scholarly journals Development Of A Template To Benchmark Municipal Climate Change Action

Author(s):  
Daniel Beare

The goal of this thesis is to produce a benchmarking template that can be applied by municipalities across Canada to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their operations. This template will provide a common set of indicators for benchmarking municipal emissions. It will attempt to link the academic literature to existing conditions and practices within municipalities. It also provides original insight through interviews with municipal officials and municipal policy experts. Research has shown that municipalities can mitigate climate change. Municipalities have authority to enact policies which reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While many municipalities have taken action, benchmarking initiatives still do not exist to allow for direct comparison of municipalities. Following a review of academic literature interviews were held with a panel of nine municipal policy experts to assess existing programs and a proposed benchmarking template. An indicator set with nine categories and 18 individual indicators measuring corporate and community GHG emissions was developed through consultations with the panel. A questionnaire was sent to 32 municipalities with a response rate of 25%. Based on the results participating municipalities were compared against one another to determine best practices and areas for improvement. Indicators for residential densities, municipal building heating, solid waste, and municipal buildings and operations had the highest tCO An examination of indicator set development, improved methods for modelling community emissions, assessment of the benefits of climate action and municipal networking for small municipalities would build upon this research.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Beare

The goal of this thesis is to produce a benchmarking template that can be applied by municipalities across Canada to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their operations. This template will provide a common set of indicators for benchmarking municipal emissions. It will attempt to link the academic literature to existing conditions and practices within municipalities. It also provides original insight through interviews with municipal officials and municipal policy experts. Research has shown that municipalities can mitigate climate change. Municipalities have authority to enact policies which reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While many municipalities have taken action, benchmarking initiatives still do not exist to allow for direct comparison of municipalities. Following a review of academic literature interviews were held with a panel of nine municipal policy experts to assess existing programs and a proposed benchmarking template. An indicator set with nine categories and 18 individual indicators measuring corporate and community GHG emissions was developed through consultations with the panel. A questionnaire was sent to 32 municipalities with a response rate of 25%. Based on the results participating municipalities were compared against one another to determine best practices and areas for improvement. Indicators for residential densities, municipal building heating, solid waste, and municipal buildings and operations had the highest tCO An examination of indicator set development, improved methods for modelling community emissions, assessment of the benefits of climate action and municipal networking for small municipalities would build upon this research.


Buildings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Udara Willhelm Abeydeera ◽  
Karunasena

The need to mitigate climate change has become a major global concern, and greenhouse gas emissions are a major cause of global climate change. Therefore, the need to curb greenhouse gas emissions has been well recognized by global researchers, policymakers and academics. Carbon emissions of hotel operations have seized the attention of global researchers. However, carbon emissions of the hotels in developing countries remain to be a less explored domain. Therefore, carbon emissions of Sri Lankan hotels were explored using a case study approach. Five hotels in the Colombo suburb were explored, which revealed that each hotel released more than 7000 tons of carbon annually. Results further indicated the use of purchased electricity as the dominant source of carbon emissions. Emissions caused by transport activities were not included in the calculations due to the unavailability of data. Recommendations were made to overcome the issues identified during data collection as well as to reduce the carbon emissions from hotel operations. Wider adoption of the methodology used in this research will benefit the hotels to keep track of the carbon emissions using a systematic approach.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 585-606
Author(s):  
Elena-Mirela Nichita ◽  
◽  
Elena Nechita ◽  
Cristina-Lidia Manea ◽  
Alina Mihaela Irimescu ◽  
...  

Research Question: This paper aims to analyse the impact of reported greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on financial performance of companies operating in the chemical industry from Central-Eastern Europe over the period 2015-2019. Motivation: Currently, the climate change and global warming have become highly topical due to their progressively visible destructive effects worldwide on the environment, society, and economic activity. Idea: To offer the suitable information to all its stakeholders, each company should identify the necessary information, measure it, make it useful, and take reasonable steps to ensure that it’s accurate; our research investigates the effect of reported greenhouse gas emissions on return on sales, as a measure of business performance. Data: The paper is based on panel data extracted from non-financial and/or annual reports for the top 10 largest companies operating in the chemical industry geographically located in Central-Eastern Europe covering the time frame 2015-2019. The final sample consists of 34 firms and 134 firm-year observations. Tools: A multiple linear regression model was designed and applied, having return on sales as the dependent variable and GHG emissions as the independent variable. Findings: The findings of our study confirm that a lower level of GHG emissions will generate an increase in return on sales, consequently, the environmental performance reported in terms of controlling for GHG emissions enhances the financial performance measured as return on sales ratio. Contribution: The paper contributes to the literature on climate change, revealing a negative, but significant effect of GHG emissions on financial performance and endorsing that companies which today pay less attention to this global concern, tomorrow will face difficulties in terms of sales.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 20180781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine E. Lovelock ◽  
Carlos M. Duarte

Blue Carbon is a term coined in 2009 to draw attention to the degradation of marine and coastal ecosystems and the need to conserve and restore them to mitigate climate change and for the other ecosystem services they provide. Blue Carbon has multiple meanings, which we aim to clarify here, which reflect the original descriptions of the concept including (1) all organic matter captured by marine organisms, and (2) how marine ecosystems could be managed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and thereby contribute to climate change mitigation and conservation. The multifaceted nature of the Blue Carbon concept has led to unprecedented collaboration across disciplines, where scientists, conservationists and policy makers have interacted intensely to advance shared goals. Some coastal ecosystems (mangroves, tidal marshes and seagrass) are established Blue Carbon ecosystems as they often have high carbon stocks, support long-term carbon storage, offer the potential to manage greenhouse gas emissions and support other adaptation policies. Some marine ecosystems do not meet key criteria for inclusion within the Blue Carbon framework (e.g. fish, bivalves and coral reefs). Others have gaps in scientific understanding of carbon stocks or greenhouse gas fluxes, or currently there is limited potential for management or accounting for carbon sequestration (macroalgae and phytoplankton), but may be considered Blue Carbon ecosystems in the future, once these gaps are addressed.


Author(s):  
Hanna Pondel

Changes in seasonal weather cycles, a growing number of extreme phenomena, an upward trend in temperature and changes in the distribution of rainfall, significantly affect the functioning and effectiveness of agriculture. However, agriculture plays a major role in the emergence and intensification of these phenomena. The aim of the article is to present, analyse and evaluate the relations between agriculture and climate, with particular emphasis on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture in these relations. A cause-and-effect analysis was conducted based on literature studies, using the descriptive statistics method and analysis of the development trend. The basis for analysis were data on GHG emissions in the European Union (EU-28). The contribution of agriculture to the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions, albeit slightly but still increasing in recent years. The level of this emission is determined primarily by the type of agricultural activity conducted – animal production is definitely responsible for higher emissions than plant production. It is difficult to present a universal model of agricultural adaptation to climate change and a set of actions limiting the negative impact of agricultural production on climate. This is hindered by both the specificity of the agricultural sector and the large diversity of local conditions and applied farming practices. The opportunity to increase the effectiveness of actions taken may be a better connection between the implementation of objectives including the reduction of the causes and negative consequences of climate change and the objectives of sustainable agricultural development.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 3784
Author(s):  
Piotr Gołasa ◽  
Marcin Wysokiński ◽  
Wioletta Bieńkowska-Gołasa ◽  
Piotr Gradziuk ◽  
Magdalena Golonko ◽  
...  

The relationship between agriculture and climate change is two-sided. Agriculture is the branch of the economy most affected by the ongoing processes. It is also a large emitter of greenhouse gases and there are more and more voices about the need to reduce emissions. The purpose of the study was, based on FADN (Farm Accountancy Data Network) data, to determine the structure of greenhouse gas emissions in farms and to identify types of farms where it is possible to reduce GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions through better energy use. The emission volume was determined on the basis of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) methodology modified for the FADN data. The emissions related to the production of energy were found to be of minor importance compared to other emission sources. Only in the horticultural crop type is the emission from the Energy section the dominant stream of GHG emission. The greatest emissions come from livestock production. Therefore, the emphasis on reducing emissions should not be placed on the Energy sector because, except for the type of horticultural farm, there is not much potential for reduction. The introduction of taxes for GHG emissions at the level of 27.31 EUR/t would reduce farm income from 21% for the type of field crops to 40% for the type of herbivorous animals. The exception is low-emission permanent crops, where the decrease in income would be only 3.85%.


Author(s):  
D. Liliana González-Hernández ◽  
Raúl A. Aguirre-Gamboa ◽  
Erik W. Meijles

AbstractManaging and reducing the impacts of climate change depends on efficient actions from all societal scales. Yet, the household component is often missing from climate research, debate, and policies. This is problematic because households have been found to significantly contribute to of global greenhouse gas emissions and therefore have the potential to be part of a solution to climate change by mitigating climate change. This study seeks to understand which factors drive household-level mitigation actions. We conducted a household survey in Nuevo Leon, located in northeastern Mexico, to explore the extent to which climate change perceptions and the sociodemographic characteristics of households influence their reported mitigation performances and their perceived mitigation efforts. Results from linear regression analyses and generalized linear models revealed that sociodemographic characteristics are key drivers of the households’ perceived mitigation efforts and reported mitigation performances and. We also found that climate change perceptions drive a household’s efforts to mitigate climate change. These results could partly explain why despite the efforts households take to mitigate climate change, achieving an effective reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is challenging without further access to resources such as education and financial support. If governments intend to realize substantial reductions in future emission pathways, then household-level mitigation should be addressed with proper support.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angel D. Ramirez ◽  
Danilo Arcentales ◽  
Andrea Boero

Climate change is a serious threat to sustainability. Anthropogenic climate change is due to the accumulation of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere beyond natural levels. Anthropogenic GHG emissions are mostly associated with carbon-dioxide (CO2) originated in the combustion of fossil fuels used for heat, power, and transportation. Globally, transportation contributes to 14% of the global GHG emissions. The transport sector is one of the main contributors to the greenhouse gas emissions of Ecuador. In Guayaquil, the road mass transportation system comprises regular buses and the bus rapid transit (BRT) system. Electricity in Ecuador is mostly derived from hydropower, hence incurs relatively low GHG emissions along its life cycle. Therefore, electrification of transport has been seen as an opportunity for mitigation of GHG emissions. In this study, the effect of partial replacement of the bus rapid system fleet is investigated. Feeders have been chosen as the replacement target in five different scenarios. GHG emissions from diesel-based feeders have been calculated using the GREET Fleet Footprint Calculator tool. The GHG emissions associated with the electricity used for transportation is calculated using the life cycle inventory of the electricity generation system of Ecuador. Three energy mix scenarios are used for this purpose. The 2012 mix which had 61% hydropower; the mix of 85% hydropower and the marginal electricity scenario, which supposed the extreme case when the new demand for electricity occurs during peak demand periods. Results indicate that mitigation of GHG emissions is possible for almost all scenarios of percentage fleet replacement and all mix scenarios. Electric buses efficiency and the carbon intensity of the electricity mix are critical for GHG mitigation.


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