Radiative Forcing Due to Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Finland: Methods for Estimating Forcing of a Country or an Activity

The objective of this study was to assess the radiative forcing due to Finnish anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions in three scenarios. All the Kyoto Protocol gases, i.e., CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, and fluorinated gases, were included. The calculations showed that forcing due to Finnish emissions will increase in the case of all gases except methane by the year 2100. In 1990, radiative forcing due to Finland's emission history of all Kyoto Protocol gases was 3.2 mW/m², of which 71% was due to carbon dioxide, 17% to methane, and the rest to nitrous oxide. In 1990 the share of fluorinated gases was negligible. The share of methane in radiative forcing is decreasing, whereas the shares of carbon dioxide and of fluorinated gases are increasing and that of nitrous oxide remains nearly constant. The nonlinear features concerning additional concentrations in the atmosphere and radiative forcing due to emissions caused by a single country or activity are also considered. Radiative forcing due to Finnish emissions was assessed with two different approaches, the marginal forcing approach and the averaged forcing approach. The impact of the so-called background scenario, i.e., the scenario for concentration caused by global emissions, was also estimated. The difference between different forcing models at its highest was 40%, and the averaged forcing approach appeared to be the more recommendable. The effect of background concentrations in the studied cases was up to 11%. Hence, the choice of forcing model and background scenario should be given particular attention.     

Global Trade in GM Food and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety: Consequences for China

The UN Cartagena Protocol onBiosafety adopted in Montreal, 29 January, 2000and opened for signature in Nairobi, 15–26 May,2000 will exert a profound effect oninternational trade in genetically modifiedorganisms (GMOs) and their products. In thispaper, the potential effects of variousarticles of the Protocol on international tradein GMOs are analyzed. Based on the presentstatus of imports of GMOs and domestic researchand development of biotechnology in China,likely trends in imports of foreign GM food andrelated products after China accedes to WTO isexplored. Also, China's potentialcountermeasures to control and regulate importsof GMOs in line with implementation of theProtocol are discussed. China, in recent times,has increased its food and agricultural importssubstantially from USA and Canada. Chinaimported soybean 10.42 mill. tons in 2000 andabout 15 mill tons in 2001, of which majorityare from USA where GM soybean accounts for60%. The plantation of US Monsanto'stransgenic Bt cotton was increased to more than1 million ha in China in 2001. Though China haspaid great attention to develop biotechnology,it appears to have little scope to export GMOsand GM products. So China may consider a rangeof administrative measures to implement theCartagena Protocol and to regulate its importof GMOs and GM agricultural products.Consequently, the Regulation on Safety ofAgri-GMOs was issued on June, 2001 and followedthree detailed rules issued in Jan. of 2002,with a priority to limit foreign GMOs importingby safety certification and labeling system.These were outlined taking into accountpolicies adopted in Western countries such asgreen barriers to international trade.     

用矿井通风仿真系统(MVSS)确定通风系统优化改造方案

论述了矿井通风仿真系统 (MVSS)的功能 ,用MVSS仿真模拟增加或减少风路对周围其他风路的影响 ,仿真模拟拆除或增加机站对周围通风系统的影响 ,并以金川矿井 115 0水平为例 ,阐明了用MVSS确定通风系统优化改造方案的方法 ,对通风系统现状分析、通风网络优化、通风系统的设计提供了科学的依据和实用方法。     

Transaction costs and the clean development mechanism

The emissions trading provisions of the Kyoto Protocol and its clean development mechanism (CDM) are designed to permit greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions at the lowest cost globally. However, to ensure climate integrity, these reductions must pass through vigilant approval, monitoring and evaluation procedures that create additional transaction costs unrelated to the physical process of eliminating GHGs. Moreover, the CDM's additionality criterion creates constraints that magnify the influence of these transaction costs on project viability. If these costs are extreme, they could undermine the success of the CDM, and possibly of the Kyoto Protocol itself. This article describes the trading provisions of the treaty, creates a working definition of transaction costs, and discusses their effects. It then analyzes the process of creating a CDM project to identify the sources of transaction costs, illustrated by an example of a fuel substitution project in Ghana. The conditions for project profitability are analyzed and compared with recent GHG emission credit prices in Europe. The specific Ghanaian results are not generalizable to all CDM projects, but the model does suggest a template that can be used to analyze the effects of project and transaction costs in other contexts.     

北京市CFCs和CCl_4的浓度水平与变化趋势

采用预浓缩-GC/MS方法对2009年4—8月北京市大气中CFC-11,CFC-12,CFC-113,CFC-114和CCl45种主要消耗臭氧层物质进行了监测.结果表明:观测期内北京市大气中φ(CFC-11),φ(CFC-12)和φ(CCl4)的平均值高于全球本底站观测值,而φ(CFC-113)和φ(CFC-114)与全球本底水平相当,其原因是这5种物质在我国的排放水平差异所致,其中CFC-11,CFC-12和CCl4仍存在一定量的排放.不同季节的日变化分析表明,4月5种物质的体积分数日变化趋势平缓,而8月观测日内基本呈现出夜间物质的体积分数高于白天的特征.8月φ(CFC-11),φ(CFC-12)和φ(CCl4)的平均值比4月高,这可能是由于8月的温度较高,致使这3种物质现有排放源的排放量增加.     

内蒙古草原生态环境治理的国际合作思路

内蒙古草原面积巨大,占全国草原总面积的1/3,其草原生态环境不仅与国家生态安全紧密相连,而且对周边国家的气候、环境也会产生重大影响。本文从国际法视角出发,根据国际合作原则,依据《京都议定书》清洁能源机制,提出了内蒙古草原生态治理的国际合作思路。一要依托联合国及联合国环境规划署,开展更为广泛的环保合作项目;二要依托国际社会各种环境保护组织和环境合作机构,在《联合国气候框架公约》和《京都议定书》等国际法框架内,全面开展环境外交,寻求国际社会的多方合作;三要依托内蒙古绿色食品贸易,与环境大国展开国际合作;四要依托内蒙古绿色能源基地的建设,寻求国际合作,希望本文能对政府部门制定草原生态治理规划时有所启迪和帮助。     

泰山大气卤代烃的长期变化趋势与来源

卤代烃是大气环境与气候变化研究的热点问题.基于2003 ～2018年在泰山山顶(36.25°N,117.10°E,海拔1534 m)的6期强化观测数据,结合气流轨迹模型与受体源解析模型,分析了华北平原区域背景大气中卤代烃的长期变化趋势和主要来源.结果 表明,《蒙特利尔议定书》已淘汰物种(CFC-12、CFC-11、CF...     

Sustainable development in the Clean Development Mechanism: the role of Designated National Authority in China and India

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) emerged under the Kyoto Protocol to facilitate collaboration between developed and developing countries in order to mitigate greenhouse gases. The CDM allows developed countries to receive credits towards meeting their obligatory targets by investing in emission reduction projects in developing countries. The countries are required to set up a Designated National Authority (DNA) to approve the CDM projects. This paper examines the role of the DNA in ensuring sustainable development, using the empirical case of China and India. Three aspects of the DNA's role are examined: the institutional structure, the policy context and the CDM project market. All three aspects highlight the important role of the DNA in meeting the countries' sustainable development priorities.     

Governance, institutions and the environment-income relationship: a cross-country study

This paper examines the environment-income relationship in the context of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), and explores the possible role that factors like governance, political institutions, socioeconomic conditions, and education play in influencing this relationship. The results suggest that the EKC exists for carbon dioxide emissions for cross-country data over the period 1984–2002. However, there is nothing automatic about this relationship; policies designed to protect the environment may be responsible for this phenomenon. Two other significant findings are: one, countries with better quality of governance, stronger political institutions, better socioeconomic conditions and greater investment in education have lower emissions; and two, only around 15% of the countries in the dataset have reached income levels high enough to be associated with an unambiguous decline in emissions. The implications of these results are discussed within the context of the international environmental policy arena and the Kyoto Protocol. One of the main objectives of this paper is to bridge the gap between studies conducted on the EKC and developments in the international environmental policy arena. As a final note this paper emphasizes that one needs to connect the body of knowledge on the EKC hypothesis to the international environmental policy arena, despite the apparent difficulty of doing so. One hopes that future studies will further build on this line of thought.

Evaluation of Storage and Filtration Protocols for Alpine/Subalpine Lake Water Quality Samples

Many government agencies and other organizations sample natural alpine and subalpine surface waters using varying protocols for sample storage and filtration. Simplification of protocols would be beneficial if it could be shown that sample quality is unaffected. In this study, samples collected from low ionic strength waters in alpine and subalpine lake inlets and outlets in the western United States were used to evaluate (1) effects of refrigerated storage time on the chemistry of unfiltered samples, and (2) differences in sample filtration protocols. No analytes exhibited significant changes when stored less than 48 h. Six analytes (pH, sodium, ammonium, potassium, chloride, sulfate) exhibited statistically significant (but small) changes when storage time exceeded 48 h. Two analytes (calcium, nitrate) were significantly higher when samples were field filtered than when filtered in the laboratory, but the differences were also small. For waters similar to those in this test, unfiltered refrigerated samples may be stored up to 48 h without compromising sample quality. The small differences between field and lab filtration do not justify the expense, training, and contamination risk of field filtration.