scholarly journals Trends in Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Renewable Energy Policies in the EU and USA, with Special Emphasis on the Transportation Sector

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-231
Author(s):  
Judit T. Kiss ◽  
Gábor Bellér ◽  
István Árpád ◽  
Dénes Kocsis
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Significant Shift ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Energy Policies ◽  
Transportation Sector ◽  
Renewable Energy Policies

The aim of this work is to review recent trends in the field of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and renewable energy policies of the European Union and the United States of America. During the last few decades, there was a significant shift within the political attitude towards these fields, therefore important changes were realized in the electricity production and the climate policy. In the present paper, we discuss the current situation focusing on the transportation segment.

scholarly journals Blending Methanol as a Renewable Fuel in Automotive Industries towards Minimizing Vehicular Air Pollution

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 5496-5498
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽  
Fuel Efficiency ◽  
The United States ◽  
Combustion Efficiency ◽  
Spark Ignition Engine ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Ic Engines

Methanol (CH3OH) and ethanol (C2H5OH) have came to limelight now-a-days because of their property of less polluting emittants and thought of as extremely economical due to its swish operative capacity. Low particulate level and soot free emission can also be obtained due to presence of oxygen in these fuels. We can obtain a considerable fuel efficiency and sound mileage if we double the carbon in ethanol which contains more energy. The structure is more similar to iso-butanol. Iso-butanol is unique in alcoholic fuels due to its equatorial affinity for water. The worldwide energy policy also aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions occurred due to traditional fuels and thus developing renewable energy became an important part of this policy. Now-a-days transport sector has decreased its reliance on oil which generally contributes to hazardous environmental impact and to achieve this some alternative transport fuels such as biofuels, hydrogen and natural gas emerged up as a helping hand. Blending methanol into diesel and gasoline permits the mixture to possess an entire combustion with the presence of oxygen which increases its combustion efficiency and reduces greenhouse gas emission. Gasohol- a blend of gasoline and 10%methanol is available at plenty of petrol service stations as a regular automobile fuel within the United States. Brazil has successfully implemented and used methanol in terms of spark ignition engine operations as a fuel. Methanol has emerged up as a sustainable fuel for IC engines in past few decades because of its characteristics of soot free burning and higher efficiencies at less cost. The European Union decided to set 10% requirement of renewable energy in transport sector which is to be compiled with by 2020. In 2010, the transport sector utilized 4.70% of renewable energy out of which 91% was covered by biofuels. This paper discusses significance of methanol as a fuel for IC engines and its applicability in various sectors

Policy convergence as a multifaceted concept: the case of renewable energy policies in the European Union

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Strunz ◽  
Erik Gawel ◽  
Paul Lehmann ◽  
Patrik Söderholm
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
Economic Convergence ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Energy Policies ◽  
Conditional Convergence ◽  
Policy Convergence ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Renewable Energy Policies

AbstractThe literature on policy convergence has identified numerous facets and causal drivers of convergence. Distinguishing four dimensions of convergence (object, benchmark, drivers and directed process) helps clarify why and in what form policy convergence may occur (or not). Thus, depending on, for example, the object of analysis (policy outcome or instruments used), the same empirical case may give rise to opposing assessments. Furthermore, both economic and political drivers are necessary to account for successful policy convergence: economic convergence partly explains why countries may face similar problems, and political mechanisms explain why they might choose similar policies to solve a given problem. This article illustrates the multifaceted character of convergence for the dynamic field of renewable energy policies in the European Union. The empirical results indicate temporary convergence in the case of policy support instrument choices and conditional convergence in terms of renewable shares. However, the results suggest divergence of public R&D subsidies targeting renewables.

A Historical Analysis of the Environmental Footprint of Peanut Production in the United States from 1980 to 2014

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.A. McCarty ◽  
S. Ramsey ◽  
H.N. Sandefur
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
The United States ◽  
Energy Utilization ◽  
Historical Period ◽  
Significant Shift ◽  
Peanut Production ◽  
Year 2000

ABSTRACT The last half century has seen a significant shift in agricultural practices, affecting productivity, resource use, and ultimately, environmental impacts. These increases have been the result of several developments, including increases in irrigation, the expanded application of fertilizers and pesticides, improved plant genetics, and the development of mechanized operations. Changes in production practices are highlighted here for peanut crops for the years 1980 to 2014. This study uses a resource efficiency methodology from cradle-to-farm gate to examine land use, energy efficiency, soil erosion (water and wind), irrigation water usage, and environmental/greenhouse gas emissions. During the historical period, yields increased from under 2000 kg/ha in the Southwest and an average of 3000 kg/ha in the Southeast and Virginia-Carolina regions to over 4000 kg/ha across all regions. Most of this increase occurred after the year 2000. Overall trends of nitrogen fertilizer applications per planted hectare were increasing; however, chemical protections, fuel use and electricity associated with cultivation, harvest, and drying declined. Energy utilization per hectare and kg of peanut showed steady declines over the last 40 years, particularly in the Southeast and Virginia-Carolina production regions. Results indicated that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been on the decline across all production regions, from greater than 1 kg CO2e/kg peanut in the early 1980s to less than 0.6 kg CO2e/kg peanuts in 2013, a 40% decrease in GHG production.

Informing urban greenhouse gas quantification and mitigation using high-resolution CO2 emissions: a case study in Baltimore, USA

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Roest ◽  
Kevin Gurney ◽  
Scot Miller ◽  
Jianming Liang
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Colonial Era

<p>As atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) levels continue to rise, a global effort to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is underway. Urban domains, which are responsible for more than 70% of global anthropogenic CO<sub>2</sub> emissions, are emerging as leaders in mitigation policy and planning – especially in the United States of America (US), which has formally withdrawn from the Paris Agreement. However, cities face obstacles in developing comprehensive and spatially explicit GHG inventories to inform specific actions and goals. The Vulcan emission product provides highly resolved Scope 1 fossil fuel CO<sub>2</sub> (FFCO<sub>2</sub>) emissions in space and time for the entire US, while the Hestia emission products utilize even more granular spatiotemporal data within four US urban domains. Here, we present results from Hestia for Baltimore – a colonial-era city on the Atlantic Coast of the US. Scope 1 FFCO<sub>2</sub> emissions are dominated by energy consumption in buildings, onroad vehicle emissions, and industrial point sources. Large, systematic differences exist between Hestia and Baltimore’s self-reported GHG inventory, which follows the Global Protocol for Community-scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories (GPC). These differences include entire sectors being omitted from emissions reporting due to a determination of ownership (e.g. Scope 1 vs. Scope 3), data gaps and limitations, and a conflation of Scope 1 and Scope 2 electricity production emissions. Urban planning may be better informed by utilizing additional data sources on fuel and energy consumption – especially fuel and energy that are not provided by a centralized utility – to develop comprehensive GHG emission estimates.</p>

Splitting the Electric Emissions Baby: Allocating Greenhouse Gas Reductions between Efficiency and Renewable Energy Policies

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (8) ◽  
pp. 29-42
Author(s):  
Scott Anders ◽  
Jae D. Kim ◽  
Nilmini Silva-Send ◽  
Clark Gordon ◽  
Yichao Gu
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Energy Policies ◽  
Renewable Energy Policies
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