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The travel demand prediction of an activity-based travel demand model (ABM) is based on a hierarchical structure of multiple choices related to an individual’s activity scheduling. This structure has, however, not been investigated for motorcycle-based cities. The coarseness of the traffic analysis zoning system combined with mixed land use results in a large proportion of intrazonal trips, which demands model enhancement in ABMs for these cities. Using large-scale household travel survey data from Ho Chi Minh City, a major motorcycle-based city in Vietnam, this study investigated the hierarchical structure for non-work activity scheduling, with consideration of three dimensions: (1) activity starting time, (2) travel mode, and (3) destination choices at the tour level with attention given to the impacts of intrazonal tours. Multinomial logit and nested logit models were adopted for model development. Results showed that work durations in the schedule strongly affected the scheduling of non-work activities. The estimated logsum parameters showed empirical evidence that hierarchy could be different for different activity types. Our findings also suggested a significant impact of intrazonal tours on the structuring and modeling of activity scheduling choices. The validation result indicated that our proposed models’ predictive capability is acceptable.

Abstract The implementation of energy efficiency measures is an effective way to gain energy savings in the Italian residential sector. This paper assesses the embodied energy impact related to the envelope insulation and evaluates the energy and carbon payback of the efficiency measures. The proposed method consists of (1) an estimation of the baseline operational energy consumption, (2) simulations of realistic retrofit solutions and, (3) the assessment of the ‘retrofitting’ embodied energy and the energy and carbon payback time calculation. The payback is based on the comparison between the saved operational energy and the embodied energy of the materials selected for insulation. Ten Italian cities are analysed, and the results show a deep dependence on the climate zone. In Northern Italian cities, envelope insulation gains relevance as the energy and carbon payback periods are shorter, about 3 years against the 84 years for the Southern city of Palermo. The optimal thickness is estimated for the city of Milan considering the building’s typology, the insulation materials, and the energy payback. This study shows how the total energy savings can be used as a criterion to obtain design indications.

Abstract Increasing agricultural production has become one of the key components to bridge the gap between securing food resources and sustainable development goals (SDGs), namely, no poverty, zero hunger, preservation of natural resources (water and energy), combating climate change and its impacts, and halting the loss of biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems. In this regard, the crucial role of nanotechnology in modern farming is emphasized as an efficient means to develop “precision farming” systems. It can play a potent role in promoting sustainable agriculture, improving nutrient utilization, and mitigating climate change and environmental pollution. Particularly, nanotechnology-enabled products such as “smart nano-delivery capsules” offer new opportunities for controlled slow release of diverse deliverables (e.g., pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and micronutrients) in compliance with the needs of plants under specific environmental stimuli responses. In this framework, this review explores the basic properties, application benefits, and future directions of nanotechnology in agricultural economics, particularly for promoting crop growth and soil reclamation under the umbrella of SDG targets. All obstacles for applying agri-nanotech products (agri-NPs) in farming have been identified and discussed, considering their life cycle assessment (LCA) in soil and plants. Emphasis has been made on evaluating the impacts of various nanotech products on crop growth in reference to traditional market technologies. Besides, this review work discusses the benefits of nanobiochar and nanobubbles as viable alternative natural nanotech products to promote crop physiology, alleviate environmental pollution, and sequester carbon in the soil. This work also summarizes the technical aspects associated with the conversion of agricultural biomass wastes into affordable biofuels. It also highlights regulations, legislative policies, and economic outputs to strengthen the public awareness and acceptance of nanotechnologies in agro-environmental fields. The opportunities and challenges in these topics are discussed to help actively develop and implement nano-enabled products in agriculture and related industries.

Pour soutenir la transition énergétique potentielle de l'Afrique de l'Ouest face au changement climatique, une équipe internationale de scientifiques et un large éventail de parties prenantes locales au Ghana et au Burkina Faso ont évalué conjointement différentes voies d'atténuation et d'adaptation pour l'approvisionnement et la demande en énergie et en eau, y compris leurs implications pour la réalisation des ODD, dans une approche transdisciplinaire. Ils ont co-développé de manière itérative une série de scénarios futurs basés sur i) les connaissances et les priorités des parties prenantes, ii) les plans nationaux des pays et iii) des simulations avec un ensemble de modèles complémentaires de l'énergie et de l'eau. Contrairement aux plans nationaux actuels, les scénarios les plus ambitieux indiquent que l'augmentation rapide prévue de la demande d'électricité pourrait être presque entièrement couverte par les énergies renouvelables, mais qu'une diversification au-delà de l'hydroélectricité sera nécessaire. L'élimination progressive des combustibles fossiles alignerait les politiques énergétiques des pays d'Afrique de l'Ouest sur les objectifs de l'Accord de Paris et générerait des avantages socio-économiques et environnementaux supplémentaires. En apoyo de la potencial transición energética de África Occidental bajo el cambio climático, un equipo internacional de científicos y una amplia gama de partes interesadas locales en Ghana y Burkina Faso evaluaron conjuntamente diferentes vías de mitigación y adaptación para el suministro y la demanda de energía y agua, incluidas sus implicaciones para lograr los ODS, en un enfoque transdisciplinario. Desarrollaron conjuntamente de forma iterativa una serie de escenarios futuros basados en i) el conocimiento y las prioridades de las partes interesadas, ii) los planes nacionales de los países y iii) simulaciones con un conjunto de modelos complementarios de energía y agua. A diferencia de los planes nacionales actuales, los escenarios más ambiciosos indican que el rápido aumento proyectado en la demanda de electricidad podría satisfacerse casi en su totalidad con energías renovables, pero que será necesaria una diversificación más allá de la energía hidroeléctrica. La eliminación gradual de los combustibles fósiles alinearía las políticas energéticas de los países de África Occidental con los objetivos del Acuerdo de París y generaría beneficios socioeconómicos y ambientales adicionales. In support of West Africa's potential energy transition under climate change, an international team of scientists and a wide range of local stakeholders in Ghana and Burkina Faso jointly assessed different mitigation and adaptation pathways for energy and water supply and demand, including their implications for achieving SDGs, in a transdisciplinary approach. They iteratively co-developed a range of future scenarios based on i) stakeholder knowledge and priorities, ii) countries' national plans, and iii) simulations with a set of complementary energy and water models. Unlike current national plans, the more ambitious scenarios indicate that the projected rapid increase in electricity demand could be met almost entirely from renewables, but that a diversification beyond hydropower will be necessary. Phasing out fossil fuels would bring West African countries's energy policies in line with Paris Agreement targets and generate additional socio-economic and environmental co-benefits. لدعم التحول المحتمل للطاقة في غرب إفريقيا في ظل تغير المناخ، قام فريق دولي من العلماء ومجموعة واسعة من أصحاب المصلحة المحليين في غانا وبوركينا فاسو بتقييم مسارات التخفيف والتكيف المختلفة لإمدادات الطاقة والمياه والطلب عليها، بما في ذلك آثارها على تحقيق أهداف التنمية المستدامة، في نهج متعدد التخصصات. وقد شاركوا بشكل متكرر في تطوير مجموعة من السيناريوهات المستقبلية بناءً على 1) معرفة أصحاب المصلحة وأولوياتهم، 2) الخطط الوطنية للبلدان، 3) المحاكاة مع مجموعة من نماذج الطاقة والمياه التكميلية. على عكس الخطط الوطنية الحالية، تشير السيناريوهات الأكثر طموحًا إلى أن الزيادة السريعة المتوقعة في الطلب على الكهرباء يمكن تلبيتها بالكامل تقريبًا من مصادر الطاقة المتجددة، ولكن سيكون من الضروري التنويع بما يتجاوز الطاقة الكهرومائية. ومن شأن التخلص التدريجي من الوقود الأحفوري أن يجعل سياسات الطاقة في بلدان غرب أفريقيا تتماشى مع أهداف اتفاق باريس وتولد فوائد اجتماعية واقتصادية وبيئية إضافية.

The cluster on Enabling Technologies in the framework of the Fast Track on Energy Communities workshop held in Rome during the Sustainable Places 2021 conference presented a series of H2020 projects and their innovative technological solutions to facilitate the uptake of energy communities, demand-response and energy efficiency projects in Europe.

Energy networks have supported and reproduced Flanders’ dispersed urbanization, but today this energy-intensive landscape is running into its ecological and societal limits. As a part of the energy...

Developing countries constantly face the challenge of reliably matching electricity supply to increasing consumer demand. The traditional policy decisions of increasing supply and reducing demand centrally, by building new power plants and/or load shedding, have been insufficient. Locally installed microgrids along with consumer demand response can be suitable decentralized options to augment the centralized grid based systems and plug the demand-supply gap. The objectives of this paper are to: (1) develop a framework to identify the appropriate decentralized energy options for demand supply matching within a community, and, (2) determine which of these options can suitably plug the existing demand-supply gap at varying levels of grid unavailability. A scenario analysis framework is developed to identify and assess the impact of different decentralized energy options at a community level and demonstrated for a typical urban residential community Vijayanagar, Bangalore in India. A combination of LPG based CHP microgrid and proactive demand response by the community is the appropriate option that enables the Vijayanagar community to meet its energy needs 24/7 in a reliable, cost-effective manner. The paper concludes with an enumeration of the barriers and feasible strategies for the implementation of community microgrids in India based on stakeholder inputs. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Surface energy processes has an essential role in urban weather, climate and hydrosphere cycles, as well in urban heat redistribution. The research was undertaken to analyze the potential of Landsat and MODIS data in retrieving biophysical parameters in estimating land surface temperature & heat fluxes diurnally in summer and winter seasons of years 2000 and 2010 and understanding its effect on anthropogenic heat disturbance over Delhi and surrounding region. Results show that during years 2000-2010, settlement and industrial area increased from 5.66 to 11.74% and 4.92 to 11.87% respectively which in turn has direct effect on land surface temperature (LST) and heat fluxes including anthropogenic heat flux. Based on the energy balance model for land surface, a method to estimate the increase in anthropogenic heat flux (Has) has been proposed. The settlement and industrial areas has higher amounts of energy consumed and has high values of Has in all seasons. The comparison of satellite derived LST with that of field measured values show that Landsat estimated values are in close agreement within error of ±2 °C than MODIS with an error of ±3 °C. It was observed that, during 2000 and 2010, the average change in surface temperature using Landsat over settlement & industrial areas of both seasons is 1.4 °C & for MODIS data is 3.7 °C. The seasonal average change in anthropogenic heat flux (Has) estimated using Landsat & MODIS is up by around 38 W/m(2) and 62 W/m(2) respectively while higher change is observed over settlement and concrete structures. The study reveals that the dynamic range of Has values has increased in the 10 year period due to the strong anthropogenic influence over the area. The study showed that anthropogenic heat flux is an indicator of the strength of urban heat island effect, and can be used to quantify the magnitude of the urban heat island effect.