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Abstract To deal with climate change, clean energy is a necessity in the present world. Energy requirement is growing faster each decade. Over the long term some of the traditional sources (coal, gas and oil) have become inadequate to meet up the increasing demand. The current consumption rate of fossil fuel will make them extinct by the year 2050 to 2100. Based on these facts nuclear power plant is a strategic choice to develop a clean energy. This paper is an outcome of the review - Nuclear power as foundation of a clean energy future. Though nuclear energy can't be called as 'Carbon neutral' but it gives rise to much less emission of carbon dioxide than fossil fuels. Comparing with other energy structures, nuclear electricity chain emits a limited amount of greenhouse gas. Despite the uncertainty of building nuclear power plants in the future, this paper will further discuss climate changing issues have larger impact than the policies which are against the nuclear electricity production. The safety issue which is a public concern is also discussed here in short. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The analysis proposed in this study concerns literature reviews among the ways in which insurance companies cope with climate change, natural disasters and climate risk management. The paper aims to explore the several adaptation measures against climate change adopted by insurance companies for the development of models able developing an acceptable risk forecast. The importance of the paper is substantiated in a structural analytical study of the most important literature on the adaptation of insurance companies to climate change, highlighting the methodologies and specific cases. The conclusions of the paper highlight the natural relevance and relationship between insurance companies, the mandatory interface that year after year the insurance companies have to face and especially the numerous tools that have been developed by the latter in the insurance and reinsurance field for the natural hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The allowance mechanism is one of the core and sensitive aspectsindesign of a carbon trading scheme andaffects the compliance cost for each company covered under the scheme. By examiningChina's allowance mechanismfromtwo aspectsincluding allowance allocation and allowance distribution, this paper comparesChina's carbon trading pilots with the EU Emissions Trading System and CaliforniaCap-and-Trade Program, and through the comparison identify issues that affectthe efficiency of the pilots. The paper also recommends course of actions to strengthen China's existing pilots and buildvaluable experiences for the establishment of the national cap-and-trade system in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To complement the existing method of wind energy assessment, this study presents wind energy projection by downscaling a regional climate model, RegCM3, which is also used in predicting rainfall and temperature changes, and using a conversion method using the Weibull distribution. A couple of papers which used long-term predicting models focused on two regions, China and the US High Plains, show a decrease of about 14% and 7%-17% respectively in wind power density due to global warming over the next century. This paper focuses on a smaller grid size of 10km x 10km to concentrate on a specific wind farm in Pililla, Rizal, Philippines which is considered as a commercially feasible site by wind developers. Wind energy projection that considers the effects of climate change for the expected period of operation of 25 years is used because this gives wind developers an outlook on the power production during the wind farm's lifetime and would contribute in determining the wind farm's potential for financial returns. Percentage difference of wind power density between the baseline period of 2008-2012 and five-year projection periods from 2013-2037 are presented. Contrary to the results of studies in China and western US, the results of this research show that there is an average five-year period increase of 6% in wind power density in Pililla, Rizal over the next 25 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to investigate the possibility of integration of Electric Vehicles EVs supply's with electricity and/or hydrogen in the road transport sector and estimate the energy supply derived from solar irradiation by using solar roads technology. The case study is road Est-Oust (road E-O) of Algeria. A Geographic Information System and spatial analysis tools are combined with spatial data and technical models to carry out these calculations. The results of this study demonstrate that solar road panels, which are integrated into the road E-O, produce over to 804 GWh/year which equivalents to 13778 tons of hydrogen per year.by using FCEVs will saving over then 41.103 liter of fossil fuels (regular gasoline); and reduce GHG emission (CO 2) in the transportation sector by 216 tons per year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Reducing food waste and increasing resource efficiency have become worldwide targets as highlighted by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12 – Responsible consumption and production. Food packaging, in particular plastics-based, is a key component of food-related waste: packaging increases the amount of total waste, but also reduces potential food waste by protecting food products and prolonging their shelf life. Therefore, it is important that packaging is designed as to satisfy both technical and environmental criteria. Hence, this paper seeks to develop a decision-support framework and key metrics to aid development and selection of new innovative food packaging within a circular economy context. A set of indicators is proposed, integrating techno-environmental and circular economy criteria to help designers as well as food and packaging manufacturers develop more sustainable products. The methodology is illustrated through a prototype new plastic packaging developed as part of this project, considering its use for two types of product – raspberries and meat – as illustrative examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Continuing to lead the way in the fight against climate change and protecting the environment, Egypt moved little steps towards building regulations for all new construction in the country hopefully to achieve major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, and water use. This paper is an analytical study of unified building regulation and standard buildings cods in Egypt in order to figure out how much they comply with green architecture. The paper also investigates the opportunities and challenges in Egyptian building culture which will affect its movement towards green principles. The paper is concluded with some recommendations to peter involve some green principles within unified building law in Egypt. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Carbon tax as a GHG-emission-reducing measure is strongly recommended by scholars and international organizations. But many countries are concerned about the potential negative impact of carbon tax on their international competitiveness of energy intensive industries. This paper analyzes this issue empirically. Based on the basic gravity model used by Harris, Kónya, and Mátyás (2002) and the World Bank report (2008), this paper improved the model by introducing a set of carbon tax p olicy variables to measure the impact of carbon tax on international competitiveness of energy-intensive industries using data of 21 OECD countries and 9 sample energyintensive industries. The result shows that carbon tax has a statistically negative impact on the international competitiveness of energy-intensive industries. This is particularly true when the focus is on the non-resource based industries, which is possibly because different levels of subsidies and exemptions are granted for different industries affected by the carbon tax. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: With the increasing concern about climate change, the public, industry and government are showing increased interest towards reduction of CO2 emissions. Geological storage of CO2 is perceived to be one of the most promising methods that could allow significant reduction in CO2 emissions over the short and medium term. One major concern against geological storage of CO2 is the possibility of its leakage. Carbon dioxide under the pressure and temperature conditions encountered in typical deep aquifers remains more buoyant than water. One process that could lead to permanent trapping of CO2 is one that includes geochemical reactions leading to the formation of solid minerals. However, the time-scale of such reactions is perceived to be centuries to millennia. In contrast, the kinetics of CO2-hydrate formation–that leads to trapping of CO2 in the solid form–is quite fast, providing the opportunity for secure storage of CO2. In this paper and its companion, two different geological settings that are suitable for formation of CO2 hydrate are investigated. In this paper storage of CO2 beneath the ocean floor is studied, while storage in depleted gas reservoirs is studied in the companion paper. It has been suggested that CO2 may be accumulated in the depressions on the ocean floor, where pressure and temperature conditions are such that either liquid CO2 would accumulate or CO2 hydrates would form. However, there have been significant concerns about the accompanying change in pH and its adverse effect on the ocean ecosystem. In this paper, permanent trapping of CO2 at a depth of a few hundred meters beneath the ocean floor, where the CO2 is thought to be of little or no harm to the ocean ecosystem, is studied. Based on density calculations, Schrag and his co-workers have shown that for oceans that are deeper than approximately, CO2 density at the ocean floor is more than the surrounding water. With increased depth below the ocean floor and as a result of increased temperature, the density of CO2 reduces faster than that of water such that at some depth below the ocean floor, CO2 will be lighter than the surrounding water. Injection of CO2 at such depths or deeper intervals will lead to rise of the CO2 until it arrives at a depth where its density becomes heavier than water. The zone above this depth, where CO2 becomes heavier than water is called the negative buoyancy zone. Beneath the negative buoyancy zone, the CO2 is naturally trapped by a gravity barrier. Furthermore, as CO2 is rising towards this depth, it could pass through conditions where CO2 hydrates form. Formation of CO2 hydrate will further reduce formation permeability and introduce a second barrier against CO2 rise, even before it arrives at the boundary of the negative buoyancy zone. Under dynamic conditions of injection and hydrate formation, the initial state of pressure and temperature is perturbed, affecting the negative buoyancy zone. Simulation studies are presented to investigate (i) the changes in pressure as a result of injection that could push CO2 upwards into the negative buoyancy zone, and (ii) the increase in temperature as a result of formation of hydrates. Through a case study, we report numerical simulation studies that indicate that injection of CO2 at a depth of approximately 800 m below the ocean floor leads to the rise of CO2 until a depth of approximately 360 m below the ocean floor, where hydrates will form reducing the formation permeability. Any CO2 that might migrate further upwards could do so for another 135 m before it arrives at the negative buoyancy zone. These simulation studies suggest that total CO2 emissions of large power plants may be stored at such a site. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: According to the forecast of the International Energy Agency (IEA), CCS has the potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and could contribute to 19% of global carbon dioxide mitigation by 2050. Korean government recently announced that Korea has set its voluntary 2020 emissions reduction target to a 30% reduction from its forecast under a ”business as usual” scenario, which is equivalent to 4% less than the 594 million tons of carbon that was emitted in 2005. CCS is included to achieve this target. This paper first explains the CO2 storage potential both in onshore and offshore areas in Korea. While onshore sedimentary basins seem to have unfavorable physical properties such as porosity and permeability, offshore sedimentary basins exhibit very good physical properties in sand thickness and porosity. In order to implement CCS project at the scale needed to achieve a meaningful reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, the knowledge of the available CO2 storage capacity obtained by detailed matching of large stationary CO2 sources with geological storage sites is required. Most CCS programs in Korea, however, are not integrated with capture and storage projects. This paper considers the feasibility of CO2 capture and storage in Korea and shows several conceptual business models for CCS projects with the recent E&P activities in the continental shelf. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The IEA CCS Roadmap highlighted the significance that CCS will need to play in achieving an atmospheric CO2 concentration stabilization of 450 ppm. In the scenario it is based on, CCS will provide approximately 20% of the total CO2 emissions reductions out to 2050. Achieving this contribution of emissions reductions will require an ambitious CCS growth-path, with 100 projects needed globally by 2020 and over 3000 by 2050. In both 2020 and 2050 the major developing countries, including South Africa will need to contribute to CCS deployment. South Africa has a heavily coal-dependent economy with 94 % of electricity production coming from coal. In addition to this, South Africa also meets approximately 30% of its domestic fuel -oil demand through the conversion o f coal and gas to transportation fuels. The combination of these two factors means that South Africa is as dependant on coal as any country in the world, placing the country as the 13th largest CO2 emitter in the world. Currently South Africa is experiencing electricity shortages where the reserve margin is below desired levels on a daily basis. Consequently, deployment of electricity generation capacity is seen as a priority. With the slow development of renewable energy and the deployment of nuclear energy currently under review, the required short term increase in electricity production is likely to come from new, coal plant that will be expected to be in operation for 50–60 years, thus continuing the country’s dependence on coal for some time to come. At the climate change negotiations in Copenhagen, South Africa announced that it would take nationally appropriate mitigation actions to enable a reduction in national GHG emissions equating to a deviation of 34% below the “Business as Usual” emissions growth trajectory by 2020 and a 42% deviation below the below “Business as Usual” emissions growth trajectory by 2025, pended upon the provision of sufficient funding and technology support. Given all these factors, CCS could be a crucial technology for South Africa in the near future. This paper looks to discuss the current status of CCS in South Africa. This includes looking at the key outcomes of the recently released South African CCS Research and Development Roadmap and the milestones it outlines, such as the development of a geological storage atlas by 2010, a CO2 test injection by 2016, and a demonstration project operating by 2020. It also looks at how the South African government is positioned toward CCS, including how CCS fits with the countries priorities of poverty alleviation, economic growth, sustainable development, job creation and ensuring the most efficient use of domestic resources. In addition the paper looks at the manner in which the South African government could go about regulating the operation of CCS projects. The paper will discuss the options available to South Africa to fund CCS demonstration and deployment domestically including via the clean development mechanism (in the event that the question of using this mechanism in the CCS context is dealt with at the international level), development banks and other, appropriate, development finance institutions. Public awareness and engagement on CCS will also be covered, given the crucial role the public play in the smooth progress of projects. Finally the paper will look at international collaboration on CCS including the role South Africa can play internationally and what more the international CCS community can offer. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the UK, the Committee of Climate Change (CCC) concluded that in order to meet the 80% emission reduction target set for 2050, the power sector would need to be largely decarbonised by 2030. As the emission reduction required by 2030 is substantial, it is likely to require contributions from renewable, nuclear and CCS. By 2030, any plant running for extended periods will probably have to be able to achieve annual average emissions levels of 100 gCO2/kWh or below vs. the present level of 560 gCO2/kWh. In this context, the new regulations by Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) for making power plants CO2 capture ready apply to all combustion plants at or above 300 MW output in the UK. As emissions levels for new built CCGT plants without carbon capture are today around 350 kgCO2/MWh, it is expected that they will not be able to operate without CCS beyond 2030. In order to avoid the deployment of ‘unabated’ gas-fired plants, requirements to fit CCS not only to coal but to gas-fired plants need to be adopted to prevent any inconsistency. Once built, it would be very costly or even infeasible to retrofit the new facilities with CCS, thus “locking-in” many years of CO2 emissions. Currently in the UK there are no new unabated coal plants under construction, whilst around 4.7 GW of new gas plants are expected to come online over the next few years. As in the UK there are a significant number of CCGT power stations recently permitted or waiting to be granted consent they have been required to be CCR so that CCS can be retrofitted once it is commercially viable. It is therefore of a paramount importance to understand what are the feasible options/issues when CO2 capture is applied to the CCGT units. This paper is focusing on capture consideration based on post-combustion technology, the most mature option today. When a CCGT plant is designed to be ready for retrofit one of the most important technical consideration is the steam extraction pressure and flow to provide the energy necessary for solvent regeneration as this will have a large impact on the overall plant efficiency. Available options for steam and electricity supply to meet the requirements of the CCS process have been assessed, focusing on two scenarios–integration scenario where the steam is supplied from the main plant and separate generation scenario where steam is supplied from auxiliary boilers with electricity supplied from the grid connection. The findings of this paper are relevant to project developers, power generators and policymakers internationally who have an interest in the potential for CCS to provide an emissions abatement option for the new CCGT assets in the long term. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Portland cement can play a major role in providing cost-effective, long-term zonal isolation for CO2 capture and storage (CCS) used to mitigate climate change. However, achieving zonal isolation with Portland cement under supercritical CO2 environment for the required 1,000 year trapping period may be challenging. Some laboratory researchers report that Portland cement disintegrates when exposed to CO2, leading to potential leakage into the atmosphere or other to underground zones. Other researchers cite Portland cement samples from 30–50 year old CO2 EOR wells where sealing integrity was maintained, even though carbonation was found. In this paper we will discuss reasons likely for this disparity between research lab test results and actual well performance data. Carbonation of Portland cement is a thermodynamically favorable process and therefore difficult to avoid. But the effects can be minimized by various reactive chemical components optimized for the specific thermodynamic conditions. Our research shows partial carbonation of Portland cement is not detrimental unless the mechanical integrity is insufficient to provide effective zonal isolation. For these studies we have developed CO2 treatment test cells capable of producing conditions up to 200 °F and 2,000 psi. In addition, various analytical instruments including x-ray diffraction (XRD), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and mechanical properties measurement devices have been used for this study. In this paper we will discuss the importance of understanding the percentage of carbonation and depth of CO2 penetration, and how to control these factors by optimizing the cement blend. Interestingly, we found the amount of Portlandite { Ca(OH)2} that forms due to cement hydration and the cement-to-water ratio dictates the depth of penetration as well as percentage carbonation. The implications of this in relation to the long term chemical integrity of the cement sheath under downhole CCS conditions is discussed. This paper also includes the results of recent studies on the changes in mechanical properties of a properly optimized Portland cement blend for a period of up to one year. During this period, measurements were made at different time intervals to examine cement specimen treated with CO2 at 200 °F and 2,000 psi in the presence of water. The results show carbonation without any sign of loss of mechanical or sealing integrity that could lead to zonal isolation failure. Results from a separate set of experiments show the following: (1) Carbonation could be minimized by reducing the Portland cement content by adding Pozzolanic materials and by reducing the permeability and (2) Carbonation could help heal micro-cracks that may be caused by various well operations or ageing. However, such carbonation-induced healing is limited only to a certain width of cracks. In summary of this research, it is recommend that: (1) a high quality primary cement job be performed in adherence to all industry best practices; (2) the cement blend be properly optimized to minimize long-term CO2 corrosion; and (3) the sheath be designed for long-term mechanical integrity. This paper will discuss a comprehensive approach that may be taken to help ensure longer-term effective zonal isolation in new CO2 wells and remedial solutions for old wells and for plugging and abandoning wells. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Climate Change is known to have a great impact on the energy consumption in buildings. This paper studied the cooling load of a residential building in Jinan, China, in 2020, 2050, 2080 by considering the impacts of climate change on the influential parameters for cooling loads. The Hadley Centre Coupled Model 3(HadCM3) was employed to investigate the impact of climate change on the outdoor temperature, solar radiation and wind speed. In addition, this study also differentiated the cooling loads according to occupants’ age, since the energy usage patterns and the requirements on cooling loads are closely related to occupants’ age. The results suggest that climate change will create significant impacts on the cooling loads in residential buildings. Regarding occupants’ age, the impact on the occupants under 55-year-old is larger than the people older than 55. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering climate change and assessing its impacts is challenging due to dealing with large data sets and uncertainties. This paper discusses an approach for the impact assessment of climate change based on synthesizing weather data sets out of several climate scenarios, in a way to generalize the assessment despite of the existence of climate uncertainties. The is based on creating one-year weather data, representing typical, extreme-warm and -cold conditions for 30-year periods, which results in decreasing the length of simulations enormously. The usefulness and accuracy of the results are discussed for energy and moisture simulations in buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumption of meat is an important source of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and deep decarbonisation of the whole meat production chain is required to be able to meet global climate change (CC) mitigation goals. Emissions happen in different stages of meat production ranging from agricultural input production, feed production, livestock production to slaughtering, meat processing, and retail. An overview of direct emissions from processes in the meat sector themselves and indirect emissions from energy consumptions would provide a clearer picture for potential CC impact reduction. This paper explores the total GHG emissions and data availability within the meat sector of the pig, chicken, and cattle meat product system. Through statistical data provided by FAOSTAT and supplementary data from literature, the CC impacts of energy use and process GHG emissions in the pig, chicken and cattle meat life cycle are estimated. Cattle dominates, but pig and chicken meat have a sizable amount of GHG emissions with a relatively high contribution from agricultural inputs and post-farm processes. However, uncertainty and unavailability of data are large for the energy consumption, direct GHG emissions, and product flows of post-farm and agricultural input processes. In order to gain a more complete understanding of the total CC impacts of the meat sector, further research is necessary to reduce the uncertainty in the considered life cycle stages and to quantify the processes and meat products that have been excluded from this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate changes induce warmer climate with stronger and more frequent extreme events. Due to the uncertain nature of climate, accurate simulation of future conditions is impossible and a major challenge is the selection of climate data in the impact assessment. This work compares application of three climate data sets in an energy simulation of the EPFL campus: i) Regional Climate Models (RCM data), ii) statically representative RCM data, and iii) morphed data. The energy behavior of the campus is analyzed, including its future thermal behavior, as well as its dynamic hourly variation due to the climatic data. The objective of this paper is to understand and quantify the energy transition, from 2010 to 2100, by focusing on the thermal behavior of buildings, as well as their energy demand for heating and cooling. Results explain the difference between three cases, underling the important impact related to a sound selection of the weather data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

District heating networks are commonly addressed in die literature as one of the most effective solutions for decreasing die greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector. These systems require high investments which are returned through the heat sales Due to die changed climate conditions and building renovation policies, heat demand in me future could decrease, prolonging the investment return period. The main scope of this paper is to assess the feasibility of using the hear demand - outdoor temperature function for hear demand forecast. The district of Alvalade. located in Lisbon (Portugal), was used as a case study The district is consisted of 665 buildings that van* in both construction period and typology Three weather scenarios (low. medium, high) and three district renovation scenarios were developed (shallow, intermediate, deep) To estimate the error, obtained heat demand values were compared with results from a dynamic hear demand model, previously developed and validated by the authors. The results showed that when only weather change b considered, the margin of error could be acceptable for some applications (the error in annual demand was lower than 20% for all weather scenarios considered) However, after introducing renovation scenarios, the error value increased up to 59 5% (depending on the weather and renovarion scenarios combination considered). The value of slope coefficient increased on average within the range of 3 8% up to S% per decade, that corresponds to die decrease in the number of hearing hours of -MS9h during the hearing season (depending on the combination of weather and renovation scenarios considered) On the other hand, function intercept increased for 7.8-11.?% per decade (depending on the coupled scenarios) The values suggested could be used to modify the function parameters for the scenarios considered, and improve the accuracy of heat demand estimations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the early 2000's, there has been growing recognition of the important role that CCS can play as part of a least-cost, global solution to climate change. Modelling by the International Energy Agency (IEA) has consistently highlighted a significant role for CCS in achieving a 2 o C target, and recognition of the role of CCS has also increasingly been a feature of reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). However, this growing appreciation of the value of CCS has not been accompanied by commensurate growth in political and policy support for the technology. In fact, support for CCS has been inconsistent and at times tumultuous, and has been closely intertwined with progress in global climate negotiations and wider economic conditions. CCS will not advance without significant public investment and the required support policies will not be put in place without political support – hence the politics of CCS play a major role in this respect. This paper looks at the politics of deploying large-scale CCS projects, including the drivers for CCS support, the opposing political forces and the practical challenges of deploying CCS. It will examine what factors could help to de-politicise CCS, and consider whether the Paris Agreement could provide a turning point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy use strongly contributes to CO 2 emissions. Since low-carbon technologies help reducing those emissions, attention should be addressed to technological knowledge. Therefore, this paper develops a dynamic general equilibrium growth model with endogenous skill-biased technological change to study the contributions of environmental policies in producing more ecological goods. By solving the transitional dynamics, it is shown that when green firms and green research are supported by policy and/or dirty activities are taxed, technological progress leads to more ecological goods production and environmental quality improvements. Furthermore, a positive change in green environmental quality fosters R&D on ecological goods, increasing their production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Out of the numerous challenges facing mankind globally, the impact of climate change poses more threat. These impacts include sea-level rise, more frequent floods from heavy rainfall and notably among others, intense droughts. Despite the United Nations anchored events and conferences geared towards tackling climate change, little success has been recorded till date. Biomimicry, a novel science and method that studies nature's models and then emulates their forms, processes, and strategies offer a sustainable approach to this menace of climate change. It also has the potential to offer efficient alternatives to the human activities that contribute to the depletion and pollution of the environment. Hence, the objective of this paper is to evaluate and present the potential of biomimicry in for climate change mitigation in the built environment. An extant literature review was conducted on biomimicry and its roles in tackling climate change through mitigation and adaptation. The result explores various Biomimetic innovations and applications with their potential to sustainably mitigate the menace of climate change if adopted. This study is expected to refocus human efforts towards biomimicry where it is believed that nature, during its 3.8 billion years of existence has evolved with highly efficient processes and systems, with the potential to produce solutions to the environmental challenges facing mankind, especially climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To cope with global climate change, the international community has reached a consensus that the dependence on fossil fuels should be irreversibly shifted and the transition to a high renewable energy penetration future is definitely feasible to realize the 2 degrees target by the end of this century. Key advantages of renewable energy, compared to fossil fuels, are free of carbon emissions and direct environmental pollution, thus can help further decarbonize the power sector. However, due to the intrinsic nature, renewables are more likely to present significant intermittency issue to power generation system operators than conventional resources. Among potential solutions, electricity storage is relatively attractive. Based on the linear optimization bottom-up technology China-MAPLE model, this paper conducts an in-depth assessment of electricity storage in achieving a high penetration future in China, by describing the volatility of electricity supply and demand as well as the intermittency characteristics of renewable energy at more detailed time-slices level other than the common annual level. Results show that electricity energy technologies can help stabilize the fluctuation of renewable power generation, and balance the supply and demand of electricity in each period. In order to support the rapid growth of renewable energy, the installed capacity of electricity storage should be 88GW in 2030, and gradually increases to 123GW in 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deployment of low carbon electricity generation technology is driven by the twin objectives of addressing energy security and climate change. Despite the significant reduction in the cost of renewable technology, especially solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind, fossil fueled electricity generation technology remains more cost competitive especially under the low gas price. In the context of Singapore, there are two layers of cost disparity between the fossil and low carbon technologies to be addressed, namely overnight capital cost and electricity generation cost. In this study, we attempt to alleviate the gaps in the overnight capital cost and electricity generation cost by means of financial assistance from policy measures. This paper presents our preliminary findings from this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is one of the major challenges facing with the human health and the environment. According to the Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC, cities are key players in tackling climate change being responsible for a significant percentage of the level of energy-related CO2 emissions. From this viewpoint, it is desirable that cities are planned through energy models able to achieve the efficiency in the use of sources and able to minimize GHG emissions. Hence, considering the modern cities as complex systems, the high variability of the energy demand is taken into account evaluating the dynamic evolution of the energy flows. Thus, this paper presents the development, evaluation and application of a flexible mathematical procedure able to characterize the energy profile of an urban area and its dynamic evolution through the implementation of the network theory. The obtained results allow proper scenario analysis for the definition of energy planning strategies focused on the promotion and installation of cogeneration systems and in favor of renewable sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) climate change will result in an increase of air temperature and rainfall intensities for the Netherlands in winter in future. In this paper we investigate the effect of the risk of frost damage to masonry. The risk of frost damage to an external building envelope might become less due to the increase in air temperature. However, the risk of frost damage might rise as a construction may be wet for a longer time due to the increase in rainfall intensities. Research has been done on the following topics: (1) which material is sensitive to frost, (2) the conditions under which the material damage occurs, (3) the outside climate conditions (frost damage winters) and (4) the possibility to predicted frost damage with a multi-physical model. Simulations with a hygro thermal model of external building envelopes with the frost- sensitive material calcium silicate brick were able to reproduce so-called frost damage winters in the Netherlands. Using this model to predict future frost behavior indicate a significant reduction of the risk of frost damage in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the performance of retrofitted buildings for future climatic conditions can be a challenging task since different scenarios and uncertainties exist both for retrofitting of buildings and for future climate. This paper evaluates the energy performance of four retrofitting measures – applied to the building envelope – of the residential building stock in Gothenburg, Sweden. The energy efficiency of the measures is evaluated both on long and short terms, while their robustness against climate uncertainties and extreme climatic conditions is studied. The assessment is carried out using a statistical method, which has been developed specifically for this kind of analysis. The considered measures are ranked by looking into their average performance and their variations during different time scales, i.e. from one hour to 20 years. The analysis helps to identify the retrofitting measures with the most efficient and the most reliable performance for future climatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventionally, building energy performance is evaluated through energy simulations using a single input weather file referring to present weather conditions. However, the analysis shown in this study demonstrates the high sensitivity of calculated energy consumption to weather files chosen for simulation. Thus, we propose that multiple present and future weather files must be incorporated as random instances of an unknown population, i.e. the climate. This paper describes a methodology to assess the robustness of different energy efficient refurbishments over possible climate projections, by taking into account uncertainties in weather files. The innovation consists in the discussion of energy outcomes in terms of ranges instead of single values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase of the urban population and the climate change are issues that scientists and stakeholders are facing nowadays; in this optic a sustainable design should address buildings, and all the physical phenomena that interact with them, from the urban to the district scale. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) located in Switzerland is now facing this problematic, and its sustainable strategy “Energy Concept 2015-2045” aims to reduce the energy demand per person by 30%, and the CO2 emissions by 50% in 2035. The university campus is growing -the energy reference area has increased by 25% from 2001, and is expected to continue in the next years- and the actual district heating system (two heat pumps with a combined heat and power facility installed in the early 70s) is facing peak power limitations nowadays. Looking for an answer for this issue, a new concept called Energy Hub is sought for the campus: an intelligent unit able to stock and redistribute energy with different carriers. This paper presents the pre-requisite for a potential energy hub on the site of the EPFL campus in Lausanne: the validation of a dynamic heating energy demand model (correlation factor R 2 =0.89 compared to monitoring) and a BiPV power plant model for the solar electricity produced on the EPFL buildings roofs (correlation factor R 2 =0.93 compared to monitoring). Finally, two hypothetical refurbishment of the site, according to the Swiss Minergie and Minergie-P labels, are proposed; they reduce the heating demand of buildings by 38% and 44% respectively. Refurbishments are analysed using actual weather data (average data from the last ten years), as well as future scenarios for 2050, showing the impact of climate change on the building thermal behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper is concerned with the potential of empirically-based methods to capture the microclimate variance across a city and its implications for the performance of buildings. We explore the possibility to explain microclimatic variance across an urban area based on geometric and semantic attributes of specific locations. We use high-resolution and dynamic weather data streams across numerous urban locations in the city of Vienna, Austria. Using advanced data extraction methods, the values of a number of urban attributes that are hypothesized to contribute to the urban microclimate variance (e.g. morphological factors, semantic properties of urban surfaces) are derived for these locations. The results point to the likelihood that correlations between location-based climatic conditions and distinct urban attributes exist and could be potentially harnessed to formulate empirically- based algorithms for generating customized microclimatic boundary conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to place discussions about CO 2 utilisation onto a more secure foundation from the perspective of climate change mitigation. A conceptual framework is proposed that comprises three criteria for evaluating CO 2 utilisation options from the viewpoint of emission reduction potential. This framework places life cycle analysis at its forefront. Examples of emissions benefits for thermodynamic minimum energy inputs and possible real-world conditions are used to show that not all CO 2 utilisation is equally beneficial from a climate perspective. Most current and potential uses of CO 2 do not appear to yet satisfy the three main criteria of emission reduction benefits, revenue to cover CO 2 feedstock costs and meaningful scale. The notable exceptions are certain (geographically limited) approaches to enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR). Due to the energy required to convert CO 2 to useful products it appears highly likely that reducing CO 2 emissions through CO 2 utilisation will only be possible if the electricity (and, in some cases, the thermal energy) inputs are from renewable sources. This raises questions about the most appropriate use of renewable resources, especially if they are to be employed for the purpose of partially mitigating emissions from large stationary fossil fuel combustion plants. It also raises questions about how to match the potential revenue from and scale of CO 2 utilisation based on variable renewable resources with investments in CO 2 capture at meaningful scales. CO 2 utilisation options that can proceed without a CO 2 capture and purification step or can be located in regions where CCS is an ongoing commercial business may offer good opportunities for further development if they can scale to multi-million tonne per year activities. Climate policies that aim to support revenues for CO 2 utilisation activities will need to carefully consider how the fossil fuel value chain allocates liability for environmental damages associated with life cycle emissions; these are likely to be greater than zero but not accurately predictable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several of the world's most carbon-intensive industries have no current alternatives to CCS for deep emissions reduction because much of the CO2 is unavoidably generated by their production processes, not only from fuel use. As a consequence, many models of global decarbonisation foresee a potentially critical role for CCS. The importance of CCS in industrial applications is not matched by existing policy attention and in some key sectors technological progress is slow. CCS suffers from several market failures that confront other low-carbon technologies. In contrast to the power sector, the trade-exposure of the manufacturing and hydrocarbon sectors that would need to deploy CCS exacerbates these market failures and poses significant challenges for policy that creates the foundations for long-term climate change mitigation. Smart policy design will be able to facilitate a transition to a situation in which CCS is actually used to decrease costs, specifically those associated with greenhouse gas abatement. In a world that seriously confronts the climate challenge the first firms that install CCS will reap the benefits of reducing their marginal production costs and in the long run consumers will benefit from lower prices. In addition, producers and users of fossil fuels in sectors where marginal abatement costs could be very high, such as transport, will benefit from some relief from emissions costs as CCS in industrial applications creates headroom within a declining carbon budget. This paper attempts to address two specific questions that policy makers will need to tackle in order to design such policies: how could technology development be accelerated to ensure its availability for deployment in the 2020s?; how might incentive policies be designed to support commercial CCS investments in trade-exposed sectors?. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have evaluated the climate change implications of burning all of the world's proven reserves of carbon. To stay below the ambitious target of two degrees Celsius of warming above average pre-industrial temperatures, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that we would need to emit no more than 884 GtCO 2 globally between 2012 and 2050, equivalent to burning approximately one third of current global carbon reserves. This would require leaving large amounts of coal, oil and natural gas in the ground. These unutilized fossil reserves have been referred to as “stranded”. In this paper, we analyze CCS not as a cost, but as a potential enabler of utilizing otherwise stranded fossil fuels. We examine case studies at Boundary Dam and Gorgon, introduce a “CO 2 Normalized Price” as a useful metric for bottom-up assessments, and evaluate top-down model results to help value CCS as a way to rescue stranded fossil fuel assets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kyoto Protocol inspires the idea of establishing emissions trading scheme, regarding economic-effectiveness as a significant factor to achieve reduction targets and meet obligation. With this trend, marginal abatement cost curves (MACCs) have been used in climate policy analysis under general equilibrium framework, and have been proved a valid device to highlight the superiority of ETS. This paper focuses on the comparison of MACCs at industry level in China, derived by us from CGE, GCAM and TIMES respectively. It's clear that there is no dynamic adjustment process in these models, so we use linear interpolation method to introduce carbon tax to simulate actual situation. Meanwhile, we also take data from potential and cost study into account. To make our work more targeted, we pay close attention to energy-intensive industries with high carbon emissions level such as electricity, cement and steel, which are most likely to be covered in carbon market. The results indicate how MACCs change and illustrate why they change, depending on applied methodology and underlying assumptions. As we ignore the indirect effects, for instance, tax distortions and non-financial costs during above simulation, the emissions abatement cost we achieve by using integral calculus won’t be equivalent to real cost. Therefore, it's a wise decision for government department and research institute to be cautious when using MACCs as basis of policy making and academic studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presently, around 13% of the world's electricity is generated by nuclear. Pro-nuclear opinion is that nuclear power is safe, clean, cost-effective, and should be expanded fast, world-wide, to combat the rise in carbon emissions. The contra opinion is that nuclear power is flawed - primarily because it is seen as not safe enough, especially after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Other objections come from concerns about security, large capital investments, and negative public perceptions. The opinions towards nuclear are thus sharply polarized. Several countries have already begun phasing out nuclear power after being committed to it for many years. However, it is arguably unsustainable to completely rule out nuclear from the energy mix, especially in the case of fast developing economies in the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Presently, there is renewed interest in the use of small and medium sized reactors (SMRs) of sizes 25 - 150MW. Their small size and modularity in design raises the expectation of SMRs being a “game changer” for the nuclear industry in the coming decades. This paper provides a rationale on the use of SMRs and their relevance to ASEAN. We will consider what is meant by “safe design”, why SMRs have a better possibility than the traditional large plant of achieving it, and what the suggested “critical success factors” are. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Summary for Policymakers of Working Group I (WGI) contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) presents three probabilities with different cumulative emissions to limit the global temperature rise to 2 °C or less. In this paper, based on the latest information, allocation quotas for major countries and regions were determined under typical schemes between 2011 and 2100. It was found that the countries’ allocation quotas all increase with enlarging global emissions permit but with different growth rates under each allocation regime, and given global emission permit, changing in scheme parameters also has some impact on each country's allocation quota. Allocation regimes were also evaluated from the perspective of equality based on cumulative emission per capita, finding that the regimes considering historical responsibility for emissions can effectively reduce the inequalities of global emissions; And regimes incorporating ability to pay are useful in further reducing emissions inequalities between Annex I and non-Annex I groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Towards a low carbon world, the global emission space in the future will be very restricted, which will have a significant impact on the deployment of energy infrastructure system. A low carbon energy system will be the key to achieve 2 degrees trajectory. This paper addresses this issue by combining the Equitable Access to Sustainable Development model (EASD) and the Global Change Assessment model (GCAM) to analyze the development of regional energy consumption and power generation in the process of combating climate change. GCAM, a dynamic-recursive integrated model, has divided the world into 14 regions. Under the long term targets resulting in harmonized radiative forcing levels, the carbon constraints of all regions are quantified in EASD through the allocation based on the per capita, the convergence and the status-quo basis, respectively. These constraints are then set as the policy scenarios in GCAM simulations. The findings underline the substantial reductions in coal consumption and huge growth in renewable energy and nuclear in all regions. The fossil fuel consumption of developed regions has to plummet at once on the per capita basis and peak before 2020 on both the convergence and the status-quo basis. In developing regions, the nuclear and the coal/gas with carbon capture and storage (CCS) gradually dominate the power supply. CCS and nuclear are the two main technology choices for electricity generation in developed regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After decades of strong commitment to nuclear power by the Japanese government, rising anti-nuclear sentiment among the public following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear incident has forced the government to re-evaluate the country's reliance on nuclear power. Japan's subsequent switch to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) demonstrated the utilities’ preference for LNG as the large scale alternative option to nuclear power. The reliance on natural gas looks set to grow in the years ahead as the utilities are constructing 12 new gas-fired power generation units in 2014 alone, as replacement for nuclear power and to scale back on the use of expensive oil for power generation. This growing reliance on LNG imports came at a time the IEA said that the world is entering into a “golden age of gas” due to progress in exploration and extraction technology resulting in the North American shale gas boom and the expansion of LNG trade. Although natural gas is much less polluting than all the other fossil-fuel alternatives, it is still a carbon intensive energy source. Japan's growing reliance on natural gas implies that it would be increasingly difficult for Tokyo to meet its Kyoto Protocol pledge in reducing carbon emissions. Moreover, the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) approach used by the International Energy Agency has demonstrated that the cost of electricity generation from natural gas is higher than nuclear. Already, Japan's growing reliance on LNG has contributed significantly to its first trade deficit since the second oil shock (1979-1980). In this paper, we examine, in economic and political terms, how energy security, international relations, and climate change policy considerations are shaping the Japanese policy-makers’ debate on the country's future energy mix. We argue that in addition to domestic concerns over cost and social acceptance, Japan's decision on its future energy mix will also be shaped by: first, global energy security trends; second, the priority the government attaches to addressing global climate change; and third, Tokyo's international relations strategy to elevate Japan's diplomatic and strategic clout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climate change and Nile Basin projects especially during the filling time impacts on Nile water inflow in Egypt. Paper objective is analysis and asses the negative impact of the Nile water inflow reduction on Hydropower generation and Irrigation quota. Different alternatives are suggested to cope with water reduction in agriculture. Three scenarios are proposed for generation of hydropower to deal with both; different values in inflow reduction in head and the released discharge through turbines. Financial evaluation for the Nile water inflow reduction impact on hydropower generation and water reuse for agriculture is carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Production of district heat is increasing in Norway, and this paper simulates the possibility to use its abundant national resources of forests and/or natural gas as energy carriers. In this study we analyze an idealized future energy scenario and compare the climate impacts from using forest biomass or natural gas as energy sources. Results show that bioenergy is a better energy option than natural gas, mainly thanks to the cooling contributions from the change in surface albedo that can more than offset the warming associated with biogenic CO2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Previously published cost curves focusing on CO2 transport and storage have helped illustrate the large potential for CCS technologies to deploy in China. This paper examines results from recent work to incorporate the costs of CO2 capture and compression into integrated cost curves that more fully reflect expected costs across the set of large, industrial CO2 sources and better illuminate the possible value of CCS to this fast-growing economy. Results show that significant potential exists for large-scale deployment of CCS at costs less than $70/tCO2. Mapping the cost curve results confirms that the majority of existing CO2 point sources may be able to utilize CCS technologies, and that except for many sources in southern China onshore storage capacity appears accessible and sufficient for decades of large-scale deployment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The State of Kuwait is at the north-western corner of the Arabian Gulf. During the summer, the desert is extremely harsh with temperatures that can reach 44.7¡C, with dust storms, during a period where most annual plants become dormant. During the winter the air temperature is cool and pleasant and can drop to 8¡C [1]. Due to the harsh environment, Kuwait is facing many obstacles for barley production including aridity (water shortage, high temperature, high evaporation rate, low soil fertility), in addition to climate change. To overcome this situation Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) has undergone various studies for the adaptation of barley under stressful conditions, and those studies that were performed in KISR showed that barley can be produced under harsh environment. This crop has showed positive adaptation strategies to a warmer and drier environment that is being noticed to occur during the past years. Three studies were performed that included a study that was done by taking 332 lines of barley and were tested under Kuwait''s environment resulting in 10 promising lines, another study was done by taking 141 lines of barley and were tested under similar condition resulting in 5 promising lines, On another hand a study with the collaboration with The Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD) was performed, by studying 40 promising lines of barley focusing on planting time and stressful conditions resulting with a breed that tolerates drought and adapt to climatic change which indicated that the planting time of barley with the combination of stressful conditions of barley greatly effected. the yield production. This paper focus on five promising lines from the previous studies under two different irrigation regimes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: For various reasons, sustainability today is producing an important and interesting approach between architecture and the environment. This is taking place in forms and with different degrees of intensity. Within the challenges of energy crisis and climatic changes architects started to develop new approaches to address the quest of energy demands in buildings. One of these approaches is façade greening which started to take an important place in the last 10 years, it''s not considered a new innovation, where applying green facade is not a new concept; however it has not been approved as an energy saving method for the built environment. Vertical greening can provide a cooling potential on the building surface, which is very important during summer periods in hot climates. The cooling effect of green facades has also an impact on the inner climate in the building by preventing warming up the façade. Within this quest, this paper is focused on the analysis of the effect of green facades systems on the building temperature and addressing different types of green facades systems and their thermal effect. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Today, innumerable damages caused by the city and the action of a man on built and natural environments, are recorded in majority of developed countries and also under development ones, which had created in the last few years, complex problems difficult to solve like: pollutions, destructions of natural and rural landscapes, uncontrolled rejections of waste, problems of water and frequent variations of the climate. Algerian cities haven’t escaped to this truth and this situation is related with the history of the development process adopted in Algeria, during the years of post independence. The development of these cities was done without looking for or respecting environmental requirements. Theoretically, Algeria has a complete building formed by different plans and schemes covering environment, land use planning and urbanism fields to raise this challenge and avoid errors of the past, particularly before nineties and after, by adopting a holistic approach and giving a broadest sense of environment protection. But until now, just a few great actions recently carried out by the ministry of land use planning, environment and tourism are registered, and the rest confirms that these tools don’t have any effect suspected on ground, for various causes. The most important causes can be resumed in the lack of dialogue and coordination efforts between concerning actors and theirs institutions, and the absence of an explanation relating to the whole approach able to make these tools even they were appeared in different laws, working as a united body. That''s why these instruments were ineffective and the situation became difficult and critical. The present paper will focus on this reality. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the mainland of China, the constraints of environments, resources, especially energy resources, has increasingly become the bottleneck of economic development after reform policy for more than thirty years. In this paper, we illustrate the basic structure of energy conservation and emission reduction from historic, institutional and comparative analysis based on Japan''s case as an example of energy conservation. Our investigation shows the evolution of Japan''s energy conservation policies from a view of energy security to the view of environment protection and low carbon economy. We also analyze the tools that Japan adopted to remove energy conservation barriers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Under the background of the global climatic change and the carbon emission reduction, exhaustion of resources, draggle technology, low benefit and feeble competitiveness are deadly weaknesses in the development of China''s economy today. With the rapid development of science and technology, the weaknesses have made China''s economy meet some flinty challenges. From the angle of the low-carbon''s output and its profits, the energy''s use structure, the low-carbon energy''s emission reduction and the low-carbon technology, the paper has made an analysis based on the hierarchy analysis and the fuzzy appraisement to provide strong evidences for industrial policy innovation and form a rather complete environmental control system for China''s developing low-carbon economy, as well as offer the rational policy support and effective technologies for the development of low-carbon economy of China''s industry. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]