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One of the most important policy reforms for the European Union (EU) agriculture was the implementation of the Agenda 2000, which establishes a new framework for subsidies management, decoupled from both crop and animal production for the vast majority of products. One of the main goals of this new policy framework is the improvement of its environmental impact. Additionally, there is a need for the implementation of new efficiency assessment and prognostication tools for the evaluation of EU farming, because the influence of market forces has been increased substantially. Having in mind the efficacy of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methodology, it is used to calculate and quantify the environmental efficiency of EU countries' primary sectors. In this paper, the DEA Window methodology is used to assess GHG emissions efficiency and identify efficiency change of EU countries' primary sectors, under the strong influence of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), quantifying by this way its positive or negative impact on a national basis, providing at the same time hints for counteractive actions. The main results provide the significant differences among EU countries, with the less developed ones to perform low environmental efficiency rates. Moreover, countries which their output depends to a large extend on arable crops achieve low efficiency rates too. Finally, Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) are being used as a tool to estimate future performance of EU countries primary sectors on the topic of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions as an undesirable output of agricultural production process. The validation performance characteristics, as well as the linear fit to this output-target relationship, closely intersect the bottom-left and top-right corners of the plot. The combination of these methodologies provides a new methodological approach for CAP evaluation and prognostication, appropriately adjusted to the new market oriented framework for EU agricultural production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On August 15, 2008, the 60th anniversary of the nation׳s founding, South Korea declared “Low Carbon, Green Growth” as its new national agenda, and announced the country׳s commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions by 30% by 2020, relative to business-as-usual (BAU) scenario. According to the Korean GHG reduction roadmap in 2014, the transportation sector was allocated the highest GHG reduction rate of 34.3% in order to meet the national target. This study examined the effectiveness of policies that the South Korean government has imposed on the transportation sector and analyzed the ripple effect in terms of energy and environmental aspects if the policies are maintained until 2050 using Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning system (LEAP) model. The study considered five policies, in terms of scenarios: improved fuel efficiency (IFE), green cars distribution (GC, CGC), public transportation shift (PTS), and modal shift reinforcement (MS). To distinguish the effects of various eco-friendly vehicle models, the green car distribution scenario was subdivided into two: green car scenario and competitive green car scenario. The green car (GC) scenario is focused on clean diesel and hybrid cars, and the competitive green car (CGC) scenario centered on hydrogen fuel cell and electric vehicles. According to the scenario analysis conducted in the current study, the final energy and GHG reduction policies that the South Korean government has imposed on the transportation sector will reduce the final energy demand by 25.2–25.5%, and reduce GHG emissions by 21.3–21.6% in 2020, relative to BAU scenario. However, this number does not meet the national GHG reduction target rate of 34.3% in the Korean transportation sector. Therefore, more powerful and effective policies are needed to achieve the national target vis-à-vis GHG emissions reduction in the transportation sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation of climate change are the main aims of the global climate policy. Increased use of renewable energy is a central measure in achieving these goals. However, mitigation of climate change through increased use of renewable energy also has negative environmental impacts. Focusing merely on greenhouse gas emissions may lead to overseeing these other negative environmental impacts and thereby in unwanted side-effects. The aim of this review was to assess the overall life cycle impacts related to the production and use of the different renewable energy sources. Impacts were assessed for unit processes and for the Finnish national renewable energy targets as a whole. The review points out that in order to comprehensively understand the overall environmental impacts of the different renewable energy sources, a thorough life cycle assessment with a unified framework would be needed. Presently there is only limited information available or the published results are not comparable with each another. However, assessment using the Finnish National Renewable Energy Targets for 2020 also indicates that under the present targets, the overall environmental impacts of the renewable energy use are likely to be low. Main impacts or risks of impacts relate to the use of forest energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport is the lifeblood of a nation’s economy. Because fossil fuels are being gradually depleted and global warming phenomena are becoming more and more serious, the aim of this article is to study a low-carbon transport infrastructure based on existing energy efficiency indices and green transport policy formulated by Taiwanese Department of Transportation. First, via data collection and analysis, we observed that small passenger cars and large trucks are the largest energy users in the transport sector due to their high energy intensities and large transport volumes. Therefore, the energy-conserving potentials of these vehicles are the focus of this study. According to “Top-Down” methodology, the most effective and economical energy-saving strategies for Taiwan׳s transport sector are the significant adoption of rail transport and electrification mode. With a maximum energy-saving scenario, including the adoption of Best Available Technologies (BAT) and the comprehensive expansion of public transport infrastructure, the energy savings potential in the land transport sector of Taiwan is 2931 million liters of oil equivalent (MLOEs). This savings is equivalent to a greenhouse gas emissions reduction of approximately 5.91 Mt CO 2e with a scale of 16.73% or crediting 2.40% reduction in national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Finally, we suggest that the green transport infrastructure of Taiwan should primarily include railway, mass rapid transit (MRT), and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The co-benefits approach is a concept that aims to align the climate change issue with the local development goals. The premise of this approach is that the mainstreaming of the climate mitigation issue within the local level polices will result in various local environmental and non-environmental co-benefits in addition to a reduction of GHG emissions. The implementation of the co-benefits approach aims to strengthen the policy making process, which is identified as being especially important in context of developing cities. This paper attempts to confirm this by analyzing a planning process of and global and local benefits generated by an innovative project related to provision of bicycle parking. The paper firstly overviews recent co-benefits literature related to urban transport in general and active travel in particular, as well as evaluated benefits related to bicycle infrastructure provision. Then, taking the case of the Serbian city of Novi Sad, this paper examines local drivers behind the bicycle project implementation, the reduction of CO 2 emission generated by the increase of cycle commuters, the project impact on individual commute behavior as well as potential for income generation. The results support arguments towards relevance of implementation of the co-benefits approach within processes of cycling planning and popularization, particularly highlighting the role and possibilities for implementation of co-benefits projects related to bicycle parking facilities. This case study is relevant as it identifies and analyses a real-life action to respond to both, global and local sustainability challenges, but also, as it points to an action at the city level that has potential for diffusing desirable changes into wider society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Nowadays, one of the urgent issues regarding global climate change is to discuss the future of the second period of the Kyoto Protocol. However, the divergence of views and opinions among parties in the last Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Durban in December 2011, is still large. One of the bones of contention is whether the emerging developing countries, like China, should make commitments and legally bind themselves to a Green House Gas (GHG) reduction target in near future. As the largest GHG emitting country, China and its energy and climate policies will play an important role in global climate change and will also significantly influence the other countries’ policies and the global climate negotiation. In this paper, we review the current differences among parties in the Durban Conference, and we analyze the recent situation, barriers, and future policies in China. Finally we highlight the impact and potential effect of Clean Development Mechanisms in avoiding China''s barriers regarding climate change. Results show that China is making a great effort to mitigate climate change by establishing and reforming its energy and climate policies in order to achieve a low-carbon development. At the same time, more innovation and international collaboration is needed in China to achieve this goal. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The EU''s new energy and environment policy – agreed by government leaders in their Council meeting in March 2007 – established a political agenda to tackle three core energy objectives: sustainability, economic competitiveness and security of supply. A triad of specific policies addresses these challenges: first, the 20/20/20 targets of the EU; then, the Second Strategic Energy Review of the European Commission; and finally, plans to liberalise energy markets. The European Union''s ‘20/20/20′ targets for 2020: reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% comparing with 1990 level (to become a 30% reduction if other major global economies join), increase the share of renewables in the final energy consumption to 20% and to achieve 20% improvement in energy efficiency compared to the level in 2020 if existing trends were to continue. The aim of the paper is to analyse the feasibility of EU to implement 20/20/20 targets under the various international GHG trading regimes. GHG trading regimes were addressed by developing 10 energy scenarios until 2020 for EU by applying several energy modelling tools ranging from top down partial equilibrium to detailed technology based bottom up models. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Copenhagen Accord in 2009 initiated new opportunities for international cooperation in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The purpose of this study was to review Taiwan''s current climate policy and, in response to the Copenhagen Accord, to deliberate this policy in the light of new strategic thinking. The study proposes a two-stage approach with a dividing line in 2020. In the first stage, from now until 2020, strategy should be based on cost constraints, with a suggested reduction cost below $60/t-CO2, and implementation of domestic GHG emissions trading scheme and reduction strategies. In the second stage, from 2020 and beyond, action by Taiwan should, accord with international cooperative actions to link its domestic emissions trading scheme with the international carbon market. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is seen as an important solution to solve the twin challenge of reducing GHG emissions, while utilizing fossil fuel reserves to meet future energy requirements. In this study an innovation systems perspective is applied to review the development of CCS technologies in the US between 2000 and 2009 and to come up with policy recommendations for technology managers that wish to accelerate the deployment of CCS. The analysis describes the successful built-up of an innovation system around CCS and pinpoints the key determinants for this achievement. However, the evaluation of the system''s performance also indicates that America''s leading role in the development of CCS should not be taken for granted. It shows that the large CCS R&D networks, as well as the extensive CCS knowledge base, which have been accumulated over the past decade, have not yet been valorized by entrepreneurs to explore the market for integrated CCS concepts linked to power generation. Therefore, it is argued that the build-up of the innovation system has entered a critical phase that is decisive for a further thriving development of CCS technologies in the US. This study provides a clear understanding of the current barriers to the technology''s future deployment and outlines a policy strategy that (1) stimulates technological learning; (2) facilitates collaboration and coordination in CCS actor networks; (3) creates financial and market incentives for the technology; and (4) provides supportive regulation and sound communication on CCS. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]