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Abstract As main contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, power and transportation are crucial sectors for energy system decarbonization. Their interaction is expected to increase significantly: plug-in electric vehicles add a new electric load, increasing grid demand and potentially requiring substantial grid upgrade; hydrogen production for fuel cell electric vehicles or for clean fuels synthesis could exploit the projected massive power overgeneration by intermittent and seasonally-dependent renewable sources via Power-to-Hydrogen. This work investigates the infrastructural needs involved with a broad diffusion of clean mobility, adopting a sector integration perspective at the national scale. The analysis combines a multi-node energy system balance simulation and a techno-economic assessment of the infrastructure to deliver energy vectors for mobility. The article explores the long-term case of Italy, considering a massive increase of renewable power generation capacity and investigating different mobility scenarios, where low-emission vehicles account for 50% of the stock. First, the model solves the energy balances, integrating the consumption related to mobility energy vectors and taking into account power grid constraints. Then, an optimal infrastructure is identified, composed of both a hydrogen delivery network and a widespread installation of charging points. Results show that the infrastructural requirements bring about investment costs in the range of 43–63 G€. Lower specific costs are associated with the exclusive presence of FCEVs, whereas the full reliance on BEVs leads to the most significant costs. Scenarios that combine FCEVs and BEVs lie in between, suggesting that the overall power + mobility system benefits from the presence of both drivetrain options.

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.

Abstract This work focuses on the efforts being made by King County, Washington to respond to the challenges of global climate change, concentrating on both mitigation and adaptation. King County is a leader in the United States in the development and implementation of meaningful climate change efforts in local government. The county, in conjunction with ICLEI, recently produced a workbook on Preparing for Climate Change at the Local, Regional, and State levels. While the vast majority of local governments in the United States have only taken limited steps to respond to global warming, King County stands out as aggressively looking to move in a new direction. The King County Climate Plan is based on the conviction that climate change is both a problem and an opportunity for communities to improve environmental quality through mitigation of greenhouse gases and simultaneously build resilience to adapt to global climate change. Its exceptional combination of responsibilities in planning and opportunities makes this an invaluable experience to other local governments throughout the world. The work to be presented is a case study that examines the underlying issues and challenges faced by this jurisdiction in adopting its climate change plan; the development and adoption of the plan; issues associated with monitoring and sustaining these efforts; and the broader challenges of building more resilient and adaptive communities. The case study will focus both on procedural issues, as well as, on the types of mitigation and adaptive responses. One aspect of the paper will examine King County's efforts to link climate change efforts/policy/plans to other critical community concerns (e.g., issues of equity and race), and to the economic opportunities that have become critical motivators to successfully as moving forward the county attempts to establish itself as a global leader in meeting the challenges of global climate change.

The climate crisis is the biggest threat to the health, development, and wellbeing of the current and future generations. While there is extensive evidence on the direct impacts of climate change on human livelihood, there is little evidence on how children and young people are affected, and even less discussion and evidence on how the climate crisis could affect violence against children.In this commentary, we review selected research to assess the links between the climate crisis and violence against children.We employ a social-ecological perspective as an overarching framework to organize findings from the literature and call attention to increased violence against children as a specific, yet under-examined, direct and indirect consequence of the climate crisis.Using such a perspective, we examine how the climate crisis exacerbates the risk of violence against children at the continually intersecting and interacting levels of society, community, family, and the individual levels. We propose increased risk of armed conflict, forced displacement, poverty, income inequality, disruptions in critical health and social services, and mental health problems as key mechanisms linking the climate crisis and heightened risk of violence against children. Furthermore, we posit that the climate crisis serves as a threat multiplier, compounding existing vulnerabilities and inequities within populations and having harsher consequences in settings, communities, households, and for children already experiencing adversities.We conclude with a call for urgent efforts from researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to further investigate the specific empirical links between the climate crisis and violence against children and to design, test, implement, fund, and scale evidence-based, rights-based, and child friendly prevention, support, and response strategies to address violence against children.

Improving the environmental performance of the built environment is a ‘super wicked’ problem, lacking a simplistic or straightforward response. This is particularly challenging where space is rented, in part because the relationships between the various owners, users and managers of the space is regulated – at least in a formal sense - through the lease. Traditional leases largely ignore environmental considerations and present barriers to making energy efficient upgrades. Leasing practices are evolving to become greener. Evidence from a Sydney Better Buildings Partnership (BBP) study, Australian leasing experts, a UK commercial lease study and a case-study of a major UK retailer, Marks and Spencer (MandS), suggests an increasing, trend towards green leases in most of these markets and opportunities for improving environmental performance through green leasing. Further research is needed in both countries to understand the impact that greener leasing has on environmental performance of buildings.

Abstract As part of a comprehensive evaluation of the use of Sida hermaphrodita (hereafter referred to as Sida) biomass as a solid biofuel, a life cycle assessment (LCA) according to ISO 14040/14044 was carried out by means of a suitable cradle-to-gate system design. The supply and use of chips, pellets and briquettes was studied by internal and external comparisons to show competitiveness and improvement options. The results show fewer differences within the Sida process chain designs but larger distinctions to compared alternative biofuels such as wood or Miscanthus pellets. A major finding is that Sida process chains cause lower environmental impacts in comparison with alternative biofuels. The study identified hot spots within the Sida process chains and starting points for further improvement. A sensitivity analysis of important parameters, such as specific yield or heating values was performed. Because there are no similar investigations on the environmental impact of Sida used as a biogenic solid fuel to date this manuscript presents first results. So far, the results indicate that Sida provides a more sustainable option for the use of biomass in combustion processes in relation to environmental impacts.

Commercial bakery products in the United States such as breads, rolls, frozen cakes, pies, pastries, cookies, and crackers consume over $870 million of energy annually. Energy efficiency measures can reduce the energy costs of significant energy processes and increase earnings predictability. This article summarizes key energy efficiency measures relevant to industrial baking. Case study data from bakeries and related facilities worldwide are used to identify savings and cost metrics associated with efficiency measures. While the focus of this paper is on U.S. bakeries, findings can be generalized to bakeries internationally. A discussion of energy management systems is provided and how energy efficiency measures savings can be sustained. Energy and plant managers at bakeries can use this information to cost-effectively reduce energy consumption while utilities and policy makers can apply the findings to energy efficiency program design.

Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) are challenging the traditional food system by leveraging concepts such as self-organisation and self-management aiming to shorten the food supply chain and give cu...