Evaluating Options for U.S. Greenhouse-Gas Mitigation Using Multiple Criteria

Evaluating Options for U.S. Greenhouse-Gas Mitigation Using Multiple Criteria PDF

Author: Nicholas Burger

Publisher: Rand Corporation

Published: 2014-05-20

Total Pages: 80

ISBN-13: 0833052934

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Choosing policy responses to mitigate greenhouse gases (GHGs) is one of the great challenges that the United States faces. It will require balancing cost-effectiveness and other objectives that reflect the institutional and political realities of passing major federal legislation with widespread impacts on U.S. producers and consumers. This paper develops a framework for evaluating U.S. GHG-mitigation policy that balances several criteria.

Evaluating Options for U.S. Greenhouse-gas Mitigation Using Multiple Criteria

Evaluating Options for U.S. Greenhouse-gas Mitigation Using Multiple Criteria PDF

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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Choosing a set of policy responses to mitigate greenhouse gases (GHGs) responsible for climate change is one of the great challenges that the United States faces in the coming years. Many policy options emphasize overall cost-effectiveness in reducing GHG emissions. In the search for options that are effective and politically feasible, however, other concerns have comparable importance. Mitigating GHGs in practice will require balancing cost-effectiveness and other objectives that reflect the institutional and political realities of passing major federal legislation with widespread impacts on U.S. producers and consumers. This paper develops a framework for evaluating GHG-mitigation policy in the United States that balances several criteria. It draws on conceptual analysis and examples from U.S. energy policy to motivate an evaluative framework that incorporates a range of views of what constitutes "good" policy. It should be of interest to stakeholders in the GHG policymaking process and especially to those responsible for crafting U.S. climate policy.

Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Assessment: A Guidebook

Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Assessment: A Guidebook PDF

Author: Jayant A. Sathaye

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-11-21

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 9401584664

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This book describes guidelines prepared by the U.S. Country Studies Program for the evaluation of options to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. Country Studies Program developed these guidelines in collaboration with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to provide developing countries and countries with economies in transition with reference materials for national mitigation assessments. Over 50 countries participating in the program have used the guidelines, which have been refined to reflect their comments. The guidelines delineate a step-wise methodology for evaluating greenhouse gas mitigation options for the energy and non-energy sectors and describe the applications of common analytical tools. The U.S. Country Studies Program uses these guidelines in conjunction with intensive training workshops and follow up technical assistance during the lifetime of each country's study. The program uses similar reference materials to assist counties with their greenhouse gas emission inventories and evaluations of climate change vulnerability and adaptive responses. These guidelines serve three purposes: to assist countries in making decisions about the scope and methodology for mitigation assessments; to provide countries with guidance and step-by-step instructions on each element of a mitigation assessment; and to help countries determine which analytical tools are best suited to their needs and describe procedures for applying these tools. This book describes the application of the most common and readily available methods and analytical tools. Countries are encouraged, where appropriate, to use their own methods.

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol PDF

Author:

Publisher: World Business Pub.

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781569735688

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The GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard helps companies and other organizations to identify, calculate, and report GHG emissions. It is designed to set the standard for accurate, complete, consistent, relevant and transparent accounting and reporting of GHG emissions.

Assessing Economic Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation

Assessing Economic Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation PDF

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2009-05-28

Total Pages: 55

ISBN-13: 030914115X

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Many economic models exist to estimate the cost and effectiveness of different policies for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Some approaches incorporate rich technological detail, others emphasize the aggregate behavior of the economy and energy system, and some focus on impacts for specific sectors. Understandably, different approaches may be better positioned to provide particular types of information and may yield differing results, at times rendering decisions on future climate change emissions and research and development (R&D) policy difficult. Reliable estimates of the costs and benefits to the U.S. economy for various emissions reduction and adaptation strategies are critical to federal climate change R&D portfolio planning and investment decisions. At the request of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the National Academies organized a workshop to consider these issues. The workshop, summarized in this volume, comprised three dimensions: policy, analysis, and economics. Discussions along these dimensions were meant to lead to constructive identification of gaps and opportunities. The workshop focused on (1) policymakers' informational needs; (2) models and other analytic approaches to meet these needs; (3) important economic considerations, including equity and discounting; and (4) opportunities to enhance analytical capabilities and better inform policy.

Risk-based Decision Support Tool for Selection and Evaluation of Negative Emissions Technologies

Risk-based Decision Support Tool for Selection and Evaluation of Negative Emissions Technologies PDF

Author: John Frederick D. Tapia

Publisher: Infinite Study

Published:

Total Pages: 6

ISBN-13:

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As the rate at which climate change is increasing in making an impact to the planet, the need to develop and deploy technologies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions becomes increasingly necessary. The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG 13) of reducing the effects of climate change would require ambitious actions and implementation towards achieving it. Negative emissions technologies (NETs) will contribute to this goal by reducing GHG concentrations in the atmosphere. Options for NETs are available for integration into energy and climate change policies. Barriers for large-scale implementation are present in each of these technologies; risks are present when it comes to integrating them into climate change mitigation strategies. In this paper, a novel multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) tool is developed for ranking and evaluating NETs under different risk levels. The tool is based on integrating the concept of neutrosophic sets into data envelopment analysis, or neutrosophic data envelopment analysis (NDEA) to examine the consequential effect of inefficiencies and uncertainties in the characteristics of different NETs. This considers a decoupled approach to the inherent efficiency, inefficiency, and uncertainty of each technology. A case study is presented to illustrate this tool. Results show the advantages of different NETs under different levels of expert's risk attitude and perception, i.e. tolerance factors. Soil carbon sequestration technology is efficient at tolerance levels from 60 % to 100 % as presented in the results. This can be an effective tool to select which technologies is appropriate in different scenarios.

Economic analysis of greenhouse gas mitigation potential in the US forest sector

Economic analysis of greenhouse gas mitigation potential in the US forest sector PDF

Author: Justin Baker

Publisher: RTI Press

Published: 2017-08-30

Total Pages: 8

ISBN-13:

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This study conducted an economic analysis of future US forest mitigation potential using a detailed economic model of the global forestry sector. The scenario design included a wide range of possible future carbon price incentives and climate policy structures (unilateral and global mitigation). Results across all scenarios show US forest sector mitigation potential ranging from 54 to 292 MtCO2e between 2015 and 2030 (5 to 47 percent of the additional mitigation needed to achieve the 26 to 28 percent emissions reduction target). The results from this study suggest that the US forest sector can play an important role in global greenhouse gas mitigation efforts, including efforts to meet any potential future US mitigation targets.

Policy Implications of Greenhouse Warming

Policy Implications of Greenhouse Warming PDF

Author: National Academy of Engineering

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1992-02-01

Total Pages: 945

ISBN-13: 0309043867

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Global warming continues to gain importance on the international agenda and calls for action are heightening. Yet, there is still controversy over what must be done and what is needed to proceed. Policy Implications of Greenhouse Warming describes the information necessary to make decisions about global warming resulting from atmospheric releases of radiatively active trace gases. The conclusions and recommendations include some unexpected results. The distinguished authoring committee provides specific advice for U.S. policy and addresses the need for an international response to potential greenhouse warming. It offers a realistic view of gaps in the scientific understanding of greenhouse warming and how much effort and expense might be required to produce definitive answers. The book presents methods for assessing options to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, offset emissions, and assist humans and unmanaged systems of plants and animals to adjust to the consequences of global warming.

Improving the Energy Performance of Buildings

Improving the Energy Performance of Buildings PDF

Author: Charles P. Ries

Publisher: Rand Corporation

Published: 2009-09-21

Total Pages: 61

ISBN-13: 0833048724

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This study examines how policies to increase energy efficiency in buildings in the European Union and Australia have worked and draws implications for the design of similar public policies for the United States. It appears that effective policies to promote energy efficiency can be devised using information disclosure, building codes, financial incentives, and benchmarking. Insights are presented to help designers of analogous U.S. policies.

Climate Change and Developing Countries

Climate Change and Developing Countries PDF

Author: Nijavalli H. Ravindranath

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2005-12-16

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 030647980X

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Among global environmental issues, climate change has received the largest attention of national and global policy makers, researchers, industry, multilateral banks and NGOs. Climate change is one of the most important global environmental problems with unique characteristics. It is global, long-term (up to several centuries) and involves complex interactions between climatic, environmental, economic, political, institutional and technological pressures. It is of great significance to developing countries as all the available knowledge suggests that they, and particularly their poorer inhabitants, are highly vulnerable to climate impacts. The projected warming of 1. 4 to 5. 8° C by 2100 and the related changes in rainfall pattern, rise in sea-level and increased frequency of extreme events (such as drought, hurricanes and storms) are likely to threaten food security, increase fresh water scarcity, lead to decline in biodiversity, increase occurrence of vector-borne diseases, cause flooding of coastal settlements, etc. Recognizing the potential threat of severe disruptions, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development was organized in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to begin to address ways to reduce these impacts, which led to the formulation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. This Convention and the subsequent Kyoto Protocol recognize “the common but differentiated responsibility” of developing and industrialized countries in addressing climate change. Developing countries thus have a unique role to play in formulating a sound, reasoned, and well informed response to the threat of climate change.