The Copenhagen Accord reiterates the international community's commitment to 'hold the increase in global temperature below 2 degrees Celsius'. Yet its preferred focus on global emission peak dates ...and longer-term reduction targets, without recourse to cumulative emission budgets, belies seriously the scale and scope of mitigation necessary to meet such a commitment. Moreover, the pivotal importance of emissions from non-Annex 1 nations in shaping available space for Annex 1 emission pathways received, and continues to receive, little attention. Building on previous studies, this paper uses a cumulative emissions framing, broken down to Annex 1 and non-Annex 1 nations, to understand the implications of rapid emission growth in nations such as China and India, for mitigation rates elsewhere. The analysis suggests that despite high-level statements to the contrary, there is now little to no chance of maintaining the global mean surface temperature at or below 2°C. Moreover, the impacts associated with 2°C have been revised upwards, sufficiently so that 2°C now more appropriately represents the threshold between 'dangerous' and 'extremely dangerous' climate change. Ultimately, the science of climate change allied with the emission scenarios for Annex 1 and non-Annex 1 nations suggests a radically different framing of the mitigation and adaptation challenge from that accompanying many other analyses, particularly those directly informing policy.
Anthropogenic air pollutant emissions have been increasing rapidly in China, leading to worsening air quality. Modelers use emissions inventories to represent the temporal and spatial distribution of ...these emissions needed to estimate their impacts on regional and global air quality. However, large uncertainties exist in emissions estimates. Thus, assessing differences in these inventories is essential for the better understanding of air pollution over China. We compare five different emissions inventories estimating emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 µm or less (PM10) from China. The emissions inventories analyzed in this paper include the Regional Emission inventory in ASia v2.1 (REAS), the Multi-resolution Emission Inventory for China (MEIC), the Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research v4.2 (EDGAR), the inventory by Yu Zhao (ZHAO), and the Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies (GAINS). We focus on the period between 2000 and 2008, during which Chinese economic activities more than doubled. In addition to national totals, we also analyzed emissions from four source sectors (industry, transport, power, and residential) and within seven regions in China (East, North, Northeast, Central, Southwest, Northwest, and South) and found that large disagreements exist among the five inventories at disaggregated levels. These disagreements lead to differences of 67 µg m−3, 15 ppbv, and 470 ppbv for monthly mean PM10, O3, and CO, respectively, in modeled regional concentrations in China. We also find that all the inventory emissions estimates create a volatile organic compound (VOC)-limited environment and MEIC emissions lead to much lower O3 mixing ratio in East and Central China compared to the simulations using REAS and EDGAR estimates, due to their low VOC emissions. Our results illustrate that a better understanding of Chinese emissions at more disaggregated levels is essential for finding effective mitigation measures for reducing national and regional air pollution in China.
Rapid urbanization in China has made the construction sector become a significant industry for CO2 emissions. Accurately measuring the CO2 emissions performance of the construction industry is a key ...to CO2 emissions management and the basis for successful implementation of the national carbon neutral strategy. From a total-factor production perspective, CO2 emission performance refers to the degree to which the desirable outputs are maximized, and the CO2 emissions are minimized under a certain level of inputs in production activities. To measure the dynamic evolution of CO2 emission performance and its reasons more reasonably, a global Malmquist CO2 emissions performance index (GMCPI) that can evaluate CO2 emission performance of multi-input and multi-output production process is proposed in this study. By using this index, the CO2 emissions performance of the construction industry in China's 30 provinces from 2004 to 2016 was investigated with three key findings. First, the overall CO2 emissions performance was improved by 13.6% during the study period, mainly contributed by technological progress rather than the increase of technical efficiency. Second, an imbalance growth of CO2 emissions performance was observed in different regions. The performance in the eastern region ranked the best, with an average annual increase of 14.5%. Third, the reasons contributing to different levels of CO2 emissions performance in different provinces were explained according to the decomposition of GMCPI. Thirteen provinces are the slow-efficiency-growth type with low technical efficiency change(EFFCH) and low technology change(TECHCH). Five provinces are the technology-driven type with high TECHCH and low EFFCH, four provinces are the technology-management dual-driven type with high EFFCH and high TECHCH. Eight provinces are the management-driven type with high EFFCH and low TECHCH. China's construction industry should further improve the overall CO2 emission performance by strengthening the driving role of technological progress and promoting the exchange of advanced management experience to reduce regional differences.
•A global Malmquist CO2 emission performance index (GMCPI) is proposed.•CO2 emission performance of China's construction industry is measured.•Provincial spatial and temporal differences in CO2 emission performance is investigated.•GMCPI was mainly driven by technology change from 2004 to 2016.
Purpose
Carbon trading mechanism has been adopted to foster the green transformation of the economy on a global scale, but its effectiveness for the power industry remains controversial. Given that ...energy-related greenhouse gas emissions account for most of all anthropogenic emissions, this paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of this trading mechanism at the plant level to support relevant decision-making and mechanism design.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper constructs a novel spatiotemporal data set by matching satellite-based high-resolution (1 × 1 km) CO2 and PM2.5 emission data with accurate geolocation of power plants. It then applies a difference-in-differences model to analyse the impact of carbon trading mechanism on emission reduction for the power industry in China from 2007 to 2016.
Findings
Results suggest that the carbon trading mechanism induces 2.7% of CO2 emission reduction and 6.7% of PM2.5 emission reduction in power plants in pilot areas on average. However, the reduction effect is significant only in coal-fired power plants but not in gas-fired power plants. Besides, the reduction effect is significant for power plants operated with different technologies and is more pronounced for those with outdated production technology, indicating the strong potential for green development of backward power plants. The reduction effect is also more intense for power plants without affiliation relationships than those affiliated with particular manufacturers.
Originality/value
This paper identifies the causal relationship between the carbon trading mechanism and emission reduction in the power industry by providing an innovative methodology for identifying plant-level emissions based on high-resolution satellite data, which has been practically absent in previous studies. It serves as a reference for stakeholders involved in detailed policy formulation and execution, including policymakers, power plant managers and green investors.
We present a method to infer CO2 emissions from
individual power plants based on satellite observations of co-emitted
nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which could serve as complementary verification
of ...bottom-up inventories or be used to supplement these inventories. We
demonstrate its utility on eight large and isolated US power plants, where
accurate stack emission estimates of both gases are available for
comparison. In the first step of our methodology, we infer nitrogen oxides
(NOx) emissions from US power plants using Ozone Monitoring Instrument
(OMI) NO2 tropospheric vertical column densities (VCDs) averaged over
the ozone season (May–September) and a “top-down” approach that we
previously developed. Second, we determine the relationship between NOx
and CO2 emissions based on the direct stack emissions measurements
reported by continuous emissions monitoring system (CEMS) programs,
accounting for coal quality, boiler firing technology, NOx emission
control device type, and any change in operating conditions. Third, we
estimate CO2 emissions for power plants using the OMI-estimated
NOx emissions and the CEMS NOx∕CO2 emission ratio. We find
that the CO2 emissions estimated by our satellite-based method during
2005–2017 are in reasonable agreement with the US CEMS measurements, with a
relative difference of 8 %±41 % (mean ± standard
deviation). The broader implication of our methodology is that it has the
potential to provide an additional constraint on CO2 emissions from
power plants in regions of the world without reliable emissions accounting.
We explore the feasibility by comparing the derived NOx∕CO2
emission ratios for the US with those from a bottom-up emission inventory
for other countries and applying our methodology to a power plant in South
Africa, where the satellite-based emission estimates show reasonable
consistency with other independent estimates. Though our analysis is limited
to a few power plants, we expect to be able to apply our method to more US
(and world) power plants when multi-year data records become available from
new OMI-like sensors with improved capabilities, such as the TROPOspheric
Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI), and upcoming geostationary satellites, such
as the Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring Pollution (TEMPO) instrument.
Through its important role in the formation of particulate matter, atmospheric ammonia affects air quality and has implications for human health and life expectancy
. Excess ammonia in the ...environment also contributes to the acidification and eutrophication of ecosystems
and to climate change
. Anthropogenic emissions dominate natural ones and mostly originate from agricultural, domestic and industrial activities
. However, the total ammonia budget and the attribution of emissions to specific sources remain highly uncertain across different spatial scales
. Here we identify, categorize and quantify the world's ammonia emission hotspots using a high-resolution map of atmospheric ammonia obtained from almost a decade of daily IASI satellite observations. We report 248 hotspots with diameters smaller than 50 kilometres, which we associate with either a single point source or a cluster of agricultural and industrial point sources-with the exception of one hotspot, which can be traced back to a natural source. The state-of-the-art EDGAR emission inventory
mostly agrees with satellite-derived emission fluxes within a factor of three for larger regions. However, it does not adequately represent the majority of point sources that we identified and underestimates the emissions of two-thirds of them by at least one order of magnitude. Industrial emitters in particular are often found to be displaced or missing. Our results suggest that it is necessary to completely revisit the emission inventories of anthropogenic ammonia sources and to account for the rapid evolution of such sources over time. This will lead to better health and environmental impact assessments of atmospheric ammonia and the implementation of suitable nitrogen management strategies.
Carbon emission price of Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) reflects firms' marginal cost of emission, while no previous literature discusses whether it is consistent with the Porter hypothesis or not. ...Based on a rounded and unique fir-level longitudinal dataset with the information of total factor productivity (TFP) and the economic variables from 2009 to 2019, this paper employs the time-varying difference-in-differences (TDID) model and conducts a post-evaluation of the carbon emission price of ETS pilots on firms' TFP for the first time. The results show that there exists a persistent and significant positive causal relationship between the carbon emission price and firms' TFP. According to a rough estimate, the Chinese firms' TFP should increase by approximately 22.73% if it reaches the same carbon emission price as EU ETS. Our empirical results have passed the placebo test as well as the common trend test, and is mainly consistent with the PSM-DID approach, which can further eliminate the possible selection bias. Furthermore, the influence of the carbon emission price is more evident among the state-owned firms located in the eastern China. While the spillover effect is not significant, which means the price effect is merely effective on target industries. Most importantly, the mechanism analysis shows that it is an effective way to improve firms' TFP by investing more on R&D patents and funds, as well as promoting the status of R&D executive. Based on our findings, we suggest that: 1) the policymakers should restrict CO2 emission quotas so as to guarantee the carbon emission price with a certain upward trend appropriately; 2) researchers should further explore the ways to activate the market-oriented environmental regulation tools from the perspective of the carbon emission price for better designing a unified carbon ETS market.
•This paper estimates the association between the carbon emission price and firms’ total factor productivity.•It is supposed that China's firms' TFP can increase 22.732% under the same carbon emission price as EU ETS.•The rising investment of R & D patents and funds are mechanisms behind the Porter effect of carbon emission price.
Low-Carbon Development Augusto de la Torre, Pablo Fajnzylber, John Nash
2010, 2009, 10-15-2009, 20100101
eBook, Book
Open access
Governments and civil society in Latin America and the Caribbean should be well informed about the potential costs and benefits of combating climate change, their policy options over the next ...decades, and the global context for these policy decisions. At the same time, the global community needs to be better informed about the unique perspective of the Latin American and Caribbean region: problems the region will face, its potential contributions toward combating global warming, and how to maximize this potential while continuing to maintain growth and reduce poverty. This book, a companion volume to Low Carbon, High Growth: Latin American Responses to Climate Change, seeks to help fill both these needs.
Outsourcing CO₂ within China Feng, Kuishuang; Davis, Steven J.; Sun, Laixiang ...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS,
07/2013, Volume:
110, Issue:
28
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Recent studies have shown that the high standard of living enjoyed by people in the richest countries often comes at the expense of CO ₂ emissions produced with technologies of low efficiency in less ...affluent, developing countries. Less apparent is that this relationship between developed and developing can exist within a single country’s borders, with rich regions consuming and exporting high-value goods and services that depend upon production of low-cost and emission-intensive goods and services from poorer regions in the same country. As the world’s largest emitter of CO ₂, China is a prominent and important example, struggling to balance rapid economic growth and environmental sustainability across provinces that are in very different stages of development. In this study, we track CO ₂ emissions embodied in products traded among Chinese provinces and internationally. We find that 57% of China’s emissions are related to goods that are consumed outside of the province where they are produced. For instance, up to 80% of the emissions related to goods consumed in the highly developed coastal provinces are imported from less developed provinces in central and western China where many low–value-added but high–carbon-intensive goods are produced. Without policy attention to this sort of interprovincial carbon leakage, the less developed provinces will struggle to meet their emissions intensity targets, whereas the more developed provinces might achieve their own targets by further outsourcing. Consumption-based accounting of emissions can thus inform effective and equitable climate policy within China.
Brake wear particle emissions: a review Grigoratos, Theodoros; Martini, Giorgio
Environmental science and pollution research international,
02/2015, Volume:
22, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Traffic-related sources have been recognized as a significant contributor of particulate matter particularly within major cities. Exhaust and non-exhaust traffic-related sources are estimated to ...contribute almost equally to traffic-related PM₁₀emissions. Non-exhaust particles can be generated either from non-exhaust sources such as brake, tyre, clutch and road surface wear or already exist in the form of deposited material at the roadside and become resuspended due to traffic-induced turbulence. Among non-exhaust sources, brake wear can be a significant particulate matter (PM) contributor, particularly within areas with high traffic density and braking frequency. Studies mention that in urban environments, brake wear can contribute up to 55 % by mass to total non-exhaust traffic-related PM₁₀emissions and up to 21 % by mass to total traffic-related PM₁₀emissions, while in freeways, this contribution is lower due to lower braking frequency. As exhaust emissions control become stricter, relative contributions of non-exhaust sources—and therefore brake wear—to traffic-related emissions will become more significant and will raise discussions on possible regulatory needs. The aim of the present literature review study is to present the state-of-the-art of the different aspects regarding PM resulting from brake wear and provide all the necessary information in terms of importance, physicochemical characteristics, emission factors and possible health effects.
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