A hybrid life cycle-based trans-boundary greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions footprint is elucidated at the city-scale and evaluated for 8 US cities. The method incorporates end-uses of energy within city boundaries, plus cross-boundary demand for airline/freight transport and embodied energy of four key urban materials [food, water, energy (fuels), and shelter (cement)], essential for life in all c...

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from municipal solid waste (MSW) management significantly contribute to high global warming potential (GWP). However, most studies have failed to facilitate identifying MSW management schemes capable of comprehensively meeting the goals from decision-makers at different hierarchical levels under uncertainties. This study develops an inexact bi-level linear program...

This paper considers the life cycle environmental sustainability of ethanol produced in integrated biorefineries together with chemicals and energy. Four types of second-generation feedstocks are considered: wheat straw, forest residue, poplar, and miscanthus. Seven out of 11 environmental impacts from ethanol are negative, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, when the system is credited f...

When regulating GHG emissions at the country or product level, it is critical to determine the GHG emissions from electricity consumption. In this study, we calculated production-based and consumptionbased CO2 emission intensities of electricity for the OECD (the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries during 1990e2008. We examined the impact of annual development, all...

The inclusion of emissions trading in the Kyoto Protocol reflects an important decision to address climate change issues through flexible market mechanisms. In this paper, we address a number of policy issues that must be considered in designing and implementing an international greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions trading scheme. These include how much of a Party’s assigned amount of GHG emissions c...

Using coal to produce transportation fuels could improve the energy security of the United States by replacing some of the demand for imported petroleum. Because of concerns regarding climate change and the high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with conventional coal use, policies to encourage pathways that utilize coal for transportation should seek to reduce GHGs compared to petroleu...

Carbon footprinting is a tool for firms to determine the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with their supply chain or with a unit of final product or service. Carbon footprinting typically aims to identify where best to invest in emission reduction efforts, and/or to determine the proportion of total emissions that an individual firm is accountable for, whether financially and/or ...

The United States Environmental Protection Agency reports that the transportation sector is responsible for 32% of the total CO2 emissions from combustion of fossil fuels. In 2012, it contributed 27% of total US GHG emissions (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). As a result, there has been a focus on producing biofuels for the transportation sector as a way to reduce GHG emissions. In 2011, ...

This paper is written as part of a two-year study of climate change policy choices facing Sweden, conducted under the auspices of the Center for Business and Policy Studies in Stockholm. As such, it aims to be a primer on emissions trading as an instrument for limiting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under the Kyoto Protocol to the Framework Convention on Climate Change. The first section notes ...

Purpose This study provides a detailed, process-based life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory of an ornamental tree production system for urban forestry. The success of large-scale tree planting initiatives for climate protection depends on projects being net sinks for CO2 over their entire life cycle. However, previous assessments of urban tree planting initiatives have not accounted for the...