Download or read book Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation written by Ottmar Edenhofer and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2011-11-21 with total page 1088 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report (IPCC-SRREN) assesses the potential role of renewable energy in the mitigation of climate change. It covers the six most important renewable energy sources - bioenergy, solar, geothermal, hydropower, ocean and wind energy - as well as their integration into present and future energy systems. It considers the environmental and social consequences associated with the deployment of these technologies, and presents strategies to overcome technical as well as non-technical obstacles to their application and diffusion. SRREN brings a broad spectrum of technology-specific experts together with scientists studying energy systems as a whole. Prepared following strict IPCC procedures, it presents an impartial assessment of the current state of knowledge: it is policy relevant but not policy prescriptive. SRREN is an invaluable assessment of the potential role of renewable energy for the mitigation of climate change for policymakers, the private sector, and academic researchers.
Download or read book Renewable Fuel Standard written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2012-01-29 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the United States, we have come to depend on plentiful and inexpensive energy to support our economy and lifestyles. In recent years, many questions have been raised regarding the sustainability of our current pattern of high consumption of nonrenewable energy and its environmental consequences. Further, because the United States imports about 55 percent of the nation's consumption of crude oil, there are additional concerns about the security of supply. Hence, efforts are being made to find alternatives to our current pathway, including greater energy efficiency and use of energy sources that could lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions such as nuclear and renewable sources, including solar, wind, geothermal, and biofuels. The United States has a long history with biofuels and the nation is on a course charted to achieve a substantial increase in biofuels. Renewable Fuel Standard evaluates the economic and environmental consequences of increasing biofuels production as a result of Renewable Fuels Standard, as amended by EISA (RFS2). The report describes biofuels produced in 2010 and those projected to be produced and consumed by 2022, reviews model projections and other estimates of the relative impact on the prices of land, and discusses the potential environmental harm and benefits of biofuels production and the barriers to achieving the RFS2 consumption mandate. Policy makers, investors, leaders in the transportation sector, and others with concerns for the environment, economy, and energy security can rely on the recommendations provided in this report.
Download or read book Clean Power Politics written by Joseph P. Tomain and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-02-17 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States has been experiencing an energy transition for over four decades, and now - thanks to the Clean Power Plan of the Obama Administration and the Paris climate agreement - a clean energy future is moving closer to reality. In Clean Power Politics, Joseph Tomain describes how clean energy policies have been developed and, more importantly, what's necessary for a successful transition to a clean energy future, including technological innovation, new business models, and regulatory reforms. The energy system of the future will minimize the environmental costs of traditional energy production and consumption, and emphasize expanded use of natural resources and energy efficiency. Because many new energy technologies can be produced and consumed at smaller scales, they will shift decision-making power away from traditional utilities and empower consumers to make energy choices about consumption and price. In this way, a clean energy future embodies a democratization of energy.
Download or read book Commercial Aircraft Propulsion and Energy Systems Research written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2016-08-09 with total page 123 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The primary human activities that release carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere are the combustion of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and oil) to generate electricity, the provision of energy for transportation, and as a consequence of some industrial processes. Although aviation CO2 emissions only make up approximately 2.0 to 2.5 percent of total global annual CO2 emissions, research to reduce CO2 emissions is urgent because (1) such reductions may be legislated even as commercial air travel grows, (2) because it takes new technology a long time to propagate into and through the aviation fleet, and (3) because of the ongoing impact of global CO2 emissions. Commercial Aircraft Propulsion and Energy Systems Research develops a national research agenda for reducing CO2 emissions from commercial aviation. This report focuses on propulsion and energy technologies for reducing carbon emissions from large, commercial aircraftâ€" single-aisle and twin-aisle aircraft that carry 100 or more passengersâ€"because such aircraft account for more than 90 percent of global emissions from commercial aircraft. Moreover, while smaller aircraft also emit CO2, they make only a minor contribution to global emissions, and many technologies that reduce CO2 emissions for large aircraft also apply to smaller aircraft. As commercial aviation continues to grow in terms of revenue-passenger miles and cargo ton miles, CO2 emissions are expected to increase. To reduce the contribution of aviation to climate change, it is essential to improve the effectiveness of ongoing efforts to reduce emissions and initiate research into new approaches.
Download or read book Overview of the Renewable Fuel Standard written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Energy and Commerce. Subcommittee on Energy and Power and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Realising REDD written by Arild Angelsen and published by CIFOR. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: REDD+ must be transformational. REDD+ requires broad institutional and governance reforms, such as tenure, decentralisation, and corruption control. These reforms will enable departures from business as usual, and involve communities and forest users in making and implementing policies that a ect them. Policies must go beyond forestry. REDD+ strategies must include policies outside the forestry sector narrowly de ned, such as agriculture and energy, and better coordinate across sectors to deal with non-forest drivers of deforestation and degradation. Performance-based payments are key, yet limited. Payments based on performance directly incentivise and compensate forest owners and users. But schemes such as payments for environmental services (PES) depend on conditions, such as secure tenure, solid carbon data and transparent governance, that are often lacking and take time to change. This constraint reinforces the need for broad institutional and policy reforms. We must learn from the past. Many approaches to REDD+ now being considered are similar to previous e orts to conserve and better manage forests, often with limited success. Taking on board lessons learned from past experience will improve the prospects of REDD+ e ectiveness. National circumstances and uncertainty must be factored in. Di erent country contexts will create a variety of REDD+ models with di erent institutional and policy mixes. Uncertainties about the shape of the future global REDD+ system, national readiness and political consensus require exibility and a phased approach to REDD+ implementation.
Download or read book Biomass Utilization written by Wilfred Cote and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-12-01 with total page 720 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This proceedings volume represents the culmination of nearly three years of planning, organizing and carrying out of a NATO Ad vanced Study Institute on Biomass Utilization. The effort was initi ated by Dr. Harry Sobel, then Editor of Biosources Digest, and a steering committee representing the many disciplines that this field brings together. . When the fiscal and logistical details of the original plan could not be worked out, the idea was temporarily suspended. In the spring of 1982, the Renewable Materials Institute of the State University of New York at the College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, New York revived the plan. A number of modifications had to be made, including the venue which was changed from the U.S.A. to Portugal. Additional funding beyond the basic support provided by the Scientific Affairs Division of NATO had to be obtained. Ul timately there were supplementary grants from the Foundation for Microbiology and the Anne S. Richardson Fund to assist student participants. The New York State College of Forestry Foundation, Inc. provided major support through the Renewable Ma terials Institute. The ASI was held in Alcabideche, Portugal from September 26 to October 9, 1982. Eighty participants including fifteen principal lecturers were assembled at the Hotel Sintra Estoril for the program that was organized as a comprehensive course on biomass utilization. The main lectures were supplemented by relevant short papers offered by the participants.
Download or read book Liquid Transportation Fuels from Coal and Biomass written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2010-01-24 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The transportation sector cannot continue on its current path: The volatility of oil prices threatens the U.S. economy, the large proportion of oil importation threatens U.S. energy security, and the massive contribution of greenhouse gases threatens the environment. The development of domestic sources of alternative transportation fuels with lower greenhouse emissions is now a national imperative. Coal and biomass are in abundant supply in the United States and can be converted to liquid fuels that can be combusted in existing and future vehicles. Their abundant supply makes them attractive candidates to provide non-oil-based liquid fuels to the U.S. transportation system. However, there are important questions about the economic viability, carbon impact, and technology status of these options. Liquid Transportation Fuels from Coal and Biomass provides a snapshot of the potential costs of liquid fuels from biomass by biochemical conversion and from biomass and coal by thermochemical conversion. Policy makers, investors, leaders in industry, the transportation sector, and others with a concern for the environment, economy, and energy security will look to this book as a roadmap to independence from foreign oil. With immediate action and sustained effort, alternative liquid fuels can be available in the 2020 time frame, if or when the nation needs them.
Download or read book Moving Ahead with REDD Issues Options and Implications written by Arild Angelsen and published by CIFOR. This book was released on 2008-01-01 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Reforming America s Outdated Energy Tax Code written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Finance and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Reforming Infrastructure written by Ioannis Nicolaos Kessides and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2004 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Electricity, natural gas, telecommunications, railways, and water supply, are often vertically and horizontally integrated state monopolies. This results in weak services, especially in developing and transition economies, and for poor people. Common problems include low productivity, high costs, bad quality, insufficient revenue, and investment shortfalls. Many countries over the past two decades have restructured, privatized and regulated their infrastructure. This report identifies the challenges involved in this massive policy redirection. It also assesses the outcomes of these changes, as well as their distributional consequences for poor households and other disadvantaged groups. It recommends directions for future reforms and research to improve infrastructure performance, identifying pricing policies that strike a balance between economic efficiency and social equity, suggesting rules governing access to bottleneck infrastructure facilities, and proposing ways to increase poor people's access to these crucial services.
Download or read book The Future of U S Farm Policy written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Agriculture and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 884 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Public Policy Options for Encouraging Alternative Automobile Fuel Technologies written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Hydrogen Production Technologies written by Mehmet Sankir and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2017-03-20 with total page 653 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides a comprehensive practical review of the new technologies used to obtain hydrogen more efficiently via catalytic, electrochemical, bio- and photohydrogen production. Hydrogen has been gaining more attention in both transportation and stationary power applications. Fuel cell-powered cars are on the roads and the automotive industry is demanding feasible and efficient technologies to produce hydrogen. The principles and methods described herein lead to reasonable mitigation of the great majority of problems associated with hydrogen production technologies. The chapters in this book are written by distinguished authors who have extensive experience in their fields, and readers will have a chance to compare the fundamental production techniques and learn about the pros and cons of these technologies. The book is organized into three parts. Part I shows the catalytic and electrochemical principles involved in hydrogen production technologies. Part II addresses hydrogen production from electrochemically active bacteria (EAB) by decomposing organic compound into hydrogen in microbial electrolysis cells (MECs). The final part of the book is concerned with photohydrogen generation. Recent developments in the area of semiconductor-based nanomaterials, specifically semiconductor oxides, nitrides and metal free semiconductor-based nanomaterials for photocatalytic hydrogen production are extensively discussed.
Download or read book The Hydrogen Economy written by National Academy of Engineering and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2004-09-05 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The announcement of a hydrogen fuel initiative in the President's 2003 State of the Union speech substantially increased interest in the potential for hydrogen to play a major role in the nation's long-term energy future. Prior to that event, DOE asked the National Research Council to examine key technical issues about the hydrogen economy to assist in the development of its hydrogen R&D program. Included in the assessment were the current state of technology; future cost estimates; CO2 emissions; distribution, storage, and end use considerations; and the DOE RD&D program. The report provides an assessment of hydrogen as a fuel in the nation's future energy economy and describes a number of important challenges that must be overcome if it is to make a major energy contribution. Topics covered include the hydrogen end-use technologies, transportation, hydrogen production technologies, and transition issues for hydrogen in vehicles.
Download or read book Economic Report of the President Transmitted to the Congress written by United States. President and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reports for 1962- include: The annual report of the Council of Economic Advisers (title varies slightly).
Download or read book Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States written by Michael Gerrard and published by . This book was released on 2019-03-18 with total page 1056 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States provides a "legal playbook" for deep decarbonization in the United States, identifying well over 1,000 legal options for enabling the United States to address one of the greatest problems facing this country and the rest of humanity. The book is based on two reports by the Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project (DDPP) that explain technical and policy pathways for reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% from 1990 levels by 2050. This 80x50 target and similarly aggressive carbon abatement goals are often referred to as deep decarbonization, distinguished because it requires systemic changes to the energy economy. Legal Pathways explains the DDPP reports and then addresses in detail 35 different topics in as many chapters. These 35 chapters cover energy efficiency, conservation, and fuel switching; electricity decarbonization; fuel decarbonization; carbon capture and negative emissions; non-carbon dioxide climate pollutants; and a variety of cross-cutting issues. The legal options involve federal, state, and local law, as well as private governance. Authors were asked to include all options, even if they do not now seem politically realistic or likely, giving Legal Pathways not just immediate value, but also value over time. While both the scale and complexity of deep decarbonization are enormous, this book has a simple message: deep decarbonization is achievable in the United States using laws that exist or could be enacted. These legal tools can be used with significant economic, social, environmental, and national security benefits. Book Reviews "A growing chorus of Americans understand that climate change is the biggest public health, economic, and national security challenge our families have ever faced and they rightly ask, ''What can anyone do?'' Well, this book makes that answer very clear: we can do a lot as individuals, businesses, communities, cities, states, and the federal government to fight climate change. The legal pathways are many and the barriers are not insurmountable. In short, the time is now to dig deep and decarbonize." --Gina McCarthy, Former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator "Legal Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States sets forth over 1,000 solutions for federal, state, local, and private actors to tackle climate change. This book also makes the math for Congress clear: with hundreds of policy options and 12 years to stop the worst impacts of climate change, now is the time to find a path forward." --Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Senator, Rhode Island "This superb work comes at a critical time in the history of our planet. As we increasingly face the threat and reality of climate change and its inevitable impact on our most vulnerable populations, this book provides the best and most current thinking on viable options for the future to address and ameliorate a vexing, worldwide challenge of extraordinary magnitude. Michael Gerrard and John Dernbach are two of the most distinguished academicians in the country on these issues, and they have assembled leading scholars and practitioners to provide a possible path forward. With 35 chapters and over 1,000 legal options, the book is like a menu of offerings for public consumption, showing that real actions can be taken, now and in the future, to achieve deep decarbonization. I recommend the book highly." --John C. Cruden, Past Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice "This book proves that we already know what to do about climate change, if only we had the will to do it. The path to decarbonization depends as much on removing legal impediments and changing outdated incentive systems as it does on imposing new regulations. There are ideas here for every sector of the economy, for every level of government, and for business and nongovernmental organizations, too, all of which should be on the table for any serious country facing the most serious of challenges. By giving us a sense of the possible, Gerrard and Dernbach and their fine authors seem to be saying two things: (1) do something; and (2) it''s possible. What a timely message, and what a great collection." --Jody Freeman, Archibald Cox Professor of Law and Founding Director of the Harvard Law School Environmental and Energy Law Program
