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Urban GHG emissions and resource flows : methods for understanding the complex functioning of cities
(2015)
This paper sums up the recent developments in concepts and methods being used to measure the impacts of cities on environmental sustainability. It differentiates between a dominant trend in research literature that concentrates on the accounting and allocation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy use to cities, and a re-emergence of studies focusing on the direct and indirect urban material and resource flows. The availability of reliable data and standard protocols is greater in the GHG accounting field and continues to grow rapidly.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) might be an important climate protection technology for coal-rich countries. This paper presents first results of a systemic and long-term analysis of a future CCS implementation in India. It focuses on potential storage formations in the geological subsurface and the geographic match of these sinks with CO2 emissions of current and future largepoint power plants. The analysis is framed by an overview on India’s position on CCS, ongoing Indian research and development projects as well as its international activities.
The geological potential for CO2 sequestration in India is subject to large uncertainty because, so far, only few studies estimated it in a vague manner. A first meta-analysis shows that there is a huge variation between 48 Gt and 572 Gt of CO2. The main differences between the evaluated studies are the assumed capacities for deep saline aquifers and basalt formations. Taking the ongoing discussion and the existing uncertainties into account, the storage potential might be provided only by aquifers (in the range of 44 to 360 Gt of CO2) and hydrocarbon fields (2 to 7 Gt of CO2).
The amount of CO2 emissions possibly available for sequestration is assessed by applying three substantially different long-term energy scenarios for India. These scenarios, indicating pathways between a "low carbon" and a "high carbon" development until 2050, result in cumulated CO2 emissions between 30 and 171 Gt if all new large-scaled power plants will be based on CCS from 2020 on. Compared with the sink capacities, only the CO2 emissions of scenario S2 (30 Gt) could theoretically be stored with high certainty. Considering the scenarios S3 and S1, their CO2 emissions (94 Gt and 171 Gt, respectively) could only be sequestered if the aquifer capacity would prove to be usable. Geological storage sites do not appear to be located close to sources in South West, Central, North and North East India. This first rough analysis means that only those CO2 emissions occurring in the Western parts of North and West India, the Eastern part of South India as well as the South part of East India might be suited for sequestration nearby.
A more detailed source-sink matching will follow in the next phase of the project, including results of expert meetings in India. Furthermore, this analysis will be complemented by an additional assessment from economic, ecological and resource-strategic points of view, which might further affect the potential for CCS.
Considering the traditional coal-based energy infrastructure in the German state North Rhine-Westphalia the question arises how to face the needs of embanking climate change. To reduce greenhouse gas intensive electricity generation in the Ruhr area, the introduction of carbon capture and storage (CCS) is an option of particular relevance. The paper investigates and discusses possibilities of setting up a CCS infrastructure in NRW. It shall clarify whether, and possibly how, highly efficient conventional fossil fired power plants could be refitted with CO2 capture to flexibly react to potentially changing climate policy conditions and to keep up with the market.
At the next United Nations (UN) climate conference in the United Arab Emirates at the end of 2023, the first Global Stocktake (GST) of the Paris Agreement is due to conclude. The main goal of this process is to feed into a new round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by Parties to the Agreement for 2035. In addition, the GST is aimed at identifying opportunities for strengthening international cooperation to achieve the Paris goals. The GST represents the first opportunity for Parties and other stakeholders to collectively highlight opportunities for international climate cooperation. Specifically, outcomes should plant the seeds for the development of concrete sectoral decarbonization roadmaps that could guide international cooperation in years to come.
Energy efficiency has multiple benefits. It usually is a win-win option for all aspects of sustainability - environment, social objectives, and economy. We need to evaluate and communicate these multiple benefits - to citizens, companies, and policy-makers. Due to strong market barriers, effective governance and policy packages for energy efficiency are needed. Evaluation shows effective policy can achieve around 2% per year of additional energy savings.
In the face of persistent sustain ability problems challenging economic development, ecological integrity as well as social justice, transformational changes are crucial. Proposed changes shall include, for instance, large-scale transitions of practices, infrastructures as well as values and priorities. In Germany, real-world laboratories are proposed for research in and with society, aiming to understand and contribute to transformations.
Labs in the real world : advancing transdisciplinary research and sustainability transformation
(2018)
There is a strong trend towards research in society-based laboratories,
especially in relation to sustainability. Semantic analysis reveals related discourses and emerging lines of inquiry, namely transformative potential, transdisciplinarity and learning. Real-world laboratories are a dynamic example of this research. Contributions of how to deepen and broaden their analysis are presented.
Real-world labs are witnessing continued growth and institutionalization in the field of transformation-oriented sustainability research, as well as in adjacent disciplines. With their experimental research agendas, these labs aim at sustainability transformations, however, there is still a need to improve the understanding of their impacts. Drawing from this Special Issue's contributions, we offer a broad overview of the impacts achieved by various real-world labs, highlight the diverse areas and forms of impact, and elucidate strategies as well as mechanisms for achieving impact. We present methodological advances, and address common challenges along with potential solutions for understanding and realizing impact.
Wolfgang Sachs wrote a seminal series of essays for the New Internationalist in 1992 called "Development: a guide to the ruins". The concept of development lives on - and takes on new shapes as it is reframed by the UN, reinterpreted by the Vatican or hijacked by authoritarian populists to serve their own nationalist agenda. But, he argues now, we need to move beyond its misguided assumptions into a new post-development era based on eco-solidarity.
The EU-CIVITAS project FLOW has developed a multimodal methodology to calculate the impact of walking and cycling measures on transport network performance and congestion. The methodology better includes non-motorised modes than previous methods which focussed on motorised transport. The article outlines key characteristics.
The representative survey studies provide a comprehensive database on the public awareness and perception of CCS in six selected European countries. Our results provide insights into the public understanding and knowledge of energy related issues and CCS topics. The embedded experimental research provides insights into how information affects CCS perceptions. The results discuss implications for CCS communication methods.
The COVID-19 pandemic has jolted societies out of normality, possibly creating new conditions for sustainability transformations. What does this mean for sustainability research? Because of the scope of the crisis, researchers have been heavily involved: not only have they had to speed up the pace of scientific production to provide urgently needed COVID-19 knowledge, but they have also been affected citizens. For sustainability science, this calls for an experience-based reflection on the positionality and orientation of research aiming to support sustainability transformations. Twenty sustainability researchers discussed their sustainability research on COVID-19 in three workshops based on the following questions: How does the pandemic - and the measures taken to deal with it - affect sustainable development? What can we learn from the pandemic from the perspective of societal transformation? The present discussion paper emerged from this multidisciplinary exchange among sustainability researchers, considering five topics: impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on sustainability transformations; learning for sustainability transformations; the role of solidarity; governance and political steering; and the role of science in society. Our discussions led to a meta-level reflection on what sustainability research can learn from research on COVID-19 regarding topics and disciplinary angles, time dimensions, the role of researchers, and how adequate preparation for both crises and long-term transformations requires interdisciplinary interaction.