Alternative climate policy pathways in the US

Although it is likely that the political–economic coalition required for implementing a federal cap-and-trade programme for GHGs in the US is now sufficiently strong, the structural impediments that have prevented its legislative passage remain impressively durable and can be expected to continue to lay waste to congressional proposals for the foreseeable future. Indeed, given the complex history of environmental policy gridlock in Washington since the early 1980s, any expectations that a cap-and-trade programme could have been realistically achieved through the traditional legislative passage in Congress are fundamentally misplaced. Building on previous research, it is argued that – as with most other forms of environmental policy in the US over the past three decades – a national carbon market is more plausible given alternative policy pathways, which if taken are capable of circumventing the Federal Congress altogether. In particular, the interaction between litigation against the federal government and the ‘rulemaking’ authority possessed by the Executive Branch provides the potential space for the current administration to unilaterally establish a model rule for a national carbon-trading programme.

Policy relevance

This article aims to contribute to American climate policy debates by re-thinking the policy mechanisms most capable of establishing a national carbon market in the US. By taking into account the array of structural factors that have prevented the legislative passage of such a programme in federal Congress, a range of alternative policy ‘pathways’ is considered that have historically allowed progressive environmental policies to endure in Washington (despite increased Congressional gridlock over the past few decades). Two specific alternative strategies and the relationship between them are assessed: the use of litigation to impose legal obligations on federal agencies to regulate effluents, and the use of executive authority to define the nature and scope of environmental regulation. The administration's current potential to unilaterally develop a model-rule for a cap-and-trade programme under the Clean Air Act is emphasized, and the political implications of such a strategy are considered.     

Slovenia's climate policy efforts: CO2 tax and implementation of EU ETS

Slovenia is required to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to an average of 8% below the base year 1986 in the period 2008–2012, due to the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol in 2002. It was the first of the transition countries to implement a CO₂ tax in 1997. At the beginning of 2005, Slovenia joined other EU Member States by implementing the Emissions Trading Scheme. In contrast with other new EU Member States, Slovenia will be a net buyer of allowances. Therefore future movements on the emissions market will play an important role in the compliance costs of achieving the Kyoto target. The main purpose of this article is to present the establishment and characteristics of the first national allocation plan (NAP1) and to describe the main elements of the second national allocation plan (NAP2) for Slovenia within the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, the expected movements on the emissions allowances market in Slovenia, the expected compliance cost of achieving the Kyoto target and to present the main characteristics and efficiency of the CO₂ tax in Slovenia.     

Implications of early action for JI baselines

Abstract

This article discusses possible implications of early Joint Implementation (JI) action. Some projects which would otherwise be non-additional during the first commitment period, can become additional by implementing them before 2008 through early JI. For example, several environmental investments that will be mandatory under the European Union (EU) Acquis Communautaire as of, e.g. 2008 or 2010 could be carried out earlier than that with early JI action. As such, candidate countries could partly finance the accession process through JI credits and their environmental standards would earlier be in line with the Acquis. The theoretical risk that projects would have to follow a slow track if JI parties are not eligible for the fast track is not large for JI hosts that are candidate for EU membership.     

Commitments through financial options: an alternative for delivering climate change obligations

Governments willing to commit themselves to maintain carbon prices at or above a certain level face the challenge that their commitments need to be credible both for investors in low-carbon technology and for foreign governments. This article argues that governments can make such commitments by issuing long-term put option contracts on the price of CO₂ allowances. This mechanism gives investors the right, but not the obligation, to sell allowances to the government at the strike price. From the investors' point of view, a government is therefore fully committed to a price floor for allowances in the future. This proposed approach alters the incentives that a government faces when considering noncompliance and serves to prevent non-compliance. The proposal fares well when assessed against criteria to determine its suitability in legitimacy, enforcement, proportionality, lack of interference from other contracting States, and transparency. It also allows for fine-tuning through the number and duration of issued options and the strike price. A robust contract structure is proposed to protect against government interference that might threaten the credibility of commitments.     

用于风电场功率预测的逐时风速预报

为满足风电场精细化风速预报的需要,利用MM5模式的格点输出数值预报产品以及福建沿海地区两座海上测风塔的逐时气象资料,采用逐步回归的统计方法,将MM5数值预报产品与测风塔实测气象资料要素指标值共同引入回归方程,拟合两座测风塔特定高度的逐小时风速预报方程,详细介绍了该方法的实现过程.通过一年的预报效果指标以及15日的独立样本效果检验,结果表明该方法对于逐小时风速的预报有一定的应用价值.     

Time‐series high‐resolution spectroscopy and photometry of ε Aurigae from 2006–2013: Another brick in the wall

We present continuous and time‐resolved R = 55 000 optical échelle spectroscopy of ε Aurigae from 2006–2013. Data were taken with the STELLA Echelle Spectrograph of the robotic STELLA facility at the Observatorio del Teide in Tenerife. Contemporaneous photometry with the Automatic Photoelectric Telescopes at Fairborn Observatory in Arizona is presented for the years 1996–2013. Spectroscopic observations started three years prior to the photometric eclipse and are still ongoing. A total of 474 high‐resolution échelle spectra are analyzed and made available in this paper. We identify 368 absorption lines of which 161 lines show the characteristic sharp disk lines during eclipse. Another 207 spectral lines appeared nearly unaffected by the eclipse. From spectrum synthesis, we obtained the supergiant atmospheric parameters T_eff = 7395 ± 70 K, log g ≈ 1, and [Fe/H] = +0.02 ± 0.2 with ξ_t = 9 km s^–1, ζ_RT = 13 km s^–1, and v sin i = 28 ± 3 km s^–1. The residual average line broadening expressed in km s^–1 varies with a period of 62.6 ± 0.7 d, in particular at egress and after the eclipse. Two‐dimensional line‐profile periodograms show several periods, the strongest with ≈110 d evident in optically thin lines as well as in the Balmer lines. Center‐of‐intensity weighted radial velocities of individual spectral lines also show the 110‐d period but, again, additional shorter and longer periods are evident and are different in the Balmer lines. The two main spectroscopic Hα periods, ≈ 116 d from the line core and ≈ 150 d from the center‐of‐intensity radial velocities, appear at 102 d and 139 d in the photometry. The Hβ and Johnson V I photometry on the other hand shows two well‐defined and phase‐coherent periods of 77 d and 132 d. We conclude that Hα is contaminated by changes in the circumstellar environment while the Hβ and V I photometry stems predominantly from the non radial pulsations of the F0 supergiant. We isolate the disk‐rotation profile from 61 absorption lines and found that low disk eccentricity generally relates to low disk rotational velocity (but not always) while high disk eccentricity always relates to high velocity. There is also the general trend that the disk‐absorption in spectral lines with higher excitation potential comes from disk regions with higher eccentricity and thus also with higher rotational velocity. The dependency on transition probability is more complex and shows a bi‐modal trend. The outskirts of the disk is distributed asymmetrically around the disk and appears to have been built up mostly in a tail along the orbit behind the secondary. Our data show that this tail continues to eclipse the F0 Iab primary star even two years after the end of the photometric eclipse. High‐resolution spectra were also taken of the other, bona‐fide, visual‐binary components of ε Aur (ADS 3605BCDE). Only the C‐component, a K3‐4‐giant, appears at the same distance than ε Aur but its radial velocity is in disagreement with a bound orbit. The other components are a nearby (≈ 7 pc) cool DA white dwarf, a G8 dwarf, and a B9 supergiant, and not related to ε Aur. The cool white dwarf shows strong DIB lines that suggest the existence of a debris disk around this star. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Preliminary Analysis of Photometric Variations of the Central Star of the Planetary Nebula Sh 2-71

We confirm the presence of regular UBV(RI)_C light variations of the object in the center of the planetary nebula Sh 2-71, with an improved period of P = 68.132 ± 0.005 days. The shapes and amplitudes of light curves, in particular colours, are briefly discussed.     

On the Multiplicity of the O-Star Cyg OB2 #8a and its Contribution to the γ-ray Source 3EG J2033+4118

We present the results of an intensive spectroscopic campaign in the optical waveband revealing that Cyg OB2 #8A is an O6+O5.5 binary system with a period of about 21.9 days. Cyg OB2 #8A is a bright X-ray source, as well as a non-thermal radio emitter. We discuss the binarity of this star in the framework of a campaign devoted to the study of non-thermal emitters, from the radio waveband to γ-rays. In this context, we attribute the non-thermal radio emission from this star to a population of relativistic electrons, accelerated by the shock of the wind-wind collision. These relativistic electrons could also be responsible for a putative γ-ray emission through inverse Compton scattering of photospheric UV photons, thus contributing to the yet unidentified EGRET source 3EG J2033+4118. Based partly on data Obtained at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence, France.