Fair mobility budgets: A concept for achieving climate neutrality and transport equity

Abstract Recent calls advocate that a huge reduction in the consumption of animal products (including dairy) is essential to mitigate climate change and stabilise global warming below the 1.5 and 2°C targets. The Paris Agreement states that to stabilise temperatures we must reach a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the second half of this century. Consequently, many countries have adopted overall GHG reduction targets (e.g. EU, at least 40% by 2030 compared to 1990). However, using conventional metric-equivalent emissions (CO2-e GWP100) as the basis to account for emissions does not result in capturing the effect on atmospheric warming of changing emission rates from short-lived GHG (e.g. methane: CH4), which are the main source of GHG emissions by small ruminants. This shortcoming could be solved by using warming-equivalent emissions (CO2-we, GWP*), which can accurately link annual GHG emission rates to its warming effect in the atmosphere. In our study, using this GWP* methodology and different modelling approaches, we first examined the historical (1990–2018) contribution of European dairy small ruminant systems to additional atmosphere warming levels and then studied different emission target scenarios for 2100. These scenarios allow us to envision the necessary reduction of GHG emissions from Europe's dairy small ruminants to achieve a stable impact on global temperatures, i.e. to be climatically neutral. Our analysis showed that, using this type of approach, the whole European sheep and goat dairy sector seems not to have contributed to additional warming in the period 1990–2018. Considering each subsector separately, increases in dairy goat production has led to some level of additional warming into the atmosphere, but these have been compensated by larger emission reductions in the dairy sheep sector. The estimations of warming for future scenarios suggest that to achieve climate neutrality, understood as not adding additional warming to the atmosphere, modest GHG reductions of sheep and goat GHG would be required (e.g. via feed additives). This reduction would be even lower if potential soil organic carbon (SOC) from associated pastures is considered.

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Electrochemical Hydrogen Production Powered by PV/CSP Hybrid Power Plants: A Modelling Approach for Cost Optimal System Design

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14123437 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (12) ◽

pp. 3437

Author(s):

Andreas Rosenstiel ◽

Nathalie Monnerie ◽

Jürgen Dersch ◽

Martin Roeb ◽

Robert Pitz-Paal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hydrogen Production ◽

Power Plants ◽

Large Scale ◽

Energy System ◽

Solar Hydrogen ◽

Energy System Model ◽

Optimal System Design ◽

Solar Hydrogen Production ◽

Electrochemical Water Splitting ◽

Climate Neutrality

Global trade of green hydrogen will probably become a vital factor in reaching climate neutrality. The sunbelt of the Earth has a great potential for large-scale hydrogen production. One promising pathway to solar hydrogen is to use economically priced electricity from photovoltaics (PV) for electrochemical water splitting. However, storing electricity with batteries is still expensive and without storage only a small operating capacity of electrolyser systems can be reached. Combining PV with concentrated solar power (CSP) and thermal energy storage (TES) seems a good pathway to reach more electrolyser full load hours and thereby lower levelized costs of hydrogen (LCOH). This work introduces an energy system model for finding cost-optimal designs of such PV/CSP hybrid hydrogen production plants based on a global optimization algorithm. The model includes an operational strategy which improves the interplay between PV and CSP part, allowing also to store PV surplus electricity as heat. An exemplary study for stand-alone hydrogen production with an alkaline electrolyser (AEL) system is carried out. Three different locations with different solar resources are considered, regarding the total installed costs (TIC) to obtain realistic LCOH values. The study shows that a combination of PV and CSP is an auspicious concept for large-scale solar hydrogen production, leading to lower costs than using one of the technologies on its own. For today’s PV and CSP costs, minimum levelized costs of hydrogen of 4.04 USD/kg were determined for a plant located in Ouarzazate (Morocco). Considering the foreseen decrease in PV and CSP costs until 2030, cuts the LCOH to 3.09 USD/kg while still a combination of PV and CSP is the most economic system.

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Sozialimmobilien

10.5771/9783748911623 ◽

2021 ◽

Keyword(s):

Energy Efficiency ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Real Estate ◽

Social Economy ◽

Balance Sheets ◽

Legal Problems ◽

Real Estate Valuation ◽

Political Cost ◽

Real Estate Management ◽

Climate Neutrality

Social real estate does not only shape the balance sheets of social economy enterprises, but also the concerns and agendas of boards, management and real estate managers. This book addresses aspects of financing, real estate management, the organisation of real estate portfolios, real estate valuation and the life cycle of buildings, plus the numerous legal problems associated with social real estate. It presents current technical concepts of energy efficiency, climate neutrality and the digital maturity of real estate in a practical manner, along with concepts for economically viable neighbourhood models and warnings against political cost drivers in the construction of social real estate. With contributions by Michael Amann, Maximilian Bergdolt, Hartmut Clausen, Oliver Errichiello, Harald Frei, Alfred Gangel, Bernd Halfar, Ingrid Hastedt, Jens Hesselbach, Mark Junge, Joel B. Münch, Markus Neubauer, Aleksandar Nikolic, George Salden, Bertram Schultze, Hubert Soyer, Hans von Gehlen, Niklas Wiesweg and Michael Winter.

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Using the Mechanisms of the Paris Climate Agreement for Conservation and Reforestation in the Russian Federation .

Federalism ◽

10.21686/2073-1051-2020-4-141-156 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 141-156

Author(s):

A. V. Stetsenko ◽

V. B. Uvarov

Keyword(s):

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Absorption Capacity ◽

Domestic Investment ◽

Global Challenge ◽

Russian Economy ◽

Or Groups ◽

Russian Forests ◽

The Russian Federation ◽

Paris Climate Agreement ◽

Climate Neutrality

The problem of climate change is a global challenge of the XXI century for all mankind. However, despite the adoption of the Paris climate agreement, which is designed to synchronize the actions of various countries, individual countries or groups of countries are taking the path of obtaining unilateral preferences under the pretext of fulfilling the obligations stipulated in the agreement. The article analyzes the challenges and risks that Russia may face in the absence of its own greenhouse gas regulation systems against the background of the declared and implemented in a number of countries policy of achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions. Ways to fully utilize the potential absorption capacity of Russian forests and other ecosystems in relation to the goals of the Paris climate agreement are considered. We are talking about potential effects for the Russian economy in the form of domestic investment in forest projects to absorb CO2, while increasing the competitiveness of Russian export products in the context of the introduction of protectionist measures by individual countries under the pretext of fighting for “climate neutrality”.

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The Analysis of Public Funds Utilization Efficiency for Climate Neutrality in the European Union Countries

Energies ◽

10.3390/en15020581 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 581

Author(s):

Katarzyna Dębkowska ◽

Łukasz Dymek ◽

Krzysztof Kutwa ◽

Dariusz Perło ◽

Dorota Perło ◽

...

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Utilization Efficiency ◽

Transport Infrastructure ◽

Policy Objective ◽

Public Funds ◽

Eu Countries ◽

Synthetic Index ◽

Climate Neutrality ◽

The Eu

The aim of this article was to assess the efficiency of the utilization of public funds for climate neutrality. It was concluded that the data gathered in public statistics are not adapted to current challenges and hinder the direct measurement of climate policy objective implementation progress. Due to that, an innovative approach to public intervention efficiency analysis was proposed for the sake of decreasing CO2 emission in 27 European Union (EU) countries, based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method and soft modeling. Statistical data are derived from the Eurostat database and pertain to the years 2005–2019. It was demonstrated that activity efficiency of the particular EU countries on climate neutrality varied and that together with the increase in public funds spent on environmental protection, the growth of effects in the field of reaching climate neutrality objectives was not observed. The greatest positive impact on achieving climate neutrality objectives was revealed for activities connected with building renewable sources of energy (RES) and there was no correlation detected for expenditures connected with transport infrastructure, which means that public funds used for their construction did not influence climate neutrality. It was established that, in the analyzed period, the decisions on allocating public funds were not taken on the basis of the expected amount of reduction in relation to the volume of outlays. In order to track the reasons for detected inefficiency, 52 projects were analyzed within the case study, which covered 3738 investments in the replacement of heating sources in one region of Poland. It was revealed that the efficiency of those investments varies; however, due to the full availability of data of the acquired results and outlays devoted to them, a synthetic index of efficiency measurement was established that presents the amount of CO2 reduction for EUR 1. When comparing the analyses carried out on macro and micro scales, it was observed that on the scale of the EU, there is a lack of uniform measurements or benchmarks of projects in the field of CO2 emissions reduction. Meanwhile, from the whole EU’s perspective, it should be reasonable to undertake projects with the highest economic efficiency, irrespective of political and geographical aspects. The results obtained should be utilized by decision-makers to elaborate reference methodologies and good practices in order to successfully implement climate objectives and especially the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). What should be established are universal, on the EU scale, measurements and rules for gathering and counting data as well as benchmarks for the particular project types.

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The role of the committee of the regions (Cor) to implement the Green Deal at the local level: an overview of Italy

AIMS Geosciences ◽

10.3934/geosci.2021037 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. 613-622

Author(s):

Giovanni Messina ◽

Keyword(s):

Local Level ◽

Energy Transition ◽

Clean Energy ◽

Economic Resources ◽

Digital Innovation ◽

Ambitious Program ◽

Committee Of The Regions ◽

Climate Neutrality ◽

Critical Overview

<abstract> <p>The contribution focuses on the role of cities in the implementation of the so-called Green Deal, the ambitious program proposed by the European Commission, in accordance with the objectives set by the Paris Agreements, to implement the use of clean energy resources, favour the circular economy, restore biodiversity and reduce pollution. The Plan, which for the seven-year period 2021-2027 has a budget of economic resources of 100 billion Euro, aims to involve in transcalar perspective all territorial and administrative levels of the Member States and thus contribute to the achievement, in 2050, of climate neutrality. The main objective of the work is then to concentrate, with descriptive intent, on the policies that, in Italy, are being activated at local level in coherence with the European perspectives. In particular, reference will be made to the initiatives proposed and sponsored in Italy by the Committee of the Regions of which a critical overview is proposed. A further reflection will be dedicated to how digital innovation is called to support the macro-policies of energy transition in the EU.</p> </abstract>

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Photoluminescence Imaging for the In-Line Quality Control of Thin-Film Solar Cells

Solar ◽

10.3390/solar2010001 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Johanna Zikulnig ◽

Wolfgang Mühleisen ◽

Pieter Jan Bolt ◽

Marcel Simor ◽

Martin De Biasio

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Solar Cells ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

Light Sources ◽

Excitation Light ◽

Line Process ◽

Product Flexibility ◽

Cost Efficient ◽

Climate Neutrality ◽

Contact Free

Renewable energy sources such as photovoltaic (PV) technologies are considered to be key drivers towards climate neutrality. Thin-film PVs, and particularly copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) technologies, will play a crucial role in the turnaround in energy policy due to their high efficiencies, high product flexibility, light weight, easy installation, lower labour-intensiveness, and lower carbon footprint when compared to silicon solar cells. Nonetheless, challenges regarding the CIGS fabrication process such as moderate reproducibility and process tolerance are still hindering a broad market penetration. Therefore, cost-efficient and easily implementable in-line process control methods are demanded that allow for identification and elimination of non-conformal cells at an early production step. As part of this work, a practical approach towards industrial in-line photoluminescence (PL) imaging as a contact-free quality inspection tool is presented. Performance parameters of 10 CIGS samples with 32 individually contacted cells each were correlated with results from PL imaging using green and red excitation light sources. The data analysis was fully automated using Python-based image processing, object detection, and non-linear regression modelling. Using the red excitation light source, the presented PL imaging and data processing approach allows for a quantitative assessment of the cell performance.

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The global trend towards decarbonization of the economy, the introduction of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism in the EU and the possible consequences for Russia

SHS Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/shsconf/202112909021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 129 ◽

pp. 09021

Author(s):

Vladimir Sh. Urazgaliev ◽

V. Novikov Andrey ◽

A. Menshikova Galina

Keyword(s):

Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽

Economic Relations ◽

Carbon Neutrality ◽

Adjustment Mechanism ◽

Reduce Carbon Dioxide ◽

Energy Products ◽

Climate Neutrality ◽

The Impact ◽

The Eu ◽

Border Adjustment

Research background: In the process of implementing the Paris Agreement (2015), Europe is a leader in the formation of new legislative initiatives in order to develop a set of effective measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. The European Commission approved the European Green Deal (2015) - a strategy for achieving the EU parameters of climate neutrality through the transition to a clean circular economy. Its main goal is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 by 50 - 55% from 1990 levels and achieve full carbon neutrality of the EU by 2050. As part of this strategy, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is being developed. The introduction of CBAM means a revolutionary transformation in the system of international economic relations. Purpose of the article is to identify and assess possible risks for producers and consumers, primarily of energy products after the introduction of CBAM, as well as the impact of these risks on Russian exports to Europe. Methods: The authors carried out a comparative analysis of scenarios for the implementation of CBAM in the sectorial and product segments of trade between Russia and the EU. Findings: The article contains comparative assessments of the beginning redistribution of international markets in the sectoral and product coverage of emissions, as well as an analysis of the unfolding contradictions in the verification of methods for determining the carbon footprint in the production chains of the real sector of the economy.

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