Golden Genesis and the Teotonio Vilela Foundation: commercializing PV residential electrification with a not-for-profit partner

This article presents a case study of a project which provides photovoltaic-based rural electrification in the state of Alagoas in northeastern Brazil. The project, the Luz do Sol Programme (LdS), was initiated in mid-1996 by the Golden Genesis Company (Golden) and the Fundação Teotônio Vilela (FTV). The article emphasizes some noteworthy characteristics of the project: the partnership between US commercial and Brazilian philanthropic interests; the financial aspect, a dedicated line of credit requiring only the equipment itself as security; and the local ownership and management of system operations, collections, and routine maintenance.
In 1996, the Golden Genesis Company had developed a central battery charging system to bring the price of electrification within the range of the rural poor; it financed the US content of the systems, with the Bank of the Northeast of Brazil (BN) financing the Brazilian content. The article traces the long and arduous path to establish the programme, including both bureaucratic and technical challenges. These difficulties brought the project to an impasse in August of 1998, and Golden withdrew. FTV then re-negotiated the agreement with BN, changing the technical approach to individual solar home systems. This improved the situation, and the project has since enjoyed 100% loan repayment rates from the entrepreneurs. In June 1999, BP/Solarex became FTV's new commercial partner. The project currently shows promise of becoming the commercially viable programme originally envisaged by Golden, with commercial and technical decision-making at the local level.     

一次低纬高原暖区暴雨对流系统演变及边界层触发

利用高空和地面区域站、FY2G卫星TBB、昆明C波段多普勒雷达、闪电观测资料和NCEP/NCAR1°×1°再分析资料,分析了2017年7月12-13日云南副高外围暖区暴雨对流系统演变特征及边界层触发成因。结果表明,滇东中部和滇中中部暴雨,12日08:00以锋面降水为主,14:00后以暖区降水为主;环境场具有弱垂直风切变,湿层深厚,暖云厚度大,抬升凝结高度低等特征,利于降水持续及强降水触发,但昆明对流有效位能111.6~217.3 J/kg,暴雨对流性较弱;降水具有低质心对流结构,属于暖云性质,降水粒子以液态为主,伴有稀疏负闪;暴雨中心降水有3次波动,其中白邑初始对流的产生,是由于其西北侧山脉附近对流降水形成冷池,山脚地形性辐合线加强南移,此后在深厚偏南气流引导下,不断有25~30 dbz回波以1~5.1 m/s的速度经过白邑,形成列车效应,加之冷池作用下,地面辐合线再次加强影响白邑,形成午后降水峰值,夜间降水峰值的形成仅与偏南气流脉动有关,而格里三次降水波动,均是偏南气流脉动下形成列车效应,加之地面伴有中尺度气旋活动。     

Unpacking the post‐Haiyan disaster resettlement narratives of young Filipino women informal settlers in Tacloban City,Philippines

Post‐disaster resettlement narratives encapsulate the complex mobile–spatial processes that are embedded in a post‐disaster context. The existing literature on disaster relocation and resettlement accords primacy to the logistical, practical, structural, and physical dimensions of residential transitioning. Building on this knowledge, this study conducted a spatial narrative inquiry to generate a link to mobile–spatial realities interspersed in diverse temporal trajectories. It did so by tracking the embodied rhythms of people and objects evoked through the retelling of post‐disaster resettlement stories by 12 young Filipino women informal settlers. The key findings are organised in three spatial narratives: ‘house near the sea'; ‘there at the bunkhouse'; and ‘here in Ridgeview'. These narratives are anchored in the overarching dimensions that underpin Filipino informal settlers’ experiences of (not) moving in and out of disaster resettlement areas. Lastly, the findings are explained in the light of the theoretical, empirical, and practical implications of disaster resettlement specific to informal settlers.     

中国历史上和未来CFC-11和CFC-12的排放量计算

基于CFC-11(CCl3F)和CFC-12(CCl2F2)在家用制冷、工商制冷、汽车空调、气雾剂、烟草和泡沫等应用行业的消费数据、淘汰进程等计算了中国历年CFC-11和CFC-12的消费量,进而利用相应的排放方程计算了其历年排放量及未来的预测排放量.计算结果表明,从1978年中国开始消费到将来完全淘汰CFCs为止,中国CFC-11和CFC-12的总消费量分别为39.79×104t和40.97×104t.与国际公约对中国的要求相比,仅CFC-11和CFC-12,中国就少消费了19.78×104t ODP(臭氧层耗损潜能值)的CFCs物质.中国CFC-11和CFC-12的总排放量分别为全球1950～1999年50年间排放量的4.66%和3.16%,人均排放量及单位国土面积排放量均远远低于全球平均水平.     

Vulnerability to typhoon hazards in the coastal informal settlements of Metro Manila,the Philippines

In many low‐ and middle‐income countries informal communities—also termed slum and squatter areas—have become a dominant and distinct form of urban settlement, with ever increasing populations. Such communities are often located in areas of high hazard exposure and frequently affected by disasters. While often recognised as one of the highest ‘at risk’ populations, this paper will argue that informal settlers have been directly and indirectly excluded from many formal mechanisms, thereby increasing their vulnerability to disaster events. Household surveys were conducted across several frequently flooded informal coastal communities in Metro Manila, the Philippines, following a major typhoon and storm surge disaster. The study revealed a large level of diversity in socio‐economic vulnerability, although all households faced similar levels of physical exposure and physical vulnerability. Disaster risk reduction policies and responses need to better integrate informal settlement areas and recognise the diversity within these communities.     

我国开发性金融部门绿色投资价值的气候影响和风险研究

为应对气候变化,我国开发性金融部门探索绿色投资倒逼其低碳转型之路,相应的气候变化对其绿色投资的影响和风险值得深入研究。运用气候压力测试模型、WITCH模型和气候VaR对我国开发性金融机构绿色投资的气候冲击影响、气候风险进行实证研究。研究发现,极端气候冲击会对我国的开发性金融机构的投资价值及其投资表现产生负面影响;我国开发性金融机构绿色债券的票面利率受气候变化影响程度各异,国家开发银行随着气温的上升而增加,中国农业发展银行随着气温的下降而减少;我国开发性金融机构绿色投资气候风险各异,中国农业发展银行绿色投资的气候风险相对较大。研究成果为我国开发性金融部门应对气候变化的低碳转型和绿色投资的风险管理提供决策参考。     

我国碳排放增长的驱动因素及贡献度分析

结合我国实际,对Kaya 等式进行扩展,引入经济效应影响因子、能源强度影响因子、行业贡献影响因子和碳排放强度影响因子,构建了行业CO₂排放增长驱动力模型。论文应用该模型测算和分析了1990 年至2010 年我国6 个经济部门CO₂排放的驱动因素。结果显示:①1990—2010 年,影响我国各行业CO₂排放的正向驱动因素主要是经济效应,负向驱动因素主要是能源强度效应和碳排放强度效应;②碳减排政策的制定要权衡经济发展和碳减排的政策协同;③1997—2000 年和2005—2010 年CO₂排放量减少或增速减缓的主要驱动力是能源强度效应和行业贡献效应;④基于国情,产业结构调整在短时间内对CO₂减排效力不大,而是一个长期的减排战略。     

2020年中国发电行业碳减排目标规划相符性分析

基于发电行业节能减排技术的现有应用规划,预测3种不同的GDP增长情景,即减速发展,基准情景和高速发展情景下,若能实现我国现有关于发电行业节能减排技术的规划目标,2020年发电行业的CO2排放量将达到35.32,39.15,43.20亿t.同时基于中国2020年碳强度减排承诺,计算得国家2020年CO2排放目标在不同发展情景下将达到97.30~127.96亿t不等.结合上述结果讨论,发电行业规划目标相符要求2020年的CO2排放比例为33.27%~36.82%.结果表明,若能实现我国现有关于发电行业节能减排技术的规划目标,则对应于不同的GDP增长速度,发电行业总碳排放量能够完成国家承诺碳强度减排的分解目标.     

Democratic Republic of the Congo: undoing government by predation

This paper draws on two periods of field research, conducted in 2004, to consider the state of governance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The first measures the paralysing impact of illegal taxation on riverine trade in the western provinces; the second documents civilian attempts to seek safety from violence in the troubled east, and evaluates third-party efforts to provide protection and security. Analysis of study findings suggests that the DRC's current governance crisis is neither historically novel nor driven exclusively by mineral resources, extraction rights or trafficking. Rather, government by predation is an endemic and systematic feature of the civil and military administration, ensuring the daily economic survival of soldiers and officials, who are able to wield their authority in a 'riskfree' environment, without oversight or accountability. The paper's conclusion tries to make sense of the persistence of corruption in social and political life, and assess the capacity of ordinary citizens to reverse their predicament.     

浙江台州典型电子废弃物无序拆解区土壤多环芳烃污染风险评估

电子废弃物的无序拆解会导致其中多环芳烃(polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs)的无规律释放,进而对周边生态环境和人体健康构成威胁。为了量化电子废弃物无序拆解区土壤中PAHs的含量及其对人体健康的风险,本研究从浙江省台州市路桥区某典型电子废弃物无序拆解区采集了3个作坊式电子废弃物拆解点、3个作坊式塑料或金属加工点和1个电子废弃物拆解尾渣倾倒点的土壤样品,以气相色谱-质谱联用法和美国环保署规定的暴露量化及风险表征方法为分析手段开展PAHs含量分析及其风险评估。结果发现:上述7个土壤样品PAHs的总量范围为32.62～1053.71μg/kg,平均为414.05μg/kg,其中一个作坊式电子废弃物拆解点的PAHs含量属于重污染级别,土壤存在强烈的环境风险,单体菲(Phe)、蒽(Ant)、荧蒽(Fla)和芘(Pyr)对环境风险的贡献率最大。此外,PAHs通过不同途径对人体造成的健康风险程度为呼吸途径﹥皮肤接触﹥经口途径。结果表明,电子废弃物无序拆解区土壤PAHs污染急需建立相关环境管理措施及污染控制标准,逐步规范电子废弃物无序拆解活动。