scholarly journals TECHNOLOGY POLICY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

2012 ◽  
Vol 03 (04) ◽  
pp. 1250025 ◽  
Author(s):  
ADAM B. JAFFE
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Technology Policy ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Systematic Evaluation ◽  
Carbon Intensity ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Efficient Design

There is a strong foundation in theoretical and empirical research in economics for the proposition that efficient climate policy must include both carbon-price policy and technology policy. Even the most modest projections of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reductions needed to moderate climate change imply very large reductions in the carbon-intensity of the world economy, something in excess of a 60% reduction by 2050. This is a greater proportionate reduction than has occurred in the petroleum intensity of world GDP since 1970, despite a six-fold increase in the price of oil. This illustrates how unlikely it is that the needed economic transformation could be brought about by price-based policy instruments alone. There is no good historical analogue to the needed transformation, but the closest parallels all involved major roles for technology policy. Increased public funding of research and training is a necessary but not sufficient component of such policy. Historical experience with technological transformation in other sectors suggests that government support for purchases of low-carbon technologies will be needed. Unfortunately, we do not have good evidence on efficient design of such programs. We need systematic evaluation of different policy instruments designed to accelerate the transformation of basic technologies into large-scale commercial products. We have the "technology" to do this kind of systematic evaluation, but it is not generally used.

scholarly journals Macroeconomic and Financial Policies for Climate Change Mitigation

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (185) ◽  
Author(s):  
Signe Krogstrup ◽  
William Oman
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Financial Policy ◽  
Policy Tools ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Financial Policies ◽  
Low Carbon Economy

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of this century. Mitigation requires a large-scale transition to a low-carbon economy. This paper provides an overview of the rapidly growing literature on the role of macroeconomic and financial policy tools in enabling this transition. The literature provides a menu of policy tools for mitigation. A key conclusion is that fiscal tools are first in line and central, but can and may need to be complemented by financial and monetary policy instruments. Some tools and policies raise unanswered questions about policy tool assignment and mandates, which we describe. The literature is scarce, however, on the most effective policy mix and the role of mitigation tools and goals in the overall policy framework.

scholarly journals Modelling above-ground carbon dynamics using multi-temporal airborne lidar: insights from a Mediterranean woodland

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 961-973 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Simonson ◽  
P. Ruiz-Benito ◽  
F. Valladares ◽  
D. Coomes
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Carbon Fluxes ◽  
Carbon Dynamics ◽  
Airborne Lidar ◽  
Lidar Data ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Multi Temporal

Abstract. Woodlands represent highly significant carbon sinks globally, though could lose this function under future climatic change. Effective large-scale monitoring of these woodlands has a critical role to play in mitigating for, and adapting to, climate change. Mediterranean woodlands have low carbon densities, but represent important global carbon stocks due to their extensiveness and are particularly vulnerable because the region is predicted to become much hotter and drier over the coming century. Airborne lidar is already recognized as an excellent approach for high-fidelity carbon mapping, but few studies have used multi-temporal lidar surveys to measure carbon fluxes in forests and none have worked with Mediterranean woodlands. We use a multi-temporal (5-year interval) airborne lidar data set for a region of central Spain to estimate above-ground biomass (AGB) and carbon dynamics in typical mixed broadleaved and/or coniferous Mediterranean woodlands. Field calibration of the lidar data enabled the generation of grid-based maps of AGB for 2006 and 2011, and the resulting AGB change was estimated. There was a close agreement between the lidar-based AGB growth estimate (1.22 Mg ha−1 yr−1) and those derived from two independent sources: the Spanish National Forest Inventory, and a tree-ring based analysis (1.19 and 1.13 Mg ha−1 yr−1, respectively). We parameterised a simple simulator of forest dynamics using the lidar carbon flux measurements, and used it to explore four scenarios of fire occurrence. Under undisturbed conditions (no fire) an accelerating accumulation of biomass and carbon is evident over the next 100 years with an average carbon sequestration rate of 1.95 Mg C ha−1 yr−1. This rate reduces by almost a third when fire probability is increased to 0.01 (fire return rate of 100 years), as has been predicted under climate change. Our work shows the power of multi-temporal lidar surveying to map woodland carbon fluxes and provide parameters for carbon dynamics models. Space deployment of lidar instruments in the near future could open the way for rolling out wide-scale forest carbon stock monitoring to inform management and governance responses to future environmental change.

scholarly journals Financing Low-Carbon Transitions through Carbon Pricing and Green Bonds

2019 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 29-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Heine ◽  
Willi Semmler ◽  
Mariana Mazzucato ◽  
João Paulo Braga ◽  
Michael Flaherty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Policy Option ◽  
Phase Changes ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Burden Sharing ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Carbon Pricing ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation

Summary: To finance the transition to low-carbon economies required to mitigate climate change, countries are increasingly using a combination of carbon pricing and green bonds. This paper studies the reasoning behind such policy mixes and the economic interaction effects that result from these different policy instruments. We model these interactions using an intertemporal model, related to Sachs (2015), which proposes a burden sharing between current and future generations. The issuance of green bonds helps to enable immediate investment in climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the bonds would be repaid by future generations in such a way that those who benefit from reduced future environmental damage share in the burden of financing mitigation efforts undertaken today. We examine the effects of combining green bonds and carbon pricing in a three-phase model. We are using a numerical solution procedure which allows for finite-horizon solutions and phase changes. We show that green bonds perform better when they are combined with carbon pricing. Our proposed policy option appears to be politically more feasible than a green transition based only on carbon pricing and is more prudent for debt sustainability than a green transition that relies overly on green bonds.

scholarly journals Enterprise Low-Carbon Behavior, Financial Performance and Economic Transformation——Data from Listed Companies in China

2021 ◽  
Vol 275 ◽  
pp. 02004
Author(s):  
Hongmei Sun ◽  
Shuqi Yao ◽  
Mucun Zhai
Keyword(s):  
Financial Performance ◽  
Industrial Structure ◽  
Listed Companies ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
Carbon Intensity ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Positive Relationships ◽  
Chinese Listed Companies ◽  
Low Carbon Development ◽  
Optimization And Upgrading

The low-carbon development of enterprises is an important breakthrough in Chinese economic transformation and the optimization and upgrading of the industrial structure. Based on a sample of Chinese listed companies involved in the low-carbon industry from 2010 to 2018, this paper empirically analyzes the correlation between the low carbon behavior, economic transformation and financial performance of listed companies. The results show that a company’s carbon intensity and financial performance are negatively related, and this relation is more significant when the financial performance is measured using the ROA (return on asset) of listed companies. The level of economic transformation in places where enterprises are located can significantly strengthen the positive relationship between enterprise low-carbon behavior and financial performance, including in central and western areas, where positive relationships are strengthened, and areas with heavy polluting industries, where positive relationships are weakened. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen carbon emission supervision for non-heavy polluting industries and enterprises in the central and western regions.

scholarly journals Carbon Risk Analysis Of The South African Banks’ Lending To The JSE100 CDP Companies

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 123-137
Author(s):  
Alfred Bimha
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
The Other ◽  
Carbon Intensity

There is a pertinent concern over the continued lending to companies that are still pursuing projects that increase the amount of carbon emissions in the atmosphere. South Africa has most of its energy generation being done through coal thermal powered turbines. More so there are a number of new power stations being built in South Africa that are coal powered. Coal on the other hand is deemed as having the highest amount of carbon that contributes to the greenhouse effect which in turn affects the climate leading to climate change consequences. There is also a growing concern on the uptake of renewable energy initiatives by companies that are deemed carbon intensive. Banks are being castigated for not using their economic transformation role to champion the agenda of combating climate change caused by carbon emissions. In this study, the extent of lending in the short and long term to carbon intensive companies by South African banks is examined. Using a sample of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange top 100 companies that participate in Carbon Disclosure Project, an analysis is done through four carbon metrics –carbon intensity, carbon dependency, carbon exposure, carbon risk. The analysis used public information from the banks’ websites, South African Reserve Bank reports and other public databases that contain sustainability information of the JSE100 companies. The analysis was done by comparing the carbon metrics of the recognized seven (7) sectorial industry catergories (SIC) on the JSE, mainly Energy & Materials, Industrials, Consumer Staples, Consumer Discretionary, Financials, IT & Telecoms and Health Care. The major finding of the research is that there is a high carbon risk in short term loans compared to long term loans across the JSE100 companies that are analysed. More so, the Energy & Materials sector seem to have the highest carbon risk compared to the other sectors.

scholarly journals Investigating the Impact of COVID-19 Disruption on the Decarbonisation Agenda at Airports: Grounded or Ready for Take-Off?

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 12235
Author(s):  
Peter Hemmings ◽  
Michael Mulheron ◽  
Richard J. Murphy ◽  
Matt Prescott
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Net Zero ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Change Mitigation

COVID-19 has had wide-ranging impacts on organisations with the potential to disrupt efforts to decarbonise their operations. To understand how COVID-19 has affected the climate change mitigation strategies of Airport Operators (AOs), questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with Sustainability Managers were undertaken in late 2020 amidst a period of disruption. While all reported that COVID-19 impacted delivery of interventions and projects to mitigate climate change, the majority stated that it would not impact their long-term climate goals, such as Net Zero by 2050. The most popular climate change mitigation interventions AOs intend to deploy between now and 2030 are on-site renewables and Electric Vehicles and related infrastructure. Engineered carbon removal interventions were considered highly unlikely to be deployed in this timeframe, with potential implications for Net Zero decarbonisation pathways. Despite the severe impacts of COVID-19 on the sector, results indicate that AOs remain committed to decarbonisation, with climate change action remaining the key priority for airports. Given ongoing financial and resource constraints, AOs will need to explore new business models and partnerships and nurture collaborative approaches with other aviation stakeholders to not only maintain progress toward Net Zero but “build back better”. Government support will also be needed to stimulate the development of a sustainable, resilient, low-carbon aviation system.

The Color of Energy: The Competition to be the Energy of the Future

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hon Chung Lau
Keyword(s):  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Carbon Capture And Storage ◽  
Green Energy ◽  
Renewable Energies ◽  
Carbon Intensity ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Energy Carriers ◽  
Co2 Intensity

Abstract Energies may be described as brown, blue or green. Brown energies are CO2-emitting fossil fuels. Blue energies employ carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies to remove the emitted CO2 from brown energies. Green energies are zero or low CO2-emitting renewable energies. Likewise, energy carriers such as electricity and hydrogen may be described as brown, blue or green if they are produced from brown, blue or green energy, respectively. The transition from a high carbon intensity to a low carbon intensity economy will require the decarbonization of three major sectors: power, transport and industry. By analyzing the CO2 intensity and levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of energy and energy carriers of different colors, we show that renewable energies are best used in replacing fossil fuels in the power sector where it has the most impact in reducing CO2 emission. This will consume the majority of new additions to renewable energies in the near to medium future. Consequently, the decarbonation of the transport and industry sectors must begin with the use of blue electricity, blue fossil fuels and blue hydrogen. To achieve this, implementation of large-scale CCS projects will be necessary, especially outside of USA and northern Europe. However, this will not happen until significant financial incentives in the form of carbon tax or carbon credit becomes available from national governments. Furthermore, private-public partnership and intergovernmental cooperation will be needed to implement these CCS projects.

Optimal Net-Zero Cost Deep Energy Retrofit of Low-Rise Social Housing Townhouses

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lubna Al-Tameemi
Keyword(s):  
Heat Pump ◽  
Social Housing ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Housing Stock ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Heating System ◽  
Carbon Intensity ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Energy Retrofit

Whole building optimization retrofits have been performed for two townhouses in four locations with different climates to find both energy efficiency and cost-effective retrofit solutions across a thirty-year time span analysis. The objective is to find deep energy retrofit packages that can be used for large scale social housing retrofit. The multi-objective optimizations aim to achieve the least annualized related costs, lower initial and operational energy related costs and substantial carbon savings by analyzing one natural gas heated option and four electric heated options (baseboard heating system, central air-source heat pump, ductless mini-split heat pump and ground-source heat pump). Results reveal that prescriptive deep energy retrofit solutions achieved between 78% to 100% site energy reductions through building enclosures improvement, upgrades of HVAC and water heating systems, upgrades of appliances and lighting, and the addition of onsite renewable energy generation. Results also indicate that ductless mini-split heat pump (MSHP) optimized model has lower long-term costs and a shorter modified payback period than the optimized gas-heated model at all locations; thus suggesting that heating electrification is cost effective and can reduce the majority of operational GHG emissions of existing housing stock in locations with low carbon intensity electric grid. (834KB) https://digital.library.ryerson.ca/islandora/object/RULA:8613/datastream/Calc_Lubna/view (284KB) https://digital.library.ryerson.ca/islandora/object/RULA:8613/datastream/AnAl_Lubna/view (4 MB) https://digital.library.ryerson.ca/islandora/object/RULA:8613/datastream/AnHr_Lubna/view (5MB) https://digital.library.ryerson.ca/islandora/object/RULA:8613/datastream/Wind_Lubna/view (6MB) https://digital.library.ryerson.ca/islandora/object/RULA:8613/datastream/Toro_Lubna/view (6MB) https://digital.library.ryerson.ca/islandora/object/RULA:8613/datastream/Thby_Lubna/view (6MB) https://digital.library.ryerson.ca/islandora/object/RULA:8613/datastream/Otta_Lubna/view

scholarly journals Climate change mitigation potential of carbon capture and utilization in the chemical industry

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (23) ◽  
pp. 11187-11194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arne Kätelhön ◽  
Raoul Meys ◽  
Sarah Deutz ◽  
Sangwon Suh ◽  
André Bardow
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Carbon Capture ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Oil Consumption ◽  
Chemical Production ◽  
Carbon Capture And Utilization ◽  
Change Mitigation

Chemical production is set to become the single largest driver of global oil consumption by 2030. To reduce oil consumption and resulting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, carbon dioxide can be captured from stacks or air and utilized as alternative carbon source for chemicals. Here, we show that carbon capture and utilization (CCU) has the technical potential to decouple chemical production from fossil resources, reducing annual GHG emissions by up to 3.5 Gt CO2-eq in 2030. Exploiting this potential, however, requires more than 18.1 PWh of low-carbon electricity, corresponding to 55% of the projected global electricity production in 2030. Most large-scale CCU technologies are found to be less efficient in reducing GHG emissions per unit low-carbon electricity when benchmarked to power-to-X efficiencies reported for other large-scale applications including electro-mobility (e-mobility) and heat pumps. Once and where these other demands are satisfied, CCU in the chemical industry could efficiently contribute to climate change mitigation.

scholarly journals RECIPE FOR DISASTER? THE DEPLOYMENT OF PATENTS OVER ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND TECHNOLOGIES

1970 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ida Madieha Abdul Ghani Azmi ◽  
Suzi Fadhilah Ismail ◽  
Jeong Chun-Phuoc
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Technology Policy ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Green Technology ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Patent Owner ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Environmentally Sound ◽  
Effective Transfer

The development, deployment and dissemination of low-carbon and other environmentally sound technologies (ESTs) is critical in our response to climate change. Yet, many of these critical technologies are patented and belong to private entities. Malaysia through the National Renewable Energy Policy and National Green Technology Policy, aims to leverage on green technology as a double edge sword; as a tool to spur economic activities whilst at the same time ensuring sustainable development and conservation of the environment for future generations. In order to enhance the uptake of ESTs, Malaysia has identified renewable energy as an impetus. This paper explores the discourse between the patents and climate change at the international level. As the diffusion of ESTs requires modification and adaptation, the issue of how much this can take place without the consent of the patent owner is discussed. The scope of scientific research exemption in Malaysia is examined with a view of determining whether it can support research activities with commercial activities and the act of inventing around a patent. It is proposed that for effective transfer of ESTs to take place, the scientific research provision be expanded to cover all forms of research necessary for the diffusion of technology, regardless of its commercial and transformative ends

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