Sustainable energy transition in developing countries: the role of energy aid donors

Dialogues on global climate policy are increasingly discussing the sustainable energy transition, with Goal 7 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals highlighting the importance of affordable and clean energy. This study looks at foreign aid as a carrier of global climate policy and examines donor behaviour in the energy sector. By examining donor behaviour when giving energy aid, one can grasp how the donor community helps recipients achieve a sustainable energy transition. A panel of donor–recipient pairs, covering 29 donors and 99 recipients, was constructed for the period between 1996 and 2013, using data from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Creditor Reporting System (OECD CRS), International Energy Agency (IEA) and World Development Indicators (WDI). The pair-year panel data were empirically analysed using a two-part model to test whether energy aid donors respond to recipients’ needs with regard to renewable energy and residential electricity. The findings demonstrate that donors respond to recipients’ sustainable energy needs, both renewable and residential, when selecting recipients. Moreover, donors tend to increase the amount of aid based on renewable energy needs. The findings also highlight the significant role of international climate policy, as donors have changed their energy aid-giving patterns since the start of the Kyoto Protocol. Contrary to the common belief in the aid-giving literature, this study shows that, with regard to energy aid, donor interests are more weakly related to recipient selection than are recipient needs.

Key policy insights

• Donors are influenced by the residential energy needs of recipients when giving energy aid, which aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals.

• Donors’ energy aid-giving patterns changed between the periods before and after entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol, highlighting the significant role of international climate change policy.

• Policy makers and aid practitioners can steer donors to continue to allocate resources to the development of recipients’ energy policy and to help recipients prepare institutional structures to attract private investment in sustainable energy.

     

中国台风联防与科研协作及其对中国台风学科发展的作用综述

中国是全球台风灾害最严重的国家之一,也是最早记录台风灾害的国家.加强对台风活动规律的研究,进而研发台风监测预报技术,是提高防台减灾能力的必由之路.中国有组织的台风联防和科研大协作分别始于20世纪50年代及70年代,先后建立了台风会商和科学讨论会等较完备的台风联防及科研协作机制,并沿用至今,取得了丰硕的成果,促进了中国的...     

The whole systems energy injustice of four European low-carbon transitions

The need for multi-scalar analysis of energy and low-carbon systems is becoming more apparent as a way to assess the holistic socioeconomic and environmental impacts of energy transitions across a variety of scales and lifecycle stages. This paper conducts a whole systems energy justice analysis of four European low-carbon transitions—nuclear power in France, smart meters in Great Britain, electric vehicles in Norway, and solar photovoltaic panels in Germany. It asks: in what ways may each of these transitions result in injustices that extend beyond communities and countries, i.e., across the whole system? It utilizes a mixed-methods research design based on 64 semi-structured research interviews with experts across all four transitions, five public focus groups, and the collection of 58 comments from twelve public internet forums to answer this question. Drawing inductively from these data, the paper identifies and analyzes 44 injustices spread across three spatial scales. Micro scale injustices concern immediate local impacts on family livelihood, community health and the environment. Meso scale injustices include national-scale issues such as rising prices for electricity and gas or unequal access to low-carbon technology. Macro scale injustices include global issues such as the extraction of minerals and metals and the circulation of waste flows. The paper then discusses these collective injustices in terms of their spatiality and temporality, before offering conclusions for energy and climate research and policy.     

山谷环流转换的高阶闭合数值模拟及其理论分析

本文利用二维高阶矩湍流闭合的中尺度数值模式,模拟并讨论了孤立地形之上由白天谷风环流系统向夜问山风环流系统转换阶段的流场结构.结果指出,残余加热源激发出的重力内波对环流转换阶段的流场演变起着极其重要的作用,同时亦给出了相应的湍流结构图象.     

Managing the transition to climate stabilization

It is becoming increasingly clear that economically efficient climate policies are unlikely to be implemented in the near term. Therefore an analysis is warranted that considers the implications of certain suboptimal transition policies. This analysis constructs a transition scenario based on realistic assumptions about the current trends in policy-making. The transition is examined in the context of varying assumptions about the stringency of the target and the availability of low- or no-carbon energy technologies in the future. In addition to evaluating the effects of suboptimal policies, the transitional analysis offers new insights about the intrinsic uncertainty regarding both the appropriate stabilization target and technology.     

入侵冷空气强度对台风变性过程的影响

利用WRF中尺度模式对0716号"罗莎"台风的变性过程进行数值试验研究,讨论不同强度的入侵冷空气对台风变性过程的影响,结果表明适当强度冷空气入侵有利于斜压能的积累和释放,是导致台风变性的重要因素,而太强或太弱的冷空气都不利于台风的变性加强。当冷空气减弱时,台风登陆后边界层的热量通量减少,在没有新的能量供给的情况下,台风由于边界层摩擦作用和水汽供应不足而逐渐消散;当入侵冷空气过强时,台风内部会被迅速填塞,暖心变为冷心,从而逐渐消散。     

高分辨率GRAPES-GFS的动能谱及其转折特征分析

大量观测数据的计算表明,在对流层高层和平流层低层,大气动能谱在大尺度的斜率近似为k^-3,到中尺度转换为近似k^-5/3,动能谱的斜率及其转折特征可作为大气运动的基本规律检验数值模式。利用这一特征对GRAPES-GFS全球中期数值预报模式产品进行了检验评估。采用0.25°分辨率GRAPES-GFS模式2013年5月的预报场,分析了模式动能谱的垂直分布及动能谱的辐散分量和旋转分量。结果表明:在对流层高层和平流层低层(225—10 hPa),模式的动能谱曲线能较好地再现大气动能谱从大尺度过渡到中尺度的斜率转折特征,特别是在100 hPa附近动能谱的转折特征比较明显,但是动能谱斜率的绝对值较通常的观测结果(k^-3和k^-5/3)偏大;在大尺度范围,旋转分量在总动能谱中占优,随着波数的增大(尺度的减小)辐散分量逐渐与旋转分量相当甚至超过旋转分量。基于条件极值的思想提出一种计算转折点(拐点)的新方法,该方法能够较准确地计算出动能谱曲线拐点的位置,而且拐点位置随高度的变化与辐散和旋转分量谱交点位置随高度的变化一致。此外,还计算了辐散分量谱的斜率,发现其在中尺度范围内非常接近k^-5/3, 验证了其对总动能谱转折过程中的关键作用。综上,GRAPES-GFS模式能够准确地再现大气动能谱由大尺度到中尺度的斜率转折特征;与旋转分量相比,模式对动能谱辐散分量的描述更为准确,而且模式对旋转分量的较大误差导致了总动能谱的斜率绝对值偏大。     

热带气旋的温带变性过程对中纬度下游环流的影响

用WRF模式对变性台风(TC)马勒卡进行模拟,研究了在台风的变性过程(ET)的作用下中纬度下游环流特别是中纬度急流的发展,对台风的强度及其相对上游槽位置的敏感性。结果表明:TC与中纬度系统的相互作用会使得中纬度急流处的斜压不稳定性增大,急流增强。下游环流的发展对TC强度及TC与西风带上游槽的相对位置非常敏感。若TC增强,TC溢出流作用于中纬度急流,使之不稳定性增强,强度也增强,从而导致中纬度下游急流的强度、范围都增强,下游槽脊更显著。若台风减弱则反之。类似的,若TC靠近上游槽,其对中纬度急流的作用得到进一步加强和提前,急流的不稳定性增加,强度增强,下游的急流和槽脊也得到增强。若TC远离上游槽,则反之。     

The contribution of the land surface energy balance complexity to differences in means, variances and extremes using the AMIP-II methodology

This paper explores the relationship between the complexity of the land surface energy balance parameterization and the simulation of means, variances and extremes in a climate model. We used the BMRC climate model combined with the protocol of AMIP-II to perform six ensemble simulations for each of four levels of surface energy balance complexity. Our results were then compared with other AMIP-II results in terms of the mean, variance and extremes of temperatures and precipitation. In terms of the zonally-averaged mean and the maximum temperatures and precipitation, the surface energy balance complexity did not systematically affect the BMRC climate model results. The zonal minimum temperature was affected by the inclusion of tiling and/or a temporally variable canopy conductance. We found no evidence that surface energy balance complexity affected the globally- or zonally-averaged variances. Some quite large differences were identified in the probability density functions of maximum (10 K) and minimum (4 K) temperature caused by surface tiling and/or the inclusion of a time-varying canopy conductance. With these included, the model simulated a higher probability of cooler minima and warmer maxima and therefore a different diurnal temperature range. Adding interception of precipitation led to an increase in the likelihood of more extreme precipitation. Thus, provided interception, surface tiling and a time-variable stomatal conductance are included in a land surface model, the impact of other uncertainties in the parameterization of the surface energy balance are unlikely to limit the use of climate models for simulating changes in the extremes. Most published results indicating changes to precipitation and temperature extremes due to increasing carbon dioxide are therefore unlikely to be significantly limited by uncertainty in how to parameterize the surface energy balance. Given that the variations in surface energy balance complexity included in our experiments approximates the range included in the AMIP-II models, we conclude that it this is unlikely to explain the differences found between the AMIP-II simulations. This does not mean that AMIP-II differences are not caused to a significant degree by differences in their respective LSMs, rather it limits the potential role of the land surface to non-surface energy balance components, or components (such as carbon) that are not considered here.     

Copper demand,supply, and associated energy use to 2050

To a set of well-regarded international scenarios (UNEP’s GEO-4), we have added consideration of the demand, supply, and energy implications related to copper production and use over the period 2010–2050. To our knowledge, these are the first comprehensive metal supply and demand scenarios to be developed. We find that copper demand increases by between 275 and 350% by 2050, depending on the scenario. The scenario with the highest prospective demand is not Market First (a “business as usual” vision), but Equitability First, a scenario of transition to a world of more equitable values and institutions. These copper demands exceed projected copper mineral resources by mid-century and thereafter. Energy demand for copper production also demonstrates strong increases, rising to as much as 2.4% of projected 2050 overall global energy demand. We investigate possible policy responses to these results, concluding that improving the efficiency of the copper cycle and encouraging the development of copper-free energy distribution on the demand side, and improving copper recycling rates on the supply side are the most promising of the possible options. Improving energy efficiency in primary copper production would lead to a reduction in the energy demand by 0.5% of projected 2050 overall global energy demand. In addition, encouraging the shift towards renewable technologies is important to minimize the impacts associated with copper production.     

Maintenance and development of the Ural high and its contribution to severe cold wave activities in winter 2020/21

2020年底至2021年初,连续两次强寒潮入侵中国东部地区,导致大范围强降温.本文研究这两次寒潮的特征和形成机理.主要结果如下:从2020年12月中旬到2021年1月中旬,乌拉尔山地区维持一宽阔的高压脊.脊前北风的维持和加强导致局地斜压性增加,导致下游横槽槽底等高线梯度加大,冷平流加强,西伯利亚高压加强和向南扩张.准定...     

Change and transition: the climate of Ukraine's agri-food sector

The agri-food sector has contributed significantly to climate change, but has an important role to play in climate change mitigation and adaptation. The agri-food sector has many potential win–win–win strategies that benefit mitigation and adaptation, and also deliver gains in rural income and land management. Post-Soviet transition economies provide a good model for understanding some of the barriers to adaptation and mitigation in the agri-food sector, due to their significant unmet agricultural potential combined with inefficient energy use. Ukraine is used as a case study to explore the barriers and bridges to addressing climate change in a post-Soviet state. A variety of stakeholders and farmers were interviewed about mitigation and adaptation and the current response capacity. Grounded theory analysis revealed themes that are perceived to function as barriers including: pandering, oligarchs and market interventions; corruption and transparency; and survival, freedom and law enforcement. Foreign involvement and investment emerged as a bridge to overcoming these barriers. The results indicate that significant progress in climate mitigation and adaptation in the agri-food sector in Ukraine will only be achieved if some of the wider political and social issues facing the country can be addressed.

Policy relevance

Ukraine has considerable potential for both agricultural production and climate change mitigation; however, this potential can only be met by identifying and addressing barriers currently impeding progress. This article found that barriers to effective climate change are perceived to stem from wider post-Soviet transition issues. These wider issues need to be addressed during the implementation of climate policy since they are viewed to be important by a wide variety of stakeholders. International negotiations have provided little incentive for Ukraine to achieve effective mitigation, and corrupt practices further impair mitigation projects. In addition, export quotas currently function as a maladaptive climate policy and reduce both farmers' capacity in Ukraine and international food security. Meanwhile, foreign involvement, not just financial investment, but also the investment of ideas can provide a bridge to effective climate policy. The international community needs to provide a legal framework and assist Ukraine in adopting transparent processes in order to successfully execute climate policy.     

Triggering the low-carbon transition in the aftermath of the global financial crisis

An assessment of the post-Kyoto climate change negotiations, and the altered role of climate finance post-financial crisis, is presented. First, the paradigm shift of the Cancun Agreements is examined from an historical perspective and it is shown that the impasse in the negotiations, caused by the underlying over-emphasis on burden sharing reductions in emissions, can be overcome. Second, using information from two modelling exercises, it is demonstrated how climate finance can encourage the decoupling of carbon emissions from economic growth and thereby help align the development pattern with global climate goals. Third, a framework to place carbon finance within current discussions is sketched regarding both the reformation of the world financial systems and the facilitation of a sustainable economic recovery that is beneficial for North and South while addressing the low-carbon transition. It is concluded that upgrading climate finance is the key to triggering the shift to a low-carbon society and a system is proposed in which an agreed social cost of carbon is used to support the establishment of carbon emissions certificates to reorient a significant portion of global savings towards low-carbon investments.

Policy relevance

Investments that align development and climate objectives are shown to substantially lower the social cost of carbon and deliver long-term carbon emissions reductions. These reductions are greater than those contributed by the sole carbon price signal generated by a world cap-and-trade system. Carbon finance, as a part of the broader reform of financial systems and overseas aid, can help overcome the dual adversity of climate and financial crisis contexts. The carbon certificate, with an upfront agreed social cost of carbon, can be used as its instrument. The portion of the banking system that intends to reorient a significant part of world savings towards low-carbon investments could thus issue such carbon certificates. By giving carbon assets the status of a reserve currency, the system could even respond to the need of emerging countries to diversify their foreign exchange reserves and trigger a wave of worldwide sustainable growth through infrastructure markets.     

Henry's law coefficients of formic and acetic acids

The Henry's law constants, K _H, of dilute aqueous formic and acetic acids were determined experimentally as a function of concentration and temperature using a new counterflow packed-column technique. K _H was found to be (8.9±1.3)×10³ and (4.1±0.4)×10³ M atm^-1 at 25°C for HCOOH and CH₃COOH, respectively. The reaction enthalpies, H, were found to be –51±2 kJ mol^-1 and –52±1 kJ mol^-1 for formic and acetic acid, respectively. These are in good agreement with calculated thermochemical values.Whereas the K _H values are in reasonably good agreement with certain other experimentally determined values, K _H (HCOOH) is two to three times higher than calculated thermochemical values while K _H (CH₃COOH) is lower than the two calculated values.The best experimental values appear to be (11±2)×10³ M atm^-1 and (7±3)×10³ M atm^-1 for HCOOH and CH₃COOH, respectively.     

泰来县风能资源调查报告

在再生资源中,风能的作用越来越受到人们的重视。目前,利用风能发电的国家约50多个,我国风力资源居世界第一,但风能发电发展相对落后,如何合理利用风能这一再生能源,在煤炭、石油资源越来越匮乏的今天,显得越来越重要了,根据泰来县所处的特殊地理位置,就泰来县风能资源做了进一步调查,调查报告如下。泰来县地处嫩江平原西南部与大兴安岭东麓相接,受东亚西风带影响区,使这一地区出现风速大,气温高,干燥的气候特点,是同一纬度区域中风能资源丰富区,有利于风能的开发。1泰来县风速的分布状况据统计泰来县近30a(1975￣2005年)风速,结果表明:泰来…     

近60a来南京季节变化特征分析

利用1951年1月-2010年12月南京市逐日气温观测资料,依据张宝堃应用候平均气温稳定通过某一临界值划分四季的标准,建立了近60 a南京的季节平均气温的时间序列,分析了近60a南京春、夏、秋、冬四季开始、结束及持续时间的变化特征,给出了季节气温的变化趋势以及候平均与入季时间、季节持续时间的相关分析.结果表明:近60a,南京入冬时间推迟,入夏时间提前.冬季变短,缩短的平均速率为2.9 d/10a;夏季变长,增加的平均速率为4.1d/10a;秋季变短,缩短的平均速率为1.5d/10a;春季略有些变长.南京冬、春季平均气温升高,且冬季气温升高更为显著,而夏、秋季平均气温下降,秋季气温下降略明显于夏季.冬季最低气温有升高的趋势,夏季最高气温与年较差有下降的趋势.春季入季时间与春季的平均气温成正相关,而秋季的入季时间与秋季平均气温成负相关;夏季的平均最低气温和平均气温与夏季的长度成负相关,冬季的平均最高气温和冬季的长度成正相关.     

Seeking a handle on climate change: Examining the comparative effectiveness of energy efficiency improvement and renewable energy production in the United States

This study examines the comparative effectiveness of two important proposed solutions to climate change—energy efficiency improvement and the development and use of renewable energy sources. We focus specifically on their impacts on carbon dioxide emissions by conducting fixed effects regression analysis of panel data pertaining to U.S. states. The analysis reveals a negative relationship between both remedies and carbon dioxide emissions. Although the effects of these potential solutions are statistically equivalent, renewable energy production has a slight edge. Reflecting upon these findings and the larger environmental problem, we caution against exclusive reliance on efficiency improvement and renewable energy to the neglect of other important actions, such as lifestyle modifications. A broad range of social changes, which incorporate the remedies investigated in this paper, are needed to limit long-term global temperature increases to the desired level.     

Environmental benefits of circular economy approach to use of cobalt

Cobalt is an important critical material and a constituent of a broad range of products such as batteries, electronics, superalloys, and hard metals. Effective recycling of cobalt is considered one of the most pivotal processes in alleviating its criticality. In this paper, using the dynamic modelling of material, energy, and water flows in cobalt supply chain, we show that by 2050 around 25% of the total demand for cobalt could be supplied by recycling. Our results indicate that, compared to the primary production of cobalt, its recycling might lead to a reduction of energy consumption by 46% associated with the global cobalt supply chain and the corresponding fall in the use of water by 40%. In addition, recycling of cobalt is estimated to mitigate around 59% of the total emissions of greenhouse gases and 98% of the total emissions of sulfur oxides. Finally, we present the regionally distributed projections of cobalt-related energy and water use from 2020 to 2050.     

Seasonal Transition Features of Large-Scale Moisture Transport in the Asian-Australian Monsoon Region

Using NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data for the period of 1957-2001, the climatological seasonal transition features of large-scale vertically integrated moisture transport （VIMT） in the Asian-Australian monsoon region are investigated in this paper. The basic features of the seasonal transition of VIMT from winter to summer are the establishment of the summertime ＂great moisture river＂ pattern （named the GMR pattern） and its eastward expansion, associated with a series of climatological events which occurred in some ＂key periods＂, which include the occurrence of the notable southerly VIMT over the Indochina Peninsula in mid March, the activity of the low VIMT vortex around Sri Lanka in late April, and the onset of the South China Sea summer monsoon in mid May, among others. However, during the transition from summer to winter, the characteristics are mainly exhibited by the establishment of the easterly VIMT belt located in the tropical area, accompanied by some events occurring in ＂key periods＂. Further analyses disclose a great difference between the Indian and East Asian monsoon regions when viewed from the meridional migration of the westerly VIMT during the seasonal change process, according to which the Asian monsoon region can be easily divided into two parts along the western side of the Indochina Peninsula and it may also denote different formation mechanisms between the two regions.     

生态科学研究的新进展

生态科学与资源开发、环境保护以及经济发展密不可分,并表现出了一系列的新特点.在研究对象、研究方法、研究思路、研究的深度与广度等方面发生了一系列的变化,如理论研究系统化、研究对象复杂化、研究方法丰富化、研究时效长期化、研究尺度多样化、研究目的实用化、研究过程可视化与数字化、研究手段模型化和定量化.随着科学理念的深入,生态科学将为低碳环保、城市规划、应对气候变化以及可持续发展提供理论支撑与科学方法.