case-study where traffic simulation software (Aimsun) is combined with PΔP to demonstrate how consistent results can be achieved for the Australian situation. The case-study is an Australian city modelled using the microscopic simulator to generate the required trajectory data of each individual vehicle for the emission model. The simulation results are used in a number of ways: to assess the impacts of urban driving behaviour on fuel consumption, to create maps showing where and when elevated emission levels occur and to compare results with another program (COPERT Australia). The paper will also discuss where further research is required.

Balancing effluent quality, economic cost and greenhouse gas emissions during the evaluation of (plant-wide) control/operational strategies in WWTPs

The objective of this paper was to show the potential additional insight that result from adding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to plant performance evaluation criteria, such as effluent quality (EQI) and operational cost (OCI) indices, when evaluating (plant-wide) control/operational strategies in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The proposed GHG evaluation is based on a set of comprehensive dynamic models that estimate the most significant potential on-site and off-site sources of CO2, CH4 and N2O. The study calculates and discusses the changes in EQI, OCI and the emission of GHGs as a consequence of varying the following four process variables: (i) the set point of aeration control in the activated sludge section; (ii) the removal efficiency of total suspended solids (TSS) in the primary clarifier; (iii) the temperature in the anaerobic digester; and (iv) the control of the flow of anaerobic digester supernatants coming from sludge treatment. Based upon the assumptions built into the model structures, simulation results highlight the potential undesirable effects of increased GHG production when carrying out local energy optimization of the aeration system in the activated sludge section and energy recovery from the AD. Although off-site CO2 emissions may decrease, the effect is counterbalanced by increased N2O emissions, especially since N2O has a 300-fold stronger greenhouse effect than CO2. The reported results emphasize the importance and usefulness of using multiple evaluation criteria to compare and evaluate (plant-wide) control strategies in a WWTP for more informed operational decision making

Analytical investigation of the atmospheric radiation limits in semigray atmospheres in radiative equilibrium

We model the wavelength-dependent absorption of atmospheric gases by assuming constant mass absorption coefficients in finite-width spectral bands. Such a semigray atmosphere is analytically solved by a discrete ordinate method. The general solution is analyzed for a water vapor saturated atmosphere that also contains a carbon dioxide-like absorbing gas in the infrared. A multiple stable equilibrium with a relative upper limit in the outgoing long-wave radiation is found. Differing from previous radiative–convective models, we find that the amount of carbon dioxide strongly modifies the value of this relative upper limit. This result is also obtained in a gray (i.e., equal absorption of radiation at all infrared wavelengths) water vapor saturated atmosphere. The destabilizing effect of carbon dioxide implies that massive carbon dioxide atmospheres are more likely to reach a runaway greenhouse state than thin carbon dioxide ones

Empirics of the international inequality in CO2 emissions intensity: explanatory factors according to complementary decomposition methodologies

This paper analyses the international inequalities in CO2 emissions intensity for the period 1971- 2009 and assesses explanatory factors. Multiplicative, group and additive methodologies of inequality decomposition are employed. The first allows us to clarify the separated role of the carbonisation index and the energy intensity in the pattern observed for inequalities in CO2 intensities; the second allows us to understand the role of regional groups; and the third allows us to investigate the role of different fossil energy sources (coal, oil and gas). The results show that, first, the reduction in global emissions intensity has coincided with a significant reduction in international inequality. Second, the bulk of this inequality and its reduction are attributed to differences between the groups of countries considered. Third, coal is the main energy source explaining these inequalities, although the growth in the relative contribution of gas is also remarkable. Fourth, the bulk of inequalities between countries and its decline are explained by differences in energy intensities, although there are significant differences in the patterns demonstrated by different groups of countries.

The materiality of the immaterial. Services sectors and CO2 emissions in Uruguay

This paper analyzes the carbon dioxide emissions of the services sectors subsystem of Uruguay in 2004. Services, with the exception of transport, are often considered intangible because of their low level of direct emissions. However, the provision of services requires inputs produced by other sectors, including several highly materialintensive sectors. Through input–output analysis we investigate the relationship between the services subsystem and the rest of the economy as regards carbon dioxide emissions. This approach allows us to study the importance of the set of services branches as a unit in the economic structure as well as to analyze in detail the relationship between the branches. The results depict that services’ direct emissions are the main component, as a consequence of transport-related sectors. However, the pollution that the services subsystem makes the rest of the economy produce is very significant, and it is almost all explained by non-transport-related sectors. This analysis is useful for determining the sectors in which mitigation policies are more effective, and whether they would be better tackled through technical improvements and better practices or through demand policies.