Academic literature on the topic 'Atmosperic carbon dioxide – Economic aspects'

This article deals with review of technical and economic aspects of Carbon Capture and Storage. Since the late 1980s a new concept is being developed which enables to make use of fossil fuels with a considerably reduced emission of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. The concept is often called ‘Carbon Capture and Storage’ (CCS). CCS technologies are receiving increasing attention, mainly for their potential contribution to the optimal mitigation of carbon dioxide emissions that is intended to avoid future, dangerous climate change. CCS technologies attract a lot of attention because they could allow “to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere whilst continuing to use fossil fuels”. CCS is not a completely new technology, e.g., the United States alone is sequestering about 8.5 MtC for enhanced oil recovery each year. Today, CCS technologies are widely recognised as an important means of progress in industrialized countries.

The article considers the possibilities of developing forest entrepreneurship through expanding the range of ecosystem services and organizing sequestration Inustry on forest lands. The new type of forest management is based on the ability to balance carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. The economic aspects of creating and using forest carbon farms are considered. To determine the standard costs for creating poplar and pine carbon plantations, the standard method was used. Creating carbon farms on forest land is a costly process, but carbon storage activities can bring numerous economic and environmental effects in addition to maintaining the carbon balance. The cost of creating one hectare of forest carbon farm is from 262 to 304 thousand rubles, while the economic effect of their use can significantly exceed the investment. The first stage in the organization of carbon farms should be the creation of test plantations-carbon polygons. It is proved that the necessary resources and prerequisites are available for the implementation of the actual practice-oriented task of creating carbon polygons in the Voronezh region.

Abstract Oxy combustion is the most promising technology for carbon dioxide, originated from thermal power plants, capture and storage. The oxygen in sufficient quantities can be separated from air in cryogenic installations. Even the state-of-art air separation units are characterized by high energy demands decreasing net efficiency of thermal power plant by at least 7%. This efficiency decrease can be mitigated by the use of waste nitrogen, e.g., as the medium for lignite drying. It is also possible to store energy in liquefied gases and recover it by liquid pressurization, warm-up to ambient temperature and expansion. Exergetic efficiency of the proposed energy accumulator may reach 85%.

Growing economies need green and renewable energy. Their financial development can reduce energy consumption (through energy-efficient technologies) and replace fossil fuels with renewable ones. Gas turbine engines are widely used in transport and industry. To improve their economic attractiveness and to reduce harmful emissions, including greenhouse gases, alternative fuels and waste heat recovery technologies can be used. A promising direction is the use of alcohol and thermo-chemical recuperation. The purpose of this study is to estimate the economic efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions of an alcohol-fueled regenerative gas turbine engine with thermo-chemical recuperation. The carbon dioxide emissions have been determined using engine efficiency, fuel properties, as well as life cycle analysis. The engine efficiency was maximized by varying the water/alcohol ratio. To evaluate steam fuel reforming for a certain engine, a conversion performance factor has been suggested. At the optimal water/methanol ratio of 3.075 this technology can increase efficiency by 4% and reduce tank-to-wake emission by 80%. In the last 6 months of 2019, methanol prices were promising for power and cogeneration plants in remote locations. The policy recommendation is that local authorities should pay attention to alcohol fuel and advanced turbines to curb the adverse effects of burning petroleum fuel on economic growth and the environment.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), only a tiny fraction of the full potential of energy from biomass is currently exploited in the world. Biogas is a good source of energy and heat, and a clean fuel. Converting it to biomethane creates a product that combines all the benefits of natural gas with zero greenhouse gas emissions. This is important given that the methane contained in biogas is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide (CO2). The total amount of CO2 emission avoided due to the installation of biogas plants is around 3380 ton/year, as 1 m3 of biogas corresponds to 0.70 kg of CO2 saved. In Russia, despite the huge potential, the development of bioenergy is rather on the periphery, due to the abundance of cheap hydrocarbons and the lack of government support. Based on the data from an agro-industrial plant located in Central Russia, the authors of the article demonstrate that biogas technologies could be successfully used in Russia, provided that the Russian Government adopted Western-type measures of financial incentives.

Drop and pull Transport is an economic, environmental protection, a high efficient mode of transportation. It has already been widely used in production practice in developed western countries. But the development of it in our country has been limped. The paper analysis from three aspects: Fixed costs, variable costs, the total cost of economic benefit. Also, this paper looks into the Fuel and carbon dioxide emissions from the social benefit. Thereby obtain energy saving and emission reduction. drop and pull Transport has raise transportation economic efficiency and social efficiency advantage.

This paper analyzes the influencing factors of carbon dioxide emissions from four aspects: Population, economy, industrial structure and energy, then from the carbon emissions, economic development, industrial structure, energy consumption structure to show the status quo of carbon emissions in Hubei Province. Based on the analysis of the influencing factors, the main influencing factors of carbon emission are population, regional gross product and coal consumption The multivariate linear regression model and the polynomial curve model are established and the error analysis is carried out. The combination weight coefficients of two single models are obtained through the linear programming model and the combination forecasting model is established, finally, the corresponding countermeasures to reduce carbon emissions are put forward.

This paper presents a methodology for studying the chemical, thermal processes and economics for the gasification systems employed in coal fired power stations through thermodynamic analyses based on thermodynamic laws in order to gain some new aspects of the plant performance. A resourceful computer program is developed and designed to calculate all necessary design and performance data for four selected coal fired power plants for all coal ranks. Detailed manual calculations were performed for the results. Comparison of computer and manual results are in excellent agreement which indicates that the present program is an accurate quick powerful tool for all users. The main findings of this paper are that Integrated Coal Gasification Combined Power Generation Plants with CO2 recovery increase the plant's thermal efficiency and decrease the CO2 emission. The thermodynamics, hydrodynamics, and kinetics of each reaction to the gas combinations were most likely tested by each of the techniques when using a variety of fuels under the condition of "Oxygen gas at 30 bar pressure". The economic analysis is based on analyzing the economics of carbon dioxide capture and storage and the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from power plants. Finally, with new developments, the capture and sequestration of CO2 could lead to.

The article presents a comparative analysis of the main types of reserve fuel for boilers, including fuel oil, diesel fuel and liquefi ed petroleum gases. The main technological aspects and features of construction of fuel farms are analyzed. The economic aspects of the use of diff erent types of reserve fuel are considered. The thermal and cost costs of fuel storage and combustion are estimated. The calculation of emissions into the atmosphere of harmful substances, including nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, benzapyrene, sulfur dioxide, soot. The masses of emitt ed substances, their concentration in fractions of MPC, distances at which the maximum concentration of emissions is observed are determined. The prospects of using liquefi ed hydrocarbon gases and «Propane-Air» technology are substantiated.

This study is aimed at developing policies for energy efficiency by observing the past changes of energy use in Indonesia???s manufacturing sector over the period 1980???2000, and to investigate mitigation options for energy-related CO2 emissions in the sector. The first part of the study uses decomposition analysis to assess the effect of the changes in energy consumption and the level of CO2 emissions, while the second part investigates energy efficiency improvement strategies and the use of economic instruments to mitigate CO2 emissions in the manufacturing sector. Economic activity was the dominant factor in increasing energy consumption over the whole period of analysis, followed by the energy intensity effect and then the structural effect. The increase in aggregate energy intensity over the period 1980-2000 was mainly driven by the energy intensity effect. In turn, the technical effect was the dominant contributor to changes in energy intensity effect, with the fuel-mix effect being of lesser importance. Changes in CO2 emissions were dominated by economic activity and structural change. Sub-sectors that would benefit from fuel switching and energy efficiency improvements are the textile, paper, and non-metal sub-sectors. Three main options for reducing CO2 emissions from the manufacturing sector were considered: the imposition of a carbon tax, energy efficiency initiatives, and other mitigation measures. A carbon tax was found to reduce sectoral emissions from the direct use of oil, gas and coal, but increased the demand for electricity. At the practical level, energy efficiency improvements can be implemented by adopting energy efficient technologies that can reduce aggregate energy intensity up to 37.1 per cent from the base-year level, estimated after imposition of a carbon tax at $30 per tonne of carbon. A major priority for energy efficiency improvements was found to be in the textile and the paper and chemical sub-sectors. A mitigation measure such as the Clean Development Mechanisms could be encouraged in order to reduce projected emission levels. The preferred option would be the adoption of energy efficient technologies in the textile, chemical, paper and non-metal sub-sectors.

Australia is recognising that carbon capture and storage (CCS) may be a feasible pathway for addressing increasing levels of CO2 emissions. This thesis presents a preliminary economic assessment and comparison of the capture costs for different Australian CO2 emission sources. The capture technologies evaluated include solvent absorption, pressure swing adsorption (PSA), gas separation membranes and low temperature separation. The capture cost estimated for hydrogen production, IGCC power plants and natural gas processing is less than A$30/tonne CO2 avoided. CO2 capture cost for iron production ranges from A$30 to A$40 per tonne CO2 avoided. Higher costs of A$40 to over A$80 per tonne CO2 avoided were estimated for flue gas streams from pulverised coal and NGCC power plants, oil refineries and cement facilities, and IDGCC synthesis gas. Based on 2004 and 2005 EU ETS carbon prices (A$30 to A$45 per tonne CO2 avoided), the cost of capture using current commercially available absorption technology may deter wide-scale implementation of CCS, in particular for combustion processes. A sensitivity analysis was undertaken to explore the opportunities for reducing costs. The high cost for capture using solvent absorption is dependent on the energy needed for solvent regeneration and the high capital costs. Cost reductions can be achieved by using new low regeneration energy solvents coupled with recycling the waste heat from the absorption process back to the steam cycle, and using low cost ???fit-for-purpose??? equipment. For membrane and PSA technologies, the capture costs are dominated by the flue gas and post-capture compressors. Operating the permeate or desorption stream under vacuum conditions provides significant cost reductions. Improvements in membrane and adsorbent characteristics such as the adsorbent loading or membrane permeability, CO2 selectivity, and lower prices for the membrane or adsorbent material provide further cost benefits. For low partial pressure CO2 streams, capture using low temperature ???anti-sublimation??? separation can be an alternative option. Low costs could be achieved by operating under low pressures and integrating with external sources of waste heat. Applying the cost reductions achievable with technology and process improvements reduces the capture and CCS costs to a level less than current carbon prices, making CCS an attractive mitigation option.

This thesis examines the informational efficiency of the European carbon market based on the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). The issue is approached from three different perspectives. I explore whether the volatility embedded in carbon options is a rational forecast of subsequently realized volatility. Then, I investigate if, and to what extent, new information about the structural and institutional set-up of the market impacts the carbon price dynamics. Lastly, I examine whether the European carbon market is relevant for the firm valuations of covered companies. First, perhaps because the market is new and derivatives’ trading on emission allowances has only started recently, carbon options have not yet been extensively studied. By using data on options traded on the European Climate Exchange, this thesis examines an aspect of market efficiency which has been previously overlooked. Market efficiency suggests that, conditional upon the accuracy of the option pricing model, implied volatility should be an unbiased and efficient forecast of future realized volatility (Campbell et al., 1997). Black (1976) implied volatility and implied volatility estimates directly surveyed from market participants are used in this thesis to study the information content of carbon options. Implied volatility is found to be highly informative and directionally accurate in forecasting future volatility. There is no evidence, however, that volatility embedded in carbon options is an unbiased and efficient forecast of future realized volatility. Instead, historical volatility-based forecasts are shown to contain incremental information to implied volatility, particularly for short-term forecasts. In addition, this thesis finds no evidence that directly surveyed implied volatility estimates perform better as a forecast of future volatility relative to Black’s (1976) estimates. Second, the market sensitivity to announcements about the organizational and institutional set-up of the EU ETS is re-examined. Despite their importance for the carbon price formation, demand-side announcements and announcements about the post-2012 framework have not yet been researched. By examining a very comprehensive and updated dataset of announcements, this thesis adds to the earlier works of Miclaus et al. (2008), Mansanet-Bataller and Pardo (2009) and Lepone et al. (2011). Market participants are found to rationally incorporate new information about the institutional and regulatory framework of the emissions trading scheme into the carbon price dynamics. However, they seem to be unable to accurately assess the implications of inter-temporal banking and borrowing on pricing futures contracts with different maturities. The impact of macroeconomic conditions on the market responsiveness is investigated by splitting the dataset into subsamples according to two alternative methods: 1) a simple split into pre-crisis and full-crisis time periods, and 2) according to a Bai-Perron structural break test. Evidence is found that in the context of economic slowdown and known allowances oversupply, the relationship between the carbon price and its fundamentals (institutional announcements, energy prices and extreme weather) breaks down. These findings are consistent with the arguments in Hintermann (2010), Keppler and Mansanet-Bataller (2010) and Koop and Tole (2011) that carbon price drivers change in response to the differing context of the individual trading periods. Third, the role of carbon performance in firm valuation is understudied. Since companies were not obliged to disclose their carbon emissions prior to the launch of the EU ETS, there exists little empirical evidence of the effect of carbon performance on market value. Earlier studies of the European carbon market have only focused on the impact of ETS compliance on the profitability and competitiveness of covered companies (e.g. Anger and Oberndorfer, 2008). There is also little research on how the newly available emissions data has altered the carbon performance of companies. This thesis addresses these gaps in the literature by examining the stock price reactions of British and German firms on the day of verified emissions release under the EU ETS over the period 2006 – 2011. An event study is conducted using a Seemingly Unrelated Regressions model to deal with the event clustering present in the dataset. Limited evidence is found that investors use information about the carbon performance of companies in their valuations. The information contained in the carbon emissions reports is shown to be somewhat more important for companies with high carbon-intensive operations. This thesis finds no conclusive evidence that the cap-and-trade programme has been able to provide regulated companies with enough incentives to de-carbonize their operations. The market does not punish companies which continue to emit carbon at increasing rates or reward companies which improve their carbon performance. In brief, the results of the thesis suggest that the market is not fully efficient yet. Inefficiently priced carbon options may allow for arbitrage trades in the market. The inability of investors to incorporate rules on inter-temporal banking and borrowing of allowances across the different trading periods leads to significant price reactions when there should be none. A recessionary economic environment and a known oversupply of emission allowances have led to a disconnect between the carbon price and its fundamental drivers. And, lastly, the signal embedded in the carbon price is not strong enough to invoke investor action and turn carbon performance into a standard component of investment analysis.

Afforestation projects in China have substantially contributed to national CO2 sequestration and play an important role in international climate change mitigation. However, these nation-wide afforestation projects are usually funded by the national government, with very large and unsustainable investments. It is important to find alternative sources of funding to finance afforestation, and convince poor farmers to become involved in afforestation projects. Carbon-subsidized afforestation could be the solution. The current study aims to find i) whether farmers need additional subsidies to reforest their marginal farmland; if so, ii) whether the value of carbon sequestration of afforestation can offset farmers' net costs. To do this, first I determine the amount of carbon sequestration though afforestation. Second, I assess the value of carbon sequestration, the costs and benefits of afforestation projects, and the costs and benefits of crop production. Third, I investigate the optimal rotation period of the plantations considering a joint production of timber and carbon, for different species. Results show that total carbon sequestration through tree biomass and soil carbon following afforestation differs among tree species and stand age as well as across regions. Economic trees sequester less carbon than ecological trees and bamboo. Among economic trees, nut trees with an inedible hard shell sequester more carbon than fruit trees. The regional context significantly influences the carbon sequestration potential, with more carbon sequestered in southern and eastern regions than in northern regions. Bamboo also shows a remarkable carbon sequestration potential, which is even greater than Chinese fir and Poplar in northern regions. Although afforestation programs have huge potential to store carbon, the voluntary acceptance by landowners crucially depends on their economic outcome. I found that usually carbon credits can compensate for the opportunity costs of alternative land uses, except i) when highly profitable croplands are afforested, in which case carbon credits are not sufficient, and ii) when croplands that generates low incomes are afforested, in which case carbon credits are not needed. Fruit trees are the most cost-effective option for afforestation. Bamboo afforestation is economically attractive if carbon revenues is included. The minimum price of carbon credit decreases with increasing project duration because more carbon is stored when time increases. This does not hold for fast-growing trees like Eucalyptus, for which the minimum price increases with extended project duration. Given the temporal variations of joint production of timber and carbon sequestration, the carbon accounting regimes (tCER, temporary Certified Emission Reductions and lCER, long-term Certified Emission Reductions) have a significant impact on the optimal rotation as well as on the revenue. Forest managers have an incentive to use tCER accounting to finance slow-growing plantations, and lCER for fast-growing ones. I perform a sensitivity analysis detects the changes of rotation period with different carbon prices and discount rates. While the optimal decision for slow-growing species (e.g. Chinese fir) is highly sensitive to changes in both variables under tCER accounting, the results concerning fast-growing species (e.g. Eucalyptus) are most sensitive under the lCER accounting regime. In contrast, carbon revenues have a minimal impact on the optimal rotation of Poplar plantations, no matter which regime is applied. I conclude that carbon-subsidized afforestation is a feasible way to offset the opportunity costs of retired farmland and support the livelihood of farmers. The findings can contribute to the efficient and sustainable management of forestry projects using carbon sequestration, while the methodology can also be applied to other regions in the world.

In my thesis, I address two important issues: (i) the creation of a price signal through the use of carbon markets (or cap-and-trade schemes) and (ii) the necessity to reach a global agreement on greenhouse gas emission reduction policies. It consists of three separate papers. Chapters 2 and 3 of this thesis emphasize theoretically and empirically the fact that achieving international cooperation on climate change is very difficult. Chapter 3 suggests that the global nature of the climate change problem and the design of climate agreements (i.e. the means available to reduce CO2 emissions) may explain this failure. Chapter 2 shows theoretically that asymmetric information between countries may exacerbate the free-rider problem. These two chapters also provide some possible solutions to the lack of international cooperation. To address the issue of information asymmetry, chapter 2 proposes the creation of institutions in charge of gathering and certifying countries' private information before environmental negotiations. If achieving international cooperation is still not possible, chapter 3 suggests that regional cooperation may supplement global treaties. Chapter 1 presents an example of such a regional agreement to reduce CO2 emissions. The EU emissions trading system is a cornerstone of the European Union's policy to combat climate change. However, as it is highlighted in chapter 1, the design of such regional carbon markets really matters for their success in reducing carbon emissions. This chapter shows the interactions between intertemporal permit trading and the incentives of firms to undertake long-term investments in abatement technologies.
Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

According to the United States Department of Energy, fossil-fueled power plants account for 78% of stationary source CO2 emission in the United States and Canada. This has led electric utilities across the globe to research different alternatives for energy. Carbon sequestration has been identified as a bridge between fossil fuels and clean energy. This thesis will present research results regarding the transportation costs of CO2 and the suitability of geology in the Florida Pan-Handle for sequestration infrastructure. The thesis will utilize various evaluation tools including GIS, numerical models, and optimization models. Analysis performed for this thesis and review of published literature produced estimated carbon storage capacities for two areas in and near the Florida Pan-Handle. These areas were labeled Disposal Area 1 and Disposal Area 3. Disposal Area 1 was estimated to contain capacity for the storage of 5.58 gigatonnes of CO2. Disposal Area 3 was estimated to contain capacity for the storage of 2.02 gigatonnes of CO2. Transportation scenarios were analyzed over a 25 year period and the capacities above are sufficient to store the CO2 emissions from the Pan-Handle network of power plants for the study period. Four transportation routing scenarios were investigated using transportation costs from the Poiencot and Brown CO2 pipeline capital cost model. The scenarios (models) consisted of the Right-Of-Way, Solo-Funded, Piece-Wise, and Authority models. Each presents a different method for the overall funding of the Florida Pan-Handle CO2 network and produced different total levelized and mean unit costs. The cheapest network on a mean unit cost basis was the network for Disposal Area 1 in the Authority Model, producing a mean unit cost of $0.64 per tonne of CO2.

大量學術文獻指出氣候變化是毫不含糊地由持續增加的人為溫室氣體排放所造成。其中，二氧化碳排放（碳排放）是最為重要的溫室氣體排放。碳排放和經濟發展之間的密切關係亦受到廣泛肯定。碳排放和收入之間的關係引起了研究人員的極大興趣。學者們對該關係的環境庫茲涅茨曲線（一個倒U形曲線）的有效性持有不同的觀點，該曲線之有效性的討論可以分為兩部分，即時間和空間（國家）的尺度。
在這項研究中，首先以描述性統計研究碳排放量的變化，其中包括排放總量，人均排放量和碳強度三個指標。然後，透過雙對數和二次雙對數回歸模型進一步研究這三項指標和各經濟發展指標的關係（經濟發展指標包括總量和人均國內生產總值，貿易值和產業值）。結果指出國內生產總值可以很好地解釋碳排放之變化。根據1970年到2007年的數據，排放總量和國內生產總值總量在雙對數回歸模型中呈現顯著的線性關係。同樣在雙對數回歸模型中，人均排放量和人均國內生產總值之間的關係則從顯著線性變成顯著二次（倒U形曲線），從而支持環境庫茲涅茨曲線理論。碳強度和人均國內生產總值之間的關係是顯著的倒U形曲線。所有研究國家的回歸結果指出，發達國家在經濟增長的同時，已經減少排放總量及人均量，而發展中國家沒有減少。大多數發達國家在碳強度和人均國內生產總值的關係上呈現顯著的負相關，而發展中國家在碳強度和人均國內生產總值之間的關係上比例平均。在一般情況下，其他因素如貿易值和產業值解釋碳排放變化之能力較國內生產總值差。較特別的結果是由於製造、礦業和公用事業產業值屬於高碳密集性，該產業能很好地解釋碳排放的變化，所以為該產業的度身訂造之減排控制是必要的。
進一步說，發展中國家之間的差異仍然很大。透過層次聚類法，所有國家基於排放水平可分成11個類。其中，第11類主要包括發達國家，擁有極高的排放總量，非常高的人均排放量和中等的碳強度。與此同時，第4類主要包括發展中國家，亦有非常高的總排放量，中等的人均排放量和極高的碳強度。美國和中國，分別為第11類和第4類的案例研究，這兩國能有效地幫助了解碳排放和經濟發展之相互關係。其他集群則代表不同的經濟發展階段。聚類分析的結果可作為未來國際氣候變化政策建設的參考。
Wealth of scholarly reviewed literatures indicates that climate change is unequivocally caused by the continual increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions. Carbon dioxide emissions remain to be of upmost importance among all GHGs emissions. It is widely accepted that close relationship between carbon dioxide emissions and economic development exists. The relationship between carbon dioxide emissions and income, in particular, has aroused much research interests. Researchers have polarizing views on the validity of Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), an inverted U-shaped curve of that relationship. The ground of argumentation for the validity of EKC can be also divided into two parts, namely temporal and spatial (national) extents.
In this research, variations in three indicators of carbon dioxide emissions, including total emissions, per capita emissions and carbon intensity (CI), are firstly examined by descriptive statistics. Next, double-log and quadratic double-log regression models are employed to study the relationship between these three indicators and indicators of economic development (including the total and per capita GDP, trade values and sectoral values). Results show that GDP has high explanatory power for the large variation of emissions. By using the data from 1970 to 2007, the relationship between total emissions and total GDP is significantly linear in double-log regression models. The relationship between per capita emissions and per capita GDP has changed from linear to quadratic (inverted U-shaped), which supports the EKC. The relationship between CI and per capita GDP is significant in an inverted U-shaped curve. Regression results in each country indicate that developed countries have reduced total and per capita emissions in parallel with economic growth while developing countries have not. Majority of developed countries have negative relationship between CI and per capita GDP; whereas their counterparts have even proportion in the relationships. Other explanatory factors, like trade values and sectoral values, in general, have lower explanatory power than GDP. Surprisingly, results indicated that manufacturing, mining and utility (MMU) sector yields very high explanatory power for the variation of carbon dioxide emissions due to the sector’s high carbon-intensive nature. Tailor-made control on this sector is necessary for emissions abatement.
Furthermore, as the variation within developing countries is still large, countries are classified into clusters on the basis of their levels of emissions by Hierarchical Cluster Analysis. Eleven clusters are formed. Among all, cluster 11, comprised of mostly developed countries, yields extremely high total emissions, very high per capita emissions and medium CI. Meanwhile, cluster 4, made of mostly developing countries, have very high total emissions, medium per capita emissions and extremely high CI. The USA and China, case studies of clusters 11 and 4 respectively, have provided insight for the interactive relationship between emissions and economic development. Remaining clusters represent different stages of economic development. The results of the clustering can serve as a reference for the construction of future climate change policy.
Detailed summary in vernacular field only.
Detailed summary in vernacular field only.
Detailed summary in vernacular field only.
Wong, Wai Fung.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 273-280).
Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.
Abstracts also in Chinese.
ABSTRACT --- p.i
摘錄 --- p.iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.v
LIST OF TABLES --- p.x
LIST OF FIGURES --- p.xix
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS --- p.xxiv
Chapter CHAPTER ONE: --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1
Chapter 1.1 --- EFFECTS OF CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS ON CLIMATE CHANGE --- p.1
Chapter 1.2 --- VARIATION IN CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS AMONG COUNTRIES IN TERMS OF THREE INDICATORS: TOTAL AMOUNT, PER CAPITA AMOUNT AND CARBON INTENSITY (CI) --- p.3
Chapter 1.3 --- RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT --- p.6
Chapter 1.4 --- RESEARCH QUESTIONS --- p.8
Chapter 1.5 --- RESEARCH OBJECTIVES --- p.8
Chapter 1.6 --- SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY --- p.9
Chapter 1.7 --- ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS --- p.10
Chapter CHAPTER TWO: --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.12
Chapter 2.1 --- CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS --- p.12
Chapter 2.1.1 --- Definitions of carbon dioxide emissions --- p.12
Chapter 2.1.2 --- Estimation of carbon dioxide emissions --- p.13
Chapter 2.1.3 --- Importance of carbon dioxide emissions in the context of climate change --- p.15
Chapter 2.2 --- ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT --- p.19
Chapter 2.2.1 --- Concept and different stages of economic development --- p.19
Chapter 2.2.2 --- Indicators of economic development among all countries --- p.20
Chapter 2.2.3 --- Economic development since 1970 in major countries --- p.23
Chapter 2.3 --- PAST STUDIES ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT --- p.30
Chapter 2.3.1 --- Relationship between emissions and income expressed by GDP --- p.30
Chapter 2.3.2 --- Relationship between emissions and international trade expressed by export and import values --- p.38
Chapter 2.3.3 --- Relationship between emissions and sectoral composition expressed by sectoral values --- p.43
Chapter 2.4 --- RESEARCH GAPS IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT --- p.44
Chapter 2.4.1 --- Identification of relationship between emissions and economic development --- p.44
Chapter 2.4.2 --- Classification of countries based on the amount of carbon dioxide emissions --- p.46
Chapter 2.4.3 --- Research plan for this study --- p.47
Chapter 2.5 --- SUMMARY OF THE LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.48
Chapter CHAPTER THREE: --- CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK, DATA SOURCE AND METHODOLOGY --- p.49
Chapter 3.1 --- INTRODUCTION OF THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK --- p.49
Chapter 3.2 --- RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS UNDER THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK --- p.50
Chapter 3.3 --- INTRODUCTION TO THE INDICATORS OF THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK --- p.51
Chapter 3.4 --- RELATIONSHIPS AMONG THE COMPONENTS --- p.53
Chapter 3.4.1 --- Relationship between income and carbon dioxide emissions --- p.53
Chapter 3.4.2 --- Relationship between international trade and carbon dioxide emissions --- p.54
Chapter 3.4.3 --- Relationship between sectoral composition and carbon dioxide emissions --- p.54
Chapter 3.5 --- EXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP IN SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL EXTENT --- p.54
Chapter 3.6 --- DATA SOURCE --- p.57
Chapter 3.6.1 --- Data source for the indicators of economic development and population --- p.57
Chapter 3.6.2 --- Data source for the indicators of carbon dioxide emissions --- p.58
Chapter 3.7 --- METHODOLOGY --- p.59
Chapter 3.7.1 --- Variables used in the research --- p.59
Chapter 3.7.2 --- Methodology used in the research --- p.60
Chapter 3.8 --- SUMMURY OF THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK, DATA SOURCE AND METHODOLOGY --- p.63
Chapter CHAPTER FOUR: --- VARIATIONS IN THE LEVELS OF INDICATORS OF CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS AND INDICATORS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT --- p.65
Chapter 4.1 --- VARIATIONS IN CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS, POPULATION AND GDP --- p.65
Chapter 4.1.1 --- Variation in total carbon dioxide emissions --- p.65
Chapter 4.1.2 --- Variation in total population --- p.72
Chapter 4.1.3 --- Variation in total GDP --- p.75
Chapter 4.1.4 --- Variation in per capita carbon dioxide emissions --- p.79
Chapter 4.1.5 --- Variation in per capita GDP --- p.83
Chapter 4.1.6 --- Variation in CI --- p.87
Chapter 4.2 --- VARIATIONS IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE VALUES AND SECTORAL VALUES --- p.91
Chapter 4.2.1 --- Variation in total export values --- p.91
Chapter 4.2.2 --- Variation in total import values --- p.94
Chapter 4.2.3 --- Variation in per capita export values --- p.96
Chapter 4.2.4 --- Variation in per capita import values --- p.99
Chapter 4.2.5 --- Variation in trade balance --- p.102
Chapter 4.2.6 --- Variation in total sectoral values --- p.104
Chapter 4.2.7 --- Variation in per capita sectoral values --- p.106
Chapter 4.2.8 --- Variation in sectoral composition --- p.107
Chapter 4.3 --- SUMMARY ON THE VARIATIONS IN THE LEVELS OF INDICATORS OF CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS AND INDICATORS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT --- p.109
Chapter CHAPTER FIVE: --- RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN INDICATORS OF CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS AND INDICATORS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT --- p.112
Chapter 5.1 --- RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS AND INCOME IN TERMS OF TOTAL AMOUNT, PER CAPITA AMOUNT AND CARBON INTENSITY --- p.112
Chapter 5.1.1 --- Relationship between total carbon dioxide emissions and total GDP --- p.112
Chapter 5.1.2 --- Relationship between per capita carbon dioxide emissions and per capita GDP --- p.123
Chapter 5.1.3 --- Relationship between CI and per capita GDP --- p.133
Chapter 5.2 --- RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN TERMS OF TOTAL AMOUNT, PER CAPITA AMOUNT AND CARBON INTENSITY --- p.142
Chapter 5.2.1 --- Relationship between total carbon dioxide emissions and total values of exports and imports --- p.142
Chapter 5.2.2 --- Relationship between per capita carbon dioxide emissions and per capita values of exports and imports --- p.146
Chapter 5.2.3 --- Relationship between CI and per capita values of exports and imports . --- p.151
Chapter 5.3 --- RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS AND SECTORAL COMPOSITION IN TERMS OF TOTAL AMOUNT, PER CAPITA AMOUNT AND CARBON INTENSITY --- p.157
Chapter 5.3.1 --- Relationship between of total carbon dioxide emissions and total values of six sectors --- p.157
Chapter 5.3.2 --- Relationship between per capita carbon dioxide emissions and per capita values of six sectors --- p.160
Chapter 5.3.3 --- Relationship between CI and per capita values of six sectors --- p.163
Chapter 5.3.4 --- Relationship between indicators of carbon dioxide emissions and ratios of sectoral values to the sum of all sectors --- p.165
Chapter 5.4 --- SUMMARY ON THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN INDICATORS OF CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS AND INDICATORS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT --- p.168
Chapter CHAPTER SIX: --- CLASSIFICATION OF COUNTRIES BASED ON THE LEVELS OF TOTAL CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS, PER CAPITA CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS AND CARBON INTENSITY --- p.171
Chapter 6.1 --- CORRELATION ANALYSIS BETWEEN TOTAL EMISSIONS, PER CAPITA EMISSIONS AND CARBON INTENSITY --- p.171
Chapter 6.2 --- MEMBERSHIP OF COUNTRIES AND BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF EACH CLUSTER --- p.173
Chapter 6.2.1 --- Result of Hierarchical Cluster Analysis and membership of countries --- p.173
Chapter 6.2.2 --- Characteristics of each cluster in terms of carbon dioxide emissions --- p.176
Chapter 6.2.3 --- Characteristics of each cluster in terms of GDP (indicator of economic development) --- p.180
Chapter 6.3 --- IN-DEPTH EXAMINATION OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF EACH CLUSTER --- p.184
Chapter 6.3.1 --- Clusters with extremely high to very high total emissions: clusters 11 and 4 --- p.185
Chapter 6.3.2 --- Clusters with high total emissions: clusters 8, 10 and 3 --- p.211
Chapter 6.3.3 --- Clusters with medium to low total emissions: clusters 9, 2 and 1 --- p.230
Chapter 6.3.4 --- Clusters with very low to extremely low total emissions: clusters 5, 6 and 7 --- p.247
Chapter 6.4 --- SUMMARY OF THE RESULTS --- p.263
Chapter CHAPTER SEVEN: --- CONCLUSION --- p.267
Chapter 7.1 --- MAJOR FINDINGS OF THE RESEARCH --- p.267
Chapter 7.2 --- IMPLICATIONS OF THE RESEARCH --- p.270
Chapter 7.3 --- LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEACH --- p.271
Chapter 7.4 --- RECOMMENDATION FOR FUTURE RESEARCH --- p.272
REFERENCES --- p.273
APPENDICES --- p.281

This paper models the supply curve of carbon sequestration on Pacific Northwest rangelands. Rangeland managers have the ability to sequester carbon in agricultural soils by implementing alternative management practices on their farms. Their low adoption rate in practice suggests a high opportunity cost associated with their implementation. To increase their adoption, a payment for ecosystem services plan is proposed, where the public compensates farms for lost profits. The TOA-MD model is used to estimate the resulting sequestration incentivized by payments for soil carbon sequestration. Methodological questions of geographical stratification and estimating variation from available data are tested. Sensitivity analysis is also run on key assumptions in the study. Results show that while the economic potential of both systems is much lower than the technical potential, at reasonable CO��� payment levels rangeland sequestration could be a significant mitigation strategy for Pacific Northwest states.
Graduation date: 2012

In the literature, some studies argue that affluence and the financial sector encourages low-carbon investments which result in lower emissions while others find that they enhance emissions. Contemporary studies barely consider agriculture, employment generation and the degree of financial development as determinants of emissions. In view of these, the thesis investigates the impact of economic and financial development on CO2 emissions in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Applying the EKC and STIRPAT framework, the study modelled three functional forms which were estimated using an unbalanced panel data of 45 SSA countries by employing static and dynamic analytical methods. The models were re-estimated for 24 low (LIC), 13 lower-middle (LMIC), six upper-middle (UMIC) and two high-income countries (HIC). The study found evidence that empirical results differ in terms of the (sub-) sample of countries, estimation methods and functional forms. In detail, the study found different CO2 emissions-economic development relationships for the income groups. However, there is evidence of a linkage between later developments of the economies with lower emissions in LIC and UMIC while this linkage does not exist in LMIC and HIC. The study also found that financial development lowers CO2 in UMIC while it enhances emissions in LIC, LMIC and HIC. Despite this, there is evidence of a linkage between later developments of financial sectors with higher emissions in LIC and HIC and a linkage between later developments of financial sectors with lower CO2 in UMIC in SSA meanwhile no linkage was found for LMIC. The study concludes that not all economic development increases the level of CO2 emissions and not all financial development limits CO2 emissions in SSA during the study period. Generally, the main contributory variables to CO2 emissions are income, trade openness, energy consumption, population density and domestic credit to private sector to GDP. The main reducing factors of CO2 emissions are agriculture and official exchange rate. The thesis recommends that SSA needs to be more responsive to a cleaner CO2 environment by moving away from the conduct of unclean development strategy to intensified green investments.
Economics
D. Phil. (Economics)

Electricity consumption will encompass a large converse about connected with international electricity demand while in the next 2 decades. Newly, this improving rate connected with fossil fuels and also issues about the environmentally friendly consequences connected with gas emissions get renewed the attention in the progress connected with alternative electricity resources. Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Modify Minimization offers a good estimation on the chapter for the technological, scientific, environmentally friendly, financial and also societal aspects of this factor connected with six renewable energy (RE) options for the minimization connected with weather adjust. This functioning chapter on environmentally friendly Energy Solutions and Local climate Change Minimization presents an assessment on the literature for the scientific chemical, technological, environment, economic in addition to social areas of the contribution connected with six environmentally friendly energy (RE) sources on the mitigation connected with climate alter. This chapter is definitely an overview of presentation of the Local climate Change Minimization expansion on the essential results. Considering this significant component of Renewable Energy Sources can be reduce carbon dioxide, there is an international relating to reducing carbon emissions. Due to the fact most of the United Nations wanted to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is carbon dioxide, there is a can be a global concern on minimizing carbon emissions. Emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) resulting from the provision of the services of one have contributed significantly to improve the historical concentrations of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere of MIT. The IPCC (AR4) concluded that “most of the observed global climate improving as it is very likely that as a result of the improvement observed in the concentrations of anthropogenic gases mit techniques this mid of 20th century confirms Recent Files the use of fossil power accounts for most of the international anthropogenic GHG emissions”. Emissions always grow, in addition to CO2 concentrations of it had increased to more than 390 ppm, or perhaps 39% above pre-industrial levels, by holding from 2014-5. There are many options for reducing GHG emissions from energy system while satisfying the desire for global energy services. Some of these possible alternatives, such as energy conservation and competition, switching fossil fuel, RE, nuclear, plus carbon capture and hard drive (CCS) was evaluated from the AR4. A full assessment related to any profile minimization options will likely involve an evaluation of respective potential alongside minimization with his bargain with sustainable development as well as all associated risks, and costs. This phase will focus on the role that this display technology related to RE can participate in within the portfolio related to mitigation alternatives. In this sense, the only policies can be given to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, to improve the implementation of green energy, and such encouraging technological innovation. At inclusion, supporting components, such as feed-in tariffs, rules Renewable side view in addition to tax insurance policies are used by governments to help develop green energy generation in addition to the implementation of the efficiency of energy use save energy. In this chapter, the various insurance policies could possibly be placed on reducing carbon emissions, for instance improving green energy deployment and also significant technologies. A pair of main clarifications may be realizing to scale back carbon emissions and also overcome the issue connected with weather adjust: exchange fossil fuel having green electricity options wherever possible and also enhancing energy proficiency. In this chapter, many of us discuss most up-to-date performance connected with technology intended for improving green electricity deployment and also electricity work with proficiency.

Climate change has been attributed to greenhouse gases with carbon dioxide (CO2) being the major contributor. Most of these CO2 emissions originate from the burning of fossil fuels (e.g. power plants). Governments and industry worldwide are now proposing to capture CO2 from their power plants and either store it in depleted reservoirs or saline aquifers (‘Carbon Capture and Storage’, CCS), or use it for ‘Enhanced Oil Recovery’ (EOR) in depleting oil and gas fields. The capture of this anthropogenic (man made sources of CO2) CO2 will mitigate global warming, and possibly reduce the impact of climate change. The United States has over 30 years experience with the transportation of carbon dioxide by pipeline, mainly from naturally occurring, relatively pure CO2 sources for onshore EOR. CCS projects differ significantly from this past experience as they will be focusing on anthropogenic sources from major polluters such as fossil fuel power plants, and the necessary CO2 transport infrastructure will involve both long distance onshore and offshore pipelines. Also, the fossil fuel power plants will produce CO2 with varying combinations of impurities depending on the capture technology used. CO2 pipelines have never been designed for these differing conditions; therefore, CCS will introduce a new generation of CO2 for transport. Application of current design procedures to the new generation pipelines is likely to yield an over-designed pipeline facility, with excessive investment and operating cost. In particular, the presence of impurities has a significant impact on the physical properties of the transported CO2 which affects: pipeline design; compressor/pump power; repressurisation distance; pipeline capacity. These impurities could also have implications in the fracture control of the pipeline. All these effects have direct implications for both the technical and economic feasibility of developing a carbon dioxide transport infrastructure onshore and offshore. This paper compares and contrasts the current experience of transporting CO2 onshore with the proposed transport onshore and offshore for CCS. It covers studies on the effect of physical and transport properties (hydraulics) on key technical aspects of pipeline transportation, and the implications for designing and operating a pipeline for CO2 containing impurities. The studies reported in the paper have significant implications for future CO2 transportation, and highlight a number of knowledge gaps that will have to be filled to allow for the efficient and economic design of pipelines for this ‘next’ generation of anthropogenic CO2.

Currently, increasing world population demands a higher cement production. Therefore atmospheric emissions and energy consumption become two of the most important environmental and economic issues. Fuel and electricity consumption for the production of cement represent 40% of the total production cost [1]. It is known that cement production is an energy-intensive process which contributes with approximately 5% of the worldwide carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions [2] [3]. By using Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) at the calcination process in the cement production line, CO2 emissions can be reduced by 40% and savings of up to 60% through fuel substitution can be obtained if all the fuel used at the calcination step is substituted. The aim of the study is not to propose a detailed design of the solar process but to examine and quantify the various options in order to define the favorable economic conditions and the technical issues to face in a conventional cement plant aiming: substituting energy sources and achieving continuous operation of the cement plant employing a hybrid mode. Three options related with how to apply the CST technology were evaluated. The best solution is a Central Tower with Solar Reactor at the Top of the Tower since it allows energy substitution with high thermal energy efficiency. This implies, compared with the other options, the minimum changes in the process. Several energy substitution scenarios are investigated considering different energy losses and amount of energy to be replaced. It was found that the solar energy availability is not a constraint, meaning that from the technical point of view it is possible to replace up to 100% of the energy requirements for the calcination process. Economic results are promissory since the application of the proposed approach (Go Process) became attractive. The Payback Time (PBT) obtained (from 6 to 10 years) is lower when it is compared with the PBT for applications of CST for electricity production. Besides, the IRR values obtained (from 8% to 11%) are adequate in accordance with the typical values expected by most of the equity investors in renewable energy projects (between 8% and 12%) [4]. It is expected that CST technology will become more attractive and profitable due to economic aspects like increments in fossil fuels and alternative fuels cost and the current deployment of the CST technology to produce electricity. Other aspects such as more strict legislation related with CO2 emissions combined with encouraging legislation to use of renewable energy also play an important role in the economic attractiveness of the proposed application.

Efforts are being made to achieve environmental sustainability by combining heat and power production and exploiting renewable resources, in order to save primary energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This study concerns a stand-alone 1-megawatt plant composed of a wood pyrolyzer and a combined heat and power plant based on a gas turbine. Care is devoted to saving the solid-state product of the pyrolysis reaction (biochar), both to produce agricultural fertilizer and to sequester carbon dioxide, i.e., the emissions avoided by not burning biochar. The plant is simulated by three in-house codes: gas turbine off-design performance, pyrolysis process and time-by-time integrated plant working. A quasi steady-state, lumped parameter approach is adopted. While components models are taken from the literature, solver algorithms are partly original. In this first step of the research, a stand-alone plant with a zero-volume syngas tank is analyzed. Technical aspects alone, without considering economic or legal implications, are investigated. Our simulation suggests that there is no primary energy saving in comparison with separate heat and power systems, as shaft efficiency is too low, but that a remarkable saving in greenhouse gas emissions can be achieved.

Access to electricity is a key necessity in today’s World for economic growth and improvements in quality of life. However, the global challenge is addressing the so-called Energy Trilemma: how to provide secure, affordable electricity while minimizing the impact of power generation on the environment. The rapid growth in power generation from intermittent renewable sources, such as wind and photovoltaics, to address the environmental aspect has created additional challenges to meet the security of supply and affordable electricity aspects of this trilemma. Fossil fuels play a major role in supporting intermittent renewable power generation, rapidly providing the security of supply needed and ensuring grid stability. Globally diesel or other fuel oils are frequently used as the primary fuel or back-up fuel for fossil-fueled power generation plants at all scales, from a few kiloWatts to hundreds of MegaWatts, and helps provide millions of people with secure electricity supplies. But diesel is a high polluting fuel, emitting high levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) per unit of fuel input compared to natural gas, as well as high levels of combustion contaminants that are potentially hazardous to the local environment and human health. Additionally, diesel can be a high cost fuel in many countries, with imports consuming significant portions of sometimes scarce foreign currency reserves. Most observers consider that natural gas is the ‘fuel of choice’ for fossil power generation due to its reduced CO2 emissions compared to coal and diesel. However, access to gas supplies cannot be guaranteed even with the increased availability of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). Additionally where natural gas is available, operators may opt for an interruptible gas supply contract which offers a lower tariff than a firm gas supply contract, therefore there is a need for a back-up fuel to ensure continuous power supplies. While traditionally diesel or Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) has been used as fuel where gas is not available or as a back-up fuel, propane offers a cleaner and potentially lower cost alternative. This paper compares the potential economic, operational and environmental benefits of using propane as a fuel for gas turbine-based power plants or cogeneration plants.