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Solar photovoltaic and wind power systems are very much dependent on climate variations. Wind and solar photovoltaic systems are unreliable without storage units like batteries and diesel generators as a backup. The addition of storage devices increases the reliability of the hybrid system consisting of solar photovoltaic and wind turbines. During cloudy and slow windy days, sufficient battery bank capacity is required to meet the load demand. This review paper gives new ways of hybrid energy generation. It discusses several optimization approaches and ideas for hybrid networks. Hybrid systems are gaining more popularity and fame in the current energy crisis scenario and environmental pollution. This research has provided a comprehensive assessment of existing optimization strategies, particularly those associated with the isolated microgrid in the literature. Artificial intelligence offers noteworthy optimization for microgrid operation without long-term weather data, as evidenced by the current optimization pattern for hybrid renewable sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combating global warming-related climate change demands prompt actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide. Biomass-based biofuels represent a promising alternative fossil energy source. To convert biomass into energy, numerous conversion processes are performed at high pressure and temperature conditions, and the design and dimensioning of such processes requires thermophysical property data, particularly thermal conductivity, which are not always available in the literature. In this paper, we proposed the application of Chemoinformatics methodologies to investigate the prediction of thermal conductivity for hydrocarbons and oxygenated compounds. A compilation of experimental data followed by a careful data curation were performed to establish a database. The support vector machine algorithm has been applied to the database leading to models with good predictive abilities. The support vector regression (SVR) model has then been applied to an external set of compounds, i.e. not considered during the training of models. It showed that our SVR model can be used for the prediction of thermal conductivity values for temperatures and/or compounds that are not covered experimentally in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the "green" growth tradition, the construction of lower carbon energy (renewable energy) infrastructures, such as wind power, has gained prominence in Norway. This has led to indigenous Saami herders confronting pastureland dispossession, some citizens fearing the industrialization of nature, and municipal councils losing formal governance power in favor of national agencies and private-sector project developers—justified by the urgency of the climate crisis. The purpose of the paper is to explore how energy infrastructures aimed at decarbonization have led to social fragmentation and ecological degradation alongside claims of economic revitalization potential in Åfjord. The authors draw upon fieldwork conducted within Saepmie (or Sápmi), the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi, and investigate the Fosen Vind energy project in the Åfjord Municipality. They find that lower carbon energy infrastructures, such as "wind farms," have been normalized as unavoidable, and damage to habitat and encroachment on Saami livelihoods are positioned as necessary sacrifices for the greater good of fighting the climate crisis. The authors conclude that avoiding the creation of green sacrifice zones in making low-carbon places requires a more transformative vision than the visions offered by techno-solutionism, such as degrowth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to solve the state's hydropower dependence, build energy security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a hybrid renewable energy system and its implementation in Willingdon Island. Hybrid Optimisation of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) is used to find the optimal solution for two grid-connected and off-grid scenarios. Of the 19 solutions, an optimal off-grid, an optimal grid-connected, a 100% variable renewable energy, and a diversified energy portfolio option are selected, analyzed, and ranked based on their techno-economic and emissions characteristics. The results suggest the combination of PV/Wind/Grid with a cost of energy of $0.044 as an optimal solution for the Island. The diversified energy solution takes the second position, having 51.4% and 38.8% solar and wind, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various endeavors are undertaken by the maritime industry, academia, and policy-makers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These include the search for feasible technologies that could be used onboard merchant vessels and are propelled by international legal and social initiatives. To this end, this study aimed to critically analyze the research trends pertaining to the active methods of reducing the negative environmental impact of shipping. The research is focused on alternative fuels and renewable energy systems with respect to the related policy-making and existing legal framework. Therefore, a bibliometric approach was applied to a sample of 234 scientific papers indexed in the SCI-EXPANDED in Clarivate Analytics Web of Science Core Collection. The results indicate that the scientific efforts were made more on alternative fuels, while renewable energy sources only recently became a popular research subject. Moreover, the environmental benefits of prospective technologies are more investigated than their financial aspects. The research effort on alternative maritime fuels was made in parallel with the legal one, both aiming to combat global climate change and magnifying each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that past research has overlooked how the way problems and solutions are framed contribute to a prevailing gap in the global governance of climate and energy. Empirically, this paper investigates the frames of energy and climate change as expressed in key documents from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and International Energy Agency (IEA). Partly in contrast to past research, this paper finds (1) that there is a growing similarity in how the IPCC and IEA frame climate and energy; (2) that the IEA has gone from ignoring to acknowledging climate change and the transformation to a low-carbon energy system; and (3) that there is a prevailing difference in emphasis, whereas the IPCC only marginally discuss energy, while the IEA is still mainly talking about energy needs and fossil fuels even if climate change and renewables have entered their agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change governance has changed substantially in the last decade, with a shift in focus from negotiating globally agreed greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets to nationally determined contributions, as enshrined in the 2015 Paris Agreement. This paper analyses trends in adoption of national climate legislation and strategies, GHG targets, and renewable and energy efficiency targets in almost all UNFCCC Parties, focusing on the period from 2007 to 2017. The uniqueness and added value of this paper reside in its broad sweep of countries, the more than decade-long coverage and the use of objective metrics rather than normative judgements. Key results show that national climate legislation and strategies witnessed a strong increase in the first half of the assessed decade, likely due to the political lead up to the Copenhagen Climate Conference in 2009, but have somewhat stagnated in recent years, currently covering 70% of global GHG emissions (almost 50% of countries). In comparison, the coverage of GHG targets increased considerably in the run up to adoption of the Paris Agreement and 89% of global GHG emissions are currently covered by such targets. Renewable energy targets saw a steady spread, with 79% of the global GHG emissions covered in 2017 compared to 45% in 2007, with a steep increase in developing countries. Key policy insights The number of countries that have national legislation and strategies in place increased strongly up to 2012, but the increase has levelled off in recent years, now covering 70% of global emissions by 2017 (48% of countries and 76% of global population). Economy-wide GHG reduction targets witnessed a strong increase in the build up to 2015 and are adopted by countries covering 89% of global GHG emissions (76% not counting USA) and 90% of global population (86% not counting USA) in 2017. Renewable energy targets saw a steady increase throughout the last decade with coverage of countries in 2017 comparable to that of GHG targets. Key shifts in national measures coincide with landmark international events - an increase in legislation and strategy in the build-up to the Copenhagen Climate Conference and an increase in targets around the Paris Agreement - emphasizing the importance of the international process to maintaining national momentum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent significant changes in technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and big data analysis have a wide impact in many areas of human societies, not least in education. Advances in efficiency of new technologies, with impacts in renewable energy and transport affected by environmental concerns and climate change mitigation, demand a reassessment and adjustment of the industrial structure of the economy. Technological advances enhancing creativity and analytical skills mean people must learn and adapt to a fast-changing economic environment. This paper present some key changes in Australian educational areas in recent years that are important and relevant to the subject of education innovation and philosophy to achieve outcomes in training and sustainable economic development, as anticipated by the community and government. Education courses and curricula in many countries have been transformed by technological advance. It is the swift incorporation of new technologies that best prepares students for the dynamics of economic and social change. Even though technological responsiveness is not a new phenomenon, it is established that the teaching methods found to be most successful include complementary and supplemental courses producing multi-skilled and creative graduates. These courses are delivered with significant emphasis upon self-development skills and are less focused upon traditional content. A move toward horizontal focus and a student-centric balance is the current trend, displacing vertical over-specialisation of learning. Yet, the central role of educator is seen as still appropriate and necessary where the aim is to equip graduates with creative and adaptive skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers key drivers to climate policy development with an emphasis on the role of a jurisdiction's underlying energy resource. The states of Hawaii in the United States and Victoria in Australia provide an insightful comparative case study given their differing energy resources: Hawaii has no native fossil fuel resources but abundant renewable energy options while Victoria has an economy traditionally reliant on cheap, plentiful coal. The Advocacy Coalition Framework is applied to analyze why the two states, despite the different incentives provided by their energy resources, developed similar climate policies in the earlier period of policy response to global warming. Analysis finds the stable parameter of energy resources is counterbalanced by other policy drivers including public opinion, leadership and, in particular, features of policy-making particular to the subnational level that provide a different context for climate policy development to that offered at the national level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India, being one of the fastest-growing economiess in recent times, has witnessed a rise in energy consumption with associated implications on energy availability and energy security. The country recognizes these challenges and has accelerated its efforts with varied degree of success by initiating various programs, policies, and required institutional arrangements to ameliorate these challenges. This paper attempts to review the development of nation’s policy programs to trace the progress so far, in terms of energy efficiency and conservation. Energy being a cross-sectoral issue has been dealt with holistically in this paper, with special reference to the policy instruments that have been instrumental in realizing the energy-saving potential and in integrating renewable energy in building sector. Further, an attempt is made to draw the success/failure with respect to various policies and programs, along with a detailed analysis of various missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an analysis of life-cycle assessment (LCA) of Jatropha biodiesel with a view to outline the environmental quality norms of Jatropha biodiesel. The underlying issue is that biofuels need to mitigate the effects of climate change and provide sustainable energy alternatives to fossil fuels. Thus, there is need for empirical evidence on the sustainability of Jatropha biodiesel in order to inform both biofuels policies and development of options for technical intervention to improve the environmental footprint of Jatropha biodiesel. Ten LCAs of Jatropha biodiesel are analyzed in this paper. The paper considers impact categories, which include energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) balance, land-use impact, acidification, and eutrophication. The general trend emerging from this analysis is that although Jatropha biodiesel has positive energy and GHG balances, there are site-specific variances and numerous opportunities for improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the way that United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) attempted to communicate its policies and messages about the topic of renewable energy during 2013–2014. Renewable energy is a fruitful topic to consider as it has a strategic importance in the discussion of the future of the UK. The emergent theme from the analysis was not only rurality and renewable energy but the connection of the issue to scepticism about climate change. This paper uses the qualitative analyses the social media posts and a sample of the linked materials, with newspaper coverage, to reveal the key themes in the UKIP discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Hydropower contributes to a higher share of renewables but is also in conflict with environmental legislation aiming to protect natural habitats, wildlife and endangered species. Analysing two neighbouring European countries with similar topographical and hydromporphological characteristics, Austria and Slovenia, allows assessing to what extent a policies’ national context steers possible policy conflicts of EU legislation. The paper shows that hydropower expansion in examined countries is strongly shaped by factors such as financial concerns of investors, diverging opinions of involved stakeholders, available hydro potential and the role of hydropower in national energy strategies. Addressing issues that lead to a lower effectiveness of national policies already at the level of EU policy design or engaging countries to broadening their national energy portfolio by considering emerging technologies such as PV and wind will enable future energy and climate strategies that are more consistent with other environmental goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change mitigation action is hampered by systematic under-assessment of national ‘fair shares’, largely on the basis of perceived national interests. This paper aims to inform discussions centred on South Africa’s nationally determined contribution (NDC) by estimating (1) emissions reduction pathways for the country using the Climate Equity Reference Calculator (CERC) assuming a maximum 2°C aggregate warming target and (2) the likely economy-wide net mitigation costs or savings associated with reaching these pathways if known lower-cost mitigation measures, identified through the national mitigation potential analysis, are prioritised. The cumulative net savings associated with achieving the CERC ‘fair share’ emissions pathway, assuming the moderate use of low carbon power generation measures, would reach $5.3 billion by 2030. Net savings could be substantially greater reaching $46.8 billion by 2030 assuming power generation focuses on moving towards full decarbonisation. An unconditional commitment to the mitigation action implied by the ‘fair share’ emissions pathway therefore seems reasonable and prudent purely from the point of view of net country-wide savings. Only if power generation moves towards full decarbonisation would there be a reasonable chance of achieving the more ambitious CERC domestic emissions pathway. However, the significant additional cost associated with achieving the domestic emissions pathway should be conditional on international assistance. Key policy insights South Africa can only achieve its ‘fair share’ of the global mitigation effort if greater use is made of renewable energy options, and can realise significant net savings if it does so. Further emissions reductions would incur costs and require significant upscaling of the share of renewable energy and full implementation of all non-power generation mitigation measures available. Committing to this further mitigation action contingent on international finance would both strengthen the nation’s position in climate negotiations and support the provision of finance for those vulnerable developing nations that bear little or no responsibility for climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decade, district heat networks have emerged as a key strategy for the UK government to achieve its 2050 decarbonization targets. Reports and analyses have focused on the technical and economic challenges of introducing networked heat provision in a country where this is a relatively novel energy service. Meanwhile, there has been little emphasis on the spatial and physical aspects of heat provision and their influence on the spatial development of cities. In this paper, we contribute to current debates on urban energy transitions with insights on the implications of heat networks to cities including scale, density, mixed-use, and materiality. The study reveals the embeddedness of energy services and the emergence of new forms of local governance that combine spatial and energy planning to realize new urban energy landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In December 2015, China joined 190 plus nations at Paris in committing to the goal of limiting the rise in global average temperature to ‘well below’ 2°C. Carbon budget analysis indicates that goal will require not only that the European Union and US reduce their emissions by greater than 80% by 2050, but that China at least comes close to doing so as well, if any budget is to be left over for the rest of the world (RoW). Given that RoW emissions are, and will come from, low-income and emerging nations, China’s emission reduction potential is of no small consequence. In this paper, we use the Kaya identity to back out changes in the drivers of CO2 emissions, including gross domestic product (GDP), energy intensity (E/GDP) and the carbon content of energy (C/E), the latter two calculated to be consistent with China’s long-term GDP growth rate forecasts and specified 2050 CO2 emission reduction targets. Our results suggest that even achieving China’s highly optimistic renewable energy targets will be very far from sufficient to reduce China’s CO2 emissions from 9.1 Gt it emitted in 2015 to much below 3 Gt by 2050. Even reducing its emissions to 5 Gt will be challenging, yet this falls far short of what is needed if the world is to meet its ‘well below’ 2°C commitment. Key policy insights Under the Paris Agreement there is great pressure on China to very substantially reduce its emissions by 2050. While China has attached great importance to renewables and nuclear energy development, even achieving the most optimistic targets would not be sufficient to reduce China’s emissions from 9.1 Gt in 2015 to much below 3 Gt by 2050. China’s emission reduction potential falls far short of what is needed if the world is to meet its Paris ‘well below’ 2°C commitment, even if the EU and US reduce their emissions to zero by 2050. Emission cuts consistent with the Paris Agreement will require that China and the world give much greater weight to advancing research and development of scalable low-, zero- and negative-carbon sources and technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is clear that developing countries will have to be part of the global mitigation effort to avoid ‘dangerous climate change’, and, indeed, many of them are already undertaking significant actions on multiple fronts to help address this problem, even if they have not yet taken on legally binding commitment under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Since the deployment of GHG-mitigating technologies is already a significant part of this effort and likely to be even more so in the future, drawing lessons from existing programmes can help accelerate and enhance the effectiveness of this deployment process. Accordingly, this article aims to examine the deployment of wind and solar power in India, paying specific attention to the role of public policy in incentivizing and facilitating this deployment, how these policies have evolved over time, what has shaped this evolution, and what the learning has been over this period. Through this analysis, the intention is to draw out key lessons from India's experience with deployment policies and programmes in these two sectors and highlight the issues that will need to be given particular consideration in the design of future domestic policies and international cooperation programmes to enhance the move towards climate-compatible development in India. Many of these lessons should also be relevant for other developing countries that are attempting to balance their climate and developmental priorities through the deployment of renewable energy technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the Paris Agreement, 80% of all proven fossil fuel reserves become stranded resources and investments already made in such resources turn into stranded assets. Much of the existing literature focuses on equitable burden sharing; only a few articles examine the risks for developing countries that invest in new fossil fuels. Hence, this paper addresses the question: What are the risks of investing in fossil fuels for developing countries? In doing so, it examines Kenya, a prospective fossil fuel producer, and China, an investor in fossil fuels. In terms of short- to long-term risks, ignoring new fossil fuels and investing in renewables is favourable and politically, socially, ecologically and economically more rewarding, not least because latecomers to development run the risk of having to compensate investors when new fossil fuel assets strand prematurely and become unrecoverable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2015 UN Paris Agreement reinforced and declared compatible the two goals of avoiding dire climate change and maintaining global economic growth, and it specified that technological innovation is ‘critical’ to this joint achievement. Unfortunately, any confidence that near-term global economic growth is consistent with a stabilized climate is severely undermined by empirical evidence. Despite the rapid increase of alternative energies in recent decades, global GDP growth continues to require burning greater quantities of climate-destabilizing fossil fuels. The dim outlook for sufficiently reducing CO2while maintaining economic growth is underscored by global data and Germany specific data on the decoupling of GDP from CO2. This paper summarizes pertinent climate science, substantiates the dependence of economic growth on fossil fuels, and uses the Kaya identity to demonstrate the unfavorable prospects for reducing CO2while maintaining GDP growth. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper analyses how 10 localities in the USA and England, recognised as leaders in clean energy and climate action, have used collaborative approaches to develop local climate change plans and energy conservation, efficiency, and renewable energy initiatives. It examines these planning and policy-making processes in the context of Margerum's [2008. A typology of collaboration efforts in environmental management.Environmental Management, 41 (4), 487–500] typology of “action”, “organizational”, and “policy-level” collaborations, as well as Gray's [1989.Collaborating: finding common ground for multiparty problems. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass] classification of collaboration in the “problem-setting”, “direction-setting”, and “implementation” phases. We conducted interviews with local elected officials, municipal staff, energy professionals, and citizen volunteers in each community, supplemented with an analysis of their adopted energy, climate change, and land-use plans. We find that despite the different government structures and political contexts between the two countries, there was a surprising amount of commonality in how the case study localities used collaborative planning to develop local climate plans and clean energy initiatives. These processes were most often initiated by local elected officials and/or high-level staff members, and then carried out in collaboration with local third-sector organisations and other community stakeholders. In the USA, collaboration was strongest at the policy level and in the direction-setting phase, with the distinguishing feature that citizen advisory boards or stakeholder working groups often took a more active role in shaping local plans and policies. The English localities had some of those same types of collaborations, but were more likely to also employ action collaboration, in the implementation phase, in which third-sector organisations coordinated with the locality to directly provide clean energy services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the liberal optimism of the long 1990s has faded into a world of growing inequality and resurging nationalism, there is less certainty about the prospects of economic convergence and global integration. Beyond the formidable human cost of maintaining a divided world, the possibility of incomplete globalisation also gives rise to a number of environmental risks. While environmental political theory generally sees strength in localism, history rather shows that a robust world trade system is crucial to offset local resource scarcities and that cosmopolitan norms of solidarity are essential for helping communities to rebuild after environmental catastrophe. In relation to climate change, statist thinking has led to a focus on non-scalable technologies and a silent acceptance of chronic poverty abroad as a way of avoiding a climate emergency. Contrary to such views, this paper argues that accelerating the transition to a fully integrated high-energy planet may more effectively mitigate Anthropocene risks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Climate change and resource depletion are driving the transition to renewable energy sources. Both the supply of renewables and the demand for energy are influenced by the physical environment and therefore concern spatial planning and landscape design. Envisioning the long-term development of alternative energy landscapes – that is sustainable energy landscapes – present spatial planners and landscape architects with new challenges. The first paper of this two-part series discussed several existing approaches to long-term regional planning and landscape design, and presented an alternative, five-step approach for the composition of integrated visions [Stremke, S., Kann, F. Van & Koh, J. (2012) Integrated Visions (part I): Methodological Framework, European Planning Studies, [20(2), pp. 305–320]. This paper illustrates how the five-step approach was employed to compose a set of integrated visions for the development of sustainable energy landscapes in  south of the Netherlands. The proposed five-step approach is then examined with respect to a set of criteria stressed in the planning and design literature. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The growing complexity of regional planning and design, in combination with increasing concerns about climate change and resource depletion, has revived the discussion on strategic thinking. Spatial planning and landscape architecture develop long-term visions to facilitate the gradual adaptation of the physical environment. Despite accomplishments in both disciplines, the two domains have yet to exploit the full potential of a joint approach to long-term regional design. The objective of the multidisciplinary study reported in this paper was to explore alternative means of developing imaginative yet robust long-term visions. The study combined literature study with the development of several long-term visions for the creation of sustainable energy landscapes. This paper focuses on the emerging methodological framework for long-term regional design, and argues that three modes of change should be integrated into the design process: change due to current projected trends, change due to critical uncertainties and intended change. Subsequently, a five-step approach to the development of long-term visions is derived and illustrated in this paper. The second paper of this two-part series, which will be published in the April 2012 issue of European Planning Studies, centres on the application and the discussion of the five-step approach to integrated visions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the face of the climate change threat and rising oil prices, some states, such as Oregon, New York and California, have adopted stronger renewable energy instruments than others. This paper analyzes the variation in instrument strength across states using the Tobit method of analysis. Three instruments are analyzed here: tax incentives, renewable portfolio standards and public benefit charges. Three models of policy adoption are estimated: needs/responsiveness, interest group and innovation-and-diffusion model. The paper finds that electric utilities oppose strong measures to stimulate renewable energy. Variables such as state wealth, electric restructuring programs and opinion liberalism also explain instrument strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the UK, there now exist hundreds of low-carbon community groups (LCCGs) that aim to decrease collective resource consumption and/or generate renewable energy through diverse social and environmental interventions. These groups have in recent years become the subject of political attention and funding schemes, underpinned by beliefs that LCCGs are key to fostering resilience to climate change and meeting national-level greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. While previous research into LCCGs has focused on drivers, barriers and outcomes of LCCG action, there is now growing policy and academic interest in groups' capacities for, and uses of, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) processes and tools. However, little is known about the experiences, opportunities and potential challenges for LCCGs undertaking M&E. In response, this paper draws on a Knowledge Exchange project that explored M&E processes and tools with a sample of UK LCCGs. It outlines the benefits and drawbacks of groups' attempts to achieve change and to account for their outcomes and/or impacts, individually, and as part of a wider movement. It argues that, while M&E could be one way for groups to “scale up” their impact without losing their grounding in place and community, issues of capacity, resources and utility remain paramount. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The fragmented development of energy law and regulation on the one hand and environmental law on the other is militating against the adoption of a sustainable energy system in South Africa. This mirrors the absence of a global regime on energy to align with environmental developments at that level, despite the recognition that energy is central to sustainable development. Since 1996, environmental law in South African has been reformed to embed it in sustainable development, yet such reforms have not been in synergy with developments in energy regulation. This paper argues that one of the key strategies required in building a sustainable energy system is to create regulatory synergy between environmental law and energy law. Renewable energy and relevant environmental law should be facilitating the technology transition from unsustainable fossil based energy (that is behind climate change) towards renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In land-use planning processes there often exists a tension between, on the one hand, making efforts to increase the democratic legitimacy of the process and, on the other, ensuring efficiency in the procedures. This is not least relevant in the case of large-scale wind power where development decisions balance between the need to safe-guard local self-determination and the urgency of mitigating climate change. This paper investigates how the issue of legitimacy versus efficiency is managed within the national planning systems of Finland, Norway and Sweden when faced with the expansion of wind power and how the national strategies for wind power planning are perceived by different stakeholders. As the EU Renewable Energy Directives set the conditions for national policy in the field, the empirical work starts with an examination of these documents before moving on to a comparison of the national planning and permitting processes. The results show that the development of wind power has been moving planning procedures away from more inclusive planning methods in favour of more top-down and streamlined ones. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

One of the topics receiving much attention in recent years is climate change and the potential of its integration in impact assessment, both in terms of achieving mitigation and adaptation. Renewable energy projects are part of the efforts to mitigate climate change, replacing the use of fossil fuel with CO2-neutral energy sources. A variety of these projects are subject to environmental impact assessment (EIA), which raises the following questions: What role does an impact assessment play? When is the project environmentally friendly? How are climate change-related impacts assessed in projects with inherent positive effects on climate change? This paper reviews practice, and takes up these questions based on a document study of 19 EIA reports of renewable energy projects in Denmark. The results show that climate change mitigation is included in 18 of the EIA reports reviewed, while adaptation is absent. Also, the results show an emphasis on positive impacts in the reports, and in a few cases discussions of enhancements. Identification and assessment of negative climate change impacts are less apparent. This leads to a discussion of the results in the light of the purpose of EIA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents survey results on tourism operator preferences and motivations for carbon offset options by environmentally certified tourism enterprises in Queensland, Australia. It found that less than a third are involved in carbon offset programmes, whereas just over a third plan to implement offsetting in the near future. Preferred offset projects are regional tree planting or renewable energy. Motivations for offsetting are related to environmental concern, commercial benefits of climate-friendly tourism, and financially supporting offset projects. This study found motivations for offsetting by larger tourism enterprises aligning with the more general business motivations and drivers for adopting corporate social and environmental responsibility practices. However, the extra cost and uncertainty about carbon issues limited the uptake of offsetting by smaller tourism operators. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper gives a personal view of the state of coastal hydrodynamics, mainly from a modelling perspective. The traditional areas of tidal flows and wave propagation are highlighted first. Their impact is evolving due to climate change generally and sea level rise particularly with massive economic and human consequences, raising the importance of coastal hydrodynamics. The emerging renewable energy technologies of offshore wind, tidal stream, wave and possibly tidal barrage will further dramatically expand the coastal hydrodynamics domain in the near future. The emerging methods of smoothed particle hydrodynamics for fluid-solid interaction and adjoint modelling for improved surge and tidal prediction are considered. Some of the broader issues of large-scale morphodynamics are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Responding to the threat of climate change, conserving freshwater ecosystems and securing adequate energy and water supplies are among the greatest challenges facing modern societies. Yet recognition of the interdependencies between climate, energy and water policy—with resulting synergies and trade-offs—remains limited, leaving societies and governments alike vulnerable to the dangers of conflicted or unintended policy outcomes from sectoral decisions. In this paper, we analyse current Australian climate, energy and water policies to identify the risks of perverse outcomes between the three policy sectors. In doing so we categorise the conflicts and synergies between particular energy generation, carbon sequestration and water supply policies to improve understandings of the challenges facing decision makers in Australia and internationally. Four types of interventions are identified that would enable integration and optimisation of policies, namely: better cross-sectoral knowledge to inform decisions; the identification of technologies with co-benefits; markets with broader cross-sectoral participation (including linking water and carbon markets); and better-integrated governance institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a reflective account exploring the value of using action research in a relatively new context in the United Kingdom; the development of community renewable-energy projects. There is a strong rationale for using action research in this setting due to the synergies between the principles and practice of action research and localised renewable energy provision, which simultaneously aims to empower communities and address the complex social problem of climate change. A doctoral study of the development and impacts of community renewable energy projects using an action research approach provided an opportunity to assess the benefits and challenges of following this approach in this setting. Personal reflection on the research process is used to evaluate the outcomes for researcher and co-participants, and to identify opportunities for future application of action research techniques to improve understanding of how to develop community-based approaches to renewable energy provision and other sustainability issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many of the world's rangelands are degraded due to either natural or anthropogenic causes. One of the main indicators of the degradation process is the depletion of the organic carbon stocks in the soil. The organic carbon plays a crucial role in supporting the soil microbial community, maintaining the soil structure formation and stability, and retaining water and nutrients in the uppermost soil layers. Biochar, the by-product of the pyrolysis technology for bio-energy production, has been proven to have the capability to efficiently maintain soil quality and increase vegetative production. At the same time, the inert nature of the biochar enables the long-term sequestration of carbon in soil. To date, the application of biochar has been examined almost exclusively in arable lands, but not yet in rangelands. The objective of this paper is to raise awareness of this topic in order to encourage research and development in this field. Progress in knowledge and understanding on this matter could contribute to the reclamation of degraded rangelands. At the same time, it would potentially increase their capacity for long-term sequestration of carbon to a rate of between 0.69 and 10.7 Pg. Large-scale implementation of this practice in the future should be funded through central authorities, based on payments for improvement in ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased energy security and reduced carbon emissions pose significant challenges for science and technology. However, they also create substantial opportunities for innovative research and development. In this review paper, we highlight some of the key opportunities and mention public policies that are needed to enable the efforts and to maximize the probability of their success. Climate is among the uttermost nonlinear behaviors found around us. As recent studies showed the possible effect of cosmic rays on the Earth's climate, we investigate how complex interactions between the planet and its environment can be responsible for climate anomalies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The clean development mechanism (CDM) could play an important role in the power generation sector of developing countries and emerging economies by providing additional revenue to support the diffusion of renewable energy sources (RES). This paper investigates the contribution of the CDM to deployment of renewable electricity projects in China and India, and highlights the main potentialities and limitations of this mechanism for their support. The outcome of our analysis shows many differences and similarities in the way and scale of CDM projects for renewable electricity generation have been implemented in the two countries. In both cases, the CDM has made a contribution to greening investments in the power generation sector, which is still largely dominated by subcritical coal-fuelled power plants. Nonetheless, some major problems still remain and they are mainly related to the distribution of projects across different technologies and to the environmental integrity of the mechanism. In view of the likely revision of the CDM in the post-Kyoto period, we find that the differentiation of the credit generation rate of different project categories could bring some level of improvement without significantly altering the current system functionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind power is seen by many as a key industry for the future: an environmentally benign renewable energy to replace fossil fuels. The Northern and Western Isles, with their high average wind speeds, would seem to be well placed to exploit this rapidly emerging demand. As well as meeting a global need, to reduce output of greenhouse gases and a national need for security of supply into the twenty-first century, wind power promises an economic future for rural regions whose prospects are otherwise uncertain. However, this benign scenario is marred by potentially serious negative consequences for local environmental systems, landscape aesthetics and archaeology, which are themselves often of national and international importance. With particular reference to proposed projects in Lewis and Shetland, this paper will consider the competing demands from national and local policy on the location of wind farms, and weaknesses in the current planning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst the existence of global climate change is no longer seriously contested and most governments are seeking to adopt appropriate responses, the rate of engagement with these measures is slow. Top-down policies and reliance on market mechanisms are failing to produce the reductions in energy demand and shifts away from fossil fuel reliance that are required. This paper outlines an example of a research programme that seeks to deliver more rapid change. It focuses on the potential for carbon emission reduction in a deprived community in South Yorkshire, UK, and reports on an approach that could be replicated elsewhere. The method includes estimation of baseline energy demand, energy efficiency potential and renewable energy resource assessment as a precursor to action. An innovative community-based energy service company is described and the benefits of a community-based bottom-up approach to carbon reduction are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the discourse on global environmental change in Iceland in official reports and newspaper discussions around the turn of the millennium. Three competing discursive positions were found. First, Iceland can provide clean energy for the world so that aluminium smelters do not need to burn as much fossil fuels as they would have to do otherwise. Second, Iceland is responsible to the world for the protection of its environment because Icelanders have a unique land to protect – the largest unpopulated and untouched area in western Europe. Third, Iceland can help the world by contributing its vast land areas to grow grass and forests and fix carbon dioxide, in part because some of these areas are especially well suited to soil reclamation and afforestation. The study focuses on the use of nationalistic arguments for the global role and responsibility of Iceland in environmental matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the status of policy studies on Global Climate Change and how renewable and high-efficiency generation technology can be part of the solution. It considers critical technologies and solutions toward realizing the targets set in the Kyoto treaty. Discussed is energy effi ciency in power generation, environmental benefits of high-effi ciency gas turbines in competitive energy markets which display less NOx and CO[sub 2] emissions per unit of power produced while providing power generators with the most competitive electricity, and experience in India in mitigating climate change with renewable energy as seen by the UN and an advisor to the Indian government in nonconventional energy sources. Also discussed is stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere that will present dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system as called for under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]