Study of Factors Affecting Carbon Emissions— Based on an Empirical Analysis of ASEAN

This paper uses a VAR model to empirically analyze the impact of economic growth, financial development, and urbanization on carbon emissions of the ASEAN countries from 2000 to 2013. The empirical results show that economic growth and carbon emissions, and financial development and carbon emissions have unidirectional Granger causality relationships. Economic growth and urbanization will increase carbon emissions, while financial development will reduce carbon emissions during the initial stage but have little impact on carbon emissions over the long term. Economic growth and urbanization are the main variables to forecast the degree of variance of carbon emissions, while financial development is the least important variable to forecast the degree of variance of carbon emissions. Finally, this study puts forward policy suggestions on improving environmental quality as economic growth, financial development and urbanization occur.     

对称和非对称载荷下声发射特征的数值模拟研究

利用自行开发的岩石破裂过程分析RFPA^2D系统，研究了对称载荷和非对称载荷下岩样的破坏过程以及破坏过程中所呈现的声发射特征。数值模拟结果演示两种条件下由微破裂诱致宏观破坏的演化过程以及和微破裂相关的声发射事件源的空间分布特征和事件序列特征。数值模拟结果指出，和对称载荷压缩实验相比，两者的最大区别在于在非对称载荷压缩实验中局部的剪切破坏的发生以及一个更加局部化的声发射事件源分布。从物理意义上讲非对称载荷实验提供了在预定破裂路径下研究脆性破坏的方法，从声发射研究方面来说非对称实验比对称实验能更好地观察声发射事件源的局部化。     

Ambient biogenic hydrocarbons and isoprene emissions from a mixed deciduous forest

Experiments were conducted during the growing season of 1993 at a mixed deciduous forest in southern Ontario, Canada to investigate the atmospheric abundance of hydrocarbons from phytogenic origins, and to measure emission rates from foliage of deciduous trees. The most abundant phytogenic chemical species found in the ambient air were isoprene and the monoterpenes -pinene and -pinene. Prior to leaf-bud break during spring, ambient hydrocarbon mixing ratios above the forest remained barely above instrument detection limit (20 parts per trillion), but they became abundant during the latter part of the growing season. Peak isoprene mixing ratios reached nearly 10 parts per billion (ppbv) during mid-growing season while maximum monoterpene mixing ratios were close to 2 ppbv. Both isoprene and monoterpene mixing ratios exhibited marked diurnal variations. Typical isoprene mixing ratios were highest during mid-afternoon and were lowest during nighttime. Peak isoprene mixing ratios coincided with maximum canopy temperature. The diurnal pattern of ambient isoprene mixing ratio was closely linked to the local emissions from foliage. Isoprene emission rates from foliage were measured by enclosing branches of trees inside environment-controlled cuvette systems and measuring the gas mixing ratio difference between cuvette inlet and outlet airstream. Isoprene emissions depended on tree species, foliage ontogeny, and environmental factors such as foliage temperature and intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). For instance, young (<1 month old) aspen leaves released approximately 80 times less isoprene than mature (>3 months old) leaves. During the latter part of the growing season the amount of carbon released back to the atmosphere as isoprene by big-tooth and trembling aspen leaves accounted for approximately 2% of the photosynthetically fixed carbon. Significant isoprene mixing ratio gradients existed between the forest crown and at twice canopy height above the ground. The gradient diffusion approach coupled with similarity theory was used to estimate canopy isoprene flux densities. These canopy fluxes compared favorably with values obtained from a multilayered canopy model that utilized locally measured plant microclimate, biomass distribution and leaf isoprene emission rate data. Modeled isoprene fluxes were approximately 30% higher compared to measured fluxes. Further comparisons between measured and modeled canopy biogenic hydrocarbon flux densities are required to assess uncertainties in modeling systems that provide inventories of biogenic hydrocarbons.     

近20年来中国能源消费碳排放时空格局动态

CO₂等温室气体引起的全球气候变暖是对人类社会可持续发展的严峻挑战。基于IPCC提供的参考方法,在对中国大陆30个省区(不含西藏)能源消费碳排放量估算的基础上,运用ESTDA框架,通过ESDA、LISA时间路径、时空跃迁和标准差椭圆等方法,从时空耦合的角度分析了1995-2014年中国能源消费碳排放时空格局动态性。结果表明：①近20年来中国省域碳排放具有显著的空间正相关性,碳排放空间差异呈先缩小后扩大的趋势;②LISA时间路径分析显示,中国大部分省区的局部空间结构具有较强的稳定性,1995-2001年和2002-2014年2个时段相对长度都小于平均长度的省区均为18个,大部分南方省区在空间依赖方向上的波动性呈增强趋势,而北方大多数省区则保持相对稳定;③出现协同运动的省区由1995-2001年的13个下降到2002-2014年的10个,表明中国碳排放空间格局具有一定的空间整合性,但呈减弱趋势;④中国省域碳排放的局部空间关联模式和集聚特征具有较强的稳定性,表现为一定的路径依赖或空间锁定特征;⑤碳排放重心在113.739°~114.324°E、34.475°~35.036°N之间变动,整体上有向西北方向移动的趋势。中国碳排放空间分布呈东北—西南格局,且有逐步向正北—正南转变的趋势。中国碳减排的重点是加快发展清洁能源与提高能效并重,优化能源结构和促进各省区产业结构转型,制定差异化的省域碳减排政策,建立碳交易制度。     

Compliance of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol in the first commitment period

This article provides an ex post analysis of the compliance of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol during the first commitment period (2008–2012) based on the final data for national GHG emissions and exchanges in carbon units that became available at the end of 2015. On the domestic level, among the 36 countries that fully participated in the Kyoto Protocol, only nine countries emitted higher levels of GHGs than committed and therefore had to resort to flexibility mechanisms. On the international level – i.e. after the use of flexibility mechanisms – all Annex B Parties are in compliance. Countries implemented different compliance strategies: purchasing carbon units abroad, stimulating the domestic use of carbon credits by the private sector and incentivizing domestic emission reductions through climate policies.

Overall, the countries party to the Protocol surpassed their aggregate commitment by an average 2.4 GtCO₂e yr^–1. Of the possible explanations for this overachievement, ‘hot-air’ was estimated at 2.2 GtCO₂e yr^–1, while accounting rules for land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) further removed 0.4 GtCO₂e yr^–1 from the net result excluding LULUCF. The hypothetical participation of the US and Canada would have reduced this overachievement by a net 1 GtCO₂e yr^–1. None of these factors – some of which may be deemed illegitimate – would therefore on its own have led to global non-compliance, even without use of the 0.3 GtCO₂e of annual emissions reductions generated by the Clean Development Mechanism. The impact of domestic policies and ‘carbon leakage’ – neither of which is quantitatively assessed here – should not be neglected either.

Policy relevance

Given the ongoing evolution of the international climate regime and the adoption of the Paris Agreement in December 2015, we believe that there is a need to evaluate the results of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. To our knowledge there has been no overarching quantitative ex post assessment of the Kyoto Protocol based on the final emissions data for 2008–2012, which became available in late 2015. This article attempts to fill this gap, focusing on the domestic and international compliance of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol in the first commitment period.     

一个基于打靶法的大气污染源反演自适应算法

污染源反演对大气污染预报及控制有重要意义。目前普遍采用的源反演统计方法存在对观测误差、源清单先验估计误差敏感等弱点。基于打靶法思想的各种算法以其精度高、程序简单、实用性强的特点被广泛应用于系统控制领域。本文提出的基于打靶法思想的大气污染源反演自适应算法在精度高、算法简明的基础上弥补了统计方法的不足:能处理源清单中的大误差、初值大误差、观测值在个别时间点的大误差;无需先验分布假设及误差估计。本文还以简单模型的理想试验为例,展示了该自适应算法的计算效果。     

Integrating agriculture and energy to assess GHG emissions reduction: a methodological approach

Agriculture is responsible for approximately 25% of anthropogenic global GHG emissions. This significant share highlights the fundamental importance of the agricultural sector in the global GHG emissions reduction challenge. This article develops and tests a methodology for the integration of agricultural and energy systems modelling. The goal of the research is to extend an energy systems modelling approach to agriculture in order to provide richer insights into the dynamics and interactions between the two (e.g. in competition for land-use). We build Agri-TIMES, an agricultural systems module using the TIMES energy systems modelling framework, to model the effect of livestock emissions and explore emissions reduction options. The research focuses on Ireland, which is an interesting test case for two reasons: first, agriculture currently accounts for about 30% of Ireland's GHG emissions, significantly higher than other industrialized countries yet comparable with global levels (here including emissions associated with other land-use change and forestation); second, Ireland is both a complete and reasonably sized agricultural system to act as a test case for this new approach. This article describes the methodology used, the data requirements, and technical assumptions made to facilitate the modelling. It also presents results to illustrate the approach and provide associated initial insights.

Policy relevance

Most of the policy focus with regard to climate mitigation targets has been on reducing energy-related CO₂ emissions, which is understandable as they represent by far the largest source of emissions. Non-energy-related GHG emissions – largely from agriculture, industrial processes, and waste – have received significantly less attention in policy discourse. Going forward, however, if significant cuts are made in energy-related CO₂ emissions, the role of non-energy-related GHG emissions will grow in importance. It is therefore crucial that climate mitigation analyses and strategies are not limited to the energy system. This article shows the value of using integrated energy and agriculture techno-economic modelling techniques to draw evidence for new comprehensive climate policy strategies able to discern between the full range of technical solutions available. It enables the production of economy-wide least-cost climate mitigation pathways.     

The (ir)relevance of transaction costs in climate policy instrument choice: an analysis of the EU and the US

This article assesses the relevance of ex post transaction costs in the choice of climate policy instruments in the EU (focusing mainly on the example of Germany) and the US. It reviews all publicly available empirical ex post transaction cost studies of climate policy instruments broken down by the main private and public sector cost factors and offers hypotheses on how these factors may scale depending on instrument design and other contextual factors. The key finding from the evaluated schemes is that it is possible to reject the hypothesis that asymmetries in ex post transaction costs across instruments are large and, thus, play a pivotal role in climate policy instrument choice. Both total and relative ex post transaction costs can be considered low. This conjecture differs from the experience in other areas of environmental policy instruments where high total transaction costs are considered to be important factors in the overall assessment of optimal environmental policy choice. Against this background, the main claim of this article is that in climate policy instrument choice, ex post transaction cost considerations play a minor role in large countries that feature similar institutional characteristics as the EU and the US. Rather, the focus should be on the efficiency properties of instruments for incentivizing abatement, as well as equity and political economy considerations (and other societally relevant objectives). In order to inform transaction cost considerations in climate policy instrument choice in countries that adopt new climate policies, more data would be desirable in order to enable more robust estimates of design- and context-specific transaction-cost scaling factors.

Policy relevance

The findings of this study can help inform policy makers who plan to set up novel climate policy instruments. The results indicate that ex post transaction costs play a minor role for large countries that feature similar institutional characteristics as the EU and the US. For instrument design the focus should rather be on efficiency properties of instruments in incentivizing abatement, as well as equity and political economy considerations (and other societally relevant objectives).     

Historical change and future scenarios of sea level rise in Macau and adjacent waters

Against a background of climate change, Macau is very exposed to sea level rise(SLR) because of its low elevation,small size, and ongoing land reclamation. Therefore, we evaluate sea level changes in Macau, both historical and, especially,possible future scenarios, aiming to provide knowledge and a framework to help accommodate and protect against future SLR. Sea level in Macau is now rising at an accelerated rate: 1.35 mm yr-1over 1925–2010 and jumping to 4.2 mm yr-1over 1970–2010, which outpaces the rise in global mean sea level. In addition, vertical land movement in Macau contributes little to local sea level change. In the future, the rate of SLR in Macau will be about 20% higher than the global average, as a consequence of a greater local warming tendency and strengthened northward winds. Specifically, the sea level is projected to rise 8–12, 22–51 and 35–118 cm by 2020, 2060 and 2100, respectively, depending on the emissions scenario and climate sensitivity. Under the +8.5 W m-2Representative Concentration Pathway(RCP8.5) scenario the increase in sea level by2100 will reach 65–118 cm—double that under RCP2.6. Moreover, the SLR will accelerate under RCP6.0 and RCP8.5, while remaining at a moderate and steady rate under RCP4.5 and RCP2.6. The key source of uncertainty stems from the emissions scenario and climate sensitivity, among which the discrepancies in SLR are small during the first half of the 21 st century but begin to diverge thereafter.     

Agricultural production and greenhouse gas emissions from world regions—The major trends over 40 years

Since 1970, global agricultural production has more than doubled with agriculture and land-use change now responsible for ∼1/4 of greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. Yet, while greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per unit of agricultural product have been reduced at a global level, trends in world regions have been quantified less thoroughly. The KPI (Kaya-Porter Identity) is a novel framework for analysing trends in agricultural production and land-use change and related GHG emissions. We apply this to assess trends and differences in nine world regions over the period 1970–2007. We use a deconstructed analysis of emissions from the mix of multiple sources, and show how each is changing in terms of absolute emissions on a per area and per produced unit basis, and how the change of emissions from each source contributes to the change in total emissions over time. The doubling of global agricultural production has mainly been delivered by developing and transitional countries, and this has been mirrored by increased GHG emissions. The decoupling of emissions from production shows vast regional differences. Our estimates show that emissions per unit crop (as kg CO₂-equivalents per Giga Joule crop product), in Oceania, have been reduced by 94% from 1093 to 69; in Central & South America by 57% from 849 to 362; in sub-Saharan Africa by 27% from 421 to 309, and in Europe by 56% from 86 to 38. Emissions per unit livestock (as kg CO₂-eq. GJ⁻¹ livestock product) have reduced; in sub-Saharan Africa by 24% from 6001 to 4580; in Central & South America by 61% from 3742 to 1448; in Central & Eastern Asia by 82% from 3,205 to 591, and; in North America by 28% from 878 to 632. In general, intensive and industrialised systems show the lowest emissions per unit of agricultural production.