Exposure to air pollution is a leading cause of premature death worldwide. An increasing part of air pollution results from industrial activity and the production of energy. When unregulated, emissions of air pollutants constitute a market failure as polluters do not bear the costs imposed on society at large. My dissertation develops empirical methods to test the effectiveness and distributional effects of environmental policies designed to address this externality. To do so, I apply econometrics and data science techniques on large datasets from cutting-edge research in environmental science and engineering that I match with microeconomic data. The dissertation makes use of new datasets on air pollution derived from satellite imagery, as well as micro-level data on power plant operations and housing transactions across the United States. Chapter 1 assembles unit-level data to disentangle the factors that led US power plants to achieve the unprecedented reductions in emissions of the past fifteen years. I calculate the costs incurred by the electricity generation sector and compare these costs to the correspond- ing health benefits. In hedonic regressions, I use these shocks to emissions to estimate the demand for clean air with micro-level data on housing transactions. Chapter 2 studies the causal impacts and evaluates the distributional effects of stringent emissions markets that were put in place to target power plants emissions of air pollutants in the Eastern US. Chapter 3 uses new satellite imagery to document the inequalities in the exposure to air pollution in American cities and their recent evolutions.

The rapid influx of solar energy and the desire to utilize carbon dioxide (CO2) will require large-scale energy storage and CO2 conversion technologies. Electrocatalytic devices can substantially impact both challenges, but improvements to electrocatalyst cost, activity, and selectivity are needed. Transition metal carbides provide a unique framework to reduce the loading of expensive catalyst metals while tuning the electrocatalytic activity and selectivity. Transition metal nitrides have many similar properties as carbides, and their synthesis inherently avoids the unwanted carbonaceous overlayer associated with carbide synthesis. Here it is shown that carbides and nitrides enable lower platinum-group metal (PGM) loadings and improve the activity and selectivity of electrocatalysts for reactions of water electrolysis and electrochemical CO2 reduction. Atom-thick layers of Pt were deposited onto niobium carbide (NbC) thin films to assess hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity. The Pt/NbC thin film, with one monolayer of Pt on NbC, performed similarly to bulk Pt. This correlated well with density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the hydrogen binding energy on the Pt/NbC surface. Potential applications of transition metal nitrides as electrocatalyst support materials were explored by synthesizing thin film nitrides of niobium and tungsten. The stability of each nitride was evaluated across broad potential-pH regimes to create a pseudo-Pourbaix diagram for each one. The films were each modified with atom-thick layers of Pt and were evaluated for HER performance in acid and alkaline electrolyte. Thin layers of Pt on WN and NbN showed Pt-like HER performance in acid and are promising candidates for high-surface area catalysts. To address the issue of high iridium (Ir) loading for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the water electrolyzer anode, core-shell Ir-metal nitride particles were synthesized that contained 50% of the Ir mass loading of benchmark IrO¬2 particles. Iridium-iron nitride (Ir/Fe4N) showed increased activity on a mass-Ir basis and on a per-site basis, compared to IrO2. The core-shell morphology and stability under reaction conditions were confirmed with electron microscopy and in-situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Electrochemical reduction of CO2 to a mixture of CO and H¬2 (synthesis gas) was achieved on the palladium hydride (PdH) electrocatalyst. The product mixture can then be used as feedstock for the Fischer–Tropsch process and methanol synthesis. The syngas production performance was optimized by evaluating shape controlled PdH particles, bimetallic PdH, and PdH supported on transition metal carbides. At each step, the phase transition from Pd to PdH was monitored under reaction conditions with synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. We also performed an overall carbon balance for catalytic transformation of CO2 to methanol via four reaction schemes, including one relying on electrocatalytic syngas production. The analysis revealed that hybrid electrocatalytic/thermocatalytic processes are most promising for resulting in overall CO2 reduction, but current densities of recently reported electrocatalysts need to increase to make the process economically feasible.

<p>A CMbB system is a system that with the help of sensors in the front of a car detects when a collision in unavoidable. When a situation like that is detected, the brakes are activated. The decision of whether to activate the brakes or not is taken by a piece of software called a decision maker. This software continuously checks for routes that would avoid an object in front of the car and as long as a path is found nothing is done. Volvo has been investigating several different CMbB-systems, and the research done by Volvo has previously focused on decision makers that only consider one object in front of the car. By instead taking all present objects in consideration, it should be possible to detect an imminent collision earlier. Volvo has developed some prototypes but needed help evaluating their performance. </p><p>As part of this thesis a testing method was developed. The idea was to test as many cases as possible but as the objects’ possible states increase, the number of test cases quickly becomes huge. Different ways of removing irrelevant test cases were developed and when these ideas were realized in a test bench, it showed that about 98 % of the test cases could be removed. </p><p>The test results showed that there is clearly an advantage to consider many objects if the cost of increased complexity in the decision maker is not too big. However, the risk of false alarms is high with the current decision makers and several possible improvements have therefore been suggested.</p>

Geological carbon sequestration, as a method of atmospheric greenhouse gas reduction, is at the technological forefront of the climate change movement. During sequestration, carbon dioxide (CO���) gas effluent is captured from coal fired power plants and is injected into a storage saline aquifer or depleted oil reservoir. In an effort to fully understand and optimize CO��� trapping efficiency, the capillary trapping mechanisms that immobilize subsurface CO��� were analyzed at the pore-scale. Pairs of proxy fluids representing the range of in situ supercritical CO��� and brine conditions were used during experimentation. The two fluids (identified as wetting and non-wetting) were imbibed and drained from a flow cell apparatus containing a sintered glass bead column. Experimental and fluid parameters, such as interfacial tension, fluid viscosities and flow rate, were altered to characterize their relative impact on capillary trapping. Computed x-ray microtomography (CMT) was used to identify immobilized CO��� (non-wetting fluid) volumes after imbibition and drainage events. CMT analyzed data suggests that capillary behavior in glass bead systems do not follow the same trends as in consolidated natural material systems. An analysis of the disconnected phases in both the initial and final flood events indicate that the final (residual) amount of trapped non-wetting phase has a strong linear dependence on the original amount of non-wetting phase (after primary imbibition), which corresponds to the amount of gas or oil present in the formation prior to CO��� injection. More importantly, the residual trapped gas was also observed to increase with increasing non-wetting fluid phase viscosity. This suggests that CO��� sequestration can be optimized in two ways: through characterization of the trapped fluid present in the formation prior to injection and through alterations to the viscosity of supercritical CO2. / Graduation date: 2013

During the past two decades, community-based hazard mitigation (CBHM) has been newly proposed and implemented as an alternative conceptual model for emergency management to deal with disasters comprehensively in order to curtail skyrocketing disaster losses. Local community members have been growingly required to share information and responsibilities for reducing community vulnerabilities to natural and technological hazards and building a safer community. Consequently they are encouraged to join local mitigation programs and volunteer for collective mitigation action, but their contributions vary. This research examined factors associated with Tulsa Project Impact partners?? contributions to collective mitigation action. In the literature review, self-interest and social norms were identified and briefly discussed as two determinants to guide partners?? behavior by reviewing game theoretic frameworks and individual decision-making models. Partners?? collective interest in building a safer community and feelings of obligation to participate in collective mitigation action were also considered for this study. Thus, the major factors considered are: (1) collective interests, (2) selective benefits, (3) participation costs, (4) norms of cooperation, and (5) internalized norms of participation. Research findings showed that selective benefits and internalized norms of participation were the two best predictors for partners?? contributions to collective mitigation action. However, collective interests, participation costs, and norms of cooperation did not significantly influence partners?? contributions.

A predicted loss of agricultural rice-wetlands and increasing urbanization and development threatens the remaining freshwater wetlands along the upper Texas coast. To avoid, minimize, and mitigate wetland loss, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is directed to enforce Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (1975 amendment) by administering permits for development. Furthermore, a 1990 Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Corps and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a national goal of no net wetland loss (NNL). My goals were to identify the frequency of occurrence of freshwater wetland loss due to dredge or fill, assess final plans to mitigate wetland loss, and verify the persistence of the created compensatory wetlands. I created a database of 96 individual, Section 404 permits issued from 1981 to 2001 in the counties of Chambers, Hardin, Jefferson, Liberty, Montgomery, Orange, and San Jacinto (Galveston District Office, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers). Descriptive statistics were calculated for permit characteristics in relation to issue date (pre- or post-NNL). Public comments received from national and state agencies were rank ordered against mitigation plan type to determine Spearman's Rank Order Correlation Coefficient. Visual identification (via site visits and 1996 aerial photos) was used to validate compensatory wetland persistence. Shoreline protection of private property and oil and gas drilling (64% of permit applicants and 59% of impacts) had the greatest effect on wetland loss in the region, particularly Chambers, Jefferson, and Montgomery counties. Overall, 79.3 ha of freshwater wetlands were gained; however, gain was overestimated due to large projects for habitat enhancement. Permits issued post-NNL were more likely to have formal mitigation plans (58% vs. 13% pre-NNL) and allowed no net wetland loss. Although agency comments recommending more formal mitigation plans increased after NNL, only a weak positive correlation was detected (Spearman's r less than or equal to 0.4). Six of seven created wetlands remained in existence through 2006 though they are freshwater ponds replacing more diverse aquatic systems. I recommend the development of a comprehensive method to track wetland loss, mitigation, and changes in watersheds over time.

The thesis assesses the contribution of technology option of Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) to climate change mitigation. CCS means that CO2 is captured at large industrial facilities and sequestered in goelogical structures. The technology uses the endogenous growth model MIND. Herein the various climate change mitigation options of reducing economic growth, increasing energy efficiency, changing the energy mix and CCS are assessed simultaneously. An important question is whether CCS is a temporary or long-term solution. The results show that in the middle of the 21st century CCS has its peak contribution, which allows prolonged use of relatively cheap fossil energy carriers. However, this leads to delayed introduction of renewable energy carriers. The technology path ways are accombined with different costs of climate change mitigation. The use of CCS delays and reduces the costs of climate change mitigation. However, the delayed introduction of renewable energy carriers leads to reduced technological learning, which induces higher costs in the longer term. All in all the temporary use of CCS reduces the costs of climate change mitigation costs. The result is robust, which is tested with various uncertainty analysis. / Die Arbeit befasst sich mit der Bewertung der technischen Option zum Klimaschutz CO2 an grossen industriellen Anlagen abzufangen und in geologischen Lagerstätten zu speichern. Die Technologiebewertung wird mit Hilfe des endogenen Wachstummodells MIND untersucht. Darin werden die Klimaschutzoptionen geringere wirtschaftliche Entwicklung, Steigerung der Energieeffizienz, Veränderung des Energiemixes und eben CO2 Abscheidung simultan bewertet. Eine wichtige Frage ist ob die Abscheidung von CO2 eine langfristige oder eine Zwischenlösung ist. Es zeigt sich, dass sie um die Mitte des 21ten Jahrhunderts ihren grössten Beitrag zum Klimaschutz leistet und die Nutzung der relativ kostengünstigen fossilen Energieträger verlängert. Das führt zu einer späteren Einführung erneuerbarer Energietechnologieen. Mit diesen unterschiedlichen Technologiepfaden gehen auch verschiedene ökonomische Kostenverläufe des Klimaschutzes einher. Die Verwendung von CO2 Abscheidung verschiebt die Kosten in die Zukunft und drückt ihre Spitze. Da es aber gleichzeitig zu geringerer Technologieentwicklung bei erneuerbaren Energieen führt entstehen wiederum Kosten. Unterm Strich lohnt sich die Einführung der CO2 Abscheidung als temporärer Beitrag zum Klimaschutz. Dieses Ergebnis konnte mit einer Reihe von Unsicherheitsanalysen erhärtet werden.

Forests can be an important element of an overall strategy to limit the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) that contributes to climate change. As an integral part of the global carbon cycle, forests remove CO2 from the atmosphere as they grow, and accumulate carbon in tree biomass. Using wood products made from sustainably managed forests can reduce net CO2 emission by substituting in place of fossil fuels and energy-intensive materials. In this thesis the mechanisms by which wood product substitution can affect energy and carbon balances are studied. These include: the energy needed to manufacture wood products compared with alternative materials; the avoidance of industrial process carbon emission from e.g. cement manufacture; the use of wood by-products as biofuel to replace fossil fuels; and the physical storage of carbon in forests and wood materials. A methodological framework is first developed by integrating knowledge from the fields of forestry, industry, construction, and energy. A life cycle perspective is employed encompassing the entire product chain from natural resource acquisition to material disposal or reuse. Analytical challenges that are addressed include the functional unit of comparison, the fossil reference system, land use issues of wood vs. non-wood materials, and the diverse phases of the product life cycle. The methodology is then applied to two multi-storey wood-framed buildings in Sweden and Finland, compared with two functionally equivalent buildings with reinforced concrete structural frames. The results show that less primary energy is needed to produce the wood-framed buildings than the concrete-frame buildings. CO2 emission is significantly lower for the wood-frame buildings, due to reductions in both fossil fuel use and cement calcination process emission. The most important single factor affecting the energy and carbon balances is the use of biomass by-products from the wood product chain as biofuel to replace fossil fuels. Over the life cycle of the wood-framed buildings, the energy of biomass residues from forest operations, wood processing, construction and demolition is greater than the energy inputs to produce the materials in the buildings. Realisation of this benefit is facilitated by integrating and optimising the biomass and energy flows within the forestry, industrial, construction, energy, and waste management sectors. Different forest management regimes are studied in an integrated carbon analysis to quantify the carbon flows and stocks associated with tree biomass, soils, and forest products. Intensified forest management that produces greater quantities of biomass leads to net CO2 emission benefits by augmenting the potential to substitute for fossil fuels and non-wood materials. The increased energy use and carbon emission required for the more intensive forest management, as well as the slight reduction in soil carbon accumulation due to greater removal of forest residues, are more than compensated for by the emission reduction due to product substitution. Carbon stock changes in forests and wood materials can be temporarily significant, but over the building life cycle and forest rotation period the stock change becomes insignificant. In the long term, the active and sustainable management of forests, including their use as a source for wood products and biofuels, allows the greatest potential for reducing net CO2 emission. Implementation issues related to the wider use of wood-based materials to reduce energy use and carbon emission are also explored. An analysis of the effects of energy and taxation costs on the economic competitiveness of materials shows that the cost of energy for material processing, as a percentage of the total cost of finished material, is lower for wood products than for other common non-wood building materials. Energy and carbon taxation affects the cost of wood products less than other materials. The economic benefit of using biomass residues to substitute for fossil fuels also increases as tax rates increase. In general, higher taxation of fossil fuels and carbon emission increases the economic competitiveness of wood construction. An analysis of added value in forest product industries shows that greater economic value is added in the production of structural building materials than in other uses of forest biomass. Co-production of multiple wood-based products increases the total value that is added to the biomass produced on an area of forest land. The results show that production of wood-based building material is favoured economically by climate change mitigation policies, and creates high added value within forest product industries. / Skogsresurser kan utgöra en viktig del i en strategi för att begränsa koncentrationen av koldioxid (CO2) i atmosfären och därmed begränsa klimatförändringarna. Skog tar upp CO2 från atmosfären när den växer och kolet lagras i trädens biomassa. Trädprodukter från hållbart brukade skogar kan minska nettoutsläppen av CO2 genom att de kan ersätta fossilt bränsle och energiintensiva material. I denna avhandling studeras faktorer som påverkar energi- och kolbalanser när träprodukter ersätter alternativa produkter. Signifikanta faktorer är den energi som behövs för att framställa träprodukter jämfört med alternativa produkter, utsläpp av CO2 från industriella processer som vid cementproduktion, ersättning av fossilt bränsle med trärester samt lagring av kol i skog och träprodukter. En metodik har utvecklats för att studera dessa faktorer genom att integrera ämneskunskaper från byggkonstruktion, energi, industri och det skogliga området. Den bygger på ett livscykelperspektiv och innefattar hela material- och produktkedjor från naturresurs till avfall eller återanvändning av material eller produkter. De metodikfrågor som varit i fokus är den funktionella enheten för jämförelser, det fossila referenssystemet, utnyttjande av skogmark vid produktion av träprodukter samt produktens olika faser under en livscykel. Metodiken har sedan använts för att jämföra ett svenskt och ett finskt flervåningshus i trä med två funktionellt likvärdiga hus med betongstomme. Resultaten visade att det behövs mindre primärenergi för att tillverka trähuset än betonghuset. Energin som kan utvinnas från biprodukter under en träbyggnads livscykel – från skogsskötsel, förädling, konstruktion och rivning – är större än den energi som krävs för att tillverka byggnadsmaterialet i byggnaden. Nettoutsläppen av CO2 från både fossil primärenergi och cementkalcinering är också väsentligt lägre för trähuset, men användningen av biprodukter från skogsavverkning, träförädlingskedjan och rivningsvirke för att ersätta fossilt bränsle har störst påverkan på kolbalansen. För att fullt ut tillgodogöra sig biprodukters potentiella fördelar krävs att de olika sektorerna för skogsbruk, industri, konstruktion, energi och avfallshantering integreras och optimeras med avseende på energi- och materialflöden. Olika skogsskötselmetoder har analyserats för att kvantifiera de flöden och den lagring av kol som sker i biomassa, mark och träprodukter. Intensifierat skogsbruk gav mindre utsläpp av CO2 per ha skogsmark, eftersom potentialen ökade för att ersätta fossila bränslen och energiintensiva material. Denna substitutionseffekt kompenserade mer än väl för den ökning i energianvändning och de utsläpp av CO2 som den intensivare skogsskötseln medförde, inklusive för den minskning av lagrat kol i marken som uttaget av skogsrester medförde. Lagring av kol i skogar och träprodukter kan vara intressant i ett kort tidsperspektiv, men under en byggnads livscykel och ett skogsbestånds rotationsperiod har den liten betydelse. I längden uppnås den största minskningen av CO2-utsläpp genom en aktiv och hållbar skogsskötsel med uttag av skogsresurser för användning till träprodukter och energi. I denna avhandling studerades också hur användningen av träprodukter påverkas av energi- och miljöskatter. En analys av energi- och skattekostnadernas effekt på konkurrenskraften för trämaterial visade att energikostnaden är lägre för trämaterial än för andra vanliga byggmaterial. Energi- och koldioxidskatter påverkar träprodukter i mindre utsträckning än produkter i andra material. De ekonomiska fördelarna av att använda biomassa som ersättning för fossila bränslen ökar också med höjda skatter. Konkurrensfördelarna för träkonstruktioner ökar därför generellt i takt med högre skatt på fossila bränslen och CO2-utsläpp. En analys av förädlingsvärdet hos skogsprodukter visade på en större värdeökning vid produktion av byggnadsmaterial än för andra biomassebaserade produkter. Samproduktion av flera träprodukter ökade det totala värdet hos biomassan per skogsareal. Resultaten visade att produktion av träbaserade byggnadsmaterial får ekonomiska fördelar av klimatpolitiska åtgärder och att sådan produktion har ett högt förädlingsvärde för industrierna i träbranschen.

This thesis deals with some challenges related to the mitigation of climate change and the overall aim is to present and assess different possibilities for the mitigation of climate change by: • Suggesting some measures with a potential to abate net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, • Discussing ideas for how decision-makers could tackle some of the encountered obstacles linked to these measures, and • Pointing at some problems with the current Kyoto framework and suggesting modifications of it. The quantification of the net CO2 effect from a specific project, frequently referred to as emissions accounting, is an important tool to evaluate projects and strategies for mitigating climate change. This thesis discusses different emissions accounting methods. It is concluded that no single method ought to be used for generalisation purposes, as many factors may affect the real outcome for different projects. The estimated outcome is extremely dependent on the method chosen and, thus, the suggested approach is to apply a broader perspective than the use of a particular method for strategic decisions. The risk of losing the integrity of the Kyoto Protocol when over-simplified emissions accounting methods are applied for the quantification of emission credits that can be obtained by a country with binding emissions targets for projects executed in a country without binding emission targets is also discussed. Driving forces and obstacles with regard to energy-related co-operations between industries and district heating companies have been studied since they may potentially reduce net GHG emissions. The main conclusion is that favourable techno-economic circumstances are not sufficient for the implementation of a co-operation; other factors like people with the true ambition to co-operate are also necessary. How oxy-fuel combustion for CO2 capture and storage (CCS) purposes may be much more efficiently utilised together with some industrial processes than with power production processes is also discussed. As cost efficiency is relevant for the Kyoto framework, this thesis suggests that CCS performed on CO2 from biomass should be allowed to play on a level playing field with CCS from fossil sources, as the outcome for the atmosphere is independent of the origin of the CO2. / QC 20101015

Landscape scale quantification enables farmers to pool resources and expertise. However, the problem remains of how to quantify these gains. This article considers current greenhouse gas (GHG) quantification methods that can be used in a landscape scale analysis in terms of relevance to areas dominated by smallholders in developing countries. In landscape scale carbon accounting frameworks, measurements are an essential element. Sampling strategies need careful design to account for all pools/fluxes and to ensure judicious use of resources. Models can be used to scale-up measurements and fill data gaps. In recent years a number of accessible models and calculators have been developed which can be used at the landscape scale in developing country areas. Some are based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) method and others on dynamic ecosystem models. They have been developed for a range of different purposes and therefore vary in terms of accuracy and usability. Landscape scale assessments of GHGs require a combination of ground sampling, use of data from census, remote sensing (RS) or other sources and modelling. Fitting of all of these aspects together needs to be performed carefully to minimize uncertainties and maximize the use of scarce resources. This is especially true in heterogeneous landscapes dominated by smallholders in developing countries.