Tätigkeitsbericht der Kaiser Wilhelm-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften für das Geschäftsjahr 1939/40

Das Jahr 1939 brachte mit dem Ausbruch des großen Kampfes um Deutschlands Freiheit und Zukunft auch für die Kaiser Wilhelm-Gesellschaft die Notwendigkeit gewisser Umstellungen, jedoch wird hiervon die der Tradition der Gesellschaft entsprechende Grundlagenforschung in keiner Weise berührt. Die folgenden Ausschnitte aus der Tätigkeit der Gesellschaft und ihrer Institute beweisen, daß die ihrem Aufbau zugrunde liegenden Gedanken — die ihren ersten Vorkämpfer schon inAlexander von Humboldt gefunden haben — auch in der jetzigen Zeit ihre Gültigkeit behalten, eine Tatsache, die im Hinblick auf die 30. Wiederkehr des Gründungstages der Kaiser Wilhelm-Gesellschaft am 11. Januar 1941 von besonderer Bedeutung ist.     

Framework for improved confidence in modeled nitrous oxide estimates for biofuel regulatory standards

Biofuels vary greatly in their carbon intensity, depending on the specifics of how they are produced. Policy frameworks are needed to ensure that biofuels actually achieve intended reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Current approaches do not account for important variables during cultivation that influence emissions. Estimating emissions based on biogeochemical models would allow accounting of farm-specific conditions, which in turn provides an incentive for producers to adopt low emissions practices. However, there are substantial uncertainties in the application of biogeochemical models. This paper proposes a policy framework that manages this uncertainty while retaining the ability of the models to account for (and hence incentivize) low emissions practices. The proposed framework is demonstrated on nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions from the cultivation of winter barley. The framework aggregates uncertainties over time, which (1) avoids penalizing producers for uncertainty in weather, (2) allows for a high degree of confidence in the emissions reductions achieved, and (3) attenuates the uncertainty penalties borne by producers within a timescale of several years. Results indicate that with effective management, N₂O emissions from feedstock cultivation may be <?5% of the carbon intensity of gasoline, whereas the existing policy approach estimates emissions >?20% of the carbon intensity of gasoline. If these emissions reductions are monetized, the framework can provide up to $0.002 per liter credits (0.8 cents per gallon) to fuel producers, which could incentivize emissions mitigation practices by biofuel feedstock suppliers, such as avoiding fall N application on silty clay loam soils. The conservatism in the current approach fails to incentivize the adoption of biofuels, while the lack of specificity fails to incentivize site-level mitigation practices. Improved uncertainty accounting and consideration of farm-level practices will incentivize mitigation efforts at landscape to global scales.