scholarly journals Exploratory Study on Modelling Agricultural Carbon Emissions in Ireland

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Sinéad M. Madden ◽  
Alan Ryan ◽  
Patrick Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Reporting System ◽  
Integrated Modelling ◽  
Environmental Modelling ◽  
Joint Research ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Agricultural Emissions ◽  
Research Gap ◽  
The Right

In 2020 Ireland missed its EU climate emissions target and without additional measures will not be on the right trajectory towards decarbonisation in the longer 2030 and 2050 challenges. Agriculture remains the single most significant contributor to overall emissions in Ireland. In the absence of effective mitigating strategies, agricultural emissions have continued to rise. The purpose of the review is to explore current research conducted in Ireland regarding environmental modelling within agriculture to identify research gap areas for further research. 10 models were selected and reviewed regarding modelling carbon emissions from agriculture in Ireland, the GAINS (Air pollution Interactions and Synergies) model used for air pollutants, the JRC-EU-TIMES, (Joint Research Council-European Union-The Integrated MARKAL-EFOM System) and the Irish TIMES model used for energy, the integrated modelling project Ireland (GAINS & TIMES), the environmental, economic model ENV-Linkages and ENV-Growth along with the IE3 and AGRI-I models. The review found that data on greenhouse gas emissions for 2019 reveals that emissions can be efficiently lowered if the right initiatives are taken. More precise emission factors and adaptable inventories are urgently needed to improve national CO2 reporting and minimise the agricultural sector’s emissions profile in Ireland. The Climate Action Delivery Act is a centrally driven monitoring and reporting system for climate action delivery that will help in determining optimal decarbonisation from agriculture in Ireland. Multi-modelling approaches will give a better understanding of the technology pathways that will be required to meet decarbonisation ambitions.

scholarly journals Quantifying the Health Benefits of Urban Climate Mitigation Actions: Current State of the Epidemiological Evidence and Application in Health Impact Assessments

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria D. Castillo ◽  
Susan C. Anenberg ◽  
Zoe A. Chafe ◽  
Rachel Huxley ◽  
Lauren S. Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Health Improvement ◽  
Current State ◽  
The World ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Health Impact Assessments

While ambitious carbon reduction policies are needed to avoid dangerous levels of climate change, the costs of these policies can be balanced by wide ranging health benefits for local communities. Cities, responsible for ~70% of the world's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and home to a growing majority of the world's population, offer enormous opportunities for both climate action and health improvement. We aim to review the current state of knowledge on key pathways leading from carbon mitigation to human health benefits, and to evaluate our current ability to quantify health benefits for cities around the world. For example, because GHGs and air pollutants are both released during fuel combustion, reducing fuel burning can reduce both GHGs and air pollutants, leading to direct health benefits. Air quality improvements may be particularly important for city-scale climate action planning because the benefits occur locally and relatively immediately, compared with the global and long-term (typically, decades to centuries) benefits for the climate system. In addition to improved air quality, actions that promote active transport in cities via improved cycling and pedestrian infrastructure can reap large cardiovascular health benefits via increased physical activity. Exposure to green space has been associated with beneficial health outcomes in a growing number of epidemiological studies and meta-analyses conducted around the world. Finally, noise is an underappreciated environmental risk factor in cities which can be addressed through actions to reduce motor vehicle traffic and other noise sources. All of these environmental health pathways are supported by well-conducted epidemiological studies in multiple locales, providing quantitative exposure–response data that can be used as inputs to health impact assessments (HIAs). However, most epidemiologic evidence derives from studies in high-income countries. It is unclear to what extent such evidence is directly transferable for policies in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This gap calls for a future focus on building the evidence based in LMIC cities. Finally, the literature suggests that policies are likely to be most effective when they are developed by multidisciplinary teams that include policy makers, researchers, and representatives from affected communities.

Guest Editorial: The Engineering Approach to Carbon-Emissions Management

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (07) ◽  
pp. 9-10
Author(s):  
D. Nathan Meehan
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Human Error ◽  
Carbon Intensity ◽  
Fugitive Emissions ◽  
Industry Standards ◽  
Co2 Equivalent ◽  
Private Investors ◽  
Many Sources ◽  
The Right

Every engineer and manager knows that you can only improve performance that you measure and track. That is why we have key performance indicators (KPIs). Similarly, we can only optimize what we can predict. If we really want to lower carbon emissions, we will need to implement a consistent method of measuring and tracking the right data. There are challenges in improving what we track because tracking comes from so many sources. We need to work on optimizing what we predict if we are going to start making high-value decisions around emissions. Carbon emissions occur during all phases of the hydrocarbon extraction industry right through to the final use of the product. We call the total life cycle of emissions “well to wheels.” SPE members are generally focused on one phase of the carbon emissions. The largest contribution is the combustion and use of produced oil, from refinery to wheels. This is typically about 350–400 kg of CO2 equivalent per barrel. We use CO2 equivalent to include the greenhouse-gas (GHG) impact of methane. Then, there is the energy and carbon expenditure of producing that hydrocarbon, well to refinery. This includes drilling, completions, production, and transportation. Carbon emissions from the wells to refinery vary from less than 25 kg to more than 300 kg CO2 equivalent per barrel, aver-aging about 100. Flaring and fugitive emissions are generally the largest contributors to these emissions. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activism is driving changes in behavior for public investors, private investors, lenders, and management teams. When will the measuring be done? Who will set the industry standards? How will the model be developed? Carbon emissions from shale production vary dramatically and are also driven by flaring and fugitives. While flaring is preferable to venting, most low-volume flares are inefficient. Operators flare for a variety of reasons including lack of pipeline capacity, upsets, and low value for natural gas. Fugitive emissions also enter the equation. Fugitive emissions are any leakage or irregular release to the atmosphere of natural gas. This can be caused by human error, mechanical operations (such as pneumatic actuators), or faulty equipment. Fugitive emissions and flaring both factor into the well-to-reservoir carbon footprint. Many operators already report the carbon intensity of their activities, usually prior-year activities. Carbon intensity is the carbon emissions per unit of energy or per barrel. A variety of regulatory bodies and others argue the definitions of such reporting. We are arguing for reporting estimated carbon intensity of reserves.

IT Outsourcing Success Factors

2015 ◽  
pp. 183-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg Hodosi ◽  
Robert Kaye ◽  
Lazar Rusu
Keyword(s):  
Success Factors ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Research Problem ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
It Outsourcing ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Outsourcing Success ◽  
Research Gap ◽  
The Right

In this chapter, the Success Factors (SFs) for IT Outsourcing (ITO) are explored. The research literature has a bias towards large companies, neglecting medium-sized companies. Moreover, no comparative studies regarding the SFs were found related to the size of companies. These circumstances force medium-sized buyers to turn to practitioner literature, which is dominated by guidelines produced by the providers. Therefore, this chapter identifies the research problem: the lack of knowledge about ITO SFs for medium size companies, including whether SFs for large companies, are applicable for medium-sized ones as well. The used case study research shows that medium-sized companies should use the SFs from large companies. However, 2 out of 11 studied SFs have better efficiency for large companies. This result helps medium-sized companies' ITO decision makers understand the SFs of ITO and thus closes the research gap. Implementing the right SFs should improve the ITO performance.

A Delicate Balance: Religious Autonomy Rights and lgbti Rights in Australia

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Baines
Keyword(s):  
Legal System ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
The Other ◽  
Faith Communities ◽  
Human Right ◽  
The Status ◽  
Research Gap ◽  
The One ◽  
The Right

This article addresses a research gap by analysing the way the Australian legal system is balancing the right to religious autonomy of organisations and the right of lgbti individuals not to be discriminated against, and considers what ought to be the case. I argue that the Australian legal system recognises the value of religious freedom on the one hand, and on the other hand, does not place a high priority on protecting it as an existing human right. My findings reveal that the Australian legal system is not always defining the religion and society relationship in ways that reflect the lived reality of religion in society. The issue is compounded by the wording of religious exemptions under anti-discrimination law which is contested within faith communities. As a consequence, religious freedom can be unfairly restricted. I conclude with recommendations to improve the status quo.

scholarly journals The right whale mandatory ship reporting system: a retrospective

PeerJ ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. e866 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory K. Silber ◽  
Jeffrey D. Adams ◽  
Michael J. Asaro ◽  
Timothy V.N. Cole ◽  
Katie S. Moore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reporting System ◽  
Right Whale ◽  
System A ◽  
The Right

scholarly journals Whose climate intervention? Solar geoengineering, fractions of capital, and hegemonic strategy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Surprise ◽  
Jean Philippe Sapinski
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Policy ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Research Finding ◽  
Capitalist Class ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Solar Geoengineering ◽  
Market Driven ◽  
Technological Capital ◽  
Business As Usual

Proposals for slowing climate change by reflecting sunlight back to space, known as solar geoengineering (SG), are gaining traction in climate policy. Given SG’s capacity to slow warming without reducing carbon emissions, prominent criticism suggests that it will enable fossil fueled business-as-usual. This assessment is not without merit, yet the primary funders of SG research do not emanate from fossil capital. We analyze sources of funding for SG research, finding close ties to financial and technological capital as well as a number of billionaire philanthropists. These corporate sectors and associated philanthropies comprise part of “climate capital” – the fraction of the capitalist class aligned with climate action. We argue that SG is being positioned as a tactic for enabling incremental, market-driven decarbonization, explore key institutions advocating this approach in US climate policy, and conclude that SG is poised to serve as a tool for class compromise between fossil and climate capital.

scholarly journals Carbon Trading and the Morality of Markets in Laudato Si

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo M. Peñalver
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Cap And Trade ◽  
Catholic Social Thought ◽  
Moral Framework ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Reduction ◽  
Social Tradition ◽  
The Right ◽  
Short Essay

In a brief but much noted passage of Laudato Si, Pope Francis criticized so-called “cap and trade” approaches to reducing carbon emissions. “The strategy of buying and selling ‘carbon credits,’” he said, “can lead to a new form of speculation, which would not help reduce the emission of polluting gases worldwide.” Commentators have interpreted the passage as a categorical and moralistic rejection of market-based solutions to climate change. Read within the context of the encyclical and the broader Catholic social tradition, however, it becomes clear that the Pope’s critique of cap-and-trade is simultaneously more and less all-encompassing than these initial readings allow.The Pope’s objection to market-based approaches to controlling carbon emissions is closely tied to his analysis of global economic inequality. It reflects an astute appreciation of the way in which inequality can distort the market’s ability to serve as an efficient and just means of allocating the costs of environmental protection. His critique therefore echoes earlier discussions within liberation theology of the notion of “structural sin” and reinforces calls within Catholic Social Thought for analysis of markets always to be considered within – and at the service of – a broader moral framework. Situating Francis’s discussion within these traditions makes clear that, under the right circumstances, a cap and trade system of emissions regulation could be consistent with the Pope’s analysis in Laudato Si.In this short essay, I will briefly describe the so-called “market-based” approaches to greenhouse gas reduction that have dominated policy discussions of climate change in recent years. I will then situate Pope Francis’s objection to these sorts of policy responses, both within the broader climate debate and within the tradition of Catholic social teaching. Finally, I will propose constraints that would seem to address Pope Francis’s concerns.

Occupant exposure to indoor air pollutants in modern European offices: An integrated modelling approach

2014 ◽  
Vol 82 ◽  
pp. 9-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew C. Terry ◽  
Nicola Carslaw ◽  
Mike Ashmore ◽  
Sani Dimitroulopoulou ◽  
David C. Carslaw
Keyword(s):  
Indoor Air ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Integrated Modelling ◽  
Indoor Air Pollutants ◽  
Modelling Approach

scholarly journals Territorial-Based vs. Consumption-Based Carbon Footprint of an Urban District—A Case Study of Berlin-Wedding

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7262
Author(s):  
Clara Lenk ◽  
Rosalie Arendt ◽  
Vanessa Bach ◽  
Matthias Finkbeiner
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Urban District ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Territorial Approach ◽  
Per Capita

Cities account for 70% of carbon emissions and are therefore a vital driver for climate change. Thus, a city’s main contributing sectors need to be identified. Territorial-based footprints focus on the final energy consumption, which is derived from the stationary and transport sectors. The consumption-based approach is based on consumption data, which are converted into carbon emissions using an input–output model. If the consumption-based approach is applied to an urban district not only emissions in the investigated area are considered, but also those that occur along the supply chain of consumed products in the urban district. The goal of this study was to apply and evaluate two different approaches to calculate an urban district’s carbon footprint to support climate protection management at the local government level. To achieve this goal, these two different approaches were applied to calculate the carbon emissions of the urban district Wedding in Berlin and were compared regarding criteria such as data availability and relevance. The footprints resulted in 400,947 t CO2–eq. for the territorial approach and in 401,371 t CO2–eq. per year for the consumption-based approach, which resulted in 4.61 t CO2–eq and 4.62 t CO2–eq per capita and year, respectively. Methodologically, the two approaches differ significantly, but the total results showed a difference of only 0.1%. Thus, this study cannot verify that the consumption-based approach mostly leads to higher emissions per capita in the Global North. This could be due to lower purchasing power and a higher share of multiple-person households in the relatively poor urban district of Wedding, Berlin. The territorial approach is more suitable to derive measures for local climate action, whereas the consumption-based approach highlights the responsibility of consumers for GHG emissions along the supply chain and the importance of the food sector.

scholarly journals Measuring Carbon Emissions From Low carbon Cities in Rapidly Urbanising Countries – Nepal

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roz Price
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Rapid Review ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Emissions Inventory ◽  
Climate Action

Climate change and urbanisation are inextricably linked. With the acceleration of urbanisation in many developing countries, urban areas play a major role in energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. This is true of Nepal, which has experienced rapid urbanisation in recent decades. However, no studies were identified that evaluate the efforts of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from low carbon cities in rapidly urbanising developing countries. Although, there is literature out there on this that focuses on developed countries and the Global North, this is outside the scope of this report. Given the rapid nature of this review and its limitations it was not possible to fully answer the question of whether investments in low-carbon cities reduce carbon emissions in rapidly urbanising contexts. The first section of this report looks at the theory of low carbon cities and touches on some of the methodologies for measuring carbon emissions from cities (and the complexities and difficulties with these). The second section looks at Nepal in more detail, highlighting previous literature which has attempted to quantify emissions from cities in Nepal (namely Kathmandu Valley) and the co-benefits of low carbon investment in Nepal. However, overall, literature was largely limited on these topics, and was often older being from 5 years or more ago. Of note is an emissions inventory for Nepal for 2016 by Sadavarte et al. (2019) – although other literature notes that data on emission characteristics are still limited (IMC Worldwide, 2020). ICLEI (2009) also produced city emissions profiles for 3 Nepalese cities, but these are quite outdated. There are several studies related to low carbon development pathways for major cities in developed countries or China, however such studies from the perspective of emerging cities from the developing world are limited. Research into other developing countries with similar characteristics to Nepal was briefly explored in this rapid review but there was not time to fully explore this literature base. Most of the literature explored is from academia, although some is from non-governmental organisations particularly those looking at engaging cities in climate action (such as C40). The literature explored does not look at gender issues or issues of people with disabilities.

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