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Abstract: The pulp and paper industry both uses and produces large amounts of energy and rising fuel prices bring along significant challenges to the sector. Several strategies can be applied in order to remain competitive e.g. an increase in energy efficiency, a switch in fuel and/or a novel energy conversion technology. In this study, we investigate if improved energy conversion strategies can reduce energy costs, primary energy use and CO2 emissions of paper mills within different European countries (The Netherlands, Poland and Sweden). Our results show that differences in history and availability of resources has led to different conversion strategies in the three countries. We found that a natural gas combined cycle, which is largely implemented in The Netherlands due to long term domestic availability of natural gas, has the lowest primary energy demand. Due to a long history of low electricity prices, CHP has not been common in Sweden. Many Swedish mills use biomass as an energy source and due to low CO2 emissions of the national grid the CO2 emission profile of the Swedish paper industry is very low. Our results imply that future conversion routes for the Swedish paper and board industry are again wood based; in case of increasing electricity prices these would be biomass gasification based CHP solutions. With a reduction of 800kg CO2/ton paper on average, a switch from coal to biomass would reduce CO2 emissions in the Polish pulp and paper industry with approximately 0.6Mton/year. A carbon price of 20–25€/ton would, according to our results, be enough to provoke this switch. Due to the high share of natural gas, the CO2 emission reduction potential of the Dutch paper industry (1.5Mton/year) is even larger than in Poland. Due to high biomass prices and relative low CO2 emission profile of natural gas, a carbon prices of more than 60€/ton CO2 would be needed to provoke a switch in The Netherlands. Provided with few alternatives, the most effective strategy in The Netherlands would be an increase in energy efficiency. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The practice of using climate metrics to estimate carbon dioxide equivalent emissions has long been subject to scientific discussion. One strand of this literature has analysed whether the choice of metric affects the relative cost-effectiveness of options for climate change abatement, but there has been little discussion on the effect of metric choices on cost-effective abatement of near-term climate forcers (NTCFs). These NTCFs are air pollutants primarily regulated by policies outside the climate policy arena and their estimated carbon dioxide equivalent emissions are not typically considered in the evaluation of cost-effective abatement. However, the attention to NTCFs as climate forcers has increased during the last decade. The objective of this paper is to identify whether the relative cost-effectiveness of different NTCF abatement options is robust to climate metric choices. We assess nine plausible NTCF abatement options available in Sweden (with negligible effect on long-lived GHG emissions) and evaluate the robustness of the ranking of these, according to their estimated cost-effectiveness. Different metric designs are considered as well as climate impact uncertainty of NTCFs, with corresponding uncertainty in metric values. The results indicate that the choice of metric has little effect on the ranking of the options according to their cost-effectiveness, with options affecting NOx indicated as an exception. This suggests that the choice of metric utilised when calculating cost-effectiveness of NTCF abatement options is likely to have minor effect on which NTCF abatement options should be targeted for policy interventions (if NOx emissions are not significantly affected). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is concern that the carbon prices generated through climate policies are too low to create the incentives necessary to stimulate technological development. This paper empirically analyzes how the Swedish carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) tax and the European Union emission trading system (EU ETS) have affected productivity development in the Swedish pulp and paper industry 1998−2008. A Luenberger total factor productivity (TFP) indicator is computed using data envelopment analysis. The results show that climate policy had a modest impact on technological development in the pulp and paper industry, and if significant it was negative. The price of fossil fuels, on the contrary, seems to have created important incentives for technological development. Hence, the results suggest that the carbon prices faced by the industry through EU ETS and the CO 2 tax have been too low. Even though the data for this study is specific for Sweden, the models and results are applicable internationally. When designing policy to mitigate CO 2 emissions, it is vital that the policy creates a carbon price that is high enough – otherwise the pressure on technological development will not be sufficiently strong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a city there are hotspots that attract citizens, and most of the transportation arises when citizens move between their residence and primary destinations (i.e. hotspots). However, an ex ante evaluation of energy-efficient mobility and urban residential planning has seldom been conducted. Therefore, this paper proposes an ex ante evaluation method to quantify the impacts, in terms of CO2emissions induced by intra-urban car mobility, of residential plans for various urban areas. The method is illustrated in a case study of a Swedish midsize city, which is presently preoccupied with urban planning of new residential areas in response to substantial population growth due to immigration. In general, CO2emissions increase from the continued urban core area (CUCA), to the sub-polycentric area (SPA), to the edge urbanization area (EUA), where CO2emission of EUA is twice that of the CUCA. The average travel distances also increase in the same pattern, though the relative increase is more than four times. Apartment buildings could be more effective in meeting residential needs and mitigating CO2emissions than dispersed single-family houses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The area of dedicated energy crops is expected to increase in Sweden. This will result in direct land use changes, which may affect the carbon stocks in soil and biomass, as well as yield levels and the use of inputs. Carbon dioxide ( CO2) fluxes of biomass are often not considered when calculating the climate impact in life cycle assessments ( LCA) assuming that the CO2 released at combustion has recently been captured by the biomass in question. With the extended time lag between capture and release of CO2 inherent in many perennial bioenergy systems, the relation between carbon neutrality and climate neutrality may be questioned. In this paper, previously published methodologies and models are combined in a methodological framework that can assist LCA practitioners in interpreting the time-dependent climate impact of a bioenergy system. The treatment of carbon differs from conventional LCA practice in that no distinction is made between fossil and biogenic carbon. A time-dependent indicator is used to enable a representation of the climate impact that is not dependent on the choice of a specific characterization time horizon or time of evaluation and that does not use characterization factors, such as global warming potential and global temperature potential. The indicator used to aid in the interpretation phase of this paper is global mean surface temperature change (Δ Ts( n)). A theoretical system producing willow for district heating was used to study land use change effects depending on previous land use and variations in the standing biomass carbon stocks. When replacing annual crops with willow this system presented a cooling contribution to Δ Ts( n). However, the first years after establishing the willow plantation it presented a warming contribution to Δ Ts( n). This behavior was due mainly to soil organic carbon ( SOC) variation. A rapid initial increase in standing biomass counteracted the initial SOC loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

District heating satisfies about 60% of the heat demand in Swedish buildings. Today, more than two thirds of the heat supply to the district heating systems is based on biomass and waste, and biomass alone accounts for about half of the heat supply. The purpose of this paper is to present the Swedish experiences of introducing and expanding the use of biomass in the district heating systems and to identify the main drivers behind this development. Our five research questions and the corresponding conclusions consider the driving forces from energy policy tools and local initiatives, the biomass prices, the established infrastructures in forestry and district heating, the technology paths for biomass conversion, and finally the future challenge of competing uses of biomass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biogas solutions offer many advantages to improve sustainable development, but there is still untapped potential in its environmental performance. During biogas upgrading, CO 2 is separated from the gas to deliver a flow with high methane concentration and thus high energy content. In this practice, CO 2 is commonly emitted to the atmosphere without contributing to a net addition of climate gases because of its biological origin, being a missed opportunity for carbon capture. In this paper, CO 2 valorization is an option that has been evaluated using a qualitative and quantitative approach, taking Sweden as an example. Results showed that around 140 kt of CO 2 can potentially be captured and utilized from biogas upgrading, which can significantly increase in future scenarios. If CO 2 were turned into methane using power-to-gas technology, an additional 35% of biogas could be produced in the short term, meaning up to additional 0.7 TWh in 2020. By 2050, around 600 to 1600 kt of CO 2 could be available, depending on how well the biogas production develops and how much of the biogas is upgraded, resulting in up to 6.2 TWh of biomethane. The qualitative assessment suggested that only minor modifications in the upgrading process are required for this practice. Biogas actors are interested in getting involved in valorization projects that enhance their circular business and avoid carbon lock-in mainly to improve the environmental performance of biomethane. Moreover, the application of CO 2 valorization requires collaboration with different actors to integrate current CO 2 demand or innovative transformation technologies. [Display omitted] • 140 kt of CO 2 could be obtained from biogas plants with an important rise in the future. • Future biomethane production could deliver from 600 to 1600 kt of CO 2 for valorization. • Higher CO 2 potential from biogas in the southern and central parts of Sweden. • In the short term, CO 2 methanation from biogas could provide 35% additional biogas. • Actors perceive CCU as an opportunity to enhance the circularity of biogas solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Established practice is available as a reference for evaluating sustainable transport and CO2 emissions at national, European and global levels, but comparing corresponding systems at the regional and local levels are more challenging. Therefore, this paper analyses the use of indicators, evaluation methods and data availability at local and regional levels for applied policies and measures in transport planning. Sweden is used as a case study. Available data show that total surveys (e.g., vehicle registry data), sample surveys (e.g., interviews) or modelling can be used to develop transport indicators, and that either generated (volume generated in the area) or performed (volume in the area) traffic and transportation is estimated. However, there are limitations with all methods and the design of evaluations needs careful consideration in order to reflect changes in local and regional transport systems and to relate those changes to specific measures and policies. In most cases, survey methods need to be used in order to follow up the most common indicators. All evaluation methods need to be complemented with analyses of a baseline to determine additionality and also potential rebound effects need to be considered, which requires the application of a wider systems perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: International travel is increasing rapidly, but emissions from this segment are not included in the Kyoto Protocol and seldom in national statistics. The aim of this paper is to estimate the volume of international travel by the Swedish population, and the emissions of greenhouse gas associated with that travel. Data used are from a national travel survey for 2006 including 27,000 telephone interviews. It is shown that international travel by the Swedish population amounted to 37billionpassenger-km, or 4100km per capita in 2006. This corresponds to 22.5% of total travel by Swedes, an increase from 16.6% in 1994. Emissions of greenhouse gases from international travel by the Swedish population in 2006 amounted to 8.5 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, of which 92% stems from air travel. This is approx. 11% of total Swedish emissions including international transport. It is concluded that a continued growth of international travel at current pace hardly may be reconciled with long-term climate targets. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Ethanol can be produced with little impact on the environment through the use of polygeneration technology. This paper evaluates the potential of integrating a lignocellulosic ethanol plant into a district heating system by case study; the plant has an ethanol capacity of 95MW with biogas, electricity and heat as by-products. Stockholm’s district heating system is used as the case study, but the results may be relevant also for other urban areas. The system has been studied using MODEST – an optimisation model framework. The results show that introducing the plant would lead to a significant reduction in the cost of heat production. The income from the biofuels and electricity produced would be about €76million and €130million annually, respectively, which is an increase of 70% compared to the income from the electricity produced in the system today. Assuming that the electricity produced will replace marginal electricity on the European electricity market and that the biofuel produced will replace gasoline in the transport sector, the introduction of the polygeneration plant in the district heating system would lead to a reduction of global CO2 emissions of about 0.7million tonnes annually. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper we investigate the impact of nitrate (NO3>> −) concentration and temperature on the production of carbon dioxide (CO2>>), methane (CH4>>) and nitrous oxide (N2O). We studied sediment collected during spring, summer and autumn from a constructed pond in South Sweden. Homogenised sediment samples were dark incubated in vitro under N2>> atmosphere at 13 °C and 20 °C after addition of five NO3>> − concentrations, between 0 and 16 mg NO3>> −–N per litre. We found higher net production of N2O and CO2>> at the higher temperature. Moreover, increased NO3>> − concentrations had strong positive impact on the N2O concentration, but no effect on CH4>> and CO2>> production. The lack of response in CO2>> is suggested to be due to the use of alternative oxidants as electron acceptors. Interaction between NO3>> − and temperature suggests a further increase of N2O net production when both NO3>> − and temperature are high. Our interpretation of the CH4>> data is that at high concentrations of NO3>> − temperature is of less importance for CH4>> production. We also found that at 13 °C CH4>> production was substrate limited and that the addition of acetate increased CH4>> as well as CO2>> production. There was a seasonal effect on gas production potential, with more CH4>> and N2O produced in spring than in summer. Re-calculation of the gas concentrations into global warming potential (GWP) units (i.e. CO2>>, CH4>>, and N2O transferred to CO2>> equivalents) shows that GWP increases with temperature. However, under environmental conditions generally occurring in South Swedish ponds, i.e. low temperature and high NO3>> − concentration during spring and high temperature and low NO3>> − concentration during summer, NO3>> − concentration is of minor importance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]