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The High Plains Aquifer (HPA) underlies parts of eight states and 208 counties in the central area of the United States (U.S.). This region produces more than 9% of U.S. crops sales and relies on the aquifer for irrigation. However, these withdrawals have diminished the stock of water in the aquifer. In this paper, we investigate the aggregate county‐level effect on the HPA of groundwater withdrawal for irrigation, of climate variables, and of energy price changes. We merge economic theory and hydrological characteristics to jointly estimate equations describing irrigation behavior and a generalized water balance equation for the HPA. Our simple water balance model predicts, at average values for irrigation and precipitation, an HPA‐wide average decrease in the groundwater table of 0.47 feet per year, compared to 0.48 feet per year observed on average across the HPA during this 1985–2005 period. The observed distribution and predicted change across counties is in the (−3.22, 1.59) and (−2.24, 0.60) feet per year range, respectively. The estimated impact of irrigation is to decrease the water table by an average of 1.24 feet per year, whereas rainfall recharges the level by an average of 0.76 feet per year. Relative to the past several decades, if groundwater use is unconstrained, groundwater depletion would increase 50% in a scenario where precipitation falls by 25% and the number of degree days above 36°C doubles. Editor's note: This paper is part of the featured series on Optimizing Ogallala Aquifer Water Use to Sustain Food Systems. See the February 2019 issue for the introduction and background to the series. Research Impact Statement: Results show the average net effect of irrigation in the High Plains Aquifer is a reduction in groundwater level of 0.47 feet per year. Climate change could significantly increase the rate of change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The 17 United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) represent a powerful guide to foster actions to achieve a more sustainable planet. This paper aims to analyze the challenges and opportunities of SDGs based on an interview conducted with climate scientist Dr Carlos Nobre. In this interview, Nobre addresses the opportunities and challenges of the SDGs. More broadly, the aim is to raise awareness among scholars, policymakers and citizens about what is considered to be the most important societal questions of the times. Design/methodology/approach: The authors analyze the interview conducted with this prominent and experienced climate scientist through academic lenses of interpretive approach. Further, the authors are bringing important reflections from this interview and linking it to Rasche et al.'s (2017) model, which cut across different levels and take into consideration the individual, organizational and societal levels in the relationship for SDG. Findings: The interview reveals that all SDGs are interlinked and are of equal importance. However, the authors discuss three important challenges and opportunities addressed by Dr Nobre regarding the implementation of the SDGs. These are education, climate change and peace. Originality/value: To better understand the challenges and opportunities of SDGs and how to act on them as citizens and management scholars, the authors believe that it is imperative to consider the viewpoint of climate scientists who, through their knowledge on earth science, have been contributing globally to the United Nations SDGs agenda at global and local levels. In this paper, the authors analyze the challenges and opportunities of SDGs based on an interview conducted with climate scientist Dr Carlos Nobre. In this interview, Nobre addresses the opportunities and challenges of the SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies market incentives and international and domestic policies that could technologically alter energy systems to achieve greenhouse gas stabilization targets while also meeting other societal goals. I consider the conceptual basis and empirical evidence on the effectiveness and efficiency of climate technology policies. The paper reviews the literature on trends and prospects for innovation in climate change mitigation and examines the evidence on induced innovation and the implications for the choice of technology policy. I then consider the impact of technological advances on the environment, the role of direct government support for R&D, and the complementarities between policies internalizing environmental externalities and those aimed at environmental innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Energy production has come under increasing scrutiny as concerns about energy security and climate change have risen. In the UK changes in government structure and privatisation of the electricity industry have led to the emergence of multi-level governance. This means that decisions on how to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity-generating sector should no longer be solely a national policy decision. Previous studies have sought to explore how renewable energy may develop under multi-level governance, but this paper pays attention to a traditional fossil fuel source, coal, which is still an important means of electricity generation. Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel and advocates argue that carbon capture and storage techniques could make coal ‘clean’, paving the way for a long-term, secure and low emission way to produce energy. This study focuses on the Yorkshire and Humber Region, which has had a long association with coal mining and looks at the implications of this as the region seeks to develop a climate change action plan and an energy strategy within the new regional governance structures. The paper argues that the regional networks developed to address climate change are influenced by existing social power structures and alliances. The region as a territorial structure becomes a useful device in promoting national priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Energy and climate papers that link models and socio-technical transitions theories or theoretical frameworks are reviewed. • Three aims are identified: Solutions to energy and climate challenges , increasing realism , and interdisciplinary learning. • Most studies demonstrate substantial benefits of interdisciplinary learning. • Few studies demonstrate concrete findings on how to meet climate and energy targets or to improve realism of models. • We suggest redirecting such integrative research to provide more practical outcomes to meet energy and climate targets. In the last decade, a new strand of energy and climate research emerged that links quantitative models and socio-technical transitions theories or frameworks. Linking the two enables capturing the co-evolution of society, technology, the economy and the environment. We systematically review this literature (N = 44) and describe the papers' trends, scope, temporal and spatial foci, and methodological strategies. The reviewed literature aspires to find solutions to the energy and climate challenges, to increase realism in models and theories, and to enable interdisciplinary learning between the two scholarly communities. The outcomes in this literature show benefits of interdisciplinary learning between modellers and transitions theorists. However, the literature rarely identified practical insights for energy and climate solutions or for improving realism in models and theories. We conclude by suggesting that integrative research should be continued, but redirected to provide more practical outcomes to meet energy and climate targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the modern world, including the European Union, the Baltic States and Latvia, the power industry has a broad definition, area and content, several social life and economic existence, comfort and safety provision. It also covers the following segments: heat/thermal energy, transport/fuel, electricity, energy resources and their types, etc. More competent and wider synergy among different energy sectors and power industry and other areas provides the option to solve the global problems, for example, the mitigation of climate changes and the provision of energy sustainability by reducing the production of greenhouse gases, increasing the use of renewable energy sources, achieving higher energy efficiency and providing the careful use of energy resources. The results of synergy are of economic importance; they provide the efficiency and competitiveness of costs. In this paper, the necessity of synergy between renewables and conventional generation and synergy among energy sectors are considered to achieve the dimensions of national energy and climate plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The yurt is one of the ancient living units for the nomadic cultural country. The yurt is a nomadic vernacular architecture, which has been developed for 3000 years. There are 31 counties using the yurt, out of which 13 of them use their traditional yurt around the world. Basically, the yurt was used as residential housings and today, also to some extent, for commercial and touristic purposes under different climates. Analyzing existing literature, as well as scientific publications it is apparent that besides architectural and structural topics, there is no existing investigation or published paper about building physics analysis of these buildings. Current research aims to create a database about energy and climate comfort qualities of traditional yurts using dynamic calculation tools. As a result, to intend to learn from the traditional yurt technology and to develop a completely new and modern building prototype based on the yurt-experiments in next step of research. Firstly, finding optimal solutions for a contemporary yurt-building' should be applied under Mongolian climate conditions, since this form of housing is still used in this country, and, in addition, the comfort and energy performance of the yurts were surprisingly satisfactory under extreme weather conditions, by temperature differences between summer and winter of approx. 80 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at the way policy entrepreneurs construct horizontal coherence through problem definition and the promotion of policy frames that bond different objectives and instruments together. Building on the case of the 2009 climate and energy package, the paper analyses how the European Commission and successive European Union Presidencies exploited a growing climate change momentum to devise, assemble and facilitate the adoption in an exceptionally short period of an ambitious legislative package cutting across traditional sectoral boundaries. The recourse to a narrative presenting Europe at the vanguard of a green revolution and the framing of European internal policies as a tool for international climate leadership were instrumental in constructing the package as a coherent response to the joint energy and climate change challenges, and in rallying wide support. However, the paper shows that the institutionalization of this framing has been undermined by the economic crisis and stalled international negotiations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concrete became the most used material on Earth over 200 years following the invention of modern cement. The design concept has undergone a transition from the allowable stress design method, limit state design method, and to the performance-based design method, in response to the evolution of materials, sophistication of experimental facilities, and advancement of computation skills. From the issues on resources and energy depletion, global warming, and resilience etc., it is necessary to create a new design framework taking into consideration the required performance beyond the conventional concept, in order to construct infrastructure and buildings in a more rational way. In other words, one should construct a design system which sets the continued existence of the diverse and rich global environment as its most important criterion of value. In this paper, the authors review the design and technology system developed in the past and discusses it based on the above-mentioned new viewpoint, while constructing and presenting a new design system for concrete structures, focusing mainly on the concept of sustainability which is regarded as the most important in achieving conservation of the Earth's rich resources as well as sound socioeconomic activities of humankind in the future, and discusses its feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides some considerations on the energetic, environmental and climatic issues of the present time, starting from the knowledge of what has happened in the past. The paper does not intend to be exhaustive, since knowledge and culture, both in their broad meaning and in relation to the specific subject, are continuously developing and many certainties of today may inevitably be further discussed and even objected in the future. The authors agree on the need of gradually shifting from non-renewable to renewable energy sources, but also want to emphasize the valuable contribution given in the last two centuries by fossil fuels to the development of our society, underlining that their replacement cannot occur in short time: such an attempt would lead to shortage of resources for the increasing needs of a still growing world population. The difference between the environmental and the climatic issues will be remarked, highlighting the need to deepen their knowledge to better understand the related events and their causes: this step will be necessary to reliably forecast the future changes and ensure that we will be able to face them by proper actions in due time. From a global prospective of the human society, the necessity to identify some priorities in carrying out suitable actions to tackle the problems of the present time will also be highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A PV/T system is analyzed in 5 cities with different climate and energy costs. • The cost of energy is the most important aspect in the economic feasibility. • This work facilitates decision-making of where PV/T systems would be installed. • Returns on investment between 2-4.5 years are achieved only with financial subsidy. This paper presents the techno-economic study of a hybrid PV/T system for the simultaneous production of electric and thermal energy under different climate scenarios and energy tariffs. A simulator was developed and validated using TRNSYS software to perform a comparative energy study of five cities with different weather conditions and energy prices: Mexicali, Soria, Bigene, Fresno and Madison. Our work proposes an extended analysis with sites that have not been studied before, and complements the scope of previous work. Under same requirements of thermal energy for DHW demand, energy production was analyzed during an entire year of operation, using different numbers of PV/T modules. Results show that the city of Mexicali is the place where most energy, both thermal and electrical, is produced. In this same locality a solar thermal fraction of 80% can be reached with only three modules installed. Energy feasibility contrasts drastically with economic benefit, where Soria presents the most attractive investment returns and monetary savings of the scenarios analyzed. Moreover, a comparison of investment returns is presented, considering subsidies in the initial investment, where return of up to 1.8 years result with a 75% subsidy. In addition, a relation of the climatic conditions of the studied cities is presented, such as solar radiation and ambient temperature, in the performance of the PV/T technologies. The conclusions of the study help decision making and planning of financial support programs, since it was considered extreme climates and representative of most of the sites where PV/T systems would be installed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of international climate change obligations, Gulf Arab states have introduced policies to integrate climate policies into economic development and planning, seeking to maximize clean development opportunities yet at the same time to minimize the threats to their rentier economies caused by sudden shifts away from fossil fuels. This paper assesses the challenges and opportunities for climate policy integration in the Gulf states of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman, examining the interaction between their climate policy and their political–economic regimes. It adopts a novel analytical framework that integrates insights from climate policy integration and the political–economic theory of rentier states. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders and relevant policy documents, it reveals modest progress in integrating climate policy into economic development plans in the UAE but major impediments to climate policy integration in Oman. Both countries face significant shortfalls in climate-related financial and human resource capacities. Climate policy integration efforts have focused on the energy sector with the purpose of protecting rents from oil exports rather than advancing a low-carbon transformation of their economies. This has created structural ambiguity in the climate policy integration advanced in the UAE and Oman. Key policy insights The availability, quality and accessibility of climate-related data are serious challenges for policy makers in the UAE and Oman. Both countries have evolving institutional architectures conducive to climate policy integration. However, these are more symbolic than substantive, lacking clear policy integration strategies across the governments. The UAE and Oman both face significant shortfalls in climate-related financial and human resource capacities. Support for climate policy integration by the ruling elites in the UAE and Oman is significantly shaped by rentier interests: most climate-related initiatives have addressed the energy sector, aiming to protect rents from oil exports by reducing the domestic dependence on fossil fuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Air conditioning is expected to be a major adaptation option for households. • Thermal insulation requires dedicated, well-designed, properly enforced policies. • More frequent hot days and urbanization will shape adaptive behaviours in OECD countries. • Demographic, household characteristics, income, and wealth also play a major role. • Well-designed and communicated climate policies reduce reliance on air conditioning. Adjustments in the final use of energy are a critical margin of adaptation for maintaining indoor thermal comfort. This paper explores how households have been adopting air conditioning and thermal insulation to cope with different climatic conditions, and how climatic factors interact with socio-economic, demographic, and household characteristics across eight OECD countries. Changes in the cumulative number of hot and cold days over the year, urbanization, demographics and household characteristics, including attitudes towards energy efficiency, strongly affect those two margins of adaptation, along with income. If the historically-observed adaptation behaviour is maintained also under future socio-economic pathways and climate scenarios, the impact of global warming and income on air conditioning adoption will be reinforced by urbanization trends, which on the contrary will make it more difficult to improve building thermal insulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The practice of viticulture and winemaking is highly dependent upon the weather and climate. Any future changes in the seasons, their duration, local maximum, minimum and mean temperatures, frost occurrence and heat accumulation could have a major impact on the winegrowing areas of the world. Given that the winegrowing industry has substantial energy requirements and is directly influenced by any changes in climate, the industry should be at the forefront in promoting the case of energy efficiency and the adoption of renewable technologies. Solar renewables in the form of solar thermal and photovoltaics (PVs) offer a complimentary solution to many winegrowing processes. This paper examines the limited number of world wineries that have adopted solar renewables and presents a viable case for their wide scale integration into the industry. The paper presents a range of viticultural and winemaking processes where solar energy can be directly or indirectly applied and suggests the potential for solar energy in making substantial savings in both energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. In 2005, almost 8 million hectares were under vines producing 40.2 million tonnes of grapes for crushing. The total global energy use within the winemaking industry is estimated at over 105PJ emitting nearly 16 million tonnes of CO2. If ancillary industries, such as bottle making and transportation are included, the total carbon footprint of the industry is estimated at over 76 million tonnes of CO2. This paper calculates that if the commercial winemaking establishments in the ‘developed’ wine producing regions of the world integrated a ‘small’ solar installation into their wineries, the potential savings are 18.3% or 19.24PJ of the energy used in the global winemaking industry. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The paper surveys the energy problem in relation to global warming and the social criteria of India. India's failure to develop a policy on global warming is highlighted and her economic policy judged in relation to her energy options, including such notable work as jatropha development and nuclear energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the comparative study of basin type solar stills incorporated with N identical evacuated tubular collectors on the basis of overall energy and exergy for the same basin area under similar climatic condition. In this work, the optimum number of collectors and mass flow rate has been computed followed by the evaluation of annual production of potable water, energy, exergy and production cost of potable water for the proposed systems at 0.14 m water depth for the complex climatic condition of New Delhi. It is inferred that the value of annual energy is higher by 6.85%; annual exergy is higher by 12.30% and production cost of potable water is lower by 15.19% for double slope solar still integrated with N identical evacuated tubular collectors than similar single slope set up. The proposed systems can be used on commercial scale for providing potable water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The International Energy Agency Energy Technologies Perspectives (ETP) model is used to assess the prospects for carbon abatement options, including carbon capture and storage, up to 2050. Three main scenarios are considered: a Baseline scenario with current energy policies, an accelerated technology scenario that seeks to return energy-related CO2 emissions in 2050 to their level in 2005, and a scenario for which CO2 emissions are reduced at 50% of current levels by 2050. To reach these emissions reduction targets, annual global CO2 emissions in the year 2050 must be reduced by 35 GtCO2 to 48 GtCO2 compared to the Baseline scenario. The analysis presented here shows that a broad portfolio of emissions reducing technologies will need to be deployed across all economic sectors of the global economy to reach these targets. Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) is one of the suite of technologies employed across the globe to reach these targets. CCS adoption occurs in many aspects of the global economy and accounts for 14–19% of all emissions reductions. The total amount of CO2 captured and stored in deep geologic reservoirs up to 2050 ranges between 5.1 GtCO2 and 10.4 GtCO2 in these two climate policy scenarios. Up to 2030, more than half of total CCS deployment takes place in OECD countries. After 2035, emerging economies account for more than half of total CCS use. This paper also demonstrates that as the climate policy becomes more stringent it will be necessary for CCS to deploy more extensively in many different industries outside of the electric power sector which often receives the most attention in discussions of CCS''s role in addressing climate change. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Climate change, air quality and energy security will change the way energy is used and supplied over the next century. Supplying increasing amounts of clean and secure energy will be a challenge that will require a great deal of innovation and investment. However, this paper shows that there are visible paths to clean and secure energy. There are plenty of resource and technology options that could lead to emissions reductions in the heat, transport and electricity sector, while improving energy security. The costs of supplying energy from different options vary widely. However, several clean energy options are viable today and several others are likely to be so in the future, as technologies improve, costs are reduced, and the competitive landscape for energy technologies evolves. Tackling climate change and energy security requires the simultaneous deployment of available commercial clean technologies, demonstration and commercialisation of technologies at the advanced research, development and demonstration stage, and research into new technologies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Energy consumption, agricultural activities and comfort in building design are all related to temporal temperature variations. Truncationof the temperature series at a constant base temperature level leadsto surpluses and deficits as deviations. Surpluses are instances forcooling and deficits for heating. In meteorology and heat engineering these are referred to as cooling and heating degree-days, respectively. Since the temperature records are random in character their future predictions are necessary through statistical and probabilistic methods. In this paper, the degree-days are assumed to have a normal probability distribution function and therefore, their averages and standard deviations are considered sufficient for modeling cooling and heating degree-day amounts. Theoretical derivations are presented for degree-day risk calculations in their general forms and a simple implementation is given for two cities in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

British pre-industrial economic growth has traditionally been analysed from the Malthusian point of view and other more optimistic approaches, but in many cases, ignoring environmental factors. This article explores the inclusion of the climate in this general debate, focusing on one of the colder periods of the last 500 years, known as the Maunder Minimum. The provisional results suggest that climate change and the resulting adaptations may have influenced the start of the English Agricultural Revolution, the Energy Transition and the European Divergence. However, from an econometric point of view these results are not fully conclusive, making it necessary to continue working with better primary sources and other alternative methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. We describe and provide an initial evaluation of the Climate Action Simulation, a simulation-based role-playing game that enables participants to learn for themselves about the response of the climate-energy system to potential policies and actions. Participants gain an understanding of the scale and urgency of climate action, the impact of different policies and actions, and the dynamics and interactions of different policy choices. Intervention. The Climate Action Simulation combines an interactive computer model, En-ROADS, with a role-play in which participants make decisions about energy and climate policy. They learn about the dynamics of the climate and energy systems as they discover how En-ROADS responds to their own climate-energy decisions. Methods. We evaluated learning outcomes from the Climate Action Simulation using pre- and post-simulation surveys as well as a focus group. Results. Analysis of survey results showed that the Climate Action Simulation increases participants' knowledge about the scale of emissions reductions and policies and actions needed to address climate change. Their personal and emotional engagement with climate change also grew. Focus group participants were overwhelmingly positive about the Climate Action Simulation, saying it left them feeling empowered to make a positive difference in addressing the climate challenge. Discussion and Conclusions. Initial evaluation results indicate that the Climate Action Simulation offers an engaging experience that delivers gains in knowledge about the climate and energy systems, while also opening affective and social learning pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines a 3-day blackout, triggered by a '1-in-100-year' rainfall event. Storms and floods account for almost three-quarters of weather-related disasters, and are typically accompanied by cascading infrastructure failures, which pattern and amplify their effects in highly significant ways. Such disruptions reveal aspects of everyday life that ordinarily remain obscure, including capacities for resilience embodied in people, cities and infrastructure. The article proposes that disruption events be understood in terms of 'scrambles', as they involve abrupt demobilisation and remobilisation of a range of people and materials. The article firstly examines the astonishing capacity for failure latent in 'pervasively powered' arrangements, as well as the many ways in which people and things were 'scrambled' in response. The article then proceeds to explore the ways in which vulnerabilities result in part from mobilisation in response to previous disruption events, before examining the 'circuits' that link far-flung places in mobile disaster geographies, global patterns of electricity dependence, the rise of data overload in the 'cloud' to carbon overload in the atmosphere. The article concludes by presenting further evidence in support of the thesis that disruptions and disasters are part of a 'new normal', and what this means for prevailing sociotechnical arrangements reliant on 'sunk' infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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To avoid rapid, high-risk changes in the world's climate, emissions of greenhouse gases must be cut substantially. Moreover, it will be difficult to contain warming to less than 3-4 degrees above pre-industrial levels unless the turnaround in emissions occurs within a decade. In the past, energy transitions of this magnitude have been highly disruptive, resulting in serious environmental damage, increased social inequalities and shortened life expectancy. Are there paths to a low carbon future that can achieve the opposite result -- simultaneous improvements in the quality of the environment and public health? This paper examines the evidence for health-enhancing mitigation of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fossil fueled energy production and consumption are the basis of global industrialised societies, with the deleterious biophysical effects of such production and consumption also forming the basis of the advent of Anthropocene. In the context of science and environmental policy, hope denotes rapid decarbonisation across the globe. Meanwhile, in art and the humanities, the study of such energy and decarbonisation remains nascent and nebulous. To account for these discrepancies, this article outlines the scale of the biophysical challenges by first establishing the relationship between outspoken climate scientists and international organisations determining climate and energy policy. This relationship--between marginalised and mainstream--is used to frame the analogous challenges for two cultural fields that have recently emerged in direct response: energy humanities and the arts of energy. The discussion centers on the challenge common to all fields--between the outspoken marginal and the orthodox mainstream--to speculate on how the arts of energy may recalibrate a context-contingent hope for energy futures, drawing on case studies of ISEA Bright Future and Facing Futures Free From Fear, two installations simultaneously staged by the author in 2013 about the relationship between energy and climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When and why do individual companies lobby on environmental policies? Given the structural strength of business interests, the answer to this question is important for explaining policy. However, evidence on the strategic lobbying behaviour of individual companies remains scarce. We use data from lobbying disclosure reports on all major climate bills introduced during the 111th Congress (2009–2010). We then link the lobbying disclosure reports to detailed data on the fuel choices of all electric utilities in the United States along with socioeconomic, institutional and political data from the states where the utilities operate. The expected winners (renewable energy, natural gas users) from climate policy are much more likely to lobby individually on federal legislation than the expected losers (coal users). We find that expected winners lobby for specific provisions and rents as a private good, whereas expected losers concentrate their efforts on collective action through trade associations and committees to prevent climate legislation. The results suggest that the supporters of climate policy believed the probability of federal climate legislation to be nontrivial. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this material we consider a new approach for energy optimization based on bi-criteria problems. Similar method was successfully developed for portfolio theory. We managed to extend and improve it. Due to optimization for energy production which has an important impact on greenhouse gases, our models bring some contributions to General Climate Models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nordic Climate Cluster (NOCC) was an innovation network composed of large Norwegian and Swedish companies from different industries with common interests in climate-friendly eco-innovations. The network was initiated in 2008, but was disbanded just two years later. This study treats the NOCC as a special case (an eco-innovation network) and examines factors that influenced its failure. The study shows that the network failed for a variety of reasons, including a lack of stability, a lack of social capital and inadequate market demands for eco-innovations. The study concludes with implications for policy-makers who are keen to promote eco-innovation via networking. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In January 2014, the European Commission proposed a framework for its climate and energy policy up to 2030 which includes targets for reducing greenhouse gases and increasing the use of renewable energy sources, but no specific goals for improving energy efficiency. By 2030, greenhouse gas emissions should be 40 percent lower than in 1990. Another element of the proposal is the introduction of a market stability reserve for the EU Emissions Trading System, the impact of which would be too little, too late, however. With regard to renewable energy use, the Commission has proposed a target of a 27-percent share of gross final energy consumption throughout Europe. This appears unambitious bearing in mind developments to date. In addition, there is no mandatory division of these targets among the individual member states. The Commission's calculations are based on implausible technological and economic assumptions in the power sector. Nuclear power costs are underestimated, and it is assumed there will be a breakthrough in carbon capture technologies that seems unlikely from today's perspective. In contrast, cost assumptions in the renewable energy field remain too high and outdated. In light of previous experience, specific goals for 2030 are required on three levels: greenhouse gas emissions reductions, renewable energy, and energy efficiency. According to the Commission's Impact Assessment, energy system costs would hardly increase even with more ambitious objectives. In addition, creating an appropriate framework would result in positive developments in investment, exports, and employment. The German government should continue its commitment to an ambitious European policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to increase the use of renewable energy, and to enhance energy efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of coal, oil, and gas are increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. These increased concentrations cause additional energy to be retained in Earth's climate system, thus increasing Earth's temperature. Various methods have been proposed to prevent this temperature increase either by reflecting to space sunlight that would otherwise warm Earth or by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Such intentional alteration of planetary-scale processes has been termed geoengineering. The first category of geoengineering method, solar geoengineering (also known as solar radiation management, or SRM), raises novel global-scale governance and environmental issues. Some SRM approaches are thought to be low in cost, so the scale of SRM deployment will likely depend primarily on considerations of risk. The second category of geoengineering method, carbon dioxide removal (CDR), raises issues related primarily to scale, cost, effectiveness, and local environmental consequences. The scale of CDR deployment will likely depend primarily on cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protecting the climate is not costly but profitable (even if avoided climate change is worth zero), mainly because saving fuel costs less than buying fuel. The two biggest opportunities, both sufficiently fast, are oil and electricity. The US, for example, can eliminate its oil use by the 2040s at an average cost of $15 per barrel (2000$), half by redoubled efficiency and half by alternative supplies, and can save three-fourths of its electricity more cheaply than operating a thermal power station. Integrative design permits this by making big energy savings cheaper than small ones, turning traditionally assumed diminishing returns into empirically observed expanding returns. Such efficiency choices accelerate climate-safe, inexhaustible, and resilient energy supply—notably the "micropower" now delivering about a sixth of the world's electricity and 90% of its new electricity. These cheap, fast, market-financeable, globally applicable options offer the most effective, yet most underestimated and overlooked, solutions for climate, proliferation, and poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the beginnings of climate change policy, results from the naturalsciences were essential for motivating the establishment of global change diplomacy. At present it is increasingly being recognised that these results must be combined with findings from the social sciencesif effective climate policy is to emerge. In particular, participatory techniques for the involvement of stakeholders, ranging from ordinary citizens to business people, are needed. The paper presents the methodology of Integrated Assessment (IA)-Focus Groups, designed primarily for involving citizens in Integrated Assessments of complex issues like climate change. It focuses on collages produced by European IA-Focus Group participants faced with alternative possibilities of energy use. The results suggest that citizens across Europe see strong reductions of current levels of energy use as more desirable than a business-as-usual perspective. Moreover, they indicate that the opinion formation by citizens is by no means restricted to unambiguous stereotypes. We relate these findings to the concept of `reflexive modernisation', stressing the importance of uncertainty and ambiguity in environmental debates. Implications for representing uncertainty in IA models are discussed." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following article conducts an analysis of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), specifically in relation to Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs). We focus on the key drivers of economic growth, how these are derived and whether IAMs properly reflect the underlying biophysical systems. Since baseline IAM scenarios project a three- to eight-fold increase in gross domestic product (GDP)-per-capita by 2100, but with consumption losses of only between 3–11%, strong mitigation seems compatible with economic growth. However, since long-term productivity and economic growth are uncertain, they are included as exogenous parameters in IAM scenarios. The biophysical economics perspective is that GDP and productivity growth are in fact emergent parameters from the economic-biophysical system. If future energy systems were to possess worse biophysical performance characteristics, we would expect lower productivity and economic growth, and therefore, the price of reaching emission targets may be significantly costlier than projected. Here, we show that IAMs insufficiently describe the energy-economy nexus and propose that those key parameters are integrated as feedbacks with the use of environmentally-extended input-output analysis (EEIOA). Further work is required to build a framework that can supplement and support IAM analysis to improve biophysical rigour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitigating climate change is among the most urgent challenges humans face. However debate regarding sustainable energy and options for reducing carbon dioxide emissions tend to be polarizing and frequently unproductive. Too often facts are lost in jargon and numbers that have little meaning for many, including policy makers. Further compounding the problem is the lack of a tangible connection for most citizens between fossil fuel use and environmental degradation. This lack of understanding limits our ability to have sensible discussions about our climate and energy future. A human ecological approach to teaching energy literacy is essential to ensure responsible environmental stewardship in the age of climate change. A powerful and effective way to address this is through project-based learning that helps prepare students, across disciplines, by providing them with the knowledge, skills, and habits of mind to be effective advocates for energy choices that reduce environmental harm. Having an informed and energy literate society is crucial to overcoming barriers and adopting policies that address climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]