GDP and employment effects of policies to close the 2020 emissions gap     

Terry Barker  Eva Alexandri  Jean-Francois Mercure  Yuki Ogawa  Hector Pollitt 《Climate Policy》2016,16(4):393-414

Four policies might close the gap between the global GHG emissions expected for 2020 on the basis of current (2013) policies and the reduced emissions that will be needed if the long-term global temperature increase can be kept below the 2 °C internationally agreed limit. The four policies are (1) specific energy efficiency measures, (2) closure of the least-efficient coal-fired power plants, (3) minimizing methane emissions from upstream oil and gas production, and (4) accelerating the (partial) phase-out of subsidies to fossil-fuel consumption. In this article we test the hypothesis of the International Energy Agency (IEA) that these policies will not result in a loss of gross domestic product (GDP) and we estimate their employment effects using the E3MG global macro-econometric model. Using a set of scenarios we assess each policy individually and then consider the outcomes if all four policies were implemented simultaneously. We find that the policies are insufficient to close the emissions gap, with an overall emission reduction that is 30% less than that found by the IEA. World GDP is 0.5% higher in 2020, with about 6 million net jobs created by 2020 and unemployment reduced.

Policy relevance

The gap between GHG emissions expected under the Copenhagen and Cancun Agreements and that needed for emissions trajectories to have a reasonable chance of reaching the 2 °C target requires additional policies if it is to be closed. This article uses a global simulation model E3MG to analyse a set of policies proposed by the IEA to close the gap and assesses their macroeconomic effects as well as their feasibility in closing the gap. It complements the IEA assessment by estimating the GDP and employment implications separately by the different policies year by year to 2020, by major industries, and by 21 world regions.  相似文献   

Comparative Seismic Risk Studies for German Earthquake Regions on the Basis of the European Macroseismic Scale EMS-98     

Jochen Schwarz  Mathias Raschke  Holger Maiwald 《Natural Hazards》2006,38(1-2):259-282

Within the framework of recent research projects, basic tools for GIS-based seismic risk assessment technologies were developed and applied to the building stock and regional particularities of German earthquake regions. Two study areas are investigated, being comparable by the level of seismic hazard and the hazard-consistent scenario events (related to mean return periods of 475, 2475 and 10000 years). Significant differences exist with respect to the number of inhabitants, the grade and extent of urbanisation, the quality and quantity of building inventory: the case study of Schmölln in Eastern Thuringia seems to be representative for the majority of smaller towns in Germany, the case study of Cologne (Köln) stands for larger cities. Due to the similarities of hazard and scenario intensities, the considerable differences do not only require proper decisions concerning the appropriate methods and acceptable efforts, they enable conclusions about future research strategies and needs for disaster reduction management. Not least important, results can sharpen the focus of public interest. Seismic risk maps are prepared for different scenario intensities recognising the scatter and uncertainties of site-dependent ground motion and also of the applied vulnerability functions. The paper illustrates the impact of model assumptions and the step-wise refinements of input variables like site conditions, building stock or vulnerability functions on the distribution of expected building damage within the study areas. Furthermore, and in contrast to common research strategies, results support the conclusion that in the case of stronger earthquakes the damage will be of higher concentration within smaller cities like Schmölln due to the site-amplification potential and/or the increased vulnerability of the building stock. The extent of damage will be pronounced by the large number of masonry buildings for which lower vulnerability classes have to be assigned. Due to the effect of deep sedimentary layers and the composition of building types, the urban centre of Cologne will be less affected by an earthquake of comparable intensity.  相似文献   

Basin-related effects on ground motion for earthquake scenarios in the Lower Rhine Embayment   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Michael Ewald  Heiner Igel  Klaus-Günter Hinzen  Frank Scherbaum 《Geophysical Journal International》2006,166(1):197-212

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Intercomparison of Stratospheric Chemistry Models under Polar Vortex Conditions     

M. Krämer  Ri. Müller  H. Bovensmann  J. Burrows  J. Brinkmann  E. P. Röth  J.-U. Grooß  Ro. Müller  Th. Woyke  R. Ruhnke  G. Günther  J. Hendricks  E. Lippert  K. S. Carslaw  Th. Peter  A. Zieger  Ch. Brühl  B. Steil  R. Lehmann  D. S. McKenna 《Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry》2003,45(1):51-77

Several stratospheric chemistry modules from box, 2-D or 3-D models, have been intercompared. The intercomparison was focused on the ozone loss and associated reactive species under the conditions found in the cold, wintertime Arctic and Antarctic vortices. Comparisons of both gas phase and heterogeneous chemistry modules show excellent agreement between the models under constrained conditions for photolysis and the microphysics of polar stratospheric clouds. While the mean integral ozone loss ranges from 4–80% for different 30–50 days long air parcel trajectories, the mean scatter of model results around these values is only about ±1.5%. In a case study, where the models employed their standard photolysis and microphysical schemes, the variation around the mean percentage ozone loss increases to about ±7%. This increased scatter of model results is mainly due to the different treatment of the PSC microphysics and heterogeneous chemistry in the models, whereby the most unrealistic assumptions about PSC processes consequently lead to the least representative ozone chemistry. Furthermore, for this case study the model results for the ozone mixing ratios at different altitudes were compared with a measured ozone profile to investigate the extent to which models reproduce the stratospheric ozone losses. It was found that mainly in the height range of strong ozone depletion all models underestimate the ozone loss by about a factor of two. This finding corroborates earlier studies and implies a general deficiency in our understanding of the stratospheric ozone loss chemistry rather than a specific problem related to a particular model simulation.  相似文献   

Hazard-consistent earthquake scenarios     

J. J. Bommer  S. G. Scott  S. K. Sarma 《Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering》2000,19(4):691

Earthquake-resistant design and seismic analysis often require the earthquake action to be represented in the form of acceleration time-histories. Real accelerograms can be selected based on matching an earthquake scenario, defined by magnitude and distance, and scaled if necessary. The scaled accelerograms should reflect the hazard in terms of the parameters that characterise the inelastic demand on structures, including response spectral ordinates, duration and energy content. In order to maintain realistic ground motions, the scaling factors should not differ greatly from unity. It is found that in many cases, where the hazard is influenced by more than one seismic source, it is impossible to define a single earthquake scenario that is compatible with the results of probabilistic seismic hazard assessment. Even if a hazard-consistent scenario can be defined, there are difficulties encountered in using the results to select and scale real accelerograms.  相似文献   

Mapping soil effects in Barcelona, Spain, through an integrated GIS environment   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

M. J. Jimnez  M. García-Fernndez  G. Zonno  F. Cella 《Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering》2000,19(4):75

Maps of soil response for the city of Barcelona have been for the first time obtained through a GIS environment that integrates the different procedures for soil response estimation within a single tool. These maps constitute part of the results of the local scale application of the computer prototype for seismic risk assessment that was developed within the European project SERGISAI. The approach involves: collection of available data relevant to local geology, implementation of geotechnical models, estimation of the reference seismic action, generation of synthetic strong-motion time histories, and soil response calculation through 1D analytical method. The resulting predictive hazard maps of predominant period and amplification ratio delineate potential variations on ground shaking and constitute a first approximation towards an integrated approach to Barcelona urban area microzonation. Analysis of the observed differences, when comparing the analytical results in this study with previous empirical studies, provides a useful feedback to establish site dependence suitability and reliability of methods, to extract information on at-present inaccessible parameters needed for the characterisation of physical properties of soil, and also to delimit those areas where further in-depth survey research is needed for a proper seismic hazard assessment.  相似文献   

Water balance components estimation under scenarios of land cover change in the Vea catchment,West Africa     

Isaac Larbi  Emmanuel Obuobie  Anne Verhoef  Stefan Julich  Karl-Henz Feger  Aymar Yaovi Bossa 《水文科学杂志》2020,65(13):2196-2209

ABSTRACT

The need for a detailed investigation of the Vea catchment water balance components cannot be overemphasized due to its accelerated land-cover dynamics and the associated impacts on the hydrological processes. This study assessed the possible consequences of land-use change scenarios (i.e. business as usual, BAU, and afforestation for the year 2025) compared to the 2016 baseline on the Vea catchment’s water balance components using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. The data used include daily climate and discharge, soil and land use/land cover maps. The results indicate that the mean annual water yield may increase by 9.1% under the BAU scenario but decrease by 2.7% under the afforestation scenario; actual evapotranspiration would decrease under BAU but increase under afforestation; and groundwater recharge may increase under both scenarios but would be more pronounced under the afforestation scenario. These outcomes highlight the significance of land-cover dynamics in water resource management and planning at the catchment.  相似文献   

Understanding land-use change to reconstruct,describe or predict changes in land cover     

Rik?LeemansEmail author  Suzanne?Serneels 《GeoJournal》2004,61(4):305-307

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Development of Seismic Risk Scenarios Based on a Hybrid Method of Vulnerability Assessment   总被引：11，自引：5，他引：6  

Kappos  A. J.  Stylianidis  K. C.  Pitilakis  K. 《Natural Hazards》1998,17(2):177-192

A hybrid methodology of vulnerability analysis is presented, involving elements from both empirical and theoretical methods. A model for correlating analytically calculated structural damage indices to loss (in monetary terms) is also proposed and calibrated against available statistical data. Probability damage matrices derived using this methodology are incorporated into a cost-benefit model tailored to the problem of estimating the feasibility of seismically rehabilitating the existing stock of reinforced concrete buildings in Thessaloniki, Greece. Losses calculated using the suggested procedure are found to be in good agreement with losses incurred during the 1978 Thessaloniki earthquake. The results of the present study also indicate that benefit/cost ratios for reinforced concrete buildings are quite low. Hence, it appears that a pre-earthquake strengthening programme is not economically justifiable.  相似文献   

Multiple decision-making criteria in the transport and burial of hazardous and radioactive wastes   总被引：1，自引：1，他引：0  

E. K. Paleologos  I. Lerche 《Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment (SERRA)》1999,13(6):381-395

We evaluate the application of various statistical measures for the identification of optimal financial strategies in environmental projects that may be burdened by the consequences of low-probability, high-cost events. Our particular application lies in the area of transport and burial of hazardous and radioactive wastes but our approach applies to a wide range of problems where the utility structure is of the form of gains minus losses, and where limited and/or catastrophic failures may be encountered. We utilize four statistical measures, the expected value, variance, volatility and cumulative probability to compare the outcomes of limited and catastrophic spills. The maximum expected monetary value which is frequently used in the environmental and gas and oil industries as the sole criterion for the selection of optimum actions is seen to lead to erroneous decisions and fails to unambiguously differentiate the economic consequences of limited and catastrophic failures in a project. We demonstrate that unwarranted inclusion of catastrophic scenarios into the decision-making analysis can substantially alter the perspective of a project and guide a corporation away from an investment that could be profitable even under a limited liability case. We conclude by providing a decision-making procedure for cases where the probabilities associated with future events and/or the monetary returns are characterized not by sharp estimates but rather are represented by a range of values.  相似文献