Download or read book Modeling of GHG Mitigation Strategies in the Trucking Sector written by Sebastian E. Guerrero and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In response to the growing climate change problem, many governments around the world are seeking ways to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of various sectors of the economy. The trucking sector is important in meeting this challenge in the US because it is responsible for a share of emissions that is significant and rapidly growing. For governments to intervene in this sector smartly, they need models that capture its key incentives, constraints and dynamics, while making the most out of the limited data available. However, existing models fall short of this ideal. This dissertation first introduces the Trucking Sector Optimization Model (TSO) as a tool for studying the decisions that carriers and shippers make within a short-run time horizon--modeling the dynamics of truck fleets, penetration rate of Fuel Saving Technologies (FSTs) such as aerodynamic improvements and low rolling resistance tires, and changes in the demand of trucking. In addition to estimating tailpipe GHG emissions, the model also estimates emissions from upstream fuel production sources, vehicle manufacturing, and pavement rehabilitation activities. This model is then used to evaluate the effectiveness of various incentives-based and regulation-based strategies that California's government could implement in the trucking sector to help achieve the objectives of the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32). The strategies analyzed are: fuel taxation, mileage taxation, truck purchase taxation, FST subsidies, FST regulations, increases in the allowed weight of trucks, and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard recently introduced in California. Results indicate that there presently exist significant economic incentives for carriers to invest in FSTs beyond what is currently commonplace. The correction of market mechanisms that are responsible for this apparently suboptimal behavior, would lead to significant reductions in emissions, and would also allow for incentive-based strategies to have their first-best outcomes. Without making these corrections, the regulation approach currently adopted in California, of mandating certain investments in FSTs, serves as a reasonable first-step in meeting AB 32's medium-term emissions target. However, moving forward, the correction of these market mechanisms and subsequent implementation of incentives-based strategies, particularly those that are complementary with each other, should be a priority. Based on their estimated effectiveness, these and other recommendations are articulated in a seven-step plan for reducing trucking related emissions in the state. The remaining chapters of this work study some long-run factors that affect how carriers manage their fleets and invest in FSTs, in particular considering that they often discount heavily the future because of the existence of various market failures, hidden costs and uncertainties in the industry. The nature of these issues is not investigated deeply in this research, but their effect on carriers is captured by parameterizing the level of discounting in an improved model called the Trucking Sector Trip Segmentation Model (TSTS). This model represents the long-term decisions made in this sector better than the TSO model by: (i) modeling endogenously how trucks are utilized throughout their service-lives, and (ii) capturing some heterogeneity in truck retirements. The first of these improvements is made possible by incorporating information on the performance of trucking (the ability of carriers to complete shipments) and on the spatial distribution of shipment demand. The second of these improvements is made possible by assuming that truck retirements follow a log-logistic function. Combining both of these methodological improvements with a parameterized discount rate provides analysts a more flexible model for studying the long-term decisions made in the trucking sector, especially regarding FST investments, which impact greatly emissions and costs. The TSTS model is then used to evaluate the effectiveness of three additional governmental interventions that reduce GHG emissions, which could not have been studied with the TSO model. Improvements in trucking performance--by reducing congestion or shipment waiting times for example--were found to significantly incentivize investments in FSTs and reduce GHG emissions. However, 40 - 50% of these reductions were offset in the aggregate by increases in the demand for shipments precipitated by the lower market prices of trucking. Mode-shifts were also found to incentivize investments in FSTs because they distort the spatial distribution of shipments in ways that favor making greater capital investments because trucks are used more intensely and retired quicker. And finally, implementing FST regulations that only apply to a subset of the truck fleet (as in California currently) also reduces emissions, but incentivizes other changes in how the industry operates. The TSO model is best suited for studying the dynamics and transitions of truck fleets in response to governmental interventions, while the TSTS model is best suited for studying long-run responses. Together, they allow policy makers and researchers to study a wide range of issues in the trucking sector, considering many interactions and responses that had not been adequately explored previously. They also share a rich theoretical framework that can be used in future research to develop better models of this sector, especially to help design interventions that have environmental objectives.

Download or read book Modeling the Economics of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2011-02-24 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Models are fundamental for estimating the possible costs and effectiveness of different policies for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. There is a wide array of models to perform such analysis, differing in the level of technological detail, treatment of technological progress, spatial and sector details, and representation of the interaction of the energy sector to the overall economy and environment. These differences impact model results, including cost estimates. More fundamentally, these models differ as to how they represent fundamental processes that have a large impact on policy analysis-such as how different models represent technological learning and cost reductions that come through increasing production volumes, or how different models represent baseline conditions. Reliable estimates of the costs and potential impacts on the United States economy of various emissions reduction and other mitigation strategies are critical to the development of the federal climate change research and development portfolio. At the request of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the National Academies organized a workshop, summarized in this volume, to consider some of these types of modeling issues.

Download or read book Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Wildland Fires written by National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine and published by . This book was released on 2025-01-30 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate change is fundamentally changing ecosystems and their fire conditions, and the 2023 fire season highlighted the urgency of developing and implementing solutions to address wildland fires. Wildland fires transfer carbon between the land and the atmosphere through emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), along with other gasses and particles. Though fires can be a natural part of healthy, evolving ecosystems, large, uncontrolled wildland fires can have devastating consequences to human health, communities, and biodiversity. Human-driven changes in wildland fire regimes have the potential to increase GHG emissions at a scale that could inhibit global efforts to achieve net-zero GHG emissions in the coming decades. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop on September 13-15, 2023, to identify opportunities to improve measurements and model projections of GHG emissions from wildland fires and discuss management practices that could be incorporated into current and future action plans. Participants emphasized the importance of learning from historic and current Indigenous fire management practices and centering Indigenous voices and leadership across all stages of fire management. Different global ecosystems - particularly temperate, boreal, and tropical biomes - have been impacted by climate and land use changes where historical fire regimes and the carbon balance have been disrupted. However, discussions highlighted the diverse set of available regionally differentiated and ecosystem-appropriate mitigation strategies. With improved understanding of fires and their GHG emissions, better information for mitigation and management, and incorporation of wildfire GHG emissions into national accounting mechanisms, practitioners, communities, and decision makers will be better equipped to prepare, adapt, and respond to future wildland fires.

Download or read book Representing Freight in Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Models written by Louis Harold Browning and published by Transportation Research Board. This book was released on 2010 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This report presents an evaluation of the current methods used to generate air emissions information from all freight transportation activities and discusses their suitability for purposes such as health and climate risk assessments, prioritization of emission reduction activities (e.g., through State Implementation Plans), and public education. The report is especially valuable for (1) its identification of the state of the practice, gaps, and strengths and limitations of current emissions data estimates and methods and (2) its conceptual model that offers a comprehensive representation of freight activity by all transportation modes and relationships between modes. This report will better inform the near-term needs of public and private stakeholders regarding the quality of emissions data and guide future research that links freight activities with air emissions."--pub. desc.

Download or read book The Greenhouse Gas Protocol written by and published by World Business Pub.. This book was released on 2004 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard helps companies and other organizations to identify, calculate, and report GHG emissions. It is designed to set the standard for accurate, complete, consistent, relevant and transparent accounting and reporting of GHG emissions.

Download or read book Strategies to Mitigate Greenhouse Gas and Nitrogen Emissions in Swiss Agriculture written by Michael Hartmann and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Environmental impacts of agricultural production, such as greenhouse gas (GHG) and nitrogen emissions, are of major concern for scientists and policy makers throughout the world. Global agricultural activities account for about 60% of nitrous oxide and about 50% of methane emissions. From a global perspective, methane and nitrous oxide constitute crucial GHGs. They contribute substantially to climate change due to their high potential for effecting global warming compared to carbon dioxide. Emissions of these gases depend on the extent of agricultural production and applied technologies. Therefore, analysis of potential mitigation opportunities is challenging and requires an integrated approach in order to link agricultural economic perspectives to environmental aspects. In view of this, a mathematical programming model has been developed which enables assessment of cost-effective strategies for mitigating GHG and nitrogen emissions in the agricultural sector in Switzerland. This model is applied to improve understanding of the agricultural sector and its behavior with changing conditions in technology and policy. The presented recursive-dynamic model mimics the structure and interdependencies of Swiss agriculture and links that framework to core sources of GHG and nitrogen emissions. Calculated results for evaluation and application indicate that employed flexibility constraints provide a feasible approach to sufficiently validate the described model. Recursive-dynamic elements additionally enable adequate modeling of both an endogenous development of livestock dynamics and investments in buildings and machinery, also taking sunk costs into account. The presented findings reveal that the specified model approach is suitable to accurately estimate agricultural structure, GHG and nitrogen emissions within a tolerable range. The model performance can therefore be described as sufficiently robust and satisfactory. Thus, the model described here appropriately models strategies for GHG and nitrogen abatement in Swiss agriculture. The results indicate that there are limits to the ability of Swiss agriculture to contribute substantially to the mitigation of GHG and nitrogen emissions. There is only a limited level of mitigation available through technical approaches, and these approaches have high cost.

Download or read book Strategic Bargaining and Cooperation in Greenhouse Gas Mitigations written by Zili Yang and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fresh approach to the economics of climate change that bridges integrated assessment modeling and game theoretic modeling.Strategic Bargaining and Cooperation in Greenhouse Gas Mitigations: An Integrated Assessment Modeling Approach

Download or read book Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Assessment A Guidebook written by Jayant A. Sathaye and published by Springer. This book was released on 1995-11-30 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a comprehensive, detailed guidebook for assessing options that address the risks posed by climatic change induced by human activity. Drawing on the expertise of over 25 specialists, the book provides guidance for the analysis of options to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in energy, forestry, agriculture, and waste management. It describes the key steps involved in conducting an assessment in different sectors, and also discusses selected models that may be applied to support an analysis. Audience: The book is primarily intended for analysts conducting studies at a national level in developing countries and countries with economies in transition. A useful compendium of information for analysts in other countries and also of interest to scientists and policy makers involved in the field of global climate change who wish to better understand how a mitigation assessment may be conducted.

Download or read book Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Road Transport Analytical Methods written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2002-07-03 with total page 67 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report, which has been prepared by an OECD Working Group, uses a number of illustrative and pragmatic cases to provide important insights into reducing greenhouse gas emissions from road transport.

Download or read book Disaggregated Modeling of Environmental and Economic Systems of Supporting the Development of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Policies written by Lirong Liu and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Global climate change has emerged as one of the most challenging environmental issues and has gained considerable attention worldwide. Greenhouse Gas (GHG) mitigation policies are needed to avoid the increasing risks of climate change on the environment, human health, and the economy. A wide variety of factors have an influence on the level of GHG emissions, and one of the most important factors is the production and consumption of energy. Energy systems have close relationships with a variety of economic and environmental activities. Therefore, to support effective GHG mitigation policy-making, advanced methodologies are needed to understand the entire system and simulate the multi-dimensional impacts and risks in Environmental and Economic systems. In this dissertation research, a set of models have been developed to facilitate the Environmental and Economic systems identification and simulation for GHG emissions management. The proposed models include: (a) an environmentally-extended input-output model with detailed disaggregation of energy sectors for life-cycle GHG emission intensities analysis, (b) a disaggregated ecologically-extended input-output model for integrated GHG emissions and emission relationships analysis, (c) a factorial ecologically-extended input-output model for urban GHG emissions metabolism system analysis, (d) an environmentally-extended input-output simulation model for production-based and consumption-based industrial GHG mitigation policy analysis, (e) a Saskatchewan-based computable general equilibrium model for economy-wide GHG mitigation policy analysis, and (f) a multi-dimensional hypothetical fuzzy risk simulation model for GHG mitigation analysis in socio-economic systems. The developed models have been applied to the Province of Saskatchewan, Canada to illustrate their applicability and advantages in system identification and simulation, and to provide decision support for GHG mitigation management. The major contributions of this research are the development of innovative models and a comprehensive approach for investigating complexities in Environmental and Economic systems to reveal the future risks of different GHG mitigation policies and trade-offs across multiple dimensions. The in-depth case study of the Province of Saskatchewan, Canada provides scientific support for the most desirable GHG mitigation policy development.

Download or read book Greenhouse Gas Emission Mitigation Pathways for Light duty Vehicle Fleets Under Ambitious Climate Targets written by Alexandre Milovanoff and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from light-duty passenger vehicles (LDVs) will be necessary to maintain global warming below 2 °C, and ideally below 1.5 °C. In this dissertation, methods to estimate the life cycle GHG emission implications of LDV-focused mitigation strategies and to outline mitigation pathways under ambitious climate targets are developed at national and urban scales. First, a fleet-based life cycle model, the FLAME (Fleet Life cycle Assessment and Material-flow Estimation) is developed to examine the life cycle GHG emission implications of mitigation strategies, such as lightweighting the U.S. LDV fleet or deploying mid-level ethanol blends (15-30% ethanol by volume) in Canada's LDV fleet. The model combines the high technological resolution of life cycle assessment (LCA) with the temporal and dynamic perspectives of LDV fleet models. Recommendations are provided on the most effective timing of the mitigation strategies, and on their contributions to national GHG emission reduction pledges. Then, the FLAME model is augmented with a backcasting procedure to outline GHG emission mitigation pathways for LDV fleets to maintain global warming below 2 °C, and the electrification of the U.S. LDV fleet is used as a case study. The backcasting procedure relies on an innovative approach based on Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) to quantify national and sectoral GHG emission budgets. Finally, the CURTAIL model (Climate change constrained URban passenger TrAnsport Integrated Life cycle assessment) is developed and applied in Singapore to integrate all passenger land transport modes at an urban level and to seek associated combinations of mitigation strategies that are consistent with maintaining global warming below 2 °C or 1.5 °C. The methods developed in this dissertation bridge gaps between the refined perspectives of LCA and the global perspectives of IAMs to support the development of national and urban policies for LDVs to respect ambitious climate targets. The findings suggest that there is no technological silver-bullet, there is an urgency to act, and all mitigation efforts should be pursued.

Download or read book Transitions to Alternative Vehicles and Fuels written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2013-04-14 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For a century, almost all light-duty vehicles (LDVs) have been powered by internal combustion engines operating on petroleum fuels. Energy security concerns about petroleum imports and the effect of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on global climate are driving interest in alternatives. Transitions to Alternative Vehicles and Fuels assesses the potential for reducing petroleum consumption and GHG emissions by 80 percent across the U.S. LDV fleet by 2050, relative to 2005. This report examines the current capability and estimated future performance and costs for each vehicle type and non-petroleum-based fuel technology as options that could significantly contribute to these goals. By analyzing scenarios that combine various fuel and vehicle pathways, the report also identifies barriers to implementation of these technologies and suggests policies to achieve the desired reductions. Several scenarios are promising, but strong, and effective policies such as research and development, subsidies, energy taxes, or regulations will be necessary to overcome barriers, such as cost and consumer choice.

Download or read book International Handbook on the Economics of Energy written by Lester C. Hunt and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2011-01-01 with total page 849 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As an essential component for economic growth, energy has a significant impact on the global economy. The need to meet growing energy demand has prompted cutting-edge innovation in clean technology in an attempt to realise environmental and cost objectives, whilst ensuring the security of energy supply. This Handbook offers a comprehensive review of the economics of energy, including contributions from a distinguished array of international specialists. It provides a thorough discussion of the major research issues in this topical field of economics. Themes addressed include the theory of energy supply, demand and policy, empirical modelling of energy demand, holistic energy models, an analysis of coal, gas, electricity, oil and the markets within which they operate, and a discussion of the current key energy policy issues. The topics of pricing, transmission, regulation, security, energy efficiency, new technologies and climate change are also discussed. The International Handbook on the Economics of Energy presents a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art research making it an indispensable reference for researchers, advanced students, practitioners and policy-makers alike.

Download or read book Understanding the Economic Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Policies on Shipping What Is the State of the Art of Current Modeling Approaches written by Dominik Englert and published by . This book was released on with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Assessment A Guidebook written by Jayant A. Sathaye and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-11-21 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book describes guidelines prepared by the U.S. Country Studies Program for the evaluation of options to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. Country Studies Program developed these guidelines in collaboration with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to provide developing countries and countries with economies in transition with reference materials for national mitigation assessments. Over 50 countries participating in the program have used the guidelines, which have been refined to reflect their comments. The guidelines delineate a step-wise methodology for evaluating greenhouse gas mitigation options for the energy and non-energy sectors and describe the applications of common analytical tools. The U.S. Country Studies Program uses these guidelines in conjunction with intensive training workshops and follow up technical assistance during the lifetime of each country's study. The program uses similar reference materials to assist counties with their greenhouse gas emission inventories and evaluations of climate change vulnerability and adaptive responses. These guidelines serve three purposes: to assist countries in making decisions about the scope and methodology for mitigation assessments; to provide countries with guidance and step-by-step instructions on each element of a mitigation assessment; and to help countries determine which analytical tools are best suited to their needs and describe procedures for applying these tools. This book describes the application of the most common and readily available methods and analytical tools. Countries are encouraged, where appropriate, to use their own methods.

Download or read book Transport and Climate Change written by Tim Ryley and published by Emerald Group Publishing. This book was released on 2012-07-17 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This topical volume covers the intersection between transport and climate change, with papers from the 'Transport & Climate Change' session of the RGS-IBG conference in London, September 2010. It considers the role of transport modes at varying spatial dimensions and a range of perspectives on the relationship between transport and climate change.

Download or read book Mitigation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Livestock Production written by Pierre J. Gerber and published by Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO). This book was released on 2013 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The current analysis was conducted to evaluate the potential of nutritional, manure and animal husbandry practices for mitigating methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) - i.e. non-carbon dioxide (CO2) - GHG emissions from livestock production. These practices were categorized into enteric CH4, manure management and animal husbandry mitigation practices. Emphasis was placed on enteric CH4 mitigation practices for ruminant animals (only in vivo studies were considered) and manure mitigation practices for both ruminant and monogastric species. Over 900 references were reviewed; simulation and life cycle assessment analyses were generally excluded