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Considering the negative consequences of the excessive use of non-renewable energy and the development of technologies related to photovoltaic energy, the present paper aims to analyze if the photovoltaic systems are economically viable for university hospitals. A photovoltaic system was designed in the parking lot of the University Hospital of the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) and analyzed the financial viability of its installation. As a result, the photovoltaic system is financially viable, with an expected generation of 194.2 MWh in the first year and a payback of 7 years. Thus, this paper contributes to the feasibility of photovoltaic projects in university hospitals, reducing electric energy consumption, reducing its operational costs, reducing the emission of pollution, and diversification of the Brazilian energy matrix. Furthermore, the results can be used as a scientific basis for other fields, such as public and private hospitals and clinics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing air quality management systems to control the impacts of air pollution requires reliable data. However, current initiatives do not provide datasets with large spatial and temporal resolutions for developing air pollution policies in Brazil. Here, we introduce the Brazilian Atmospheric Inventories (BRAIN), the first comprehensive database of air quality and its drivers in Brazil. BRAIN encompasses hourly datasets of meteorology, emissions, and air quality. The emissions dataset includes vehicular emissions derived from the Brazilian Vehicular Emissions Inventory Software (BRAVES), industrial emissions produced with local data from the Brazilian environmental agencies, biomass burning emissions from FINN – Fire INventory from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), and biogenic emissions from the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN) (10.57760/sciencedb.09858, Hoinaski et al., 2023a; 10.57760/sciencedb.09886, Hoinaski et al., 2023b). The meteorology dataset has been derived from the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) (10.57760/sciencedb.09857, Hoinaski and Will, 2023a; 10.57760/sciencedb.09885, Hoinaski and Will, 2023c). The air quality dataset contains the surface concentration of 216 air pollutants produced from coupling meteorological and emissions datasets with the Community Multiscale Air Quality Modeling System (CMAQ) (10.57760/sciencedb.09859, Hoinaski and Will, 2023b; 10.57760/sciencedb.09884, Hoinaski and Will, 2023d). We provide gridded data in two domains, one covering the Brazilian territory with 20×20 km spatial resolution and another covering southern Brazil with 4×4 km spatial resolution. This paper describes how the datasets were produced, their limitations, and their spatiotemporal features. To evaluate the quality of the database, we compare the air quality dataset with 244 air quality monitoring stations, providing the model's performance for each pollutant measured by the monitoring stations. We present a sample of the spatial variability of emissions, meteorology, and air quality in Brazil from 2019, revealing the hotspots of emissions and air pollution issues. By making BRAIN publicly available, we aim to provide the required data for developing air quality policies on municipal and state scales, especially for under-developed and data-scarce municipalities. We also envision that BRAIN has the potential to create new insights into and opportunities for air pollution research in Brazil.​​​​​​​ [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reports a study of Clean Development Mechanism implementation in landfills in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. CDM is supposed to promote sustainable development through projects of GHG emission reductions. This analysis focuses on the power relationships behind the socio-political process of adopting the mechanism in landfills where emissions have been reduced by the breakdown of biodegradable waste. Sociological concepts such as 'ecological practices'; 'market' and 'environmental justice' were used for the analysis. CDM's neoliberal traits combined with local economic interests that shape the waste management domain in Rio can affect the mechanism's capacity to promote local social-environmental progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the progress and effectiveness of Programs to Control Vehicle Emissions (PCVEs), comparing the experiences in the United States (US), European Union (EU), China, and Brazil. We present a timeline comparison of updates and differences in standards for light-duty vehicle (LDV) compliance. We then review the benefits of controlling LDV emissions on air quality, derived from previous relevant studies. Emission standards have been increasingly restricted in all evaluated PCVEs. However, some technical aspects such as dynamometer test cycles, re-testing structure of environmental protection agency, homogeneity of new and in-use vehicles inspection and maintenance, on-board diagnostics requirements are more consolidated in the US. Previous studies at different scales show the success of PCVEs in reducing vehicle emissions and air pollutant concentrations in the US, EU, China, and Brazil. Despite PCVEs has been achieving relative success, vehicular emissions are still a major threat to air quality around the world, especially in developing countries or ascending economies whose fleet grows dramatically. In places where the air quality standards recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) are violated, it would be required the implementation of more stringent regulations with a well-designed, and homogeneous compliance policy over regional and national territories. This work contributes to clarifying the current challenges and successful experiences on regulating vehicular emissions worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing air quality management systems to control the impacts of air pollution requires reliable data. However, current initiatives do not provide datasets with large spatial and temporal resolutions for developing air pollution policies in Brazil. Here, we introduce the Brazilian Atmospheric Inventories -- BRAIN, the first comprehensive database of air quality and its drivers in Brazil. BRAIN encompasses hourly datasets of meteorology, emissions, and air quality. We provide grid ded data in two domains, covering the Brazilian territory with 20x20 km of spatial resolution and another covering Southern Brazil with 4x4 km. The emissions dataset includes vehicular emissions derived from the Brazilian Vehicular Emissions Inventory Software (BRAVES), industrial emissions produced with local data from the Brazilian environmental agencies, biomass burning emissions from FINN - Fire Inventory from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), and biogenic emissions from the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN). The meteorology dataset has been derived from Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF). The air quality dataset contains the surface concentration of 216 air pollutants produced from coupling meteorological and emissions datasets with the Community Multiscale Air Quality Modeling System (CMAQ). This paper describes how the datasets were produced, their limitations, and their spatiotemporal features. To evaluate the quality of the database, we compare the air quality dataset with 244 air quality monitoring stations, providing the model's performance for each measured pollutant by the monitoring stations. We present a sample of the spatial variability of emissions, meteorology, and air quality in Brazil from 2019, revealing the hotspots of emissions and air pollution issues. By making BRAIN publicly available, we aim to provide the required data for developing air quality policies on municipality and state scales, especially for not developed and data-scarce municipalities. We also envision that BRAIN has the potential to create new insights and opportunities for air pollution research in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Brazilian 2015 Intended Nationally Determined Contribution proposes a reduction of 43% in its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared to its 2005 emissions. In terms of the contribution of the Brazilian electrical sector to achieve this target, it commits to increase the use of renewable energy sources, other than hydroelectricity, and an efficiency gain of 10% by 2030. Considering these targets, this paper estimates the economic and CO emissions effects of such propositions using input-output analysis. The estimates are based on eight different future electricity matrices scenarios (2030 and 2050) developed by specialists within the Energy Scenarios Platform. On the one hand, achieving cleaner electrical production requires large investments. On the other hand, a reorganization of the sector leading to increased use of renewable energy sources produces GDP and employment growth. The results show that the net effects are positive in the medium and long run. Brazilian GDP growth may range from 0.61 to 1.24% per year by 2030 and from 0.66 to 1.26% per year by 2050, and total labor demand may reach 630 thousand new employees in 2030 and 685 thousand jobs in 2050. Regarding the reduction of CO $$_2$$ emissions, a maximum saving of 4 million tons by 2030 and 1 million tons by 2050 is expected. Therefore, according to the scenarios analyzed, although investing in renewable electrical sources demands more investment, their operational costs are lower, such that the extra expending is more than offset. Hence, the economic benefits from such changes more than compensate the costs of investing in such efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the food industry and linked activities, environmental impacts relate mainly to the generation of liquid and gaseous effluents. Rendering plants, which process animal by-products, are strongly associated with malodorous emissions. Thus, effective odour-control technologies are required to minimise odour annoyance in nearby communities and thereby public complaints. In this paper, the effectiveness of a biofilter for the treatment of odours from a meat-rendering plant located in southern Brazil was evaluated based on German guideline VDI 3477:2004-11. Samples were collected upstream and downstream of the gas treatment system using a pragmatic approach in order to minimise the cost of such a study. Odour concentration was determined according to European standard EN 13725:2003. The results showed an OER of 8.82 × 10 ou h and odour removal efficiency lower than the established benchmark set by SEMA Resolution 054/2006, taken as reference for being the only Brazilian regulation to establish quantitative odour emission criteria. Enhancement of the biofiltration system and/or association with other odour abatement technologies are required to increase odour removal, limit impacts and comply with regulatory requirements. The paper also includes a discussion on the current odour regulation in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a multiobjective optimization model to find efficient bus fleet combinations taking into account greenhouse gas emissions, conventional air pollutant emissions and costs. The goal is to minimize, simultaneously, three objective functions, Z1 (CO2 emissions), Z2 (Other Types of Emissions), and Z3 (total costs), for a buses fleet of a transit agency. For this case, there were four types of buses (diesel, electric bus, electric bus of fast charging, and CNG (compressed natural gas bus), which were analyzed in three different lines (South-North, Itinga, and South-Central) in Joinville city, Brazil. The respective data were modeled and optimized using MS Excel. Two different scalarization methods (the Weighted Tchebycheff and the Augmented Weighted Tchebycheff) are used for solving this buses fleet management problem. Different tradeoffs, in terms of the objectives, were obtained. The choice of a bus type is directly related to the characteristics (number of stops, average speed among others) of each line. The electrical bus is the best choice for reducing emissions but has a high initial cost and low autonomy. The results indicate that in the South–North line due to the large number of stops and low average speed, the electric bus is the type of dominant. In the other lines, the dominant ones were the diesel bus in the Itinga line and the CNG bus in the South line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In tropical areas, pioneer occupation fronts steer the rapid expansion of deforestation, contributing to carbon emissions. Up-to-date carbon emission estimates covering the long-term development of such frontiers depend on the availability of high spatial-temporal resolution data. In this paper, we provide a detailed assessment of carbon losses from deforestation and potential forest degradation from fragmentation for one expanding frontier in the Brazilian Amazon. We focused on one of the Amazonia's hot-spots of forest loss, the BR-163 highway that connects the high productivity agricultural landscapes in Mato Grosso with the exporting harbors of the Amazon. We used multi-decadal (1984-2012) Landsat-based time series on forested and non-forested area in combination with a carbon book-keeping model. We show a 36% reduction in 1984s biomass carbon stocks, which led to the emission of 611.5 TgCO between 1985 and 1998 (43.6 TgCO year) and 959.8 TgCO over 1999-2012 (68.5 TgCO year). Overall, fragmentation-related carbon losses represented 1.88% of total emissions by 2012, with an increasing relevance since 2004. We compared the Brazilian Space Agency deforestation assessment (PRODES) with our data and found that small deforestation polygons not captured by PRODES had increasing importance on estimated deforestation carbon losses since 2000. The comparative analysis improved the understanding of data-source-related uncertainties on carbon estimates and indicated disagreement areas between datasets that could be subject of future research. Furthermore, spatially explicit, annual deforestation and emission estimates like the ones derived from this study are important for setting regional baselines for REDD+ or similar payment for ecosystem services frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of HOLOS is the property of Instituto Federal do Rio Grande do norte - IFRN and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article examines the inefficient use of resources in the Brazilian transportation system. The energy use growth and external cost generation in this essential economic sector are considerable, and the trend is towards an increasing problem in the coming years. The continued expansion of Brazilian cities and the increase in demand for mobility is a result of a substantial growth in the number of road transport users, as increased earnings enable lower income groups to acquire and use individual motorized means of transport. The aim of this paper is to estimate the potential gains from reducing individual motorized transport by the year 2020. This investigation concludes that in a conservationist scenario, by prioritizing low cost, low technology public policies--which include operation of Bus Rapid Transit systems, walking and cycling facilities and congestion charges, among others--it should be possible to save over USD 30 billion and USD 26 billion in external transportation and infrastructure costs, respectively, up to 2020. In addition, these public policies can save more than 35 million Tons of Oil Equivalents in energy consumption and avoid almost 4,000 thousand tons of local pollution emissions and 37,500 thousand tons of GHG emissions in the same period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The IEA CCS Roadmap highlighted the significance that CCS will play in achieving an atmospheric CO2 stabilization on 450 ppm. In the scenario it is based on, CCS will provide approximately 20% of the total CO2 emissions reductions out to 2050. To achieve this contribution it 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 will need to contribute to this deployment. Brazil has a unique electricity and emissions profile. Over 80% of Brazils electricity is produced from hydropower with the rest being made up by a combination of fossil fuels, biomass, and nuclear. This means the energy emissions in Brazil are relatively low. Many people within Brazil see stopping the deforestation of the Amazon as the key emissions reduction mechanism for Brazil. However, the contribution to CO2 emissions from coal is expected to increase due to 6000 MW of coal power that is planned to be installed in Brazil by 2030, although this still only represents 2.7% of grid compared to 83% from renewables. CCS in Brazil will be more relevant to industry rather than for electricity generation. In particular CCS could be crucial for the development of some of the “Pre-salt” petrol eum fields which bring new challenges. Although there are no conclusive studies on the concentration o f carbon dioxide (CO2) in the region, some wells have shown concentrations of CO2 above those found in the Campos Basin, while others showed concentrations close to zero. Still, Petrobras have proactively committed to not releasing to the atmosphere, the CO2 associated with the natural gas produced in the pre-salt layer. In addition, the pre-salt oil is considered of good quality, light oil and therefore, the refining process consumes less energy and will emit less CO2 when compared to the processing of heavier crude. This paper looks to discuss the current status of CCS in Brazil. This includes looking at the current status of a number of demonstration projects that are already underway in Brazil as well as additional ones that are planned. The paper will also discuss the. Public awareness and engagement about CCS given the crucial role the public play in the smooth progress of projects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Revista de Economia e Sociologia Rural is the property of Sociedade Brasileira de Economia e Sociologia Rural and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper presents the preliminary results of tests carried out to calculate the emissions in the sector of railway freight transport in Brazil. The analysis is based on a proposition derived from a European model to determine the factors relevant to designing a model suitable for the characteristics of Brazilian cities. In this simulation the Artemis model is used with positive results for determination of the greenhouse gases in the route between the states of Mato Grosso and São Paulo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An accurate estimate of carbon fluxes associated with tropical deforestation from the last two decades is needed to balance the global carbon budget. Several studies have already estimated carbon emissions from tropical deforestation, but the estimates vary greatly and are difficult to compare due to differences in data sources, assumptions, and methodologies. In this paper, we review the different estimates and datasets, and the various challenges associated with comparing them and with accurately estimating carbon emissions from deforestation. We performed a simulation study over legal Amazonia to illustrate some of these major issues. Our analysis demonstrates the importance of considering land-cover dynamics following deforestation, including the fluxes from reclearing of secondary vegetation, the decay of product and slash pools, and the fluxes from regrowing forest. It also suggests that accurate carbon-flux estimates will need to consider historical land-cover changes for at least the previous 20 years. However, this result is highly sensitive to estimates of the partitioning of cleared carbon into instantaneous burning vs. Long-timescale slash pools. We also show that carbon flux estimates based on ‘committed flux’ calculations, as used by a few studies, are not comparable with the ‘annual balance’ calculation method used by other studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first spectral measurement of Earth's emitted radiation to space in the wideband range from 100 to 1400 cm-1 with 0.5 cm-1 spectral resolution is presented. The measurement was performed from a stratospheric balloon in tropical region using a Fourier transform spectrometer, during a field campaign held in Brazil in June 2005. The instrument, which has uncooled components including the detector module, is a prototype developed as part of the study for the REFIR (Radiation Explorer in the Far InfraRed) space mission. This paper shows the results of the field campaign with particular attention to the measurement capabilities of the prototype. The results are compared with measurements taken by IASI-balloon (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer -- Balloon version), aboard the same platform, and with forward model estimations. The infrared signature of clouds is observed in the measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental issues are increasingly high priority when drawing up government policies for transportation in both industrialized and developing nations. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated by the sector has caused much concern, mainly due to the fast growing rate of these emissions, now accounting for approximately 13% of global warming. Since the early 1990s, some of the highest growth rates of transportation emissions have been recorded for air transportation, which currently accounts for around 3.5% of total anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. This increase is particular in the industrial-based developing countries, such as Brazil, where demand for air transportation has increased rapidly. In view of this, the main purpose of this paper is to discuss the contribution of Brazilian air transportation to global climate change and to present more environmentally friendly energy sources for mitigating CO2 emissions from this sector. The paper presents an inventory of CO2 emissions caused by the air transportation sector in Brazil, a set of trend forecasts through to the year 2023, indicating the progression of these emissions, with several possible improvement alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazil is one of the world's biggest emitters of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Fire foci across the country contributes to these emissions and compromises emission reduction targets pledged by Brazil under the Paris Agreement. In this paper, we quantify fire foci, burned areas, and carbon emissions in all Brazilian biomes (i.e., Amazon, Cerrado, Caatinga, Atlantic Forest, Pantanal and Pampa). We analyzed these variables using cluster analysis and non-parametric statistics to predict carbon and CO2 emissions for the next decade. Our results showed no increase in the number of fire foci and carbon emissions for the evaluated time series, whereby the highest emissions occur and will persist in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes. The Atlantic Forest, Pantanal, Caatinga and Pampa biomes had low emissions compared to the Amazon and Cerrado. Based on 2030 projections, the sum of emissions from fire foci in the six Brazilian biomes will exceed 5.7 Gt CO2, compromising the national GHG reduction targets. To reduce GHG emissions, Brazil will need to control deforestation induced by the expansion of the agricultural frontier in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes. This can only be achieved through significant political effort involving the government, entrepreneurs and society as a collective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air quality models are essential tools to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDG) because they are effective in guiding public policies for the management of air pollutant emissions and their impacts on the environment and human health. Despite its importance, Brazil still lacks a guide for choosing and setting air quality models for regulatory purposes. Based on this, the current research aims to assess the combined WRF/CALMET/CALPUFF models for representing SO2 dispersion over non-homogeneous regions as a regulatory model for policies in Brazilian Metropolitan Regions to satisfy the UN-SDG. The combined system was applied to the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area (RJMA), which is known for its physiographic complexity. In the first step, the WRF model was evaluated against surface-observed data. The local circulation was underestimated, while the prevailing observational winds were well represented. In the second step, it was verified that all CALMET three meteorological configurations performed better for the most frequent wind speed classes so that the largest SO2 concentrations errors occurred during light winds. Among the meteorological settings in WRF/CALMET/CALPUFF, the joined use of observed and modeled meteorological data yielded the best results for the dispersion of pollutants. This result emphasizes the relevance of meteorological data composition in complex regions with unsatisfactory monitoring given the inherent limitations of prognostic models and the excessive extrapolation of observed data that can generate distortions of reality. This research concludes with the proposal of the WRF/CALMET/CALPUFF air quality regulatory system as a supporting tool for policies in the Brazilian Metropolitan Regions in the framework of the UN-SDG, particularly in non-homogeneous regions where steady-state Gaussian models are not applicable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper has the purpose of evaluating the environmental impact of the consumption of bottled water rather than tap water in the city of Porto Alegre (Brazil) using carbon emission and embodied energy calculations for both possibilities. The calculations took into account the bottled water production, transport, and waste generation. In addition, the quality of tap water was tested in key restaurants to evaluate whether the tap water of the city was drinkable (potable). Six key restaurants were interviewed throughout the city to collect data regarding the water bottle consumption, and to obtain water samples. The results revealed that bottled water is less environmentally friendly since it uses more energy inputs than tap water (respectively, equal to 4,640 and 1.66 MJ/m3). Results also shown 100% (6 out of 6) of the tested waters were drinkable (potable). The key conclusions are that energy and carbon footprints are important tools to determine sustainability issues, and can be applied by researchers and policy-makers to evaluate environmental aspects of water consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analysed in gas and particulate phase emitted by industrial stacks in the urban area of Divinópolis, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Higher concentrations of PAHs were found in the gas phase than the particulate phase. The carcinogenic potency of PAHs relative to benzo(a)pyrene was estimated for samples. Benzo(a)pyrene equivalents ranged from 0.01 to 1061.66 ng m−3. The estimated risk of lifetime lung cancer was 8.1 × 10−3. PAH emission sources were evaluated by diagnostic ratio and principal component analysis (PCA). Diagnostic ratios of PAHs indicated the use of coal/biomass and oil combustion in the evaluated industries. The PCA suggested that the industries are using a fuel mix, contrary to the information provided by the industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazil is one of the first major developing countries to commit to a national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions target that requires a reduction of between 36.1% and 38.9% relative to baseline emissions by 2020. The country intends to submit agricultural emissions reductions as part of this target, with livestock production identified as offering significant abatement potential. Focusing on the Cerrado core (central Brazilian savannah), this paper investigates the cost-effectiveness of this potential, which involves some consideration of both the private and social costs and benefits (e.g. including avoided deforestation) arising from specific mitigation measures that may form part of Brazil's definition of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Measures (NAMAs). The analysis used an optimisation model to define abatement costs. A baseline projection suggests that beef production in the region will emit 2.6 Gt CO 2 e (CO 2 equivalent) from 2010 to 2030, corresponding to 9% of national emissions (including energy, transport, waste, livestock and agriculture). By implementing negative-cost measures identified in a marginal abatement cost curve (MACC) by 2030, the 2.6 Gt CO 2 e could be reduced by around 24%. Pasture restoration, involving avoided deforestation, offers the largest contribution to these results. As the Brazilian Cerrado is seen as a model for transforming other global savannahs, the results offer a significant contribution by identifying alternatives for increasing productivity while minimizing national and global external costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urgent need to curb climate change calls for an energy transition to cleaner, more resilient and sustainable solutions. Combined designs of energy storage systems and demand management strategies are becoming more frequent in the literature. However, are these solutions really sustainable from a multi-dimensional approach and in real-world applications? To answer this question, this work performs a local and scaled-up field-based evaluation of the social and environmental impacts of a pilot project in Brazil, which consists of replacing diesel generators with a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in a peak power plant of a Medium Voltage (MV) commercial load. For this, the combined RCPA-LCI method is applied, which allows characterizing both energy alternatives jointly considering the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) and the multi-dimensional evaluation perspective of the Resource Complete Potential Assessment (RCPA). Then, the scalability of this commercial solution at the national level is analyzed through two main lenses: GHG emissions reduction and job generation. The benefits are estimated at a potential 15.4 million tons of CO 2 avoided and 113 new job opportunities per year. The results demonstrate the positive socio-environmental performance of BESS-based peak plants for MV commercial applications in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of the economy in urban centers is invariably accompanied by an increase in human activities and environmental interference, mainly related to waste generation. Due to the nature of these activities, large volumes of varied waste are generated daily without the establishment of compatible and adequate collection, logistics, and final disposal systems, bringing relevant impacts to society on health, the environment, and the economy itself. In Brazil, in 2019 alone, almost 30 million tons of MSW were not collected and the total collected, of approximately 44 million tons, went to landfills, with little or no energy use. There is therefore a great opportunity for energy use using this source, aiming not only to adapt to current legislation, but also to reduce GHG emissions, reduce the population's exposure to sanitary landfills and open air, and use the energy contained in these wastes. The purpose of this study is to analyze the main conditions and challenges of current technologies for harnessing the energy potential of biomass from urban solid waste (USW) to enable the insertion of mini thermal plants connected to distributed generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advancement of remote sensing, it is now possible to identify and characterize greenhouse gas emissions under deferment land uses. Given the above, this study aimed to characterize the spatial–temporal variability and the main factors controlling the average atmospheric CO2 column (Xco2) in the macroregion of Ribeirão Preto (MRP), São Paulo, a significant sugarcane producer in Brazil. We obtained remote sensing data from January 2015 to December 2018. The variables used were Xco2 and sun-induced fluorescence of chlorophyll (SIF) by NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 satellite (OCO-2), relative humidity (RH), global radiation (Qg), and the average temperature at 2 m (T2m) by the NASA-POWER platform, and leaf area index (LAI) and evapotranspiration by Penman–Monteith (ET) by MODIS sensor. We evaluated the data in trimester's averages, where descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and linear regression have been applied. The spatial distribution was made by the inverse distance weighted (IDW). The minimum (390.40 ± 0.41 ppm) and maximum (394.75 ± 0.34 ppm) mean of Xco2 was observed in the first quarter of 2015 and third quarter of 2017. The Xco2 obtained negative correlations with the SIF (−0.81), LAI (−0.81), RH (−0.74), ET (−0.84), and Qg (−0.51). Hotspots and coldspots of Xco2 tend to vary over the years. We conclude that the temporal variation of Xco2 above sugarcane areas in southern Brazil is well represented by a periodic function. Our results indicate photosynthesis and soil exposure after harvest are factors that could act as source and sink of CO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the impact of formal and informal regulations on environmental and economic performance of Brazilian manufacturing firms. We adopt a dual approach where production technology is represented by a cost function, approximated by a translog form. Pollution is considered as a negative by-product that can be modified trough using either formal regulation (inspections or sanctions) or informal regulation (community pressure). A simultaneous equation model is estimated by three-stage least squares on a sample of 404 industrial establishments located in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. We show that pollution abatement costs for the Brazilian manufacturing sector are different from zero which suggests that pollution emissions are affected by environmental regulation. We also demonstrate that environmental performance of firms is jointly affected by formal and informal regulation. Lastly, formal regulation is largely influenced by informal regulation and more specifically by community pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This review paper discusses the perspectives for development of low carbon technologies in the Brazilian energy sector, leading the country to less carbon intensive emission patterns within the next decades. Brazil''s current plans for expansion of its electricity matrix and overall energy sector data are briefly presented along with demand growth expectancy to illustrate the challenge faced. Existing literature on development scenarios for the country''s energy sector is then analyzed separately, including IPCC''s global emission scenarios, International Energy Agency''s scenarios for South American industry, specific country focused reports and ongoing governmental plans. Selected low carbon technologies for the energy sector are then individually reviewed, providing an insight into their current stage of development, perspectives and bottlenecks within Brazil, based on a diversity of sources. As a conclusion the authors expose their opinion on what can be expected for the future of Brazil''s energy sector, based on the likeliness of deployment of the selected technologies, giving overall recommendations on how to achieve optimistic expectations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper examines the occurrence of a decoupling between the growth rates in economic activity and CO2 emissions from energy consumption in Brazil from 2004 to 2009. This decoupling was highlighted when economic activity and CO2 emissions moved in opposite directions in 2009. More generally, we observe several periods of relative decoupling in Brazil, but not to the extent witnessed in 2009. To identify the determinants of emissions change, we develop a decomposition model based on a log-mean Divisia index (LMDI) framework. The results indicate that the carbon intensity and energy mix are the main determinant of emissions reduction in Brazil between 2004 and 2009. Modifications in the economy structure are also associated to emission mitigation in the period. Such evidence demonstrates similarities with events of decoupling registered for the interval 1980–1994 in Brazil. Finds from Brazil differ from observations in other countries in which improvement in energy intensity has been the most common determinant of emissions reduction. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines the dynamic relationships between pollutant emissions, energy consumption, and the output for Brazil during 1980–2007. The Grey prediction model (GM) is applied to predict three variables during 2008–2013. In the long-run equilibrium emissions appear to be both energy consumption and output inelastic, but energy is a more important determinant of emissions than output. This may be because Brazilian unsustainable land use and forestry contribute most to the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. The findings of the inverted U-shaped relationships of both emissions–income and energy consumption–income imply that both environmental damage and energy consumption firstly increase with income, then stabilize, and eventually decline. The causality results indicate that there is a bidirectional strong causality running between income, energy consumption and emissions. In order to reduce emissions and to avoid a negative effect on the economic growth, Brazil should adopt the dual strategy of increasing investment in energy infrastructure and stepping up energy conservation policies to increase energy efficiency and reduce wastage of energy. The forecasting ability of GM is compared with the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model over the out-of-sample period between 2002 and 2007. All of the optimal GMs and ARIMAs have a strong forecasting performance with MAPEs of less than 3%. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper addresses the impact of both economic growth and financial development on environmental degradation using a panel cointegration technique for the period between 1980 and 2007, except for Russia (1992–2007). In long-run equilibrium, CO2 emissions appear to be energy consumption elastic and FDI inelastic, and the results seem to support the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis. The causality results indicate that there exists strong bidirectional causality between emissions and FDI and unidirectional strong causality running from output to FDI. The evidence seems to support the pollution haven and both the halo and scale effects. Therefore, in attracting FDI, developing countries should strictly examine the qualifications for foreign investment or to promote environmental protection through the coordinated know-how and technological transfer with foreign companies to avoid environmental damage. Additionally, there exists strong output-emissions and output-energy consumption bidirectional causality, while there is unidirectional strong causality running from energy consumption to emissions. Overall, the method of managing both energy demand and FDI and increasing both investment in the energy supply and energy efficiency to reduce CO2 emissions and without compromising the country’s competitiveness can be adopted by energy-dependent BRIC countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study of cement replacement by sugar cane bagasse ash (SCBA) in industrial scale aiming to reduce the CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. SCBA is a by-product of the sugar/ethanol agro-industry abundantly available in some regions of the world and has cementitious properties indicating that it can be used together with cement. Recent comprehensive research developed at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro/Brazil has demonstrated that SCBA maintains, or even improves, the mechanical and durability properties of cement-based materials such as mortars and concretes. Brazil is the world’s largest sugar cane producer and being a developing country can claim carbon credits. A simulation was carried out to estimate the potential of CO2 emission reductions and the viability to issue certified emission reduction (CER) credits. The simulation was developed within the framework of the methodology established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The State of São Paulo (Brazil) was chosen for this case study because it concentrates about 60% of the national sugar cane and ash production together with an important concentration of cement factories. Since one of the key variables to estimate the CO2 emissions is the average distance between sugar cane/ethanol factories and the cement plants, a genetic algorithm was developed to solve this optimization problem. The results indicated that SCBA blended cement reduces CO2 emissions, which qualifies this product for CDM projects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Estimates of greenhouse-gas emissions from deforestation are highly uncertain because of high variability in key parameters and because of the limited number of studies providing field measurements of these parameters. One such parameter is burning efficiency, which determines how much of the original forest''s aboveground carbon stock will be released in the burn, as well as how much will later be released by decay and how much will remain as charcoal. In this paper we examined the fate of biomass from a semideciduous tropical forest in the “arc of deforestation,” where clearing activity is concentrated along the southern edge of the Amazon forest. We estimated carbon content, charcoal formation and burning efficiency by direct measurements (cutting and weighing) and by line-intersect sampling (LIS) done along the axis of each plot before and after burning of felled vegetation. The total aboveground dry biomass found here (219.3Mgha−1) is lower than the values found in studies that have been done in other parts of the Amazon region. Values for burning efficiency (65%) and charcoal formation (6.0%, or 5.98MgCha−1) were much higher than those found in past studies in tropical areas. The percentage of trunk biomass lost in burning (49%) was substantially higher than has been found in previous studies. This difference may be explained by the concentration of more stems in the smaller diameter classes and the low humidity of the fuel (the dry season was unusually long in 2007, the year of the burn). This study provides the first measurements of forest burning parameters for a group of forest types that is now undergoing rapid deforestation. The burning parameters estimated here indicate substantially higher burning efficiency than has been found in other Amazonian forest types. Quantification of burning efficiency is critical to estimates of trace-gas emissions from deforestation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

With the use of biodiesel in clear growth, it is important to quantify any potential emission benefits or liabilities of this fuel. Several researches are available concerning the regulated emissions of biodiesel/diesel blends, but there is a lack of information about non-regulated emissions. In a previous paper [Corrêa, S.M., Arbilla, G., 2006. Emissões de formaldeído e acetaldeído de misturas biodiesel/diesel. Periódico Tchê Química, 3, 54–68], the emissions of aromatic hydrocarbons were reported. In this work, seven carbonyl emissions (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein, acetone, propionaldehyde, butyraldehyde, and benzaldehyde) were evaluated by a heavy-duty diesel engine fueled with pure diesel (D) and biodiesel blends (v/v) of 2% (B2), 5% (B5), 10% (B10), and 20% (B20). The tests were conducted using a six cylinder heavy-duty engine, typical of the Brazilian fleet of urban buses, in a steady-state condition under 1000, 1500, and 2000rpm. The exhaust gases were diluted nearly 20 times and the carbonyls were sampled with SiO2–C18 cartridges, impregnated with acid solution of 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine. The chemical analyses were performed by high performance liquid chromatography using UV detection. Using average values for the three modes of operation (1000, 1500, and 2000rpm) benzaldehyde showed a reduction on the emission (−3.4% for B2, −5.3% for B5, −5.7% for B10, and −6.9% for B20) and all other carbonyls showed a significative increase: 2.6, 7.3, 17.6, and 35.5% for formaldehyde; 1.4, 2.5, 5.4, and 15.8% for acetaldehyde; 2.1, 5.4, 11.1, and 22.0% for acrolein+acetone; 0.8, 2.7, 4.6, and 10.0% for propionaldehyde; 3.3, 7.8, 16.0, and 26.0% for butyraldehyde. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The 1997 Brazilian Proposal suggested that differentiated emissions reduction targets for Annex I parties of the UNFCCC should be based on the impact of their historic greenhouse gas emissions on global temperature rise. In this paper, we develop methodologies for (and undertake) population-adjusted historical responsibility calculations. These adjust national-level historical responsibility calculations for historical population trends. We find a weak correlation between current per capita emissions levels and population-adjusted historical responsibility. Our calculations may contribute to burden sharing schemes in future climate agreements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Ethanol derived from sugarcane is an efficient and renewable biofuel that appears as a solution to the problems of rural development, diversification of energy sources, and fossil fuel-saving, as well as contributing to the reduction of local pollutants from vehicle exhausts and net reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. During the 30 years of the Brazilian Alcohol Program, Brazil has accumulated a significant amount of experience in the various aspects of sugarcane ethanol production. This paper discusses this experience and the lessons learned, with special attention paid to the following aspects: (1) private investments now fund alcohol mill construction, eliminating the need for subsidies or other government incentives (so there is no influence of the sunk capital investments made in the past), and it is competitive with gasoline without the need for government subsidies to the industry; (2) the favorable energy balance of ethanol; (3) there is no competition for land with food crops; (4) the quality of jobs and social impacts; (5) the compatibility of existing fleets with ethanol-gasoline blends; (6) adequate legislation can control local environmental impacts associated with feedstock production and biofuel manufacture; (7) perspectives for the replication of the Brazilian ethanol program in other developing countries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Freight transportation in Brazil is heavily based on the road mode bringing heavy dependence of this mode to the country and some consequences such as high operating costs and high air emissions. For these reasons, it was considered the necessity of evaluating new investments made in this mode from a sustainable perspective, taking into account not only economic but also social and environmental concepts. Towards this purpose, the study develops an evaluation model of road transport infrastructure, the TIM, which will help decision making in situations of choice between different alternatives of road projects. The model includes ten variables that count from the initial investment in the road to air emissions of carbon dioxide. All are monetarized individually and then consolidated into a single equation. The result of applying the model is innovative when considering the three spheres of sustainability to evaluate future road transport projects and rank them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The calculation of robust estimates of future greenhouse gas emissions due to agriculture is essential to support the framing of the Brazilian climate change mitigation policy. Information on the future development of land use and land cover change (LULCC) under the combination of various driving factors operating at different spatial scale levels, e.g., local land use policy and global demands for agricultural commodities, is required. The spatially explicit land use model, LandSHIFT, was applied to calculate a set of high-resolution land use scenarios for Southern Amazonia. The time frame of the analysis was 2010-2030. Based on the generated maps, emission coefficients were applied to calculate annual NO, CH, and CO emissions from agricultural soils (croplands and pastures). The results indicate that future land use pattern and the resultant greenhouse gas emissions in Southern Amazonia will be strongly determined by global and regional demands for agricultural commodities, as well as by the level of intensification of agriculture and the implementation of conservation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has proved to be one of the greatest threats to human survival on Earth. Its mitigation requires that the greatest Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emitters adopt low carbon development, reducing emissions substantially. Brazil is among them. Although deforestation is still the main source of Brazilian emissions, since 1990 emissions from energy systems and industrial processes have increased and their shares in total Brazilian emissions have been consistently larger. It is the objective of the article to analyse Brazilian energy-climate policy and politics from 1990 to 2014 in order to clarify Brazilian progress towards low carbon development and Brazilian positions in the international climate change regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carbon dioxide flux through the air-water interface of coastal estuarine systems must be quantified to understand the regional balance of carbon and its transport through adjacent coastal regions. We estimated and calculated the emissions of carbon dioxide (FCO2) and the partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) values in 28 estuarine environments at a variety of spatial scales in the northern and northeastern regions of Brazil. The results showed a mean FCO2 (water to air) of 55 ± 45 mmol·m-2·d-1. Additionally, a negative correlation between dissolved oxygen saturation and pCO2 was observed, indicating a control by biological processes and especially by organic matter degradation. This leads to increased dissolved CO2 concentration in estuarine waters which results in a pCO2 that reached 8,638 matm. Our study suggests that northern and northeastern Brazilian estuaries act as sources of atmospheric CO2. The range of pCO2 observed were similar to those found in inner estuaries in other places around the world, with the exception of a few semi-arid estuaries (Köppen climate classification - BSh) in which record low levels of pCO2 have been detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazil's status as a rapidly developing country is visible in its need for more energy, including electricity. While the current electricity generation mix is primarily hydropower based, high-quality dam sites are diminishing and diversification to other sources is likely. We combined life-cycle data for electricity production with scenarios developed using the IAEA's MESSAGE model to examine environmental impacts of future electricity generation under a baseline case and four side cases, using a Monte-Carlo approach to incorporate uncertainty in power plant performance and LCA impacts. Our results show that, under the cost-optimal base case scenario, Brazil's GHGs from electricity (excluding hydroelectric reservoir emissions) rise 370% by 2040 relative to 2010, with the carbon intensity per MWh rising 100%. This rise would make Brazil's carbon emissions targets difficult to meet without demand-side programs. Our results show a future electricity mix dominated by environmental tradeoffs in the use of large-scale renewables, questioning the use tropical hydropower and highlighting the need for additional work to assess and include ecosystem and social impacts, where information is currently sparse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issues left undecided at COP-18 in Doha in December 2012 are critical to containing the two greatest threats to Brazil's Amazon forest: direct deforestation and forest loss through drought and fire provoked by climate change. Brazil's diplomatic positions on the role of tropical forests in mitigating global warming currently call for receiving donations through a voluntary fund, but without generating carbon credit valid against emissions-reduction commitments by countries that accept limits on their national emissions (i.e., Annex I countries). Brazil has long rejected accepting a target (assigned amount), and has instead presented a non-binding 'voluntary objective.' At COP-17 in Durban, Brazil expressed willingness to accept a commitment after 2020, but only if all of the rest of the world agreed to do the same. This author argues that Brazil's national interests would be better served by accepting a target now and by supporting fully marketable carbon credit from Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD). The global goal of preventing mean temperature from increasing beyond 2 °C above pre-industrial levels would be much more likely to be achieved in practice with tropical forests fully included in a carbon market as part of an agreement for the period after 2012. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazil has become an increasingly important participant in the discussion about climate change, combining an active role in climate diplomacy with credible domestic policy efforts. Market-based instruments have featured prominently in its domestic policy landscape, with carbon markets envisioned both at the federal and regional level. Aside from successful participation in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and some progress in the creation of voluntary offset markets, however, the pathway towards a domestic carbon market has so far been fraught by delays and ongoing uncertainty. Still, Brazil can build on proven institutional structures, quantified emissions limitation targets, and new rules on the collection of emissions data and sectoral mitigation plans to establish robust market-based instruments. A carbon market can help leverage its vast mitigation potential to abate greenhouse gas emissions at sufficient scale while limiting the cost of compliance for domestic entities. Given its unique emissions profile, however, Brazil should not focus on becoming a net seller of carbon credits or allowances to foreign entities, but should instead harness the opportunity to create an ambitious, welldesigned market and thereby become a leader on climate change mitigation in Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the mathematical formalism of the Brazilian Proposal to the IPCC, we analyse eight power technologies with regard to their past and potential future contributions to global warming. Taking into account detailed bottom-up technology characteristics we define the mitigation potential of each technology in terms of avoided temperature increase by comparing a 'coal-only' reference scenario and an alternative low-carbon scenario. Future mitigation potentials are mainly determined by the magnitude of installed capacity and the temporal deployment profile. A general conclusion is that early technology deployment matters, at least within a period of 50-100 years. Our results conclusively show that avoided temperature increase is a better proxy for comparing technologies with regard to their impact on climate change, and that numerous short-term comparisons based on annual or even cumulative emissions may be misleading. Thus, our results support and extend the policy relevance of the Brazilian Proposal in the sense that not only comparisons between countries, but also comparisons between technologies could be undertaken on the basis of avoided temperature increase rather than on the basis of annual emissions as is practiced today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The main goal of this work is to describe the diurnal and seasonal variations of the radiation balance components at the surface in the city of São Paulo based on observations carried out during 2004. Monthly average hourly values indicate that the amplitudes of the diurnal cycles of net radiation ( Q*), downwelling and upwelling shortwave radiation (SW, SW), and longwave radiations (LW, LW) in February were, respectively, 37%, 14%, 19%, 11%, and 5% larger than they were in August. The monthly average daily values indicate a variation of 60% for Q*, with a minimum in June and a maximum in December; 45% for SW, with a minimum in May and a maximum in September; 50% for SW, with a minimum in June and a maximum in September; 13% for LW, with a minimum in July and a maximum in January; and 9% for LW, with a minimum in July and a maximum in February. It was verified that the atmospheric broadband transmissivity varied from 0.36 to 0.57; the effective albedo of the surface varied from 0.08 to 0.10; and the atmospheric effective emissivity varied from 0.79 to 0.92. The surface effective emissivity remained approximately constant and equal to 0.96. The albedo and surface effective emissivity for São Paulo agreed with those reported for urban areas in Europe and North America cities. This indicates that material and geometric effects on albedo and surface emissivity in São Paulo are similar to ones observed in typical middle latitudes cities. On the other hand, it was found that São Paulo city induces an urban heat island with daytime maximum intensity varying from 2.6°C in July (16:00 LT) to 5.5°C in September (15:00 LT). The analysis of the radiometric properties carried out here indicate that this daytime maximum is a primary response to the seasonal variation of daily values of net solar radiation at the surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive interfluvial wetlands occur in the upper Negro River basin (Brazil) and contain a mosaic of vegetation dominated by emergent grasses and sedges with patches of shrubs and palms. To characterize the release of carbon dioxide and methane from these habitats, diffusive and ebullitive emissions and transport through plant aerenchyma were measured monthly during 2005 in permanently and seasonally flooded areas. CO emissions averaged 2193 mg C m day. Methane was consumed in unflooded environments and emitted in flooded environments with average values of −4.8 and 60 mg C m day, respectively. Bubbles were emitted primarily during falling water periods when hydrostatic pressure at the sediment-water interface declined. CO and CH emissions increased when dissolved O decreased and vegetation was more abundant. Total area and seasonally varying flooded areas for two wetlands, located north and south of the Negro River, were determined through analysis of synthetic aperture radar and optical remotely sensed data. The combined areas of these two wetlands (3000 km) emitted 1147 Gg C year as CO and 31 Gg C year as CH. If these rates are extrapolated to the area occupied by hydromorphic soils in the upper Negro basin, 63 Tg C year of CO and 1.7 Tg C year as CH are estimated as the regional evasion to the atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soils of tropical forests are important to the global budgets of greenhouse gases. The Brazilian Atlantic Forest is the second largest tropical moist forest area of South America, after the vast Amazonian domain. This study aimed to investigate the emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) fluxes along an altitudinal transect and the relation between these fluxes and other climatic, edaphic and biological variables (temperature, fine roots, litterfall, and soil moisture). Annual means of N2O flux were 3.9 (± 0.4), 1.0 (±0.1), and 0.9 (± 0. 2) ng N cm-2 h-1 at altitudes 100, 400, and 1000m, respectively. On an annual basis, soils consumed CH4 at all altitudes with annual means of - 1.0 (± 0.2), - 1.8 (± 0.3), and -1.6(±0.1) mg m-2 d-1 at 100m, 400 m and 1000 m, respectively. Estimated mean annual fluxes of CO2 were 3.5, 3.6, and 3.4 µmol m-2 s-1 at altitudes 100, 400 and 1000m respectively. N2O fluxes were significantly influenced by soil moisture and temperature. Soil-atmosphere exchange of CH4 responded to changes in soil moisture. Carbon dioxide emissions were strongly influenced by soil temperature. While the temperature gradient observed at our sites is only an imperfect proxy for climatic warming, our results suggest that an increase in air and soil temperatures may result in increases in decomposition rates and gross inorganic nitrogen fluxes that could support consequent increases in soil N2O and CO2 emissions and soil CH4 consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biofuel project is an agro-industrial development and politically contested policy process where governments increasingly become global actors. European Union (EU) biofuels policy rests upon arguments about societal benefits of three main kinds - namely, environmental protection (especially greenhouse gas savings), energy security and rural development, especially in the global South. Each argument involves optimistic assumptions about what the putative benefits mean and how they can be fulfilled. After examining those assumptions, we compare them with experiences in three countries - Germany, Brazil and Mozambique - which have various links to each other and to the EU through biofuels. In those case studies, there are fundamental contradictions between EU policy assumptions and practices in the real world, involving frictional encounters among biofuel promoters as well as with people adversely affected. Such contradictions may intensify with the future rise of biofuels and so warrant systematic attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions from fires in tropical forest fuels were quantified using Proton-Transfer-Reaction Mass Spectrometry (PTRMS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and gas chromatography (GC) coupled to PTRMS (GC-PTR-MS). We investigated VOC emissions from 19 controlled laboratory fires at the USFS (United States Forest Service) Fire Sciences Laboratory and 16 fires during an intensive airborne field campaign during the peak of the burning season in Brazil in 2004. The VOC emissions were dominated by oxygenated VOCs (OVOC) (OVOC/NMHC ~4:1, NMHC: nonmethane hydrocarbons) The specificity of the PTR-MS instrument, which measures the mass to charge ratio of VOCs ionized by H3O+ ions, was validated by gas chromatography and by intercomparing in-situ measurements with those obtained from an open path FTIR instrument. Emission ratios for methyl vinyl ketone, methacrolein, crotonaldehyde, acrylonitrile and pyrrole were measured in the field for the first time. Our measurements show a higher contribution of OVOCs than previously assumed for modeling purposes. Comparison of fresh (<15 min) and aged (>1 h-1 d) smoke suggests altered emission ratios due to gas phase chemistry for acetone but not for acetaldehyde and methanol. Emission ratios for numerous, important, reactive VOCs with respect to acetonitrile (a biomass burning tracer) are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the views of the authors on the comments made by researcher Philip Fearnside published in September 2004 issue of this journal on an article by them reporting on a broad-ranging project to measure carbon dioxide and methane emissions at eleven Brazilian hydroelectric dams. According to the authors, Fearnside has erred in calculating the methane concentration in the water downstream from Tucurutí dam.