Electricity generation and cooling water use: UK pathways to 2050

Thermoelectric generation contributes to 80% of global electricity production. Cooling of thermoelectric plants is often achieved by water abstractions from the natural environment. In England and Wales, the electricity sector is responsible for approximately half of all water abstractions and 40% of non-tidal surface water abstractions. We present a model that quantifies current water use of the UK electricity sector and use it to test six decarbonisation pathways to 2050. The pathways consist of a variety of generation technologies, with associated cooling methods, water use factors and cooling water sources. We find that up to 2030, water use across the six pathways is fairly consistent and all achieve significant reductions in both carbon and water intensity, based upon a transition to closed loop and hybrid cooling systems. From 2030 to 2050 our results diverge. Pathways with high levels of carbon capture and storage result in freshwater consumption that exceeds current levels (37–107%), and a consumptive intensity that is 30–69% higher. Risks to the aquatic environment will be intensified if generation with carbon capture and storage is clustered. Pathways of high nuclear capacity result in tidal and coastal abstraction that exceed current levels by 148–399%. Whilst reducing freshwater abstractions, the marine environment will be impacted if a shortage of coastal sites leads to clustering of nuclear reactors and concentration of heated water discharges. The pathway with the highest level of renewables has both lowest abstraction and consumption of water. Freshwater consumption can also be minimised through use of hybrid cooling, which despite marginally higher costs and emissions, would reduce dependence on scarce water resources thus increase security of supply.     

Does effective climate policy require well-informed citizen support?

Citizen support for climate policies is typically seen as an important criterion in climate policy making. Some studies of climate policy support assume that a significant number of citizens need to be aware of the policies in question and able to provide informed opinions. In this study, we probe this assumption using a web-based survey of residents of the Canadian province of British Columbia (n = 475) by assessing: (1) citizen awareness and knowledge of climate policies, (2) citizen support for different climate policies, (3) the relationship between citizen knowledge and policy support, and (4) the effect of information provision on policy support. Our main finding is that most survey respondents are not aware of any of British Columbia's climate policies, and have little understanding of the potential effect of these on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Once they are made aware of different types of climate policies, respondents are more likely to express support for regulations, such as the zero-emissions electricity standard and energy efficiency regulations, and less likely to support a carbon tax. Statistical analysis indicates that citizen knowledge of policy is not associated with higher policy support. Furthermore, providing information on likely policy effectiveness to our survey respondents did not translate into higher support, suggesting that widespread knowledge and well-informed citizen support are not necessarily required for implementation of effective climate policies.     

Policy innovation in a changing climate: Sources,patterns and effects

States have been widely criticized for failing to advance the international climate regime. Many observers now believe that a “new” climate governance is emerging through transnational and/or local forms of action that will eventually plug the resulting governance gaps. Yet states, which remain oddly absent from most discussions of the “new” governance, will remain key players as governance becomes more polycentric. This paper introduces a special issue that explores the ability of states to rise to these interconnected challenges through the analytical prism of policy innovation. It reveals that policy innovation is much more multi-dimensional than is often thought; it encompasses three vital activities: invention (centering on the ‘source’ of new policy elements), diffusion (that produces different ‘patterns’ of policy adoption), and the evaluation of the ‘effects’ that such innovations create in reality. The papers, which range from qualitative case studies to large ‘n’ quantitative studies, offer new insights into the varied roles that states play in relation to all three.They show, for instance that: the policy activity of states has risen dramatically in the past decade; that state innovation is affected to similar degrees by internal and external factors; and that policies that offer flexibility to target groups on how to meet policy goals are most effective but that voluntary reporting requirements are ineffective. This paper draws upon these and many other insights to offer a much more nuanced reflection on the future of climate governance; one that deservedly puts states at the front and center of analysis.     

Policy invention and entrepreneurship: Bankrolling the burying of carbon in the EU

This article presents the case of a policy invention where various kinds of entrepreneurship and a window of opportunity played important roles. In 2008 the EU adopted a new Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) policy with an inventive funding instrument at its core: the NER 300 fund, based on revenues from the auctioning of emissions trading allowances. Thus far, the literature on policy entrepreneurs has focused more on success factors that enable particular persons to be especially influential than on the defining characteristics of entrepreneurship. We contribute to the literature on entrepreneurship and windows of opportunity by distinguishing two entrepreneurial techniques – framing and procedural engineering – and two categories of commitment – ‘tortoise’ and carpe diem. We conclude that ‘tortoises’ who contributed to creating the broad and general climate policy window paved the way for issue-specific carpe diemers who promoted the more specific NER 300 policy invention. Furthermore, we distinguish and discuss four different entrepreneurship mechanisms that may influence policy invention processes.     

液氮冻结条件下岩石孔隙结构损伤试验研究

液氮温度极低,约在-195.56^-180.44℃之间,当与岩石接触时会对岩石孔隙结构产生损伤。根据这一特点,低温液氮有望作为压裂流体对储层进行压裂改造。为了研究液氮冻结对岩石孔隙结构损伤的影响,选取两种不同砂岩岩样,分别在不同初始含水饱和度条件下进行液氮冻结处理。对冻结前、后的岩样进行孔隙度以及核磁共振测试,得到岩样在冻结前、后的孔隙度、横向弛豫时间T2分布以及T2谱面积变化情况。试验结果表明:液氮冻结会对岩石的孔隙结构产生损伤,损伤程度受到岩性、孔隙度和岩石含水饱和度等因素影响;岩石含水饱和度越大,损伤就越严重,当岩石含水饱和度达到100%时,岩石表面产生了明显裂纹;岩石在液氮冻结下损伤形式主要是微孔隙的发育和扩展,微孔隙的增加会使岩石孔隙结构的连通性增强,甚至会产生新的大尺寸孔隙,从而对孔隙结构造成严重损伤。     

东北振兴政策体系解构及区域经济响应研究

本文回顾、梳理了2003—2020年东北振兴战略实施以来国家和地方出台的一系列有关政策,分别在国家、省、地市级层面归类总结、解读,对政策的层级、类型和时序进行解构性分析,并基于Python自主编程对相关政策进行文本数据挖掘,最后对东北振兴系列政策引发的区域经济及国企改革效应进行评价。结果表明：① 国家、省、地市围绕东北振兴形成了多类型、多层级、多时间节点的复杂政策系统;② 东北振兴政策体系形成与变迁具有稳定性、连续性、时效性、地域性等特征;③ 东北振兴政策从长期尺度看推动了区域经济发展,但地方对政策依赖度高,短期政策刺激效果明显但可持续性较差;④ 在政策引导和支持下,东北地区国企改革不断深化,创新驱动效果明显,但也面临关键技术瓶颈。     

情感地理视角下脱贫村农户情感重构——以湖南省十八洞村为例

以湖南省花垣县十八洞村为案例地,以“留守”农户和“返乡”农户为研究对象,基于情感地理视角,通过深度访谈法和参与式观察法探究了精准扶贫政策影响下农户情感重构及其重构机制。结果表明：1）脱贫村农户情感重构主要包括归属感、幸福感、风险厌恶感、相对剥夺感和失落感5个维度的重构,这些维度相互影响、相互制约。2）精准扶贫政策的实施使得脱贫村农户地方归属感上升,幸福感增强,风险厌恶感下降。然而,扶贫力度的不均衡导致农户间的相对剥夺感增强,传统文化的消解和社会关系的重构等使得农户产生失落感。3）在脱贫村农户情感重构过程中,农户认知是核心力量,政府行动起主导作用,企业行动发挥辅助作用。政府和企业行动通过重构乡村地域系统的物质空间、经济空间和社会空间刺激乡村地域主体即农户认知转变,继而引发情感的重构。     

全球价值链视角下中国与印度信息产业国际竞争力的比较分析

信息产业是推动国民经济发展的重要引擎,也关乎国家未来的发展前景。目前,无论是发达国家还是新兴工业化经济体,都将提升信息产业竞争力作为关注焦点。中国和印度均高度重视信息产业,但在促进产业发展的策略和模式上截然不同。基于全球价值链的视角,运用附加值贸易数据测算中、印两国信息产业在全球价值链中的参与程度和分工地位,并从国家产业政策和区位条件的角度比较两国信息产业融入全球价值链的机制和效果。研究发现：加强“硬件”制造能显著提升中国信息产业的国际竞争力,而“软件”优先的政策导向并未改善印度信息产业的整体实力,中国优先发展“硬件”并兼顾“软件”的产业政策更有利于信息产业的高质量、可持续发展。从区位条件来看,印度缺乏全面发展“硬件”制造的基础条件,中国则为“硬件”制造和“软件”服务创造了良好的发展空间。     

政策视角下的粤港澳大湾区空间关联分析与协同发展政策机制优化

文章收集了428份由公共部门发布的粤港澳大湾区协同发展政策,根据政策主体拓扑关系测度城市间的大湾区协同政策供给强度,绘制基于协同发展政策关系的大湾区空间联系格局,结果发现：1）单向惠港惠澳的政策措施是当前主要的政策供给方向;2）政策供给高度集中于公共服务与产业领域;3）区县及以下层级和地方专业部门尚未充分进入大湾区协同发展政策网络;4）港、澳、广、深四大中心城市与大湾区其他主体间的政策关系与空间联系方式各异;5）大湾区城市间的政策联系在都市圈尺度内互动频密,跨都市圈政策联系相对松散。最后,提出以下建议：粤港澳大湾区可进一步加强邻域城市、邻域区县、专业部门间以及广深2个中心城市之间的双向政策联动,统筹对港、对澳政策,使得政策供给进一步适应大湾区的治理结构。     

Analysis of the FEBEX multi‐barrier system including thermoplasticity of unsaturated bentonite

Deep geological repository involving a multibarrier system constitutes one of the most promising options for isolating high‐level radioactive waste from the human environment. To certify the efficiency of waste isolation, it is essential to understand the behaviour of confining geomaterial under a variety of environmental conditions. To this end, results from a near‐to‐real experiment, the full‐scale engineered barriers in situ experiment, are studied by means of a thermo–hydro–mechanical finite element approach, including a consistent thermoplastic constitutive model for unsaturated soils. Laboratory tests are simulated to calibrate model parameters. The results of the numerical simulations are compared with sensor measurements and show the ability of the model to reproduce the main behavioural features of the system. The influence of the hysteretic and temperature‐dependent retention of water on the mechanical response is exhibited. Finally, those results are interpreted in the light of thermoplasticity of unsaturated soils, which reveals the highly coupled and non‐linear characters of the processes encountered. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.