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Abstract Many countries committed themselves in the Kyoto protocol to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Some of these targeted emission reductions could result from a switch from coal-fired to gas-fired electricity generation. The focus in this work lies on Western Europe, with the presence of the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS). For the switching to occur, several conditions have to be fulfilled. First, an economical incentive must be present, i.e. a sufficiently high European Union Allowance (EUA) price together with a sufficiently low natural gas price. Second, the physical potential for switching must exist, i.e. at a given load, there must remain enough power plants not running to make switching possible. This paper investigates what possibilities exist for switching coal-fired plants for gas-fired plants, dependent on the load level (the latter condition above). A fixed allowance cost and a variable natural gas price are assumed. The method to address GHG emission reduction potentials is first illustrated in a methodological case. Next, the GHG emission reduction potentials are addressed for several Western European countries together with a relative positioning of their electricity generation. GHG emission reduction potentials are also compared with simulation results. GHG emission reduction potentials tend to be significant. The Netherlands have a very widespread switching zone, so GHG emission reduction is practically independent of electricity generation. Other counties, like Germany, Spain and Italy could reduce GHG emissions significantly by switching. With an allowance cost following the switch level of a 50% efficient gas-fired plant and a 40% efficient coal-fired plant in the summer season (like in 2005), the global GHG emission reduction (in the electricity generating sector) for the eight modeled zones could amount to 19%.

SummaryThe production of liquid biofuels to blend with gasoline is of worldwide importance to secure the energy supply while reducing the use of fossil fuels, supporting the development of rural technology with knowledge‐based jobs and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Today, engineering for plant construction is accessible and new processes using agricultural residues and municipal solid wastes have reached a good degree of maturity and high conversion yields (almost 90% of polysaccharides are converted into monosaccharides ready for fermentation). For the complete success of the 2G technology, it is still necessary to overcome a number of limitations that prevent a first‐of‐a‐kind plant from operating at nominal capacity. We also claim that the triumph of 2G technology requires the development of favourable logistics to guarantee biomass supply and make all actors (farmers, investors, industrial entrepreneurs, government, others) aware that success relies on agreement advances. The growth of ethanol production for 2020 seems to be secured with a number of 2G plants, but public/private investments are still necessary to enable 2G technology to move on ahead from its very early stages to a more mature consolidated technology.

Abstract The earth’s climate is changing, with global warming attributable to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions driven by economic and population growth. Human systems and ecosystems vary in their exposure, mitigation and adaptive capacity, and vulnerability to various forms of climate change. Once mitigation and adaptation efforts have been exhausted, vulnerability remains. Data compiled by the University of Notre Dame covering over 100 nations in 2016 were used to construct a new composite climate change vulnerability index that features endogenously generated weights to aggregate vulnerability indices across six vulnerable sectors. These weights have the potential to inform policy aimed at allocating resources to reduce the cost of limiting vulnerability. The new composite vulnerability index, whose weights differ across sectors and across nations, is compared with the Notre Dame vulnerability index, which uses weights equal across sectors and constant across nations. Although the two indices agree on the identity of the most vulnerable nations, there is a statistically significant difference between the two indices. In addition, a nonparametric statistical test failed to reject the null hypothesis that one sectoral index could be deleted from the composite index without significant loss of information. This also has potentially important policy implications.

Abstract Plastics have been reported as one of the major pollutants among various pollutants that are disposed of in the environment. They play a pivotal part in human life as they are cost-effective and are versatile. Plastics are known to have a mixture of many chemical components and are used for various domestic applications. Despite various useful applications, plastics take a long time to degrade. The burning of plastics releases chemicals such as phosgene and dioxides that are considered a hazard to the ecosystem. The toxic debris that is released from the plastics enters the food chain and water bodies in the form of microplastics. Microplastic-polluted foods and the presence of meager amounts of phthalates in toys lead to serious health consequences such as congenital diseases and malignant cancers. The dioxins released from the plastic polymers are lethally persistent organic pollutants which cause tumor and neurological damage in humans. Inadequate waste management practices have led to significant plastic pollution of water bodies. Plastics tend to settle on beaches, which decreases esthetic and recreation values. In this article, we have discussed ways for resource recovery from plastic wastes and the possible effects of plastics on the environment and available safety regulations for the use of plastics. This article also discusses scientific literature about the remediation of plastics using various methods, which can help to promote further improvement of the existing system by competent authorities and researchers.

AbstractClimate change, migration, and conflict have been featured prominently in academic and policy literature. While Africa remains the major reference point, studies on key conflict hotspots fail to adequately examine empirical demonstrations of how climate change forces migration, and consequently major conflicts. Drawing on semi‐structured interviews, focus group discussions, and employing the scarcity theory in a study of Agogo (Ghana), we illustrate how regional and local climate/environmental variability and scarcity trigger and sustain migration and farmer–herder conflicts. The findings offer insights into how other non‐climatic and ecological conditions reinforce the so‐called climate‐induced conflicts, exposing the limitations of the scarcity‐theory. Importantly, this study has provided an illustrative argument centered around the contextual dynamics of the nexus between climate change and farmer–herder conflict in Agogo to contribute to national, regional, and continental discussion on this critical topic.

Global organizations providing network relations for cities are bourgeoning. Organizations such as Metropolis, UN-Habitat, ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, the Global Compact Cities Programme, and the C40, as well as City-to-City arrangements, have become increasingly important to managing urban networking and global urban governance. The growing literature on global urban networking tends to assume that networking is bringing positive outcomes for urban development and that increased connectivity is making a significant difference to enhancing political engagement in itself. In practice, there is considerable interchange happening, and globally accessible websites and global newsletters outlining the latest and best practices are omnipresent. However, to what extent networked relations provide direct guidance for governance, let alone change existing paradigms, remains unclear. This chapter explores the added value of networked relations, asking more specifically how different forms of networking and various forms of knowledge exchange are acknowledged in efficaciously enhancing work in urban sustainability.

Abstract Anaerobic digestion (AD) technology has piqued scientists’ interest in light of the growing demand for renewable energy and environmental preservation. This paper discusses the analysis of national biogas producing capacity, energy demand, and methods for meeting that demand. Also, public health and environmental issue, biogas technology and their utilization, current national scenario, and future in the biogas field have been discussed. The Government of India (GOI) has been providing subsidies or financial support through various programs. They support the rural area for generating biogas and also announced the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiative for the generation of compressed biogas (CBG) for the installation of 5000 plants up to 2023-24. These plants are expected to produce 15 million metric tonnes (MMT) of CBG per annum, which is about 40% of the current compressed natural gas (CNG) consumption of 44 MMT per annum in the region.

Abstract Characterization of the effects of cruise ship emissions on local air quality is scarce. Our objective was to investigate community level concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) associated with cruise ships in James Bay, Victoria, British Columbia (BC), Canada. Data obtained over four years (2005–2008) at the nearest air quality network site located 3.5 km from the study area, a CALPUFF modeling exercise (2007), and continuous measurements taken in the James Bay community over a three-month period during the 2009 cruise ship season were examined. Concentrations of PM2.5 and nitrogen oxide (NO) were elevated on weekends with ships present with winds from the direction of the terminal to the monitoring station. SO2 displayed the greatest impact from the presence of cruise ships in the area. Network data showed peaks in hourly SO2 when ships were in port during all years. The CALPUFF modeling analysis found predicted 24-hour SO2 levels to exceed World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines of 20 μg m−3 for approximately 3% of 24-hour periods, with a maximum 24-hour concentration in the community of 41 μg m−3; however, the CALPUFF model underestimated concentrations when predicted and measured concentrations were compared at the network site. Continuous monitoring at the location in the community predicted to experience highest SO2 concentrations measured a maximum 24-hour concentration of 122 μg m−3 and 16% of 24-hour periods were above the WHO standard. The 10-minute concentrations of SO2 reached up to 599 μg m−3 and exceeded the WHO 10-minute SO2 guideline (500 μg m−3) for 0.03% of 10-minute periods. No exceedences of BC Provincial or Canadian guidelines or standards were observed.