Mitigating GHG Emissions in the Humid Tropics: Case Studies from the Alternatives to Slash-and-Burn Program (ASB)

Globally, the building sector is responsible for more than 40% of energy use and it contributes approximately 30% of the global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. This high contribution stimulates research and policies to reduce the operational energy use and related GHG emissions of buildings. However, the environmental impacts of buildings can extend wide beyond the operational phase, and the portion of impacts related to the embodied energy of the building becomes relatively more important in low energy buildings. Therefore, the goal of the research is gaining insights into the environmental impacts of various building strategies for energy efficiency requirements compared to the life cycle environmental impacts of the whole building. The goal is to detect and investigate existing trade-offs in current approaches and solutions proposed by the research community. A literature review is driven by six fundamental and specific research questions (RQs), and performed based on two main tasks: (i) selection of literature studies, and (ii) critical analysis of the selected studies in line with the RQs. A final sample of 59 papers and 178 case studies has been collected, and key criteria are systematically analysed in a matrix. The study reveals that the high heterogeneity of the case studies makes it difficult to compare these in a straightforward way, but it allows to provide an overview of current methodological challenges and research gaps. Furthermore, the most complete studies provide valuable insights in the environmental benefits of the identified energy performance strategies over the building life cycle, but also shows the risk of burden shifting if only operational energy use is focused on, or when a limited number of environmental impact categories are assessed.

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Roadmapping the Transition to Water Resource Recovery Facilities: The Two Demonstration Case Studies of Corleone and Marineo (Italy)

Water ◽

10.3390/w14020156 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 156

Author(s):

Giorgio Mannina ◽

Luigi Badalucco ◽

Lorenzo Barbara ◽

Alida Cosenza ◽

Daniele Di Trapani ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Case Studies ◽

Water Resource ◽

Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Transition Process ◽

Resource Recovery ◽

Critical Issue ◽

Pollutant Removal ◽

Analysis Tool ◽

Great Chance

The current exploitation of freshwater, as well as the significant increase in sewage sludge production from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), represent nowadays a critical issue for the implementation of sustainable development consistent with the circular economy concept. There is an urgent need to rethink the concept of WWTPs from the conventional approach consisting in pollutant removal plants to water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs). The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the demonstration case studies at the Marineo and Corleone WRRFs in Sicily (IT), with the final aim showing the effectiveness of the resources recovery systems, as well as the importance of plant optimization to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from WRRFs. This study is part of the H2020 European Project “Achieving wider uptake of water-smart solutions—Wider-Uptake”, which final aim is to demonstrate the water-smart solution feasibility in the wastewater sector. The main project goal is to overcome the existing barriers that hamper the transition to circularity through the implementation of a governance analysis tool. The preliminary actions in the two demonstration cases are first presented, while, subsequently, the water-smart solutions to be implemented are thoroughly described, highlighting their roles in the transition process. The achieved preliminary results underlined the significant potential of WRRF application, a great chance to demonstrate the feasibility of innovative solutions in the wastewater sector to overcome the existing social, administrative and technical barriers.

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Consolidated Climate Markets Mechanism Analysis—Case Studies of China, Japan, and Taiwan

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11226478 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (22) ◽

pp. 6478

Author(s):

Jules Chuang ◽

Hsing-Lung Lien ◽

Akemi Kokubo Roche ◽

Pei-Hsuan Liao ◽

Walter Den

Keyword(s):

Renewable Energy ◽

Case Studies ◽

Financial Burden ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Mechanism Analysis ◽

Policy Tool ◽

Ghg Reduction ◽

Effective Policy ◽

Trading Mechanisms ◽

Primary Instrument

The post-Kyoto Protocol era has seen a transition to focus on the development of a renewable energy (RE) market as a primary instrument to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide. This paper analyses the development of GHG reduction and RE market in China, Japan, and Taiwan that are geographically proximate but socioeconomically diverse, and each plays a different but significant role in the world’s economy. By deploying a consolidated model incorporating the key components of market drivers underlying the goal of achieving GHG reduction, we threaded through the policy- and market-instruments implemented for each of the case studies over the past 20 years using the model. One commonality is that subsidiary schemes in the form of feed-in tariffs have served as an effective policy tool to boost the growth of renewable energy installations, though the worsening financial burden renders this path unsustainable. Over-reliance on feed-in-tariff schemes may have also impeded the liberation of an energy market pivotal to the success of elevating RE portfolio through trading mechanisms. What followed were the implementations of renewable energy certificate (REC) systems that have experienced various roadblocks leading to failures of the certificate market. By understanding the paths engaged in each of the cases, a conceptualized strategy depicted by the consolidated model is proposed to show the links between a renewable market and a carbon market. The framework would expedite the trading of RECs and carbon credits to accelerate the attainment of GHG emission reduction goals.

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Sustainability in Maritime Sector: Waste Management Alternatives Evaluated in a Circular Carbon Economy Perspective

Resources ◽

10.3390/resources9040041 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 41 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Michela Gallo ◽

Luca Moreschi ◽

Michela Mazzoccoli ◽

Veronica Marotta ◽

Adriana Del Borghi

Keyword(s):

Waste Management ◽

Case Studies ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Emission Reduction ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Waste To Energy ◽

Ghg Emission ◽

Combined System ◽

Management Alternatives ◽

Carbon Economy

Sustainability and waste management on board are key issues that need to be addressed by the maritime sector also in terms of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). With the aim of evaluating waste management alternatives in a circular economy perspective, the study examines a combined system for the optimisation of ship waste management and assesses its possible use for energy purposes. Different systems are analysed in relation to their GHG emission reduction potential regardless of routes and ports of destination. A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis was carried out on waste management alternatives in order to preliminary identify their potential in terms of GHG emissions reduction, cost, environmental sustainability, methodological coherence, feasibility and replicability. Following this analysis, two case studies of particular interest were identified: (1) the thermo-chemical treatment of waste oils and sludge to obtain fuel oils; (2) the installation of a waste-to-energy plant and subsequent energy recovery on board. UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) methodologies were applied to these two case studies to calculate GHG emission reduction resulting from their implementation. The obtained results are presented with the aim of supporting sustainable waste management strategies on board in a circular carbon economy perspective.

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Fire Occurrences and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13030376 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 376

Author(s):

Claudia Arantes Silva ◽

Giancarlo Santilli ◽

Edson Eyji Sano ◽

Giovanni Laneve

Keyword(s):

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Brazilian Amazon ◽

Forest Degradation ◽

Primary Forest ◽

Steady Increase ◽

Strong Impact ◽

Ecosystem Degradation ◽

Slash And Burn ◽

Forest Clearing

This work presents the dynamics of fire occurrences, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, forest clearing, and degradation in the Brazilian Amazon during the period 2006–2019, which includes the approval of the new Brazilian Forest Code in 2012. The study was carried out in the Brazilian Amazon, Pará State, and the municipality of Novo Progresso (Pará State). The analysis was based on deforestation and fire hotspot datasets issued by the Brazilian Institute for Space Research (INPE), which is produced based on optical and thermal sensors onboard different satellites. Deforestation data was also used to assess GHG emissions from the slash-and-burn practices. The work showed a good correlation between the occurrence of fires in the newly deforested area in the municipality of Novo Progresso and the slash-and-burn practices. The same trend was observed in the Pará State, suggesting a common practice along the deforestation arch. The study indicated positive coefficients of determination of 0.72 and 0.66 between deforestation and fire occurrences for the municipality of Novo Progresso and Pará State, respectively. The increased number of fire occurrences in the primary forest suggests possible ecosystem degradation. Deforestation reported for 2019 surpassed 10,000 km2, which is 48% higher than the previous ten years, with an average of 6760 km2. The steady increase of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon after 2012 has been a worldwide concern because of the forest loss itself as well as the massive GHG emitted in the Brazilian Amazon. We estimated 295 million tons of net CO2, which is equivalent to 16.4% of the combined emissions of CO2 and CH4 emitted by Brazil in 2019. The correlation of deforestation and fire occurrences reported from satellite images confirmed the slash-and-burn practice and the secondary effect of deforestation, i.e., degradation of primary forest surrounding the deforested areas. Hotspots’ location was deemed to be an important tool to verify forest degradation. The incidence of hotspots in forest area is from 5% to 20% of newly slashed-and-burned areas, which confirms the strong impact of deforestation on ecosystem degradation due to fire occurrences over the Brazilian Amazon.

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Ecosystem rehabilitation and forest regeneration in the humid tropics: Case studies and management insights

Restoration of Tropical Forest Ecosystems - Tasks for vegetation science ◽

10.1007/978-94-017-2896-6_2 ◽

1993 ◽

pp. 25-36 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Miguel Clüsener Godt ◽

Malcolm Hadley

Keyword(s):

Case Studies ◽

Forest Regeneration ◽

Humid Tropics ◽

Ecosystem Rehabilitation

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Comparison of biofuel life-cycle GHG emissions assessment tools: The case studies of ethanol produced from sugarcane, corn, and wheat

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews ◽

10.1016/j.rser.2019.04.043 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 110 ◽

pp. 1-12 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

L.G. Pereira ◽

O. Cavalett ◽

A. Bonomi ◽

Y. Zhang ◽

E. Warner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Case Studies ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Assessment Tools

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Fire Occurrences and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

10.20944/preprints202012.0146.v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Claudia Arantes Silva ◽

Giancarlo Santilli ◽

Edson Eyji Sano ◽

Giovanni Laneve

Keyword(s):

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Brazilian Amazon ◽

Primary Forest ◽

Steady Increase ◽

Slash And Burn ◽

Forest Clearing ◽

Forest Code ◽

Positive Coefficients

This work presents the dynamics of forest clearing in the Brazilian Amazon during the period 2006–2019 in which includes the approval of the new Brazilian Forest Code in 2012. The study was carried out in the Brazilian Amazon, Pará State and in the municipality of Novo Progresso (Pará State). The analysis was based on deforestation and fire hotspot datasets issued by the Brazilian Institute for Space Research (INPE), produced based on optical and thermal sensors onboard different satellites. Deforestation data was also used to assess greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the slash-and-burn practices. The work showed a good correlation between the occurrence of fires in the newly deforested area in the municipality of Novo Progresso and the slash-and-burn practices. The same trend was also observed in the Pará State, suggesting a common practice along the deforestation arch. The study indicated positive coefficients of determination of 0.72 and 0.66 between deforestation and fire occurrences for the municipality of Novo Progresso and Pará State, respectively. The increased number of fire occurrences in the primary forest suggests possible ecosystem degradation. Deforestation reported for 2019 surpassed 10,000 km2, a significant intensification comparatively higher than the previous ten years which was on an average of 6,760 km2. The steady increase of deforestation in the Amazon after 2012 has been a worldwide concern because of the forest loss itself as well as the massive GHG emitted in the Brazilian Amazon (295 million tons of net CO2 equivalent in the year 2019). Better correlation of deforestation and fires occurrences reported from satellite images confirmed the slash-and-burn practice and the secondary effect of deforestation, which degrades primary forest surrounding the deforested areas.

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