Die wesentlichen sozio-ökonomischen Prozesse, die die vermehrten anthropogenen CO₂-Emissionen verursachen, können durch die Determinanten Bevölkerung, Wohlstand (Bruttoinlandsprodukt pro Kopf) und Technologie (Energie- und Kohlenstoffintensität) vereinfacht beschrieben werden. Der Einfluss dieser Determinanten auf die Emissionsänderungen ist nicht für alle Länder der Erde gleich.<br /> Zeitreihen der CO₂-Emissionen aus der Verbrennung fossiler Energieträger, der Bevölkerung, des Bruttoinlandsproduktes und des Primärenergieverbrauches von 121 Ländern bilden die Grundlage für das entwickelte statistische Verfahren zur schrittweisen Informationsverdichtung, mit dem der gesamte Datenraum zu 6 energiewirtschaftlichen Ländertypen schrittweise zusammengefasst wird.<br /> Zur Beschreibung dieser Ländertypen wird mit Hilfe der Dekompositionsanalyse der Einfluss der Bevölkerungs-, der Wohlstands- und der Technologiekomponenten an den Emissionsänderungen quantifiziert. Die Ländertypen können vereinfacht als Repräsentanten unterschiedlicher Entwicklungsstufen und -richtungen angesehen werden. Sie bilden unter anderem eine Grundlage für die Weiterentwicklung und Kalibrierung regionalisierter makro-ökonomischer Modelle zu den sozio-ökonomischen Hintergründen der vermehrten anthropogenen CO₂-Emissionen. / The principal socio-economic processes that cause the increased anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide can be modeled by the variables population, affluence (gross domestic product per capita) and technology (energy intensity and carbon intensity). The impact of these variables on the changes of the CO₂ emissions is not the same for all countries of the earth.<br /> Time series of carbon dioxide emissions from burning of fossil energies, population, gross domestic product and of primary energy supply of 121 countries were analyzed. A statistical method for the stepwise aggregation of these data into six classes of countries according to their energy use profile.<br>The impact of population, affluence and technology components on the changes of the emissions of carbon dioxide is quantified by decomposition analysis. The classes of countries according to their energy use profile can be regarded as representative of different states and of different paths of development. These classes are also a basis for the elaboration and calibration of regionalized macro economic models to analyze the socio economic determinants of the increased anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide.

According to the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), economic growth will eventually cause carbon dioxide emissions to decrease. Is this the case in Sweden? A time series covering the period 1800-1995 is used to analyze the relation between carbon dioxide emissions and income per capita in Sweden. The empirical results indicate that an EKC for carbon dioxide is highly likely to exist in Sweden for the examined period. To take the analysis further, a cross-section data set is employed to examine the relationship between carbon dioxide emissions, income per capita and 4 other potentially influential variables in 75 countries. Only carbon intensity of energy is significant for carbon dioxide emissions. This implies that the utilized energy source is of importance, and it is crucial to separate energy consumption from carbon dioxide emissions. Emissions is a matter of structural aspects such as the type of industry and production a country comprise, and what type of energy that is consumed; not merely the quantity of energy. Sweden has experienced a shift in production techniques and in energy supply, and the energy-efficiency has improved during the past 100 years. It is consequently plausible to believe that it is not a critical income per capita which decreases CO 2  emissions – it is the “right” energy sources, energy efficiency and improved technology.

Two weeks before the Copenhagen summit on climate change, China officially made a pledge to cut its carbon intensity by 40 to 45 percent below 2005 level by 2020. The thesis has tried to look into the quality and quantity concern of this pledge made by the biggest CO2 emitter in the world. From the existing projections on China’s business as usual (BAU) scenarios to 2020, there are no unanimous conclusions showing whether there is additionality in China’s pledge to reduce 40-45% of its carbon intensity between 2005 and 2020. Further analysis on selected results, we have found scenarios of two frequently cited authorities, namely IEA and EIA are, to some extent, misinterpreted regarding their references/current policies scenarios. On the other hand, several more typical BAU scenarios, like Garnaut’s and ReMIND-R, predicted much lower than 40% reduction rate in the period of 2005-2020. China’s pledge seems achievable with certain extra effort, comparing with historical pathways of several OECD countries, including U.S., Japan, Germany, and Korea. The average period in these four countries to go through China’s abatement path is around 21 years. From a global prospect, China’s pledge is impressive but not enough to address the climate change issue. The biggest uncertainty inherited in the pledge is the uncertain peak year of absolute emissions. The critical movement beyond 2020 pledge is to peak its absolute CO2 emissions as early as possible. Such a challenging target shall be set as no later than 2030 according to our overviews on the related literature.

<p> </p><p> </p><p>According to the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), economic growth will eventually cause carbon dioxide emissions to decrease. Is this the case in Sweden? A time series covering the period 1800-1995 is used to analyze the relation between carbon dioxide emissions and income per capita in Sweden. The empirical results indicate that an EKC for carbon dioxide is highly likely to exist in Sweden for the examined period. To take the analysis further, a cross-section data set is employed to examine the relationship between carbon dioxide emissions, income per capita and 4 other potentially influential variables in 75 countries. Only carbon intensity of energy is significant for carbon dioxide emissions. This implies that the utilized energy source is of importance, and it is crucial to separate energy consumption from carbon dioxide emissions. Emissions is a matter of structural aspects such as the type of industry and production a country comprise, and what type of energy that is consumed; not merely the quantity of energy. Sweden has experienced a shift in production techniques and in energy supply, and the energy-efficiency has improved during the past 100 years. It is consequently plausible to believe that it is not a critical income per capita which decreases CO</p><p>2  emissions – it is the “right” energy sources, energy efficiency and improved technology.</p><p> </p><p> </p>

The European power sector is facing significant challenges related to investments in grid infrastructure and generation capacity. The continued deployment of intermittent renewables also puts pressure on current grid conditions. Smart grids is seen as a cost-efficient way to overcome these challenges through a more efficient use of current capacity. Demand response is a corner-stone in smart grid development,  and is implemented to introduce flexibility on the demand side. Most demand response programs have used dynamic pricing to incentivize consumers to shift consumption from peak to off-peak hours. In Stockholm Royal Seaport, where a sustainable energy system is envisioned, it has been proposed that dynamic pricing should be complemented with an indicator depicting carbon intensity of purchased electricity. This indicator is based on average emissions, which is one of two fundamental perspectives on assessing environmental impacts of electricity consumption.  The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the approach used to quantify carbon intensity in Stockholm Royal Seaport is appropriate in the context of demand response. To achieve this, a literature review has been conducted regarding potential benefits of demand response, power system dynamics and carbon dioxide allocation methods. A quantitative analysis has also been conducted, where the signal proposed for Stockholm Royal Seaport has been modeled under different timeframes. The results show that the CO2-signal in Stockholm Royal Seaport is constructed in such a way that it is largely affected by hydro generation, which in turn makes it correlate negatively with price. As a result, the CO2-signal would counteract many of the predicted long-term benefits of demand response. Furthermore it seems unlikely that the signal would result in significant short-term emission reductions, since hydro generally is used to balance supply and demand in the Swedish and Nordic systems.  Based on the literature review, it was concluded that marginal emissions would be a more appropriate environmental indicator than average emissions. However, it remains a difficulty to construct a day-ahead control signal based on this perspective because of system complexity and lack of data. Historical marginal carbon intensity was nevertheless modeled in this study using a linear regression model. The results indicate that price itself might be a sufficient indicator of marginal emissions. Finally, a model for a signal based on prognoses of intermittent renewable generation is proposed, where the rationale is that consumers should decrease consumption during hours of low renewable generation. This signal was modeled using data on renewable generation from Denmark since corresponding data in Sweden is not yet available. Results show that it would be possible to construct a rather accurate control signal in this way. There are also reasons to believe that demand response based on this type of signal would result in long-term environmental benefits. / Den europeiska energisektorn står inför stora utmaningar, bland annat i form av investeringsbehov i nätinfrastruktur och produktionskapacitet för att säkra framtida leveranssäkerhet. Den fortsatta utbyggnaden av intermittent förnybar kraftproduktion ställer också nya krav på nätet och på aktörernas flexibilitet. Smarta nät ses som ett kostnadseffektivt sätt för att övervinna dessa utmaningar genom en mer effektiv användning av nuvarande kapacitet. En viktig del i detta är efterfrågerespons, som syftar till att minska belastningen på nätet under höglasttimmar genom att i högre grad än tidigare involvera konsumenten. De flesta initiativ inom efterfrågerespons har använt dynamisk prissättning för att uppmuntra konsumenter att flytta konsumtion från höglast- till låglasttimmar. I Norra Djurgårdsstaden, där visionen är att bygga ett hållbart och mer flexibelt energisystem, har det föreslagits att dynamisk prissättning bör kompletteras med en indikator som visar den inköpta elens koldioxidintensitet. Denna indikator är baserad på medelel, vilket är ett av två fundamentala sätt att miljövärdera el. Syftet med denna studie var att utvärdera om den metod som används för att kvantifiera koldioxidintensiteten i Norra Djurgårdsstaden är lämplig i samband med efterfrågerespons. För att uppnå detta har en litteraturstudie genomförts gällande potentiella fördelar med efterfrågerespons, hur kraftsystemet fungerar samt olika metoder för att miljövärdera el. En kvantitativ analys har också genomförts, där CO2-signalen i Norra Djurgårdsstaden har modellerats utifrån olika tidsperspektiv. Resultaten visar att CO2-signalen i Norra Djurgårdsstaden är konstruerad på ett sådant sätt att den till stor del påverkas av vattenkraftens produktionsvariationer, vilket i sin tur gör att signalen generellt rör sig i motsatt riktning mot prissignalen. Resultatet av detta är att CO2-signalen motverkar många av de långsiktiga fördelarna med efterfrågestyrning. Dessutom ter det sig osannolikt att signalen skulle leda till signifikanta utsläppsminskningar på kort sikt, eftersom lasten i Sverige främst balanseras av variationer i vattenkraft. Utifrån litteraturstudien kan man dra slutsatsen att marginalelens koldioxidintensitet skulle vara en lämpligare miljöindikator än genomsnittliga utsläpp i samband med efterfrågestyrning. Det är dock svårt att i praktiken konstruera en styrsignal baserat på detta perspektiv på grund av systemets komplexitet och brist på data. Historiska marginella utsläpp modellerades emellertid med hjälp av linjär regression. Resultaten från detta indikerade att priset kan vara en tillräcklig indikator även för variationerna i koldioxidintensitet utifrån ett marginalperspektiv. Slutligen föreslås en modell för en signal baserad på dagenföreprognoser om intermittent förnybar produktion, där budskapet skulle vara att användaren minskar sin konsumtion under timmar med låg förnybar produktion. Denna signal modellerades med hjälp av uppgifter om förnybar produktion från Danmark eftersom motsvarande uppgifter om Svensk produktion inte finns tillgängliga ännu. Resultaten visar att det skulle vara möjligt att konstruera en relativt träffsäker styrsignal på detta sätt. Det finns också skäl att tro att efterfrågerespons baserat på denna typ av signal skulle leda till miljömässiga fördelar på längre sikt.

The study examines the link between the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance of a company and its cost of debt, measured as credit spreads between corresponding corporate and risk-free government bonds, in Nordic countries between 2020 and 2022. No previous studies look at ESG effects on bond spreads in the Nordic markets, although their stakeholder-oriented nature could make them attentive to ESG issues. Additionally, public and regulatory attention to carbon dioxide suggest a value for companies in decreasing emissions. In line with previous studies on ESG top-level and individual pillar performance, Refinitiv ESG scores are used as proxies for ESG performance in the two initial regressions, and an additional regression is run where a measure of carbon intensity is substituted for environmental pillar performance. Although there is a risk of reverse causality inherent in this field, the findings in this study indicate that ESG top-level performance reduces cost of debt, while carbon intensity increases it. Notably, social pillar scores and carbon intensity, but not environmental pillar scores, have significant effects on spreads.

As the world becomes more focused on sustainability, there is increasing pressure on steel-bearing companies to improve their energy efficiency and reduce their carbon footprint. The heat treatment process accounts for about 25% of SKF's energy consumption, and it aims to achieve decarbonized operations by 2030 and the supply chain by 2050. Therefore, improving the energy efficiency of the heat treatment process can have significant economic and environmental benefits for the company. This thesis project aimed to conduct an energy mapping of different heat treatment processes at SKF to develop a methodology and standard key performance indicator for establishing energy performance and ensuring comparability between installations and processes. Three heat treatment processes were studied: through hardening, location A; case carburizing, location B; and surface induction hardening, location C. A detailed methodology and guidelines for carrying out energy mapping were developed. A standard key performance indicator known as Specific Energy consumption in kWh/kg at a particular utilization in % was set for comparisons among different heat treatment processes. Regression analysis was used to normalize the results. On the same utilization level, case carburizing, location B consumes more energy than through hardening, location A. Surface induction hardening, location C consumes 90% less than others and is less dependent on utilization. The carbon intensity in g CO2-eq/kg for greenhouse gas scopes 1, 2 and 3 were also studied. Case carburizing, location B had the highest climate impact due to the coal-based electricity mix of the country. Hence, the future availability of renewable electricity is critical when switching from gas to electricity across factories in SKF.

Bakgrund: Med anledning av den globala uppvärmningen behövs en omställning till en cirkulär ekonomi. Svenska fastigheter står för en stor del av samhällets energianvändning men har också genomgått en betydande energieffektivisering de senaste decennierna. Syfte: Studiens huvudsyfte var att svara på frågeställningen om det fanns ett samband mellan koldioxidprestanda och finansiell lönsamhet inom urvalsgruppen svenska fastighetsverksamheter mellan åren 2016 och 2020. Syftet var också att undersöka om koldioxidskatten hade ett samband med koldioxidprestanda. Metod: Data på koldioxidprestanda inhämtades manuellt från företagens hållbarhetsrapporter. Koldioxidprestanda uttrycktes som koldioxidintensitet. Finansiell lönsamhet uttrycktes genom fem olika nyckeltal: avkastning på eget kapital, avkastning på totalt kapital, EBITAD-marginal, rörelsemarginal och vinstmarginal. Sambanden analyserades med olika linjära regressionsmodeller för paneldata.Resultat: Resultaten visade på en signifikant negativ association mellan högre lönsamhet och lägre koldioxidintensitet. Resultaten var starkast för lönsamhetsmåtten avkastning på eget kapital, avkastning på totalt kapital, rörelsemarginal och vinstmarginal (p&lt;0,05). Det fanns också ett signifikant samband mellan högre koldioxidskatt och lägre koldioxidintensitet. Slutsats: Det finns ett samband mellan högre lönsamhet och bättre koldioxidprestanda inom svenska fastighetsbranschen. Slutsatsen är också att lönsammare företag hade en lägre koldioxidintensitet. Slutligen så har en högre koldioxidskatt ett samband med bättre koldioxidprestanda. / Background: Due to global warming, a shift to a circular economy is needed. Swedish properties account for a large part of society's energy use, but have also undergone significant energy efficiency improvements in recent decades. Aim: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between carbon performance and financial profitability within the sample group Swedish real estate companies between the years 2016 and 2020. The purpose was also to investigate a possible relationship between carbon tax and carbon performance. Method: Data on carbon performance were obtained manually from companies' environmental disclosure. Carbon performance was expressed as carbon intensity. Financial profitability was expressed through five different key ratios: return on equity, return on assets, EBITAD margin, operating margin, and profit margin. The relationships were analyzed with different linear regression models for panel data.Results: The results showed a significant negative association between higher profitability and lower carbon intensity. The results were strongest for the profitability measures return on equity, return on assets, operating margin and profit margin (p&lt;0.05). There was also a significant association between higher carbon taxes and lower carbon intensity. Conclusion: There is a relationship between higher profitability and better carbon performance in the Swedish real estate industry. Furthermore, companies with higher profitability have lower carbon intensity. Finally, a higher carbon tax is associated with better carbon performance.

The aim of this thesis is to explore the quantitative potential to reduce energy requirements and CO2 emissions through changed patterns of consumption, given unchanged levels of consumption expenditure. The thesis question is analysed using a systems analysis approach which in this case means that life cycle assessment data on energy requirements and CO2 emissions related to household consumption are combined with a financial and behavioural analysis to make sure that the budget constraint is kept and that both the first and second order effects of adopting a green consumption pattern are analysed. The budget constraints are kept using a general linear model. By using marginal propensities to spend to direct the reallocation of saved or deficit money calculated utility is maintained as far as possible. Further, investigations explore the impact of individual household demographic characteristics and geographic context on household consumption patterns, energy requirements and CO2 emissions. The key result of this thesis is that changed household behaviour, choosing “green“ products and energy efficient technology will not make a big difference. What can be achieved in the short time perspective by adopting an almost completely green consumption pattern and energy efficient technology is a reduction of energy requirements by around 8% and CO2 emissions by around 13%. With a longer time perspective and further technological change that provides additional possibilities to move consumption patterns in a greener direction, the effect on energy requirements and CO2 emissions is still fairly small. By 2020, the potential to reduce energy requirements is around 13% and CO2 emissions around 25%. In the most extreme scenario (2050), the scope for reducing energy requirements is 17% and for CO2 emissions 30%. All these reductions will be outpaced by growth in income almost as soon as they are implemented. Of policy relevance the results reveal that very limited impact can be expected by a policy relying on greener consumption patterns, whether adopted voluntarily or as a result of incentives such as tax changes. Such a policy cannot achieve more than a small and temporary reduction to growth in energy requirements and CO2 emissions. It is also shown that, prescribing specific consumption patterns as a means of reducing energy requirements and CO2 emissions has to be done with care. This is illustrated by one of the experiments in which adopting a partly green consumption pattern, a green diet, in fact increased total energy requirements and CO2 emissions. This, and the results of all the other experiments show the importance of applying a systems approach. It demonstrates that life cycle data alone are irrelevant for assessing the total effects of adopting green consumption patterns. Further research on the potential to reduce energy requirements and CO2 emissions thus primarily needs to better capture system wide effects rather than to improve on, and fine tune the measurement of the energy requirements and CO2 emissions related to individual products.

Brown macroalgae or brown seaweed is a promising source of ethanol that may avoid the challenges of arable land use, water use, lignin content, and the food vs. fuel debate associated with first generation and cellulosic ethanol sources; however, this promise is challenged by seaweed’s high water content, high ash content, and natural composition fluctuations. Notably, lifecycle studies of seaweed ethanol are lacking in the literature. To address this gap, a well-to-wheel model of ethanol production from farmed brown seaweed was constructed and applied to the case of Saccharina latissima farming in British Columbia (BC), Canada, to determine energy return on energy invested (EROI), carbon intensity (CI), and near shore seaweed farming production potential for seaweed ethanol and to examine the production cost of seaweed ethanol. Seaweed farming and ethanol production were modeled based on current BC farming methods and the dry grind corn ethanol production process; animal feed was included as an ethanol co-product, and co-product credits were considered. A seaweed ethanol yield calculation tool that accounts for seaweed composition was proposed, and a sensitivity study was done to examine case study data assumptions. In the case study, seaweed ethanol had lower CI than sugarcane, wheat, and corn ethanol at 10.1 gCO2e/MJ, and it had an EROI comparable to corn ethanol at 1.78. Seaweed ethanol was potentially profitable due to significant revenue from animal feed sales; however, the market for seaweed animal feed was limited by the feed’s high sodium content. Near shore seaweed farming could meet the current demand for ethanol in BC, but world near shore ethanol potential is likely an order of magnitude lower than world ethanol production and two orders of magnitude lower than world gasoline production. Composition variation and a limited harvest season make solar thermal or geothermal seaweed drying and storage necessary for ethanol production in BC. Varying seaweed composition, solar thermal drying performance, co-product credits, the type of animal feed produced, transport distances, and seaweed farming performance in the sensitivity study gave an EROI of over 200 and a CI of -42 gCO2e/MJ in the best case and an EROI of 0.64 and CI of 33 gCO2e/MJ in the worst case. Co-product credits and the type of animal feed produced had the most significant effect overall, and the worst cases of seaweed composition and solar thermal seaweed drying system performance resulted in EROI of 0.64 and 1.0 respectively. Brown seaweed is concluded to be a potentially profitable source of ethanol with climate benefits that surpass current ethanol sources; however, additional research into seaweed animal feed value, co-product credits, large scale seaweed conversion, and the feasibility of solar thermal or geothermal seaweed drying is required to confirm this conclusion. / Graduate