Suchergebnisse

This paper presents cosmological results based on full-mission Planck observations of temperature and polarization anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation. Our results are in very good agreement with the 2013 analysis of the Planck nominal-mission temperature data, but with increased precision. The temperature and polarization power spectra are consistent with the standard spatially-flat 6-parameter ΛCDM cosmology with a power-law spectrum of adiabatic scalar perturbations (denoted "base ΛCDM" in this paper). From the Planck temperature data combined with Planck lensing, for this cosmology we find a Hubble constant, H0 = (67.8 ± 0.9) km s-1Mpc-1, a matter density parameter Ωm = 0.308 ± 0.012, and a tilted scalar spectral index with ns = 0.968 ± 0.006, consistent with the 2013 analysis. Note that in this abstract we quote 68% confidence limits on measured parameters and 95% upper limits on other parameters. We present the first results of polarization measurements with the Low Frequency Instrument at large angular scales. Combined with the Planck temperature and lensing data, these measurements give a reionization optical depth of τ = 0.066 ± 0.016, corresponding to a reionization redshift of . These results are consistent with those from WMAP polarization measurements cleaned for dust emission using 353-GHz polarization maps from the High Frequency Instrument. We find no evidence for any departure from base ΛCDM in the neutrino sector of the theory; for example, combining Planck observations with other astrophysical data we find Neff = 3.15 ± 0.23 for the effective number of relativistic degrees of freedom, consistent with the value Neff = 3.046 of the Standard Model of particle physics. The sum of neutrino masses is constrained to ∑ mν < 0.23 eV. The spatial curvature of our Universe is found to be very close to zero, with | ΩK | < 0.005. Adding a tensor component as a single-parameter extension to base ΛCDM we find an upper limit on the tensor-to-scalar ratio of r0.002< 0.11, consistent with the Planck 2013 results and consistent with the B-mode polarization constraints from a joint analysis of BICEP2, Keck Array, and Planck (BKP) data. Adding the BKP B-mode data to our analysis leads to a tighter constraint of r0.002 < 0.09 and disfavours inflationarymodels with a V(φ) ∝ φ2 potential. The addition of Planck polarization data leads to strong constraints on deviations from a purely adiabatic spectrum of fluctuations. We find no evidence for any contribution from isocurvature perturbations or from cosmic defects. Combining Planck data with other astrophysical data, including Type Ia supernovae, the equation of state of dark energy is constrained to w = −1.006 ± 0.045, consistent with the expected value for a cosmological constant. The standard big bang nucleosynthesis predictions for the helium and deuterium abundances for the best-fit Planck base ΛCDM cosmology are in excellent agreement with observations. We also constraints on annihilating dark matter and on possible deviations from the standard recombination history. In neither case do we find no evidence for new physics. The Planck results for base ΛCDM are in good agreement with baryon acoustic oscillation data and with the JLA sample of Type Ia supernovae. However, as in the 2013 analysis, the amplitude of the fluctuation spectrum is found to be higher than inferred from some analyses of rich cluster counts and weak gravitational lensing. We show that these tensions cannot easily be resolved with simple modifications of the base ΛCDM cosmology. Apart from these tensions, the base ΛCDM cosmology provides an excellent description of the Planck CMB observations and many other astrophysical data sets. ; European Space Agency ; Centre National D'etudes Spatiales ; CNRS/INSU-IN2P3-INP (France) ; Italian Space Agency (ASI) ; Italian National Research Council ; Istituto Nazionale Astrofisica (INAF) ; National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) ; United States Department of Energy (DOE) ; Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) ; UKSA (UK) ; Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC) ; MINECO (Spain) ; JA (Spain) ; RES (Spain) ; Finnish Funding Agency for Technology & Innovation (TEKES) ; AoF (Finland) ; CSC (Finland) ; Helmholtz Association ; German Aerospace Centre (DLR) ; Max Planck Society ; CSA (Canada) ; DTU Space (Denmark) ; SER/SSO (Switzerland) ; RCN (Norway) ; Science Foundation Ireland ; Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology ; European Union (EU) ; European Research Council (ERC) 616170 ; Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) ST/L000652/1 ; UK BIS National E-infrastructure capital grants ; Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) ST/L000652/1 ST/M007065/1 ST/J005673/1 ST/K00333X/1 ST/M00418X/1 ST/L000768/1 ST/L000393/1

Il clima sta cambiando. È questo l'allarme che occupa sempre con maggiore frequenza i titoli delle prime pagine di giornali e quasi sempre in occasione di eventi meteorologici disastrosi. "Il pianeta è malato". "Caporetto della terra". "Battaglia per la Terra, il clima è in pericolo" sono i titoli ed i toni di un giornale a diffusione nazionale dell'anno 2000. Il cambiamento climatico, causato dalle attività antropiche, è parte costitutiva della secolare deriva verso un mondo non sostenibile. Di conseguenza, le strategie energetiche volte a ridurre le emissioni nocive in atmosfera corrispondono alla principale leva, che dispone l'umanità intera, per la creazione di un "sistema sostenibile". Pietra miliare nella lotta internazionale ai cambiamenti climatici è stato il Protocollo di attuazione svolto a Kyoto dal 1 al 10 dicembre 1997, durante la Terza Conferenza delle parti, ed aperto alla firma il 16 marzo 1998. Con il passare degli anni, si è giunti al "pacchetto clima-energia 20-20-20", ossia un portfolio di provvedimenti con cui l'Unione Europea conferma la volontà degli Stati Membri di continuare ad impegnarsi nel processo negoziale per la lotta al cambiamento climatico post-Kyoto, nel periodo 2013-2020. Pertanto, ogni provvedimento in materia di risparmio energetico ed ambientale non può prescindere dal fatto che l'energia richiesta dal settore residenziale e terziario europeo rappresenta circa il 40% del consumo finale della comunità europea. È da tale constatazione che, oltre un decennio fa, è stata emanata la Direttiva 2002/91/CE, "Energy Performance of Buildings" (EPBD), sul rendimento energetico in edilizia, integrata e modificata dalla Direttiva 2010/31/UE, "EPBD recast" del 19 maggio 2010, oggi ritenuta il cardine per gli attuali obiettivi di efficienza energetica in edilizia. L'attività di ricerca, maturata durante i tre anni di Dottorato, ha l'intento di promuovere lo sviluppo e la diffusione di materiali innovativi, soluzioni tecniche e tecnologie finalizzate ad ottimizzare gli effetti delle scelte progettuali su: - consumi di energia primaria; - emissione di gas ad effetto serra in atmosfera; - costi di gestione dell'organismo edilizio; - comfort termico. Il titolo del lavoro di Tesi è il seguente "Ottimizzazione del sistema edificio-impianto: tecniche passive ed attive per la riduzione della richiesta energetica, dei costi di gestione e dell'impatto ambientale". Il lavoro di tesi si articola in 6 capitoli: 1. Il legame tra sviluppo, energia e clima 2. L'efficienza energetica in edilizia nel contesto legislativo europeo: il "pacchetto clima-energia 40-27-27" per il 2030 3. Il contesto energetico-ambientale in Italia 4. Simulazione energetica degli edifici in regime stazionario e dinamico 5. Attività di ricerca 6. Conclusioni Il principale fine dell'attività di ricerca è stato la valutazione di strategie passive ed attive finalizzate alla minimizzazione dei consumi di energia primaria e, quindi, dei costi di gestione e dell'impatto ambientale, ed al miglioramento delle condizioni di comfort termico all'interno degli ambienti, sia con riferimento ad edifici di nuova costruzione che soprattutto alla riqualificazione energetica del patrimonio edilizio esistente. Ciò è stato effettuato mediante l'ausilio di codici di simulazione energetica, soprattutto in regime dinamico. Un altro scopo della tesi è stato quello di estendere l'attività di ricerca ad edifici di nuova costruzione e ad edifici rappresentativi del parco edilizio esistente sia per tipologia costruttiva che impiantistica, con il fine di valutare le potenzialità e le criticità derivanti dall'applicazione a scala urbana di determinate azioni di ottimizzazione dell'efficienza energetica. L'attività di tesi è stata suddivisa in macro-aree. Sono stati studiati: - finiture superficiali innovative dell'involucro edilizio (par. 5.2); - livello ottimale di isolamento termico (par. 5.3); - scambiatori aria-aria e terra-aria inseriti in impianti di climatizzazione (par. 5.4); - nZEBs (nearly Zero Energy Buildings, par. 5.5). L'attuale legislazione richiede una progettazione integrata del sistema edificio-impianto. Pertanto, l'attività di studio ha previsto i seguenti step: - minimizzazione della richiesta energetica dell'involucro edilizio, che rappresenta l'interfaccia di scambio termico tra l'ambiente esterno e quello interno; - impiego di impianti (in particolari di climatizzazione) ad alta efficienza energetica; - sfruttamento delle risorse energetiche rinnovabili. A tale proposito, occorre menzionare che nell'immediato futuro, come sopra descritto, tutti gli edifici di nuova costruzione, a partire dal 1° gennaio 2021, dovranno essere nZEB, ossia "Edifici ad altissima efficienza energetica, il cui fabbisogno basso o quasi nullo deve essere coperto in misura significativa da fonti energetiche rinnovabili".

Cosmology (including clusters of galaxies).-- et al. ; This paper presents cosmological results based on full-mission Planck observations of temperature and polarization anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation. Our results are in very good agreement with the 2013 analysis of the Planck nominal-mission temperature data, but with increased precision. The temperature and polarization power spectra are consistent with the standard spatially-flat 6-parameter ΛCDM cosmology with a power-law spectrum of adiabatic scalar perturbations (denoted >base ΛCDM> in this paper). From the Planck temperature data combined with Planck lensing, for this cosmology we find a Hubble constant, H = (67.8 ± 0.9) km sMpc, a matter density parameter Ω = 0.308 ± 0.012, and a tilted scalar spectral index with n = 0.968 ± 0.006, consistent with the 2013 analysis. Note that in this abstract we quote 68% confidence limits on measured parameters and 95% upper limits on other parameters. We present the first results of polarization measurements with the Low Frequency Instrument at large angular scales. Combined with the Planck temperature and lensing data, these measurements give a reionization optical depth of τ = 0.066 ± 0.016, corresponding to a reionization redshift of \hbox{$z-{\rm re}=8.8{+1.7}-{-1.4}$}. These results are consistent with those from WMAP polarization measurements cleaned for dust emission using 353-GHz polarization maps from the High Frequency Instrument. We find no evidence for any departure from base ΛCDM in the neutrino sector of the theory; for example, combining Planck observations with other astrophysical data we find N = 3.15 ± 0.23 for the effective number of relativistic degrees of freedom, consistent with the value N = 3.046 of the Standard Model of particle physics. The sum of neutrino masses is constrained to â'm < 0.23 eV. The spatial curvature of our Universe is found to be very close to zero, with | Ω | < 0.005. Adding a tensor component as a single-parameter extension to base ΛCDM we find an upper limit on the tensor-to-scalar ratio of r< 0.11, consistent with the Planck 2013 results and consistent with the B-mode polarization constraints from a joint analysis of BICEP2, Keck Array, and Planck (BKP) data. Adding the BKP B-mode data to our analysis leads to a tighter constraint of r < 0.09 and disfavours inflationarymodels with a V(φ) φ potential. The addition of Planck polarization data leads to strong constraints on deviations from a purely adiabatic spectrum of fluctuations. We find no evidence for any contribution from isocurvature perturbations or from cosmic defects. Combining Planck data with other astrophysical data, including Type Ia supernovae, the equation of state of dark energy is constrained to w =-1.006 ± 0.045, consistent with the expected value for a cosmological constant. The standard big bang nucleosynthesis predictions for the helium and deuterium abundances for the best-fit Planck base ΛCDM cosmology are in excellent agreement with observations. We also constraints on annihilating dark matter and on possible deviations from the standard recombination history. In neither case do we find no evidence for new physics. The Planck results for base ΛCDM are in good agreement with baryon acoustic oscillation data and with the JLA sample of Type Ia supernovae. However, as in the 2013 analysis, the amplitude of the fluctuation spectrum is found to be higher than inferred from some analyses of rich cluster counts and weak gravitational lensing. We show that these tensions cannot easily be resolved with simple modifications of the base ΛCDM cosmology. Apart from these tensions, the base ΛCDM cosmology provides an excellent description of the Planck CMB observations and many other astrophysical data sets. ; The Planck Collaboration acknowledges the support of: ESA; CNES and CNRS/INSU-IN2P3-INP (France); ASI, CNR, and INAF (Italy); NASA and DoE (USA); STFC and UKSA (UK); CSIC, MINECO, JA, and RES (Spain); Tekes, AoF, and CSC (Finland); DLR and MPG (Germany); CSA (Canada); DTU Space (Denmark); SER/SSO (Switzerland); RCN (Norway); SFI (Ireland); FCT/MCTES (Portugal); ERC and PRACE (EU). The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007−2013)/ERC Grant Agreement No. [616170] and from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council [grant number ST/L000652/1]. ; Peer Reviewed

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction and Background Health impacts attributable to elevated concentrations of NO2 in the ambient air are of increasing societal concern: the European Environment Agency (EEA) estimates this to be in the order of more than 70.000 premature deaths across the EU-28 in the year 2012 alone (EEA, 2015). However, the current European Commission's Clean Air Policy Package does not include the health impacts of NO2 exposure mainly because of the current lack of a robust methodology or tool for the assessment of NO2 exposure, and the use of appropriate dose-response relationships. DG ENV has commissioned VITO (BE) and King's College London (UK) to propose methods and tools that are coherent with exposure metrics used when deriving the appropriate concentration-response relationships and compatible with currently used integrated assessment modelling (IAM) tools in the EU. The ultimate objective of the contract is to develop a (or refine an existing) module for improved NO2 exposure calculation for health impact assessment and cost benefit analysis. This report is a key deliverable in the project and provides an overview and analysis of the main methods and tools currently used for assessing human exposure to NO2. One of its main purposes was to serve as input for an expert consultation workshop which took place at the WHO offices in Bonn on the 17th May 2016. This version has been updated to include the key recommendations and conclusions from that workshop. NO2 Health Impact Assessment A recent review of health effects by WHO in support of the European Commission 2013 Clean Air Policy Package, REVIHAAP (World Health Organization, 2013a) has concluded that evidence for the effects of long-term exposures to NO2 independent of those of PM has now strengthened. A subsequent exercise, HRAPIE, (World Health Organization, 2013b) recommended concentration-response functions (CRFs) relating mortality outcomes to long-term (annual mean) exposure to NO2 to be used in sensitivity studies. These recommendations have been considered along with the literature that HRAPIE reviewed, by COMEAP in the UK who provided some interim recommendations in July and December1 2015 (Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP), 2015). The COMEAP committee is due to produce a full report in the early Autumn of 2016. The COMEAP report will include newer studies that would likely be considered in any update of the HRAPIE recommendations but different expert groups may make different choices as to which studies to include in their meta-analyses. The HRAPIE and COMEAP interim statement recommendations differ significantly. The HRAPIE relative risk coefficient was 1.055 per 10 μg/m3 annual mean NO2, for all-cause mortality, to be reduced by 33% to allow for the potential overlap with PM2.5. The relative risk should be applied only to concentrations over 20 μg/m3, based on confidence intervals widening below this level in a study in Rome and a similar result in one age group in a study in Norway. The interim recommendations from COMEAP in July 2015 were a relative risk of 1.025 per 10 μg/m3 annual mean NO2, for all-cause mortality, with a 33% reduction to allow for potential overlap with PM2.5. Unlike HRAPIE, the COMEAP recommendation for a cut-off was to suggest that calculations be carried out with a zero cut-off and one with the lowest concentration used in the epidemiological studies, the former based on absence of evidence for a threshold and the latter following the principle of using just the range of the data. More studies going to lower concentrations have been published since the HRAPIE 1 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/485373/COMEAP_NO2_Mortality_Interim_Statement.pdf report. Both sets of CRFs are applied to people aged above 30 in the mortality calculations. CHAPTER 2 of this report provides an in-depth discussion on this topic. NO2 Exposure Assessment Different methods for NO2 concentration assessment have been used to date. The methodologies can in general be classified as follows: 1. regional scale Eulerian chemical transport models (CTM) 2. urban scale dispersion modelling (Gaussian/Lagrangian models), with/without street canyon parametrization 3. obstacle resolving dispersion modelling using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) 4. usage of operational in-situ measurements and dedicated campaigns using passive samplers 5. land-use regression (LUR) models, especially in epidemiological studies. A recent review, performed within the framework of FAIRMODE (Denby, 2011) discusses those different NO2 modelling approaches in more detail. Often a hybrid multi-scale approach is chosen where for example Gaussian dispersion models (with/without street canyon parametrisations) describing the urban scale concentration pattern are combined with Eulerian CTMs which provide low resolution background concentration estimates (e.g. ROADMOD, UKIAM – BRUTAL, US-EPA APEX). Further it is observed that in an IAM approach, the scale of the application or the run-time requirements may impose the need for simplified modelling approaches. Here dispersion-kernel methods are commonly used in which annual averaged dispersion patterns (kernels) are pre-computed for a set of generic conditions (road type, orientation, …). In addition, the concentration responses to changes in emissions may be parametrised using linear or non-linear source-receptor relations. Such relationships are derived from sensitivity runs using the full model, from which a concentration change Δ퐶푖 in location i is parameterised as a function of the change in emissions Δ퐸푗 at nearby locations j. Some effort has furthermore been spent to estimate NO2 road side increments on top of urban background concentrations. Those increments are parameterised and calibrated against historical measurement data (e.g. the GAINS methodology) or detailed model simulation (e.g. the TRANSPHORM approach) and are specifically designed to be used in IAM frameworks. A full description of the methodologies and their evaluation is given in CHAPTER 3. The matrix in Table 7 summarizes the key advantages/disadvantages of the methods discussed in the context of integrated NO2 health impact assessment. The Key Open Questions and the Way Forward Based on the evaluation of the existing methods for NO2 concentration and related health impact assessment, we identified a number of key questions which point toward the essential elements in an updated NO2 exposure assessment scheme. In CHAPTER 5 we present these key questions and the recommendations from the experts on how to address them. In consideration of these recommendations we present a way forward which as a first step requires the implementation of some sensitivity studies to assess the importance of different aspects of the final exposure metrics

Since the Ukraine war, the G7 has re-energised, focusing on the growing geopolitical challenges that the West faces from an assertive Russia and a rising China. The non-aligned position adopted by many developing countries in the G20 regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine surprised, if not shocked, the West. Against this background, the G20 has become a much more fraught space to build consensus on many global challenges between the advanced economies and the developing ones. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there have been serious efforts by Western countries to understand the position of developing countries and persuade them that the West still has much to offer, not least in the area of climate and energy transitions. Climate and energy transitions feature in both the G7 and the G20 agendas, albeit the composition of each group means the emphases may differ. South Africa, a leading voice in Africa on these issues, will assume the G20 presidency in December, where climate and the just energy transition will be important themes.
This article discusses the Italian G7 outcomes on climate through the prism of South Africa's engagement on these issues. While South Africa's energy and climate challenges are not the same as those facing many other African states, South Africa has been a key proponent of African positions in both formal and informal (clubs) forums.South Africa and the global climate agenda
South Africa is one of the world's highest emitters of greenhouse gases, ranking 17th globally and producing 534.53 million tonnes in 2022.[1] The country has committed to meet emission reduction targets (between 350-420 megatons by 2030), as agreed in its revised Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).[2] The ultimate goal is to reach net-zero by 2050 and to engineer inclusive and sustainable growth through a just transition.[3] South Africa's latest Integrated Resource Plan (IRP)[4] provides for an energy mix of 44 per cent coal,[5] 28 per cent gas, 22 per cent renewables and 6 per cent nuclear energy by 2030. South Africa has admitted that it is unlikely to achieve its emission reduction goals for 2030, but has reiterated its commitment to its net zero target.[6]
With abundant coal reserves and some 90,000 people working in the sector, abandoning coal in the short run is not feasible. The cost of the transition is estimated at 98.7 billion US dollars over the next five years.[7] The country was the first to enter into a Just Energy Transition Partnership, announced at COP26 with France, Germany, the UK, the US and the EU. More recently these partners have been joined by others. The total amount committed thus far is about 12 billion US dollars.[8] The Just Energy Transition Investment Plan guides the allocation of transition finance and identifies three priority sectors (electricity, new energy vehicles and green hydrogen), while emphasising skills development and strengthening capacity at local government level on the just transition. The partnership is a mix of grant funding (4 per cent of the initial agreement), concessional loans (63 per cent), commercial loans and guarantees. The scale of financing and technical support needed, not only for a carbon-intensive country like South Africa, but also for the rest of the continent, is substantial.
South Africa is an important African voice on development and climate issues in many key fora: the BRICS group,[9] the G20 (which South Africa chairs in 2025) and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In those fora, it has sought to articulate not only its own interests, but amplify the concerns and priorities of the African continent. South Africa's and Africa's position on the responsibilities of the G7 and the advanced industrialised economies on the climate agenda is based on the "common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities" (CBDR-RC) principle, as set out in the 2015 Paris agreement. This means that the industrialised economies, responsible for most CO2 emissions since the industrial revolution, must carry the largest responsibility for mitigation and contribute towards financing and technology transfer for developing economies to adapt to climate change, address climate-related loss and damage and transition away from fossil fuels.
During climate negotiations, South Africa has advocated for a greater focus on adaptation financing for fellow developing economies. It has emphasised that the quality of financing is as important as the quantity and has highlighted that the financial risk burden is not equally shared, as it rests entirely on recipient countries.
Furthermore, South Africa and the rest of the continent are concerned about unilateral climate actions taken by advanced economies, which carry negative consequences for many African countries as they manifest as green protectionism. Both the European Union and the US (both part of the G7) have adopted policies that can be construed as green protectionism in recent years. In the EU the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) imposes carbon tariffs at the border for imported goods based on their level of embedded emissions. The South African government has criticised this as violating World Trade Organisation rules. Once implemented in full, South Africa stands to lose approximately 110 million US dollars in export revenue per year as steel, iron and aluminium are impacted.[10] This will also have detrimental impacts on other African economies.[11] Major economies in the Global South regard CBAM as an example of "unilateral measures and discriminatory practices".[12] The BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China negotiating group within the UNFCCC) ministerial statement at COP28 re-emphasised this point.[13] The 2023 BRICS Johannesburg Declaration criticised green protectionism, while emphasising a preference for technology-neutral approaches to mitigation and transition.[14]The Italian G7 and the energy agenda for Africa
The G7's commitments on climate, energy and Africa during Italy's presidency warrant careful consideration given Europe's geopolitical context and the role it plays in financially supporting aspects of the green transition in South Africa and elsewhere on the continent. Italy's G7 presidency had a specific focus on Africa, which manifested both through a bilateral Italian initiative, the Mattei Plan for Africa, and the G7.
In January, Italy hosted the inaugural Italy-Africa Summit in Rome, attended by 21 heads of state or government, intending to recalibrate Italy's relationship with Africa and where the Mattei Plan was launched. Its financial commitment was 5.5 billion euros – of which 3 billion comes from Italy's Climate Fund.
In parallel, the G7 Summit hosted this June in Apulia adopted the Energy for Growth in Africa Initiative. It aims to support African states in the green energy transition by developing clean energy infrastructure, supply chains and generation capacity. The Initiative noted that Africa had "significant but largely untapped clean energy potential [that] needs massive investments".[15] Its objective therefore is to "develop bankable clean energy projects" and attract private capital through the catalytic use of public finance and technical assistance as well as encouraging concessional finance flows to the continent. Importantly, the Initiative emphasises coordination with existing programmes, especially the G7 Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), adopted during the 2022 G7 Summit and largely seen as a counter to China's Belt and Road initiative. In a summit side event, G7 leaders met with Italian and US businesses to support flagship PGII projects and committed to coordinating between the various G7 initiatives (PGII, Mattei Plan and the EU Global Gateway) as well as to developing synergies with the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa. Importantly, the Mattei Plan has launched new financial instruments in collaboration with the African Development Bank, open to international partners' contributions, and the Italian G7 presidency also committed to establishing a secretariat to enhance investment coordination in the context of the PGII. These are all positive developments for tackling the climate challenge on the continent. Their success is critically predicated on being able to leverage the private sector's involvement in these projects and ensure effective coordination, which the Secretariat could help foster.
Access to critical minerals also featured in the G7 communiqué, as these are crucial for the green energy transition. Africa possesses significant reserves of these minerals, 30 per cent of the global total, according to the IMF.
The G7 in Apulia urged the establishment of international partnerships "to make critical minerals and critical raw materials supply chains more diversified, transparent, resilient, responsible, circular, resource efficient, and sustainable".[16] The communiqué also emphasised that the G7 would support "local value creation in critical minerals supply chains". Various plans have been developed by G7 members including the US's Minerals Security Partnership (MSP). As geopolitical rivalries between the west and China intensify, so too does the scramble to secure the minerals that are essential for decarbonisation. For South Africa and the continent such a scramble is seen as a potential threat that would make it very difficult for them to maintain a balance between rival geopolitical camps. The heightened emphasis in European and other western capitals on critical minerals and sustainable value chains is regarded in some African capitals as code for excluding China. The African Development Bank is currently developing a critical (green) minerals strategy to be able to exercise agency in response to these developments. African Union Chairman, Moussa Faki, stated at the January summit in Rome that African countries need to be free to choose their partners.[17] There is a fear that African countries' actions might be constrained by policies and regulations adopted by western countries in this regard. The critical minerals debate in Africa is also framed as one that can contribute to African industrialisation and local development, rather than simply replicating extractive models of the past.
Lastly, the G7 communiqué focused less on the necessity of focusing on some of the transformational issues that would help tackle climate and the energy transition. Some of these transformational issues were highlighted in a letter penned to the G7 before the summit by 49 African parliamentarians, urging debt forgiveness and restructuring; reform of the international financial architecture; and delivering on climate and finance commitments.[18]
While recognising that countries should not have to choose between investing in their development and repaying creditors is significant, the G7 communiqué ignored the CBDR-RC principle of the Paris Agreement that remains at the core of developing country calls for the industrialised economies to live up to their historic responsibilities.
The G7 committed to "evolve the international financial architecture to make it fit for the challenges of today's world" but provided no specifics,[19] although Africa has already made a number of proposals on reforms.[20]Looking ahead
The G7, both as a grouping and through its individual members, is an important partner for Africa. Members are significant investors and trading partners. They are also significantly ramping up support for Africa's decarbonisation efforts. This creates opportunities for building bridges between the outcomes of the Italian G7 presidency and the incoming South African G20 presidency on climate action and the just energy transition. South Africa's G20 presidency aims to emphasise solidarity, equality and sustainable development, in which the just energy transition will be an important pillar. This will be the first time that a G20 summit is held on the African continent and South Africa will highlight African developmental priorities. The G7 is part of the G20 and it would be important for it to show concrete deliverables on its various African undertakings, while also recognising in practical terms the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. This also includes taking time to consult with African stakeholders on initiatives in advance of initiatives. At a time of geopolitical fragmentation, the G7 should prioritise emphasising its value addition within the more inclusive G20, with an acute sensitivity to the fact that Africans are articulating more specific agendas and that the G7 is a powerful force in many formal multilateral institutions where reforms are necessary to enable easier energy and economic transitions.Elizabeth Sidiropoulos is the Chief Executive of the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA). Alex Benkenstein is Programme Head of SAIIA Climate and Natural Resources Programme. Jordan Mc Lean is a researcher in the SAIIA Climate and Natural Resources Programme. Krissmonne Olwagen is a Konrad Adenauer Stiftung research scholar in the office of the Chief Executive of SAIIA. This commentary was prepared within the framework of the project Nexus25–Shaping Multilateralism. Views expressed are the author's alone.[1] Joint Research Centre and IEA, GHG Emissions of All World Countries, Luxembourg, Publications Office of the European Union, 2023, https://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/report_2023?vis=ghgtot#emissions_table.[2] South Africa Government, South Africa: First Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement, updated September 2021, p. 15, https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/NDC/2022-06/South%20Africa%20updated%20first%20NDC%20September%202021.pdf.[3] Presidential Climate Commission (PCC), A Framework for Just Transition in South Africa, June 2022, https://pccommissionflo.imgix.net/uploads/images/22_PAPER_Framework-for-a-Just-Transition_revised_242.pdf.[4] The IRP is designed to secure affordable and stable electricity supply. Full text available in Government Gazette, No. 49974 (4 January 2024), https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202401/49974gon4238.pdf.[5] Julia Evans, "'A Shoddy Piece of Work' – Experts Decry South Africa's New Blueprint for Energy", in Daily Maverick, 10 January 2024, https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/?p=2009357.[6] Tim Cocks, "South Africa Appeals to Donors to Delay Its Climate Targets, Minister Says", in Reuters, 16 July 2024, https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/south-africa-appeals-donors-delay-its-climate-targets-minister-says-2024-07-16.[7] PCC, South Africa's Just Energy Transition Investment Plan, November 2022, p. 14, https://www.climatecommission.org.za/publications/sa-jet-ip.[8] Ethan van Diemen, "New Investment Pledges Boost South Africa's Just Energy Transition Funding Pool to $11.8bn", in Daily Maverick, 1 October 2023, https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/?p=1879356.[9] The BRICS comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and enlarged to include Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran and the United Arab Emirates at the Johannesburg XV BRICS Summit in 2023.[10] "EU Carbon Price on Imports 'Violates' WTO Rules, Says Patel as SA Heads for Clash with Bloc", in African Climate Wire, 24 May 2024, https://africanclimatewire.org/?p=1231.[11] Olivia Rumble and Andrew Gilder, "The Impact of CBAM on African Economies and the Role of the AfCFTA", in SAIIA Policy Briefings, No. 290 (March 2024), https://saiia.org.za/?p=63502.[12] South Africa et al., BASIC Ministerial Joint Statement at the UNFCCC's Sharm El Sheikh Climate Change Conference (COP27/CMP17/CMA4), 15 November 2022, https://www.dffe.gov.za/node/1794.[13] Brazil et al., BASIC Ministerial Joint Statement on Climate Change, 16 October 2023, https://www.gov.br/mre/en/contact-us/press-area/press-releases/basic-ministerial-joint-statement-on-climate-change.[14] BRICS, Johannesburg II Declaration: BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism, Sandton, 23 August 2023, http://www.brics.utoronto.ca/docs/230823-declaration.html.[15] G7, G7 Leaders' Statement on Energy Growth in Africa, 14 June 2024, https://europa.eu/!9J9Mpt. Signatories included: G7, Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria and South Africa.[16] G7, Apulia G7 Leaders' Communiqué, 14 June 2024, https://www.g7italy.it/wp-content/uploads/Apulia-G7-Leaders-Communique.pdf.[17] African Union, Speech by H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, at the Italy – Africa Summit: A Bridge for Common Growth, 29 January 2024, https://au.int/en/node/43449.[18] Enyinnaya H. Abaribe et al., "'Three Things We Need G7 To Do': An Open Letter from 49 MPs across Africa", in African Arguments, 12 June 2024, https://africanarguments.org/?p=44790.[19] G7, Apulia G7 Leaders' Communiqué, cit.[20] African Development Bank, 2024 Annual Meetings: African Countries Urged to Define Common Position for Reform of the Global Financial Architecture, 24 April 2024, https://www.afdb.org/en/node/70281.

Inhaltsangabe: Introduction: The master thesis 'Worldwide Development of Nuclear Energy and the Strategic Deployment of German Consultancies on the Arabian Peninsula' is chiefly targeted at German consultancy companies so that they can assess their status of strategic deployment and prioritize their activities to enter a new business sector in a foreign market. This publication could also be of relevance for policy makers, investors, suppliers as well as nuclear energy and governmental agencies to identify their need for external advisers to safely operate a nuclear power program; provides a guideline for how to enter a new market. Hence this thesis should be considered as an aid to identify hurdles and obstacles that have to be foreseen and so overcome. Potential business fields are also noted as well as important factors that have to be considered to minimize the chance of failure in the new market. Nevertheless, this huge market with its continuously changing constraints and conditions could throw up a lot more obstacles than could be covered in this thesis. Also the internal organizations of individual companies may differ from the one described in the thesis. The objective of this master thesis is thus to set out a set of guidelines for possible approaches. The first two chapters present an overview of the current geographical, political, cultural and economic conditions to familiarize the reader with the background information and constraints needed for the subsequent chapters. The third chapter deals more specifically with the energy market on the Arabian Peninsula, particular in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. This chapter provides information on types of energy, pending developments, country-specific organizations and institutions, as well as means of financing such huge projects. The fourth chapter is devoted exclusively to nuclear energy, starting with the current status and the motivation of the two countries to launch such a development. This is followed by a description of the legal requirements and other commitments as decreed by the countries' governments. These specific legal conditions do not just apply within the countries concerned, but companies which do business there are likewise obliged to follow these regulations. Challenges for countries are opportunities for consultants, and identification of these represents is the core content of this chapter. The content of the fifth chapter is the preparatory measures that are essential prior to entering a foreign market. A company's vision and mission as well as various analyses are needed to provide a sound basis for taking a decision to proceed. In this context, SWOT analysis is noted as well as an evaluation of M.E. Porter's 'Five Forces' to describe the market and internal organizations. After the preparatory measures, the implementation phase follows. This and its various stages are described in Chapter 6. It is inevitable that, to ensure success, many measures will have to implemented and subsequently adjusted. This starts with deployment and steering of business units and proceeds to overcoming difficulties with external parties. Recruitment on a permanent basis of employees is also a prerequisite for sustained business success, together with a staff feedback, incentive and salary system. Chapter 7 sets out methods for evaluating previous years' activities in the new business. The first couple of years after 'start-up' are over and the situation in which the company is now has to be assessed. It is frequently necessary to undertake organizational upgrades, that could amount to a complete reorganization of the business, aided by change management provisions. The final Chapter 8 summarizes the key information and content, and sets forth the need and reasons for strategic deployment. Changes in the market means that companies will have to re-adjust for economic survival. Because the nuclear program of the United Arab Emirates is more advanced than that of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and information is less available in the latter country, the main focus of this thesis is on the UAE. Nevertheless, the KSA is an emerging nuclear market with great ambitious for a nuclear program and so is worthy of mention when discussing constraints and conditions that these countries have in common. Other countries that are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) do share an interest in nuclear energy but are not yet at the same stage of development as the UAE and KSA. These serve from time to time to support arguments and figures. A sufficient and reliable energy supply is essential for continuous economic development, contributing also to poverty reduction and health care improvement. If these developments are restricted or lacking, often the result is social conflict that could even lead to civil strife. Examples are rural arid areas in the world where there is no access to potable water. A minor local conflict affects the economic development and population of specific countries and often results in regional instability and interventions from outside. The global energy imbalance has been steadily growing over the past couple of decades. Roughly 1.6 billion people live without electricity, and almost 2.4 billion people rely on traditional biomass to cook their daily meals . Modern fuels are not available or are restricted to the upper social strata. There is an almost equal share of the world's population with no access to potable water, so in the struggle for survival the consequences will be social unrest and riots. In some poor countries of the world, the per capita electricity consumption is as low as 50 kWh per annum, compared to developed countries with 8,600 kWh. Worldwide, the provision of energy is dominated by three major challenges. 1. Energy consumption has tripled in the past half century. If this continues, humankind will consume more energy in the 21st century than in the entire past history. This represents an increase of 53% in global energy consumption by 2030. 2. The main energy resources are now scarce, so to ensure economic development, countries will compete with each other to acquire their own supplies. Each country seeks to protect its existing sources and open up new ones. This will not result in a fair distribution of resources, as poor countries are not able to compete with their developed neighbors and lose out, as has often happened in history. 3. To an increasing extent attention is focusing on environmental impacts. Because of the greenhouse effect, carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels bring about a rise in global temperatures. The consequences are long-lasting drought, sea level rise, submerging coastal regions and more destructive storms. For these reasons, many governments are reviewing their present energy mixes and are considering alternatives to avert the consequences of energy scarcity, including the renewal of interest in nuclear energy that has been noted in recent decades. Adoption or resumption of nuclear energy is at least one solution for some countries faced with a threat to the security of their energy supplies. Among others, one benefit of nuclear energy is zero emissions of greenhouse gases during their operating phase and the ability of huge plants to provide electricity reliably and on a large scale. Much engineering effort has been devoted to significantly improving nuclear plant safety in recent decades. Furthermore, although they are finite, there are ample reserves of uranium and, unlike petrochemicals, they are not put to any other use apart from as an energy source. Prospecting is under way for new deposits, as currently in Yemen. The cost of electricity generated by nuclear power is now competitive, but a major concern that has still to be resolved is final storage of down burned nuclear fuel rods. An overview of the economics is provided by a cost comparison of the various electricity generation technologies, as shown in Figure 1-1 below. This survey is ongoing in a couple of countries to seek a basis for taking decisions on their energy strategies. The quoted figures are ballpark estimates, with actual values depending very much on local conditions and the current market situation, but they do serve to provide a rough comparison. The outcome of these calculations is that electricity generation from nuclear fuel is, at 91.0 US Dollar/MWh, much more competitive than firing crude oil at 133.4 US Dollar/MWh. However, a major consideration is the distinction that has to be made between supplying base and peak/cycling load. To meet the demand for base-load electricity, large-scale power plants, like nuclear and those fired with coal and crude oil are more favorable. These need an extended start-up period – ranging from a couple of hours to two or three days – before they can feed power into the grid. Smaller scale plant, like diesel-fired simple-cycle gas turbines and solar power plants are able to rapidly ramp their power output up and down to cover daily consumption peaks. For this reason, nuclear power plants almost exclusively operate continuously at or near peak output to supply base load, together with natural gas-fired combined cycle gas turbine plants and coal-fired power plants. Diesel-fired gas turbines and solar power plants find application for peak and cycling duty. The key factors are listed in the following table, with firstly the operating parameters, which are attributes specific to the various power plant technologies that are taken as basic assumptions for the further calculations. The second sub-heading is key financial constraints, which fix the technology that is more economical. These comprise the capital cost for construction and development as well as long-term costs that are highly cyclical and cannot be so readily predicted as the other costs. The third main distinction is the direct electricity generation costs. These are running costs incurred only during power plant operation and are directly related to the rated power output in MWe. This calculation serves as well to identify companies and utility suppliers for nuclear power generation as well as to broaden the mix of energy supply technologies and reduce dependency on specific primary resources.Inhaltsverzeichnis:Table of Contents: List of Figures4 List of Abbreviations6 1.Introduction and Objective8 1.1Objective of this Master Thesis8 1.2Introduction9 2.Geographical, Political, Cultural and Economic Conditions13 2.1Geography and Culture13 2.2Economy and Politics14 2.3Political and Social Stability in the UAE18 2.4Relations between the UAE and Germany18 2.5Relationship between the KSA and Germany19 3.Energy Sectors of the Leading Countries on the Arabian Peninsula20 3.1Electricity Generation and Consumption in KSA and UAE20 3.2Water Production and Consumption in the KSA and UAE24 3.3Renewable Energy in the UAE and KSA25 3.4Pending Developments25 3.5Country-specific Organizations and Authorities26 3.6Financing of Power Projects in Arabian Countries27 3.7Summary of Chapter 327 4.Nuclear Energy on the Arabian Peninsula28 4.1Status in the UAE and KSA28 4.2Reasons for Launching a Nuclear Program29 4.3Obligations to Launch a Nuclear Program30 4.4Commitments of the UAE31 4.5Challenges and Potentials of the Nuclear Path33 4.6Global Outlook35 5.Preparations for Market Penetration37 5.1Vision and Mission38 5.2Market Analysis39 5.3Strategic SWOT Analysis41 5.3.1Strengths41 5.3.2Weaknesses45 5.3.3Opportunities46 5.3.4Threats47 5.4Five Elements of Realization Strategy49 5.4.1Arenas (market conditions and valuable segments)49 5.4.2Staging and pacing53 5.4.3Differentiators55 5.4.4Vehicles (course of action)55 5.4.5Economic logic58 5.4.6Summary and checklist of foundation59 6.Execution of the Initial Phase60 6.1Centralization versus Decentralization of Business Units60 6.2Acquisition of New Permanent Employees61 6.2.1Recruitment strategy for employees without experience61 6.2.2Recruitment strategy for experienced employees62 6.2.3Selection of potential candidates63 6.2.4Recruitment process63 6.3Internal Deployment and Organization66 6.3.1Feedback systems66 6.3.2Development of competencies66 6.3.3Incentives and salary systems68 6.3.4Difficulties with external parties69 7.Assessment of Business after 'Start-up Phase'70 7.1Reassessment of Recent Years70 7.2Organizational Improvement Measures72 7.3Change Management and the Reorganization of Business and Markets73 7.3.1Strengthen the position in the existing market74 7.3.2Entering new global markets75 8.Summary76 List of Literature78Textprobe:Text Sample: Chapter 3.3, Renewable Energy in the UAE and KSA: Utility companies in the GCC states are under enormous pressure due to the global scarcity of fossil fuels, which are running out much faster than expected, consequently they are boosting also renewable energies. Governmental agencies have been instructed to review energy consumption in the Middle East and are seeking alternatives to meet the rising demand, which is also in line with the global environmental movement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The long shoreline and high insolation throughout the year are optimal for generating wind, water and photovoltaic power. The following illustrate the efforts made by government agencies for the upcoming year: Abu Dhabi's Masdar City is spending US Dollar 2 billion on promoting solar technology. Saudi Arabia is looking to position itself as a centre for solar energy research and so become a net exporter of energy sourced from renewables. Abu Dhabi is to build the world's largest hydrogen power plant at a cost of US Dollar 15 billion. 'Glance over the borders": Jordan is assessing plans for constructing a wind farm while Qatar is considering solar power. 3.4, Pending Developments: Regarding upcoming developments, the two countries, UAE and KSA, have to be considered separately due to the primary resources that are available. Crude oil and natural gas reserves in Saudi Arabia will last decades more than the resources in the UAE. A further reason is that the quality and composition of the mineral resources are much less favorable in the KSA than in the UAE. This means that their firing for power generation is, for economic reasons, the only reasonable option for their exploitation. In the UAE the situation is different, as there the mineral resources are of much higher quality and are too valuable to fire in power plants. The price obtainable on the world petrochemicals market is much higher than the benefit derived from electricity generation. The UAE therefore has a greater incentive to diversify its power generation and to invest in technologies other than fossil fuels much earlier. Based on the financial and economic crisis, the 'Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie' expects a smoother growth of GDP in 2008 and 2009. This means that ongoing projects with a total CAPEX of US Dollar 378 billion will be postponed or abandoned. Despite these figures, the UAE will remain the most important project market for German companies in the Arabian region. Over the near term, between 2009 and 2011, the UAE expects investments of about US Dollar 540 billion. Showing high potential for investments of about US Dollar 24 billion is expansion of water production and power plant capacities. To participate in this development, frequent consultations and top-level meetings are held to strengthen the relationship between German industry and local agencies like DEWA (Dubai Electrical and Water Authority) and ADWEA (Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority). These authorities organize and guide all water and electricity projects, starting with planning and tendering through to commissioning. Over the past four years, energy consumption in the Emirate of Dubai has increased by around 10,000 GWh. As a consequence, the projection for 2010 is for a new electricity generation capacity of 9 GWe provided by power plants. Likewise electricity transmission has potential for growth. DEWA intends to award contracts annually for more than 6,000 km of HVDC (high voltage direct current) transmission lines. DEWA has an estimated annual budget of US Dollar 2 billion.

The cost of transitioning economies towards net-zero will be immense. According to the Commission, the European Union will need around 620 billion euros annually,[1] with Italy and Germany requiring respectively up to 3.5 and 2.3 trillion euros in additional investment by 2050 to reach their climate targets.[2] Since the 2015 Paris Agreement, attention to the financial aspects of the transition has grown both at European and national levels.
In parallel, the private financial sector has also committed to decarbonisation, with the largest Italian and German banks and insurance companies, like Intesa SanPaolo, UniCredit, Generali, Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank, becoming members of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, pledging to align their operations with carbon neutrality.[3] The private financial sector will be crucial to mobilise the necessary funds for the transition, and Italy and Germany should encourage collaboration between public and private financial actors, promoting guarantees and incentives for investing in green projects. At the same time, they should increase cooperation at the European and bilateral levels to increase market stability and develop common financing solutions.Public finance in Germany and Italy
In the last years, Italy and Germany's finances have been burdened by several factors, from the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic and the energy crisis to the consequent increased spending on emergency measures to support households and businesses. Despite these events, national and European recovery plans have significantly boosted investment in green projects.[4] In Italy, 71.7 billion euros of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (37.5 per cent of the total national fund) were allocated to green projects;[5] similarly, in Germany, 12.5 billion euros (42.7 per cent of the total national fund) were designated for the energy transition.[6] Furthermore, the EU allocated additional 20 billion euros in REPowerEU grants to support clean energy initiatives.[7] However, both governments may not be able to sustain these levels of funding in the long run without resorting to increasing debt. Furthermore, the time horizon of NextGenerationEU is approaching and there is uncertainty about the realisation of a similar tool for non-emergency times.
The 2023 German debt crisis further aggravated its public financial fatigue. The crisis began when the German Federal Constitutional Court found the proposed government's 60 billion euros climate fund in violation of the Schuldenbremse, the constitutional rule aimed at limiting deficit under 0.35 per cent of the GDP.[8] The Court's decision blocked the implementation of the fund, forcing the Government to revise its budget, downplaying the role of climate action investment.[9] The crisis arrived at a moment when German industries estimated the necessity of 213 billion euros in additional public investment over the next ten years for the energy-efficient modernisation of buildings, grid expansion for electricity, hydrogen infrastructures, and production and storage of renewable energies.[10] Similarly, Italy is experiencing some financial strain due to the slowdown in economic activities and the high cost of emergency measures implemented in recent years, as shown by the decision not to extend the tax cuts on fuels.[11] Italy has proven itself more fragile than Germany, with persistently low productivity growth and slow administrative procedures contributing to low investment attraction in all sectors.[12] In 2023, investment slowed down even further due to rising financing costs and the phasing out of the so-called Superbonus programme, the housing renovation tax credits.[13] The limits of public finance in both countries show the necessity to involve private financial actors to carry part of the cost of the energy transition.Aligning climate objectives and profitability
Profitability remains the main indicator of the private financial sector's willingness to invest in sustainable projects. However, there are ways to sustain green projects while increasing returns. First, thanks to their proficiency in risk assessments and market trends predictions, commercial banks and investment funds may have an advantage in evaluating future demand for green sectors beforehand. This may help them identify opportunities that will be increasingly profitable in a future net-zero scenario. Similarly, they may be able to identify and provide loans to businesses developing sustainable technologies that are not particularly competitive in current markets but that are expected to thrive in a post-transition world. Insurance companies can also support the transition by addressing risks of climate-induced disasters, such as floods and drought damages, and limiting large-scale losses. Financial products, like green bonds, can also enable capital raising for sustainable projects while maintaining profitability.
In Italy and Germany, green bonds segments of the national stock exchanges have been extremely profitable, reaching total outstanding amounts of 261 billion euros in Germany and 161 billion euros in Italy, with insurance companies and commercial banks like Deutsche Hypothekenbank, Commerzbank and DZ Bank in Germany,[14] and Intesa SanPaolo and Unicredit in Italy being the largest private financial green bond issuers.[15] Green bonds have been an effective tool to finance adaptation strategies and preventive measures, like increasing food and water systems' resilience against climate-induced disasters, which generally attract less private funding.[16] Indeed, financial actors may benefit from promoting adaptation strategies in their portfolios, as they would be exposed to decreasing returns if they invest in or lend to companies with low resilience to climate-induced events.[17] The 2021 floods in Germany were estimated to have caused up to 44 billion euros of damages, while the losses related to the 2023 Italian floods were recorded to be around 40 billion euros.[18] In both cases, spillover losses from the real economy to financial markets have been difficult to quantify, but the disasters have halted planned investment, impacted investors' confidence to fund future projects in those areas, and even increased borrowing costs.[19]
Financial actors may address these situations by expanding their role as advisors, helping customers to develop adaptation plans. Allianz, for example, thanks to its propensity to assess scenarios, has established a service to advise customers on climate-related risks and to help them adapt their operations to climate change.[20] Unaddressed climate consequences may also increase insurance costs, leading to unaffordable premiums for some customers. If insurance markets become too expensive for customers and offering coverage becomes too risky for insurers, the entire sector could be paralysed. A solution could be to offer adaptation discounts for those customers who have spent part of their budget on building resilience. This would effectively lower risk-return calculations for insurers that would be able to lower prices.Regulatory framework
Market disruption caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine has lowered investors' confidence, as Germany and Italy were among the most vulnerable economies to natural gas shocks. Additionally, persistent high interest rates in Europe have limited financial actors' capacity to invest in clean energy projects. Therefore, to promote private investments, there is a need for regulators to enact measures to increase market stability and to derisk green projects.
Monetary policies are the main tool to channel private capital where it is needed. Following the energy crisis, the European Central Bank's actions to slow down inflation have had a particularly negative impact on the energy transition. While high borrowing costs are an obstacle for any investment, renewable projects are more capital-intensive and are therefore more susceptible to high interest rates.[21] While the ECB's recent interest rate cut may lead to some improvement in investments,[22] national action is still necessary. Banca d'Italia and Deutsche Bundesbank should increase their bilateral coordination through the alignment of their macroprudential measures and stronger information exchange, which might have a positive impact on building investors' confidence and increasing financial stability for companies that operate in both countries.[23]
Regulators may also attract capital by increasing clarity related to green projects. The main instrument to do so is the EU taxonomy for sustainable activities, which establishes a common framework to define sustainability for investors and companies. However, a possible reform could expand its classification to comprehend a "brown" taxonomy, which would define criteria to classify high-emissions activities as harmful to the environment. It could be instrumental in helping financial institutions in their assessment of the environmental impact of companies they are involved with.[24]
A sustainability reference framework should also be applied to private green bond issuance. Indeed, while most green bonds in Italy and Germany have been issued by public development or central banks, there has been a rising tendency for private companies to develop their own fixed-income instruments promoting the development of environmental projects.[25] Currently, both Borsa Italiana and Börse Frankfurt, respectively the two countries' largest stock exchanges, bundle in their green segments exclusively bonds that meet the voluntary guidelines of the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA).[26] Linking private green bond issuance to the EU taxonomy could stimulate capital-raising for the transition and avoid greenwashing. An initiative on this matter is the European Green Bond Standard (EUGBS), a certification that attests that bond issuers are aligned with taxonomy criteria. However, the Standard is also voluntary and there is no obligation for an issuer to adhere to it to market its financial products as green bonds.[27] A better solution would be the establishment of the EUGBS as binding to define bonds as green. This would guarantee a harmonisation of green bonds across the EU that would lead to a more coherent language for financial operations for Italian and German actors.Looking ahead
It is becoming increasingly urgent to direct financial flows toward the transition. Public finance in Germany and Italy is facing difficulties, and market instability has made it riskier for private financial actors in both countries to invest in green projects. Both the German and Italian financial sectors have been more focused on lowering risks than increasing returns, resulting in lower-than-average profitability, which has directly impacted available resources for new investments.[28]
To attract capital toward net-zero opportunities, there is a need for collaboration between public and private actors, as well as bilateral coordination between the two countries. The recent Italian German Action Plan offers a positive model to strengthen coordination, as it includes the establishment of a bilateral macroeconomic forum to discuss financial and economic issues, and it could be an ideal platform to align the two countries' positions on EU-wide reforms, such as proposals on how to adjust the Economic and Monetary Union and the Capital Market Union in ways compatible with sustainability goals. Public efforts should also be spent to strengthen regulatory frameworks to facilitate and de-risk investment for private financial companies, with Germany and Italy coordinating to develop common financing instruments and derisking strategies. Blended finance models should be explored as a way to promote capital raising. A relatively small amount of public funds, constituting a risk cover guarantee, can help catalyse additional private investment. This can take various forms, such as Germany's two auctions model. The initiative consists of two auctions organised by the Federal Government. The first is a descending price auction held between producers to secure long-term contracts for hydrogen supply. The second is an ascending price auction to sell the purchased hydrogen to the highest bidder. Typically, the price requested by the producers in the first auction is higher than what the final buyers offer in the second one and, as a result, the Federal Government bears the additional cost as a form of indirect subsidy to bridge the gap between them.[29] In this way, 900 million euros were provided for the purchase of hydrogen above market prices which allowed the ramp-up of private hydrogen companies, contributing to lower the perceived risk of investing in them and attracting risk-averse private investments.[30]
As Germany and Italy navigate market instability, blended finance offers a promising solution, as it may alleviate both the burden on public funds and mitigate risks for private investors. However, to ensure long-term success, both countries must prioritise wider strategies that enhance profitability for investors committed to decarbonisation. This could be achieved through enhanced bilateral coordination to review regulatory gaps not addressed by broader EU frameworks. Tailored bilateral solutions between Germany and Italy will be essential to develop stable market conditions that align with both countries' financing needs and climate goals.Alessio Sangiorgio is Junior Researcher in the Energy, Climate and Resources Programme at the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI).
This commentary presents some of the key issues discussed during a workshop organised by IAI, which brought together financial sector representatives from both Germany and Italy. The event is part of a broader IAI project, "An Italian-German Dialogue on Energy Security and Transition amid Russia's War on Ukraine", supported by the German Federal Foreign Office.[1] European Commission, Questions and Answers on the Sustainable Finance Package, 13 June 2023, https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_23_3194.[2] "Quanto ci costerà la transizione verso un mondo a emissioni zero? Spoiler: molto più del previsto", in Il Sole 24 Ore, 11 February 2022, https://www.infodata.ilsole24ore.com/2022/02/11/quanto-ci-costera-la-transizione-verso-mondo-a-emissioni-zero-spoiler-molto-piu-del-previsto; Federal Association of German Industry (BDI), Klimapfade für Deutschland, 18 January 2018, https://bdi.eu/publikation/news/klimapfade-fuer-deutschland.[3] Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), 2023 Progress Report, December 2023, https://assets.bbhub.io/company/sites/63/2023/11/GFANZ-2023-Progress-Report.pdf.[4] International Energy Agency (IEA), World Energy Investment 2023, May 2023, https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-investment-2023.[5] Italian Government, Recovery and Resilience Plan, 12 January 2021, https://www.mef.gov.it/export/sites/MEF/en/focus/documents/PNRR-NEXT-GENERATION-ITALIA_ENG_09022021.pdf.[6] German Federal Ministry of Finance, German Recovery and Resilience Plan, January 2021, https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/EN/Standardartikel/Press_Room/Publications/Brochures/2021-01-13-german-recovery-and-resilience-plan.pdf.[7] European Commission, REPowerEU – 2 Years on, 13 May 2024, https://energy.ec.europa.eu/node/5357_en.[8] Shahin Vallée, "Germany Has Narrowly Swerved Budget Disaster – But Its Debt Taboo Still Threatens Europe", in The Guardian, 13 December 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/p/pfzhb.[9] Ibid.[10] Sebastian Dullien et al., "Herausforderungern für die Schuldenbremse. Investitionsbedarfe in der Infrastruktur und für die Transformation", in IW-Policy Papers, No. 2/2024 (14 May 2024), p. 8-9, https://www.iwkoeln.de/en/studies/simon-gerards-iglesias-michael-huether-investment-needs-in-infrastructure-and-for-the-transformation.html.[11] Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, Italy's Stability Programme 2023. Abridged Version, 28 April 2023, p. 23-27, https://www.dt.mef.gov.it/en/attivita_istituzionali/analisi_programmazione_economico_finanziaria/documenti_programmatici/index.html?selezione-anno=2023.[12] Banca d'Italia, Financial Stability Report, No. 1/2024 (April 2024), https://www.bancaditalia.it/pubblicazioni/rapporto-stabilita/index.html.[13] Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, Italy's Stability Programme 2024. Abridged Version, 9 April 2024, p. v-vii, https://www.dt.mef.gov.it/en/attivita_istituzionali/analisi_programmazione_economico_finanziaria/documenti_programmatici/index.html?selezione-anno=2024.[14] Climate Bonds Initiative, Germany: Green Finance State of the Market, July 2019, https://www.climatebonds.net/node/38227.[15] Danilo Liberati and Giuseppe Marinelli, "Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Green Bonds (But Were Afraid to Ask)", in Questioni di Economia e Finanza, No. 654 (November 2021), https://www.bancaditalia.it/pubblicazioni/qef/2021-0654/index.html.[16] Ujala Qadir and Kamleshan Pillay, Green Bonds for Climate Resilience. State of Play and Roadmap to Scale, Rotterdam, Global Center on Adaptation, 2021, https://gca.org/?p=6754.[17] Nicola Ranger, Olivier Mahul and Irene Monasterolo, Assessing Financial Risks from Physical Climate Shocks: A Framework for Scenario Generation, Washington, World Bank, 2022, p. 19, https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/760481644944260441.[18] European Environment Agency (EEA), Economic Losses from Weather- and Climate-related Extremes in Europe, 6 October 2023, https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/indicators/economic-losses-from-climate-related.[19] EEA, European Climate Risk Assessment, 2024, https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/european-climate-risk-assessment.[20] Kristin Stechemesser, Jan Endrikat and Edeltraud Guenther, "Insurance Companies' Responses to Climate Change: Adaptation, Dynamic Capabilities and Competitive Advantage", in The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Vol. 40, No. 4 (October 2015), p. 557-584, DOI 10.1057/gpp.2015.1.[21] Peter Martin et al., "Conflicts of Interest: The Cost of Investing in the Energy Transition in a High Interest-rate Era", in Wood Mackenzie Horizons, April 2024, p. 2, https://www.woodmac.com/horizons/energy-transition-investing-in-a-high-interest-rate-era.[22] Martin Arnold, "European Central Bank Cuts Interest Rates for First Time in 5 Years", in Financial Times, 6 June 2024, https://www.ft.com/content/97543fe0-32cb-4427-a1d2-aac2ea5180fc.[23] Banca d'Italia, Decision to Reciprocate a German Macroprudential Measure Pursuant to Recommendation ESRB/2022/4 of the European Systemic Risk Board, 20 October 2022, https://www.bancaditalia.it/compiti/stabilita-finanziaria/politica-macroprudenziale/esrb-20221020/index.html.[24] European Central Bank, Eurosystem Reply to the European Commission's Public Consultations on the Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy and the Revision of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive, 8 June 2020, p. 20, https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/other/ecb.eurosystemreplyeuropeancommissionpubliconsultations_20200608~cf01a984aa.en.pdf.[25] Danilo Liberati and Giuseppe Marinelli, "Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Green Bonds", cit.[26] Deutsche Börse, Segment for Green Bonds, June 2019, https://www.boerse-frankfurt.de/en/wissen/wertpapiere/anleihen/green-bonds; and International Capital Market Association, The Green Bond Principles. Voluntary Process Guidelines for Issuing Green Bonds, June 2021, https://www.icmagroup.org/sustainable-finance/the-principles-guidelines-and-handbooks/green-bond-principles-gbp.[27] European Parliament and Council of the EU, Regulation (EU) 2023/2631 of 22 November 2023 on European Green Bonds and Optional Disclosures for Bonds Marketed as Environmentally Sustainable and for Sustainability-linked Bonds, point 20, http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/2631/oj.[28] International Monetary Fund (IMF), "Germany: Financial Sector Assessment Program. Technical Note–The Determinants of Bank Profitability", in IMF Country Reports, No. 22/273 (August 2022), https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2022/08/10/Germany-Financial-Sector-Assessment-Program-Technical-Note-The-Determinants-of-Bank-522098; and IMF, "Italy: Financial Sector Assessment Program. Technical Note–Banking Regulation and Supervision and Bank Governance", in IMF Country Reports, No. 20/236 (August 2020), https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2020/08/03/Italy-Financial-Sector-Assessment-Program-Technical-Note-Banking-Regulation-and-Supervision-49633.[29] German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, "What Exactly Is H2Global?", in Energiewende direkt, No. 01/2022 (4 February 2022), https://www.bmwk-energiewende.de/EWD/Redaktion/EN/Newsletter/2022/01/Meldung/direkt-account.html.[30] German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Roadmap on Expected Hydrogen Off-take in Germany in the German-Norwegian Context, 23 April 2024, https://www.bmwk.de/Redaktion/DE/Downloads/P-R/240424-roadmap-deu-nor-hydrogen-task-force.pdf.

The oxygen evolution reaction during the photosynthesis process performed in plants, algae and cyanobacteria is possibly one of the most important reactions on the planet that sustain most life on our planet. Understanding the structure and function of the "engine of life", the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) in the active site of Photosystem II (PSII), has been one of the great and persistent challenges of modern science. Over the past decades, immense progress has been achieved in understanding the structure and mechanism of photosynthetic reactions. This progress is in large part due to the refinement of preparative protocols, X-Ray Diffractometry (XRD), site-directed mutagenesis, Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, the coming of age of X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) diffractometry and computational approaches in the investigation of PS II. Nevertheless, key mechanistic and electronic details of water oxidation still remain highly contentious. Elucidation of these details is complicated by the fact that the active site of PSII exists in four natural metastable oxidation states, as well as putative unnatural forms that are plausibly induced during experimental investigation. The leading motivation of the scientific community studying PSII is ultimately the development of new catalysts and even bio-inspired solar cells, that will produce clean and sustainable energy for the world. Over the last hundred years, approximately 80% of worldwide energy consumption has been based on fossil fuels, including coal, oil, and natural gas. However, humankind now has to face the consequences arising from this dependence on fossil fuels. Worldwide energy consumption is expected to increase by over 50% by the mid-2000s (see Fig. 0.1). Because fossil fuels are finite and regional around the world, it is greatly challenging to ensure that this demand can be met, in the face of possible political tensions and other potential problems with energy supplies. Due to the usage of fossil fuels, large quantities of emissions, e.g., CO2, SO2, and oxide particles, are the predominant reasons for global warming and severe pollution. Recent reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emphasized the necessity of decreasing CO2 emissions on a global scale to the zero level before the next century. These arguments make the development of sustainable and carbon-neutral energy technologies one of the most urgent challenges facing humankind all over the world. Wind, ocean currents, tides, and waves are all potential sources of energy, but by far the most abundant renewable energy source on the planet is solar energy: solar illumination on Earth every hour is greater than the worldwide energy consumption for a whole year [35]. Therefore, the conversion and utilization of solar energy is a promising solution for energy problems. An intriguing potential solution to the expected shortfall in energy supplies is artificial photosynthesis [108], whereby light energy can be stored in chemical bonds and, hence, be made available as fuels [18, 200, 19, 364]. Synthetic molecular and heterogeneous manganese analogues still struggle to mimic the function and performance of the OEC. This is partly because these distinctive features are not intrinsic to the Mn4CaO5 core of the OEC but depend on its environment and result from elaborate gating and regulation mechanisms for coordinating the coupling of proton-electron transfer and the access, delivery, binding, positioning, activation, and coupling of substrate waters to form dioxygen. The high level of geometric and electronic control, both spatial and temporal, extends along the whole catalytic cycle and involves simultaneously the Mn4CaO5 cluster, its first coordination sphere, and the protein matrix that controls the flow of electrons, protons, substrates, and products. From the side of theoretical methods great progresses have been made in recent years. Due to the success of the density functional theory (DFT), not only in the field of solid state physics, but also on liquids and molecular compounds, it is possible to obtain the electronic structure of few hundreds atoms with an acceptable computational effort. Using the information provided by the experiments as starting point, it is possible to employ DFT to refine the geometries in relationship with the electron ground-state or different electronic states, to calculate the electron and spin density for a given system and to estimate spectroscopic properties. The coupling of DFT with molecular dynamics also allows us to perform ab-initio molecular dynamics of large systems at finite temperature to fully consider entropic contributions and low-energy conformational changes. Computational techniques can also provide considerable support in the analysis and interpretation of the complex IR spectra of such biological systems. In this thesis, the molecular and electronic structures of the multinuclear manganese containing bioinorganic system together with oxygen-evolving complex of PS II are investigated using DFT-based methods for the theoretical modeling of vibrational spectra in the gas phase by normal mode analysis and molecular dynamics simulations. Research on biological water oxidation traverses scientific fields and concentrates the efforts of a multitude of experimental and theoretical approaches. Different methods of investigation naturally lead to distinct views on the OEC. These are often complementary but at times are contradictory, and it is not always obvious whether the contradictions already exist in the data or arise from their suggested interpretations. Nevertheless, the overarching goals are common to all experimental and theoretical studies. These are not limited to the geometric and electronic structure of the cluster in each state of the cycle but encompass the role of the protein matrix, the channels, and secondary components of the second sphere of the cluster, such as the chloride ions. Chapter I of the thesis considers in detail the progress that have been done so far in structural and spectroscopic studies of OEC and its synthetic mimics given together with the general introduction on photosynthetic reactions occurring in the leaf. Theoretical background of the computational methods used in present work is given in detail in Chapter II. In this thesis, we explored the potentialities and the reliability of different state-of-the-art computational techniques for the investigation of the structural and vibrational properties of complex macromolecular materials of biochemical importance. The use of FTIR spectroscopy to probe the structure and function of the OEC complex in PS II has a long history. The synthesis of a very close structural mimic of the catalytic center has opened up the opportunity to perform a comprehensive and parallel study of both the natural and artificial compounds and of their vibrational modes. Chapter III is dedicated to the detailed assignment of the bands in the midand low-frequencies region by static and dynamic vibrational spectra calculations of the unique biomimetic complex. The detailed parallel analysis between the Natural and Synthetic complexes also provided a comprehensive characterization of the vibrational fingerprints in such class of cubane-like Mn-based compounds and is reported in Chapter IV. In Chapter V of the thesis we discussed the electronic and structural properties of the novel Mn4O4 synthetic compound mimicking the EPR spectroscopic nature of OEC in S2 state.

La detección y localización de amenazas resulta una tarea de vital importancia en la seguridad de instalaciones públicas o privadas tales como, por ejemplo, aeropuertos, instalaciones gubernamentales, estadios o almacenes de grandes empresas de distribución. Las ondas milimétricas son emitidas de forma natural por todos los cuerpos debido a su temperatura; esta radiación es capaz de atravesar tejidos como la ropa mostrando objetos ocultos bajo esta de distintos materiales: metales, líquidos, plásticos, etc. Las cámaras milimétricas pasivas son dispositivos que captan estas ondas formando una imagen sin la emisión artificial de ningún tipo de radiación, por lo que resultan inocuas. No obstante, la calidad de las imágenes generadas es típicamente muy limitada debido a su baja resolución, escasa relación señal a ruido y otras posibles degradaciones inherentes a los sistemas de captación. Esta tesis doctoral está dedicada al procesamiento y mejora de las imágenes captadas con el objetivo final de hacer más precisos los sistemas de detección. Se proponen soluciones a los problemas de inpainting, eliminación de ruido y deconvolución ciega desde una misma perspectiva probabilística en un marco bayesiano haciendo uso de la inferencia variacional. La aproximación utilizada permite la estimación automática de los parámetros del modelo conjuntamente con la de las propias imágenes subyacentes. Los dos primeros problemas se resuelven mediante el aprendizaje basado en diccionarios, desarrollando un nuevo método para la estimación de los diccionarios y los vectores de coordenadas que representas a las señales en estas ((bases)). La deconvolución ciega elimina el emborronamiento desconocido presente en las imágenes; se propone un método de estimación de este emborronamiento para la estimación de la imagen nítida latente. Ambos trabajos presentan un denominador común, las distribuciones a priori sparseque se utiliza para modelizar nuestro conocimiento sobre la señal subyacente. La presente tesis aborda la inferencia variacional con el uso de estas distribuciones, garantizando soluciones analíticas que aproximan las distribuciones a posteriori de las imágenes latentes, lo que constituye una novedosa contribución a la literatura. Finalmente, se aplican los métodos de mejora de imágenes desarrollados sobre una base de datos de imágenes propia y se estudia el efecto sobre dos métodos de detección con filosofías totalmente distintas: un primer método clásico basado en extracción de características y detección por bloque; y un segundo basado en una red neuronal convolucional con estructura de autoencoder. En ambos casos se observarán mejoras significativas en la detección. ; Threat detection and localization is a vital task in security and surveillance applications in private, public or government facilities such as airports, stadiums, warehouses of large logistics companies or embassies. All bodies at a temperurate higher than absolute zero naturally emit millimeter wave radiation which is capable of travelling through layers of clothing revealing hidden objects of different materials: metals, liquids, pastics, etc. Passive millimeter wave cameras/scanners receive the radiation in this band of the spectrum generating an image without the need of artifficial emission of waves, thus not posing a health hazard. However, passive millimeter wave images display very limited quality due to their low signal-to-noise ratio and resolution, as well as other degradations caused by the acquisition systems. This doctoral thesis is devoted to the processing and enhancement of the acquired images with the ultimate goal of improving the accuracy of the detection systems. We propose comprehensive solutions to the inpainting, denoising and blind deconvolution problems from a probabilistic perspective within a Bayesian framework using variational inference. This approach allows for the automatic estimation of all model parameters along with the latent images simultaneously. The first two problems are solved with dictionary learning: we develop an efficient technique for the estimation of the dictionaries and sparse coordinate vectors which represent the observed signals in these \bases". Blind deconvolution supresses the unknown blur in images; a method for the estimation of this blur is proposed to estimate the underlying sharp images. Both works share a common denominator: the use of sparse priors to model the a priori knwledge on the latent signals. This thesis tackles variational inference with the use of these priors, ensuring tractable solutions that closely approximate the posterior distribution of the latent images, constituing a novel contribution to the literature. Finally, we apply the developed image enhancement techniques on an image database and study the impact on two detection methods with radically different philosophies: a classical approach based on feature extraction and per-block classification and a second one which uses an autoencoder-like convolutional neural network. In both cases substantial improvement in detection performance will be observed. ; Tesis Univ. Granada.

El gobierno noruego firmó un acuerdo con Juan Manuel Santos, ex presidente de Colombia, para otorgarle a este país USD $48 millones anuales para reducir la deforestación. Este acuerdo forma parte de un esfuerzo mayor de Noruega para apoyar a los países del sur que busca detener el cambio climático, a través de la Iniciativa Internacional de Clima y Bosques de Noruega (NICFI, por sus siglas en inglés: Norwegian International Climate and Forest Initiative) instituida después del Acuerdo de París en 2015. La manera en que se han implementado los esfuerzos para reducir la deforestación ha sido recibida con críticas. Por ejemplo, Colombia ratificó el Acuerdo de París para llegar a deforestación neta cero en 2020. No obstante, en 2016 la deforestación en la selva amazónica aumentó en un 44%. Mientras Noruega, a través de esta inversión en el bosque, parece ser un país preocupado por el clima, también continúa realizando extracción de petróleo. Noruega, por lo tanto, exhibe estándares dobles ya que apunta a mantener su posición como un importante productor de extracción de petróleo y gas en alta mar, al tiempo que impulsa el problema del cambio climático a los países del sur. De esta manera, Noruega parece cumplir con los requisitos del Acuerdo de París para la reducción de las emisiones de CO2. Este artículo examina los éxitos y fracasos de los esfuerzos noruegos de protección de los bosques tropicales en el caso de Colombia, evaluando la gobernanza de las políticas de deforestación desde la perspectiva de la criminología verde del sur, e incorporando una crítica a los medios neocolonialistas de protección ambiental establecidos por el norte. ; The Norwegian government has made an agreement with Juan Manuel Santos, the former Colombian president, to give Colombia USD $48 million yearly in order to reduce deforestation. This forms part of a greater support effort by Norway to countries in the South to halt climate change, through the Norwegian International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI) instituted after the Paris Agreement in 2015. The way in which efforts to reduce deforestation have been implemented has, however, been met with criticism. For instance, Colombia ratified the Paris Agreement to reach zero net deforestation by -2020. Nonetheless, in 2016, deforestation in the Amazon rainforest increased by 44%. While Norway, through this investment in the forest, gives the appearance of being a climate concerned country, it also continues oil extraction. Norway thus exhibits double standards as it aims to maintain its position as an important producer of offshore oil and gas extraction, while pushing the problem of climate change onto the countries in the South. In this way, Norway is able to comply with the Paris Agreement requirements for reduction of CO2 emissions. This article examines the successes and failures of the Norwegian rainforest protection efforts in the case of Colombia, assessing the governance of the deforestation policies from the perspective of green Southern criminology and incorporating a critique of the neo-colonialist means of environmental protection established by the North. ; El gobierno noruego firmó un acuerdo con Juan Manuel Santos, ex presidente de Colombia, para otorgarle a este país USD $48 millones anuales para reducir la deforestación. Este acuerdo forma parte de un esfuerzo mayor de Noruega para apoyar a los países del sur que busca detener el cambio climático, a través de la Iniciativa Internacional de Clima y Bosques de Noruega (NICFI, por sus siglas en inglés: Norwegian International Climate and Forest Initiative) instituida después del Acuerdo de París en 2015. La manera en que se han implementado los esfuerzos para reducir la deforestación ha sido recibida con críticas. Por ejemplo, Colombia ratificó el Acuerdo de París para llegar a deforestación neta cero en 2020. No obstante, en 2016 la deforestación en la selva amazónica aumentó en un 44%. Mientras Noruega, a través de esta inversión en el bosque, parece ser un país preocupado por el clima, también continúa realizando extracción de petróleo. Noruega, por lo tanto, exhibe estándares dobles ya que apunta a mantener su posición como un importante productor de extracción de petróleo y gas en alta mar, al tiempo que impulsa el problema del cambio climático a los países del sur. De esta manera, Noruega parece cumplir con los requisitos del Acuerdo de París para la reducción de las emisiones de CO2. Este artículo examina los éxitos y fracasos de los esfuerzos noruegos de protección de los bosques tropicales en el caso de Colombia, evaluando la gobernanza de las políticas de deforestación desde la perspectiva de la criminología verde del sur, e incorporando una crítica a los medios neocolonialistas de protección ambiental establecidos por el norte.

Sustainability is crucial for biofuels and bioenergy production in general. However, historically speaking, the biofuels industry has largely ignored sustainability criteria and consequently has been the source of considerable controversy. Despite a real expansion worldwide, biofuels development has still to face many barriers in the three pillars of sustainability. In the environmental domain, biofuels have to face accusations of deforestation, loss of biodiversity, carbon emission, water usage, etc. In the economic domain, they are accused to compete with other land uses for basic needs such as food and material , and they must prove that they are more viable than oil and other renewable energies. In the social domain, they also have to answer to complaints about land grabbing, rural poverty, social acceptance. Over the past twenty years, a large number of studies aimed to estimate the amount of bioenergy that can be produced in a sustainable manner. Results are very contrasted for many reasons mainly due to the heterogeneity of methodologies, definitions, assumptions and datasets employed. However, most studies agree that among all possible sources of biomass energy, energy crops are considered as the most important. Other crops and forest residues can also be good sources but do not reach the potential of energy crops. These studies lead to consider that the main potential contribution of biomass for energy production will depend on one hand of the energy crops yields and on the other hand on the quantity, the quality and the location of available land to cultivate. Considering that grassland, savannah or shrubland are idle or non-used land, most of the studies locate the majority of potentially available land in developing countries, in Sub-Saharan Africa and South America. But there is considerable debates about the availability of land in these regions and many authors point out the need for a clearer picture of what it means. Thus, land availability is maybe the most crucial parameters in sustainable potential assessment. But this concept of availability encompasses many interlinked factors and is lacking a clear definition. Depending on methodologies, availability may include technical or economic or social or legal or environmental factors, or multiple combinations of these different factors. However, since the 1990s, in order to guarantee the sustainability of the global bioenergy potential, several governments, NGOs and private companies have proposed ecological and social sustainability criteria which bioenergy has to fulfill. Since the early 2000s a set of voluntary standards have emerged in the Agro-food sector. They are produced through multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSI), which are presented as their main source of legitimacy. Many of these initiatives also called "Roundtables" are recognized and used in the sector of biofuel feedstock production : Roundtable for sustainable Palm Oil ( RSPO 2004), Roundtable for Responsible Soy (RTRS 2006), Better Sugar Cane Initiative (BSI), Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), and Round Table Sustainable Biofuels (RSB). All these standards have in common to define principles and criteria that restrain the availability of land dedicated to energy crops. They place restrictions on i) the types of land that may be used to grow energy crops and on ii) the social and technical models of production. According to these schemes availability of land is defined by criteria including technical factors (slope, soil, …), legal factors (land rights, respect of legal conservation areas), logistics factors (accessibility, distance to plants), environmental factors (high conservation values, carbon stocks), conversion factors (loss of biodiversity, zero deforestation), or food security factors (no competition with food crops), etc. These standards are still controversial and without doubt need to be improved, but in many countries including developing ones they currently drive feedstock production and therefore land availability for energy crops. The main objective of this paper is to propose a spatially explicit methodology to assess and analyze land availability for energy crops at national scale. The originality of this methodology is to start from existing sustainability standards of production and to translate principles and criteria into spatial constraints of availability. The methodological framework is applied in two West African countries : Mali and Burkina Faso. The application shows that taking into account farms structures and sustainable production rules reduces the land considered to be available by a factor of at least 4. The other key lesson is that family agriculture and contract farming may present viable alternatives to agro-industrial models. The advantage of this approach is that the scenarios built do not represent starting points of the assessment, but are rather one of the results. The scenarios and the production models are clearly formalized and thus represent topics of discussion which can be understood by producers and decision makers, allowing rules for the sustainable use of areas to be negotiated and refined.

Na década atual, escolher a melhor maneira de aquecer o ambiente interior das residências é um grande desafio. A maioria dos países usa aquecedores convencionais para aquecer o ambiente interior ou aparelhos de ar condicionado para arrefecer o ambiente interior. O problema com esses métodos é o maior consumo de energia e o efeito estufa causado pela libertação de CFC ou HFC dos aparelhos de ar condicionado. De acordo com a pesquisa de Washington, o mundo está prestes a instalar 700 milhões de unidades de ar condicionado em todo o mundo, o que significa uma grande quantidade de emissão de gases de efeito estufa. Isso é prejudicial porque os gases de efeito estufa são a principal causa do esgotamento da camada de ozono e do aquecimento global. Assim, para reduzir este efeito, o que podemos fazer é utilizar técnicas passivas de arrefecimento através de telhados reflexivos e radiativos em casas tropicais e também, utilizar unidades de ventilação residencial como aquecedores de ambiente interior em regiões mais frias. À medida que se caminha para que venha a existir um parque de edifícios com consumo quase nulo, e tendo em conta os métodos de ventilação utilizados nas habitações mais antigas, em que não se verificam as taxas de ventilação sugeridas na ASHRAE, cria-se uma oportunidade para a utilização de unidades de ventilação com sistemas de recuperação de calor. Muitos dos países europeus passaram do método de ventilação natural para outros métodos de ventilação nos últimos anos, mas ainda há espaço para o crescimento de unidades de ventilação com instalação de permutadores de calor. Este estudo trata sobre as Unidades de Ventilação Residencial na região europeia. Na Europa, a instalação de RVUs deve obrigar ao "REGULAMENTO DELEGADO DA COMISSÃO (UE) n. ° 1254/2014» que completa a Diretiva 2010/30 / UE do Parlamento Europeu e do Conselho no que diz respeito à rotulagem energética das Unidades de Ventilação Residencial. De acordo com esta diretiva, os valores da SEC, AEC e AHS para os produtos de diferentes regiões do mundo são calculados e comparados com aquecedores convencionais que são usados em regiões mais frias para verificar se as RVUs com permutadores de calor valem a pena investir e substituir a ventilação convencional e meios convencionais de aquecimento ambiente, como aquecedores de gás e energia elétrica, para que possamos reduzir o impacto ambiental causado por meios convencionais de aquecimento ambiente que usam enorme quantidade de combustível para aquecer a mesma área residencial. ; In the current decade choosing the best way to heat or cool interiors of a house is the biggest challenge. Majority of the world uses conventional heaters to heat interiors or air onditioners to cool the interiors. Problem with these methods is higher energy consumptions and greenhouse effect caused by the release of CFCs or HFC's from air conditioners. According to Washington post-survey, the world is about to install 700 million airconditioning units around the world, that means a whole lot of greenhouse gas emission. This is bad because greenhouse gases are the main cause of the ozone layer depletion and global warming. So, to reduce these what we can do is passive cooling techniques through eflective and radiative roofs in tropical houses and use of residential ventilation units as space heaters for the house in colder regions. As more and more buildings are constructed with zero energy consumption in mind and old ventilation methods used in old homes which are not met with the ASHRAE standards, so there is only one way with which above problems can be tackled and that is by using ventilation units with heat recovery systems. Many of the European countries transitioned from natural ventilation method to other ventilation methods in recent years, but there is still space for the growth of ventilation units with heat exchangers installation. This study is about the Residential Ventilation Units in the European region. In Europe, installation of RVUs must oblige to the "COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) No 1254/2014" supplementing Directive 2010/30/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council with regards to energy labeling of Residential Ventilation Units. As per this Directive, SEC,AEC and AHS values for the products from diferente regions of the world are calculated and compared with conventional space heaters which are used in colder regions in order to check if RVUs with heat exchangers are worth investing nd replacing conventional ventilation and conventional means of space heating like gas and electrical space heaters, so that we can reduce environmental impact caused by conventional means of space heating which uses enormous amount of fuel to heat up same space area.

학위논문 (박사) -- 서울대학교 대학원 : 공과대학 기계항공공학부, 2020. 8. 민경덕. ; Abstract The Effect of Turbulent Flow on the Combustion Cyclic Variation in a Spark Ignition Engine using Large-Eddy Simulation Insuk Ko Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering The Graduate School Seoul National University At the present, the problem of worldwide air pollution has emerged as an important issue and many countries are trying to solve the problem. Emission regulations have been tightened around the world in an effort to reduce emissions from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. From 2014, Tier 3 emissions standards in the United States (U.S.) and EURO6 regulations in the European Union (EU) are adopted. Currently, CO2 is also being strongly enforced annually. To meet the tightened CO2 regulations, the development of high efficiency engines is actively being carried out by each vehicle manufacturer. In the development of high efficiency engines, the key point is the increase in thermal efficiency. Many technologies have been developed to increase thermal efficiency and are being applied to mass-production engines. However, there is currently a cycle-to-cycle variation (CCV) of combustion as the biggest obstacle to engine development. Therefore, research on the CCV is also being actively carried out. Because the causes that affect the cycle deviation are various and complex, it is difficult to conduct detailed research on the source of the CCV through experimental studies. Therefore, the 3D simulation is actively carried out as an alternative. In the present study, the CCV phenomenon of combustion was reproduced using large-eddy simulation (LES) approach and the investigation on the source of CCV are conducted. Currently, the engine simulation using LES is immature. Therefore, it is necessary to consider each sub-model for accurate simulation. First, three Sub-grid scale (SGS) turbulence models were evaluated with particle image velocimetry (PIV) data from the single-cylinder transparent combustion chamber (TCC-III) engine. The dynamic structure model (DSM) was adopted for this study, based on the analysis of the flow field and the predicted SGS turbulent velocity compared to the PIV data. Secondly, the G-equation was employed as a combustion model. The model can be used in the corrugated flamelets regime and the thin reaction flamelets regime. The turbulent burning velocity of the model is quite complicated to simulate the turbulent flame included in the two regimes. Therefore, in this study, the combustion regime of the target engine operating condition was found by using Reynolds averaged navier-stokes equation (RANS) approach and was identified to the corrugated flamelets regime. Thus, the G-equation was modified for the corrugated flamelets regime. Thirdly, an ignition model reflecting the characteristics of LES was developed. The lagrangian particles were employed to realize the ignition channel and the secondary electric circuit model was implemented to predict the spark energy, restrikes phenomena and the end of ignition time. The one of the key features of the ignition model developed in this study is that a simplified empirical function is implemented to realize the thermal diffusion during arc phase. After ignition phase, the channel grows by chemical reaction and the flame propagation progresses. The turbulent flame brush thickness term is introduced to predict the transition state between the laminar flame propagation and the turbulent flame propagation. Finally, when the channel is grown sufficiently, flame is propagated in the 3D field by the G-equation Finally, 30 LES cycles were performed to identify the cause of the CCV and validated against the experimental data. The sources of the CCV are mainly from the small scale turbulent flow and the large scale turbulent flow. The small scale turbulent flow effect was investigated and the fact that the small scale turbulent flow is related to the tumble motion is identified. In terms of the large scale turbulent flow, the effect of the local vortex on the flame propagation was found through the detailed analysis of the flow field. In particular, the vortex produced by wall flow on the secondary tumble plane is an important factor. A new piston shape was designed to strengthen the vortex formation by wall flow. The result of new piston case shows the reduced combustion CCV than the base case. This research provides the guide how to investigate the sources of the combustion CCV and how to reduce the combustion CCV for the future engine development Keywords: SI engine, LES, CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics), CCV (Cycle-to-cycle variation), Ignition model, SGS model Student Number: 2013-20641 ; 국 문 초 록 현재 전 세계 대기오염 문제가 중요한 이슈로 떠오르고 많은 나라들이 이 문제를 해결하기 위해 노력하고 있다. 내연기관 차량의 배기 가스 배출량을 줄이기 위해 전 세계적으로 배출가스 규제가 강화되었다. 2014년부터 미국은 Tier 3 배기배출물 규정을 유럽연합은 EURO 6 규정을 채택하고 있다. 현재 연비 규제인 CO2도 매년 강력하게 강화되고 있다. 강화된 CO2 규정을 충족시키기 위해, 고효율 엔진의 개발은 각 차량 제조사에 의해 활발하게 이루어지고 있다. 고효율 엔진 개발에서 핵심은 열효율 증가이다. 열효율을 높이기 위해 많은 기술이 개발되어 양산 엔진에 적용되고 있다. 그러나 현재 엔진 개발에 가장 큰 장애물로 연소 사이클 간 편차가 있다. 따라서 사이클 편차에 대한 연구도 활발히 진행되고 있다. 사이클 편차에 영향을 미치는 원인은 다양하고 복잡하기 때문에, 실험 연구를 통해 사이클 편차의 근본 원인에 대한 상세한 연구를 실시하기 어렵다. 따라서 대안으로 3D 시뮬레이션을 활용한 연구가 활발히 진행되고 있다. 본 연구에서는, 연소의 사이클 편차 현상을 Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) 유동 해석 방법을 이용하여 재현하고 사이클 편차의 원인에 대한 연구를 진행한다. 현재 LES를 이용한 엔진 시뮬레이션은 아직까지 미숙한 단계이다. 따라서 정확한 시뮬레이션을 위해 각 물리적 현상을 구현할 수 있는 모델을 구현해야 한다. 먼저, 3개의 sub-grid scale (SGS) 난류 모델을 단기통 광학 엔진의 (TCC-III) particle image velocimetry (PIV) 측정 결과로 평가하였다. PIV 데이터와 비교한 유동장 및 예측된 SGS 난류속도에 대한 분석을 바탕으로 본 연구에서는 dynamic structure model (DSM)이 채택되었다. 둘째로, G-equation 모델을 연소 모델로 선택하였다. G-equation 모델은 Pitsch[1]에 의해 LES 적용 가능 하도록 개발되었다. 이 모델은 corrugated flamelets regime과 thin reaction flamelets regime에서 사용될 수 있다. 연소 속도 모델은 두 연소 환경에 포함된 난류 연소를 모사하기 위해 상당히 복잡하다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 RANS 를 이용하여 대상 엔진 작동 조건의 연소 환경을 찾아 내었고, 연소 환경은 corrugated flamelets regime에 속한 것을 확인 하였다. 따라서 기존의 G-equation 연소 모델을 corrugated flamelets regime에 맞도록 변경 하였다. 셋째로, LES의 특성을 반영한 점화 모델이 개발되었다. Lagrangian 개념을 이용하여 점화 채널을 구현하고, 2차 전기 회로 모델을 이용하여 점화 에너지, 리스트라이크, 점화 시간 종료 등을 예측하였다. 본 연구에서 개발된 점화 모델의 주요 특징 중 하나는 아크 페이즈 중 열 팽창 현상을 구현을 위해 간단한 경험 함수를 이용한다는 것이다. 아크 페이즈 후, 점화 해널은 화학 반응에 성장하고 화염 전파가 진행된다. 난류 화염 두께는 층류 화염 전파와 난류 화염 전파 사이의 천이 상태를 예측하기 위해 도입되었다. 마지막으로 점화 채널이 충분히 커지면 G-equation 의해 3D 계산 영역에서 화염 전파가 구현된다. 마지막으로 30개의 LES 사이클을 수행하여 연소의 사이클 편차 원인을 분석하고 실험 데이터를 이용하여 시뮬레이션의 정확도를 검증하였다. 연소의 사이클 편차의 원인은 주로 작은 규모의 난류 유동과 큰 규모의 난류 유동에서 나온다. 난류 모델로 구현된 작은 규모의 난류 유동과 큰 규모의 난류 유동에 속한 텀블 값을 같이 분석 하였다. 작은 규모의 난류 유동은 텀블 값과 관계가 있다는 사실을 파악 하였다. 큰 규모 난류 유동 측면에서는 국부적인 유동의 소용돌이가 화염 전파에 미치는 영향을 유동장을 상세히 분석하여 확인되었다. 특히 2차 텀블면에서 벽면 유동에 의해 생성되는 소용돌이가 연소의 사이클 편차에 미치는 중요한 요인임을 밝혀 내었다. 벽면 유동에 의한 소용돌이 형성을 강화하기 위해 새로운 피스톤 현상을 설계 하였다. 새로운 피스톤 형상의 결과는 베이스 피스톤보다 연소의 CCV가 줄어들었다. 본 연구는 향후 엔진 개발을 위해 연소 CCV의 원인을 조사하는 방법과 연소 CCV를 줄이는 방법에 대한 방법론을 제시한다. 주요어: 전기점화 엔진, LES, 전산유체역학, 사이클 편차, 점화모델, 난류모델 학 번: 2013-20641 ; Chapter 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Background and Motivation 1 1.2 Literature Review 10 1.2.2 Turbulence Modeling 12 1.2.3 Combustion Modeling 16 1.3 Research Objective 20 1.4 Structure of the Thesis 22 Chapter 2. Sub-grid Scale Turbulence Model 24 2.1 The Fundamentals of Turbulent Flow 23 2.1.1 The Energy Cascade 23 2.1.2 The Energy Spectrum 27 2.2 Sub-grid Scale Turbulence Model 29 2.2.1 Zero-equation Model 31 2.2.1.1 Smagorinsky Model 31 2.2.1.2 Dynamic Smagorinsky Model 32 2.2.2 One-equation and Non-viscosity Model 34 2.2.2.1 Dynamic Structure Model 34 2.3 Evaluation of Turbulence Models 37 2.3.1 Numerical Configuration 40 2.3.2 Comparison of Sub-grid Scale Model 45 Chapter 3. Modeling of Gasoline Surrogate Fuel 59 3.1 Literature Review 55 3.2 Determination of Surrogate Component 56 Chapter 4. Combustion Model for LES 63 4.1 The Laminar Burning Velocity 59 4.1.1 Literature Review 59 4.1.2 The Correlation for the Laminar Flame Speed 62 4.2 G-equation Model for LES 69 4.3 Sub-filter Turbulent Burning Velocity 73 Chapter 5. Lagrangian Ignition Model 82 5.1 Literature Review 77 5.2 Modeling of Ignition 81 5.2.1 Initialization of Particles 82 5.2.2 Channel elongation 83 5.2.3 Electric circuit model 83 5.2.4 Plasma channel expansion. 88 5.2.5 Ignition channel development 94 5.2.6 Restrike 95 5.2.7 Transition between ignition and flame propagation 96 Chapter 6. Experimental and Numerical Setup 106 6.1 Experimental Setup 99 6.2 Numerical Setup 104 Chapter 7. Simulation Results of Combustion CCV 116 7.1 Validation of Simulation Results 109 7.2 Correlation between Combustion Phase and Peak Pressure 115 7.3 Investigation of turbulent flow effect on CCV 121 7.3.1 Small Scale Turbulent Flow Effect on CCV 121 7.3.2 Large Scale Turbulent Flow Effect on CCV 127 7.4 Method for Reduction of CCV 156 7.4.1 Investigation of the Controllable Source of CCV 156 7.4.2 Result of New Designed Piston 166 Chapter 8. Conclusions 182 Chapter 9. Bibliography 186 국 문 초 록 201 ; Doctor

Chapter1. Effect of Lime And Brick Ash Inclusion on Engineering Behaviour of Expansive Soil -- Chapter2. Know your Daily Rainfall in any Location in India- A Web-based Approach Developed in Google Earth Engine -- Chapter3. IoT- Based Innovative Technological Solutions for Smart Cities and Villages -- Chapter4. A Review on Utilization of E-Waste in Construction -- Chapter5. Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) for Treatment of Storm water Runoff -- Chapter6. Textile Industry Wastewater Treatment using Eco-friendly Techniques -- Chapter7. Sustainable Treatment of Metal-Contaminated Soil by Electrokinetic Remediation -- Chapter8. Eco-Restoration of lakes and water sustainability in urban areas -- Chapter9. Microplastics: Environmental Issues and their Management -- Chapter10. Elucidating the Effect of Cement Dust on Selective Soil Parameters around J&K Cements Limited, Khrew -- Chapter11. Development of Correlation between Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity and Rebound Hammer Test Results for Condition Assessment of Concrete Structures for Sustainable Infrastructure Development. Chapter12. Alternative Fine Aggregates to Produce Sustainable Self Compacting Concrete: A Review -- Chapter13. Structural Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Column Using Diamond Tie Configuration under Elevated Temperatures for Sustainable Performance: A Review -- Chapter14. Reusable and Recyclable Industrial Waste in Geopolymer Concrete -- Chapter15. Infrared Thermography Parameter Optimization for Damage Detection of Concrete Structures Using Finite Element Simulations -- Chapter16. Eco-friendly Concrete Admixture from Black Liquor Generated in Pulp and Paper Industry -- Chapter17. Behavioural study on concrete with organic materials for CO2 absorption -- Chapter18. An Efficient Design and Development of IoT based Real-Time Water Pollution Monitoring and Quality Management System -- Chapter19. Numerical Study of Composite Wrapped Reinforced Concrete Columns Subjected to Close-in Blast -- Chapter20. Evaluation of conventional red bricks with compressed stabilized earth blocks as alternate sustainable building materials in Indian context -- Chapter21. Experimental Study on Alternative Building Material using Cement and Stone Dust as Stabilizers in Stabilized Mud Block -- Chapter22. Utilizing the Potential of Textile Effluent Treatment Sludge in Construction Industry: Current Status, Opportunities, Challenges, and Solutions -- Chapter23. Identification of Suitable Solid Waste Disposal Sites for the Arba Minch Town, Ethiopia, Using Geospatial Technology and AHP Method -- Chapter24. Framing Conceptual Design of Adopting Interlocking Bricks Technology in Construction -- Chapter25. Arriving Factors in the Conceptual Design Framework of 3D Printing Techniques for Building construction -- Chapter26. Scenic Evaluation of the Hills for Tourism Development - A Study on the Hills Of Tamilnadu, India -- Chapter27. Influence of Groundnut Shell Ash and Waste Plaster of Paris on Clayey Soil for Sustainable Construction -- Chapter28. Influence of Metakaolin and Steel Fiber on Strength of Concrete - A Critical Review -- Chapter29. Decadal monitoring of Coastline shifts and recommendation of Non-structural Protection measures along the coast of Rameshwaram, Tamilnadu, India -- Chapter30. Development of sustainable concrete using slag and calcined clay -- Chapter31. Assessment of the impact of bacillus cereus bacteria on strength and water absorption capacity of sustainable concrete -- Chapter32. Design and Development of Corona-19 Pandemic Situation-based Remote Voting System -- Chapter33. Waste Pozzolanic Material as a substitute of Geopolymer Mortar -- Chapter34. Study of the carbon emissions from construction of a house in plain region using standard construction material and eco-friendly/ alternative materials -- Chapter35. Experimental investigation of the impacts of partial substitution of cement with rice husk ash (RHA) on the characteristics of cement mortar -- Chapter36. A Mini review on Current Advancement in Application of Bacterial Cellulose in Pulp and Paper Industry -- Chapter37. Effect of agro-waste as a partial replacement in cement for sustainable concrete production -- Chapter38. Analysis and Evaluation of Geopolymer Concrete from Mechanical standpoint -- Chapter39. Municipal Waste Management in India: A Critical Review of Disposal System and Model Implementation -- Chapter40. Experimental Study on Light Weight Geopolymer Concrete Using Expanded Clay Aggregate -- Chapter41. Seismic Response of Composite Bridges: A Review -- Chapter42. Assessing and Correlating the Flow Duration Curve and Drought Index for the Environmental Flow Requirements -- Chapter43. Effect on Rheological and Hardened properties of Fly ash-GGBS based High Strength Self Compacting Concrete with inclusion of Micro and Nano Silica -- Chapter44. Mechanical Property study on Glass fibre concrete with partial replacement of fine aggregate with steel slag -- Chapter45. Mechanical Properties of Geopolymer Concrete Partial Replacement of Fine Aggregate with Waste Crushed Glass -- Chapter46. A Performance Study on Lithium based admixture in the properties of concrete -- Chapter47. Self-Curing Concrete Made By Using Hemp: A Review -- Chapter48. Research Progress of India in Waste Management at Global Level: A Bibliometric Evaluation -- Chapter49. Performance Evaluation of Acrylic Based Coating on Carbonation Depth on Different Grades of Concrete -- Chapter50. Cost Benefit Analysis of Retrofitting for Existing Building as Net Zero Energy Building: A Case Study in Composite Climate Zone -- Chapter51. Advances in Building Materials Industry by Annexation of Nano Materials -- Chapter52. Experimental Investigations on Utilization of Electroplating Waste Sludge in Manufacturing of Polymer Based Checkered Tiles -- Chapter53. Alccofine as a partial substitute of cement with scrap iron slag as a coarser material in high strength non-conventional concrete as an experimentational representation. Chapter54. Water Pollution: "Dal Lake a case study" -- Chapter55. Durability Properties of Admixture of Fly ash, Bottom Ash And GBFS -- Chapter56. Comparative Studies of Compressive Strength on Different Brick Masonry Prisms -- Chapter57. Monitoring and Management of Construction Sites Using Drone -- Chapter58. Experimental Investigation on Buckling Behaviour of Transmission Tower using Cold Formed and Hot Rolled Steel -- Chapter59. Assessment of indoor air quality of buildings made of bricks developed from paper pulp waste -- Chapter60. Review on Shear Strengthened RC Rectangular beams with FRP Composites -- Chapter61. Machine Learning Based Quality Prediction of Reuse Water in Sewage Treatment Plant -- Chapter62. "Prediction, Impact and Mitigation of Ambient Air Quality Pollutant Concentrations in Chandigarh" A Review -- Chapter63. A Review of Environmental Flow Evaluation Methodologies – Limitations and Validations -- Chapter64. Sustainable development of Scheduled caste and Scheduled tribes' population in select villages of Himachal Pradesh, India: A Cross Sectional Study.

Die anhaltende Entwaldung tropischer Regenwälder und die damit einhergehenden sozialen und ökologischen Folgen finden zunehmend Beachtung nationaler Regierungen und zivilgesellschaftlicher Akteure, die Initiativen zur Verringerung der Entwaldung und Strategien zum Schutz von Lebensräumen und Artenvielfalt entwickelt haben. Die Waldrestaurierung, d.h. die Wiederherstellung von Waldökosystemen, stellt hierbei, neben der Verringerung der Entwaldung, ein entscheidendes Ziel dar. Brasilien spielt in diesem Zusammenhang eine entscheidende Rolle. Der Großteildes Amazonas-Regenwaldes, der größte zusammenhängende tropische Regenwald der Welt, liegt auf brasilianischem Gebiet. Nahezu 18% des brasilianischen Regenwaldes sind bereits gerodet. Landspekulation, Bergbau, und Landwirtschaft stellen die stärkste Bedrohung für die Existenz des Regenwaldes dar. Im Rahmen des Pariser Abkommens hat sich Brasilien dazu verpflichtet die Netto-Entwaldung bis 2030 zu stoppen und 12 Millionen Hektar Waldökosysteme wiederherzustellen. Eine zentrale Rolle für die Umsetzung der Verpflichtung kommt dem brasilianischen Waldschutzgesetz (BFC) zu, der wichtigsten brasilianischen Umweltgesetzgebung, die die Rahmenbedingungen für die Landnutzung auf privatem Landbesitz regelt. Im brasilianischen Amazon verlangt das BFC den Schutz von 80% der natürlichen Vegetation, als sogenanntes Legal Reserves (LRs). In der neusten Gesetzesversion von 2012 wurde erstmals der Umgang mit denjenigen Landbesitzern festgelegt, die den Gesetzesvorgaben nicht entsprechen. Es wird erwartet, dass die Umsetzung des neuen BFCs auf der einen Seite den Schutz der Wälder in den LRs gewährleistet und auf der andern Seite, unter Mitwirkung der Landbesitzer, zu ein großflächige Waldrestaurierung führt. Vor diesem Hintergrund ist das Ziel dieser Dissertation die Potenziale des BFC für den Schutz der Ur- und den nachwachsenden Wäldern zu ermitteln. Im Speziellen habe ich in der vorliegenden Dissertation (i) die Raum-Zeitlichen Veränderungen der Waldflächen im Einflussbereich der Bundesstraße BR-163, zwischen Cuiabá und Santarém, analysiert; (ii) das Potenzial der BFC für den Schutz der des Regenwaldes und für die Waldrestaurierung bewertet; und (iii) prioritäre Gebiete für ein großflächige Waldrestaurierung, unter Einbezug von Kosten, Biodiversität und Kohlenstoffspeicherung, identifiziert. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass ein Großteil der massiven Entwaldung in der Region zwischen Cuiabá und Santarém auf privaten Grundstücken stattfand. Dies lässt auf eine weitverbreitete Nichteinhaltung des BFCs schließen. Hohe Netto-Entwaldungsraten und eine rückläufige Verbreitung nachwachsenden Waldes deutet darauf hin, dass die Region weit von einer Trendwende von Netto-Waldverlust, zu Netto-Waldzuwachs entfernt ist. Um eine Ausbreitung der Wälder voranzutreiben, ist es daher notwendig, das Management der Ur- und nachwachsenden Wälder zu verbessern. Die Ergebnisse dieser Dissertation zeigen, dass mehr als 6 Millionen Hektar der derzeitigen Waldregeneration geschützt und ein Drittel der LR-Defizite ausgeglichen werden könnten, wenn die nachwachsenden Wälder in die Schutzzonen der LRs einbezogen werden. Die künftige Regulierung der BFC-Ausgleichsmechanismen wird einen entscheidenden Effekt auf die Waldrestaurierung und den Schutz der Urwälder haben. Die Analyse möglicher Regulierungs-Szenarien hat deutliche Variation zwischen prioritären Gebieten für die Waldrestaurierung in Mato Grosso gezeigt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Waldrestaurierung auf privaten Grundstücken entscheidend für den Schutz von Biodiversität ist. Demgegenüber zeigt sich die Wiederherstellung von Waldökosystemen auf öffentlichem Land kostengünstiger und effektiver für die Kohlenstoffspeicherung. Die Ergebnisse demonstrieren die Relevanz detaillierter räumlicher Informationen zu Landbesitz und Landnutzungsänderungen, um die Auswirkungen von neuen rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen für den Waldschutz und die Waldrestaurierung in tropischen Gebieten zu untersuchen. Die Schätzungen der derzeit nachwachsenden Waldflache, und dessen Schutzstatus, sind entscheidend um die nationalen Ziele der Waldrestaurierung zu erreichen. Die Ergebnisse verdeutlichen, dass ein besseres Management von nachwachsenden Waldökosystemen durch Bundes- und Landesgesetze notwendig ist, und neue Strategien und Mechanismen, die den Schutz nachwachsenden Wäldern sicherstellen, erarbeitet werden müssen. ; Continued tropical forests decline has drawn concerted attention by governments and distinct sectors of the civil society, which have responded with anti-deforestation policies and conservation strategies. Alongside conservation, large-scale forest restoration is crucial for counteracting the negative impacts of deforestation on socio-ecological processes. In this context, Brazil plays a pivotal role. Most of the Amazon, the largest continuous tropical forest in the world, lies within the Brazilian territory. Nearly 18% of the Brazilian Amazon forest cover was already lost, and land speculation, mining, and agricultural expansion continue to threaten the forest. Therefore, cutting back land use change emissions is a major pillar of Brazil's commitment to the Paris Agreement, which includes the plan to achieve zero net deforestation in the Amazon and restore 12Mha of forests countrywide by 2030. In this thesis I focused on the Brazilian Forest Code (BFC), the flagship environmental legislation governing land use in private lands of Brazil. In forestlands of the Amazon biome, the BFC requires the protection of 80% of the native vegetation as Legal Reserves (LRs). The latest version of the law, from 2012, also established the compliance conditions for past law offenders. Particularly, there are high expectations that the enforcement of the BFC will secure the protection of forests in LRs, and drive large-scale forest restoration. Therefore, my overall goal was to advance the knowledge about the potential of the BFC enforcement for the conservation of old- and regrowing forests in the Brazilian Amazon. Specifically, I (i) investigated the spatio-temporal patterns of net forest cover change for the influence area of the Cuiabá-Santarém highway, crossing the federal states of Pará and Mato Grosso in the Brazilian Amazon; (ii) evaluated the potential of the BFC enforcement for the protection of old and regrowing forests in the Brazilian Amazon, and estimated the contribution of regrowing forests for LRs demarcation; and (iii) applied a multicriteria analysis to map priority areas for large-scale forest restoration in private and public lands of Mato Grosso, contrasting the costs of restoration with the gains for biodiversity and carbon enhancement. Results show that the Cuiabá-Santarém focus region accumulated substantial deforestation, most of which on private lands, indicating a widespread non-compliance to the BFC. High net deforestation rates and decreasing prevalence of forest regrowth on deforested lands, indicates that this region is not near experiencing a turnaround from net forest losses to net forest gains. Hence, to promote forest expansion, it will be necessary to improve old- and regrowing forests governance. In this regard, results showed that if regrowing forests are included in LRs demarcation, over 6Mha of ongoing forest regeneration could be protected, and one third of LRs deficits could be offset. Also, the future regulation of BFC compensation mechanisms will be key for determining the potential of the law for promoting restoration and old-growth forests protection additionality. Finally, a substantial variation in the spatial distribution of priority areas for forest restoration was identified across Mato Grosso, and for different scenarios. Private properties were key to enhance intensively deforested habitats, while restoration in public lands was more effective in reducing restoration costs and mitigating carbon. The findings of this thesis demonstrate the importance of detailed spatial information on land tenure and land use change in tropical areas, to support spatial planning, and address the potential of legal frameworks for promoting forest conservation and restoration. The estimates of legal protection of current regrowing forests have strong implications for Brazil's restoration targets. They call for an improved treatment of second-growth forests by federal and state legislations, and the creation of policy and mechanisms able to secure the protection of high-value regrowing forests.