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Emissions reduction, energy security and energy affordability constitute core energy problems facing countries today. At the heart of these problems is the key issue of decarbonisation. Although there is an international drive to address the issue within the United Nations climate change regime, the domestic policy regime in the United States of America seems to be in conflict.While California has made, and is still making, positive strides in emissions reduction at a state level, the Trump administration seeks to lower the United States' fuel efficiency and emissions reduction standards at the federal level. Potentially this has multiple domestic, regional and international ramifications. This is in addition to the unpopular US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Change Agreement in 2017 by Trump. Accordingly, there is a need to understand the jurisprudential and philosophical underpinnings behind its changing stance and its relationship with the world. Against this backdrop, this paper critically examines the policy implications of these issues and argues for policy alignment between components of the federal structure and the need for persistent and concerted efforts by the nations to address climate change. The paper is divided into three parts. Part one examines the conflicting emissions reduction policies within the American federal system. Part two critically analyses the policy implications and need for policy alignment within the context of climate policy and part three draws conclusions and presents insights for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change mitigation needs all countries’ efforts under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s guideline of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. The medium-to-long term regional emissions pathways simulated by integrated assessment models with global mitigation costs minimized to achieve the 2 °C goal might be very different from the regional emissions allowances allocated based on effort-sharing principles. Global carbon trading is a cost-effective mechanism to bridge the gap. Insight of previous papers has mainly focused on the impact of a single effort-sharing scheme on global carbon market, while this study attempts to explore the scale and benefit of global carbon market under different effort-sharing principles to achieve the 2 °C goal, with the application of a consistent modeling framework, consisting of an integrated assessment model and an effort-sharing platform. The results indicate that scale of global carbon market would be highly related with the effort-sharing principles. The global trading volumes would change from 1.8 Gigatons (Gt) carbon dioxide (CO2) to over 12 GtCO2 per year and largely peak between 2030 and 2040 under different kinds of effort-sharing principles. Correspondingly, annual global finance flows in the carbon market would increase gradually and reach the scale of hundreds of billions United States (US) dollars since 2020. Global carbon market would lower the abatement costs of developed countries, and the overall global abatement costs would drop by 0.4-2.6% during 2011-2050. The developing countries would not only acquire revenues from global carbon trading but also be provided with an opportunity to accelerate their domestic low-carbon energy transformation, local environmental improvement, job creation, and economic development. Linking national and regional carbon markets to develop global carbon market will be critical to maximize the utility of the market mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review recent progress in our understanding of the global cycling of mercury (Hg), including best estimates of Hg concentrations and pool sizes in major environmental compartments and exchange processes within and between these reservoirs. Recent advances include the availability of new global datasets covering areas of the world where environmental Hg data were previously lacking; integration of these data into global and regional models is continually improving estimates of global Hg cycling. New analytical techniques, such as Hg stable isotope characterization, provide novel constraints of sources and transformation processes. The major global Hg reservoirs that are, and continue to be, affected by anthropogenic activities include the atmosphere (4.4–5.3 Gt), terrestrial environments (particularly soils: 250–1000 Gg), and aquatic ecosystems (e.g., oceans: 270–450 Gg). Declines in anthropogenic Hg emissions between 1990 and 2010 have led to declines in atmospheric Hg0 concentrations and HgII wet deposition in Europe and the US (− 1.5 to − 2.2% per year). Smaller atmospheric Hg0 declines (− 0.2% per year) have been reported in high northern latitudes, but not in the southern hemisphere, while increasing atmospheric Hg loads are still reported in East Asia. New observations and updated models now suggest high concentrations of oxidized HgII in the tropical and subtropical free troposphere where deep convection can scavenge these HgII reservoirs. As a result, up to 50% of total global wet HgII deposition has been predicted to occur to tropical oceans. Ocean Hg0 evasion is a large source of present-day atmospheric Hg (approximately 2900 Mg/year; range 1900–4200 Mg/year). Enhanced seawater Hg0 levels suggest enhanced Hg0 ocean evasion in the intertropical convergence zone, which may be linked to high HgII deposition. Estimates of gaseous Hg0 emissions to the atmosphere over land, long considered a critical Hg source, have been revised downward, and most terrestrial environments now are considered net sinks of atmospheric Hg due to substantial Hg uptake by plants. Litterfall deposition by plants is now estimated at 1020–1230 Mg/year globally. Stable isotope analysis and direct flux measurements provide evidence that in many ecosystems Hg0 deposition via plant inputs dominates, accounting for 57–94% of Hg in soils. Of global aquatic Hg releases, around 50% are estimated to occur in China and India, where Hg drains into the West Pacific and North Indian Oceans. A first inventory of global freshwater Hg suggests that inland freshwater Hg releases may be dominated by artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM; approximately 880 Mg/year), industrial and wastewater releases (220 Mg/year), and terrestrial mobilization (170–300 Mg/year). For pelagic ocean regions, the dominant source of Hg is atmospheric deposition; an exception is the Arctic Ocean, where riverine and coastal erosion is likely the dominant source. Ocean water Hg concentrations in the North Atlantic appear to have declined during the last several decades but have increased since the mid-1980s in the Pacific due to enhanced atmospheric deposition from the Asian continent. Finally, we provide examples of ongoing and anticipated changes in Hg cycling due to emission, climate, and land use changes. It is anticipated that future emissions changes will be strongly dependent on ASGM, as well as energy use scenarios and technology requirements implemented under the Minamata Convention. We predict that land use and climate change impacts on Hg cycling will be large and inherently linked to changes in ecosystem function and global atmospheric and ocean circulations. Our ability to predict multiple and simultaneous changes in future Hg global cycling and human exposure is rapidly developing but requires further enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this study is to understand anthropogenic emissions, spatiotemporal variability and trends of carbon monoxide (CO) over South Asia by using datasets from MACCity (Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate, MACC and megaCITY – Zoom for the Environment, CityZEN), REAS (Regional Emission inventory in Asia), AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder) and SCIAMACHY (SCanning Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric CartograpHY). MACCity anthropogenic emissions show an overall increase of 16.5% during 2000–2010. Elevated levels of MACCity CO are found in Indo-Gangetic Basin (IGB), eastern mining region of India, Bangladesh and large urban areas. Some of the major contributors of these emissions have been identified as agricultural waste burning, land transport, industrial production, and energy generation and distribution. An area averaged mean value of AIRS CO at 600 hPa is found to be 114 ± 2 ppbv ( slope −0.48 ± 0.2 ppbv yr −1 , y -intercept 117 ± 1 ppbv and r = 0.68) with a minor declining trend at −0.41 ± 0.18% yr −1 over the region during 2003–2015. A strong seasonality in AIRS CO concentration is observed with spring season peak in March 129 ± 1.9 ppbv, whereas low values have been observed in summer monsoon with sturdy dip in July 99.6 ± 1.94 ppbv. AIRS CO and SCIAMACHY CO Total Column (CO TC) over the study region show spatial patterns similar to MACCity and REAS emissions. An analysis of SCIAMACHY CO TC tendencies has been performed which indicates minor rising trends over some parts of the region. Background CO, Recent Emissions (RE), and spatial anomalies in RE over high anthropogenic activity zones of Indus Basin, Ganges Basin and Eastern Region were analyzed using AIRS and SCIAMACHY CO data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), emissions must be cut by 41-72 % below 2010 levels by 2050 for a likely chance of containing the global mean temperature increase to 2°C. The AFOLU sector (Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use) roughly contributes with a quarter (~ 10-12 PgCO2e.yr-1) of the net anthropogenic GHG emissions mainly from deforestation, fire, wood harvesting, and agricultural emissions including croplands, paddy rice and livestock. In spite of the importance of this sector, it is unclear where are the regions in the planet with AFOLU emissions hotspots, and how uncertain these emissions are. Here we present a novel spatially comparable dataset containing annual mean estimates of gross AFOLU emissions (CO2, CH4, N2O), associated uncertainties, and leading emission sources, in a spatially disaggregated manner (0.5°), for the tropics, for the period 2000-2005. Our data highlight: i) the existence of AFOLU emissions hotspots on all continents, with particular importance of evergreen rainforest deforestation in Central and South America, fire in dry forests in Africa, and both peatland emissions and agriculture in Asia; ii) a predominant contribution of forests and CO2 to the total AFOLU emissions (75 %) and to their uncertainties (98 %), iii) higher gross fluxes from forests coincide with higher uncertainties, making agricultural hotspots more appealing for effective mitigation action, and iv) a lower contribution of non-CO2 agricultural emissions to the total gross budget (ca. 25 %) with livestock (15.5 %) and rice (7 %) leading the emissions. Gross AFOLU tropical emissions 8.2 (5.5-12.2) were in the range of other databases 8.4 and 8.0 PgCO2e.yr-1 (FAOSTAT and EDGAR respectively), but we offer a spatially detailed benchmark for monitoring progress on reducing emissions from the land sector in the tropics. The location of the AFOLU hotspots of emissions and data on their associated uncertainties, will assist national policy makers, investors and other decision-makers who seek to understand the mitigation potential of the AFOLU sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal-fired energy generation is the backbone of India's power sector and considered a driver of its economic development. However, it is associated with detrimental environmental and health impacts in India and its fleet is currently struggling with overcapacity and inefficiency problems. One solution to address these challenges is the early retirement of some of India's coal-fired power plants. In this paper, we introduce multidimensional indices that identify plants for retirement based on comprehensive criteria that include technical and economic characteristics of plants as well as their environmental impacts. We implement an ensemble approach, where we formulate 8008 indices based on all possible combination of seven relevant parameters and rank plants accordingly. This approach facilitates a comprehensive analysis of the plants' performance on different parameters and provides a new outlook on plant retirements that differs from the common approach of retiring plants based solely on technical characteristics such as age, capacity, and heat rate. Our results show that top plants recommended for early retirement are typically 7 years older, 13% more expensive and have around 40% higher population exposure to emissions compared to an average plant in India. We estimate the potential costs saved from the retirement of the worst-performing 50 GW of generating capacity to be $21 billion resulting from shifting ownership towards a cheaper cost of capital and replacing coal by more competitive sources such as solar power. • Identify plants for early retirement based on technical, economic and environmental indicators. • Worst performing 50 GW capacity are older, more expensive to operate and have higher population exposure. • Costs saved from retiring 50 GW capacity and replacing them with solar are $21 billion. • A multidimensional approach is essential for a politically feasible phaseout of coal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A 3D numerical model was developed to investigate the effect of foil emissivity on the effective thermal resistance of an above-grade wall assembly with foil bonded to wood fibreboard in a furred assembly having airspace next to the foil. This model solved simultaneously the energy equation in the various material layers, the surface-to-surface radiation equation in the furred airspace assembly, Navier–Stokes equation for the airspace, and Darcy and the Brinkman equations for the porous material layers. In this work, the furring was installed horizontally. In the first phase, the present model was benchmarked against the experimental data generated by a commercial laboratory for an above-grade wall assembly. The wall consists of a conventional wood frame structure sheathed with fibreboard and covered on the interior side with a low emissivity material bonded to wood fibreboard that is adjacent to a furred airspace assembly. The results showed that the predicted R-value was in good agreement with the measured one. After gaining confidence in the present model, it was used to predict the effective thermal resistance of the same above-mentioned wall but having Oriented Strand Board (OSB) sheathing in lieu of wood fibreboard sheathing. In the second phase, the model was used to quantify the contribution on the wall R-value by having a low foil emissivity. The results showed that a low foil emissivity of 0.04 can increase the R-value of this wall to as much as ∼9%. This is on-going research. The present model is being used to investigate the transient thermal response of foundation wall systems with furring installed horizontally and vertically, and subjected to different Canadian climate conditions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Forecasts of energy demand, the fuel mix meeting that demand and the associated emissions are a key requirement for informed energy planning and policy decisions to ensure energy security and address climate change. While there have been many studies on China focusing on the short and medium term (to 2020 and 2050) there is little in the literature focusing on the long term (to 2100). This paper seeks to address those gaps on sectoral energy demands and emissions on long term by following a two-stage approach. It develops key energy indicators on useful energy demand, transport mobility and end use fuel demand for various sectors. The main drivers of these indicators are socio-economic parameters. The indicators are used to project energy service demands and emissions forward for China in TIMES G5 model at least cost approach. The results from this reference scenario suggest that China will require approximately 4 Gtoe of primary energy, by the end of the 21st century to deliver 3 Gtoe final energy consumption, 10 PWh of electricity generation, 1.3 Gtoe of energy imports, which will results in 10 Gt CO2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methane (CH4) emission from boreal, arctic and subarctic wetlands constitutes a potentially positive feedback to global climate warming. Many process-based models have been developed, but high uncertainties remain in estimating the amount of CH4 released from wetlands at the global scale. This study tries to improve estimates of CH4 emissions by up-scaling a wetland CH4 emission model, PEATLAND-VU, to the global scale with a spatial resolution of 0.5° for the period 2001-2006. This up-scaling was based on the global circum-arctic distribution of wetlands with hydrological conditions being. specified by a global hydrological model, PCR-GLOBWB. In addition to the daily hydrological output from PCR-GLOBWB, comprising water table depths and snow thickness, the parameterization included air temperature as obtained from the ECMWF Operational Archive. To establish the uncertainty in the representations of the circum-arctic distribution of wetlands on the CH4 emission, several existing products were used to aggregate the emissions. Using the description of potential peatlands from the FAQ Digital Soil Map of the World and the representation of floodplains by PCR-GLOBWB, the average annual flux over the period 2001-2006 was estimated to be 78 Tg yr-1. In comparison, the six-year average CH4 fluxes were 37.7, 89.4, 145.6, and 157.3 Tg yr-1 for different estimates of wetland extends based on the studies by Matthews and Fung, Prigent et a!., Lehner and Doll, and Kaplan, respectively. This study shows the feasibility to estimate interannual variations in CH4 emissions by coupling hydrological and CH4 emission process models. It highlights the importance of an adequate understanding of hydrology in quantifying the total emissions from northern hemispheric wetlands and shows how knowledge of the sub-grid variability in wetland extent helps to prescribe relevant hydrological conditions to the emission model as well as to identify the uncertainty associated with existing wetland distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summer surface melting plays an important role in the evolution of ice shelves and their progenitor ice sheets. To explore the magnitude of surface melt occurring over modern ice shelves and ice sheets in a climate scenario forced by anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), a coupled climate model was used to simulate the distribution of summer melt at high latitudes and project the future evolution of high-melt regions in both hemispheres. Forcing of the climate model with CO2 emissions resulting from combustion of the present-day fossil-fuel resource base resulted in expansion of high-melt regions, as defined by the contour marking 200 positive degree-days per year, in the Northern Hemisphere and the Antarctic Peninsula and the introduction of high summer melt over the Ross, Ronne-Filchner, and Amery ice shelves as well as a large portion of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) and most of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS) by the year 2500. Capping CO2 concentrations at present-day levels avoided significant summer melt over the large Antarctic shelves, the WAIS, and much of the GIS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a great potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to livestock production. For achieving this potential will require new initiatives at national and international levels that include promoting research and development on new mitigation technologies; deploying, diffusing and transferring technologies to mitigate emissions; and enhancing capacities to monitor, report and verify emissions from livestock production. This study describes the sources of livestock-related GHG emissions and reviews available mitigation technologies and practices. We assess the main policy instruments available to curb emissions and promote carbon sinks, and discuss the relative merits of alternative approaches. We discuss recent experiences in countries that have enacted mitigation strategies for the livestock sector to illustrate some of the key issues and constraints in policy implementation. Finally, we explore the main issues and challenges surrounding international efforts to mitigate GHG emissions and discuss some possible ways to address these challenges in future climate agreements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a limited case for assisting trade-exposed emissions-intensive industries during a transitional period during which Australian resource industries but not all of their major competitors are subject to emissions constraints. There is no case for protecting Australian industry from all adjustment and loss of asset values during the transition. The valid case is analogous to anti-dumping assistance, being confined to the case where weaker emissions constraints elsewhere would force adjustments that would be reversed later. The case for assistance is limited by the effect of others’ weaker emissions constraints on global resource prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Climate change is likely to affect the nature of pathogens and chemicals in the environment and their fate and transport. Future risks of pathogens and chemicals could therefore be very different from those of today. In this review, we assess the implications of climate change for changes in human exposures to pathogens and chemicals in agricultural systems in the United Kingdom and discuss the subsequent effects on health impacts. DATA SOURCES: In this review, we used expert input and considered literature on climate change; health effects resulting from exposure to pathogens and chemicals arising from agriculture; inputs of chemicals and pathogens to agricultural systems; and human exposure pathways for pathogens and chemicals in agricultural systems. DATA SYNTHESIS: We established the current evidence base for health effects of chemicals and pathogens in the agricultural environment; determined the potential implications of climate change on chemical and pathogen inputs in agricultural systems; and explored the effects of climate change on environmental transport and fate of different contaminant types. We combined these data to assess the implications of climate change in terms of indirect human exposure to pathogens and chemicals in agricultural systems. We then developed recommendations on future research and policy changes to manage any adverse increases in risks. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, climate change is likely to increase human exposures to agricultural contaminants. The magnitude of the increases will be highly dependent on the contaminant type. Risks from many pathogens and particulate and particle-associated contaminants could increase significantly. These increases in exposure can, however, be managed for the most part through targeted research and policy changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Climate change is altering a wide range of human activities, including winemaking. While wine may appear to be one of the most natural of alcoholic beverages, it is not without carbon inputs and emissions, which contribute to the very change in climate that is altering both wine and winemaking. In this paper, we use a greenhouse gas life cycle analysis to develop a model for quantifying greenhouse gas emissions from the production and distribution of a bottle of wine. Current regulatory arrangements do not capture the climate change costs of wine effectively since most costs are externalized. We conclude with estimates of the cost of emissions under various regulatory regimes, provide counterintuitive findings about the greenhouse gas emissions of similar bottles, and, finally, suggest how wine producers and consumers can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has become a key instrument for climate change mitigation. Parties with emission targets are using it to buy greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions for compliance against the Protocol's emission reduction targets. In parallel, the purchase of emission reductions through a voluntary carbon market has become a mainstream practice across business and individuals who, although not having any regulatory mandate, aim to offset their emissions. This voluntary market relies on mitigation projects which may or may not follow the standards of the CDM. This review compares these two instruments and traces similarities and differences in terms of project types, offset quality and contribution to sustainable development. It is shown that both mechanisms support a wide range of mitigation options and technologies, and differ considerably in the contribution of forestry and industrial gas offsets to their markets. There is not enough empirical data to assess the actual additionality and quality of produced offsets and their contribution to national and local sustainable development also requires further empirical assessment. Large scale mitigation options provide a substantial percentage of GHG reductions in both markets, with methane-based mitigation and fuel switching dominating over renewable investments such as solar and tidal. Africa remains the least benefited continent in both schemes. The review supports proposals towards reforming the CDM so that the least developed countries can also participate in a transition towards a decarbonised global society. Voluntary markets, in turn, are likely to remain driven by investors' willingness to support projects which are in line with poor countries' demands and priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Are you going to tell me off for flying?' This question was asked three times by a lady in South Manchester, England, when we asked her to participate in our qualitative in-home study on flying. She asked it once when we approached her in the street to ask if we may interview her. She asked again when we phoned to confirm the time and address of the interview, and she asked it a third time while serving tea and biscuits at the beginning of the interview. Needless to say we had given absolutely no indication that the interview would pass 'judgment' on her flying activities. The lady had undertaken six return trips by air for leisure in the previous year, and in the final section of the interview commented 'I will have a conscience, but I won't not fly to Miami...'. As this one example shows, the frequent flying/environmental impact question is currently a hot topic. It brings forth a cocktail of rich unprompted discussion and a mixed bag of responses, it has become emotionally charged and polemic. Accounts and justifications concerning frequent flying range from surprise that a taken-for-granted everyday activity which until very recently had been considered a culturally desirable thing to do, has suddenly become frowned upon; to a sense of almost guilty pleasure, apology and, at its extremes, defiance. What the significance and explanation for this might be in sociological terms is the focus of this paper. The answers are important, in particular for policy stakeholders seeking to curb consumption behaviours as one of a portfolio of emissions reduction strategies. It is to the policy audience that this paper primarily speaks. It also provides a quite different - out of the box - insight and contribution to the aviation and emissions debate, which complements the more 'supply side' technology and research and development focused papers which dominate the aviation and emissions-reduction literature currently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aviation sector is in turbulent times. On top of increased security concerns, oil price rises and health scares, it now finds itself at the centre of the climate change debate. Previously highly resilient to short-term 'shocks', it remains unclear as to how the aviation sector will respond to persistent and significant pressure to mitigate its global carbon emissions. From a technological point of view, mitigation is not straightforward, with few, if any, low-carbon technologies available in the short-term and significant time-lags in achieving the necessary penetration of the global fleet. Moreover, many drivers within the sector are aligned towards growth and despite political recognition of the increasing importance of aviation's CO2 emissions, policies encouraging growth of the industry continue to conflict with the climate change agenda. Given the complexity of the aviation system within a dynamic commercial environment, scenarios, rather than economic forecasts, are used here to explore opportunities for the aviation industry to develop within the constraints of the EU's own climate change targets. The scenarios illustrate a variety of feasible aviation futures, but all require other sectors to make emission reductions well in excess of those levels currently envisaged, due to the expansion of the EU's aviation industry within a constrained carbon cap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reviews the technical options available for reducing the impact of air travel on the Earth's climate. The three main impacts come from the emission of CO2 and NOx and the creation of contrails and cirrus cloud. The long-term potential for reducing CO2 emission is considerable, though bounded by the laws of physics. There is still greater potential for reducing NOx emission and contrail formation, although a measure to reduce any one emission can in some cases increase one or both of the others. Ideally, a balance has to be struck which minimises the total climate impact of all three. There is not yet a robust scientific basis for judging this balance. Even so, the paper outlines the technical possibilities for reducing climate impact and offers a conjectural estimate of their potential effect, when deployed in combination, on the future emissions of the world civil aircraft fleet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1999 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) produced a report on aviation and the atmosphere that highlighted the role that aviation plays in climate change. As the report showed aviation impacts the atmosphere in a number of ways, including emissions of CO2 and NOx, water vapour and creation of cirrus plus contrails. Of these the significant climate impact comes chiefly from CO2, NOx and contrails/cirrus. In the years since the IPCC report green lobby groups, other NGOs and parts of the media have highlighted and foregrounded the role of aviation in climate change and have mounted a significant public relations campaign against the aviation industry. This paper acknowledges the role of aviation emissions in climate change and outlines how a number of stakeholders, especially the manufacturers of large civil aircraft, are seeking to create a cleaner and greener aviation system. The paper seeks to outline what might be realistically achieved through the current R&D drive for more efficient aircraft and some of the other non-technical initiatives that are underway. The author argues that generally the sector has been quite open in acknowledging its responsibilities on the climate change issue and is investing heavily in finding solutions on a range of fronts. The paper also contends that while aviation must shoulder its environmental responsibilities, governments should not embark on policies that will damage a highly successful sector that supports millions of jobs in the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent ACE-2, EPIC and DYCOMS-II field experiments showed that the drizzle precipitation rate of marine stratocumulus scales with the cloud geometrical thickness or liquid water path, and the droplet concentration, when averaged over a domain typical of a GCM grid. This feature is replicated here with large-eddy-simulations using state-of- the-art bulk parameterizations of precipitation formation in stratocumulus clouds. The set of numerical simulations shows scaling relationships similar to the ones derived from the field experiments, especially the one derived from the DYCOMS-II data set. This result suggests that the empirical relationships were not fortuitous and that they reflect the mean effect of cloud physical processes. Such relationships might be more suited to GCM parameterizations of precipitation from shallow clouds than bulk parameterizations of autoconversion, that were initially developed for cloud resolving models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a challenge to society and to cope with requires assessment tools which are suitable to evaluate new technology options with respect to their impact on global climate. Here we present AirClim, a model which comprises a linearisation of atmospheric processes from the emission to radiative forcing, resulting in an estimate in near surface temperature change, which is presumed to be a reasonable indicator for climate change. The model is designed to be applicable to aircraft technology, i.e. the climate agents CO2, H2O, CH4 and O3 (latter two resulting from NOx-emissions) and contrails are taken into account. AirClim combines a number of precalculated atmospheric data with aircraft emission data to obtain the temporal evolution of atmospheric concentration changes, radiative forcing and temperature changes. These precalculated data are derived from 25 steady-state simulations for the year 2050 with the climate-chemistry model E39/C, prescribing normalised emissions of nitrogen oxides and water vapour at various atmospheric regions. The results show that strongest climate impacts (year 2100) from ozone changes occur for emissions in the tropical upper troposphere (60mW/m2; 80mK for 1 TgN/year emitted) and from methane changes from emissions in the middle tropical troposphere (-2.7% change in methane lifetime; -30mK per TgN/year). For shortlived species (e.g. ozone, water vapour, methane) individual perturbation lifetimes are derived depending on the region of emission. A comparison of this linearisation approach with results from a comprehensive climate-chemistry model shows reasonable agreement with respect to concentration changes, radiative forcing, and temperature changes. For example, the total impact of a supersonic fleet on radiative forcing (mainly water vapour) is reproduced within 10%. A wide range of application is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Goal, Scope and Background. Calculating LCA outcomes implies the use of parameters, models, choices and scenarios which introduce uncertainty, as they imperfectly account for the variability of both human and environmental systems. The analysis of the uncertainty of LCA results, and its reduction by an improved estimation of key parameters and through the improvement of the models used to convert emissions into regional impacts, such as eutrophication, are major issues for LCA. Methods. In a case study of pig production systems, we propose a simple quantification of the uncertainty of LCA results (intra-system variability) and we explore the inter-system variability to produce more robust LCA outcomes. The quantification of the intra-system uncertainty takes into account the variability of the technical performance (crop yield, feed efficiency) and of emission factors (for NH3, N20 and NO3) and the influence of the functional unit (FU) (kg of pig versus hectare used). For farming systems, the inter-system variability is investigated through differentiating the production mode (conventional, quality label, organic (OA)), and the farmer practices (Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) versus Over Fertilised (OF)), while for natural systems, variability due to physical and climatic characteristics of catchments expected to modify nitrate fate is explored. Results and Conclusion. For the eutrophication and climate change impact categories, the uncertainty associated with field emissions contributes more to the overall uncertainty than the uncertainty associated with emissions from livestock buildings, with crop yield and with feed efficiency. For acidification, the uncertainty of emissions from livestock buildings is the single most important contributor to the overall uncertainty. The influence of the FU on eutrophication results is very important when comparing systems with different degrees of intensification such as GAP and OA. Concerning the inter-system variability, differences in farmer practices have a larger effect on eutrophication than differences between production modes. Finally, the physical characteristics of the catchment and the climate strongly affect the results for eutrophication. In conclusion, in this case study, the main sources of uncertainty are in the estimation of emission factors, due both to the variability of environmental conditions and to lack of knowledge (emissions of N2O at the field level), but also in the model used for assessing regional impacts such as eutrophication. Recommendation and Perspective. Suitable deterministic simulation models integrating the main controlling variables (environmental conditions, farmer practices, technology used) should be used to predict the emissions of a given system as well as their probabilistic distribution allowing the use of stochastic modelling. Finally, our simulations on eutrophication illustrate the necessity of integrating the fate of pollutants in models of impact assessment and highlight the important margin of improvement existing for the eutrophication impact assessment model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are two main policy responses to climate: prevention of climate change (mitigation) through reducing emissions and coping with its effects (adaptation). Mitigation has been given more priority in climate negotiations to date. Because the impacts of climate change are likely to increase in the coming years and there is growing realisation that vulnerable countries and communities will be disproportionately adversely affected, much more attention is now being paid to adaptation than was previously the case, particularly by development organisations. Defining climate change and adaptation carefully is critical to ensuring the success of actions promoting how adaptation can be mainstreamed in development. Narrow definitions of climate change, which ignore climate variability and donor focus on looking at the "global environmental benefits" of adaptation will mean that the adaptation needs of the most vulnerable will not be met. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four tropical seaweeds, Gracilaria manilaensis Yamamoto & Trono, Ulva reticulata Forsskål , Kappaphycus alvarezii (Doty) L.M.Liao and Turbinaria conoides (J.Agardh) Kützing, collected from various habitats throughout Malaysia, were subjected to temperatures of 40, 35, 30, 25 and 20 °C in the laboratory. An exposure range of 21–38 °C is reported for Malaysian waters. The effect of the temperature exposures on the halocarbon emissions of the seaweeds were determined 4 and 28 h after treatment. The emission rates for a suite of six halocarbons commonly emitted by seaweeds, bromoform (CHBr 3), dibromomethane (CH 2 Br 2), diiodomethane (CH 2 I 2), iodomethane (CH 3 I), dibromochloromethane (CHBr 2 Cl) and dichlorobromomethane (CHBrCl 2), were measured using a cryogenic purge-and-trap sample preparation system coupled to a gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The emission rate of CHBr 3 was the highest of the six halocarbons for all the seaweeds under all the temperatures tested, followed by CH 2 Br 2 , and CH 2 I 2. The emission rates were affected by temperature change and exposure duration, but overall responses were unique to each seaweed species. Larger decreases in the emissions of CHBr 3 , CH 2 Br 2 , CH 2 I 2 and CHBr 2 Cl were found for K. alvarezii and T. conoides after 4 h at 40 °C. In both cases there was a >90% (p < 0.05) reduction in the F v /F m value suggesting that photosynthetic actitivity was severely compromised. After a 28 h exposure period, strong negative correlations (r = −0.69 to −0.95; p < 0.01) were observed between temperature and the emission of CHBr 3 , CH 2 Br 2 and CH 2 I 2 for U. reticulata, K. alvarezii and T. conoides. This suggests a potential decrease in the halocarbon emissions from these tropical seaweeds, especially where the temperature increase is a prolonged event. Strong correlations were also seen between seaweed chlorophyll and carotenoid pigment contents and the emission rates for CHBr 3 , CH 2 Br 2 and CH 2 I 2 (r = 0.48 to 0.96 and −0.49 to −0.96; p < 0.05). These results suggest that the regulation of halocarbon production versus reactive oxygen species production in seaweeds is an area worthy of further exploration. [Display omitted] • Tropical seaweeds including the commercially farmed Kappaphycus alvarezii emit high concentrations of CHBr 3 and CH 2 I 2. • Temperature levels and the exposure duration to the temperature affect halocarbon emissions by tropical seaweeds. • Longer exposure to increasing temperature levels could reduce halocarbon emissions. • Responses to temperature and exposure duration are species-specific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 1990 and 2008, Soil Use and Management has published around 42 articles which have dealt with nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from soils. The importance of this subject to readers of the journal has increased rapidly in recent years. A substantial number of these papers have appeared in two supplements. These were ‘Soils and the Greenhouse Effect’, vol. 13 (4) and ‘Soils as Carbon Sinks’, vol. 20. The number of annual citations of articles on N2O in the journal has risen from zero in the early 1990s to 160 per year in 2008. In this article, we have highlighted some of the more important papers on N2O that have been published by Soil Use and Management, and explain how they have helped advance our understanding of the role that soil management plays in influencing N2O emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energetic economy measure has high influence on decreasing pollutive emission of materials as well as green house gasses which are conducive to fulfill state's strategies in environment area and climate changes. Wind is a clean energy; wind power plants do not produce any emissions. They do not pollute surrounding air, water nether the soil, because there is no fuel burning to produce energy. This article highlights the positive effect of a nonstandard source of wind energy used by the M.A.R.S. turbine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors reflect on the impact of climate change on health. They note the political issues surrounding efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. They explore the effect of climate change on poor and developing countries. The authors also cite the extreme weather condition caused by climate change, including storms and rising sea levels.