Sustainability and finance should go hand in hand. A financial system that supports sustainablegrowth is necessary for the transition to a carbon-free society. Environmental, Social andGovernance (ESG) is a sustainability performance measurement used worldwide. Previousresearch within the ESG area has mainly focused on ESG score and financial performance.Environmental performance gets more attention from investors, and the Nordic countries areall in the top five when it comes to sustainability ranking. This research examines the relationbetween sustainability ratings (E score and ESG score) in the Nordic countries as well as if therelation differs between different rating agencies. To study the relationships, a regressionanalysis was performed, and we could not draw any concrete conclusions whether low CO2emissions are associated with a higher E- or ESG score in the Nordic countries. The resultindicates that a high E- or ESG score does not seem to be associated with lower CO2 emissions.A significant result was found on the fact that the E- and ESG scores relation to CO2 aredifferent between rating agencies. However, full access to one of the rating agencies has notbeen granted, which entails some limitations and further research on the questions isrecommended.

Die fünf Essays dieser Dissertation behandeln Themen aus dem Bereich der Entwicklungs- und Umweltökonomie. Alle Essays analysieren wie die Produktion von CO2 Emissionen beeinflusst oder reguliert werden kann. Das Treibhausgas CO2 ist eine der größten Externalitäten der Geschichte menschlicher Entwicklung. Die einzelnen Essays zeigen wie lokale Klimaveränderungen das menschliche Wohlbefinden beeinflussen und welche monetären Kosten mit einem Anstieg der Durchschnittstemperatur in Lateinamerika verbunden sind. Außerdem betrachten die Essays Hauptdeterminanten von CO2 Emissionen auf haushalts- oder nationalem Niveau, und bestimmen den Erfolg aktueller Klimapolitik um CO2 Emissionen zu reduzieren. Das letzte Essay betrachtet die momentane und zukünftige Verteilung von CO2 Emissionen wenn verschiedene Politikszenarien realisiert werden würden. Das erste Essay befasst sich mit dem Effekt von klimatischen Veränderungen auf das Wohlfahrtsniveau in Lateinamerika. Als Wohlfahrtsmaß kommen dabei subjektive Selbstaussagen zum Einsatz. Subjektive Wohlfahrt erfasst nicht nur Veränderungen im Einkommen, sondern auch Veränderungen in anderen Lebensbereichen wie dem Zugang zu Bildung oder Gesundheitseinrichtungen. Generell kommt die Studie zu dem Schluss, dass eine Temperatur im Bereich von 20 Grad Celsius und Niederschlag bis 247mm optimal sind. Höhere monatliche Durchschnittstemperaturen oder Niederschläge sind mit Wohlfahrtsverlusten verbunden. Eine globale Erwärmung von mehr als 2 Grad Celsius wird mit Wohlfahrtsverlusten in Lateinamerika einhergehen. Das zweite Essay analysiert Haushaltsemissionen in Form des Kohlenstoff-Fußabdrucks in Indien. Dabei liegt das Augenmerk auf dem Effekt von Einkommenswachstum und sozio- ökonomischen Veränderungen innerhalb der Haushalte. Ein höheres Haushaltseinkommen führt zu einem stärkeren Konsumverhalten aber gleichzeitig auch zu weniger CO2- intensiven Konsummustern. Dennoch kann der Mehrkonsum an CO2-armen Gütern, wie zum Beispiel Bildung, den Anstieg der Haushaltsemissionen, aufgrund höheren Einkommens, nicht kompensieren. Das dritte Essay betrachtet in wie fern aktuelle internationale Klimapolitik einen Einfluss auf CO2 Emissionen genommen hat. Dabei zeigt sich, dass Länder, welche Verpflichtungen im Rahmen des Kyoto Protokolls eingegangen sind, im Durschnitt 6.5% weniger CO2 emittiert haben, als vergleichbare Länder mit ähnlichem Einkommens- und Bevölkerungswachstum aber ohne Verpflichtungen. Das vierte Essay geht auf die Hauptdeterminante des CO2 Emissionswachstums ein, nämlich Einkommen. Dabei wird aber nicht nur der Effekt von Veränderungen im Einkommen, sondern auch der Effekt von Veränderungen in der Einkommensverteilung auf CO2 Emissionen untersucht. Einkommensungleichheit wirkt sich abhängig vom gegenwertigen Ungleichheitsniveau auf CO2 Emissionen aus. Für Länder mit einer hohen Einkommensungleichheit ist der Effekt positiv, das heißt mit sinkender Einkommensungleichheit sinken CO2 Emissionen. Für Länder mit niedriger Ungleichheit ist der Effekt negativ. Ein weiterer Abbau der Einkommensungleichheit würde dort mit steigenden CO2 Emissionen einhergehen. Das fünfte Essay befasst sich mit der globalen Verteilung von pro Kopf CO2 Emissionen. Dabei geht es darum inwiefern der Energiemix und der sektorale Aufbau einzelner Volkswirtschaften zu dieser ungleichen Verteilung von pro Kopf CO2 Emissionen beigetragen haben. Der Abbau schwerer Industrie in OECD Ländern und der verstärkte Einsatz von Kohle in nicht-OECD Ländern haben dabei zu einem Rückgang der globalen Ungleichheit in CO2 Emissionen geführt. Langfristig gesehen kann es sein, dass die Emissionsungleichheit ab 2040 wieder steigen wird. Jedes Essay trägt in seinem Feld zur betreffenden Literatur bei. Die Essays analysieren wie jegliche ökonomische Aktivität (hauptsächlich Konsum) CO2 Emissionen verursachen, welche wiederum für Veränderungen im Klima verantwortlich gemacht werden. Diese Veränderungen im Klima gehen mit lokalen Wohlfahrtsverlusten einher. Nationale Politikmaßnahmen wie zum Beispiel Maßnahmen zur Einkommensumverteilung können einen ambivalenten Einfluss auf CO2 Emissionen haben. Politikmaßnahmen um das Konsumverhalten und Konsummuster zu beeinflussen könnten ein effizientes Mittel zur Regulierung von CO2 Emissionen in reichen Ländern darstellen. Generell könnten internationale Klimapolitikmaßnahmen nationale Politikmaßnahmen katalysieren.

Abu Dhabi, the Capital City of United Arab Emirates, evolved through various stages since its formation. However, unlike other Golf cities, policy makers, planners, and designers sought to guide its growth and development towards a sustainable responsive city. Sustainability has become a central theme of policy and practice, and the design of the built environment is playing a major role towards this. Abu Dhabi developed the World renowned City of Masdar, as a model of sustainable development and design, and established the Estidama Rating System to enforce specific sustainable applications. This aim of this study is to examine the cost-effectiveness of shifting the development of Abu Dhabi from a conventional approach to a sustainable one. In particular, it sought to determine whether vernacular design and architecture could help to address the quest for a sustainable city. The methodology adopted for this research was based on quantitative and qualitative approaches. Three buildings were selected to determine the cost-effectiveness of the proposed sustainable solutions. 1. Masdar building was studied to represent what is classified as a sustainable prototype. 2. Educational Building of Abu Dhabi Police Academy, which has an open courtyard at the centre of the building, represents a vernacular design. 3. Administrative Building of Abu Dhabi Police Academy, which has a closed atrium in the centre without any skylight, represents a conventional building design. The research involved an environmental investigation of power consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, indoor and outdoor temperature, indoor and outdoor relative humidity, and levels of indoor carbon dioxide. Monitors were installed in the three prototype buildings for a period of time, and the results of the readings were compared and analysed. In addition, a questionnaire survey was used to determine the impact of the three buildings on sustainable lifestyles and attitudes. Ninety users of the three buildings responded to the questionnaire. Their responses were also compared and analysed. The results of the monitoring of the thermal performance, power consumption and carbon dioxide levels indoors confirmed that most indoor temperature readings were similar due to the use of air-conditioning in the three buildings. However, cooler temperatures were recorded in similar rates in the alleyways of Masdar and in the courtyard of the Police Academy Educational building. In some cases, courtyard spaces in the Educational Building in the Police Academy recorded even lower temperatures than those of Masdar. These readings were much higher than those of the outdoor exposed temperature, whether in Masdar or in the Police Academy outdoor spaces. Considering that the cost per square meter of the Masdar prototype was almost the double of the other prototypes, these findings challenged the cost-effectiveness of the prevailing Masdar City approach. The results also highlighted the importance of the architectural heritage of Abu Dhabi to address the sustainability agenda, including its implications on planning and building regulations. The findings of the questionnaire survey revealed that there were no significant differences between user responses of Masdar and the Police Academy buildings. These also questioned the cost effectiveness of the Masdar prototype. However, the results also confirmed that the lack of awareness of the sustainability agenda for the users of the three buildings, thus highlighting the wider implications on the sustainability agenda.

The presence of competitors and predators as well as plant quality affect which plants an insect feed from. These factors affect food choice through the entire insect life cycle, and is especially important when it comes to nurturing larvae. Females oviposition choice sets the initial stage for larval growth and survival, and it is therefore predicted that there is a strong selection pressure to make them oviposit on the best plants possible. This study looks into the behavior of nutrient driven ovipositing and food choice in the beetles Phratora vitellinae and Lochmaea caprea by offering individuals ten leaves of Salix viminalis, one treated with extra nitrogen in order to increase the nutritional value, and four treated with extra carbon, which should lower the nutritional value. During the choice experiment, only two females of Phratora vitellinae oviposited, making it impossible to draw any conclusion regarding nutrient driven oviposition choice. However, data showed a preference for nitrogen treated leaves and an avoidance of untreated control leaves in almost every case when looking into the largest loss of area for leaves of each treatment. When analyzing the number of leaves of each treatment that is eaten per individual there was a slight preference for nitrogen treated leaves, even though the probability of nitrogen being ranked as most preferred in this case was almost zero. Carbon treated leaves and acetone treated control leaves were equally avoided. For Lochmaea caprea, females fed from a significantly larger numer of leaves than males did (t-test, t=1.86, p=0.0003). An ANOVA showed no significant difference in C:N ratio among leaf treatments (ANOVA, F=9.28E-07, p=0.99). Since plant C:N ratio most likely will increase continuously due to CO2 emissions, the effects an increased carbon concentration in plant tissues has on oviposition and food choice in herbivorous insects is something to look further into. More studies on this subject are therefore needed.

This paper examines the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis and tests for causality using Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) and the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). There is evidence of long-run relationships in the three models under consideration. The Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) finds no evidence to support the existence of an environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis for Zambia in the long-run. The evidence from the long-run suggests an opposite of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), in that the results indicate a U-shaped curve relationship between income and carbon emission. The conclusion on causality based on the VECM is that there is evidence of neutrality hypothesis between either total electricity and income or between industrial electricity and income in the short-run Additionally, there is evidence of conservation hypothesis in the context of residential and agricultural electricity consumption.

Research using microalgae Chlorella vulgaris was conducted in order to determine the maximum CO2 concentration under which algae can grow, within the emission range from oil and natural gas burning plants (0-20%). After choosing the optimal CO2 percentage, pH and alkalinity were determined; and finally, an electrochemical (EC) batch reactor connected to DC current was applied to achieve algae cell annihilation, and therefore, facilitate anaerobic digestion, methane production and energy recovery. It was determined that algae can grow under 20% CO2, being 15% CO2 the most effective (pH of 6.64 and alkalinity of 617.5 mg/L CaCO3). Electroporation using an electrochemical batch reactor is effective in breaking cells membranes, which simplifies anaerobic digestion process and methane production. The parameters found effective for completely breaking the algae cell are: detention time of 1 more or less 0.5 minutes, and minimum voltage and current of 65 Volts/285 ml and 3.9 Amps/285 ml, respectively

Die anspruchsvollen Zielsetzungen zum CO2-Ausstoß von Kraftfahrzeugen verlangen immer stärker nach hocheffizienten Fahrzeugkonzepten und werden zukünftig zu deutlich höheren Elektrifizierungsanteilen der Antriebe führen. Die große Herausforderung liegt dabei in der Lösung des Zielkonfliktes zwischen voll elektrischem Fahren und erstfahrzeugtauglicher Reichweite. Im Rahmen eines Forschungsprojektes zur Konzeption von Hybridfahrzeugen hat die BMW Forschung ein Konzeptfahrzeug entwickelt, das im urbanen Bereich emissionsfrei betrieben werden kann und dennoch alltagstauglich für spontane längere Fahrten nutzbar ist (Abbildung 1). Die für dieses Projekt abgeleiteten Ziele waren ein Verbrauch von < 2,5 l im Ladungserhaltungsbetrieb, eine E-Reichweite von 100 km, eine BMW-adäquate Beschleunigung von < 8 sec von 0 auf 100 km/h, eine erstfahrzeugtaugliche Höchstgeschwindigkeit von 180 km/h, ein Raumangebot auf Niveau heutiger viersitziger Coupés im Kompaktsegment und eine Gesamtreichweite von 1.000 km (Eiletz 2015a). Im Rahmen des Beitrags werden sowohl Prozess und Vorgehensweise bei der Gestaltung des Hocheffizienz-Konzeptfahrzeugs als auch die Ergebnisse des Forschungsprojektes dargelegt.

The Emission Trading Scheme for green house gases is a key tool of European climate protection. Including the road transport sector might be a promising strategy to limit its CO2 emissions. This could be realized within a common market (trans-sectoral trading permitted) or separated markets (trans-sectoral trading not permitted). Starting from different assumptions on emission reduction objectives, the impact of both options is analyzed using a quantitative model. Although an emission trading scheme is ecologically effective regardless of the trading model, it turns out that CO2 emissions and emission allowance prices differ strongly between both design options due to sector specific price elasticities of allowance demand. (authors' abstract)

The primary aim of this thesis is to propose a method to develop the process synthesis and optimization of the production of syngas and ammonia, as well as other byproducts such as marketable CO2, in synthetic nitrogen fertilizers (SNF) complexes. The baseline analysis relies on a typical 1000 t/day ammonia production plant composed of syngas production, purification (CO2 capture) and compression systems, along with an industrial ammonia synthesis unit. Initially, exergy and exergoeconomy analyses are used to identify the most important sources of energy consumption and irreversibility associated to the operation units of the integrated plant. From these results, a variety of alternatives for the improvement of the performance at the plantwide and component level are thoroughly examined along the different chapters. Due to the large amount of possible configurations and interrelations, the optimization process may become a formidable engineering task to be solved by using merely trial and error approaches. Accordingly, a systematic approach, based on the combination of heuristics, thermodynamic principles and mathematical programming is used to identify, evaluate, and determine the best configurations in terms of exergy consumption, degree of energy integration, process irreversibility, atmospheric CO2 emissions and operating costs. In this way, the process synthesis and optimization include not only the modification of the main process parameters but also the arrangement of the chemical plant components, suitably integrated to the waste heat recovery and cogeneration systems. Several aspects concerning: (i) the choice of the syngas purification system, (ii) the nature of the energy resources consumed, (iii) the exploitation of the thermodynamic potential at higher temperatures, (iv) the increase of the pre-combustion carbon capture by introducing chemically recuperated concepts, (v) the gradual variation of operating conditions by applying Le Châtelier and Counteraction principles, as well as (vi) the environmental benefits of using alternative energy sources to decarbonize the SNF sector are analyzed in the light of the reduced room of improvement found in modern conventional ammonia production facilities. The results show significant potentials for decreasing the exergy intensity and environmental impact of those facilities. This allows issuing relevant recommendations for revamping the existing plants or embracing new approaches that attempt to minimize the economic costs, the process inefficiencies and mitigate the environmental impact produced. An efficiency increase of about 8-10% can be achieved by using more efficient combined cycle cogeneration systems with an affordable marginal investment cost. Alternative configurations with enhanced pre-combustion carbon capture, using either a CRGT system or upgraded biomass residues, may help cutting down the overall CO2 emissions in the syngas production in 20-28% or even promoting the decarbonization of the SNF sector at net rates of atmospheric CO2 depletion close to -2.3 tCO2/tNH3, respectively. The reduction of the process irreversibility has been also reduced by 10-13% in an industrial ammonia synthesis unit through the application of dual pressure systems and the introduction of a purge gas treatment process. / Sem resumo

With the increased energy demands which are needed to fuel the human development and economic growth we also observe a trend for global environmental problems caused by burning fossil fuels. Tackling problems like global warming would mean either tapping into the large CO2 emitters and having them shift to renewable energy alternatives or motivating change on the level of individuals which would lead to a general reduction in energy consumption. This thesis features an online experiment with 320 participants, recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk, who were randomly assigned to either an environmental or an economic frame, and performed tasks on energy-related investments, risk elicitation and environmental preferences (by framing we mean controlling the formulation of the decision problem). The main purpose of the experiment was to examine the effects of framing on the decision-making processes of households in regards to energy investments. The results we obtained with 90 and 99% confidence provide evidence that framing does have an effect on investment choices, moreover we have also observed that environmental concern is an important predictor of households’ investments. Going beyond our main hypothesis, we have conducted some exploratory analysis of the data which highlighted a great potential for the scientific method within the domain of energy-related investments. Finally, the results from our experiment suggest that framing could be a successful instrument in the hands of those working with policy-making and communication.