As emissões globais de dióxido de carbono cresceram em mais de 100% desde 1971 (IEA, 2013), sendo que o aumento foi mais acentuado no período entre 2000 e 2010 (IPCC, 2014). O Brasil ocupa o 13º lugar no ranking mundial dos principais países emissores de gases de efeito estufa (IEA, 2012) e, portanto, é indispensável que alternativas de redução das emissões nacionais sejam estudadas, entre elas, a adoção de modos de transporte mais sustentáveis. Apesar do modo ferroviário ser energeticamente mais eficiente que o rodoviário (ICF CONSULTING, 2009), a extensão da malha ferroviária brasileira é reduzida, sendo necessário associar o transporte ferroviário a etapas de coleta e distribuição da carga por rodovia, o que pode significar maiores gastos energéticos. Em vista disso, este trabalho teve por objetivo propor uma metodologia para estimativa da redução de emissões de dióxido de carbono por meio do transporte intermodal em comparação ao exclusivamente rodoviário. O modelo de emissões desenvolvido é versátil para aplicação em múltiplas situações, não restringindo a região brasileira de estudo e a carga ferroviária. Basicamente, é necessário conhecer o percurso utilizado, bem como o consumo de combustível em litros/tku por trecho ferroviário, além do fator de consumo de combustível médio na rodovia. A metodologia foi aplicada especificamente ao transporte de soja brasileira para exportação. O problema foi abordado em escala nacional, sendo que as origens da carga foram detalhadas por município e as distâncias rodoviárias foram calculadas com a ferramenta Google Maps. Para cada município produtor de soja foram estimadas as emissões associadas às duas alternativas de transporte, sendo a visualização dos resultados realizada por meio de heat map, elaborado em função do potencial de economia de emissões (%) de cada município. Com base nesse mapa, foram apontadas as regiões geográficas do país, onde o transporte intermodal apresenta maiores ganhos ambientais. Por fim, os resultados foram confrontados com o mapa de economias obtido por CRAIG et al. (2012) para os Estados Unidos, sendo o impacto da distância ao terminal de embarque e da distância total da rota na economia de emissões analisado. / Global carbon dioxide emissions have more than doubled since 1971 (IEA, 2013), increasing at a higher rate between 2000 and 2010 (IPCC, 2014). Brazil occupies the 13th position in the ranking of the worlds largest greenhouse gases emitters (IEA, 2012) and, therefore, it is essential to consider alternatives regarding emissions reduction at national level, including sustainable transport systems. Although rail is more fuel efficient than truck (ICF CONSULTING, 2009), the Brazilian rail network is concentrated in a few regions, requiring association of the rail transport to pre- and post-haulage by road, that might lead to higher energy consumption. Thus, this research aimed to develop a methodology to estimate the potential reduction of carbon dioxide emissions due to intermodal transportation when compared to trucking. The emissions model is versatile in terms of possible applications, since it is not restricted to a specific Brazilian region or any good type transported. Basically, it is necessary to know the general route, the fuel consumption in liter/tku for each rail stretch and the average fuel consumption factor of the truck. This method was applied specifically to the Brazilian soybean exportations. The approach of the problem was at the national level and the origins of the cargo corresponded to all the soybean producing towns. Furthermore, road distances were calculated using the Google Maps tool. For each town, emissions were estimated considering both transportation alternatives: intermodal and trucking. Then, the results were presented in a heat map, elaborated in function of the potential carbon savings (%) for each town. Based on this map, the regions where the intermodal route means environmental gains were indicated. Finally, the results were compared to the American carbon savings map created by CRAIG et al. (2012), addressing the impact of terminal distance and total distance travelled on emissions savings.

<p>The attention on environmental issues has never been as huge as today. The climate is changing and more and more evidence suggest that the cause behind climate changes is an increase of carbondioxide into the atmosphere. The increase in turn is considerd to be an act of human activity. Therefore some companies have decided to become climate neutral and implement information technology in their business in order to reduce their emissions. This thesis has three aimes: to calculate a small company´s carbondioxide emissions, study whether or not information technology could help to reduce these emissions and furthermore find out why some companies decided to become climate neutral and describe the concept climate neutral. The results show that if information technology is used properly and effectively there are great potential to reduce the emissions, especially emissions from transportation sector. Now that the environment issues has become number one in the news and in the political agenda many companies try to cut their emissions, which is why some companies decided to take one step further and become climate neutral. Most of the companies see this action as a necessity in order to survive in a high competitive market. By doing so, they get more PR and more credit from both their investers and custumers. That is also why GreenIT´s carbondioxide emissions where calculated here. GreenIT have intentions in becoming climate neutral and in order to becoming one they have to reduce their remaining emissions by investing in projects in developing countries. As GreenIT is a small company they don´t have large emissions to reduce. This action will not cost them much but will probably give them an advantage in the market and credit from other investors and customers.</p>

Global warming, in combination with increasing energy demand and higher energy prices, makes it necessary to change the energy use. To secure the energy supply and to develop sustainable societies, construction of energy-efficient systems is at the same time most vital. The aim of this thesis is therefore to identify how a local energy company, producing district heating (DH), district cooling (DC) and electricity in combined heat and power (CHP) plants, can contribute to resource-efficient energy systems and cost-effective reductions of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, along with its customers. Analyses have been performed on how a local energy company can optimise their DH and DC production and what supply-side and demand-side measures can lead to energy-efficient systems in combination with economic and climate change benefits. The energy company in focus is located in Linköping, Sweden. Optimisation models, such as MODEST and reMIND, have been used for analysing the energy systems. Scenario and sensitivity analyses have also been performed for evaluation of the robustness of the energy systems studied. For all analyses a European energy system perspective was applied, where a fully deregulated European electricity market with no bottlenecks or other system failures was assumed. In this thesis it is concluded that of the DH-supply technologies studied, the biomass gasification applications and the natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) CHP are the technologies with the largest global CO2 reduction potential, while the biomass-fuelled plant that only produces heat is the investment with the smallest global CO2 reduction and savings potential. However, the global CO2 reduction potential for the biomass integrated gasification combined cycle (BIGCC) CHP and NGCC CHP, the two technologies with highest electricity efficiencies, is highly dependent on the assumptions made about marginal European electricity production. Regarding the effect on the DH system cost the gasification application integrated with production of renewable biofuels (SNG) for the transport sector is the investment option with the largest savings potential for lower electricity prices, while with increasing electricity prices the BIGCC and NGCC CHP plants are the most cost-effective investment options. The economic outcome for biomass gasification applications is, however, dependent on the level of policy instruments for biofuels and renewable electricity. Moreover, it was shown that the tradable green certificates for renewable electricity can, when applied to DH systems, contribute to investments that will not fully utilise the DH systems’ potential for global CO2 emissions reductions. Also illustrated is that conversion of industrial processes, utilising electricity and fossil fuels, to DH and DC can contribute to energy savings. Since DH is mainly used for space heating, the heat demand for DH systems is strongly outdoor temperature-dependent. By converting industrial processes, where the heat demand is often dependent on process hours instead of outdoor temperature, the heat loads in DH systems can become more evenly distributed over the year, with increased base-load heat demand and increased electricity generation in CHP plants as an outcome. This extra electricity production, in combination with the freed electricity when converting electricity-using processes to DH, can replace marginal electricity production in the European electricity market, resulting in reduced global CO2 emissions. Demonstrated in this thesis is that the local energy company, along with its customers, can contribute to reaching the European Union’s targets of reducing energy use and decreasing CO2 emissions. This can be achieved in a manner that is cost-effective to both the local energy company and the customers. / Den globala uppvärmningen i kombination med ett ökat energibehov och stigande energipriser gör det nödvändigt att förändra energianvändningen. Energieffektiva system är samtidigt en förutsättning för att kunna säkra energitillförseln och utveckla hållbara samhällen. Fjärrvärme har en viktig roll att fylla i den här omställningen. I fjärrvärmesystemen kan värmeresurser som annars kan vara svåra att nyttiggöras, som till exempel spillvärme och förbränning av avfall tas tillvara. Fjärrvärme kan även bidra till elproduktion i kraftvärmeverk där totalverkningsgraden är högre än vid separat el- respektive värmeproduktion. En omställning av energisystemet till en ökad användning av fjärrvärme och minskad användning av el genom effektiviseringar och konverteringar från olja och el till fjärrvärme kan bidra till att skapa energieffektiva system. Syftet med den här avhandlingen är att identifiera hur ett lokalt energibolag som producerar fjärrvärme, fjärrkyla och el i kraftvärmeverk kan bidra till att skapa energieffektiva system och kostnadseffektiva globala koldioxidreduktioner tillsammans med sina kunder. Det energibolag som framförallt har studerats i den här avhandlingen är Tekniska Verken i Linköping AB. För att optimera energibolagets fjärrvärme- och fjärrkylaproduktion har energisystemanalyser genomförts, där både åtgärder på tillförsel- och användarsidan har studerats. Genom att se energiförsörjningen ur ett systemperspektiv kan man undvika att ekonomiska och miljömässiga vinster vid en anläggning ersätts av förluster någon annanstans. Optimeringsmodeller, som MODEST och reMIND, har använts för energisystemanalyserna där även scenarier och känslighetsanalyser har inkluderats. För alla energisystemanalyser har ett europeiskt energisystemperspektiv använts där en totalt avreglerad europeisk elmarknad utan flaskhalsar eller andra systemfel antagits. Slutsatser från analyserna är att det lokala energibolaget kan bidra till kostnadseffektiva globala koldioxidreduktioner genom ett effektivt nyttjande av bränslen i kraftvärmeanläggningar och i bioraffinaderier. Speciellt kraftvärmeanläggningar med hög elverkningsgrad, som t.ex. biomasseförgasning- och naturgaskombianläggningar, har en betydande global koldioxidreduktionspotential. Även biomasseförgasningsanläggningar som är integrerade med produktion av förnybara drivmedel för transportsektorn har visat sig kostnadseffektiva med stor potential att reducera de globala koldioxidutsläppen. Styrmedel har dock en stor påverkan på det ekonomiska utfallet för förgasningsanläggningarna. Dessutom har studierna visat att energibesparingar kan åstadkommas genom att konvertera el och fossilbränsledrivna industriella processer till fjärrvärme och fjärrkyla. Eftersom fjärrvärme framförallt används för lokaluppvärmning är värmelasten i fjärrvärmesystem säsongsbetonad. Genom att konvertera industriella processer som inte är utetemperaturberoende till fjärrvärme kan fjärrvärmelasten bli mindre säsongsbetonad och mer jämt fördelad över året. En jämt fördelad värmelast är fördelaktig för driften av fjärrvärmeanläggningar och kan bidra till mer elproduktion i kraftvärmeanläggningar. Den extra elproduktionen, tillsammans med den el som blivit tillgänglig efter konvertering av eldrivna processer till fjärrvärme, kan ersätta europeisk marginalelsproduktion vilket kan reducera de globala koldioxidutsläppen. Det som har framkommit av dessa studier är att det lokala energibolaget, tillsammans med sina kunder, kan bidra till att uppfylla de mål den Europeiska Unionen har angående reduktionen av energianvändningen och koldioxidutsläppen. Dessutom kan detta ske på ett kostnadseffektivt sätt för både energibolaget och dess kunder.

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.

Forested riparian zones, which function as a buffer between agricultural fields and streams, filter out contaminants and sediment from the fields thereby improving water quality, cool the water with shade from trees, stabilize the stream bank and provide habitat for wildlife. However, in many agricultural areas, riparian vegetation has been removed for crop production or pasture purposes. Riparian restoration or rehabilitation is a way of restoring riparian ecosystem functions. This study examines the effect of riparian rehabilitation via tree planting along a first-order creek in Southern Ontario, 25 years after rehabilitation. Litter input, soil quality parameters and soil CO2 production rates were determined for the rehabilitated riparian zone, a grass-forb riparian zone and a natural forest riparian zone. Total litter input was 480, 580 and 295 g m-2 y-1 for the rehabilitated riparian zone, grass riparian zone and forest riparian zone, respectively. Soil bulk density was higher and hydraulic conductivity was lower for the rehabilitated riparian zone compared to the grass riparian zone and forest riparian zone. The concentration and soil stock of organic carbon and total nitrogen was lowest for the rehabilitated riparian zone compared to the grass riparian zone and forest riparian zone which were similar. The effect of riparian zone on soil CO2 production rates varied over the season. From spring to mid-summer, rates were 167, 224 and 104 mg C m-2 h-1 for the rehabilitated riparian zone, grass riparian zone and forest riparian zone, respectively. Soil CO2 production rates did not differ significantly (p < 0.05) between riparian zones for late summer and fall sampling dates. Soil CO2 production rates were significantly negatively correlated with soil C/N and positively correlated with soil pH and litter input. Soil CO2 production rates were positively correlated with soil temperature (r = 0.32) and negatively correlated with soil moisture (r = -0.48). Of the three riparian zones, the natural forest riparian zone exhibited the least amount of seasonal fluctuation for soil CO2 production rates, soil moisture and temperature. Results from this research indicated that more time is needed before soil quality and soil CO2 production rates of the rehabilitated riparian zone reach values similar to the natural forest riparian zone.

Since the Industrial Revolution, human beings have emitted huge amounts of greenhouse gases for economic growth, and greenhouse gases may influence climate. To slow down climate change, everyone has to take action. Recently, the carbon footprint (CF) labeling on products offers consumers an opportunity to do so in daily shopping. However, so far a CF label reveals only the amount of CO2 emitted during the product's life cycle, but not the product's relative CO2 emission level (i.e., whether the product emitted more or less CO2 than similar products). This study thus hypothesized that the mere presentation of a CF label would not affect consumers' buying intent. To test this and other related hypotheses, this study ran an experiment with 3 independent variables. The variables are amount of CO2 emitted (400gm or 750gm), CO2-saving signal (given or not given) and price (20 NTD or 30 NTD) of the product, which was a tetra-packed tea. In the CO2-saving signal given condition, the experimenter told the participants either that a green CF label denoted low CO2 emissions (in the 400gm condition) or that a green CF label denoted high CO2 emissions (in the 750gm condition). The label shown, in fact, was always green. In the CO2-saving signal not given condition, the experimenter did not explain the meaning of the label color.A convenient sample of 240 adults joined the experiment. They were randomly assigned to the experiment conditions. Each participant saw a picture of a tetra-packed tea with a CF label and listed price. Results showed that when CO2-saving signal was given, the low-CO2-high-price tea could induce higher buying intent than the high-CO2-low-price tea. When CO2-saving signal was not given, the two conditions did not differ in buying intent. Furthermore, participants' environmental attitude¡Xas measured a scale adapted from Dunlap and van Liere's (1978) New Environmental Paradigm Scale¡Xdid not qualify the above results. These findings suggest that CF label can neither help nor encourage people to choose low-CO2 products, unless it is complemented with a clear CO2-saving signal.

<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>

Forested riparian zones, which function as a buffer between agricultural fields and streams, filter out contaminants and sediment from the fields thereby improving water quality, cool the water with shade from trees, stabilize the stream bank and provide habitat for wildlife. However, in many agricultural areas, riparian vegetation has been removed for crop production or pasture purposes. Riparian restoration or rehabilitation is a way of restoring riparian ecosystem functions. This study examines the effect of riparian rehabilitation via tree planting along a first-order creek in Southern Ontario, 25 years after rehabilitation. Litter input, soil quality parameters and soil CO2 production rates were determined for the rehabilitated riparian zone, a grass-forb riparian zone and a natural forest riparian zone. Total litter input was 480, 580 and 295 g m-2 y-1 for the rehabilitated riparian zone, grass riparian zone and forest riparian zone, respectively. Soil bulk density was higher and hydraulic conductivity was lower for the rehabilitated riparian zone compared to the grass riparian zone and forest riparian zone. The concentration and soil stock of organic carbon and total nitrogen was lowest for the rehabilitated riparian zone compared to the grass riparian zone and forest riparian zone which were similar. The effect of riparian zone on soil CO2 production rates varied over the season. From spring to mid-summer, rates were 167, 224 and 104 mg C m-2 h-1 for the rehabilitated riparian zone, grass riparian zone and forest riparian zone, respectively. Soil CO2 production rates did not differ significantly (p < 0.05) between riparian zones for late summer and fall sampling dates. Soil CO2 production rates were significantly negatively correlated with soil C/N and positively correlated with soil pH and litter input. Soil CO2 production rates were positively correlated with soil temperature (r = 0.32) and negatively correlated with soil moisture (r = -0.48). Of the three riparian zones, the natural forest riparian zone exhibited the least amount of seasonal fluctuation for soil CO2 production rates, soil moisture and temperature. Results from this research indicated that more time is needed before soil quality and soil CO2 production rates of the rehabilitated riparian zone reach values similar to the natural forest riparian zone.

The attention on environmental issues has never been as huge as today. The climate is changing and more and more evidence suggest that the cause behind climate changes is an increase of carbondioxide into the atmosphere. The increase in turn is considerd to be an act of human activity. Therefore some companies have decided to become climate neutral and implement information technology in their business in order to reduce their emissions. This thesis has three aimes: to calculate a small company´s carbondioxide emissions, study whether or not information technology could help to reduce these emissions and furthermore find out why some companies decided to become climate neutral and describe the concept climate neutral. The results show that if information technology is used properly and effectively there are great potential to reduce the emissions, especially emissions from transportation sector. Now that the environment issues has become number one in the news and in the political agenda many companies try to cut their emissions, which is why some companies decided to take one step further and become climate neutral. Most of the companies see this action as a necessity in order to survive in a high competitive market. By doing so, they get more PR and more credit from both their investers and custumers. That is also why GreenIT´s carbondioxide emissions where calculated here. GreenIT have intentions in becoming climate neutral and in order to becoming one they have to reduce their remaining emissions by investing in projects in developing countries. As GreenIT is a small company they don´t have large emissions to reduce. This action will not cost them much but will probably give them an advantage in the market and credit from other investors and customers.

As emissões globais de dióxido de carbono cresceram em mais de 100% desde 1971 (IEA, 2013), sendo que o aumento foi mais acentuado no período entre 2000 e 2010 (IPCC, 2014). O Brasil ocupa o 13º lugar no ranking mundial dos principais países emissores de gases de efeito estufa (IEA, 2012) e, portanto, é indispensável que alternativas de redução das emissões nacionais sejam estudadas, entre elas, a adoção de modos de transporte mais sustentáveis. Apesar do modo ferroviário ser energeticamente mais eficiente que o rodoviário (ICF CONSULTING, 2009), a extensão da malha ferroviária brasileira é reduzida, sendo necessário associar o transporte ferroviário a etapas de coleta e distribuição da carga por rodovia, o que pode significar maiores gastos energéticos. Em vista disso, este trabalho teve por objetivo propor uma metodologia para estimativa da redução de emissões de dióxido de carbono por meio do transporte intermodal em comparação ao exclusivamente rodoviário. O modelo de emissões desenvolvido é versátil para aplicação em múltiplas situações, não restringindo a região brasileira de estudo e a carga ferroviária. Basicamente, é necessário conhecer o percurso utilizado, bem como o consumo de combustível em litros/tku por trecho ferroviário, além do fator de consumo de combustível médio na rodovia. A metodologia foi aplicada especificamente ao transporte de soja brasileira para exportação. O problema foi abordado em escala nacional, sendo que as origens da carga foram detalhadas por município e as distâncias rodoviárias foram calculadas com a ferramenta Google Maps. Para cada município produtor de soja foram estimadas as emissões associadas às duas alternativas de transporte, sendo a visualização dos resultados realizada por meio de heat map, elaborado em função do potencial de economia de emissões (%) de cada município. Com base nesse mapa, foram apontadas as regiões geográficas do país, onde o transporte intermodal apresenta maiores ganhos ambientais. Por fim, os resultados foram confrontados com o mapa de economias obtido por CRAIG et al. (2012) para os Estados Unidos, sendo o impacto da distância ao terminal de embarque e da distância total da rota na economia de emissões analisado. / Global carbon dioxide emissions have more than doubled since 1971 (IEA, 2013), increasing at a higher rate between 2000 and 2010 (IPCC, 2014). Brazil occupies the 13th position in the ranking of the worlds largest greenhouse gases emitters (IEA, 2012) and, therefore, it is essential to consider alternatives regarding emissions reduction at national level, including sustainable transport systems. Although rail is more fuel efficient than truck (ICF CONSULTING, 2009), the Brazilian rail network is concentrated in a few regions, requiring association of the rail transport to pre- and post-haulage by road, that might lead to higher energy consumption. Thus, this research aimed to develop a methodology to estimate the potential reduction of carbon dioxide emissions due to intermodal transportation when compared to trucking. The emissions model is versatile in terms of possible applications, since it is not restricted to a specific Brazilian region or any good type transported. Basically, it is necessary to know the general route, the fuel consumption in liter/tku for each rail stretch and the average fuel consumption factor of the truck. This method was applied specifically to the Brazilian soybean exportations. The approach of the problem was at the national level and the origins of the cargo corresponded to all the soybean producing towns. Furthermore, road distances were calculated using the Google Maps tool. For each town, emissions were estimated considering both transportation alternatives: intermodal and trucking. Then, the results were presented in a heat map, elaborated in function of the potential carbon savings (%) for each town. Based on this map, the regions where the intermodal route means environmental gains were indicated. Finally, the results were compared to the American carbon savings map created by CRAIG et al. (2012), addressing the impact of terminal distance and total distance travelled on emissions savings.