Multidecadal simulation of coastal fog with a regional climate model

In order to model stratocumulus clouds and coastal fog, we have coupled the University of Washington boundary layer model to the regional climate model, RegCM (RegCM-UW). By comparing fog occurrences observed at various coastal airports in the western United States, we show that RegCM-UW has success at modeling the spatial and temporal (diurnal, seasonal, and interannual) climatology of northern California coastal fog. The quality of the modeled fog estimate depends on whether coast-adjacent ocean or land grid cells are used; for the model runs shown here, the oceanic grid cells seem to be most appropriate. The interannual variability of oceanic northern California summertime fog, from a multi-decadal simulation, has a high and statistically significant correlation with the observed interannual variability (r = 0.72), which indicates that RegCM-UW is capable of investigating the response of fog to long-term climatological forcing. While RegCM-UW has a number of aspects that would benefit from further investigation and development, RegCM-UW is a new tool for investigating the climatology of coastal fog and the physical processes that govern it. We expect that with appropriate physical parameterizations and moderate horizontal resolution, other climate models should be capable of simulating coastal fog. The source code for RegCM-UW is publicly available, under the GNU license, through the International Centre for Theoretical Physics.     

Understanding carbon trading: Effects of delegating CO2 responsibility on organizations’ trading behaviour

The establishment of a carbon market assumes that there is an effective means of transforming price information into technical carbon reduction measures. However, empirical evidence reveals that the links between price information and carbon management strategies are far from obvious. To understand how delegating CO₂ responsibility affects CO₂ trading behaviour, this article proposes a neo-institutionalist approach to answering the question of why companies became sellers, buyers or a combination of both during phase I of the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). Original data from a survey on companies that participated in this scheme were collected and analysed. It was assumed that the trading scheme offered two ways to delegate decisions regarding emissions trading: decoupling from technical knowledge and financialization (i.e. delegating to financial departments) or coupling using technicalization (i.e. delegating to manufacturing departments). The results support the hypothesis that a company that adopts a decoupling strategy is more likely to buy certificates to fulfil their emissions targets. Adopting a coupling strategy indicates that a company is more likely to become a seller, all else equal. Professional identity is the theoretical basis for this relationship. Delegating carbon management to different departments represents either a stronger coupling or a stronger decoupling from core technological processes.

Policy relevance

The transaction data from phase I of the EU ETS open new questions and possibilities regarding the reasons that drive selling and buying in companies. It is important to look not only at the traditional sources of transaction costs, but rather also at the reasons for these tensions. One important source is the professional education of the people in charge of the EU ETS. Tailored information that directly addresses the different professional backgrounds of managers working in both financial departments and more technical departments might help to lower these types of transaction costs. In today's context, important emitter countries, such as China and Korea, have launched their own emissions markets, copying many aspects of the EU ETS. For the positive development of these markets and as a way of establishing a global emissions market, these new schemes should learn from the EU ETS experience.     

Threshold of tolerance model: strategy for international travel

The purpose of this research is to investigate what factors influence the management of International Business Air Travel (IBAT). The researchers interviewed 34 business travellers, travel organisers and executives involved in IBAT from ten organisations in differing industries, in Australia. It was found that there are a multitude of factors influencing IBAT management, including professionalism and job satisfaction of travellers and the achievement of organisational goals such as carrying out successful international ventures or operating effectively in international markets. From the findings a strategic model was developed called the Threshold of Tolerance Model—which illustrates the potential point where both organisational goals are most likely to be met and where IBAT is most likely to be well managed for both travellers and organisations.     

Dynamic implication of biomass energy consumption on economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: evidence from panel data analysis

The present article examines the dynamic linkages between biomass energy consumption, capital stock, human capital and economic growth across selected Sub-Saharan African countries based on dynamic heterogeneous panels of a mean group (MG) and pooled mean group (PMG) techniques. The finding based on PMG as the preferred method reveals that biomass energy consumption, capital stock and human capital are statistically significant, which means aforementioned variables have positive significant impact on economic growth in the countries studied. When an alternative panel estimation techniques of panel cointegration, dynamic OLS (DOLS) and fully modified OLS (FMOLS) are applied, the result based on panel cointegration technique reveals that biomass energy consumption, capital stock, human capital and economic growth are cointegrated as null hypothesis of most statistics are rejected at 1 % level of significance. The finding based on FMOLS shows that biomass energy consumption, capital stock and human capital positively influences economic growth at 1 % level and same result is obtained from panel OLS. The result based on DOLS however reveals that biomass energy consumption and capital stock are significant at 1 % on economic growth while human capital is insignificant. Considering its positive effect on economic growth with little or no environmental degradation when compared with fossil fuel uses, consumption of biomass energy is more preferable in these countries therefore is the best option to adopt by the policy makers of Sub-Saharan African countries.     

A literature review of Algerian salt lakes: values,threats and implications

Chotts are salt lakes located in the arid regions of Northern Africa. These unique wetlands are recognized for their role in the migration and breeding of waterbirds and economic values generated from mineral extraction, agriculture and tourist activities. Despite their importance for flora and fauna biodiversity, they continue to face important threats due to human activities. This article consolidates a literature review of Algerian chotts from global to local importance. An in-depth view demonstrates the changes in land use of two large chotts in the southeastern region of Algeria: Chotts Merouane and Melghir. Land use images highlight a net expansion of agricultural lands, a decrease in grazing area around the lakes and a decrease of salt lake surface area. The local focus highlights the threats and changes of Algerian and Northern African chotts and proposes some perspectives for the future.