scholarly journals Country-scale greenhouse gas budgets using shipborne measurements: a case study for the UK and Ireland

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 3043-3063 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carole Helfter ◽  
Neil Mullinger ◽  
Massimo Vieno ◽  
Simon O'Doherty ◽  
Michel Ramonet ◽  
...  

Abstract. We present a mass balance approach to estimate the seasonal and annual budgets of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) of the United Kingdom (excluding Scotland) and the Republic of Ireland from concentration measurements taken on a ferry along the east coast of the United Kingdom over a 3-year period (2015–2017). We estimate the annual emissions of CH4 to be 2.55±0.48 Tg, which is consistent with the combined 2.29 Tg reported to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by the individual countries. The net CO2 budget (i.e. including all anthropogenic and biogenic sources and sinks of CO2) is estimated at 881.0±125.8 Tg, with a net biogenic contribution of 458.7 Tg (taken as the difference between the estimated net emissions and the inventory value, which accounts for anthropogenic emissions only). The largest emissions for both gases were observed in a broad latitudinal band (52.5–54∘ N), which coincides with densely populated areas. The emissions of both gases were seasonal (maxima in winter and minima in summer), strongly correlated with natural gas usage and, to a lesser extent, also anti-correlated with mean air temperature. Methane emissions exhibited a statistically significant anti-correlation with air temperature at the seasonal timescale in the central region spanning 52.8–54.2∘ N, which hosts a relatively high density of waste treatment facilities. Methane emissions from landfills have been shown to sometimes increase with decreasing air temperature due to changes in the CH4-oxidising potential of the topsoil, and we speculate that the waste sector contributes significantly to the CH4 budget of this central region. This study brings independent verification of the emission budgets estimated using alternative products (e.g. mass balance budgets by aircraft measurements, inverse modelling, inventorying) and offers an opportunity to investigate the seasonality of these emissions, which is usually not possible.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carole Helfter ◽  
Neil Mullinger ◽  
Massimo Vieno ◽  
Simon O'Doherty ◽  
Michel Ramonet ◽  
...  

Abstract. We present a mass balance approach to estimate the seasonal and annual budgets of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) of the United Kingdom (excluding Scotland) and the Republic of Ireland from concentration measurements taken on a ferry along the east coast of the United Kingdom over a 3-year period (2015–2017). We estimate the annual emissions of CH4 to be 2.55 ± 0.43 Tg, which is consistent with the combined 2.29 Tg reported to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by the individual countries. The net CO2 budget (i.e. including all anthropogenic and biogenic sources and sinks of CO2) is estimated at 881.0 ± 137.5 Tg, with a net biogenic contribution of 458.7 Tg (taken as the difference between the estimated net emissions and the inventory value which accounts for anthropogenic emissions only). The largest emissions for both gases were observed in a broad latitudinal band (52.5° N–54° N), which coincides with densely populated areas. The emissions of both gases were seasonal (maxima in winter and minima in summer), strongly correlated to natural gas usage and, to a lesser extent, also anti-correlated to mean air temperature. Methane emissions exhibited a statistically significant anti-correlation with air temperature at the seasonal time scale in the central region spanning 52.8° N–54° N, which hosts a relatively high density of waste treatment facilities. Methane emissions from landfills have been shown to sometimes increase with decreasing air temperature due to changes in the CH4-oxidizing potential of the top soil, and we speculate that the waste sector contributes significantly to the CH4 budget of this central region. This study brings independent verification of the emission budgets estimated using alternative products (e.g. mass balance budgets by aircraft measurements, inverse modelling, inventorying) and offers an opportunity to investigate the seasonality of these emissions which is usually not possible.



1983 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Crook

The United Kingdom Government is about to enact legisla tion for data protection. It is intended that this will safeguard the pnvacy of the individual which is seen to be threatened by the increasing use and capabilities of computerised personal information systems. There are also fears that the British computer and data processing industries will be at a disad vantage when competing in the international market without legislation equivalent to that already operating in other coun tries. The legislation will enable the UK to ratify the Council of Europe Data Protection Convention and to comply with the OECD Guidelines on Transborder Data Flow. Data protection is a valuable example of the interaction of information technology and society. This paper presents an overview of the issues involved. It examines what is meant by data privacy and how that privacy may be infringed by the use of both computerised and manual record systems. The impact of technology on the privacy problem is descnbed, including linkage of computer systems and the contribution of computer security. The need for legislation is discussed, both within the context of the international situation and of the early attempts at domestic legislation.



Author(s):  
Stephen Clark ◽  
Michelle Morris ◽  
Nik Lomax ◽  
Mark Birkin

AbstractCOVID-19 is a disease that has been shown to have outcomes that vary by certain socio-demographic and socio-economic groups. It is increasingly important that an understanding of these outcomes should be derived not from the consideration of one aspect, but by a more multi-faceted understanding of the individual. In this study use is made of a recent obesity driven classification of participants in the United Kingdom Biobank (UKB) to identify trends in COVID-19 outcomes. This classification is informed by a recently created obesity systems map, and the COVID-19 outcomes are: undertaking a test, a positive test, hospitalisation and mortality. It is demonstrated that the classification is able to identify meaningful differentials in these outcomes. This more holistic approach is recommended for identification and prioritisation of COVID-19 risk and possible long-COVID determination.



Author(s):  
Andrew McDonald

This chapter assesses freedom of information (FOI) in the United Kingdom. It discusses the terminology associated with FOI, namely, transparency and openness. FOI refers to access to non-personal information; the regulation of personal information is typically governed by privacy or data-protection laws. Some jurisdictions take an integrated approach to both categories of information, but this chapter focuses on information that does not relate primarily to the individual. The family of information statutes – encompassing FOI, privacy, official secrecy and the like – are known collectively as Access to Information laws. Finally, open government is a term close to openness, since both are concerned with systems and delivery.



Until 2019, TBE was considered only to be an imported disease to the United Kingdom. In that year, evidence became available that the TBEV is likely circulating in the country1,2 and a first “probable case” of TBE originating in the UK was reported.3 In addition to TBEV, louping ill virus (LIV), a member of the TBEV-serocomplex, is also endemic in parts of the UK. Reports of clinical disease caused by LIV in livestock are mainly from Scotland, parts of North and South West England and Wales.4



2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Nooriha Abdullah ◽  
Darinka Asenova ◽  
Stephen J. Bailey

The aim of this paper is to analyse the risk transfer issue in Public Private Partnership/Private Finance Initiative (PPP/PFI) procurement documents in the United Kingdom (UK) and Malaysia. It utilises qualitative research methods using documentation and interviews for data collection. The UK documents (guidelines and contracts) identify the risks related to this form of public procurement of services and makeexplicittheappropriateallocation of those risks between the public and the private sector PPP/PFI partners and so the types of risks each party should bear. However, in Malaysia, such allocation of risks was not mentioned in PPP/PFI guidelines. Hence, a question arises regarding whether risk transfer exists in Malaysian PPP/PFI projects, whether in contracts or by other means. This research question is the rationale for the comparative analysis ofdocumentsand practicesrelatingtorisk transfer in the PPP/PFI procurements in both countries. The results clarify risk-related issues that arise in implementing PPP/PFI procurement in Malaysia, in particular how risk is conceptualised, recognised and allocated (whether explicitly or implicitly), whether or not that allocation is intended to achieve optimum risk transfer, and so the implications forachievement ofvalue for moneyor other such objectivesinPPP/PFI.



2003 ◽  
Vol 7 (48) ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  

The Health Protection Agency Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre for England and Wales and others have reported that the number of people living with HIV in the UK has increased



1989 ◽  
Vol 21 (6-7) ◽  
pp. 709-715
Author(s):  
M. J. Rouse

This paper covers the approach taken by WRc to the practical application of research results. WRc works on an annual programme of research paid for collectively by the UK water utilities totalling ₤15m. In addition contract research is carried out for government largely on environmental matters and for utilities and others on a confidential basis. The approach to the implementation described here deals with the application of results across the whole of the United Kingdom where there are a large number of users of the results but with varying degrees of interest in any particular topic. The requirement is to inform all of the outcome of the work and then to provide the facility of rapid implementation for those who have an immediate requirement to apply the new knowledge and technology.



Author(s):  
Ros Scott

This chapter explores the history of volunteers in the founding and development of United Kingdom (UK) hospice services. It considers the changing role and influences of volunteering on services at different stages of development. Evidence suggests that voluntary sector hospice and palliative care services are dependent on volunteers for the range and quality of services delivered. Within such services, volunteer trustees carry significant responsibility for the strategic direction of the organiszation. Others are engaged in diverse roles ranging from the direct support of patient and families to public education and fundraising. The scope of these different roles is explored before considering the range of management models and approaches to training. This chapter also considers the direct and indirect impact on volunteering of changing palliative care, societal, political, and legislative contexts. It concludes by exploring how and why the sector is changing in the UK and considering the growing autonomy of volunteers within the sector.



Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4659
Author(s):  
William Hongsong Wang ◽  
Vicente Moreno-Casas ◽  
Jesús Huerta de Soto

Renewable energy (RE) is one of the most popular public policy orientations worldwide. Compared to some other countries and continents, Europe has gained an early awareness of energy and environmental problems in general. At the theoretical level, free-market environmentalism indicates that based on the principle of private property rights, with fewer state interventionist and regulation policies, entrepreneurs, as the driving force of the market economy, can provide better services to meet the necessity of offering RE to protect the environment more effectively. Previous studies have revealed that Germany, Denmark, and the United Kingdom have made some progress in using the market to develop RE. However, this research did not analyze the three countries’ RE conditions from the perspective of free-market environmentalism. Based on our review of the principles of free-market environmentalism, this paper originally provides an empirical study of how Germany, Denmark, and the United Kingdom have partly conducted free-market-oriented policies to successfully achieve their policy goal of RE since the 1990s on a practical level. In particular, compared with Germany and Denmark, the UK has maintained a relatively low energy tax rate and opted for more pro-market measures since the Hayekian-Thatcherism free-market reform of 1979. The paper also discovers that Fredrich A. Hayek’s theories have strongly impacted its energy liberalization reform agenda since then. Low taxes on the energy industry and electricity have alleviated the burden on the electricity enterprises and consumers in the UK. Moreover, the empirical results above show that the energy enterprises play essential roles in providing better and more affordable RE for household and industrial users in the three sampled countries. Based on the above results, the paper also warns that state intervention policies such as taxation, state subsidies, and industrial access restrictions can impede these three countries’ RE targets. Additionally, our research provides reform agendas and policy suggestions to policymakers on the importance of implementing free-market environmentalism to provide more efficient RE in the post-COVID-19 era.



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