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• Multi-modal energy system planning approach to support political decision makers. • Energy sector coupling enables efficient transition pathway to achieve climate goals. • Main drivers: electrification of heat and mobility sectors and use of synthetic fuels. • High impact of the electricity exchange on the operation and costs of the system. In order to reach the goals of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, a stepwise reduction of energy related greenhouse gas emissions as well as an increase in the share of renewable energies is necessary. For a successful realization of these changes in energy supply, an integrated view of multiple energy sectors is necessary. The coupling of different energy sectors is seen as an option to achieve the climate goals in a cost-effective way. In this paper, a methodical approach for multi-modal energy system planning and technology impact evaluation is presented. A key feature of the model is a coupled consideration of the sectors electricity, heat, fuel and mobility. The modeling framework enables system planners to optimally plan future investments in a detailed transition pathway of the energy system of a country, considering politically defined climate goals. Based on these calculations, in-depth analyses of energy markets as well as electrical transmission and distribution grids can be performed using the presented optimization models. Energy demands, conversion and storage technologies in households, the Commerce, Trade and Services (CTS) area and the industry are modeled employing a bottom-up modeling approach. The results for the optimal planning of the German energy system until 2050 show that the combination of an increased share of renewable energies and the direct electrification of heat and mobility sectors together with the use of synthetic fuels are the main drivers to achieve the climate goals in a cost-efficient way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schematic illustration of the double-layer PDRC coating. [Display omitted] • The idea of introducing masking layer for double-layer PDRC coating is proposed. • PDRC coating achieves high solar reflectivity (94.0%) at a thin thickness. • The PDRC coating reduces the indoor temperature of container room by 5.0 °C. • The prepared PDRC coating can realize large-scale long-time outdoor applications. The realization of spontaneous sub-ambient cooling in daytime typically requires the solar reflectance and thermal emittance of passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) material to be > 90%. Toward real-world applications, however, to achieve high optical performance and excellent durability, PDRC coating is often cost-prohibitive due to its high thickness (500 μm or higher). To solve the contradiction between high optical performance and thin thickness of PDRC coating, the idea of introducing masking layer for PDRC coating is proposed in this paper to prepare the water-based double-layer PDRC coating and explore its long-term outdoor application potential. The PDRC coating can achieve high solar reflectance (94.0%) and "atmospheric transparent spectrum window" emittance (93.0%), while the thickness and cost are only 40% and 60% of existing water-based PDRC coating. The PDRC coating shows efficient cooling performance when applied as the external coating of large temporary buildings, with maximum temperature reduction of 20.8 °C and 5.0 °C on the roof/indoor, which are equal to or greater than recorded values. The 150-day large-scale outdoor application shows that the coating has excellent durability, which offers a reference for the long-term outdoor application of PDRC coating. The application of the PDRC coating on rooftops of containers can achieve a cooling energy savings of up to 15.3% compared to conventional steel roofs, translating to an annual energy savings of 413.2 MJ and a reduction of approximately 114 kg in carbon dioxide emissions, which provide compelling evidence for the ability of PDRC coating to mitigate carbon emissions and address global climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Developing countries face the dual challenges of industrialising and 'catching up' while mitigating CO 2 emissions. • Medium- and high-technology manufacturing is associated with lower emissions than low-technology manufacturing, with differences varying by the income levels of countries. • A shift to more technology-intensive manufacturing could be one aspect of environmentally sustainable industrialisation in developing countries. Industrialisation is an important engine of growth and 'catch up', but also associated with harmful carbon dioxide emissions and hence with climate change. This poses a challenge for sustainable industrial development, particularly for late industrialisers on how to industrialise while also mitigating carbon dioxide emissions. This paper investigates the effect of technology intensity across manufacturing industries on carbon dioxide emissions: are medium- and high-technology manufacturing industries less emissions-intensive than low-technology manufacturing industries in developing countries? The paper analyses this relationship for a panel of 68 developing and emerging economies over the period 1990–2016, by adapting the environmental Kuznets curve and the stochastic effect by regression on population, affluence and technology approaches. Using two alternative measures of emissions and estimating generalised method of moments model, the results show that medium- and high-technology manufacturing industries are associated with lower carbon dioxide emissions than low-technology manufacturing industries. The results also show that these differences vary by the income levels of countries. These findings have important policy implications, suggesting that a shift towards more technology-intensive manufacturing production processes may be a more environmentally sustainable industrialisation path for developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are currently at the crux of political, environmental, technological, and cultural discussions due to climate change. A drastic reduction of GHG emissions is needed in order to mitigate potentially catastrophic climate change impacts. Thus, thoroughly understanding emission sources is imperative. A disaggregated analysis of Canada’s future GHG emission projections has not yet been conducted. The objectives in this paper are to assess disaggregated GHG emissions in Canada for the years 2014, 2030, and 2050, and analyze the results through Sankey diagrams. Emissions are calculated using a bottom-up multi-regional accounting-based Long-range Energy Alternative Planning systems model. Each major economic sector in Canada is analyzed including the electricity generation, residential, commercial and institutional, industrial, transportation, and agriculture sectors. The emissions released in these sectors are traced to the resources and end-uses responsible. Results are presented for Canada and for provinces individually. GHG emissions contained in exported resources are evaluated. Results show that Canada’s business-as-usual GHG emissions will grow from 732 million tonnes in 2014 to 780 and 798 million tonnes in 2030 and 2050, respectively. Canada exports more emissions contained in resources than it emits. Per capita emissions intensity will fall by 14% between 2014 and 2050. Results are compared to climate targets and key areas of GHG mitigation potential are identified. Alberta’s oil and gas sector and Ontario’s transportation sector are the two single largest sectoral sources of emissions by 2050. This research can help policy makers, innovators, and the public better understand GHG emissions, which can lead to more effective GHG mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change mitigation requires the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The majority of the discussions on climate change policy focus exclusively on the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions but ignore other important GHGs such as methane. This paper investigates the optimal choice of policy instruments under the joint consideration of CO 2 and methane in a dynamic setting with asymmetric information and pollutant correlations. We develop a dynamic programming model with two state variables and calibrate it to the global warming case. The results show that it is optimal to levy tax on both CO 2 and methane. A mixed strategy that implements a tax on CO 2 and a quota on methane is the second-ranked choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenge posed by climate change. Besides the “flexibility mechanisms” defined by the Kyoto Protocol to lower the overall costs of achieving their emissions targets, The Voluntary Green House Gases (GHG) reduction projects can have a lead role in GHG reduction in “non Emissions Trading System ETS sectors”. Nowadays, the voluntary market is characterised by critical aspects, such as fragmentation, lack of accounting, monitoring and validation rules that have led to the low spread of voluntary emission reduction projects developed by local authorities in the European Union despite their high potentiality. The aim of this paper is to test the applicability of voluntary emission reduction projects in the public sector following a homogeneous and consistent pattern. A research has been performed at local level on 143 voluntary emission reduction projects implemented by Public Administrations in Northern and Central Italy in renewable energy, energy efficiency and transport sectors. The applicable standards and methodologies have been checked and the case studies have been analysed though a three-step process: Preliminary additionality assessment; Projects selection; Validation of the selected project. The assessment shows that energy efficiency projects, once overcoming additionality issues, are the most promising for public entities while renewable energy and transport projects resulted to be mainly affected by double counting problems and lack of reliable methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Our strong dependence on fossil fuels results from the intensive use and consumption of petroleum derivatives which, combined with diminishing oil resources, causes environmental and political concerns. The utilization of agricultural residues as raw materials in a biorefinery is a promising alternative to fossil resources for production of energy carriers and chemicals, thus mitigating climate change and enhancing energy security. This paper focuses on a biorefinery concept which produces bioethanol, bioenergy and biochemicals from two types of agricultural residues, corn stover and wheat straw. These biorefinery systems are investigated using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach, which takes into account all the input and output flows occurring along the production chain. This approach can be applied to almost all the other patterns that convert lignocellulosic residues into bioenergy and biochemicals. The analysis elaborates on land use change aspects, i.e. the effects of crop residue removal (like decrease in grain yields, change in soil N2O emissions and decrease of soil organic carbon). The biorefinery systems are compared with the respective fossil reference systems producing the same amount of products/services from fossils instead of biomass. Since climate change mitigation and energy security are the two most important driving forces for biorefinery development, the assessment focuses on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and cumulative primary energy demand, but other environmental categories are evaluated as well. Results show that the use of crop residues in a biorefinery saves GHG emissions and reduces fossil energy demand. For instance, GHG emissions are reduced by about 50% and more than 80% of non-renewable energy is saved. Land use change effects have a strong influence in the final GHG balance (about 50%), and their uncertainty is discussed in a sensitivity analysis. Concerning the investigation of the other impact categories, biorefinery systems have higher eutrophication potential than fossil reference systems. Based on these results, a residues-based biorefinery concept is able to solve two problems at the same time, namely find a use for the abundant lignocellulosic residues and ensure a mitigation effect for most of the environmental concerns related to the utilization of non-renewable energy resources. Therefore, when agricultural residues are used as feedstocks, best management practices and harvest rates need to be carefully established. In fact, rotation, tillage, fertilization management, soil properties and climate can play an important role in the determination of the amount of crop residue that can be removed minimizing soil carbon losses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]