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Environmental tax reform (ETR), a shift from labour to carbon taxes, has been mostly modelled using general equilibrium (GE) analysis. Since a low-carbon transition will require deep transformations, one will also have to address out-of-equilibrium dynamics and increased agent heterogeneity. Unlike GE models, agent-based models (ABMs) are well equipped to deal with this. We therefore replicate a recent GE model for ETR using an agent-based approach. This process, known as "agentization", allows assessing similarities as well as differences in policy impacts between the two modelling approaches, in turn providing a test of the robustness of the GE results. We find that the agent-based model is able to replicate many results of the general equilibrium analysis, while revealing strengths and weaknesses of both model types. We discuss concrete implementation steps and difficulties experienced in the GE-ABM translation process. We illustrate the potential of ABM by extending the model in several directions. We show that heterogeneous subsistence consumption can increase the space for combining a double dividend with an equity goal, and that overall macro-economic results can conceal important distributional impacts when green preferences and labour supply elasticities vary.

The stability of winter wheat-flowering-date is crucial for ensuring consistent and robust crop performance across diverse climatic conditions. However, the impact of climate change on wheat-flowering-dates remains uncertain. This study aims to elucidate the influence of climate change on wheat-flowering-dates, predict how projected future climate conditions will affect flowering date stability, and identify the most stable wheat genotypes in the study region. We applied a multi-locus genotype-based (MLG-based) model for simulating wheat-flowering-dates, which we calibrated and evaluated using observed data from the Northern China winter wheat region (NCWWR). This MLG-based model was employed to project flowering dates under different climate scenarios. The simulated flowering dates were then used to assess the stability of flowering dates under varying allelic combinations in projected climatic conditions. Our MLG-based model effectively simulated flowering dates, with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 2.3 days, explaining approximately 88.5 % of the genotypic variation in flowering dates among 100 wheat genotypes. We found that, in comparison to the baseline climate, wheat-flowering-dates are expected to shift earlier within the target sowing window by approximately 11 and 14 days by 2050 under the Representative Concentration Pathways 4.5 (RCP4.5) and RCP8.5 climate scenarios, respectively. Furthermore, our analysis revealed that wheat-flowering-date stability is likely to be further strengthened under projected climate scenarios due to early flowering trends. Ultimately, we demonstrate that the combination of Vrn and Ppd genes, rather than individual Vrn or Ppd genes, plays a critical role in wheat-flowering-date stability. Our results suggest that the combination of Ppd-D1a with winter genotypes carrying the vrn-D1 allele significantly contributes to flowering date stability under current and projected climate scenarios. These findings provide valuable insights for wheat breeders and producers under future climatic conditions.

This paper presents a stochastic bi-level approach for tariff design in the electricity market where the leader is represented by a retailer and the follower by a residential prosumager, i.e. a consumer equipped with an energy system consisting of photovoltaic panels and a battery storage device. Both players solve an optimization problem subject to uncertainty in market prices, weather-related variables and electricity demand. To account for the retailer’s attitude towards risk, the upper level problem includes a safety measure to maximize. The model allows to determine a dynamic pricing scheme with time-variant rates delivering the average profit that can be gained in a given percentage of unfavorable realizations of the uncertain parameters and the optimal load pattern that minimizes the expected prosumager's electricity bill. The stochastic bi-level problem is reformulated as a single level model and different approaches to deal with the lower level problem and the non linearity in the objective function are analyzed and empirically investigated. A large number of numerical experiments have been carried out on real test cases. The results have shown the efficacy of the proposed approach as a tool to define pricing schemes that reflect the retailer's risk attitude underlining the importance of explicitly dealing with uncertainty.

National net zero emission targets could, if fully implemented, reduce best estimates of projected global average temperature increase to 2.0–2.4 °C by 2100, bringing the Paris Agreement temperature goal within reach. A total of 131 countries are discussing, have announced or have adopted net zero targets, covering 72% of global emissions. These targets could substantially lower projected warming as compared to currently implemented policies (2.9–3.2 °C) or pledges submitted to the Paris Agreement (2.4–2.9 °C). Current pledges for emissions cuts are insufficient to meet the Paris Agreement temperature goal. The wave of net zero targets being discussed and adopted could make the Paris goal possible if further countries follow suit.

The interplay between excitatory pyramidal neurons and GABAergic interneurons is the basic building block of neocortical microcircuits and plays a critical role in carrying out higher cognitive functions. Cortical circuits are deeply and permanently disrupted by exposure to alcohol during brain development, the main non-genetic cause of intellectual disability. Here, I review experimental studies of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, dealing with permanent cellular and molecular alterations of neocortical neurons and their connections.

Moisture availability is a strong determinant of decomposition rates in forests worldwide. Climate models suggest that many terrestrial ecosystems are at risk from future droughts, suggesting moisture limiting conditions will develop across a range of forests worldwide. The impacts of increasing drought conditions on forest carbon (C) fluxes due to shifts in organic matter decay rates may be poorly characterised due to limited experimental research. To appraise this question, we conducted a meta-analysis of forest drought experiment studies worldwide, examining spatial limits, knowledge gaps and potential biases. To identify limits to experimental knowledge, we projected the global distribution of forest drought experiments against spatially modelled estimates of (i) future precipitation change, (ii) ecosystem total above-ground C and (iii) soil C storage. Our assessment, involving 115 individual experimental study locations, found a mismatch between the distribution of forest drought experiments and regions with higher levels of future drought risk and C storage, such as Central America, Amazonia, the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, equatorial Africa and Indonesia. Decomposition rate responses in litter and soil were also relatively under-studied, with only 30 experiments specifically examining the potential experimental impacts of drought on C fluxes from soil or litter. We propose new approaches for engaging experimentally with forest drought research, utilising standardised protocols to appraise the impacts of drought on the C cycle, while targeting the most vulnerable and relevant forests.

A post-deposition in situ passivation strategy using a multi-functional molecular agent is reported with enhanced colloidal dispersibility of an environmentally-friendly AgBiS2 nanocrystal ink, achieving a PCE over 10% in a solar cell.

Industrial heat and cooling applications are an essential fraction of the overall energy demand, mainly produced by fossil fuels. Solar thermal energy production can satisfy such a need by adopting the High Vacuum Flat Plate Collectors (HVFPCs) and increasing their efficiency. The absorptance and emittance of Selective Solar Absorbers (SSAs) determine the thermal efficiency of HVFPCs. Being the absorptance already maximized, the thermal emittance of the absorber should be minimized to increase further the operating temperature of the collector and its efficiency. This research aims to reduce the thermal emittance of commercially available Selective Solar Absorber by depositing a thin silver film on the aluminium substrate. So, in this work, the thermal stability of a silver coating has been investigated, and a diffusion barrier layer has been adopted to stabilize the coating performance up to 360 degrees C. The low-emissive layer of Ag and a diffusion barrier of CrOx guarantees a decrease of 11% in thermal emittance at 200 degrees C of commercially available SSA deposited on aluminium. Further emittance reduction can be obtained by depositing a thin Ag film on both sides of the aluminium substrate before the SSA deposition, proving to be a promising way to enhance the efficiency of HVFPCs.