For the long-term stabilization of greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations it is important that post-Kyoto policy has broad participation
to ensure environmental integrity. Many post-Kyoto frameworks have been debated, but surprisingly approaches that focus on
consumption have received little attention in the climate change literature despite broader interest in other areas. In this
article we extend the argument for constructing GHG inventories using a country’s consumption rather than production. First,
we argue that constructing GHG inventories using a country’s economic activity instead of geographic territory solves allocation
issues for international activities such as international transportation and carbon capture and storage. Second, we argue
that consumption-based GHG inventories have many advantages over production-based inventories. The main advantages are to
address carbon leakage, reduce the importance of emission commitments for developing countries, increase options for mitigation,
encourage environmental comparative advantage, address competitiveness concerns, and naturally encourage technology diffusion. 相似文献
Thermal maturity was determined for about 120 core, cuttings, and outcrop samples to investigate the potential for coalbed gas resources in Pennsylvanian strata of north-central Texas. Shallow (< 600 m; 2000 ft) coal and carbonaceous shale cuttings samples from the Middle-Upper Pennsylvanian Strawn, Canyon, and Cisco Groups in Archer and Young Counties on the Eastern Shelf of the Midland basin (northwest and downdip from the outcrop) yielded mean random vitrinite reflectance (Ro) values between about 0.4 and 0.8%. This range of Ro values indicates rank from subbituminous C to high volatile A bituminous in the shallow subsurface, which may be sufficient for early thermogenic gas generation. Near-surface (< 100 m; 300 ft) core and outcrop samples of coal from areas of historical underground coal mining in the region yielded similar Ro values of 0.5 to 0.8%. Carbonaceous shale core samples of Lower Pennsylvanian strata (lower Atoka Group) from two deeper wells (samples from ~ 1650 m; 5400 ft) in Jack and western Wise Counties in the western part of the Fort Worth basin yielded higher Ro values of about 1.0%. Pyrolysis and petrographic data for the lower Atoka samples indicate mixed Type II/Type III organic matter, suggesting generated hydrocarbons may be both gas- and oil-prone. In all other samples, organic material is dominated by Type III organic matter (vitrinite), indicating that generated hydrocarbons should be gas-prone. Individual coal beds are thin at outcrop (< 1 m; 3.3 ft), laterally discontinuous, and moderately high in ash yield and sulfur content. A possible analog for coalbed gas potential in the Pennsylvanian section of north-central Texas occurs on the northeast Oklahoma shelf and in the Cherokee basin of southeastern Kansas, where contemporaneous gas-producing coal beds are similar in thickness, quality, and rank. 相似文献
Giant planets embedded in circumstellar discs are expected to open gaps in these discs. We examine the vertical structure of the gap edges. We find that the planet excites spiral arms with significant (Mach number of a half) vertical motion of the gas, and discuss the implications of these motions. In particular, the spiral arms will make the edge appear 'puffed up' relative to the bulk of the disc. Infrared observations (sensitive to dust) would be dominated by the light from the thick inner edge of the disc. Submillimetre observations (sensitive to gas velocities) would appear to be hot in 'turbulent' motions (actually the ordered motion caused by the passage of the spiral arms), but cold in chemistry. Resolved submillimetre maps of circumstellar discs might even be able to detect the spiral arms directly. 相似文献
Foreign aid has arguably played a significant role in the economic development of the Pacific Island countries. Tonga is deemed to have succeeded in implementing the principles of the Paris Declaration of 2005, especially Ownership, Alignment and Harmonisation, by aid funding channelled through state institutions. Nevertheless, it is still unknown if the aid effect has reached civil society, and how community members perceive aid. This article examines the perceptions of community members towards foreign aid, using the case study of the archipelago of Vava'u, Tonga. 相似文献
Climate policy uncertainty significantly hinders investments in low-carbon technologies, and the global community is behind schedule to curb carbon emissions. Strong actions will be necessary to limit the increase in global temperatures, and continued delays create risks of escalating climate change damages and future policy costs. These risks are system-wide, long-term and large-scale and thus hard to diversify across firms. Because of its unique scale, cost structure and near-term availability, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation in developing countries (REDD+) has significant potential to help manage climate policy risks and facilitate the transition to lower greenhouse gas emissions. ‘Call’ options contracts in the form of the right but not the obligation to buy high-quality emissions reduction credits from jurisdictional REDD+ programmes at a predetermined price per ton of CO2 could help unlock this potential despite the current lack of carbon markets that accept REDD+ for compliance. This approach could provide a globally important cost-containment mechanism and insurance for firms against higher future carbon prices, while channelling finance to avoid deforestation until policy uncertainties decline and carbon markets scale up.
Key policy insights
Climate policy uncertainty discourages abatement investments, exposing firms to an escalating systemic risk of future rapid increases in emission control expenditures.
This situation poses a risk of an abatement ‘short squeeze,’ paralleling the case in financial markets when prices jump sharply as investors rush to square accounts on an investment they have sold ‘short’, one they have bet against and promised to repay later in anticipation of falling prices.
There is likely to be a willingness to pay for mechanisms that hedge the risks of abruptly rising carbon prices, in particular for ‘call’ options, the right but not the obligation to buy high-quality emissions reduction credits at a predetermined price, due to the significantly lower upfront capital expenditure compared to other hedging alternatives.
Establishing rules as soon as possible for compliance market acceptance of high-quality emissions reductions credits from REDD+ would facilitate REDD+ transactions, including via options-based contracts, which could help fill the gap of uncertain climate policies in the short and medium term.
Acta Geotechnica - The elastic stiffness of a fine sand at small to moderate strains ( $$\varepsilon \le 2 \times 10^{-4}$$ ) has been studied based on cyclic triaxial tests on cube-shaped samples... 相似文献
Environmental contamination with As and Sb caused by past mining activities at Sb mines is a significant problem in Slovakia. This study is focused on the environmental effects of the 5 abandoned Sb mines on water, stream sediment and soil since the mines are situated in the close vicinity of residential areas. Samples of mine wastes, various types of waters, stream sediments, soils, and leachates of the mine wastes, stream sediments and selected soils were analyzed for As and Sb to evaluate their geochemical dispersion from the mines. Mine wastes collected at the mine sites contained up to 5166 mg/kg As and 9861 mg/kg Sb. Arsenic in mine wastes was associated mostly with Fe oxides, whereas Sb was present frequently in the form of individual Sb, Sb(Fe) and Fe(Sb) oxides. Waters of different types such as groundwater, surface waters and mine waters, all contained elevated concentrations of As and Sb, reaching up to 2150 μg/L As and 9300 μg/L Sb, and had circum-neutral pH values because of the buffering capacity of abundant Ca- and Mg-carbonates. The concentrations of Sb in several household wells are a cause for concern, exceeding the Sb drinking water limit of 5 μg/L by as much as 25 times. Some attenuation of the As and Sb concentrations in mine and impoundment waters was expected because of the deposition of metalloids onto hydrous ferric oxides built up below adit entrances and impoundment discharges. These HFOs contained >20 wt.% As and 1.5 wt.% Sb. Stream sediments and soils have also been contaminated by As and Sb with the peak concentrations generally found near open adits and mine wastes. In addition to the discharged waters from open adits, the significant source of As and Sb contamination are waste-rock dumps and tailings impoundments. Leachates from mine wastes contained as much as 8400 μg/L As and 4060 μg/L Sb, suggesting that the mine wastes would have a great potential to contaminate the downstream environment. Moreover, the results of water leaching tests showed that Sb was released from the solids more efficiently than As under oxidizing conditions. This might partly explain the predominance of Sb over As in most water samples. 相似文献
Experiments ranging from 2 to 3 GPa and 800 to 1300 °C and at 0.15 GPa and 770 °C were performed to investigate the stability
and mutual solubility of the K2ZrSi3O9 (wadeite) and K2TiSi3O9 cyclosilicates under upper mantle conditions. The K2ZrSi3O9–K2TiSi3O9 join exhibits complete miscibility in the P–T interval investigated. With increasing degree of melting the solid solution becomes progressively enriched in Zr, indicating
that K2ZrSi3O9 is the more refractory end member. At 2 GPa, in the more complex K2ZrSi3O9–K2TiSi3O9–K2Mg6Al2Si6O20(OH)4 system, the presence of phlogopite clearly limits the extent of solid solution of the cyclosilicate to more Zr-rich compositions
[Zr/(Zr + Ti) > 0.85], comparable to wadeite found in nature, with TiO2 partitioning strongly into the coexisting mica and/or liquid. However, at 1200 °C, with increasing pressure from 2 to 3 GPa,
the partitioning behaviour of TiO2 changes in favour of the cyclosilicate, with Zr/(Zr + Ti) of the K2(Zr,Ti)Si3O9 phase decreasing from ∼0.9 to ∼0.6. The variation in the Ti content of the coexisting phlogopite is related to its degree
of melting to forsterite and liquid, following the major substitution VITi+VI□=2VIMg.
Received: 26 January 1999 / Accepted: 10 January 2000 相似文献