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As the second most predominant greenhouse gas, methane-targeted emission mitigation holds the potential to decelerate the pace of global warming. Satellite remote sensing is an important monitoring tool, and we review developments in the satellite detection of methane. This paper provides an overview of the various types of satellites, including the various instrument parameters, and describes the different types of satellite retrieval algorithms. In addition, the currently popular methane point source quantification method is presented. Based on existing research, we delineate the classification of methane remote sensing satellites into two overarching categories: area flux mappers and point source imagers. Area flux mappers primarily concentrate on the assessment of global or large-scale methane concentrations, with a further subclassification into active remote sensing satellites (e.g., MERLIN) and passive remote sensing satellites (e.g., TROPOMI, GOSAT), contingent upon the remote sensing methodology employed. Such satellites are mainly based on physical models and the carbon dioxide proxy method for the retrieval of methane. Point source imagers, in contrast, can detect methane point source plumes using their ultra-high spatial resolution. Subcategories within this classification include multispectral imagers (e.g., Sentinel-2, Landsat-8) and hyperspectral imagers (e.g., PRISMA, GF-5), contingent upon their spectral resolution disparities. Area flux mappers are mostly distinguished by their use of physical algorithms, while point source imagers are dominated by data-driven methods. Furthermore, methane plume emissions can be accurately quantified through the utilization of an integrated mass enhancement model. Finally, a prediction of the future trajectory of methane remote sensing satellites is presented, in consideration of the current landscape. This paper aims to provide basic theoretical support for subsequent scientific research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has focused on the threat of global warming-induced climate change to modern human civilization. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a primary greenhouse gas that causes global warming. Current efforts have focused on using CO2 as a raw source for producing value-added chemicals. Among the different CO2 conversion processes, the Sabatier process, also known as "CO2 methanation," is an effective approach, particularly if H2 is generated by renewable energy sources. In this process, methane (CH4) and water (H2O) are produced from CO2 and H2 using different transition-metal-based catalysts. Although numerous studies have been conducted to assess the significance of CO2 methanation, quantitative analysis of the publication trends in this research field is still lacking. This review presents the global research landscape of CO2 methanation over the last 20 years (2000–2022). The Web of Science (WoS) database was used to extract 1657 publications, and the VOSviewer software was used for bibliometric investigations. Bibliometric analysis revealed that 77.53% of the papers were published within the past 5 years (2018–2022). The International journal of hydrogen energy is leading journal publishing research articles about CO2 methanation followed by Applied Catalysis B. This study conducted a statistical analysis on the influence of leading countries, institutions, journals, authors, and top keywords in the field of CO2 methanation. Additionally, future research directions and findings of the most cited publications are discussed. Because the CO2 methanation reaction requires a highly stable and active catalyst, a brief introduction and major challenges of these catalysts are also reviewed. We hope that bibliometric findings will help scholars to understand this field of research more effectively and comprehensively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cement and concrete are essential for global development. However, cement manufacture is responsible for around 7–8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with significant growth anticipated. Beyond efficiencies in cement manufacturing, other strategies for using less cement in construction through applying the principles of efficient design, circular economy and reuse also have the potential to reduce emissions. A further option is to move towards cements with different compositions and inherently lower embodied carbon dioxide. This paper focuses on these materials and the challenges to their widespread adoption, drawing mainly on applied research, trials and standardisation activities conducted in the UK and the EU. In addition to modification of standards, basic technical and practical information such as strength development curves, durability, site considerations and a shared broad body of evidence are key for specifiers to consider when using any new cement. The paper describes the role of standards and specifications and the underpinning information (applied research, published case studies and experience) essential in getting any new cement adopted. It also shows how a range of evidence from research and application can feed into a simple conceptual model and evidence base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Altay Prefecture, a typical arid region in northwestern China, has experienced the climate transition from warming-drying to warming-wetting since 1980s and has attracted widespread attention. Nonetheless, it is still unclear how climate change has influenced the distribution of vegetation in this region. In this paper, a reaction–diffusion model of the climate–vegetation system is proposed to study the impact of climate change (precipitation, temperature and carbon dioxide concentration) on vegetation patterns in Altay Prefecture. Our results indicate that the tendency of vegetation growth in Altay Prefecture improved gradually from 1985 to 2010. Under the current climate conditions, the increase of precipitation results in the change of vegetation pattern structures, and eventually vegetation coverage tends to be uniform. Moreover, we found that there exists an optimal temperature where the spot vegetation pattern structure remains stable. Furthermore, the increase in carbon dioxide concentration induces vegetation pattern transition. Based on four climate change scenarios of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6), we used the power law range (PLR) to predict the optimal scenario for the sustainable development of the vegetation ecosystem in Altay Prefecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildfires are becoming more frequent due to the global climate change. Large amounts of greenhouse gases emitted by wildfires can lead to increases in extreme climate events. Accurately estimating the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from wildfires is important for mitigation of climate change. In this paper, we develop a novel method to estimate wildfire CO2 emissions from the relationship between local CO2 emissions and XCO2 anomalies. Our method uses the WRF-Chem assimilation system from OCO-2 XCO2 retrievals which coupled with Data Assimilation Research Testbed (DART). To validate our results, we conducted three experiments evaluating the wildfire CO2 emissions over the conterminous United States. The four-month average wildfire emissions from July to October in 2015∼2018 were estimated at 4.408 Tg C, 1.784 Tg C, 1.514 Tg C and 2.873 Tg C, respectively. Compared to the average of established inventories CT2019B, FINNv1.5 and GFASv1.2 fire emissions, our estimates fall within one standard deviation, except for 2017 due to lacking of OCO-2 XCO2 retrievals. These results suggest that the regional carbon assimilation system, such as WRF-Chem/DART, using OCO-2 XCO2 retrievals has a great potential for accurately tracking regional wildfire emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the interactive effects of elevated concentrations of carbon dioxide ([CO2]) and ozone ([O3]) on radial growth, wood chemistry and structure of five 5-year-old trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) clones and the wood chemistry of paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.). Material for the study was collected from the Aspen FACE (free-air CO2 enrichment) experiment in Rhinelander, WI, where the saplings had been exposed to four treatments: control, elevated [CO2] (560 ppm), elevated [O3] (1.5 x ambient) and their combination for five growing seasons. Wood properties of both species were altered in response to exposure to the treatments. In aspen, elevated [CO2] decreased uronic acids (constituents of, e.g., hemicellulose) and tended to increase stem diameter. In response to elevated [O3] exposure, acid-soluble lignin concentration decreased and vessel lumen diameter tended to decrease. Elevated [O3] increased the concentration of acetone-soluble extractives in paper birch, but tended to decrease the concentration of these compounds in aspen. In paper birch, elevated [CO2] decreased and elevated [O3] increased starch concentration. The responses of wood properties to 5 years of fumigation differed from those previously reported after 3 years of fumigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climate system responds to changes in the amount of atmospheric greenhouse gases or aerosols through rapid processes, triggered within hours and days, and through slower processes, where the full response may only be seen after centuries. In this paper, we aim to elucidate the mechanisms operating on time scales of hours to years to better understand the response of key climate quantities such as energy fluxes, temperature, and precipitation after a sudden increase in either carbon dioxide (CO2), black carbon (BC), or sulfate (SO4) aerosols. The results are based on idealized simulations from six global climate models. We find that the effect of changing ocean temperatures kicks in after a couple of months. Rapid precipitation reductions start occurring instantly and are established after just a few days. For BC, they constitute most of the equilibrium response. For CO2 and SO4, the magnitude of the precipitation response gradually increases as surface warming/cooling evolves, and for CO2, the sign of the response changes from negative to positive after 2 years. Rapid cloud adjustments are typically established within the first 24 h, and while the magnitude of cloud feedbacks for CO2 and SO4 increases over time, the geographical pattern of the equilibrium cloud change is present already after the first year. While there are model differences, our work underscores the overall similarity of the major time-varying processes and responses simulated by current global models and hence the robustness of key features of simulated responses to historical and future anthropogenic forcing. Significance Statement: How does the climate system respond to a change in the amount of atmospheric greenhouse gases or aerosols? Some processes are rapid, responding within hours and days. Others are slow, and the full response to a forcing of the climate may only be seen after centuries. In this paper, we use six global climate models to investigate the time scales of climate responses to carbon dioxide, black carbon, and sulfate, focusing on key climate quantities, such as temperature, precipitation, and clouds. While there are ample model differences, our work underscores the overall similarity of the major time-varying processes and responses simulated by current global models and hence the robustness of key features of simulated responses to historical and future anthropogenic forcing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utilization of geological formations, distinguished by natural porosity and permeability and protected by low-permeability caprock, has emerged as an effective strategy for carbon dioxide (CO2) storage. This method significantly contributes to mitigating anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and addressing the challenges of climate change. Recent research has unveiled the potential of CO2 to enhance geothermal heat energy extraction in geothermal reservoirs by acting as a subsurface heat exchange fluid. This review paper explores the viability of CO2 in augmenting geothermal heat energy extraction, comparing it to conventional water-based geothermal systems. Special emphasis is placed on CO2 plume geothermal (CPG) systems, characterized by rapid deployment and long-term utilization of geothermal energy resources. With the overarching objective of establishing net-zero energy communities, the analysis of such systems offers a comprehensive understanding of their features, providing a fresh perspective on extracted energy within the context of energy supply in integrated, sustainable energy in built systems. Notably, these systems demonstrate efficacy in meeting the power requirements of an energy community, spanning both distinct heating and electricity needs. However, the key challenge lies in selecting suitable locations. This scientific review aims to comprehend the characteristics of CPG under specific temperature and pressure conditions while optimizing subsurface permeability. This insight is pivotal for identifying future locations for CPG operations with the intent of powering small energy communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limiting climate change to 1.5°C and achieving net-zero emissions would entail substantial carbon dioxide removal (CDR) from the atmosphere by the mid-century, but how much CDR is needed at country level over time is unclear. The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed description of when and how much CDR is required at country level in order to achieve 1.5°C and how much CDR countries can carry out domestically. We allocate global CDR pathways among 170 countries according to 6 equity principles and assess these allocations with respect to countries' biophysical and geophysical capacity to deploy CDR. Allocating global CDR to countries based on these principles suggests that CDR will, on average, represent ∼4% of nations' total emissions in 2030, rising to ∼17% in 2040. Moreover, equitable allocations of CDR, in many cases, exceed implied land and carbon storage capacities. We estimate ∼15% of countries (25) would have insufficient land to contribute an equitable share of global CDR, and ∼40% of countries (71) would have insufficient geological storage capacity. Unless more diverse CDR technologies are developed, the mismatch between CDR liabilities and land-based CDR capacities will lead to global demand for six GtCO2 carbon credits from 2020 to 2050. This demonstrates an imperative demand for international carbon trading of CDR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With climate change, more intense weather phenomena can be expected, including pressure drops related to the arrival of an atmospheric front. Such drops of pressure are the main reason for gas emissions from closed mines to the surface, and a closed, empty mine shaft is the most likely route of this emission. Among the gases emitted, the most important are carbon dioxide and methane, creating a twofold problem—greenhouse gas emissions and gas hazards. The work presented in this paper simulated the spread of the mentioned gases near such an abandoned shaft for four variants: model validation, the most dangerous situations found during measurements with or without wind, and a forecast variant for a possible future pressure drop. It was found that a momentary CO2 emission of 0.69 m3/s and a momentary CH4 emission of 0.29 m3/s are possible, which for one hour of the appropriate drop would give hypothetically 2484 m3 CO2 and 1044 m3 CH4. In terms of gas hazards, the area that should be monitored and protected may exceed 25 m from a closed shaft in the absence of wind influence. The wind spreads the emitted gases to distances exceeding 50 m but dilutes them significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global warming and climate change caused by the continuing rise in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have attracted the attention of the public, scientists, and governments in recent years. An effective approach to limit the impact of such emissions is the implementation of advanced carbon capture and storage systems. This paper provides an overview of technologies and recent advances in carbon capture and utilization. The main methods include postcombustion, precombustion, and oxyfuel-combustion, adsorption, and membrane capture. In addition, various problems associated with the storage, transportation, and utilization of CO2 are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are significant contributors to climate change, and CO2 equivalent (CO2-e) is measured to compare emissions from GHGs. The healthcare sector contributes 4.4% of global CO2-e emissions, mainly with energy consumption and, in lesser extent, waste production. In this regard, bronchoscopy procedures produce a large amount of waste and are responsible for a significant consumption of energy. Objective: We aimed at quantifying the impact on waste mass production, energy consumption, and recyclability of bronchoscopic procedures. Methods: We conducted a prospective single-centre observational study; for each type of procedure (performed with either reusable or single-use instruments), the number of items used, their weight, and recyclability were evaluated, as well as the material of which recyclable waste was made of. We then calculated the total amount of waste produced, its recyclability, energy consumption, and CO2-e produced over 10 days of activity in our Interventional Pulmonology Unit. Results: Sixty procedures generated 61,928 g of waste, of which only 15.8% was potentially recyclable. Single-use instruments generated nearly twofold more recyclable waste than reusable ones, 80% during the procedure phase. Reusable instruments generated 45% of waste during the reprocessing phase, of which 50% was recyclable. The recyclable material was totally composed of paper and plastic. During 10 days of activity, we consumed 64 kWh and produced more than 67 kg of CO2-e due to non-recyclable waste and energy consumption. Conclusions: Our results confirm the compelling need to recycle as many materials as possible, even if the amount of recyclable waste is limited. In this respect, official documents issued by international societies are urgently needed to align our activity with climate requirements and improve the sustainability of our work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The citizen's carbon footprint is affected by various factors, but mostly by electricity consumption, daily transportation, travelling habits, as well as municipal solid waste management, a critical factor that is not frequently incorporated in carbon footprint estimations. This paper proposes a new carbon footprint calculator, the Carbon Footprint Simulation Dashboard—COMPAIR's CO2 calculator. The CO2 calculator employs Citizen Science (CS) information in order to assist citizens in understanding and comparing how future carbon emissions will be modified in accordance with changes in their daily routines. The calculator offers several statistics, e.g., the country's average carbon footprint and comparisons between EU members with respect to sectors that shape it, along with several recommendations for those domains where carbon footprint is significantly higher than the desired limits. The novelty of this tool is the integration of waste management strategies as a dimension of the total CO2 calculation. In this framework, the study presents the development of the Carbon Footprint Simulation Dashboard while two different waste management scenarios are applied with different citizen behaviours on recycling and composting. The applications highlighted the consumption in buildings that account for almost 50% of the total CO2 emissions, while the crucial role of transportation is also a key parameter. The different waste management scenarios showed a correlation between the CO2 footprint and the overall consumption/disposal habits of citizens. In the case of advanced recycling and composting, waste management accounted for up to 7% of the CO2 emissions, and this highlights the significance of behavioural choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The roles digital media-technologies play in raising public issues relating to emerging technologies and their potential for engaging publics with science and policy assessments is a lively field of inquiry in Science and Technology Studies (STS). This paper presents an analysis of controversies over proposals for the large-scale removal of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CDR). The study combines a digital method (web-querying) with document analysis to map debates about two CDR approaches: bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and afforestation. In the first step, we locate actors using the web to engage with BECCS and afforestation and map their alignments in relation to competing framings of CDR. In a second step, we examine the devices deployed by UK-based actors to evidence and contest the feasibility of BECCS and afforestation. Our analysis shows that policy distinctions between "natural" and "engineered" CDR are used flexibly in practice and do not map neatly onto actor engagement with BECCS and afforestation. We highlight the predominance of cross-cutting techno-economic expertise and argue that framings of CDR as a solution to governing climate change may contribute to public disengagement from climate policy processes. The paper reflects on methods for studying controversies, publics, and issues emerging around processes of technoscientific assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the effects of elevated CO2 concentration ([CO2]) on relationships between nitrogen (N) nutrition and foliar gas exchange parameters, white birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.) seedlings were exposed to one of five N-supply regimes (10, 80, 150, 220, 290 mg Nl-1) in either ambient [CO2] (360 µmol mol-1) or elevated [CO2] (720 µmol mol-1) in environment-controlled greenhouses. Foliar gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence were measured after 60 and 80 days of treatment. Photosynthesis showed a substantial down-regulation (up to 57%) in response to elevated [CO2] and the magnitude of the down-regulation generally decreased exponentially with increasing leaf N concentration. When measured at the growth [CO2], elevated [CO2] increased the overall rate of photosynthesis (Pn) and instantaneous water-use efficiency (IWUE) by up to 69 and 236%, respectively, but decreased transpiration (E) and stomatal conductance (gs) in all N treatments. However, the degree of stimulation of photosynthesis by elevated [CO2] decreased as photosynthetic down-regulation increased from 60 days to 80 days of treatment. Elevated [CO2] significantly increased total photosynthetic electron transport in all N treatments at 60 days of treatment, but the effect was insignificant after 80 days of treatment. Both Pn and IWUE generally increased with increasing leaf N concentration except at very high leaf N concentrations, where both Pn and IWUE declined. The relationships of Pn and IWUE with leaf N concentration were modeled with both a linear regression and a second-order polynomial function. Elevated [CO2] significantly and substantially increased the slope of the linear regression for IWUE, but had no significant effect on the slope for Pn. The optimal leaf N concentration for Pn and IWUE derived from the polynomial function did not differ between the CO2 treatments when leaf N was expressed on a leaf area basis. However, the mass-based optimal leaf N concentration for Pn was much lower in seedlings in elevated [CO2] than in ambient [CO2] (31.88 versus 37.00 mg g-1). Elevated [CO2] generally decreased mass-based leaf N concentration but had no significant effect on area-based leaf N concentration; however, maximum N concentration per unit leaf area was greater in elevated [CO2] than in ambient [CO2] (1.913 versus 1.547 g N m-2). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the world No.1 emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2), China has made up its mind to act on climate change. After trials in six pilot regions- Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong, Tianjin, Hubei, and Chongqing- a nationwide ETS has been established and implemented in line with the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan period (2016–2020). This paper simulates the effect of a national ETS in China using GTAP 9.1 database and a revised GTAP-E model. The simulation results show that the ETS is very effective in emissions reduction but will cause a mild economic contraction. At the sectoral level, the energy and resource sectors and energy intensive sectors are to be hit hard while most other sectors are affected negatively but insignificantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon-conditioning or chemical permeation methods can provide excellent microstructural improvements to recycled concrete and brick aggregate; however, the applications have their limitations. Further, recycled brick aggregate cannot be effectively carbon-conditioned with conventional methods as it contains only trace amounts of reactive materials. It is therefore a necessity to use hybrid methods involving dual technologies combining carbon-conditioning and chemical permeation for its improvement. This paper is focused on developing a novel hybrid method for improving the microstructural properties of recycled concrete aggregate and recycled brick aggregate for concrete usage. This study conducts particle density, water absorption and crushing value tests to measure the physical improvements achieved with the novel hybrid method, and utilises a variety of chemicals and a reaction chamber for carbon-conditioning for aggregate treatment. The study evinces that both the recycled concrete aggregate and recycled brick aggregate experienced significant improvements, with 10 mm and 20 mm recycled concrete aggregate and 10 mm recycled brick aggregate exceeding the density of virgin aggregate. Magnesium hydroxide plus carbon dioxide (Mg(OH)2 (s) + CO2 (g)) treatment for recycled concrete aggregate and calcium hydroxide plus magnesium hydroxide plus carbon dioxide (Ca(OH)2 (s) + Mg(OH)2 (s) + 2CO2 (g)) treatment for recycled brick aggregate can be considered as potential candidates for optimal hybrid treatment methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's first carbon dioxide (CO2) measurement satellite mission, TanSat, was launched in December 2016. This paper introduces the first attempt to detect anthropogenic CO2 emission signatures using CO2 observations from TanSat and NO2 measurements from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) onboard the Copernicus Sentinel-5 Precursor (S5P) satellite. We focus our analysis on two selected cases in Tangshan, China and Tokyo, Japan. We found that the TanSat XCO2 measurements have the capability to capture the anthropogenic variations in the plume and have spatial patterns similar to that of the TROPOMI NO2 observations. The linear fit between TanSat XCO2 and TROPOMI NO2 indicates the CO2-to-NO2 ratio of 0.8 × 10−16 ppm (molec cm−2)−1 in Tangshan and 2.3 × 10−16 ppm (molec cm−2)−1 in Tokyo. Our results align with the CO2-to-NOx emission ratios obtained from the EDGAR v6 emission inventory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers reconstructions of the heliospheric modulation potential, which characterizes solar activity variations, over the past 20 000 years on the basis of radiocarbon data. This time interval includes the period of climate transition from the Last Ice Age to the Holocene and the Holocene itself. The reconstruction process takes into account variations in the global temperature and carbon dioxide content in the Earth's atmosphere. The variation in the rate of radiocarbon transfer from the ocean to the atmosphere and from the atmosphere to the biosphere is also taken into account. In particular, it is shown that high solar activity in the 13th millennium BC could cause the Meiendorf warming, and a decrease in solar activity could lead to a decrease in the global temperature in the period starting from 3000 BC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's economy has made significant strides in the past three decades. As a direct result of China's "one belt, one road" (OBOR) initiative, the country's rate of industrialization and urbanization is currently the fastest in the entire world. This rapid development is largely dependent on the enormous amounts of energy currently being consumed and forms the foundation of the world's high levels of carbon emissions. It is generally agreed that the production of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide, is the primary contributor to the current state of climate change. In this paper, a CO2 emission prediction model based on Bi-LSTM is constructed. In order to conduct empirical tests on the model, this study uses data from South Asian countries and China from 2001 to 2020. China's CO2 emissions from 2022 to 2030 were predicted along with those of other countries in order to study the combined effects of the scientific and technological progress, industrial structures, and energy structure factors affecting CO2 emissions. When compared with the LSTM and GRU methods, the Bi-LSTM model's results produced lower MAE, MSE, and MAPE values, indicating that it performs better. According to the findings, carbon emissions represent a significant problem that will become much worse in the future due to China and India's high emissions, particularly in the next 10 years, if the government does not implement policies that help reduce those emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, global climate change is likely the most compelling problem mankind is facing. In this scenario, decarbonisation of the chemical industry is one of the global challenges that the scientific community needs to address in the immediate future. Catalysis and catalytic processes are called to play a decisive role in the transition to a more sustainable and low-carbon future. This critical review analyses the unique advantages of structured reactors (isothermicity, a wide range of residence times availability, complex geometries) with the multifunctional design of efficient catalysts to synthesise chemicals using CO2 and renewable H2 in a Power-to-X (PTX) strategy. Fine-chemistry synthetic methods and advanced in situ/operando techniques are essential to elucidate the changes of the catalysts during the studied reaction, thus gathering fundamental information about the active species and reaction mechanisms. Such information becomes crucial to refine the catalyst's formulation and boost the reaction's performance. On the other hand, reactors architecture allows flow pattern and temperature control, the management of strong thermal effects and the incorporation of specifically designed materials as catalytically active phases are expected to significantly contribute to the advance in the valorisation of CO2 in the form of high added-value products. From a general perspective, this paper aims to update the state of the art in Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) and PTX concepts with emphasis on processes involving the transformation of CO2 into targeted fuels and platform chemicals, combining innovation from the point of view of both structured reactor design and multifunctional catalysts development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Carbon dioxide (CO2) has attracted special scientific interest over the last years mainly because of its relation to climate change and indoor air quality. Except for this, CO2 can be used as an indicator of food freshness, patients' clinical state and fire detection. Therefore, the accurate monitoring and controlling of CO2 levels are imperative. The development of highly sensitive, selective and reliable sensors that can efficiently distinguish CO2 in various conditions of temperature, humidity and other gases' interference is the subject of intensive research with chemi-resistive zinc oxide (ZnO)-based sensors holding a privileged position. Several ZnO nanostructures have been used in sensing applications because of their versatile features. However, the deficient selectivity and long-term stability remain major concerns, especially when operating at room temperature. This study aims to encompass an extensive study of CO2 chemi-resistive sensors based on ZnO, introducing the most significant advances of recent years and the best strategies for enhancing ZnO sensing properties. Design/methodology/approach: An overview of the different ZnO nanostructures used for CO2 sensing and their synthesis methods is presented, focusing on the parameters that highly affect the sensing mechanism and, thus, the performance of CO2 sensors. Findings: The selectivity and sensitivity of ZnO sensors can be enhanced by adjusting various parameters during their synthesis and by doping or treating ZnO with suitable materials. Originality/value: This paper summarises the advances in the rapidly evolving field of CO2 sensing by ZnO sensors and provides research directions for optimised sensors in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors offer observation on health impacts of climate change and geopolitics. Topics discussed include increase in global carbon dioxide emissions in 2018, direct health effects of the main drivers of climate changes like fossil fuel, and how climate change affects agriculture. It also mentions goal set by the 2015 Paris Agreement and ways geopolitics influenced the allocation of foreign assistance.

CO 2 capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) are critical technical measures to effectively mitigate the global climate change problem. However, most of the existing research has focused on the capture end and lacks in-depth analysis of subsequent processes such as compression, leading to limitations in the improvement of system economics. Therefore, a novel CCS system for a 300 MW coal-fired power plant was proposed in this paper with two strategies: (1) a CCS system integrating CO 2 refrigeration cycle (CFPP-CCS-CRC); and (2) a CCS co-generation plant integrating CO 2 refrigeration cycle (CHP-CCS-CRC). The proposed systems' performance was comparatively evaluated by applying energy, exergy, and economic (3E) analyses. The results demonstrated that at different CO 2 capture percentages (13.1 %∼72.9 %), the CHP-CCS-CRC system has improved energy utilization efficiency by 1.2 %∼5.6 % and exergy efficiency by 7.7 %∼25.8 %, compared to the conventional CCUS system (CFPP-CCS). In particular, at a percentage of 13.1 %, the combined energy consumption of the CHP-CCS-CRC system was 0.39 GJ/tCO 2 , a 79 % reduction compared to 1.87 GJ/tCO 2 of the CFPP-CCS system, which resulted in a static payback period of less than 2 years. In general, the newly proposed system features more adequate energy utilization, lower operating costs, and higher economic efficiency. [Display omitted] • A novel CCUS system coupled with CO 2 refrigeration were proposed. • The performance of the proposed systems is comparatively evaluated by 3E analysis. • The energy consumption of the proposed CCUS systems is reduced by 29.24 %–79 %. • The exergy efficiency of the proposed CCUS systems is reduced by 7.7 %–25.8 %. • The static payback period for the proposed systems is reduced to less than 2 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the increasingly severe challenges of global climate change and sustainable development, accurate prediction of daily carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions has become crucial. However, current research on real-time daily forecasts remains relatively scarce, often limited to annual predictions and point estimates. This paper proposes an innovative integrated model, based on quantile regression and Attention-Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BILSTM), specifically designed for probabilistic prediction of daily carbon emissions. Testing the model on daily carbon emission data from major carbon-emitting countries including China, the United States, India, Russia, and Italy has demonstrated its superior performance across various metrics, including mean squared error (MSE), mean absolute error (MAE), coefficient of determination (R2), and normalized average width of prediction intervals (PINAW), compared to other benchmark models. This achievement not only highlights the model's effectiveness in predicting daily carbon emissions but also provides policymakers with a powerful tool for real-time monitoring and assessment of carbon emissions. Furthermore , the application of probabilistic forecasting methods enables decision-makers to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the potential range of future carbon emissions, providing strong support for the formulation of targeted policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The statistical simulation of atmospheric carbon dioxide based on time series analysis plays an important role in the development of refined carbon emission assessment and traceability. A new statistical method based on the random Weierstrass–Mandelbrot function is proposed to simulate the high-Reynolds-number and high-Péclet-number scalar turbulence in the atmospheric flow. In this paper, we focus on the carbon dioxide, which is the most important scalar for the global climate changes. The new statistical method is used to simulate the time series of carbon dioxide concentrations in the high-frequency inertial subrange. Results show that the simulated power spectral densities are almost the same as the observed ones in the inertial subrange. Compared with the Gaussian distribution, the simulated probability density functions are more similar to the observed ones with the skewness characteristic. More importantly, the fractal characteristics of the time series that cannot be simulated by traditional methods in the meteorological engineering can also be well simulated by the new method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated assessment models (IAMs) project future anthropogenic emissions which can be used as input for climate models. However, the full list of climate-relevant emissions is lengthy and most IAMs do not model all of them. Here we present Silicone, an open-source Python package which infers anthropogenic emissions of unmodelled species based on other reported emissions projections. For example, it can infer nitrous oxide emissions in one scenario based on carbon dioxide emissions from that scenario plus the relationship between nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide emissions found in other scenarios. Infilling broadens the range of IAMs available for exploring projections of future climate change, and hence Silicone forms part of the open-source pipeline for assessments of the climate implications of IAM scenarios, led by the Integrated Assessment Modelling Consortium (IAMC). This paper presents a variety of infilling options and outlines their suitability for different cases. We recommend certain infilling techniques as good defaults but emphasise that considering the specifics of the model being infilled will produce better results. We demonstrate the package's utility with three examples: infilling all required gases for a pathway with data for only one emission species, splitting up a Kyoto emissions total into separate gases, and complementing a set of idealised emissions curves to provide a complete, consistent emissions portfolio. The code and notebooks explaining details of the package and how to use it are available on GitHub (https://github.com/GranthamImperial/silicone , last access: 2 November 2020). The repository with this paper's examples and uses of the code to complement existing research is available at https://github.com/GranthamImperial/silicone%5fexamples (last access: 2 November 2020). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Projections of future West African monsoon (WAM) precipitation change in response to increasing greenhouse gases are uncertain, and an improved understanding of the drivers of WAM precipitation change is needed to help aid model development and better inform adaptation policies in the region. This paper addresses one of those drivers, the direct radiative effect of increased CO2 (i.e., the impact of increased CO2 in the absence of SST warming and changes in plant physiology). An atmosphere-only model is used to examine both the equilibrium response and the evolution of the change over the days following the instantaneous CO2 increase. In response to the direct radiative effect, WAM precipitation increases due to a weakening of the shallow meridional circulation over North Africa, advecting less dry air into the convective column associated with the monsoon. Changes in the shallow circulation are associated with atmospheric and surface warming patterns over North Africa. A large-scale atmospheric warming pattern, whereby North Africa warms more than the monsoon region, leads to a northward shift in the Saharan heat low. In response to increased precipitation in the Sahel, local soil moisture feedbacks play a key role in determining the low-level circulation change and the location of the intertropical discontinuity. The large-scale warming patterns over North Africa result from differing levels of constraint applied by convective quasi-equilibrium. While this constraint acts strongly in the equatorial WAM region, preventing the region from warming in response to the direct radiative effect, North Africa is not strongly constrained and is therefore able to warm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural tractors may idle from 10 to 43% of their entire operating life and this inoperative time must be minimised because it is detrimental to the environment, public health, fuel economy, and engine lifespan (Perozzi et al., 2016). On passenger cars, start and stop (SS) systems have been extensively used, but they are not currently installed in any commercial tractor. Studies show that for very short idling stops SS systems might be ineffective for the additional energy required for re-starting the engine. This study aims to investigate the potential advantages of SS systems on agricultural tractors. To this aim, the energy required for engine start-up and the subsequent emissions were measured and then compared with the energy and the emissions during idling. Moreover, a predefined control strategy of the SS system was developed, and its potential fuel and emission savings were estimated using real-world data. In terms of fuel consumption and CO emission, turning off the engine is recommended for stops longer than 4 s and 134 s, respectively. From the collected real-world data, the tractor was run on idle for 21.7% of the entire operating duration. The results obtained with the SS control strategy developed in this paper applied to the US area, where there are 1.2 million tractors of the same power level of the tractor used in this study with a yearly usage up to 850 h, would permit to save 285.6 million litres of fuel, and, respectively of 16.5 and 754 tons of CO and CO 2. • Turning off the engine for idling stops longer than 4 s leads to fuel savings. • Turning off the engine for idling stops longer than 134 s leads to CO savings. • 45% of idling time could be avoided by farmers. • Start and Stop systems are an effective way for saving fuel and emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a linguistic approach to narrative analysis, illustrated through a quantitative/qualitative lexico-semantic study of sustainability reports by BP, Equinor, ConocoPhillips, and ExxonMobil. It contributes novel insights into how major CO2 emitters present themselves in climate narratives. My aim is, first, to show how the basic components of narratives (Complication, Reaction, and Resolution) and the classic character set (victim, villain, and hero) may be identified through linguistic features, and second, to consider how the special nature of climate change impacts on the enactment of this character set. The study considers whether the companies acknowledge their reputation as villains in the global climate narrative, or whether they are discursively shying away from this script. I find that the reports share a basic climate narrative, representing a techno-optimistic approach to maintaining a profitable business in a carbon-constrained society, with gas representing a narrative Complication as well as a Resolution. The global villain role is acknowledged, but typically softened through a dual villain/hero role. The hero role in fact turned out to be the most conspicuous in the material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of negative emission technologies is key in meeting climate change targets. Offshore wind-powered CO 2 direct air capture (DAC) coupled with deep-water, submarine basalt reservoirs has the potential to offer a reliable way to permanently store CO 2 while avoiding grid-energy and land-use competition. This paper analyzes the incorporation of a DAC system into a reference floating wind turbine (FWT) concept, the IEA 15 MW RWT atop the UMaine VolturnUS-S semi-submersible. The resulting FWT-DAC platform's total mass and its distribution is adapted as needed to preserve floating stability, prevent any wave splashing on the DAC system, and ensure minimum power production disturbances. The system's fully coupled motion responses are analyzed for relevant design load conditions and compared to those from the reference design demonstrating good agreement with the benchmark. The research findings suggest that the hybrid FWT-DAC platform behaves in a similar way to the reference one and can serve as a viable modular deployment approach. • CO 2 direct air capture (DAC) integration onto a floating wind turbine (FWT). • Floating stability and air gap assessment of the hybrid FWT-DAC system. • Dynamic analysis using various design load conditions. • Results show similar system responses between the reference FWT and the FWT-DAC platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture is one of the primary contributors to Pakistan's economy. However, over the last few decades, the atmospheric carbon dioxide emission has been amplified to a great extent in Pakistan. This amplification may cause climate change, global warming, and environmental mitigation in Pakistan. This paper empirically investigates the impact of CO2 emissions on the agricultural export trade of Pakistan over the period 1975–2017. Evidence suggests that climate change could be a primary cause for the decline in Pakistan's agriculture export trade; no studies have been carried out for this specific issue, particularly over time. In this paper, the empirical analysis suggests the negative coefficient of agriculture export trade with CO2 emissions subsequently decreases agriculture export trade, which leads to direct impact on Pakistan's economy. Both theoretical and empirical outcomes suggest that the adaptation of clean and green energies and technologies are the key to reduce pollution in Pakistan. Overall, the effects of carbon dioxide emissions on agriculture export trade are stronger in the long‐run dynamics, thus making the finding heterogeneous. Possible initiatives should be taken by the government of Pakistan to improve the agriculture sector and it should also introduce new policies to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy is crucial to economic and social development and improves quality of life. However, fossil fuel energy produces greenhouse gases (GHGs) and cannot be sustained for a long time. It is essential to tackle these problems by moving towards renewable and sustainable energy. Some countries, including those in the Arabian Gulf region, are still in the appraisal stage of adopting different forms of renewable energy. This paper reviews the business potential and likely GHG reductions associated with adopting renewable energy in Oman. It is revealed that 1·9 Mt of annual carbon dioxide emissions could be cut by producing 10% of the country's electricity from renewables. The paper further discusses the global sustainable energy commitment under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and reviews the 2030 targets of some countries that are high producers of GHGs. It is anticipated that if all these planned targets are achieved, the total sustainable energy contribution could grow by nearly 11 000 TWh by 2030. These plans provide guidance for those countries still preparing to submit their plans to the UN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accessibility concept provides a suitable framework for the achievement of sustainable land use and transport systems. Environmental and climate concerns have gained particular relevance among sustainability goals in recent years, thus reshaping political agendas all over the world. Against this background, this paper explores the practical relevance of accessibility instruments for low carbon mobility planning. A theoretical framework on usefulness is developed, which outlines potential application purposes related to identifying needs for interventions in the land use and transport system, assessing the impacts of potential solutions, as well as communicating between planning sectors and stakeholders. Three real-world planning issues in the Munich region serve to test the hypothetical usefulness of accessibility instruments for low carbon mobility planning in empirical applications. Practitioners were involved at various stages throughout the process in order to capture their perspectives on practical relevance. Both the identified planning issues and the types of accessibility implementations were diverse in nature, showing that accessibility analysis is applicable to a variety of tasks connected to the aim of reducing transport-related emissions. Earlier findings about the practical relevance of accessibility instruments were confirmed in this context, in particular the importance of communicative outputs. While more research in other spatial contexts is clearly needed, we conclude that accessibility instruments can contribute to a low carbon transition by enabling practitioners to plan for low carbon mobility options and communicate the benefits of these options. However, the implementation of accessibility instruments might be hampered by emerging barriers, such as the need to quantify emissions and emission savings, the desire to consider qualitative aspects in addition to quantitative indicators, and the lack of accessibility standards and reference values. • Accessibility instruments enable planning for low carbon mobility options. • Real-world urban and transport planning applications to reduce CO 2 emissions. • Communication and argumentation support towards politicians and citizens. • Emission quantification as key performance indicator instead of accessibility. • Practitioners want to use the accessibility tools in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Observations of warm past climates and projections of future climate change show that the Arctic warms more than the global mean, particularly during winter months. Previous work has attributed this reduced Arctic land seasonality to the effects of sea ice or clouds. In this paper, we show that the reduced Arctic land seasonality is a robust consequence of the relatively small surface heat capacity of land and the nonlinearity of the temperature dependence of surface longwave emission, without recourse to other processes or feedbacks. We use a general circulation model (GCM) with no clouds or sea ice and a simple representation of land. In the annual mean, the equator-to-pole surface temperature gradient falls with increasing CO2, but this is only a near-surface phenomenon and is not caused by the change in total meridional heat transport, which is virtually unaltered. The high-latitude land has about twice as much warming in winter than in summer, whereas high-latitude ocean has very little seasonality in warming. A surface energy balance model shows how the combination of the smaller surface heat capacity of land and the nonlinearity of the temperature dependence of surface longwave emission gives rise to the reduced seasonality of the land surface. The increase in evaporation over land also leads to winter amplification of warming over land, although amplification still occurs without it. While changes in clouds, sea ice, and ocean heat transport undoubtedly play a role in high-latitude warming, these results show that enhanced land surface temperature warming in winter can happen in their absence for robust reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2019-20 Australian bushfire season was the longest with active fires and destroyed the most homes since fire records have been kept. This led to increased realisation of the risk of bushfires due to climate change. In 1988 my CSIRO colleagues and I produced the first scientific examination of bushfire danger under climate change. The paper states that under a scenario in which the carbon dioxide is doubled the fire danger every year on average would be larger than the fire danger during the year in which the terrible Ash Wednesday fires occurred. Humidity plays a very important role in determining which years will and will not have bad bushfires. Thus, science has advanced to a stage where we can mathematically determine fire spread, the likelihood of fire occurrence, calculate air quality implications and even publicise the dangers that low visibility causes because of bushfire smoke. I remain optimistic that science, engineering and technology, working for and with society, will find solutions to the growing challenge of bushfires and climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The main goal in this paper is to supply a national load by multiple renewable power connections to utility grid at different geographic locations. The national load demand of the country of Jordan is supplied in this case study by finding the optimal configurations and locations (near cities). Cities of higher potential for wind and/or photovoltaic (PV) energy location are selected for connecting to renewable power. The annual system cost of energy (ASCE) for this optimized renewable energy system is shown to be 32.57% less than the conventional grid energy price. Further, the Carbon Dioxide (CO 2) emissions are reduced by 80.13%. These are excellent indications for the feasibility and environmental benefits of retrofitting conventional grid with renewable power in developing countries. Multi-figure of merits (MFOM) based on a Nondominated Sorting Genetic Algorithms (NSGA) optimization cases are investigated which include annual emission indicator (AEI), ASCE, levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and renewable penetration (RP). Results are either two dimensions (2D) or three dimensions (3D) Pareto frontier, where various competitive non-dominant solutions exist. A sweet spot selection (triple-S) procedure is proposed to help select the best point in the two (figure of merits) FOMs Pareto frontier to have both environmental and feasible solutions. Highlights • The contributions of this paper are multi-point connection to a national grid, holistic definition and modeling of the engineering and financial problems, optimal design tool solutions to the multi-point connection problem definition and model, suggesting this as a case study of the concept of "local solutions for a global problem." Such a holistic approach is recommended especially in the developing countries. • The importance of moving toward sustainable energy stems from global climate change and the need to provide access to affordable energy to all of humanity. The ultimate goal is to satisfy a country's national load demand by establishing multiple utility grid connections to various geographic locations of high wind or solar energy resources. This is done by building a new optimization design tool which investigates economic feasibility and environmental impacts. Then, Single figure of merit and multi-figure of merits optimizations have been investigated. • A mathematical modeling is developed for each component, and the optimal configuration is determined for each city. The annual system cost of energy (ASCE) is optimized to be 32.57% less than grid energy price, and the CO 2 emissions (AEI) are reduced by 80.13%. These are excellent indications for the economic feasibility and the environmental benefits of the designed system. The levelized cost of energy (LCOE), total net present cost, renewable penetration (RP) and AEI are 0.058212 $/kWh, $8.713857 billion, 59.49817% and 4.576 Megatonne/year respectively. • A new equation to calculate the salvage cost has been developed in this paper. Moreover, a new procedure in a multi-optimization problem was developed in this paper, which is the Sweet Spot Selection (triple-S) procedure. It is developed to help select the sweet point in the two FOMs Pareto frontier to have both environmental and economic feasible solutions. • Multi-figure of merits (MFOM) optimization cases based on a non-sorting genetic algorithm are investigated such as: AEI vs. ASCE, AEI vs. LCOE, AEI vs. RP and (RP, LCOE, AEI). The MFOM optimization results are either 2D or 3D Pareto frontier, where exists various competitive non-dominant solutions. The sweet spot selection (triple-S) procedure is proposed to help select the sweet spot in the two figure of merits Pareto frontier in order to have both environmental and feasible solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Over the past few decades, climate change has become a significant problem, the ramifications of which are of concern around the world. Global warming is a long-term process caused by phenomena such as increased levels of carbon dioxide (CO 2) concentration in the atmosphere, increases in rainfall, changes in relative humidity and changes in temperature. Thus, this will aggravate the degradation process of reinforced concrete (RC) structures, leading to the decrease of durability, safety and serviceability. Regarding the durability of concrete structures, carbonation-induced corrosion is definitely a significant and costly source of degradation, directly related to climatic parameters such as CO 2 , temperature and relative humidity. In Paraguay, the lack of control during the construction of buildings often leads to weak structures highly vulnerable to the attack of harmful external agents. Therefore, this paper seeks to provide an analysis of the correlation between real degradation data and a numerical carbonation model for concrete structures in the country. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, climatic parameters will increase in the future. For this reason, an analysis of the decreasing performance of these structures caused by climate change will be addressed in this paper. This research aims to choose the most accurate mathematical model that can be applied in Paraguay for the prediction of the service life of concrete structures subjected to carbonation-induced corrosion. For that purpose, parameters and variables of the selected model have been defined and subsequently validated through carbonation tests results carried out in a set of RC structures built in the country. The results of this paper should be considered as a first stage for the further formulation of maintenance strategies, which is highly necessary for Paraguay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

General circulation models (GCMs) are routinely run under Atmospheric Modelling Intercomparison Project (AMIP) conditions with prescribed sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and sea ice concentrations (SICs) from observations. These AMIP simulations are often used to evaluate the role of the land and/or atmosphere in causing the development of systematic errors in such GCMs. Extensions to the original AMIP experiment have also been developed to evaluate the response of the global climate to increased SSTs (prescribed) and carbon dioxide (CO2) as part of the Cloud Feedback Model Intercomparison Project (CFMIP). None of these international modelling initiatives has undertaken a set of experiments where the land conditions are also prescribed, which is the focus of the work presented in this paper. Experiments are performed initially with freely varying land conditions (surface temperature, and soil temperature and moisture) under five different configurations (AMIP, AMIP with uniform 4K added to SSTs, AMIP SST with quadrupled CO2, AMIP SST and quadrupled CO2 without the plant stomata response, and increasing the solar constant by 3.3%). Then, the land surface temperatures from the free land experiments are used to perform a set of "AMIP prescribed land" (PL) simulations, which are evaluated against their free land counterparts. The PL simulations agree well with the free land experiments, which indicates that the land surface is prescribed in a way that is consistent with the original free land configuration. Further experiments are also performed with different combinations of SSTs, CO2 concentrations, solar constant and land conditions. For example, SST and land conditions are used from the AMIP simulation with quadrupled CO2 in order to simulate the atmospheric response to increased CO2 concentrations without the surface temperature changing. The results of all these experiments have been made publicly available for further analysis. The main aims of this paper are to provide a description of the method used and an initial validation of these AMIP prescribed land experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the climate impacts of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. In its Fourth Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggests that about 50 percent of a carbon dioxide increase will be removed from the atmosphere within 30 years. It is reported that the logarithmic relationship between carbon dioxide and its radiative forcing implies that the time scale at which atmospheric temperature declines will be longer.

• The WTP ranges between €12 and €38 per ton and between €14 and €66 per flight. • It is higher for projects aimed at forest protection, afforestation, reforestation. • It is significantly lower if the description of the project financed is missing. • Gender, occupational status and education degree influence the WTP. • Also travel habits and environmental consciousness influence the WTP. The aviation industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors in producing carbon emissions. In order to reduce its carbon footprint and to respond to the increasing number of people concerned about the impact caused by air transport on climate change, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has recently passed the "carbon neutral growth from 2020" resolution requiring that the global net CO 2 emissions from international aviation do not exceed the 2019–2020 levels. Airlines, however, can act beyond their obligations under the ICAO resolution investing in projects aimed at reducing or offsetting all the emissions produced not only by their international flights but also by their domestic flights. The aim of this paper is to test whether Italian air travellers would be willing to donate a contribution to finance these projects and whether the willingness to pay depends on the projects' type and on the projects' effectiveness. To this aim we performed a stated-choice experiment involving a sample of 1228 Italians who travelled by plane at least once in the last 3 years. We find that their willingness to pay ranges from €12 to €38 per ton and from €14 to €66 per flight. The description of the project type to be financed via the passengers' donations is one of the most important factors influencing their willingness to pay. Other key factors are the quantity of CO 2 reduced or offset via the project and the respondents' gender, education degree, occupational status, environmental consciousness and travel habits. Our results are useful for airlines to design the donation proposals and improve the corporate image and for policy makers to support air travellers' environmental conscious behaviour and airlines' environmental sustainable strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the maximum entropy model (Maxent) and geographic information system ( ArcGIS 10.3) softwares were used to predict the potential distribution areas of four Litsea species under the current and future climate conditions of China ( 2061 - 2080), and to analyze and classify their suitable habitats. The results were as follows: Litsea cubeba was widely distributed in the south to the Yangtze Hiver in China, and under the future climate with two ( HCP2.6, HCP8.5) carhon dioxide concentrations, during 2061-2080 the suitable anca for its distribution was reduced by 4.9%and 0.5%, respectively; L. coreana was mainly distributed in central and northern subtropical regions of China, and under the climate scenarios with two carbon dioxide concentrations, in 2061-2080 the total suitable area would be increased by 5.6% and 4.5%, respectively; L. greennumiana was mainly distributed in the south subtropical regions of China; L. mollis was widely distributed in the subtropical region. Under the future climate HCP2. 6 scenarios, the suitable area of the two species would be shrinked by 1.0% and 3.3%, respectively, and under the climale HCP8.5, the suitable area of the two species would be shrinked by 5.6% and 8.3%, respectively. These results reveal that due lo different ecological requirements, Litsea species will have different distributional responses to the future climate. the introduction and cultivation of Litsea species should consider the influences of climale change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dioxide plays a central role in earth's atmospheric, ocean and terrestrial systems.1,2 About 40% of the total anthropogenic emissions since 1750 have remained in the atmosphere, with the balance being removed by the ocean and vegetation sinks.3 Increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations have been well documented,3 as have widespread impacts on human and natural systems, such as warmer surface temperatures, ocean warming and decreasing pH, loss of ice mass over the cryosphere, increasing global mean sea level, and alterations in the global hydrological cycle.3,4 The impact of increased atmospheric concentrations of CO2 on the biosphere includes shifting species extent, seasonal activities, migration patterns and abundances, as well as changes in species interactions. Monitoring of atmospheric CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) has been identified as a priority by international agencies, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and government departments that are interested in mitigating the effects of climate change. South Africa has made a commitment to a low carbon future as part of its role in global climate policy instruments through a national low carbon development strategy.5,6 At the Conference of the Parties in November 2015 (COP21), high level of agreement by developed and developing countries encouraged stakeholders to urgent action to address climate change. The agreement emphasises the urgent mitigation pledges with respect to GHG emissions by 2020. As South Africa implements its White Paper on Climate Change, to stimulate a shift towards a low carbon economy, it faces a monitoring and evaluation challenge. Currently, the South African GHG emission inventory is based on fossil fuel emissions, as part of the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory System, under the National Air Quality Act, 2004 (Act No. 39 of 2004). Briefly, emissions are rarely measured directly, but rather based on proxy estimates of activity, extrapolated by an emission factor for the specific activity. There is therefore a need to independently assess the effectiveness of emissions reductions within the context of natural CO2 fluxes. Understanding the changing driving forces of climate change and evaluation of the carbon emission reduction activities requires long-term and high-precision measurements of CO2 gas emissions and sinks as well as their evolution. Land can act as both a source and a sink for GHGs.7 Currently the baseline GHG emissions from land and agriculture are thought to amount to 3.03x1010 kg CO2 eq per year in South Africa. The land sector is responsible for an uptake of 2.1x1010 kg CO2 eq per year while agriculture is responsible for a release of 5.06x1010 kg CO2 eq per year.7 The GHG emissions for South African industry amounted to ~5.45x1011 kg CO2 eq in 20108,9, with approximately 79% from the energy sector -- an order of magnitude larger than the emissions from agriculture7. Under the proposed White Paper policy, South Africa's GHG peak, plateau and decline trajectory anticipates emissions to peak at 6.1x1011 kg CO2 eq between 2020 and 2025, plateau at this range for about 10 years and decline to ~4.3x1011 kg CO2 eq by 2050.6 Determining these fluxes accurately will facilitate assessment of the proposed commitments to mitigation and adaptation strategies adopted by South Africa. At present there is infrastructure deployed in South Africa for the measurement of the concentrations and fluxes of CO2, which include observations in the atmosphere, on land and in the ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is one of the main socio-environmental challenges of the current 21st century. The objective of this research is to analyze the contents about climate change proposed in the textbooks of Primary Education of Social Sciences (3rd cycle) in the Valencian Community (Spain) attending to: 1) the explanation of the phenomenon (causes and consequences); and 2) the description of the main greenhouse emissions. The results indicate that currently, textbooks project an excessively catastrophic image of climate change (increase in extreme atmospheric phenomena) and citing as error carbon dioxide (CO2) as the main effect gas greenhouse. In conclusion, the textbooks do not provide rigorous content and information from scientific papers and academic sources and the presence of stereotypes about climate change (natural disasters) is abused. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introduction takes a critical look at the heterogeneous corpus of social science research on climate change and Christian religion. The central concern is to present analytical alternatives to the universalist-essentialising approaches which, on the basis of a supposedly inherent contradiction between science and religion, exclude or devalue Christian contestation and modification of climate change discourse. With reference to the empirical-analytical richness of the contributions on Fiji, Vanuatu and Kiribati, this paper highlights the multiplicity, contrariness and processuality of the religious-political practice of Pacific Islanders in response to climate change as both a scientific narrative and a physical reality. The range of topics of the introduction includes the religious dimensions of blame, transnational networks of Christian actors and institutions as well as Christian framings of the nexus of climate change, mobility and resettlement. In addition, it outlines possible fields of future research such as the media politics of Christian institutions' representations of climate change and a historical re-examination of missionary work in Oceania from the perspective of the entanglements of carbon and Christianity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reductions of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions are an essential objective of the European Union (EU) to achieving the reduction target by 20% by 2020. Along with energy consumption and agriculture, trade has a diverse impact on climate change. International trade usually negatively affects the environment, while the influence of intra-industry trade is more favourable. The paper investigates the impact of energy use, agriculture, and intraindustry trade on environmental pollution in EU countries using panel data for the period 2000-2014. The research frames the theoretical hypothesis that describing the relationship between agricultural intra-industry trade and climate change. The assumptions are confirmed by panel fixed effects, and Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) estimations, and the panel cointegration test. The empirical results have supported by the literature, and all variables used in this study are stationary applying panel unit root test. Results show that agricultural intra-industry trade, renewable energy is negatively correlated with climate change, confirming the less pollutant hypothesis, while economic growth and agricultural productivity induce environmental problems. This study confirms the theoretical hypotheses explaining the effect of intra-industry trade for agricultural products as well as the impacts of renewable energy use, agricultural land productivity, and economic growth on CO2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater resources in Queensland (Australia) have been depleting in many aquifers for the last 100 years and natural recharge processes are not replenishing these resources at the rate of extraction. At the same time, the need to address carbon emissions to reach global climate-change targets is becoming increasingly recognised. Plentiful deep fresh groundwater is available but is difficult, and typically uneconomical, to access due to the high costs of borehole drilling and completion. The emerging concept of 'enhanced water recovery' (EWR) hypothesises that carbon dioxide (CO2) injection into the deep aquifers will increase pressure, making groundwater more easily available at shallower depths across a broad region while simultaneously contributing to a reduction in CO2 emissions. One example where this has been proposed is in the Great Artesian Basin's Surat Basin in Queensland. The findings from a series of focus groups held with different stakeholders, including agricultural producers, rural residents, and urban residents, demonstrate how different groups perceived the risks and benefits of injecting CO2 as part of the carbon capture and storage (CCS) process to raise borehole water levels. The paper discusses the trade-offs that the different stakeholder groups found more acceptable. The significance of this research is that it will be the first to publish public responses to an emerging technology that has the potential to provide multiple benefits in terms of climate-change mitigation and groundwater use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]