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

The study uses Cost Effectiveness Analysis (CEA) as a method to analyse the economicand environmental impact of carbon dioxide (CO2e) emission abatement projects in theCanadian residential sector. It includes the more traditional environmental andeconomic criteria, yet it incorporates a behavioural component to the analysis. Adetailed account of the environmental specifications, emission reductions, and economicconsiderations of 11 abatement projects are used as input for the CEA. In addition,behavioural variables, such as disposable income, home ownership, and home repairskills, are taken into account to complement the study.The results indicate that the implementation of several of these carbon abatementprojects, such as insulating hot water pipes, replacing incandescent light bulbs,installing a programmable thermostat, etc. can bring about large emission reductionstogether with a net economic benefit, and in most cases, without altering the levels ofcomfort. This method can serve as a template for the evaluation of other related projectswithin the climate change mitigation context in Canada and in other countries, in anattempt to increase adoption rates of such projects.

The purpose of this study is to review existing literature of factors that influence farmers’ decision to participate in conservation programs. This study is also intended to collect county data and information on conservation programs and participation in the Kentucky River watershed region, which can be analyzed and used to draw differences in characteristics of the region that would suggest willingness to participate in a trading scheme for improvements in water quality. The results suggest that more participation in a trading scheme from some counties than others should be expected. Counties with more farms and larger farms will probably have higher rates of participation in conservation programs. The cost-share amounts being paid by current government programs must be considered as the minimum staring point to negotiate in a trading scheme. To target the impact of watersheds, such as the Kentucky River in the Mississippi system, that discharges significant amounts of pollutants into the Gulf of Mexico, policy makers and program administrators should be advising and stimulating the adoption of practices with the best abatement performance for such pollutants considering technical complementarity between practices.

This thesis examines the economic and environmental impacts that precision agriculture technologies (PATs) can have on the carbon footprint of a grain farm. An analysis is offered using two manuscripts. The first examines the impacts of three PATs and compares the findings to a conventional farming method. It was found that all three PATs investigated showed a potential Pareto improvement over conventional farming. The second manuscript expanded the model used previously to in order to develop a process to construct a carbon efficient frontier (CEF). The model employed examined uniform and variable rate technologies. In addition to the CEF, a marginal abatement cost curve was constructed. Using these curves in a complementary fashion, more accurate information on the adaptive behavior of farmer technology adoption can be gleaned. the information gleaned for the two manuscripts can give both producers and policy makers the analytical tools needed to make more information decisions with regard to economic and environmental feasibility of PATs.

Today, issues such as climate change and increased competition for scarce resources puts pressure on society and firms to transform. Change is not easily managed though, especially not when relating to production or consumption of energy carriers such as district heating or electric power. These systems do not only have strong dynamics internally, but dynamics between multiple technological systems must sometimes be considered to effectively manage response and strategies in relation to change. During the early 1980s, an optimisation model founded on an expert-based approach was developed based on the partial equilibrium model to enable the evaluation of different actions to reach a target. This model — often referred to as marginal abatement cost curve (MACC) or conservation supply curve (CSC) — is used by academia, industry and policymakers globally. The model is applied for causes such as energy conservation and waste management, but also within the climate change context for optimising CO2 reductions and governmental policy. In this context, the model is used by actors such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), International Energy Agency (IEA) and World Bank, and by the consultancy firm McKinsey &amp; Company, who use it extensively in different analysis. This model has many drawbacks in relation to managing interdependencies between different options, but more specifically the metric used for ranking options with a negative marginal cost has a design flaw leading to biased results. As a solution Pareto optimisation has been suggested, but is problematic given the dynamics within and between energy systems. The purpose of this compilation dissertation is to improve the ability for industry and policymakers to effectively manage change and reach set targets. In particular it develops our knowledge of how to account for option interdependency within and between technological systems. Furthermore, the ranking problem relating to expert-based least cost integrated planning is addressed. This dissertation also provides policy and managerial implications relating to the issues of energy conservation, CO2 abatement, and SOx and NOx reduction in relation to the district heating system in Stockholm. Implications are also provided for the interaction with other systems such as the Nordic electric power system. / Klimatfrågan och konkurrens om knappa resurser medför ett förändringstryck på nationer och företag. Att hantera förändringar har aldrig varit enkelt, vilket är tydligt bland företag inom energisektorn såsom el och fjärrvärmeproducenter. Energisystemen dessa företag är del av har stark intern dynamik, men även dynamik mellan olika energisystem är vanligt. Detta måste tas i beaktande när strategier och planer för att hantera förändring utformas. Under början av 1980-talet skapades en optimeringsmodell baserad på den nationalekonomiska jämviktsmodellen för att kunna utvärdera olika specifika möjligheter att nå ett mål, t.ex. energibesparingar. Denna modell, som idag ofta benämns MACC (Marginal Abatement Cost Curves) eller CSC (Concervation Supply Curves), används idag av akademin, industrin och myndigheter inom områden så som energibesparingar, minskade CO2-utsläpp, sophantering och design av ekonomiska policyinstrument. De icke-akademiska användarna inkluderar FNs klimatorgan IPCC, IEA och Världsbanken. Även konsultfirman McKinsey&amp;Company använder modellen regelbundet i olika studier. Tyvärr har modellen många begräsningar när det kommer till att hantera dynamiker mellan de specifika åtgärder som identifierats för att nå ett mål. Den allvarligast begränsningen utgörs dock av ett optimeringsfel som leder till felaktiga slutsatser om prioriteringen mellan de åtgärder som har en negativ marginalkostnad. Som en lösning på detta problem har pareto-optimering föreslagits, vilket denna avhandling dock visar är problematiskt på grund av de dynamiker som finns inom och mellan energisystem. Det övergripande syftet med denna avhandling är att förbättra möjligheten att hantera förändringar och nå uppsatta mål. Specifikt diskuteras hur beroenden mellan olika åtgärder för att nå det satta målet kan hanteras. Avhandlingen adresser även problemet att prioritera mellan åtgärder med negativ marginalkostnad. Utöver detta bidrar avhandlingen med praktiska implikationer för politiker, myndigheter och företag involverade i fjärrvärmeproduktion i Stockholm. Slutsatser dras kring energibesparingar och minskade utsläpp av CO2, SOx och NOx. Praktiska implikationer ges även för hur system som detta fjärrvärmesystem samverkar och interagerar med det nordiska elsystemet. / <p>QC 20150414</p> / Investments in energy efficiency and climate change abatement: revising marginal cost curves as an optimization model

This dissertation addresses the crucial problem of how environmental policy uncertainty influences investments in energy technological change. The rising level of carbon emissions due to increasing global energy consumption calls for policy shift. In order to stem the negative consequences on the climate, policymakers are concerned with carving an optimal regulation that will encourage technology investments. However, decision makers are facing uncertainties surrounding future environmental policy. The first part considers the treatment of technological change in theoretical models. This part has two purposes: (1) to show-through illustrative examples-that technological change can lead to quite different, and surprising, impacts on the marginal costs of pollution abatement. We demonstrate an intriguing and uncommon result that technological change can increase the marginal costs of pollution abatement over some range of abatement; (2) to show the impact, on policy, of this uncommon observation. We find that under the assumption of technical change that can increase the marginal cost of pollution abatement over some range, the ranking of policy instruments is affected. The second part builds on the first by considering the impact of uncertainty in the carbon tax on investments in a portfolio of technologies. We determine the response of energy R&D investments as the carbon tax increases both in terms of overall and technology-specific investments. We determine the impact of risk in the carbon tax on the portfolio. We find that the response of the optimal investment in a portfolio of technologies to an increasing carbon tax depends on the relative costs of the programs and the elasticity of substitution between fossil and non-fossil energy inputs. In the third part, we zoom-in on the portfolio model above to consider how uncertainty in the magnitude and timing of a carbon tax influences investments. Under a two-stage continuous-time optimal control model, we consider the impact of these uncertainties on R&D spending that aims to lower the cost of non-fossil energy technology. We find that our results tally with the classical results because it discourages near-term investment. However, timing uncertainty increases near-term investment.

As concern grows about energy and environment issues, energy and environmental modeling and related policy analysis are critical issues for today's society. Polluting firms such as coal power plants play an important role in providing electricity to drive the U.S. economy as well as producing pollution that damages the environment and human health. This dissertation is intended to model and estimate polluting firms' production using nonparametric methods. First, frontier production function of polluting firms is characterized by weak disposability between outputs and pollutants to reflecting the opportunity cost to reduce pollutants. The StoNED method is extended to estimate a weak disposability frontier production function accounting for random noise in the data. The method is applied to the U.S. coal power plants under the Acid Rain Program to find the average technical inefficiency and shadow price of SO2 and NOx. Second, polluting firms' production processes are modeled characterizing both the output production process and the pollution abatement process. Using the law of conservation of mass applied to the pollution abatement process, this dissertation develops a new frontier pollutant function which then is used to find corresponding marginal abatement cost of pollutants. The StoNEZD method is applied to estimate a frontier pollutant function considering the vintage of capital owned by the polluting firms. The method is applied to estimate the average NOx marginal abatement cost for the U.S. coal power plants under the current Clean Air Interstate Rule NOx program. Last, the effect of a technical change on marginal abatement costs are investigated using an index decomposition technique. The StoNEZD method is extended to estimate sequential frontier pollutant functions reflecting the innovation in pollution reduction. The method is then applied to estimate a technical change effect on a marginal abatement cost of the U.S. coal power plants under the current Clean Air Interstate Rule NOx program.

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1997. / Bibliography: leaves 95-101.

Dissertation (D.P.H.)--University of Michigan.

Dissertation (D.P.H.)--University of Michigan.