The 'law of requisite variety' may assist climate change negotiations:a review of the Kyoto and Durban meetings

Ashby wrote about cybernetics, during which discourse he described a Law that attempts to resolve difficulties arising in complex situations – he suggested using variety to combat complexity. In this paper, we note that the delegates to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting in Kyoto, 1997, were offered a ‘simplifying solution’ to cope with the complexity of discussing multiple pollutants allegedly contributing to ‘climate change’. We assert that the adoption of CO2eq has resulted in imprecise thinking regarding the ‘carbon footprint’ – that is, ‘CO2’ – to the exclusion of other pollutants. We propose, as Ashby might have done, that the CO2eq and other factors within the ‘climate change’ negotiations be disaggregated to allow careful and specific individual solutions to be agreed on each factor. We propose a new permanent and transparent ‘action group’ be in charge of agenda setting and to manage the messy annual meetings. This body would be responsible for achieving accords at these annual meetings, rather than forcing this task on national hosts. We acknowledge the task is daunting and we recommend moving on from Ashby's Law to Beer's Viable Systems approach.

Editorial

Full text: Welcome to issue 1 of 2012 and a belated Happy New Year to all CLAE readers and BCLA members. The hardest job I had for this issue was to decide which papers to include and which papers to hang on to and save for issue 2 of 2012. At the end of December when I was choosing the content for this issue there were additional 5 papers that could have been included. The final choice came down to various factors; such as first come first served – i.e. which papers had been ready and waiting the longest; secondly which papers had been submitted the earliest; are there similar papers so that it may be beneficial to publish them alongside this paper; and also was the content something which needed to be out there quicker than other papers as it was a current hot topic? But it should be noted that once papers are proofed and deemed ready by authors they are published in the epub version and put online for others to see in their final version. An epub version is given a DOI number (digital object identifier) so that it can be cited by other authors. Apart from being on line the only other difference is that an epub version is essentially waiting to be assigned to a particular issue. So those papers that are being held off for issue 2 of this year are actually already available for you to read (and cite) on line. In this issue there is a paper related to the cost of different contact lens replacement schedules – this may be a topic that is debated more in the future since as a society we are thinking more ‘green’ and all trying to help by reducing our carbon footprint, whether that be by recycling or using less in the first place. A timely review paper on the management of allergic eye disease may help us to better manage those patients we see in the spring with pollen allergies. We have two papers looking at different aspects in keratoconus patients, another looking at a modified fluoret strip and its application in measuring tear break up time and a review paper on corneal erosions. Another interesting paper comes from Professor Harminder Dua and his team. Professor Dua is the UK Royal College of Ophthalmologists’ president and has been interested in corneal anatomy and physiology for much of his research career. Finally, an unusual case of an ocular injury related to a snake bite. Overall I would say there is enough to sink your ‘fangs’ into! Finally, it gives me great pleasure in announcing the newest person to join our Editorial Board, Dr Florence Malet. Dr Malet is an Ophthalmologist and since September 2000 she has been at the Bordeaux Hospital in France developing the Contact Lens Unit of in the Ophthalmology University Department. She is ex-president of the French Contact Lens Society and president of the European Contact Lens Society of Ophthalmologists.

One More Awareness Gap? The Behaviour–Impact Gap Problem

Preceding research has made hardly any attempt to measure the ecological impacts of pro-environmental behaviour in an objective way. Those impacts were rather supposed or calculated. The research described herein scrutinized the ecological impact reductions achieved through pro-environmental behaviour and raised the question how much of a reduction in carbon footprint can be achieved through voluntary action without actually affecting the socio-economic determinants of life. A survey was carried out in order to measure the difference between the ecological footprint of “green” and “brown” consumers. No significant difference was found between the ecological footprints of the two groups—suggesting that individual pro-environmental attitudes and behaviour do not always reduce the environmental impacts of consumption. This finding resulted in the formulation of a new proposition called the BIG (behaviour–impact gap) problem, which is an interesting addition to research in the field of environmental awareness gaps.

Palazzo Italia Expo: soluzioni costruttive innovative poste al vaglio di un'analisi critica

A partire da un’analisi complessiva della struttura di Palazzo Italia Expo, è stata approfondita nel dettaglio la realizzazione del rivestimento. Sono emerse soluzioni costruttive fortemente innovative, dettate da necessità architettoniche ben precise: si è cercato di conciliare il concept della foresta urbana con le esigenze funzionali che il palazzo doveva soddisfare. Nella scelta del materiale da rivestimento si è optato per un “cemento biodinamico” brevettato per l’occasione da ItalCementi, e studiato anch’esso con obiettivi ben definiti: ricercare una brillantezza e purezza del colore durevole nel tempo, e avvicinarsi sempre più all’esigenza di sostenibilità ambientale delle strutture. Si è cercato di analizzare l'effettiva capacità di questo cemento di soddisfare i requisiti prefissati nel corso tempo, anche attraverso un'analisi comparativa con il cemento utilizzato nella chiesa Dives in Misericordia a Roma di Richard Meier.

Eco-innovation – does additional engagement lead to additional rewards?

Purpose: Eco-innovation is any form of product, process or organisational innovation that contributes towards sustainable development. Firms can eco-innovate in a variety of ways. The purpose of this paper is to identify nine different eco-innovation activities – including such items as reducing material use per unit of output, reducing energy use per unit of output, reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) “footprint” – and the authors ask whether these act as substitutes or complements to one another. Design/methodology/approach: Eco-innovation is any form of product, process or organisational innovation that contributes towards sustainable development. Firms can eco-innovate in a variety of ways. In this paper the authors identify nine different eco-innovation activities – including such items as reducing material use per unit of output, reducing energy use per unit of output, reducing CO2 “footprint” – and the authors ask whether these act as substitutes or complements to one another. Findings: Introducing only one eco-innovation activity has little payoff (in terms of turnover per worker) with only those firms who reduce their CO2 “footprint” having higher levels of turnover per worker. When introducing more than one eco-innovation activity the authors find that certain eco-innovation activities complement one another (e.g. reducing material use within the firm at the same time as improving the ability to recycle the product after use) others act as substitutes (e.g. reducing material use within the firm at the same time as recycling waste, water or materials within the firm). Practical implications: The results suggest that firms can maximise their productive capacity by considering specific combinations of eco-innovation. This suggests that firms should plan to introduce eco-innovation which act as complements, thereby, boosting productivity. It also suggests that eco-innovation stimuli, introduced by policy makers, should be targeted at complementary eco-innovations. Originality/value: The paper analyses whether eco-innovations act as complements or substitutes. While a number of studies have analysed the importance of eco-innovation for firm performance, few have assessed the extent to which diverse types of eco-innovation interact with each other to complement or substitute for one another.

Alkali-Activated Natural Pozzolan Concrete as New Construction Material

In the near future, geopolymers or alkali-activated cementitious materials will be used as new high-performance construction materials of low environmental impact with a reasonable cost. This material is a good candidate to partially replace ordinary portland cement (OPC) in concrete as a major construction material that plays an outstanding role in the construction industry of different structures. Geopolymer materials are inorganic polymers based on alumina and silica units; they are synthesized from a wide range of dehydroxylated alumina-silicate powders condensed with alkaline silicate in a highly alkaline environment. Geopolymeric materials can be produced from a wide range of alumina-silica, including natural products--such as natural pozzolan and metakaolin--or coproducts--such as fly ash (coal and lignite), oil fuel ash, blast furnace or steel slag, and silica fume--and provide a route toward sustainable development. Using lesser amounts of calcium-based raw materials, lower manufacturing temperature, and lower amounts of fuel result in reduced carbon emissions for geopolymer cement manufacture up to 22 to 72% in comparison with portland cement. A study has been done by the authors to investigate the intrinsic nature of different types of Iranian natural pozzolans to determine the activators and methods that could be used to produce a geopolymer concrete based on alkali-activated natural pozzolan (AANP) and optimize mixture design. The mechanical behavior and durability of these types of geopolymer concrete were investigated and compared with normal OPC concrete mixtures cast by the authors and also reported in the literature. This paper summarizes the main conclusions of the research regarding pozzolanic activity, activator properties, engineering and durability properties, applications and evaluation of carbon footprint, and cost for AANP concrete.

Un esempio di Economia Circolare: il riciclo e il riuso dei dispositivi Tessili per Sala Operatoria

Negli ultimi decenni l’attenzione alle tematiche della sostenibilità ambientale e dell’inquinamento globale da parte dell’opinione pubblica e delle imprese è in costante aumento. Una tra le principali fonti di inquinamento è costituita dai rifiuti, e di conseguenza, la loro gestione e il loro smaltimento sono diventate una priorità, non solo per le istituzioni, ma anche per le imprese e per i cittadini. Inoltre la crescita della domanda delle risorse presenti in natura è in costante aumento e l’approvvigionamento di esse si è rivelato essere invece soggetto a significativi limiti. In questo attuale contesto quindi, il modello economico lineare fino ad oggi utilizzato, “take-make-dispose”, non risulta più idoneo. Si è sviluppato così il concetto di “Economia Circolare”. L’obiettivo di questa economia è quello di eliminare il concetto di scarto, il rifiuto deve essere considerato una vera e propria risorsa. In questo sistema tutte le attività, a partire dall’ estrazione fino ad arrivare alla produzione, sono organizzate in modo che i rifiuti di uno diventino risorse per un altro. L’obiettivo della tesi è quello di applicare il concetto di Economia Circolare al mercato dei dispositivi tessili per sala operatoria (DTSO), utilizzando la valutazione del ciclo di vita di un prodotto (analisi LCA) in modo da individuare le fasi più critiche e poter operare dei miglioramenti. Dopo essere stati sottoposti a 70 cicli di lavaggio e sterilizzazione i dispositivi TTR (Tessuti Tecnici Riutilizzabili) non sono più idonei ad essere utilizzati in ambito ospedaliero e vengono smaltiti in discarica , così come vengono smaltiti altri miliardi di rifiuti ogni giorno.Questi tessuti, seppur non conformi agli standard qualitativi richiesti dalle norme ospedaliere, possono essere riciclati o riutilizzati in prodotti di altro tipo. L’obiettivo di questo lavoro è quello di reimmettere questi dispositivi in un ciclo di vita di un nuovo prodotto, in ottica appunto di economia circolare.

Adsorption Calorimetry for Energy Conversion Technologies: Applications in Organic Photovoltaics, Catalysis, and Atomic Layer Deposition

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-07

Development of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) using waste glass materials ─ towards innovative eco-friendly concrete

Le béton conventionnel (BC) a de nombreux problèmes tels que la corrosion de l’acier d'armature et les faibles résistances des constructions en béton. Par conséquent, la plupart des structures fabriquées avec du BC exigent une maintenance fréquent. Le béton fibré à ultra-hautes performances (BFUP) peut être conçu pour éliminer certaines des faiblesses caractéristiques du BC. Le BFUP est défini à travers le monde comme un béton ayant des propriétés mécaniques, de ductilité et de durabilité supérieures. Le BFUP classique comprend entre 800 kg/m³ et 1000 kg/m³ de ciment, de 25 à 35% massique (%m) de fumée de silice (FS), de 0 à 40%m de poudre de quartz (PQ) et 110-140%m de sable de quartz (SQ) (les pourcentages massiques sont basés sur la masse totale en ciment des mélanges). Le BFUP contient des fibres d'acier pour améliorer sa ductilité et sa résistance aux efforts de traction. Les quantités importantes de ciment utilisées pour produire un BFUP affectent non seulement les coûts de production et la consommation de ressources naturelles comme le calcaire, l'argile, le charbon et l'énergie électrique, mais affectent également négativement les dommages sur l'environnement en raison de la production substantielle de gaz à effet de serre dont le gas carbonique (CO[indice inférieur 2]). Par ailleurs, la distribution granulométrique du ciment présente des vides microscopiques qui peuvent être remplis avec des matières plus fines telles que la FS. Par contre, une grande quantité de FS est nécessaire pour combler ces vides uniquement avec de la FS (25 à 30%m du ciment) ce qui engendre des coûts élevés puisqu’il s’agit d’une ressource limitée. Aussi, la FS diminue de manière significative l’ouvrabilité des BFUP en raison de sa surface spécifique Blaine élevée. L’utilisation du PQ et du SQ est également coûteuse et consomme des ressources naturelles importantes. D’ailleurs, les PQ et SQ sont considérés comme des obstacles pour l’utilisation des BFUP à grande échelle dans le marché du béton, car ils ne parviennent pas à satisfaire les exigences environnementales. D’ailleurs, un rapport d'Environnement Canada stipule que le quartz provoque des dommages environnementaux immédiats et à long terme en raison de son effet biologique. Le BFUP est généralement vendu sur le marché comme un produit préemballé, ce qui limite les modifications de conception par l'utilisateur. Il est normalement transporté sur de longues distances, contrairement aux composantes des BC. Ceci contribue également à la génération de gaz à effet de serre et conduit à un coût plus élevé du produit final. Par conséquent, il existe le besoin de développer d’autres matériaux disponibles localement ayant des fonctions similaires pour remplacer partiellement ou totalement la fumée de silice, le sable de quartz ou la poudre de quartz, et donc de réduire la teneur en ciment dans BFUP, tout en ayant des propriétés comparables ou meilleures. De grandes quantités de déchets verre ne peuvent pas être recyclées en raison de leur fragilité, de leur couleur, ou des coûts élevés de recyclage. La plupart des déchets de verre vont dans les sites d'enfouissement, ce qui est indésirable puisqu’il s’agit d’un matériau non biodégradable et donc moins respectueux de l'environnement. Au cours des dernières années, des études ont été réalisées afin d’utiliser des déchets de verre comme ajout cimentaire alternatif (ACA) ou comme granulats ultrafins dans le béton, en fonction de la distribution granulométrique et de la composition chimique de ceux-ci. Cette thèse présente un nouveau type de béton écologique à base de déchets de verre à ultra-hautes performances (BEVUP) développé à l'Université de Sherbrooke. Les bétons ont été conçus à l’aide de déchets verre de particules de tailles variées et de l’optimisation granulaire de la des matrices granulaires et cimentaires. Les BEVUP peuvent être conçus avec une quantité réduite de ciment (400 à 800 kg/m³), de FS (50 à 220 kg/m³), de PQ (0 à 400 kg/m³), et de SQ (0-1200 kg/m³), tout en intégrant divers produits de déchets de verre: du sable de verre (SV) (0-1200 kg/m³) ayant un diamètre moyen (d[indice inférieur 50]) de 275 µm, une grande quantité de poudre de verre (PV) (200-700 kg/m³) ayant un d50 de 11 µm, une teneur modérée de poudre de verre fine (PVF) (50-200 kg/m³) avec d[indice inférieur] 50 de 3,8 µm. Le BEVUP contient également des fibres d'acier (pour augmenter la résistance à la traction et améliorer la ductilité), du superplastifiants (10-60 kg/m³) ainsi qu’un rapport eau-liant (E/L) aussi bas que celui de BFUP. Le remplacement du ciment et des particules de FS avec des particules de verre non-absorbantes et lisse améliore la rhéologie des BEVUP. De plus, l’utilisation de la PVF en remplacement de la FS réduit la surface spécifique totale nette d’un mélange de FS et de PVF. Puisque la surface spécifique nette des particules diminue, la quantité d’eau nécessaire pour lubrifier les surfaces des particules est moindre, ce qui permet d’obtenir un affaissement supérieur pour un même E/L. Aussi, l'utilisation de déchets de verre dans le béton abaisse la chaleur cumulative d'hydratation, ce qui contribue à minimiser le retrait de fissuration potentiel. En fonction de la composition des BEVUP et de la température de cure, ce type de béton peut atteindre des résistances à la compression allant de 130 à 230 MPa, des résistances à la flexion supérieures à 20 MPa, des résistances à la traction supérieure à 10 MPa et un module d'élasticité supérieur à 40 GPa. Les performances mécaniques de BEVUP sont améliorées grâce à la réactivité du verre amorphe, à l'optimisation granulométrique et la densification des mélanges. Les produits de déchets de verre dans les BEVUP ont un comportement pouzzolanique et réagissent avec la portlandite générée par l'hydratation du ciment. Cependant, ceci n’est pas le cas avec le sable de quartz ni la poudre de quartz dans le BFUP classique, qui réagissent à la température élevée de 400 °C. L'addition des déchets de verre améliore la densification de l'interface entre les particules. Les particules de déchets de verre ont une grande rigidité, ce qui augmente le module d'élasticité du béton. Le BEVUP a également une très bonne durabilité. Sa porosité capillaire est très faible, et le matériau est extrêmement résistant à la pénétration d’ions chlorure (≈ 8 coulombs). Sa résistance à l'abrasion (indice de pertes volumiques) est inférieure à 1,3. Le BEVUP ne subit pratiquement aucune détérioration aux cycles de gel-dégel, même après 1000 cycles. Après une évaluation des BEVUP en laboratoire, une mise à l'échelle a été réalisée avec un malaxeur de béton industriel et une validation en chantier avec de la construction de deux passerelles. Les propriétés mécaniques supérieures des BEVUP a permis de concevoir les passerelles avec des sections réduites d’environ de 60% par rapport aux sections faites de BC. Le BEVUP offre plusieurs avantages économiques et environnementaux. Il réduit le coût de production et l’empreinte carbone des structures construites de béton fibré à ultra-hautes performances (BFUP) classique, en utilisant des matériaux disponibles localement. Il réduit les émissions de CO[indice inférieur 2] associées à la production de clinkers de ciment (50% de remplacement du ciment) et utilise efficacement les ressources naturelles. De plus, la production de BEVUP permet de réduire les quantités de déchets de verre stockés ou mis en décharge qui causent des problèmes environnementaux et pourrait permettre de sauver des millions de dollars qui pourraient être dépensés dans le traitement de ces déchets. Enfin, il offre une solution alternative aux entreprises de construction dans la production de BFUP à moindre coût.

Hydric behavior of earth materials and the effects of their stabilization with cement or lime: study on repair mortars for historical rammed earth structures

Earthen building materials bear interesting environmental advantages and are the most appropriate to conserve historical earth constructions. To improve mechanical properties, these materials are often stabilized with cement or lime, but the impact of the stabilizers on the water transport properties, which are also critical, has been very rarely evaluated. We have tested four earth-based repair mortars applied on three distinct and representative rammed earth surfaces. Three mortars are based on earth collected from rammed earth buildings in south of Portugal and the fourth mortar is based on a commercial clayish earth. The main objective of the work was over the commercial earth mortar, applied stabilized and not stabilized on the three rammed earth surfaces to repair, to assess the influence of the stabilizers. The other three earth mortars (not stabilized) were applied on each type of rammed earth, representing the repair only made with local materials. The four unstabilized earth materials depicted nonlinear dependence on t1/2 during capillary suction. This behaviour was probably due to clay swelling. Stabilization with any of the four tested binders enabled the linear dependence of t1/2 expected from Washburn's equation, probably because the swelling did not take place in this case. However, the stabilizers also increased significantly the capillary suction and the capillary porosity of the materials. This means that, in addition to increasing the carbon footprint, stabilizers like cement and lime have functional disadvantages that discourage its use in repair mortars for raw earth construction.

Specification of a smart meter/actuator description mechanism & development of a mobile application

Home Automation holds the potential of realizing cost savings for end users while reducing the carbon footprint of domestic energy consumption. Yet, adoption is still very low. High cost of vendor-supplied home automation systems is a major prohibiting factor. Open source systems such as FHEM, Domoticz, OpenHAB etc. are a cheaper alternative and can drive the adoption of home automation. Moreover, they have the advantage of not being limited to a single vendor or communication technology which gives end users flexibility in the choice of devices to include in their installation. However, interaction with devices having diverse communication technologies can be inconvenient for users thus limiting the utility they derive from it. For application developers, creating applications which interact with the several technologies in the home automation systems is not a consistent process. Hence, there is the need for a common description mechanism that makes interaction smooth for end users and which enables application developers to make home automation applications in a consistent and uniform way. This thesis proposes such a description mechanism within the context of an open source home automation system – FHEM, together with a system concept for its application. A mobile application was developed as a proof of concept of the proposed description mechanism and the results of the implementation are reflected upon.

A sustentabilidade ambiental das cidades sob a ótica da pegada de carbono e do sistema verde de Brasília

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Centro de Desenvolvimento Sustentável, 2015.

CHARACTERIZING AND IMPROVING PRODUCTION OF FERMENTABLE SUGARS AND CO-PRODUCTS FROM A FOREST PRODUCT INDUSTRY WASTEWATER STREAM

Hardboard processing wastewater was evaluated as a feedstock in a bio refinery co-located with the hardboard facility for the production of fuel grade ethanol. A thorough characterization was conducted on the wastewater and the composition changes of which during the process in the bio refinery were tracked. It was determined that the wastewater had a low solid content (1.4%), and hemicellulose was the main component in the solid, accounting for up to 70%. Acid pretreatment alone can hydrolyze the majority of the hemicellulose as well as oligomers, and over 50% of the monomer sugars generated were xylose. The percentage of lignin remained in the liquid increased after acid pretreatment. The characterization results showed that hardboard processing wastewater is a feasible feedstock for the production of ethanol. The optimum conditions to hydrolyze hemicellulose into fermentable sugars were evaluated with a two-stage experiment, which includes acid pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. The experimental data were fitted into second order regression models and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was employed. The results of the experiment showed that for this type of feedstock enzymatic hydrolysis is not that necessary. In order to reach a comparatively high total sugar concentration (over 45g/l) and low furfural concentration (less than 0.5g/l), the optimum conditions were reached when acid concentration was between 1.41 to 1.81%, and reaction time was 48 to 76 minutes. The two products produced from the bio refinery were compared with traditional products, petroleum gasoline and traditional potassium acetate, in the perspective of sustainability, with greenhouse gas (GHG) emission as an indicator. Three allocation methods, system expansion, mass allocation and market value allocation methods were employed in this assessment. It was determined that the life cycle GHG emissions of ethanol were -27.1, 20.8 and 16 g CO2 eq/MJ, respectively, in the three allocation methods, whereas that of petroleum gasoline is 90 g CO2 eq/MJ. The life cycle GHG emissions of potassium acetate in mass allocation and market value allocation method were 555.7 and 716.0 g CO2 eq/kg, whereas that of traditional potassium acetate is 1020 g CO2/kg.

An Investigation of Waste Glass-Based Geopolymers Supplemented with Alumina

An increased consideration of sustainability throughout society has resulted in a surge of research investigating sustainable alternatives to existing construction materials. A new binder system, called a geopolymer, is being investigated to supplement ordinary portland cement (OPC) concrete, which has come under scrutiny because of the CO2 emissions inherent in its production. Geopolymers are produced from the alkali activation of a powdered aluminosilicate source by an alkaline solution, which results in a dense three-dimensional matrix of tetrahedrally linked aluminosilicates. Geopolymers have shown great potential as a building construction material, offering similar mechanical and durability properties to OPC. Additionally, geopolymers have the added value of a considerably smaller carbon footprint than OPC. This research considered the compressive strength, microstructure and composition of geopolymers made from two types of waste glass with varying aluminum contents. Waste glass shows great potential for mainstream use in geopolymers due to its chemical and physical homogeneity as well as its high content of amorphous silica, which could eliminate the need for sodium silicate. However, the lack of aluminum is thought to negatively affect the mechanical performance and alkali stability of the geopolymer system. Mortars were designed using various combinations of glass and metakaolin or fly ash to supplement the aluminum in the system. Mortar made from the high-Al glass (12% Al2O3) reached over 10,000 psi at six months. Mortar made from the low-Al glass (<1% Al2O3) did not perform as well and remained sticky even after several weeks of curing, most likely due to the lack of Al which is believed to cause hardening in geopolymers. A moderate metakaolin replacement (25-38% by mass) was found to positively affect the compressive strength of mortars made with either type of glass. Though the microstructure of the mortar was quite indicative of mechanical performance, composition was also found to be important. The initial stoichiometry of the bulk mixture was maintained fairly closely, especially in mixtures made with fine glass. This research has shown that glass has great potential for use in geopolymers, when care is given to consider the compositional and physical properties of the glass in mixture design.

The effect on CO2 emissions of taxing truck distance in retail transports

To finance transportation infrastructure and to address social and environmental negative externalities of road transports, several countries have recently introduced or consider a distance based tax on trucks. In competitive retail and transportation markets, such tax can be expected to lower the demand and thereby reduce CO2 emissions of road transports. However, as we show in this paper, such tax might also slow down the transition towards e-tailing. Considering that previous research indicates that a consumer switching from brick-and-mortar shopping to e-tailing reduces her CO2 emissions substantially, the direction and magnitude of the environmental net effect of the tax is unclear. In this paper, we assess the net effect in a Swedish regional retail market where the tax not yet is in place. We predict the net effect on CO2 emissions to be positive, but off-set by about 50% because of a slower transition to e-tailing.