Vehicle tax policies and new passenger car CO2 performance in EU member states     

Denis Dineen  Brian Ó Gallachóir 《Climate Policy》2018,18(4):396-412

This article explores the causes for differences in the average CO₂ emissions intensity of the new passenger car (NPC) fleet in member states (MS) across Europe. Although EU policies mitigating CO₂ emissions from NPCs have been in place since 1999, MS strongly diverge in the absolute amount and relative change in emissions over the last decade. The authors employ a qualitative approach to analyse the factors, in particular national vehicle taxes, contributing to this divergence and the relative contribution of national and European policies in reducing national CO₂ emissions from NPCs. The analysis shows that there has been a significant reduction in CO₂ emissions intensity of NPCs since 2007 across most MS, compared with the six years previous to that date. This would indicate that EU-wide policies, such as the CO₂ vehicles regulation, along with the economic recession in 2008, have influenced national NPC CO₂ emissions. Generally, countries with CO₂-differentiated vehicle taxes are observed as more likely to have achieved greater reductions in CO₂ emissions. However, over the same period there have been many confounding factors, such as economic instability in the EU, that also influence NPC emissions. Using more detailed case study analyses of six countries, the authors find that there is scope for well-designed national vehicle tax policies to drive NPC emissions down further than the EU average. In countries with the highest success rate, such as the Netherlands, the design of the vehicle tax, as part of a well-aligned policy package, has been very important in delivering the biggest reductions in CO₂ emissions from NPCs.

POLICY RELEVANCE

The transport sector continues to be an intractable source of CO₂ emissions. Governments around the world are seeking effective policies to deal with the increase in passenger car CO₂ emissions appropriate to their own circumstances. This article examines the experience of EU MS with CO₂-differentiated vehicle taxes in reducing CO₂ emissions in the context of other national and international contributing factors. It should therefore both be useful to policy makers and contribute to climate policy research in general.  相似文献   

COMMENTS ON THE PAPER: RECALCULATION OF H-Lα SKY SURVEYS: NO NEED FOR ANISOTROPIC SOLAR WIND MASS OUTFLOWS?     

Bertaux  Jean-Loup  QuÉmerais  Eric  Lallement  Rosine  KyrÖlÄ  Erkki  Summanen  Tuula 《Solar physics》1997,170(2):365-370

In a recently published paper, Scherer and Fahr (1995) claimed that the departures of sky L emission measured by Prognoz 5 and 6 from an optically thin model can be attributed entirely to deficiencies of the optically thin approximation, and are not due to variations of solar wind ionization rate with latitude, as advocated since many years by our research group. They base their claim on the result of their new sophisticated model of L radiation transport.It is shown here that their new model, in the simple case of isotropic solar wind, predicts a distribution of intensity in a simple geometry which is completely contradicted by the observations: they find a minimum of intensity near the upwind direction, where a maximum has been observed consistently by all L instruments. Therefore, their conclusion based on an erroneous model must be rejected.  相似文献   

Transformation of Irradiance Measurements into Spectral Actinic Flux for Photolysis Rates Determination     

HÉLÈNE COTTE  CLAUDE DEVAUX  PATRICK CARLIER 《Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry》1997,26(1):1-28

The actinic flux is the only radiometric quantity suitable for photolysisfrequency determination. It is derived from solar spectral irradiancemeasurements performed by a portable spectroradiometer in the 300–850nm wavelength range. The spectral irradiance is first divided into a directpart and a diffuse part, according to the atmospheric conditions, and thenconverted into the corresponding actinic flux quantity. As an intermediary,the ratio of diffuse actinic flux to diffuseirradiance is calculated by the spherical harmonics radiative code withrespect to wavelength, solar zenith angle, surface albedo, and aerosolproperties.The results of extensive sensitivity studies of asa function of the main atmospheric parameters are discussed and lead to theconclusion that aerosol optical depth is the major critical value for aprecise determination. The global algorithm totransform spectral irradiance into actinic flux is finally applied forphotodissociation rate calculations by convolution of the obtained actinicflux spectra with the absorption cross-sections and quantum yields of themolecule studied. Photolysis rates of different atmospheric photooxidants havebeen measured with this spectroradiometric method during the summers of 1993and 1994 in Brittany and in Portugal. The ozone and nitrogen dioxidephotodissociation rates obtained present a good agreement with thej(O₃) and j(NO₂) actinometerresults, for the same experimental conditions in Brittany.  相似文献   

DEFORMATIONAL BEHAVIOURS OF ALLUVIAL UNITS DETECTED BY ADVANCED RADAR INTERFEROMETRY IN THE VEGA MEDIA OF THE SEGURA RIVER,SOUTHEAST SPAIN          下载免费PDF全文

CARMELO CONESA‐GARCÍA  ROBERTO TOMÁS  GERARDO HERRERA  FRANCISCO LÓPEZ‐BERMÚDEZ  MIGUEL CANO  FRANCISCA NAVARRO‐HERVÁS  PEDRO PÉREZ‐CUTILLAS 《Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography》2016,98(1):15-38

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Spatial variability of phytoplankton absorption coefficients and pigments off Baja California during November 2002     

Óscar A. Barocio-León  Roberto Millán-Núñez  Eduardo Santamaría-del-Ángel  Adriana González-Silvera  Charles C. Trees 《Journal of Oceanography》2006,62(6):873-885

We have estimated the spatial variability of phytoplankton specific absorption coefficients (a* _ph ) in the water column of the California Current System during November 2002, taking into account the variability in pigment composition and phytoplankton community structure and size. Oligotrophic conditions (surface Chl < 0.2 mg m⁻³) dominated offshore, while mesotrophic conditions (surface Chl 0.2 to 2.0 mg m⁻³) where found inshore. The specific absorption coefficient at 440 [a* _ph (440)] ranged from 0.025–0.281 m²mg⁻¹ while at 675 nm [a* _ph (675)] it varied between 0.014 and 0.087 m²mg⁻¹. The implementation of a size index based on HPLC data showed the community structure was dominated by picoplankton. This would reduce the package effect in the variability of a* _ph (675). Normalized a _ph curves were classified in two groups according to their shape, separating all spectra with peaks between 440 and 550 nm as the second group. Most samples in the first group were from surface layers, while the second group were from the deep chlorophyll maximum or deeper. Accessory photoprotective pigments (APP) tended to decrease with depth and accessory photosynthetic pigments (APS) to increase, indicating the importance of photoprotective mechanisms in surface layers and adaptation to low light at depth. Samples with higher ratios of APP:APS (>0.4) were considered as phytoplankton adapted to high irradiances, and lower ratios (<0.26) as adapted to low irradiances. We found a good relationship between APP:APS and a* _ph (440) for the deeper layer (DCM and below), but no clear evidence of the factors causing the variability of a* _ph (440) in the upper layer.  相似文献   

Analysis of the ferromagnetic contribution to the susceptibility by low field and high field methods in sedimentary rocks of the Southern Pyrenees and Northern Ebro foreland basin (Spain)     

Óscar Pueyo Anchuela  Antonio M. Casas‐Sainz  Emilio L. Pueyo  Andrés Pocoví Juan  Andrés Gil Imaz 《地学学报》2013,25(4):307-314

Magnetic susceptibility in rocks is the sum of the contributions of different magnetic particles (paramagnetic, diamagnetic and ferromagnetic s.l.). These contributions can be measured at variable temperatures or at variable fields (hysteresis loops). Both are time‐consuming techniques that cannot be routinely used in magnetic fabrics analysis. In this study, we propose a simplified method to determine the ferro‐ and paramagnetic contributions to the susceptibility, based on the discrete measurement of susceptibility at two different fields (near 0 and 2.5 T). The results obtained in samples from the Southern Pyrenees and Ebro Basin indicate that the ferromagnetic contribution vary considerably within homogeneous susceptibility values and within the expected range of paramagnetic values. Standard bulk susceptibilities higher than 200 10^?6 SI contribute significantly to the ferromagnetic fraction (>50% on average).  相似文献   

Sea‐surface hydrographical conditions off South Faeroes and within the North‐Eastern North Atlantic through MIS 2: the response of dinocysts     

CLÉMENCE CAULLE  AURÉLIE PENAUD  FRÉDÉRIQUE EYNAUD  SÉBASTIEN ZARAGOSI  DIDIER M. ROCHE  ELIZABETH MICHEL  SÉBASTIEN BOULAY  THOMAS RICHTER 《第四纪科学杂志》2013,28(3):217-228

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Younger Dryas – early Holocene transition in the south‐eastern Iberian Peninsula: insights from land snail shell middens     

YURENA YANES  MAGDALENA GÓMEZ‐PUCHE  MARCO A. ESQUEMBRE‐BEBIA  JAVIER FERNÁNDEZ‐LÓPEZ‐DE‐PABLO 《第四纪科学杂志》2013,28(8):777-788

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Postglacial chironomid assemblage succession in northernmost Ungava Peninsula,Canada     

Émilie Saulnier‐Talbot  Reinhard Pienitz 《第四纪科学杂志》2010,25(2):203-213

Sediment cores spanning the postglacial period were recovered from two coastal freshwater basins located 300 km apart in northernmost Ungava (Nunavik, Canada). A basal date from the sequence recovered near Wakeham Bay suggests that the region was ice‐free by as early as 9600 cal. a BP. The initial development of both investigated lacustrine ecosystems was characterised by chironomid assemblages strongly dominated by the Subtribe Tanytarsina. These early postglacial assemblages showed greatly reduced diversity but much greater abundance than during subsequent periods of lake evolution. An abrupt and distinct turnover in sedimentary chironomid assemblage composition and productivity, marked by a switch to a dominance of Orthocladiinae, occurred around 6 ka BP. This turnover likely corresponds with a significant disturbance in the regional environment, which could be linked to the final disappearance of the last remnants of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. These findings, based on the first palaeolimnological investigations undertaken in northernmost Ungava, provide new insights into lateglacial and postglacial faunal recolonisation patterns in aquatic ecosystems of the eastern Canadian Arctic. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

A major ice drainage pathway of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet: the Tyne Gap,northern England     

Stephen J. Livingstone  Colm Ó Cofaigh  David J. A. Evans 《第四纪科学杂志》2010,25(3):354-370

The Tyne Gap is a wide pass, situated between the Scottish Southern Uplands and the English Pennines that connects western and eastern England. It was a major ice flow drainage pathway of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet. This study presents new glacial geomorphological and sedimentological data from the Tyne Gap region that has allowed detailed reconstructions of palaeo‐ice flow dynamics during the Late Devensian (Marine Isotope Stage 2). Mapped lineations reveal a complex palimpsest pattern which shows that ice flow was subject to multiple switches in direction. These are summarised into three major ice flow phases. Stage I was characterised by convergent Lake District and Scottish ice that flowed east through the Tyne Gap, as a topographically controlled ice stream. This ice stream was identified from glacial geomorphological evidence in the form of convergent bedforms, streamlined subglacial bedforms and evidence for deformable bed conditions; stage II involved northerly migration of the Solway Firth ice divide back into the Southern Uplands, causing the easterly flow of ice to be weakened, and resulting in southeasterly flow of ice down the North Tyne Valley; and stage III was characterised by strong drawdown of ice into the Irish Sea Ice Basin, thus starving the Tyne Gap of ice and causing progressive ice sheet retreat westwards back across the watershed, prior to ice stagnation. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献