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Decoupling of production activities and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, or a decline in GHG intensity, is a key metric for gauging GHG mitigation performances. In this study, we explore the determinants of GHG intensity in Canadian industries to understand its key drivers. This study is relevant, because Canada is a developed country characterized by high energy and GHG intensities. Canada has also introduced a series of policy measures to mitigate GHG emissions, including a carbon tax and investments in renewable electricity. The most significant factor for GHG intensity is energy intensity. However, fuel mix, policy trends, and sectoral shifts are essential. After conducting stationarity and cointegration tests, we estimated the relationship between GHG intensity and these determinants using panel error correction, dynamic fixed effects, and dynamic OLS methods to determine the long-run relationships. Besides the strong effect of energy intensity, we found that industrial production mix that indicates sectoral shifts, fuel mix, and the time-fixed effects that capture factors such as the introduction of a carbon tax and technology standards have statistically significant impacts on GHG intensity. We found that industries that rely more on fuel sources other than electricity are characterized by higher GHG intensity. The policy implication is that energy efficiency and fuel switching are essential for reducing GHG intensity, but the role of factors such as sectoral shifts should not be ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stabilizing climate change well below 2 °C and towards 1.5 °C requires comprehensive mitigation of all greenhouse gases (GHG), including both CO2 and non-CO2 GHG emissions. Here we incorporate the latest global non-CO2 emissions and mitigation data into a state-of-the-art integrated assessment model GCAM and examine 90 mitigation scenarios pairing different levels of CO2 and non-CO2 GHG abatement pathways. We estimate that when non-CO2 mitigation contributions are not fully implemented, the timing of net-zero CO2 must occur about two decades earlier. Conversely, comprehensive GHG abatement that fully integrates non-CO2 mitigation measures in addition to a net-zero CO2 commitment can help achieve 1.5 °C stabilization. While decarbonization-driven fuel switching mainly reduces non-CO2 emissions from fuel extraction and end use, targeted non-CO2 mitigation measures can significantly reduce fluorinated gas emissions from industrial processes and cooling sectors. Our integrated modeling provides direct insights in how system-wide all GHG mitigation can affect the timing of net-zero CO2 for 1.5 °C and 2 °C climate change scenarios. Stabilizing climate change requires simultaneous mitigation of all greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). Here the authors examine 90 mitigation scenarios pairing different levels of CO2 and non-CO2 GHG abatement pathways to demonstrate the contributions of different GHGs towards 1.5 °C and 2 °C goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper employs a review of the technical literature to estimate the potential decrease in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that could be achieved by increasing the application of gas engines in China in three sectors: urban public transport vehicle; shipping; and thermal power plants. China's gas engine development strategies and three types of gas resource are discussed in the study, which indicates that gas engines could decrease GHG emissions by 520 megatonnes (Mt) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO) by 2020. This would account for 9.7 % of the government's target for decreasing GHG emissions and is dominated by methane recovery from the use of coal mine gas (CMG) and landfill gas (LFG) for power generation. In the public urban transport vehicle and shipping sectors the low price of natural gas and the increasing demand for the control of harmful emissions could spur the rapid uptake of gas engine vehicles. However, the development of CMG- and LFG-fuelled power plants has been limited by the unwillingness of local enterprises to invest in high-performance gas engine generators and the associated infrastructure. Therefore, further compulsory policies that promote CMG use and LFG recovery should be implemented. Moreover, strict regulations on limiting methane leakage during the production and distribution of gas fuels are urgently needed in China to prevent leakage causing GHG emissions and largely negating the climate benefits of fuel substitution. Strategies for increasing the application of gas engines, promoting gas resources and recovering methane in China are instrumental in global GHG mitigation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activities to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by biological soil or forest carbon sequestration predominantly utilize currently known, readily implementable technologies. Many other greenhouse gas emission reduction options require future technological development or must wait for turnover of capital stock. Carbon sequestration options in soils and forests, while ready to go now, generally have a finite life, allowing use until other strategies are developed. This paper reports on an investigation of the competitiveness of biological carbon sequestration from a dynamic and multiple strategy viewpoint. Key factors affecting the competitiveness of terrestrial mitigation options are land availability and cost effectiveness relative to other options including CO2 capture and storage, energy efficiency improvements, fuel switching, and non-CO2 greenhouse gas emission reductions. The analysis results show that, at lower CO2 prices and in the near term, soil carbon and other agricultural/forestry options can be important bridges to the future, initially providing a substantial portion of attainable reductions in net greenhouse gas emissions, but with a limited role in later years. At higher CO2 prices, afforestation and biofuels are more dominant among terrestrial options to offset greenhouse gas emissions. But in the longer run, allowing for capital stock turnover, options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the energy system and biofuels provide an increasing share of potential reductions in total US greenhouse gas emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]