Suchergebnisse

Knappe Wasserresourcen, gepaart mit geopolitischen Konflikten und den negativen Folgen des Klimawandels können eine immer größere Gefahr für die Sicherheit im Nahen Osten darstellen. Ein erwarteter Temperaturanstieg von bis zu vier Prozent im Jahr 2095, extrem hohes Bevölkerungswachstum kombiniert mit zunehmender Verstädterung und steigender wirtschaftliche Entwicklung üben einen enormen Druck auf die Gewässer und Grundwasserreserven der bereits unter ?Wasserstress? stehenden Länder des Nahen Osten aus. Erhöhte Wassernachfrage kombiniert mit einem begrenzten, möglicherweise sogar sinkenden, Wasserangebot könnte zu einer weiteren Destabilisierung der Region führen, da Wasser im Nahen Osten bei der Entstehung vergangener und aktueller Konflikte zumindest einen indirekten Beitrag leistete. Folglich kann erwartet werden, dass die negativen Auswirkungen des Klimawandels auf die Wasserreserven im Nahen Osten zumindest eine Konflikt fördernde Wirkung haben, welche, als Konsequenz, auch zur Eskalation von sozialen Spannungen sowie zu einem erhöhten Konfliktrisiko auf innerstaatlichen sowie internationalen Niveau beitragen können. Zusätzlich dazu spielen Faktoren wie politische und wirtschaftliche Instabilität, Armut, soziale Fragmentierung und Klima induzierte Migration eine tragende Rolle wenn es um den möglichen Ausbruch von Gewalt in der Region geht. Ziel dieser Arbeit, mit Schwerpunkt auf Israel, Jordanien, Libanon, Palästina und Syrien, ist es einen Überblick über die lokalen Wasserresourcen sowie die israelisch-arabische Wasserpolitik zu liefern. Zusätzlich dazu werden die Effekte des Klimawandels auf die lokalen Wasserresourcen sowie deren sozioökonomische Implikationen für die Region kurz skizziert und mögliche Zusammenhänge zwischen Klimawandel und Konflikten dargestellt. Letztlich werden aktuelle und mögliche Maßnahmen zur Überbrückung von Wasserknappheit in der Region vorgestellt. ; Scarce water resources paired with geopolitical conflicts and the adverse effects of climate change pose an emerging threat to Middle East security. Projected temperature increases of approximately four per cent from now until 2095, extreme high population growth combined with increasing trends of urbanization as well as increasing economic development will put enormous pressure on the ground- and surface water resources of the already water stressed countries of the Middle East. Increasing water demand combined with limited, maybe even decreasing, water supply might potentially lead to further destabilisation of the region, as water has at least contributed indirectly to past and current Middle Eastern conflicts. Thus, adverse effects of climate change on Middle Eastern water resources can be expected to have conflict promotive characteristics which are probably contributing to the escalation of social tensions and increasing the risk of violent conflicts on intra-state and transnational level. In addition, factors like political and economic instability, poverty, social fragmentation as well as climate induced migration play a major role concerning the final outbreak of violence in this already conflict experienced region. The study, focussing on Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, and the Syrian Arab Republic, is aiming at providing an overview of the local water resources as well as providing insight into the Arab-Israeli hydropolitics. The effects of climate change on local water resources as well as its socio-economic implications will be outlined, followed by the discussion of possible links between climate change and conflict. Finally, measures to bridge the Middle Eastern water gap as well their actual application in the study area will be introduced to provide potential resorts out of water scarcity for the respective countries. ; Andrea Herbst ; Abweichender Titel laut Übersetzung der Verfasserin/des Verfassers ; Zsfassung in dt. Sprache ; Graz, Univ., Masterarb., 2010 ; (VLID)246143

The 2015 Paris Agreement aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping global temperature rise in this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The industrial sector in particular will need a bundle of technologies and measures that go beyond energy efficiency and fuel switching. In this context, circular economy is an important pillar in reducing the demand for energy-intensive raw materials and gains momentum in the political debate. This contribution to the eceee Industrial Efficiency 2020 presents the potential impacts of selected circular economy actions in the building sector on cement production and CO2-emissions in the cement industry. The analysis is based on a bottom-up material flow modelling approach. The assessed measures include actions along the whole value chain. Some examples are the reduction of over specification, material substitution (e.g. new binders, wood use), extending buildings' lifetime, design for disassembly, etc. Results show that circularity measures could substantially contribute to the objective of a CO2-neutral economy (not taking into account rebound effects). The overall greenhouse gas reduction potential is calculated as 58 % compared to a 2015 base case. In addition, the individual actions' contribution is presented. We conclude that effort along the entire value chain is necessary to enable the construction sector to contribute to European climate policy.

Vor dem Hintergrund steigender Materialbedarfe und fortschreitender Klimakrise gewinnt die Kreislaufwirtschaft für die Treibhausgasemissionsreduktion auch politisch an Bedeutung. Die Umsetzung solcher Maßnahmen ist insbesondere in Grundstoffindustrien relevant, da diesen ein Großteil der Treibhausgasemissionen zugeordnet werden kann und deren Dekarbonisierung besonders herausfordernd ist. Da die Auswirkungen von Kreislaufwirtschaftsmaßnahmen sich entlang der gesamten Wertschöpfungskette zeigen, ist die Betrachtung typischer Endverwendungsgüter und zugehöriger Grundstoffe zielführend. In diesem Beitrag werden die mengen- und emissionsmäßig relevanten Grundstoffe Stahl und Zement für den Einsatz im Bausektor untersucht. Es erfolgt die Quantifizierung der Materialflüsse in der Europäischen Union für das Jahr 2019 durch eine flussgetriebene Materialflussmodellierung und die Abschätzung der theoretischen Treibhausgasminderungspotentiale beispielhafter Kreislaufwirtschaftsmaßnahmen. Ziel der Betrachtung ist das Schaffen einer methodischen Grundlage für die spätere Entwicklung prospektiver Dekarbonisierungsszenarien. Erste Ergebnisse zeigen, dass während die Zementproduktion ausschließlich für Endverwendungsgüter im Bausektor verwendet wird, können dem Bausektor rund 45 Prozent der Stahlfertigerzeugnisse zugeordnet werden. Für letzteres werden hauptsächlich Langprodukte eingesetzt, die zu einem Großteil aus recyceltem Material hergestellt werden. Die zusätzliche Modellierung von Maßnahmen zur Materialeffizienzsteigerung und Materialsubstitution zeigt, dass die Materialflussmodellierung geeignet ist, um Kreislaufwirtschaftsmaßnahmen abzubilden und diese auch einen nicht vernachlässigbaren Beitrag zur Reduktion der industriellen Treibhausgasemissionen leisten können.

The industry sector accounts for about 20 % of GHG emissions in Germany. Achieving long-term GHG neutrality also requires industrial emissions to approach zero in the long-term. The German government set an intermediate industry sector target in the range of 49 to 51 % emission reduction by 2030 compared to 1990. While the targets are set, it is yet mostly unclear which technology path industry will and can take towards decarbonisation. Various measures including energy efficiency, biomass, electrification, green hydrogen, power to gas (PtG), circularity, material efficiency, process switch and carbon capture and storage are on the table, but their individual contributions are highly debated. We present results of a comprehensive bottom-up assessment comparing two alternative scenario pathways to 2050. The first is based on electrification as the main decarbonisation option, while the second builds on the broad availability of green gas. We use the bottom model FORECAST, which containsa high level of technology and process detail. E.g. more than 60 energy-intensive processes/products are included as well as a detailed stock model of steam generation technologies. Results show that both scenarios reach a GHG reduction of about 93 % in 2050 without using carbon-capture and storage. Remaining emissions are mostly process-related. This requires a fundamental change in industrial energy supply and use, but also in the industrial structure including entire value chains. The electrification scenario experiences an increase of direct use of electricity of about 100 TWh or 50 % by 2050 compared to 2015 plus additional 146 TWh green hydrogen. In the gas focused scenario electricity demand remains stable, while a demand for 337 TWh of green gas emerges by 2050, mainly replacing natural gas use, but also coal in the steel industry and feedstocks in chemical products. Both scenarios assume a substantial improvement in-energy efficiency and material efficiency along the value chain for CO2-intensive products as well as a strong shift to a circular economy. E.g. the secondary steel route gains market share from about 30 % in 2015 to 60 % in 2050. In the basic materials industries a process switch to low-carbon production routes takes place assuming the market introduction and fast diffusion of low-carbon technologies, which are today only at pilot or demonstration scale. In addition, the electrificationscenario also requires a carbon source for the hydrogen-based olefine production. Here, we assess the option to use remaining process-related CO2 emissions from lime and cement plants. Such fundamental change in the industrial structure can onlyhappen when the regulatory frame is adapted and addresses the major challenges ahead. Among these are for example the higher running costs of CO2-neutral processes, the expansion of infrastructure, the effective implementation of CO2 price signals along the value chains and the reduction of uncertainties regarding large strategic investments in low-carbon processes.

The energy demand and supply projections of the Swiss government funded by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy and carried out by a consortium of institutes and consulting companies are based on two types of energy models: macroeconomic general equilibrium models and bottom-up models for each sector. While the macroeconomic models are used to deliver the economic, demographic and policy framework conditions as well as the macroeconomic impacts of particular scenarios, the bottom-up models simulate the technical developments in the final energy sectors and try to optimise electricity generation under the given boundary conditions of a particular scenario. This introductory article gives an overview of some of the energy models used in Switzerland and - more importantly - some insights into current advanced energy system modelling practice pointing to the characteristics of the two modelling types and their advantages and limitations.

The energy demand and supply projections of the Swiss government funded by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy and carried out by a consortium of institutes and consulting companies are based on two types of energy models: macroeconomic general equilibrium models and bottom-up models for each sector. While the macroeconomic models are used to deliver the economic, demographic and policy framework conditions as well as the macroeconomic impacts of particular scenarios, the bottom-up models simulate the technical developments in the final energy sectors and try to optimise electricity generation under the given boundary conditions of a particular scenario. This introductory article gives an overview of some of the energy models used in Switzerland and – more importantly – some insights into current advanced energy system modelling practice pointing to the characteristics of the two modelling types and their advantages and limitations.

This chapter presents a qualitative description of the scenario storylines for the REFLEX project. The scenario descriptions provide the overall qualitative framework for the modeling activities by setting-up two holistic socio-technical scenarios based on different storylines: the moderate renewable scenario (Mod–RES) as reference scenario and the (de-)centralized high renewable scenarios (High–RES) as ambitious policy scenarios. The chapter highlights the definition of main techno-economic framework parameters, macro-economic and societal drivers as well as of the considered political environment.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify organizational challenges that drive enterprise content management (ECM) adoption from a process point of view.Design/methodology/approachThe presented results are grounded in both the academic literature on ECM and qualitative data from two case studies.FindingsThe study identifies and discusses 21 contemporary business challenges that drive ECM adoption along the content lifecycle (e.g. regarding the creation, storage, and retrieval of content).Research limitations/implicationsAs the scopes of both the literature review and the case studies were limited, the presented account of ECM drivers is not considered exhaustive. The paper can, nevertheless, help researchers to further theorize about ECM adoption and investigate the role that content plays in business process management.Practical implicationsPractitioners are provided with empirically grounded knowledge on the drivers behind ECM adoption. They can, for example, use the results to justify and evaluate ECM investments, or determine the scopes and objectives of their ECM initiatives.Originality/valueThis study is important because the understanding is still vague as to what organizations strive to gain through implementing ECM and what results they can expect from the same.

This open access book analyzes the transition toward a low-carbon energy system in Europe under the aspects of flexibility and technological progress. By covering the main energy sectors – including the industry, residential, tertiary and transport sector as well as the heating and electricity sector – the analysis assesses flexibility requirements in a cross-sectoral energy system with high shares of renewable energies. The contributing authors – all European energy experts – apply models and tools from various research fields, including techno-economic learning, fundamental energy system modeling, and environmental and social life cycle as well as health impact assessment, to develop an innovative and comprehensive energy models system (EMS). Moreover, the contributions examine renewable penetrations and their contributions to climate change mitigation, and the impacts of available technologies on the energy system. Given its scope, the book appeals to researchers studying energy systems and markets, professionals and policymakers of the energy industry and readers interested in the transformation to a low-carbon energy system in Europe

This open access book analyzes the transition toward a low-carbon energy system in Europe under the aspects of flexibility and technological progress. By covering the main energy sectors – including the industry, residential, tertiary and transport sector as well as the heating and electricity sector – the analysis assesses flexibility requirements in a cross-sectoral energy system with high shares of renewable energies. The contributing authors – all European energy experts – apply models and tools from various research fields, including techno-economic learning, fundamental energy system modeling, and environmental and social life cycle as well as health impact assessment, to develop an innovative and comprehensive energy models system (EMS). Moreover, the contributions examine renewable penetrations and their contributions to climate change mitigation, and the impacts of available technologies on the energy system. Given its scope, the book appeals to researchers studying energy systems and markets, professionals and policymakers of the energy industry and readers interested in the transformation to a low-carbon energy system in Europe.

It is becoming increasingly clear that linear modes of production and consumption are unsustainable. A circular economy would help to minimize both environmental and social problems. As a result, the concept is gaining momentum in the political discourse. However, current policies do not seem sufficient to transform linear value chains to circular ones. This paper compares the potentials of and prerequisites for a circular economy along two important value chains. As a best practice example, the legal framework along the battery value chain is analyzed. This analysis is used to derive recommendations for how to improve the legal framework along the building value chain. We find that the battery value chain is already addressed by targeted instruments and the instruments addressing the building value chain have to be aligned and their credibility improved through mandatory requirements. A value chain‐specific approach to develop the legal framework is promising for key sectors, while both general frameworks and value chain‐specific instruments are required to fully exploit the CE for every product.

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) might be a central technology to reach the decarbonisation goals of the European energy system. However, CCS deployment faces multiple economic, technological, and infrastructure challenges. Related literature tends to only focus on certain aspects of the CCS technology or to be limited to a particular sector perspective. In contrast, this paper presents a holistic modelling framework to analyse the long-term perspectives of CCS in Europe by extending the typical analysis from the electricity sector to the industry sector, and by including the CO2 infrastructure level with CO2 pipelines and storage. To this end, we use state-of-the-art models of the electricity sector (generation investment and electricity grid models), the industry sector, as well as the CO2 infrastructure sector. This unique modelling framework analyses the feasibility and costs of CCS deployment in the European Union towards 2050 in three scenarios with the same ambitious climate policy target (~85% CO2 emissions reduction). The main insights on the deployment of CCS in Europe hinges on two factors: i) the development of low-cost power generation technologies with carbon capture (coal and/or gas-fired), and ii) a sufficiently high CO2 price to compensate for the costs of deploying the CO2 transport infrastructure. Once CO2 transport infrastructure is available, CCS will be a preferred mitigation option for the industry sector emissions. The joint use of CO2 infrastructure by the electricity and the industry sector allows for economies of scale and economies of density. In the long term, CCS cannot achieve the 100% decarbonisation target of the energy sector because the technology can only capture 80–90% of the CO2 emissions of thermal power plants. Moreover, the advantages of CCS in terms of energy system costs compared to a system without CCS is rather small, in the range of 2%. It crucially depends on the costs of renewables and the costs of their integration in the electricity grid. ; publishedVersion

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) might be a central technology to reach the decarbonisation goals of the European energy system. However, CCS deployment faces multiple economic, technological, and infrastructure challenges. Related literature tends to only focus on certain aspects of the CCS technology or to be limited to a particular sector perspective. In contrast, this paper presents a holistic modelling framework to analyse the long-term perspectives of CCS in Europe by extending the typical analysis from the electricity sector to the industry sector, and by including the CO2 infrastructure level with CO2 pipelines and storage. To this end, we use state-of-the-art models of the electricity sector (generation investment and electricity grid models), the industry sector, as well as the CO2 infrastructure sector. This unique modelling framework analyses the feasibility and costs of CCS deployment in the European Union towards 2050 in three scenarios with the same ambitious climate policy target (~85% CO2 emissions reduction). The main insights on the deployment of CCS in Europe hinges on two factors: i) the development of low-cost power generation technologies with carbon capture (coal and/or gas-fired), and ii) a sufficiently high CO2 price to compensate for the costs of deploying the CO2 transport infrastructure. Once CO2 transport infrastructure is available, CCS will be a preferred mitigation option for the industry sector emissions. The joint use of CO2 infrastructure by the electricity and the industry sector allows for economies of scale and economies of density. In the long term, CCS cannot achieve the 100% decarbonisation target of the energy sector because the technology can only capture 80-90% of the CO2 emissions of thermal power plants. Moreover, the advantages of CCS in terms of energy system costs compared to a system without CCS is rather small, in the range of 2%. It crucially depends on the costs of renewables and the costs of their integration in the electricity grid.