Suchergebnisse

We develop a model on the optimal timing of switching from non-renewable to renewable energy sources with endogenous extraction choices under emission taxes and abatement costs. We assume that non-renewable resources are "dirty" inputs and create environmental degradation, while renewable resources are more environmentally friendly, although they may be more or less productive than the exhaustible resources. The value of the switching option from non-renewable to renewable resources is characterized. Numerical applications show that an increase in emission taxes, abatement costs or demand elasticity slows down the adoption of substitutable renewable resources, while an increase in the natural rate of resource regeneration, the stock of renewable resources or the relative productivity parameter speeds up the investment in the green technology.

The SEAD initiative aims to transform the global market by increasing the penetration of highly efficient equipment and appliances. SEAD is a government initiative whose activities and projects engage the private sector to realize the large global energy savings potential from improved appliance and equipment efficiency. SEAD seeks to enable high-level global action by informing the Clean Energy Ministerial dialogue as one of the initiatives in the Global Energy Efficiency Challenge. In keeping with its goal of achieving global energy savings through efficiency, SEAD was approved as a task within the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC) in January 2010. SEAD partners work together in voluntary activities to: (1) ?raise the efficiency ceiling? by pulling super-efficient appliances and equipment into the market through cooperation on measures like incentives, procurement, awards, and research and development (R&D) investments; (2) ?raise the efficiency floor? by working together to bolster national or regional policies like minimum efficiency standards; and (3) ?strengthen the efficiency foundations? of programs by coordinating technical work to support these activities. Although not all SEAD partners may decide to participate in every SEAD activity, SEAD partners have agreed to engage actively in their particular areas of interest through commitment of financing, staff, consultant experts, and other resources. In addition, all SEAD partners are committed to share information, e.g., on implementation schedules for and the technical detail of minimum efficiency standards and other efficiency programs. Information collected and created through SEAD activities will be shared among all SEAD partners and, to the extent appropriate, with the global public. As of April 2011, the governments participating in SEAD are: Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European Commission, France, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. More information on SEAD is available from its website at http://www.superefficient.org/.

1 Downstream Processing of Biofuels -- 2 Application of Micro-organisms for Biofuel Production -- 3 Influence of Significant Parameters on Cellulase Production by Solid State Fermentation -- 4 Influence of Xenobiotics on Fungal Ligninolytic Enzymes -- 5 Challenges in Bioethanol Production; Effect of Inhibitory Compounds -- 6 Engineering of Zymomonas Mobilis for enhanced Biofuel production -- 7 Sustainable Production of Hydrogen by Algae: Current Status and Future Perspectives -- 8 Bioprocess Parameters for Thermophilic and Mesophilic Biogas Production: Recent Trends and Challenges -- 9 Microbial and Bioinformatics Approach in Biofuel Production -- 10 Substrate Characterization in the Anaerobic Digestion Process. .

1 Biofuel Production Technologies, Comparing the Biofuels and Fossil Fuels -- 2 Microbiological aspects of bioenergy production: Recent update and future directions -- 3 A Comprehensive Review on Microbial Technology for Biogas Production -- 4 Biohydrogen Production from Biomass -- 5 Recent updates of biodiesel production: Source, production methods and metagenomic approach -- 6 Process Modelling and Simulation of Biodiesel Synthesis Reaction for Non-edible Yellow -- 7 Microbial Xylanases: A Helping Module for the Enzyme Biorefinery Platform -- 8 Analysis of various green methods to synthesize nanomaterials: An Ecofriendly Approach. .

In response to growing environmental concerns, particularly climate change, governments have encouraged innovation and adoption of clean technologies through various policy measures. At present more than half a trillion US dollars is being invested annually in clean technologies. Based on the existing literature, this study analyzes whether investments in clean technologies increase productivity. The findings are mixed. Employing firm-level data, the majority of ex-post studies show a positive relationship between clean investments and firms' productivity, especially in the energy-intensive manufacturing sector. Most studies for the transport, building and power sector use an ex-ante, technology or sectoral level analysis instead of ex-post analysis to examine the economics of clean technologies. In the transport sector, transportation services with electricity or hydrogen are still more expensive than that with gasoline and diesel vehicles. Some studies, however, project that cleaner vehicles will be economically attractive within a decade. Many studies report that clean technologies reduce energy consumption and save energy bills in the building sector, although some studies do not agree. Most studies for the power sector indicate that renewable technologies have not yet reduced the average costs of grid electricity because of their intermittency and a smaller share in the total electricity supply.

China's coal, mined locally and available at a relatively low cost, has brought numerous benefits to energy consumers in China and to those outside the country who enjoy the products of its coal-based economy, yet China's coal use has a high cost. Despite progress, health and safety in the thousands of small coal mines lag far behind the standards achieved in China's modern, large mines. Environmental degradation is a real and pressing problem at all stages of coal production, supply and use. Adding to these burdens, emissions of carbon dioxide are of concern to the Chinese government as it embarks on its own climate protection strategy. Technology solutions are already transforming the way coal is used in China and elsewhere. This study explores the context in which the development and deployment of these technologies can be accelerated. Providing a large amount of new data, it describes in detail the situation in China as well as the experiences of other countries in making coal cleaner. Above all, the report calls for much greater levels of collaboration -- existing bi-lateral and multi-lateral co-operation with China on coal is found lacking. China's growing openness presents many commercial opportunities. Establishing a global market for cleaner coal technologies is key to unlocking the potential of technology, one of ten major recommendations made in this study