GHG emission reduction is one of the key environmental problems for the sustainable development discussion in the 21st century, because it is closely related to energy use and bulk material flows. Concrete and binding targets for reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for Annex-1 countries are now agreed to in the Kyoto protocol. Emissions in the European Union will be reduced by 8% in the...

It is agreed that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from energy and transport systems must be reduced. Technical means exist to reduce GHG emissions from these sources. However, these emission-reduction measures are not implemented to a high enough degree. In this thesis, it is assumed that this is because the reduction of GHG emissions from energy and transport systems is a wicked problem. Unlike...

Future changes of pan-Arctic land–atmospheric methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) depend on how terrestrial ecosystems respond to warming climate. Here, we used a coupled hydrology–biogeochemistry model to make our estimates of these carbon exchanges with two contrasting climate change scenarios (no-policy versus policy) over the 21st century, by considering (1) a detailed water table dynami...

In 2007, 1 100 000 tons of sewage sludge were produced in France. This figure is constantly increasing and sludges have to be eliminated. Four disposal routes are currently possible: land spreading (directly or after composting), incineration, incineration with household wastes and landfilling. These different disposal routes as well as the sludge treatments produce greenhouse gases (GHG). To h...

Liquid transportation fuels derived from coal and natural gas could helpthe United States reduce its dependence on petroleum. The fuels could be produced domestically or imported from fossil fuel-rich countries. The goal of this paper is to determine the life-cycle GHG emissions of coal- and natural gas-based Fischer-Tropsch (FT) liquids, as well as to compare production costs. The results show...

Agriculture is one of the largest anthropogenic sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs), with dairy and beef production accounting for nearly two-thirds of emissions. Several recent papers suggest that dung beetles may affect fluxes of GHGs from cattle farming. Here, we put these previous findings into context. Using Finland as an example, we assessed GHG emissions at three scales: the dung pat, pas...

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per person from urban waste management activities are greater in sub-Saharan African countries than in other developing countries, and increasing as the population becomes more urbanised (Couth and Trois, 2010). Waste from urban areas across Africa is essentially dumped on the ground with little or no control over the relative liquid and gaseous emissions. The Cle...

Bioenergy cropping systems could help offset greenhouse gas emissions, but quantifying that offset is complex. Bioenergy crops offset carbon dioxide emissions by converting atmospheric CO2 to organic C in crop biomass and soil, but they also emit nitrous oxide and vary in their effects on soil oxidation of methane. Growing the crops requires energy (e.g., to operate farm machinery, produce inpu...

There are several ways to reduce GHG emissions. Governments may introduce climate policies which provide incentives to save energy or directly reduce emissions. Governments may also re-shape existing industrial or trade policies to reduce their negative impacts on GHG emissions. The case of trade policies is particularly interesting. Trade liberalization can foster economic development, thus in...

Comprehensive assessment of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) budget of reduced tillage agricultural systems must consider emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4), each of which have higher global warming potentials than carbon dioxide (CO2). Tillage intensity may also impact nitric oxide (NO) emissions, which can have various environmental and agronomic impacts. In 2003 and 2004, we us...