Legal regulation of climate protection following the adoption of the Paris Agreement Abstract The Paris Agreement was adopted on 12 December 2015 and became effective on 4 November 2016. The Agreement's central aim is to keep the increase in global average temperature well below 2žC above pre-industrial levels and to limit the increase to 1.5žC. The Agreement starts to apply in 2020. Under the Paris Agreement, each Party must communicate its nationally determined contributions, which will help to achieve the purpose of the Agreement. The aim of this thesis is to analyse the development of the legal protection of the Earth's climate system in the European Union after the adoption of the Paris Agreement. Part One is subdivided into four chapters. The first chapter is introductory and provides an overview of basic terminology, scientific knowledge and observed changes in climate and their impact. Chapter Two deals with the subject matter of international climate change law. Chapter Three deals with the legal sources of international law, in particular with international conventions. Legal principles are described there as well. Chapter Four looks at the historical development of the international protection of the climate. Also, it focuses on the analysis of the Paris Agreement. This chapter describes the...

The main objective of this research is to develop a simple and cost effective separation method that captures carbon dioxide from power plant flue gas, as a pure stream that can be stored using regenerable dolomite (calcium magnesium carbonate) as the sorbent. The developed dolomite sorbent was evaluated for carbon dioxide capture capacity using muti-cycle tests of cyclical carbonation/calcination experiments in the thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) model SDT 600. The variables controlled in the experiment were weight of calcium oxide and sintering time of the sample. The dolomite materials investigated were from two sources Alfa Aesar and Specialty Minerals. The prepared sorbent, after conditioning, is in the oxide form and can adsorb CO2 to form the carbonate and be regenerated back to the oxide. The results showed that the dolomite sorbent developed can be used for reversible CO2 capture. The data from 8 multi-cycle TGA experiments show that the reversible capacity reduced in the first few cycles; however it stabilized to an average value of 34 percent after an average of 10 cycles and an average conditioning time of 15 hours. Data from two multi-cycle TGA experiments show that the dolomite sorbent is capable of an average stabilized conversion of 65% in an average of 13 cycles at a conditioning time of 87 hours.

Tidal freshwater wetland soils contain large amounts of organic carbon, some of which is mineralized to carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) by a diverse consortium of anaerobic microorganisms that includes fermenters, syntrophs, and methanogens (MG). These microbial groups are tightly linked and often rely on cooperative interspecies metabolisms (i.e., syntrophy) to survive. Environmental perturbations can disrupt these interactions and thus alter the rates and pathways of carbon cycling. One environmental change of particular concern in coastal wetlands is sea level rise, which can result in increased episodic saltwater intrusion events into these ecosystems. These events cause an influx of sulfate (SO4-2) to the soils and may stimulate sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), which can directly compete with syntrophs for energy sources (e.g., fermentation products such as butyrate). Since syntroph metabolism generates byproducts that serve as the energy source for many MG, this competition can have indirect negative effects on methanogenesis. In addition, SRB can directly compete with MG for these byproducts, particularly formate, H2, and/or acetate. The goal of this study was to understand how both MG and syntroph-MG consortia respond to and recover from SRB competition during an episodic saltwater intrusion event. To achieve this, microcosms containing soil slurry from a freshwater wetland were subjected to simulated saltwater intrusion, and metabolic inhibitors were used to isolate the activity of the various functional groups. This study focused on the breakdown of butyrate, which is a key energy source in syntroph‑MG consortia metabolisms. The observed changes in butyrate breakdown rates and byproduct accumulation during butyrate degradation assays confirmed that butyrate breakdown was mediated through syntroph-MG consortia, and that formate, rather than H2, was likely used as an electron carrier during syntrophic activity. Additions of SO4‑2 (as Na2SO4) to the freshwater microcosms stimulated SRB activity and shifted the MG community to favor acetoclastic members. These changes were accompanied by a 24% increase in CO2 production and an 80% decrease in CH4 production. Interestingly, when NaCl was added to achieve similar ionic strength, CH4 production decreased by ~32%, suggesting SRB competition is not the only factor affecting methanogenesis. Butyrate degradation rates demonstrated that while SRB were strong competitors for butyrate, concurrent syntrophic metabolism was possible. Further, data show that SRB were poor competitors for acetate, which could explain the increase in acetoclastic MG. Following removal of SRB competition, CH4 production recovered but only by ~50% after 28 days, which suggests that some MG communities in tidal freshwater wetlands may not be resilient to saltwater intrusion events. Over this same time, rates of syntrophic butyrate breakdown largely recovered, but butyrate breakdown resulted in the production of less CH4 and acetate and more CO2 and formate, indicating saltwater intrusion events may lead to persistent changes in the byproducts and pathways of carbon breakdown in tidal freshwater wetlands.

With the Paris Agreement comes targets to reduce emissions and mitigate the temperature increase in the atmosphere. One way to move towards reaching these targets for companies is by using the greenhouse gas protocol reporting standard (GHG protocol). The goal of this study was to critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the GHG protocol with the use of a case study, a calculation of Albany International AB’s emissions. Using the GHG protocol as a foundation the study show that Albany International AB emitted 10 673 CO2 equivalents 2019 and with recommended changes in energy acquisition emissions for coming years can be reduced with 17 %. There are some questions and uncertainties raised surrounding the created tool but also the use of the GHG protocol. Converting processes to CO2 equivalents means calculating conversion rates. These rates are sometimes precise but can also be only estimations. With a yearly update of greenhouse gas emissions Albany International AB increase their environmental awareness. It also prepares the company for a future with increasing demands of sustainable manufacturing. The GHG protocol is useful when it comes to increasing the knowledge of your emissions. Although there are many different variables that are not always reliable which makes the total emissions rather difficult to determine.

This thesis evaluates the consulting firm WSP´s most significant direct and indirect emissions. This is done by developing a method for collecting and estimate the climate impact associated with a consulting firm´s operations. The aim of this thesis emerged as part of the Uppsala climate protocol, of which WSP has been a member since 2015. Each member has been assigned to adopt at least five of thirty climate challenges. One of the challenges that WSP has assumed is to identify the company’s most significant indirect emissions. The method is based on the guidelines of the well-established standard for calculating climate impact Greenhouse gas protocol. The results show that WSP's total climate impact for 2019 was 208 tones CO2 -eq, corresponding to approximately 1,59 tones CO2-eq per employee. Of these emissions, 76 percent where related to indirect emissions outside the company´s gate. The result shows that capital goods, energy use and business travel constitute WSP´s most significant emissions in 2019. The study shows that a consulting firm's largest emissions occur outside the business's gate in goods and services along the value chain, which demonstrates the importance of including indirect emissions when mapping a company's climate impact.The climate calculations only reflect WSP's emissions linked to the daily operations at the office. Supposedly, a consulting firm’s biggest emissions lies in the consulting assignments. However, there is currently no accepted method for calculating emissions for assignments or any standard for how emissions should be distributed among different actors. A review of previous research shows that there is a large knowledge gap when it comes to quantifying emissions from consultancy assignments. Thus, there is a need to develop methods for how to calculate emissions from assignments. A prerequisite for this is collaboration and increased transparency between different players in the value chain. Collaborations, such as the Uppsala climate protocol ,has an important role to play in initiating methods that could quantify emissions from assignment.

Climate Change is fast becoming a reality that is gripping the developed and developing world, its economies and people. Erratic weather conditions, rising temperatures and monsoon like weather has scientists asking questions and some countries moving swiftly to ensure that their economies remain stable whilst trying to deal with climate change. South Africa has begun to play an influential role, as a developing country, in international negotiations on climate change. South Africa is not under legal obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but as a large contributor of greenhouse gases in Africa and globally, South Africa has a moral obligation to reduce its emissions. Although not obliged to make commitments to reduce emissions, government has seen the importance of considering long term mitigating actions to play its part to reduce emissions. It can be argued that the policies and strategies being considered are not enough to hold large industries in South Africa more accountable for their own historic responsibility. The “culprits”, the large industries should be more accountable. A tax on greenhouse gas emissions (Carbon Emissions Tax) based on the amount of emissions a corporation produces, should be weighed up as this may be the way towards accountability. South Africa is faced with the task of juggling development (which is largely based on fossil fuels), the eradication of poverty and climate change. There should be an economic policy in place to address and balance these three aspects, in a positive way. According to this study an appropriate tax on emissions may help South Africa in its mitigating actions of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, whilst allowing the country to continue on its path of social and economic development. AFRIKAANS : Klimaatsverandering word vinnig ‘n realiteit wat die ontwikkelde en ontwikkelende wêreld, hul ekonomiese welsyn en bevolking in sy greep het. Wisselvallige weersomstandighede, stygende temperature en reënseisoenagtige weer word deur wetenskaplikes bevraagteken en sommige lande neem voorbehoedende stappe om te verseker dat die ekonomie standvastig bly terwyl hul klimaatsverandering hanteer. Suid-Afrika begin ‘n invloedryke rol speel as ontwikkelende land in internasionale verhandelings oor klimaatsverandering. Suid-Afrika verkeer nie onder enige wetlike verpligting om die vrylating van kweekhuisgasse te verminder maar omdat dit grootliks bydra tot die vrylating van kweekhuisgasse in Afrika en wêreldwyd, het Suid-Afrika ‘n morele verpligting om sy vrylating te beheer. Hoewel nie verplig om enige onderneming te maak om vrylatings te beheer, het die regering die belangrikheid van langtermyn behoedende aksie gesien, en te oorweeg sodat die regering ‘n rol speel om vrylatings te verminder. Dit kan gesê word dat beleid en strategieë wat tans oorweeg word nie voldoende is om die groot nywerhede in Suid-Afrika meer aanspreeklik te maak vir hul historiese verantwoordelikheid. Die “skuldiges”, die groot nywerhede behoort meer toerekeningsvatbaar te wees. Belasting op die vrylating van kweekhuisgas (Koolstof Vrylatingsbelasting), gegrond op die hoeveelheid vrylating wat ‘n korporasie vervaardig, moet opgeweeg word aangesien dit dalk die weg is tot aanspreeklikheid. Suid-Afrika het die taak om ontwikkeling op te weeg (grootliks gebasseer op fossielbrandstof), die uitwissing van armoede en klimaatsverandering. Daar behoort ‘n ekonomiese beleid te wees om hierdie drie aspekte op positiewe wyse te balanseer. Volgens dié studie sou ‘n toepaslike belasting op vrylatings dalk bydra daartoe om Suid-Afrika by te staan om behoedende aksie te neem om kweekhuisgas vrylating te verminder, terwyl die land sy sosiale en ekonomiese ontwikkeling voortsit. Copyright 2011, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Karrappan, A 2011 A carbon emissions tax as a mitigating strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in South Africa, MCom dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-03052012-165638 / > F12/4/144/gm / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Taxation / unrestricted

AbstractCarbon Footprints, as an indicator of climate performance, help identify major GHG emission sources and potential areas of improvement. In the context of greatly expanding sub-national climate efforts, research on Carbon Footprint accounting at municipality level is timely and necessary to facilitate the establishment of local climate strategies. This study aims at exploring the methodologies for Carbon Footprint assessment at municipality level, based on the case study of Haninge municipality in Sweden. In the study, a Greenhouse Gas inventory of Haninge is developed and it is discussed how the municipality can reduce its Carbon Footprint. The Carbon Footprint of Haninge is estimated to be more than 338,225 tonnesCO2eq, and 4.5 tonnes CO2eq per capita. These numbers are twice as large as the production-based emissions, which are estimated to be 169,024 tonnes CO2eq in total, and approximately 2.3 tonnes CO2eq per capita. Among them the most important parts are emissions caused by energy use, and indirect emissions caused by local private consumption. It is worth noting that a large proportion of emissions occur outside Haninge as a result of local consumption. Intensive use of biomass for heat production and electricity from renewable sources and nuclear power have significantly reduced the climate impact of Haninge. The major barrier for Carbon Footprint accounting at municipality level is lack of local statistics. In the case of Sweden, several databases providing emission statistics are used in the research, including KRE, RUS, NIR and Environmental Account.

Advanced power electronic techniques are crucial to enable high-performance energy conversion systems for the applications of various load and source interfaces, e.g., electric vehicle battery charger, solar power, wind power, motor traction, grid-connection. Also, the improvements on electrification for energy conversion contributes to the Carbon Neutrality with the reduction of fuel combustion. The control and design of the power conversion systems largely determine the efficiency, power density and system cost which typically need specialized design procedures. Since the types of interfaced energy sources may vary, the corresponding control algorithms and hardware configurations will be different. Thus, the power electronics system design is conventionally a specific routine based on the desired source and load requirements. Generally speaking, two main perspectives need to be considered when designing a power conversion system: (1) the power converter circuitry topology with the corresponding hardware components, e.g., low/high power circuits design, passive components design; (2) control algorithms and functions design, e.g., voltage/current control techniques, active/reactive power balancing and adjustment. However, the repetitive and specific power electronics design procedures for different load/source requirements are time-consuming and costly. This thesis proposes a software-defined power electronics concept to develop a generalized auto-converter module (ACM) by leveraging variable-frequency critical-soft-switching, model predictive control techniques and high-performance litz-PCB inductors. The software-defined power electronics techniques can be applied to various types of electrified load/source applications without the need of repetitive hardware components and software algorithms designing procedures. The fundamental unit for the generalized concept, auto-converter module, is a type of MPC-based power module. A hierarchical control architecture is designed to manage the local ACMs and satisfy different load/source energy conversion requirements with high efficiency, high power-density and high-reconfigurability. To achieve high-performance for the software-defined power electronics system, several advanced technologies are developed and integrated including variable-frequency critical-soft-switching, modular model predictive control, litz-PCB inductor design. Firstly, a variable-frequency critical-soft-switching technique is developed to adjust the switching frequency for the zero-voltage soft-switching. Doing so, the switching losses can be largely reduced with high efficiency. Secondly, the critical-soft-switching inductor is designed based on litz-PCB winding structure and neural network model to optimize the inductor losses and reduce the volume for the application of high frequency and large current ripple. Thirdly, a modular model predictive control method is designed for each of the local ACM to improve the dynamic performance and attenuate the oscillation caused by the variable frequency operation. Lastly, a hierarchical control architecture is developed to generalize the software-defined power electronics with multi-layer structure, central control layer, local module control layer and application layer. The hierarchical control architecture can be widely applied to different types of load/source interfaces, e.g., single/three-phase grid-connected inverters, motor traction inverter, battery charger, solar energy and so on. Leveraging the hierarchical control architecture and software-defined power electronics, the repetitive power converter hardware components and software algorithms design procedures can be simplified and standardized. Also, for different power converter applications, the efficiency and power density are both improved with better dynamic performance.

Dry Reforming of Methane (DRM) is a relatively new process technology that provides economic and environmental incentives for several industries that rely heavily on Hydrogen (H₂) and syngas (H₂ and Carbon Monoxide (CO)) utilization. The process utilizes Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) and Natural Gas, containing mainly Methane (CH₄), as a feedstock to produce H₂ and CO. Hydrogen intensive applications and syngas processing facilities benefit mostly by generating new revenue streams as well as achieving a reduced overall carbon footprint of their operations, since CH₄ and CO₂ are both powerful greenhouse gases. This process can be considered on a reactive basis to treat flue gases and emitted streams rich in CO₂, and it also can be a proactive approach to eliminating CO₂ emissions before they occur. The focus in this work is on the latter approach, where DRM, deposited on a low-pressure monolith, is being studied as a relatively new process to produce a pure H₂ gas stream (+99.9% purity) while maintaining carbon neutrality and prove its superiority to the dominating technology today; Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) which utilizes steam (H₂O) as a reactant instead of CO₂, and reacts with Natural Gas to produce H₂ and CO, however, they are accompanied by a large generation of CO₂ emissions. A comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis was conducted to compare both technologies, DRM and SMR, and has demonstrated the feasibility of DRM in almost all environmental impact categories with a significant reduction in CO₂ equivalent emissions. This study assessed the performance of SMR and DRM in various indicators, including energy consumption, air emissions, global warming potential, water consumption, wastewater production, solid catalyst utilization and solid waste production. Although DRM requires higher energy in the reformer, its overall energy consumption is lower than SMR since steam generation needed is only roughly one third that of SMR. Harmful components released by DRM in air emissions are lower in all categories which reduces global warming potential to a large extent and in particular, CO₂ is reduced by approximately 61% when compared with SMR. Since SMR relies heavily on steam input and cooling purposes, water consumption and wastewater generation indicators are more adverse compared to DRM. This outcome acts as a strong driver to invest more in this research field and accelerate commercialization of this process technology. The research focus around DRM has been studied for over 20 years focusing on landfill gas (CO₂:CH₄ with a ratio of 0.8) and only few commercial testing facilities exist as of today due to major catalyst stability drawback, due to excess CH₄ causing coking issues. While most of the research body is considering DRM to process landfill gas, this research work has found out that by moving to a coke-free regime, the catalyst retains excellent initial stability properties. Thermodynamic analysis demonstrated that ratios of CO₂:CH₄ equal to and greater than 1.5, solid carbon no longer thermodynamically forms, and indeed, the experimental studies have confirmed the same conclusion evident by stable catalyst performance. Both Nickle (Ni) and Rhodium (Rh) in powder forms exhibited excellent activity and stability levels under a CO₂:CH₄ ratio of 1.5. This was the first and most important stepping stone in constructing a solid argument supporting DRM as a stable process with great potential for commercialization. This ratio is possible when separate sources of CO₂ and CH₄ are available and thus ratios can be adjusted unlike in landfills where CH₄ is always in excess. The work continued in performing several parametric experiments and screening multiple catalysts with different metal loadings. Three active metals were tested, Ni, Rh, and Ruthenium (Ru), and the results concluded that the most promising formulations are 10% Ni on Alumina (Al2O3) and 1% Rh on Al₂O₃. Those were further investigated in details for artificially aging by intentionally forming coke and successfully regenerated by steam gasification. The catalysts were coked and regenerated to essentially fresh activity. Commercial SMR is operated with a packed-bed reactor design and utilizing catalysts (most commonly Ni on alpha Al₂O₃.) in the form of pellets and rings, which lead to large pressure drops and ultimately large reactor design and increased energy requirements. To help overcome the design challenges, this research work has considered monolithic catalysts for testing and scale-up purposes. Monoliths, with their high open frontal areas and large geometric surface areas, overcome the challenges of high pressure drop, experienced in pellets, exhibit solid mechanical strength and provide large geometric surface areas of catalysts (washcoat) contact for reactions to take place, and hence, significantly reduce reactor sizes and eventually, overall capital and operating costs. The monolithic catalysts were prepared by washcoating 10% Ni and separately 1% Rh, both on gamma Al₂O₃. on their walls. The same parametric studies conducted for powders were tested for monolithic catalysts, and the results were positively surprising. Monolithic catalysts possessed extremely high activities, far better than all powders tested even at higher loadings. Moreover, their excellent stability results provide a possible road to a more compact reactor design. One conclusion; monolithic catalysts, or washcoated structured reactors as known in industry, are strong competitors that have the potential to deliver superior results when compared to packed-bed reactors. Therefore, this research is proposing the use of monolithic catalysts working under the favorable thermodynamic environment, as a potential solution to accelerate DRM advanced testing for H₂ production. To further support the thesis argument, a basic process design of the DRM was carried out to understand the various compositions of streams and the material and energy requirements for a feasible commercial plant. The design resembled very closely that of an SMR plant with the major difference in the main reactor, known as the “Reformer”. With this data on hand, a financial modelling was constructed to preliminarily prove the feasibility of this technology when compared to competitors in the market. Consequently, when compared to SMR with and without carbon capture (CC), DRM achieved relatively low H₂ prices in the range of 1.07-1.32 $/kg in the case of a Methanator design case and up to 1.91 $/kg for the CC design case, while SMR exceeded 2.1 $/kg for sustainable H₂ production; indicating that DRM, on preliminary basis, is a very profitable process technology. In conclusion, the laboratory research work combined with process design and financial feasibility, strongly supports the grounds of recommending DRM as a viable H2 production technology for a future pilot plant testing and advancement for commercialization. A more detailed engineering design and financial assessment would provide more accurate results after the successful pilot plant testing.

The management of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste has become a major issue lately in the province of Québec, Canada. Most of it is landfilled today, which increases the burden on landfills and is environmentally unsound. In order to comply with new government guidelines, municipalities have to develop solutions to recover and recycle organic waste. In this context, this study examines two solutions for treating organic waste: home-composting and a separate biodegradable waste collection system combined with large-scale composting. The two scenarios are compared in terms of costs and environmental performance to a reference scenario where all waste is landfilled, using as a case study a fictional city of 50 000 inhabitants. Results indicate that a centralized collection system, combined to large-scale composting, has greater environmental benefits than home-composting. It cuts greenhouse gas emissions by 240% compared to the reference scenario, while emissions from home-composting remain at the reference level. However, when compared to the reference scenario, home-composting reduces waste management costs by 15% while they represent an increase of 4% with large-scale composting. The study concludes that separate biodegradable waste collection combined to large-scale composting is the best way for a municipality to achieve high environmental goals, despite a slight increase of municipal costs. The participation rate of citizens is suggested to be a crucial parameter for the success of organic waste management in the two scenarios and it should be enhanced by different means to ensure the successful implementation of the chosen solution.