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In the framework of the RECCAP2 initiative, we present the greenhouse gas (GHG) and carbon (C) budget of Europe. For the decade of the 2010s, we present a bottom‐up (BU) estimate of GHG net‐emissions of 3.9 Pg CO2‐eq. yr−1 (using a global warming potential on a 100 years horizon), which are largely dominated by fossil fuel emissions. In this decade, terrestrial ecosystems acted as a net GHG sink of 0.9 Pg CO2‐eq. yr−1, dominated by a CO2 sink that was partially counterbalanced by net emissions of CH4 and N2O. For CH4 and N2O, we find good agreement between BU and top‐down (TD) estimates from atmospheric inversions. However, our BU land CO2 sink is significantly higher than the TD estimates. We further show that decadal averages of GHG net‐emissions have declined by 1.2 Pg CO2‐eq. yr−1 since the 1990s, mainly due to a reduction in fossil fuel emissions. In addition, based on both data driven BU and TD estimates, we also find that the land CO2 sink has weakened over the past two decades. A large part of the European CO2 and C sinks is located in Northern Europe. At the same time, we find a decreasing trend in sink strength in Scandinavia, which can be attributed to an increase in forest management intensity. These are partly offset by increasing CO2 sinks in parts of Eastern Europe and Northern Spain, attributed in part to land use change. Extensive regions of high CH4 and N2O emissions are mainly attributed to agricultural activities and are found in Belgium, the Netherlands and the southern UK. We further analyzed interannual variability in the GHG budgets. The drought year of 2003 shows the highest net‐emissions of CO2 and of all GHGs combined. Plain Language Summary: We have synthesized the European budgets of carbon and the greenhouse gases (GHG) carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. This synthesis includes estimates of direct emissions from fossil fuel burning, industrial production, waste management and agriculture, as well as of sources and sinks in the terrestrial biosphere. Summing up the sources and sinks of the three GHGs, we estimate for the decade of the 2010s an average annual net‐emission of 3.9 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalents. These net‐emissions are dominated by carbon dioxide from fossil fuel emissions (4.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide). In contrast, the terrestrial biosphere acts as a net sink of carbon dioxide, the effect of which is only partly counterbalanced by net emissions of methane and nitrous oxide. The net‐effect of the terrestrial biosphere's GHG budget is a sink of 0.9 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per year. Over the last three decades, European GHG emissions have declined by 1.2 billion tons carbon dioxide equivalents per year, mainly due to reductions in fossil fuel emissions. However, the sink capacity of the terrestrial biosphere has diminished since the 2000s. Key Points: We provide a bottom‐up estimate of CO2, CH4, N2O emissions of 3.9 Pg CO2‐eq. yr−1 over Europe, 2010–2019Terrestrial ecosystems acted as a greenhouse gas net sink of 0.9 Pg CO2‐eq. yr−1, dominated by CO2 sinkNet‐greenhouse gas emissions decreased by ∼1/4 since the 1990s, but land carbon sink is weakening since the 2000s [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The China–Europe Railway Express (CRE) has attracted and fostered low-carbon, export-oriented manufacturing industry sectors; thus, it could reduce carbon dioxide emissions through the manufacturing industry substitution effect. To verify this new mechanism, this study focuses on a specific case, namely, Chongqing's electronic and telecommunications equipment (ETE) manufacturing industry, as this sector is a low-carbon industry promoted by the CRE. This study proposes a novel detour estimation strategy for causal identification of the environmental externality of the CRE on carbon dioxide emissions. The results show that the CRE could contribute to an increase of 567.06 billion yuan in ETE exports from Chongqing to Europe and a consequent reduction of 17.10 million tons of carbon dioxide between 2011 and 2021. This study provides new insights into the environmental externality of the CRE and the mechanism of the manufacturing industry substitution effect, contributing to the understanding of the relationship between transportation and carbon dioxide emissions. • The China–Europe Railway Express (CRE) could reduce carbon dioxide emissions. • This reduction is driven by the manufacturing industry substitution effect. • The CRE adds exports in the electronic and telecommunications equipment (ETE) sector. • The growth of the ETE sector increases the low-carbon proportion in the manufacturing industry. • We propose a novel detour estimation strategy for causal identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is an acute inflammatory pulmonary process that leads to protein-rich, non-hydrostatic pulmonary edema, undesirable hypoxemia and lung stiffness. Due to Covid - 19 a significant proportion of people who will require hospitalization to treat Covid-19, between 15%-30%, will develop severe respiratory failure, ARDS and an increased likelihood of intubation for mechanical respiratory support. Aim:The aim of this study was to investigate the pulmonary function in COVID-19 related ARDS survivors after hospitalization. Methods: A search was performed at the Greek and international literature, as well at the online Databases PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, Google Scholar. Exclusion and integration criteria were set for the studies found and a flow chart was created for the studies included Results:Through the search, 103 articles were found matching the subject under study and after further evaluation, 4 articles were included. The majority of the articles highlight that after ARDS occurs due to COVID-19, patients face impaired pulmonary function in combination with other physical and psychological symptoms like weakness, anxiety, depression and generalized functional disability. Conclusions:It is a fact that COVID-19 disease, in severe form and following the need for hospitalization due to the development of ARDS, results in an increased likelihood of prolonged occurrence of some symptoms of impaired respiratory function. Impaired CO2 diffusion is observed in the majority of studies as well as impaired respiratory function regarding prolonged imaging findings and impaired physical function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen created as a by-product of chlor-alkali electrolysis is the second largest contributor to total hydrogen production in Europe. Nevertheless, it is commonly overlooked in hydrogen production pathway classifications. This study applies life-cycle assessment to shed light on the environmental impacts of chlor-alkali hydrogen based on diverse production and methodological aspects, and compares the most appropriate utilization scenarios in terms of GHG savings. The results demonstrate a broad range of carbon footprint from 0.01 to 7.14 kg CO 2 eq./kg with a high dependance on consumed energy sources and adopted allocation method. When analyzing the scenarios of utilization, the most favorable scenario in terms of potential savings is the substitution of high-emission grey hydrogen. According to our results, chlor-alkali hydrogen could be considered renewable or low-emission following the standards set by the EU, and thus can facilitate the transition to carbon neutrality. • The environmental impacts of chlor-alkali hydrogen have been quantified. • Environmental impact is highly dependent on energy sources and allocation method. • Chlor-alkali hydrogen has similar carbon footprint range to green hydrogen. • Several scenarios of utilizing chlor-alkali hydrogen are explored and compared. • The highest GHG savings are provided when substituting high-emission grey hydrogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy producers and utilities use oil and gas reservoirs for gas storage to meet peak seasonal demand or to supplement intermittent energy production. These reservoirs are also suitable for the long-term storage of carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas. This study reports on a reconnaissance analysis of the potential magnitude of storage resources in 9424 known oil and gas reservoirs from 24 countries within highly industrialized western Europe. To standardize the storage resources of the oil and gas reservoirs, their volumetric capacity is expressed in terms of metric tons (mass) of CO2. Estimates of recoverable oil and gas at the surface are converted to subsurface volumes and then converted to the equivalent mass of CO2 at reservoir conditions. The results indicate 36.7 gigatons of CO2 could be stored, with oil reservoirs accounting for 32% of that total and natural gas reservoirs comprising the remaining 68%. About four-fifths of the reservoir storage resource is offshore, with about three-fourths of that offshore resource at water depths of 200 m or less. Most countries do not have the reservoir storage resources to store 15 years of CO2 at 2017 emission levels. With few exceptions the bulk of the storage is offshore for countries that do have at least 15 years of storage. The expansion of natural gas storage for strategic purposes in abandoned onshore gas reservoirs is not expected to seriously impact CO2 storage. The contribution of this analysis is the description of the spatial distribution of potential storage and physical accessibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European land carbon uptake has been heavily impacted by several recent severe droughts, yet quantitative estimates of carbon uptake anomalies are uncertain. Atmospheric CO2 inverse models (AIMs) provide observation‐based estimates of the large‐scale carbon flux dynamics, but how well they capture drought impacts on the terrestrial carbon uptake is poorly known. Here we assessed the capacity of state‐of‐the‐art AIMs in monitoring drought impacts on the European carbon uptake over 2001–2015 using observations of environmental variability and vegetation function and made comparisons with bottom‐up estimates of carbon uptake anomalies. We found that global inversions with only limited surface CO2 observations give divergent estimates of drought impacts. Regional inversions assimilating denser CO2 observations over Europe demonstrated some improved consistency, with all inversions capturing a reduction in carbon uptake during the 2012 drought. However, they failed to capture the reduction caused by the 2015 drought. Finally, we found that a set of inversions that assimilated satellite XCO2 or assimilated environmental variables plus surface CO2 observations better captured carbon uptake anomalies induced by both the 2012 and 2015 droughts. In addition, the recent Orbiting Carbon Observatory—2 XCO2 inversions showed good potential in capturing drought impacts, with better performances for larger‐scale droughts like the 2018 drought. These results suggest that surface CO2 observations may still be too sparse to fully capture the impact of drought on the carbon cycle at subcontinental scales over Europe, and satellite XCO2 and ancillary environmental data can be used to improve observational constraints in atmospheric inversion systems. Plain Language Summary: Atmospheric CO2 inverse models (AIMs) are useful tools for quantifying the response of large‐scale carbon uptake to climate extremes, but their capacity for monitoring drought impacts, particularly at regional scales, is not fully explored. In this study, we assessed the capacity of state‐of‐the‐art AIMs for monitoring drought impacts on the European land carbon uptake over 2001–2015 using a large array of observational and model data sets. We found: (a) global inversions with only limited surface CO2 observations face a great challenge in monitoring drought impacts on the European carbon uptake; (b) Regional inversions assimilated denser CO2 observations over Europe, for the EUROCOM project, demonstrated some improved consistency but are still deficient, showing divergent estimates in interannual variability of carbon uptake for most years; and (c) A set of inversion systems that assimilated satellite XCO2 or assimilated environmental variables plus surface CO2 observations better captured annual and seasonal anomalies caused by droughts. Our study demonstrates that surface CO2 observations may still be too sparse to fully capture the impact of drought on the carbon cycle at subcontinental scales over Europe, whereby satellite XCO2 and ancillary environmental data can offer observational constraints for improving the estimates. Key Points: Global inversions with only limited surface CO2 observations give divergent estimates of drought impacts on the European carbon uptakeRegional inversions assimilating denser CO2 observations over Europe demonstrate some improved consistency but are still deficientThe inversions assimilating satellite XCO2 or environmental variables in addition to surface CO2 largely improve the estimates [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spring forest ephemerals often create homogeneous patches in the understory; however, our knowledge about their stand level characteristics is deficient. Our aims were to examine, parallel to their phenology, the stand level Net Ecosystem CO2 Exchange (NEE) and evapotranspiration (ET) fluxes as well as the dependence of NEE on leaf area (LA), air temperature (Tair) and light (PPFD) in three spring forest geophytes that are widespread in Europe. Furthermore, we compared the leaf and stand level net photosynthesis. The methods used included open chamber measurements with an infrared gas analyser in permanent plots on a weekly basis. The results showed that the stand levels of all three species proved to be carbon sinks from the beginning of the vegetation period until the end of it or until the last phase of fruit formation. The largest amount of carbon sink was observed at the peak of blooming. A positive linear correlation was measured between NEE and PPFD as well as between NEE and LA, while a negative linear regression was measured between NEE and Tair. The remarkable carbon uptake capacity indicates the non-negligible role of geophyte vegetation in the carbon flux of temperate forests. In addition, the research provided new proof about the role of stand level operation, stability and regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite observations have revealed strong land surface "greening" (i.e., increases in vegetation greenness or leaf area index (LAI)) in the Northern Hemisphere over the past few decades. European terrestrial ecosystems are a greening hotspot, but how they respond to land surface greening, climate change, CO2 fertilization, land use and land cover change (LULCC) and other factors is unclear. Here, we assessed how these interacting factors might be combined to alter terrestrial gross primary production (GPP) throughout Europe during the period of 2001 to 2016 using a process-based Farquhar GPP model (i.e., FGM). We found a more productive European terrestrial ecosystem and most of the GPP enhancement in Europe was explained by increases in LAI (62%) and atmospheric CO2 concentration (29%). Spatially, the spatial signature of the LAI and GPP trends both suggested widespread (72–73% of the vegetated area) greening phenomena across Europe, among which 23.7% and 13.3% were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The interannual trend of GPP estimated by the FGM (0.55% yr−1) was reasonable compared with other GPP products (0.47% yr−1 to 0.92% yr−1) and the observed LAI increasing rate (0.62% yr−1). FGM factorial simulations suggested that land surface greening (+35.5 Pg C yr−2, p < 0.01), CO2 fertilization (+16.9 Pg C yr−2, p < 0.01), temperature warming (+3.7 Pg C yr−2, p < 0.05), and enhanced downwards solar radiation (+1.2 Pg C yr−2, p > 0.05) contributed to the GPP enhancement, while the enhanced vapour pressure deficit (−5.6 Tg C yr−2, p < 0.01) had significant negative impacts on GPP, especially in 2006 and 2012, when extreme droughts struck south-eastern Europe. Meanwhile, approximately 1.8% of the total area of Europe experienced LULCC from 2001 to 2016 and LULCC exerted a small but significant (−1.3 Tg C yr−2, p < 0.01) impact on GPP due to decreases in the total number of vegetated pixels (−159 pixels yr−1). Although the LULCC effect was negative, the largest increase occurred in forested land (+0.9% of total area). In addition, the increasing trends for the annual mean LAI (0.01 m2 m−2 yr−1, p < 0.001) and total GPP (22.2 Tg C yr−2, p < 0.001) of forests were more significant and higher than those of other vegetation types, suggesting that European forests may continue to play important roles in combating climate change in the future with long-lasting carbon storage potential. These results provide the first systematic quantitative analysis of the driving force of enhanced gross carbon assimilation by European ecosystems by considering variations in leaf physiological traits with environmental adaptations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Afforestation is an important mitigation strategy for climate change due to its carbon sequestration potential. Besides this favorable biogeochemical effect on global CO 2 concentrations, afforestation also affects the regional climate by changing the biogeophysical land surface characteristics. In this study, we investigate the effects of an idealized global CO 2 reduction to pre-industrial conditions by a Europe-wide afforestation experiment on the regional longwave radiation balance, starting in the year 1986 on a continent entirely covered with grassland. Results show that the impact of biogeophysical processes on the surface temperatures is much stronger than that of biogeochemical processes. Furthermore, biogeophysically induced changes of the surface temperatures, atmospheric temperatures, and moisture concentrations are as important for the regional longwave radiation balance as the global CO 2 reduction. While the outgoing longwave radiation is increased in winter, it is reduced in summer. In terms of annual total, a Europe-wide afforestation has a regional warming effect despite reduced CO 2 concentrations. Thus, even for an idealized reduction of the global CO 2 concentrations to pre-industrial levels, the European climate response to afforestation would still be dominated by its biogeophysical effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European countries are required to look for alternative gas suppliers to deliver energy security for Europe. Qatar has been proposed to be an alternative gas supplier; however, there are problems that limit Qatar from exporting more gas to Europe, namely: the limited LNG quantities available for export, the long-term fixed contracting strategy, and the lack of room to receive additional gas in European LNG terminals. As these problems are critical and limit Qatar from exporting more gas to Europe, this research aims to propose potential solutions to overcome them. The results show that to solve the issue of the limited LNG quantities available for export, Qatar can produce electricity from renewable sources and export the gas consumed for power production, and can produce renewable natural gas (RNG) from green hydrogen and captured carbon dioxide. Two BCM of natural gas can be exported if 15% of the electricity required is produced from renewables in Qatar. In addition, 0.45 BCM of RNG can be exported if Qatar uses its natural resources to produce 5000 MW of renewable power. Redirecting contracts coming to an end and increasing dependence on spot markets can resolve the issue of a long-term fixed contracting strategy. Finally, using floating import terminals may alleviate the problem of European LNG terminals running out of room to receive more gas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, European countries have faced repeated heat waves. Traditionally, atmospheric CO2 concentration linked to repeated heat wave-induced photosynthetic inhibition has been explored based on local-specific in-situ observations. However, previous research based on field surveys has limitations in exploring area-wide atmospheric CO2 concentrations linked to repeated heat wave-induced photosynthetic inhibition. The present study aimed to evaluate the spatial cross-correlation of Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT) CO2 concentrations with repeated heat wave-induced photosynthetic inhibition in Europe from 2009 to 2017 by applying geographically weighted regression (GWR). The local standardized coefficient of a fraction of photosynthetically active radiation (FPAR: −0.24) and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI: −0.22) indicate that photosynthetic inhibition increases atmospheric CO2 in Europe. Furthermore, from 2009 to 2017, the heat waves in Europe contributed to CO2 emissions (27.2–32.1%) induced by photosynthetic inhibition. This study provides realistic evidence to justify repeated heat wave-induced photosynthetic inhibition as a fundamental factor in mitigating carbon emissions in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dioxide (CO2) has reached a higher level of emissions in the last decades, and as it is widely known, CO2 is responsible for numerous environmental problems, such as climate change. Thus, there is a great need for the application of CO2 capture and storage, as well as of CO2 utilization technologies (CCUS). This review article focuses on summarizing the current CCUS state-of-the-art methods used in Europe. Special emphasis has been given to mineralization methods/technologies, especially in basalts and sandstones, which are considered to be suitable for CO2 mineralization. Furthermore, a questionnaire survey was also carried out in order to investigate how informed about CO2 issues European citizens are, as well as whether their background is relative to their positive or negative opinion about the establishment of CCUS technologies in their countries. In addition, social acceptance by the community requires contact with citizens and stakeholders, as well as ensuring mutual trust through open communication and the opportunity to participate as early as possible in the development of actions and projects related to CO2 capture and storage, at all appropriate levels of government internationally, as citizens need to understand the benefits from such new technologies, from the local to the international level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A vehicle simulation model, CO 2 MPAS supports the introduction of the new WLTP-based certification system for CO 2 emissions in Europe. This paper investigates the possibility to use the underlying simulation methodology to accurately calculate CO 2 emissions over real-world trips, thus to extend the use of the methodology beyond vehicle certification. As a reference, the analysis used measurement data obtained from four vehicles over two different routes under real-world driving conditions. The CO 2 emissions were measured using portable emissions measurement systems. The formal CO 2 MPAS methodology and two modified versions of it that require a reduced number of input data were assessed about their capacity to predict the measured CO 2 emissions. The analysis focused on the accuracy and uncertainty of the three different methodology configurations. As an additional benchmark, the analysis considered the CO 2 emissions estimates obtained from the EMEP/EEA Guidebook methodology used for emissions inventorying in Europe. Results show that the basic CO 2 MPAS configuration demonstrates good performance in predicting CO 2 emissions over on-road tests, reaching a prediction accuracy over an entire test trip of −0,3% and a standard deviation of 3,1%. The modified versions showed slightly higher biases up to 3% and uncertainties (5–7%), but remaining within reasonable limits considering the reduced number of inputs used in each case. Given its ability to predict CO 2 emissions accurately on a local base, CO 2 MPAS could be used for the prediction of instantaneous CO 2 emissions in traffic micro-simulation exercises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Stunning is an important and statutory pre-slaughter process that aims to induce a state of unconsciousness and insensibility to pain just before sticking and bleeding out. In Europe, two main stunning methods that are applied at pig slaughter are electrical (ES) and gas stunning with high-concentration carbon dioxide (CO2). Stunning is not only crucial in terms of the welfare of pigs at slaughter, but it may also have effects on meat quality. Various studies have compared these two methods with respect to meat-quality traits. In several studies, stunning with CO2 has been shown to improve meat quality in comparison with ES; however, other research indicated that ES enhanced the meat quality as opposed to CO2 or had no significant effect. The current study analysed the combined results of independent research and experiments to achieve quantitative evidence of the effects of two stunning methods, electrical and gas with a high concentration of carbon dioxide, on selected quality attributes of fresh pork. The results of the meta-analysis revealed that relative to CO2 stunning, overall, ES pigs had a lower pH1, higher drip loss (DL) and lightness (L*). However, the greater alterations in these traits were achieved with the application of the head-to-back (HB) electrical-stunning method and conventional chilling (Conv.) of the carcasses. The results of the meta-analysis provide evidence that differences between these two stunning methods in DL and L* may be diminished by the application of the head-only (HO) or head-to-body (HBO) method, followed by the fast chilling of the carcasses. Stunning is a statutory pre-slaughter process that may affect the quality of pork. The objective of this study was quantification of the effects of stunning (ES vs. CO2 stunning) on selected quality attributes of pork, using a meta-analytical approach. Data from 18 publications with 46 individual experiments were combined using a random-effect model to estimate the effect size of stunning on the initial and ultimate pH (pH1, pHu); drip loss (DL); colour (lightness—L*, redness—a*, yellowness—b*); and tenderness (expressed as Warner–Bratzler shear force, WBSF) of pork. In overall, loins from ES showed significantly lower pH1 (by 0.08 units); greater DL (by 0.68 p.p.); higher L* (by 1.29 units); and a* (by 0.80 units) as they compared to those from CO2 stunning. In subgroups, a greater-than-overall negative change in pH1, pHu, DL, L* and a* was detected with the application of the head-to-back (HB) stunning method. Additionally, alterations in DL and L* may be magnified with the application of conventional chilling (Conv.) to ES pigs. There was no effect of stunning on WBSF but, due to a low number of research in the database, the reliability of these results may be misleading. These results provide evidence that the differences between these two stunning methods in DL and L* may be diminished by the application of the head-only (HO) or head-to-body (HBO) method, followed by the fast chilling of carcasses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Three-hourly net ecosystem exchange (NEE) is estimated at spatial scales of 0.25 ∘ over the European continent, based on the pre-operational inverse modelling framework "CarboScope Regional" (CSR) for the years 2006 to 2019. To assess the uncertainty originating from the choice of a priori flux models and observational data, ensembles of inversions were produced using three terrestrial ecosystem flux models, two ocean flux models, and three sets of atmospheric stations. We find that the station set ensemble accounts for 61 % of the total spread of the annually aggregated fluxes over the full domain when varying all these elements, while the biosphere and ocean ensembles resulted in much smaller contributions to the spread of 28 % and 11 %, respectively. These percentages differ over the specific regions of Europe, based on the availability of atmospheric data. For example, the spread of the biosphere ensemble is prone to be larger in regions that are less constrained by CO 2 measurements. We investigate the impact of unprecedented increase in temperature and simultaneous reduction in soil water content (SWC) observed in 2018 and 2019 on the carbon cycle. We find that NEE estimates during these 2 years suggest an impact of drought occurrences represented by the reduction in net primary productivity (NPP), which in turn leads to less CO 2 uptake across Europe in 2018 and 2019, resulting in anomalies of up to 0.13 and 0.07 PgC yr -1 above the climatological mean, respectively. Annual temperature anomalies also exceeded the climatological mean by 0.46 ∘ C in 2018 and by 0.56 ∘ C in 2019, while Standardised Precipitation–Evaporation Index (SPEI) anomalies declined to -0.20 and -0.05 SPEI units below the climatological mean in both 2018 and 2019, respectively. Therefore, the biogenic fluxes showed a weaker sink of CO 2 in both 2018 and 2019 (-0.22 ± 0.05 and -0.28 ± 0.06 PgC yr -1 , respectively) in comparison with the mean -0.36 ± 0.07 PgC yr -1 calculated over the full analysed period (i.e. 14 years). These translate into a continental-wide reduction in the annual sink by 39 % and 22 %, respectively, larger than the typical year-to-year standard deviation of 19 % observed over the full period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The residential heating sector accounts for a large share of the worldwide annual primary energy consumption. In order to reduce CO2-emissions, it is therefore particularly important to analyse this sector for potential efficiency improvements. In Europe, natural gas boilers are the most widely used heating technology since they are cost-effective and can be installed in any type of building. The energy efficiency of these boilers is already high. However, in their internal process, heat is generated at a high temperature level which is only used for space heating and therefore a high amount of exergy remains unused. This research aims to develop the potential of using the exergy to further improve the efficiency of the systems. A novel combination of methods is applied to analyse the thermodynamic behaviour of gas-fired boilers in detail and over the cycle of a year. The analysis is performed in two steps: In the first step a system is examined in stationary operating points. This is carried out through an experimental setup and a three-dimensional numerical simulation. In the second step, the obtained data is applied to a transient annual building simulation. The results show the temporal distribution and total amount of the annual exergy loss for a common residential building. The exergy loss accumulates to 16,271 kWh per year, which shows the high potential to partially convert the exergy to electrical energy and significantly reduce the external electricity demand and CO2-emissions of the building. Based on this, new technologies such as Thermoelectric Generators can be developed, which can enable this potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delves into an econometric analysis to uncover the differences between Nordic European Countries - NEC (Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden) and South-East European Countries - SEEC (Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary). The focus is on exploring the interplay among electricity generation from Renewable Energy Sources (RES), CO 2 emissions, urban population and GDP per capita in these two European regions. The study employs cross-sectional dependence, first and second-generation panel unit root tests, Pedroni panel and Westerlund panel cointegration tests, ARDL, Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality test to establish the relation among variables. The findings reveal that in both regions, CO 2 emissions are significantly influenced by GDP per capita, urbanization and RES generation. Furthermore, urbanization plays an important role. When examining causality in SEEC, three bidirectional relationships are observed: urbanization and CO 2 , urbanization and GDP, urbanization and generation from RES, and two unidirectional causalities: CO 2 and GDP, generation from RES and CO 2. In contrast, for the NEC, there are two bidirectional causalities: urbanization and CO 2 , urbanization and generation from RES, and two unidirectional causalities: GDP and CO 2 , generation from RES and CO 2. These results highlight the nuanced and varied nature of environmental and economic dynamics across various European regions. • Relationship between CO 2 emissions, GDP per capita and electricity production from RES. • Investigating two groups of EU countries located in the North and SE Europe. • Estimations with Fully Modified and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares. • Causality and cointegration between variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • PtG: adiabatic and cooled configurations are analyzed with dynamic simulations. • H 2 load is changed to examine the methane injection (-5%, −30 % and + 5 %) • Synthetic methane composition and CO 2 conversion are analyzed during time. • Regulatory limits are considered for the injection into the existing gas network. The methanation process, or Sabatier process, allows carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide to be hydrogenated into methane, which can be subsequently injected (once the gas grid specifications have been respected) into the gas network infrastructures already present in Europe. This process can be effectively adopted to convert captured CO 2 streams from power plants or hard to abate plants by using green hydrogen from renewable-driven water electrolysis. The technical aspects of concern in the methanation process are certainly the strong exothermicity of the process, with consequent possible generation of hotspots along the entire catalyst bed and the management of reaction heat through thermal recovery. These peculiar aspects influence the choice of construction materials and geometry of the methanation reactor, operating parameters, cooling system, type of catalyst/support and the initial conditions of the feed. In particular, the generation of hotspots influences the local kinetic reaction in the methanation reactor, the diffusional limits of hydrogen and carbon dioxide inside the catalyst and the chemical-physical characteristics of the catalyst bed. The present work reports a first scale-up of the Sabatier process, developed in Aspen Plus simulation environment, with the following characteristics: reactor size to process 925 Nm3/h, (750 hydrogen and 175 carbon dioxide), at 15 bar and 250 °C. After the implementation in the steady state, a dynamic simulation is performed to carry out a transient study of the entire plant. In particular, the attention is focused on the variation in the hydrogen load, produced by electrolysis from the energy surplus from renewable sources. Considering the variable nature of the power flow supplied to the electrolyser and therefore any shutdown and cold start-up phases of this equipment, the following load variation scenarios for the Power to Gas (PtG) system are simulated: −5%, +5% and −30 % molar flow rate of incoming hydrogen, compared to steady conditions used in the preliminary design of the equipment. The study highlights how the cooled reactor configuration is more performing and characterized by a lower number of reactors in series (2 reactors) when compared to the adiabatic configuration (5 reactors). Furthermore, in the cooled reactor configuration the control system is able to respond more quickly to load variations compared to that designed for the adiabatic case, although the latter is mostly adopted from the industrial viewpoint due to temperature control issues. Moreover, the control system manages to respond to load variations by bringing the values of interest (gas grid residual concentration of hydrogen and carbon dioxide, Wobbe index) into the target intervals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dioxide (CO 2), methane (CH 4) and carbon monoxide (CO) were measured at 10, 50 and 100 m in a tall tower located at El Arenosillo observatory (Southwestern Europe) from December 2021 to December 2022. Depending on the height, hourly averages varied between 418 ± 5 at 100 m and 422 ± 8 μmol mol−1 at 10 m for CO 2 , while CH 4 varied between 1999 ± 30 nmol mol−1 at 100 m and 1986 ± 25 at 10 m and ∼ 102 ± 19 nmol mol−1 for CO. A monthly variation with a common maximum in January–February was obtained while the minimum was found in June for CH 4 and CO, whereas the minimum for CO 2 was in August. The seasonal daily patterns showed a maximum between 5:00 and 10:00 UTC while the minimum was observed at 15:00–18:00 UTC. The daily variations are controlled by atmospheric stability, photochemical activity and vegetation influence, among other factors. The CO 2 gradient was strongly conditioned by the photosynthesis, plant and soil respiration and vertical mixing with peaks higher than 19 × 10−2 μmol mol−1 m−1 at ∼5:00 UTC in spring and autumn. The CH 4 gradient, greater in winter and autumn (12–27 × 10−2 μmol mol−1 m−1) is affected by vertical stability, local emissions and photochemical activity while CO depicted small vertical gradients. A different behavior was found in the CO 2 and CH 4 gradients, for CO 2 the 10–50 m gradient is higher than 50–100 m while CH 4 was the opposite; which could reflect a lower CO 2 surface layer than CH 4. The observations at 100 m registered CO and CH 4 peaks that were not recorded at 10 m, which could be associated with the arrival of a forest fire plume and potential CH 4 fugitive emissions. • CO 2 , CH 4 and CO were measured in a tall tower in Southwestern Europe. • Monthly and daily cycles are modulated by vegetation, vertical stability and photochemistry. • The gradients showed a CO 2 surface layer lower than CH 4. • CO peaks associated to forest fire plumes were recorded. • High levels of CH 4 potentially due to fugitive emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substantial evidences indicate a widespread increase in European vegetation greenness since the 1980s due to CO2 fertilization effects (eCO2) and climate warming, but the impact of this process on the regional terrestrial carbon cycle has not been systematically evaluated. Using empirical models based on eddy covariance and process‐based models, we found that the widespread greening did not contribute to an increase in European carbon uptake (decrease in net ecosystem exchange) with a non‐significant trend from 2000 to 2018. The greening‐associated increase in gross primary productivity (GPP) is offset by the simultaneous increase in ecosystem respiration (TER). Moreover, frequent heatwaves cause stronger reductions in GPP than TER, preventing the increase of carbon uptake. These results reveal the double‐edged sword effect of warming on European ecosystems and will help constrain regional models. Plain Language Summary: In the past decades, elevating CO2 concentration and rising temperature have promoted the photosynthesis of European vegetation, thus increasing the greenness of vegetation. However, whether these processes could promote the ability of terrestrial ecosystems to absorb CO2 still lacks systematic evaluation. By using a variety of advanced vegetation dynamic models, we found that enhanced vegetation growth which absorbed more CO2, but also an enhancement of ecosystem respiration which released more CO2 in Europe during 2000–2018. The offsetting effect of these two processes has resulted in non‐significant trend in the European net CO2 uptake. In addition, the extremely high temperature events (heatwaves) frequently occurred in Europe in recent years, which have caused vegetation damage or even death, triggered forest fires, etc., thereby severely inhibited the carbon sink capacity of the terrestrial ecosystem. Key Points: CO2 fertilization effect and climate warming have led to greening of Europe, but it has not promoted an increase in ecosystem carbon uptakeThe increase in gross primary productivity related to greening is offset by the increase in ecosystem respirationFrequent European heatwaves also caused significant losses in the regional ecosystem carbon uptake [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct air capture with CO 2 storage (DACCS) is among the carbon dioxide removal (CDR) options, with the largest gap between current deployment and needed upscaling. Here, we present a geospatial analysis of the techno-economic performance of large-scale DACCS deployment in Europe using two performance indicators: CDR costs and potential. Different low-temperature heat DACCS configurations are considered, i.e., coupled to the national power grid, using waste heat and powered by curtailed electricity. Our findings reveal that the CDR potential and costs of DACCS systems are mainly driven by (i) the availability of energy sources, (ii) the location-specific climate conditions, (iii) the price and GHG intensity of electricity, and (iv) the CO 2 transport distance to the nearest CO 2 storage location. The results further highlight the following key findings: (i) the limited availability of waste heat, with only Sweden potentially compensating nearly 10% of national emissions through CDR, and (ii) the need for considering transport and storage of CO 2 in a comprehensive techno-economic assessment of DACCS. Finally, our geospatial analysis reveals substantial differences between regions due to location-specific conditions, i.e., useful information elements and consistent insights that will contribute to assessment and feasibility studies toward effective DACCS implementation.

The aim of this paper is to showcase different decarbonization pathways for Europe with varying Carbon dioxide (CO2) constraints until 2050. The Global Energy System Model (GENeSYS-MOD) framework, a linear mathematical optimization model, is used to compute low-carbon scenarios for 17 European countries or regions. The sectors power, lowand high-temperature heating, and passenger and freight transportation are included, with the model endogenously constructing capacities in each period. Emission constraints differ between different scenarios and are either optimized endogenously by the model, or distributed on a per-capita basis, GDP-dependent, or based on current emissions. The results show a rapid phase-in of renewable energies, if a carbon budget in line with established international climate targets is chosen. It can be shown that the achievement of the 2° target can be met with low additional costs compared to the business as usual case, while reducing total emissions by more than 30%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Common ragweed has been spreading as a neophyte in Europe. Elevated CO2 levels, a hallmark of global climate change, have been shown to increase ragweed pollen production, but their effects on pollen allergenicity remain to be elucidated. Methods: Ragweed was grown in climate‐controlled chambers under normal (380 ppm, control) or elevated (700 ppm, based on RCP4.5 scenario) CO2 levels. Aqueous pollen extracts (RWE) from control‐ or CO2‐pollen were administered in vivo in a mouse model for allergic disease (daily for 3‐11 days, n = 5) and employed in human in vitro systems of nasal epithelial cells (HNECs), monocyte‐derived dendritic cells (DCs), and HNEC‐DC co‐cultures. Additionally, adjuvant factors and metabolites in control‐ and CO2‐RWE were investigated using ELISA and untargeted metabolomics. Results: In vivo, CO2‐RWE induced stronger allergic lung inflammation compared to control‐RWE, as indicated by lung inflammatory cell infiltrate and mediators, mucus hypersecretion, and serum total IgE. In vitro, HNECs stimulated with RWE increased indistinctively the production of pro‐inflammatory cytokines (IL‐8, IL‐1β, and IL‐6). In contrast, supernatants from CO2‐RWE‐stimulated HNECs, compared to control‐RWE‐stimulated HNECS, significantly increased TNF and decreased IL‐10 production in DCs. Comparable results were obtained by stimulating DCs directly with RWEs. The metabolome analysis revealed differential expression of secondary plant metabolites in control‐ vs CO2‐RWE. Mixes of these metabolites elicited similar responses in DCs as compared to respective RWEs. Conclusion: Our results indicate that elevated ambient CO2 levels elicit a stronger RWE‐induced allergic response in vivo and in vitro and that RWE increased allergenicity depends on the interplay of multiple metabolites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric inversions are used to derive constraints on the net sources and sinks of CO 2 and other stable atmospheric tracers from their observed concentrations. The resolution and accuracy that the fluxes can be estimated with depends, among other factors, on the quality and density of the observational coverage, on the precision and accuracy of the transport model used by the inversion to relate fluxes to observations, and on the adaptation of the statistical approach to the problem studied. In recent years, there has been an increasing demand from stakeholders for inversions at higher spatial resolution (country scale), in particular in the framework of the Paris agreement. This step up in resolution is in theory enabled by the growing availability of observations from surface in situ networks (such as ICOS in Europe) and from remote sensing products (OCO-2, GOSAT-2). The increase in the resolution of inversions is also a necessary step to provide efficient feedback to the bottom-up modeling community (vegetation models, fossil fuel emission inventories, etc.). However, it calls for new developments in the inverse models: diversification of the inversion approaches, shift from global to regional inversions, and improvement in the computational efficiency. In this context, we developed LUMIA, the Lund University Modular Inversion Algorithm. LUMIA is a Python library for inverse modeling built around the central idea of modularity: it aims to be a platform that enables users to construct and experiment with new inverse modeling setups while remaining easy to use and maintain. It is in particular designed to be transport-model-agnostic, which should facilitate isolating the transport model errors from those introduced by the inversion setup itself. We have constructed a first regional inversion setup using the LUMIA framework to conduct regional CO 2 inversions in Europe using in situ data from surface and tall-tower observation sites. The inversions rely on a new offline coupling between the regional high-resolution FLEXPART Lagrangian particle dispersion model and the global coarse-resolution TM5 transport model. This test setup is intended both as a demonstration and as a reference for comparison with future LUMIA developments. The aims of this paper are to present the LUMIA framework (motivations for building it, development principles and future prospects) and to describe and test this first implementation of regional CO 2 inversions in LUMIA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks, within the extended framework of the so-called environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), to analyse the nonlinear effect of economic growth and energy consumption on environmental pollution (measured by CO2 emissions) in 30 countries, over the period 2000 – 2018. The panel smooth transition regression (PSTR) model is used to allow such a relationship between variables in different economic regimes to be determined. According to the analysis results, this study strengthens the idea that the relationship can be described as a shaped business cycle, in which economic growth first increases environmental degradation, and then, after a certain growth (income) level has been reached, reduces it. This business cycle relationship suggests that environmental improvements will eventually occur as economies grow. Another implication of these results is the importance of using energy in a greener way to combat climate change and to sustain economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We examine the effects of Environmental Innovations on CO 2 Emissions for 15 UE countries. • We use an ARDL model based on data covering the period 1991–2014. • Our results highlight that in the long-term environmental innovations tend to lower CO 2 emissions. • In the short-term the observed effect is the opposite, suggesting the existence of a rebound effect. • Several orientations in terms of public policies can be drawn up in the light of these results. Environmental innovations are key enablers of transition towards greener economies. Despite their importance, empirical studies examining the effect of green technologies on CO 2 emissions are still limited. Using an autoregressive distributed-lag model (ARDL), we analyze the impact of environmental innovations, the consumption of renewable energies, GDP per capita, and degree of economic openness on CO 2 emissions for 15 European countries over 23 years. Our results indicate that, in the long-term, environmental innovations tend to lower CO 2 emissions, whereas in the short-term the observed effect is the opposite, suggesting the existence of a rebound effect. This study recommends introducing new policies that combine tools of environmental economics with those of ecological economy to integrate economic incentives with regulatory changes and encourage individuals to consume differently by favouring products and/or services with a less negative impact on the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport is a key element of carbon dioxide (CO 2) capture, transport, and storage (CCTS) supply chains. Early movers, particularly inland emitters (e.g., in continental Europe), do not yet have access to a fully developed CO 2 network infrastructure connecting them with the offshore storage hubs (e.g., in the European northern seas, as these belong to the first wave of storage infrastructure that will be developed in Europe). Therefore, specific source-to-sink CCTS supply chains combining and integrating different transport options must be developed and deployed first. In this work we analyse such transport options, which include (i) tank containers that can be transported by trucks, trains, barges, or ships, (ii) dedicated tanks permanently integrated into trucks, trains, barges, or ships, and (iii) pipelines. We develop general and portable methods, criteria, and correlations to determine the cost of transport through any given connection between two nodes in a CO 2 network infrastructure, using any of the modes of transport above, as a function of distance and capacity. In particular, the correlations are based on real data collected through interviews with service providers and stakeholders. Based on the associated techno-economic assessment and the consideration of additional performance indicators of a more holistic nature, we carry out a multi-criteria assessment of the different transport options. Such multi-criteria approach allows for a holistic and transparent comparative assessment of the different alternatives for a whole CCTS supply chain, as illustrated with reference to a very specific connection. • Identification of CO 2 transport solutions at different technology readiness levels. • Solutions to transport CO 2 from inland emitters to storage sites already exist today. • Techno-economic analysis based on data from current industrial providers. • Multi-criteria comparative assessment of the CO 2 transport options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Investigation of GHG pollutants persistence in Europe and major economic areas. • Mean reversion properties and the integration factor is examined for CO2, CH4, and NO2 (2000-2021) • Empirical evidence of mean reversion in CO2 emissions across all countries. • CH4 and NO2 show reduced persistence and not all countries exhibit mean reversion properties. • These empirical findings highlight policy progress, but underscore the need for further efforts. This paper investigates the persistence of GHG in Europe, evaluating the effectiveness of government policies, including the Kyoto Protocol and the EU Council commitment. Mean reversion properties, and the structure of the integration factor were examined to determine the degree of persistence across markets and assess policy effectiveness. The analysis focuses on CO 2 , CH 4 , and NO 2 pollutants, with monthly data starting in January 2000 and ending in December 2021 from major European countries, and the US, Japan, Brazil, China, and India for comparison purposes. Empirical results show clear evidence of mean reversion in CO 2 emissions observed across all countries, indicating certain degrees of stabilization. Similar patterns are seen for CH 4 , and NO 2 , observing reduced persistence of these pollutants; however not all countries exhibit mean reversion properties. Thus, these findings highlight policy progress in stabilizing GHG emissions, particularly for CO 2 , but underscore the need for further efforts to achieve a substantial emissions reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Environmental impact was modelled of 25 polymers and 10 recycling technologies. • Results for some polymers challenge the existing plastic recycling hierarchy. • Sorting and cleaning is most crucial for engineering and high performance plastics. • Through case studies, the model is applied to existing recycling challenges. • On an European scale, most CO 2 reduction is obtained through polyolefin recycling. To ensure a circular economy for plastics, insights in the environmental impacts of recycling and optimal recycling choices for specific plastic polymers are crucial. This was obtained by determining the environmental performance of 10 selected recycling technologies with varying TRL levels, using the chemical properties of the top 25 produced polymers in Europe. The results were collected in a life cycle assessment (LCA) 'matrix' model. To simulate realistic plastic recycling challenges, case studies of PE/PP foils from municipal waste and ABS plastic with brominated flame retardants were developed, to be used as an addition to the LCA matrix model results. Potential emission reduction was assessed by combining LCA matrix outcomes with European polymer demand data. The LCA matrix model illustrates that potential environmental performance of recycling technologies varied strongly per polymer type and did not always follow the state-of-the-art recycling hierarchy. Commodity plastics performed well with tertiary recycling technologies, such as gasification and pyrolysis to monomers; secondary mechanical recycling was outperformed. A focus on primary recycling is environmentally beneficial for most engineering and high performance plastics. To enhance the performance of primary recycling technologies, a higher purity and improved sorting is required. As demonstrated in the case studies, low sorting efficiencies due to impurities reduces positive environmental impacts. Hence, optimal environmental performance of recycling is obtained where pre-treatment (sorting, cleaning) is adapted to the recycling technology. According to the model, recycling the 15 most demanded polymers in Europe reduces CO 2 emissions from plastics by 73% or 200 Mtonne CO 2 eq. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gearing up for green technology innovation (GTI) and natural resources has become even more important in the transition to a zero-emission life, a green economy, and sustainable development goals. This attempt has become a situation that needs to be overpowered much sooner by the European countries, which have encountered challenges in many ways, especially regarding natural resources, energy supply, and the climate crisis. In this vein, the current study follows the novel, robust Method of Moment Quantile-Regression (MM-QR), which successfully yields heterogeneous information structure across quantiles, to examine the determinants of GTI for 15 EU countries over the period of 2003-2018. MM-QR estimation results indicate that the determinants of green technology innovation are heterogeneous across the EU countries. While green growth (GG) has an adverse impact on GTI in middle- and high-GTI countries, the effect of ecological footprint on GTI is positive for countries in the highest-GTI countries. The positive effects of financial development (FD) on GTI are revealed for all countries. Remarkably, environmental taxes have an adverse and positive influence on GTI in the lowest and highest quantile countries, respectively. Finally, renewable energy and greenfield FDI have no effect on GTI. Governments can promote GTI by providing financial resources, in the most immaculate way, to firms that engage in green technology projects, as well as by encouraging these through environmental taxes., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The Monitoring Framework proposed in the EU27 New Circular Economy Action Plan comprises two mass-based indicators, namely overall recycling rate and recycling rate for specific waste streams. Yet, to monitor and assess the impacts of circular economy, indicators cannot be limited to mass-based indicators; we argue assessments should also include environmental and economic effects. Towards this end, these impacts can be quantified by an advanced model based on life cycle thinking, entailing the use of life cycle assessment and costing (LCA/LCC). Calculating these effects for municipal waste management is challenging due to gaps in available data for estimating generated waste. We propose a methodology to estimate more finely the amounts of waste generated in the Member States, complemented with LCA/LCC. The results highlight that important inconsistencies in municipal waste data reporting exist and that recycling rates calculated from these are lower than hitherto estimated. The impacts quantification shows great performance variation across EU27, with C-footprint ranging from -490 to 539 kg CO 2 -eq. t -1 . Potentials for improvement are substantial and can bring up to 103 Mt CO 2 -eq. additional annual saving, reducing costs (calculated as Full Environmental LCC) of waste management by 8.4 billion EUR and bringing 206,100 new jobs in the sector. The approach presented highlights the rationale for improved data management on waste statistics and the potential for harmonised models. It also paves the way for more sophisticated impact analyses relevant for policymaking, by bringing a richer perspective to the environmental and economic impacts of waste management on top of tracking generated, collected and recycled waste flows., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background and Aims: Digestive endoscopy is a resource-intensive activity with a conspicuous carbon footprint and an estimated rate of inappropriateness. However, the carbon costs of inappropriate endoscopic procedures still remain obscure. Here we evaluated the environmental impact of inappropriate endoscopic examinations., Methods: We calculated the carbon cost of a standard endoscopic procedure (EGD and colonoscopy [CLS]), taking into account the items (eg, disposable materials, personal protective equipment) and energy required for the endoscopy procedure itself and the cleaning process. The rates of inappropriateness and the mortality cost of carbon (MCC) of endoscopic examinations in different scenarios were calculated., Results: EGD and CLS presented a carbon cost of 5.43 kg and 6.71 kg of CO 2 , respectively. Different scenarios were evaluated, according to the number of endoscopic procedures performed in Italy per 1000 inhabitants and the reported data on their inappropriateness. The carbon cost of inappropriate EGD and CLS in Italy was 4133 CO 2 metric tons per year (MCC, .93), ranging from 3527 to 4749, and equivalent to 1,760,446 L of gasoline consumed. Applying the same data to the European population, the estimated carbon footprint of inappropriate digestive endoscopy in Europe was 30,804 metric tons., Conclusions: The environmental impact of inappropriate endoscopic procedures in Europe is remarkable. These results highlight the need to adopt novel strategies aimed at reducing both the carbon footprint of digestive endoscopy and the rate of inappropriate procedures., Competing Interests: Disclosure All authors disclosed no financial relationships. Research support for this study was provided in part by the Italian Ministry of Health–Current Research IRCCS for authors from the Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico-Milano., (Copyright © 2024 American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Carbon dioxide utilization is increasingly attracting interest. CO2 utilization involves a multitude of processes and chemical reactions. In this context, the goal of this review is to analyze the techno‐economic feasibility, sustainability, and social opportunities of CO2 utilization, as a possible contribution to CO2 mitigation in Europe. Industries and the most recent European projects related to carbon capture and utilization are also discussed, illustrating Europe's performance dynamics in science, research, and innovation in this field. The latest developments in CO2 utilization are thus reviewed, including chemicals, mineral carbonation, and biological uses. This study examines a few CO2‐based pathways at high level of maturity covering a wide range of applications, and discusses their current technical feasibility, economic viability, sustainability, and social aspects. They are then evaluated using several indicators to provide a figure of merit, where qualitative results are intended. The mapping and ranking of CO2 utilization pathways may provide a valuable means in prioritizing support and funding to facilitate the development of large‐scale CO2 utilization projects in Europe. Finally, key challenges and opportunities are discussed. The review shows that CO2 utilization may not be a complete solution for Europe, but will support climate change objectives, circular economy, and resource and energy security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European steel industry aims at a CO2 reduction of 80–95% by 2050, ensuring that Europe will meet the requirements of the Paris Agreement. As the reduction potentials of the current steelmaking routes are low, the transfer toward breakthrough‐technologies is essential to reach these goals. Hydrogen‐based steelmaking is one approach to realize CO2‐lean steelmaking. Therefore, the natural gas (NG)‐based direct reduction (DR) acts as a basis for the first step of this transition. The high flexibility of this route allows the gradual addition of hydrogen and, in a long‐term view, runs the process with pure hydrogen. Model‐based calculations are performed to assess the possibilities for injecting hydrogen. Therefore, NG‐ and hydrogen‐based DR models are developed to create new process know‐how and enable an evaluation of these processes in terms of energy demand, CO2‐reduction potentials, and so on. The examinations show that the hydrogen‐based route offers a huge potential for green steelmaking which is strongly depending on the carbon footprint of the electricity used for the production of hydrogen. Only if the carbon intensity is less than about 120 g CO2 kWh−1, the hydrogen‐based process emits less CO2 than the NG‐based DR process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the summer of 2018, a widespread drought developed over Northern and Central Europe. The increase in temperature and the reduction of soil moisture have influenced carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange between the atmosphere and terrestrial ecosystems in various ways, such as a reduction of photosynthesis, changes in ecosystem respiration, or allowing more frequent fires. In this study, we characterize the resulting perturbation of the atmospheric CO2 seasonal cycles. 2018 has a good coverage of European regions affected by drought, allowing the investigation of how ecosystem flux anomalies impacted spatial CO2 gradients between stations. This density of stations is unprecedented compared to previous drought events in 2003 and 2015, particularly thanks to the deployment of the Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) network of atmospheric greenhouse gas monitoring stations in recent years. Seasonal CO2 cycles from 48 European stations were available for 2017 and 2018. Earlier data were retrieved for comparison from international databases or national networks. Here, we show that the usual summer minimum in CO2 due to the surface carbon uptake was reduced by 1.4 ppm in 2018 for the 10 stations located in the area most affected by the temperature anomaly, mostly in Northern Europe. Notwithstanding, the CO2 transition phases before and after July were slower in 2018 compared to 2017, suggesting an extension of the growing season, with either continued CO2 uptake by photosynthesis and/or a reduction in respiration driven by the depletion of substrate for respiration inherited from the previous months due to the drought. For stations with sufficiently long time series, the CO2 anomaly observed in 2018 was compared to previous European droughts in 2003 and 2015. Considering the areas most affected by the temperature anomalies, we found a higher CO2 anomaly in 2003 (+3 ppm averaged over 4 sites), and a smaller anomaly in 2015 (+1 ppm averaged over 11 sites) compared to 2018. This article is part of the theme issue 'Impacts of the 2018 severe drought and heatwave in Europe: from site to continental scale'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric inversions have been used for the past two decades to derive large-scale constraints on the sources and sinks of CO2 into the atmosphere. The development of dense in situ surface observation networks, such as ICOS in Europe, enables in theory inversions at a resolution close to the country scale in Europe. This has led to the development of many regional inversion systems capable of assimilating these high-resolution data, in Europe and elsewhere. The EUROCOM (European atmospheric transport inversion comparison) project is a collaboration between seven European research institutes, which aims at producing a collective assessment of the net carbon flux between the terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere in Europe for the period 2006–2015. It aims in particular at investigating the capacity of the inversions to deliver consistent flux estimates from the country scale up to the continental scale. The project participants were provided with a common database of in situ-observed CO2 concentrations (including the observation sites that are now part of the ICOS network) and were tasked with providing their best estimate of the net terrestrial carbon flux for that period, and for a large domain covering the entire European Union. The inversion systems differ by the transport model, the inversion approach, and the choice of observation and prior constraints, enabling us to widely explore the space of uncertainties. This paper describes the intercomparison protocol and the participating systems, and it presents the first results from a reference set of inversions, at the continental scale and in four large regions. At the continental scale, the regional inversions support the assumption that European ecosystems are a relatively small sink (-0.21±0.2 Pg C yr -1). We find that the convergence of the regional inversions at this scale is not better than that obtained in state-of-the-art global inversions. However, more robust results are obtained for sub-regions within Europe, and in these areas with dense observational coverage, the objective of delivering robust country-scale flux estimates appears achievable in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decades, knowledge about the climate has increased significantly. Climate change today is the subject of many sciences, including meteorology, climatology, geology, geography, geophysics, astronomy, etc. The present predictions with updated meteorological data and with data of the number of particles of CO2 in the troposphere may give satisfying results. Forecasting for industrial grains such as maize, soybean, and wheat will be essential for industry and everyday life. Within the last agreement of climate change in Paris, global temperatures will continuously be increasing by 2100. In this research, we used a synthetic grid with agroclimatological data which comprises predictions until 2100. These data were found in the sub-section called World Clim Version 1 or in the CMIP5 database. After numerical and geospatial GIS analysis, we got the following predictions: (i) slight- no temperature changes or changes including the increase of temperature by 0.5 °C, (ii) moderate- temperature increases by 2.0 °C, (iii) severe- temperature increases by 5.0 °C, and (iv) incredible- temperature increases to extreme values, incase of which the survival of plants will be endangered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study is presented in this paper that examines the effect of environmental innovation (EI) on environmental performance (EP). Six measures are used to reflect environmental innovation, including the percentage of enterprises that invest in environmental innovation, the percentage of enterprises implementing environmental innovation activities, the number of ISO 14001 certificates, patents related to environmental innovation, the total R&D personnel and researchers, and the amount of green early-stage investments. The estimation results show that EI positively impacts EP in 21 European countries using different econometric techniques during the 2011-2019 period. By using various econometric techniques (namely a panel-corrected standard errors (PCSE) model, a feasible generalized least square estimates (FGLS) model, and the two-step general method of moment (the two-step GMM), our research demonstrates how environmental innovation impacts on environmental quality. The short- and long-term effects of autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) methods were also investigated using pooled mean groups (PMGs) to distinguish the short-run and long-run influences of EI. The relationship between EI and EP is explored by demonstrating how EI affects EP short- and long-term and comparing its influence on EP across many component measures of EI: air quality, sanitation, drinking water, heavy metals, waste management, biodiversity, habitat, ecosystem services, water resources, and agriculture. Notably, we find that the influences of EI become more pronounced in a country characterized by a well-developed institutional system. Our findings suggest policy implications to help countries invest in research and development with concerns about environmental damage mitigations more effectively. These findings are critical to suggest a way to help countries pursue ecological sustainability., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The booming fintech industry seeks to revolutionize traditional financial practices, introducing new business models and innovative applications to enhance financial services. However, the widespread adoption of fintech may lead to increased energy consumption, posing environmental challenges. Comprehensive research is essential to understand the impact of fintech on economies, financial culture, and the environment, facilitating informed decision-making to foster sustainable growth in the sector. Therefore, the present research will explore how the fintech industry, green finance, and energy efficiency play their role in energy security and the achievement of a sustainable environment. The current study used data from 2000 to 2020 by employing Fourier autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL), fully modified least squares (FMOLS), and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) econometric techniques to explore how the industrial revolution, environmental protection activities, and energy efficiency affect energy security and the environment across European countries. According to the findings, the fintech sector encourages the use of eco-friendly and energy-efficient technology, which assists in lowering carbon emissions and boosting energy security and efficiency. The outcomes of energy efficiency show a negative relationship with carbon emissions but a considerably positive relationship with energy security. This research shows that green financing has a favorable influence on energy security, and in European nations, green financing drives the majority of investments made for environmental conservation., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

• Two years of eddy covariance CO 2 and CH 4 flux measurements of an Alpine pine peat bog. • Net CO 2 uptake of 24 g m−2 yr−1 in drought-affected year, 84 g m−2 yr−1 in wet year. • CH 4 fluxes follow clear seasonal patterns and strongly depend on soil temperatures. • Summer drought increased R eco and shifted the bog from an annual C sink to a C source. • Variations in weather conditions strongly affect the C cycle of the alpine peat bog. Intact peat bogs are carbon dioxide (CO 2) sinks and methane (CH 4) sources. Facing drought and drainage, they may turn into CO 2 sources and decreased CH 4 sources. Information on the CO 2 and CH 4 exchange of alpine peat bogs in Central Europe has been missing so far. Here, we present data from two years of CO 2 and CH 4 exchange between an alpine low-shrub pine bog in the Eastern Alps and the atmosphere using the eddy covariance method. The annual net CO 2 ecosystem exchange of the peatland differs substantially between the two measurement years, with -24 ± 13 g C m−2 yr−1 for the drought affected first year and -84 ± 13 g C m−2 yr−1 for the more humid second year. We found ecosystem respiration (R eco) to depend on variations in soil temperature and soil moisture, and gross primary production (GPP) to be strongly linked to net radiation and daylength. The summer drought in 2015 shifted the peatland from a C sink to a C source, as increases in R eco clearly exceeded enhanced GPP. Annual CH 4 emission was 4.40 ± 2.40 g C m−2 yr−1 during the drought-affected year and 5.24 ± 2.57 g C m−2 yr−1 during the wetter year. Summer CH 4 fluxes contribute 44% to the annual balance, followed by autumn (27%), spring (20%) and winter season fluxes (9%). CH 4 fluxes most strongly depend on soil temperatures, soil moisture effects increase at smaller time-scales. Annual CH 4 emissions are low compared to other temperate bogs, which most likely is the result of the ongoing degradation, indicated by a shift in vegetation composition. Net flux of both greenhouse gases was positive in the first year (+75 g CO 2 -eq m−2) and negative in the second year (−110 g CO 2 -eq m−2). Our results indicate that drought events and seasonal and interannual variations in temperature and precipitation strongly affect the C cycle of alpine peat bogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Passive remote sensing of atmospheric carbon dioxide uses spectroscopic measurements of sunlight back-scattered by the Earth's surface and atmosphere. The current state-of-the-art retrieval methods use three different spectral bands, the oxygen A band at 0.76 μm and the weak and strong CO2 absorption bands at 1.61 and 2.06 μm, respectively, to infer information on light scattering and the carbon dioxide column-averaged dry-air mole fraction XCO2. In this study, we propose a one-band XCO2 retrieval technique which uses only the 2.06 μm band measurements from the OCO-2 satellite. We examine the data quality by comparing the OCO-2 XCO2 with collocated ground based measurements from the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON). Over land and ocean the OCO-2 one-band retrieval shows differences to TCCON observations with a standard deviation of ~ 1.30 ppm and a station-to-station variability of ~ 0.50 ppm. Moreover, we compare one-band and three-band retrievals over Europe,the Middle East and Africa region and see high correlation between the two retrievals with a SD of 0.93 ppm. Compared to the three-band retrievals, using only the 2.06 μm band similar XCO2 retrieval accuracy and precision can be obtained while retaining a similar data yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We assessed feasibility and safety of extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCO2R) to facilitate ultra-protective ventilation (VT 4 mL/kg and PPLAT ≤ 25 cmH2O) in patients with moderate acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).Methods: Prospective multicenter international phase 2 study. Primary endpoint was the proportion of patients achieving ultra-protective ventilation with PaCO2 not increasing more than 20% from baseline, and arterial pH > 7.30. Severe adverse events (SAE) and ECCO2R-related adverse events (ECCO2R-AE) were reported to an independent data and safety monitoring board. We used lower CO2 extraction and higher CO2 extraction devices (membrane lung cross-sectional area 0.59 vs. 1.30 m2; flow 300-500 mL/min vs. 800-1000 mL/min, respectively).Results: Ninety-five patients were enrolled. The proportion of patients who achieved ultra-protective settings by 8 h and 24 h was 78% (74 out of 95 patients; 95% confidence interval 68-89%) and 82% (78 out of 95 patients; 95% confidence interval 76-88%), respectively. ECCO2R was maintained for 5 [3-8] days. Six SAEs were reported; two of them were attributed to ECCO2R (brain hemorrhage and pneumothorax). ECCO2R-AEs were reported in 39% of the patients. A total of 69 patients (73%) were alive at day 28. Fifty-nine patients (62%) were alive at hospital discharge.Conclusions: Use of ECCO2R to facilitate ultra-protective ventilation was feasible. A randomized clinical trial is required to assess the overall benefits and harms. CLINICALTRIALS.GOV: NCT02282657. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present observing system simulation experiments (OSSEs) to evaluate the impact of a proposed network of ground-based miniaturized laser heterodyne radiometer (mini-LHR) instruments that measure atmospheric column-averaged carbon dioxide (XCO2) with a 1 ppm precision. A particular strength of this passive measurement approach is its insensitivity to clouds and aerosols due to its direct sun pointing and narrow field of view (0.2 ∘). Developed at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), these portable, low-cost mini-LHR instruments were designed to operate in tandem with the sun photometers used by the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET). This partnership allows us to leverage the existing framework of AERONET's global ground network of more than 500 sites as well as providing simultaneous measurements of aerosols that are known to be a major source of error in retrievals of XCO2 from passive nadir-viewing satellite observations. We show, using the global 3-D GEOS-Chem chemistry transport model, that a deployment of 50 mini-LHRs at strategic (but not optimized) AERONET sites significantly improves our knowledge of global and regional land-based CO2 fluxes. This improvement varies seasonally and ranges 58 %–81 % over southern lands, 47 %–76 % over tropical lands, 71 %–92 % over northern lands, and 64 %–91 % globally. We also show significant added value from combining mini-LHR instruments with the existing ground-based NOAA flask network. Collectively, these data result in improved a posteriori CO2 flux estimates on spatial scales of ∼10 km 2 , especially over North America and Europe, where the ground-based networks are densest. Our studies suggest that the mini-LHR network could also play a substantive role in reducing carbon flux uncertainty in Arctic and tropical systems by filling in geographical gaps in measurements left by ground-based networks and space-based observations. A realized network would also provide necessary data for the quinquennial global stocktakes that form part of the Paris Agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper updates the results obtained earlier with the climate model developed at the A.M. Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IAP RAS CM) and describing the impact of atmospheric sulfur dioxide on the terrestrial carbon cycle. Since no global data are available for the near-surface SO2 concentration, a statistical model was used to reconstruct its concentration from appropriate data on surface sulfate concentrations; the coefficients of this model were tuned by using the output of the RAMS-CMAQ atmospheric chemistry and transport model. The results obtained in this study are generally consistent with data reported earlier. Specifically, the most significant SO2 impact on the terrestrial carbon cycle was found to be for southeastern North America and for Europe. However, this impact for southeastern Asia obtained in this study is considerably weaker than the value obtained earlier, which can be explained by the excessive moisture content in the atmosphere used in the IAP RAS CM for this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropical fishkeeping is a popular practice in societies across the globe and involves recreating and sustaining an entire ecosystem in an aquarium within a domestic setting. The process invariably has an environmental impact, yet an assessment of this impact has previously been limited to the ecological consequences of harvesting fish from the wild or the release of non-native fish species. Provided here are the first estimates of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO 2 eq) emissions produced from running a tropical aquarium across multiple countries in Northern Europe (France, Poland and the UK), along with water consumption. Estimates were produced in silico and are discussed in the context of freshwater and marine aquariums, calculated using example aquarium sizes of 50, 200 and 400 l. Using estimates from the UK, depending on size and running conditions, a tropical aquarium produces an estimated 85.3-635.2 kg of CO 2 eq per year, equating to 1.6%-12.4% of the UK annual average household CO 2 emissions, and uses 156-31,200 l of water per year, equating to 0.2%-30.1% of the UK annual average household water usage. Despite this, comparison with the CO 2 eq of an average-size dog (127-1592 kg of CO 2 eq per year) or cat (121-251 kg of CO 2 eq per year), estimated from meat consumption alone, demonstrates that ornamental fishkeeping can be a more environmentally conscious pet choice. In addition, the majority of CO 2 eq produced from tropical fishkeeping is generated from the energy consumption of aquarium equipment and as more national electricity grids begin to decarbonize, this estimate should decrease., (© 2023 The Author. Journal of Fish Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Fisheries Society of the British Isles.)

In Europe, there has been a significant shift in the movement of people and things. Nonetheless, despite the fact that transportation is an important component of the supply chain, its environmental consequences pose a severe threat to the ecosystem as a whole. As a result, we intend to explore the relationship between transportation, economy, and CO2 emissions. We used the Static method with Pooled OLS, then tested the Granger causality to validate the use of dynamic approach via the GMM system. The major findings revealed that GDP and trade openness had a considerable impact on CO2 emissions. Although the three modes of transportation have different effects on CO2 emissions, road density has a positive and considerable impact on CO2 emissions. The railway network is inversely connected to CO2 emissions. While the quantity of flight passengers has no substantial effect on emissions. In terms of the impulse response function, there is an initial shock in period 2 for the response of air passengers carried to CO2 emissions, followed by convergence back to zero in period 6, whereas road density has a slight decrease in period 2 with a post shock peak in period 4, followed by convergence back to zero in period 5. The variance decomposition results reveal a little increase until the fifth period for road density, air passengers, and trade openness with coefficients equal to 0.0893, 0.636, and 1.573, respectively, after which these three variables offer decreasing coefficients., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

This study is based on model results from TF HTAP (Task Force on Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution) phase II, in which a set of source receptor model experiments have been defined, reducing global (and regional) anthropogenic emissions by 20% in different source regions throughout the globe, with the main focus on the year 2010. All the participating models use the same set of anthropogenic emissions. Comparisons of model results to measurements are shown for selected European surface sites and for ozone sondes, but the main focus here is on the contributions to European ozone levels from different world regions, and how and why these contributions differ depending on the model. We investigate the origins by use of a novel stepwise approach, combining simple tracer calculations and calculations of CO and O3. To highlight the differences, we analyse the vertical transects of the midlatitude effects from the 20% emission reductions. The spread in the model results increases from the simple CO tracer to CO and then to ozone as the complexity of the physical and chemical processes involved increase. As a result of non-linear ozone chemistry, the contributions from non-European relative to European sources are larger for ozone compared to the CO and the CO tracer. For annually averaged ozone the contributions from the rest of the world is larger than the effects from European emissions alone, with the largest contributions from North America and eastern Asia. There are also considerable contributions from other nearby regions to the east and from international shipping. The calculated contributions to European annual average ozone from other major source regions relative to all contributions from all major sources (RAIR -- Relative Annual Intercontinental Response) have increased from 43% in HTAP1 to 82% in HTAP2. This increase is mainly caused by a better definition of Europe, with increased emissions outside of Europe relative to those in Europe, and by including a nearby non-European source for external-to-Europe regions. European contributions to ozone metrics reflecting human health and ecosystem damage, which mostly accumulated in the summer months, are larger than for annual ozone. Whereas ozone from European sources peaks in the summer months, the largest contributions from non-European sources are mostly calculated for the spring months, when ozone production over the polluted continents starts to increase, while at the same time the lifetime of ozone in the free troposphere is relatively long. At the surface, contributions from non-European sources are of similar magnitude for all European subregions considered, defined as TF HTAP receptor regions (north-western, south-western, eastern and south-eastern Europe). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]