Evaluating new CO2 reduction technologies in Japan up to 2030

A mathematical model was developed for evaluating CO₂-reduction technologies in power generation, residential, commercial and road transport sectors in Japan. The existing and new power generation technologies evaluated included 34 centralized and 8 dispersed power generation technologies in the residential and commercial energy demand sectors. To take into account the varieties of useful energy and of its demand duration patterns among entities in the demand sectors, the hourly mean power and heating and cooling demand–supply balances in one residential and four commercial representative entities were considered for each month. The road transport sector addressed five types of automotive use. The useful-energy demands are exogenously given; the model calculates the technology installations that satisfy the demands to minimize the total systems cost for each year up to 2030. The availability of the new technologies, i.e., the first years they are installable, is derived from research and development (R&D) process analyses on the basis of surveys to experts. As a result of the model calculation, dispersed molten carbonate and solid oxide fuel cells and onboard gasoline reforming-type fuel cell vehicle (FCV) technologies are expected to have the largest economic values, approximately 60–120 billion constant 1998 yen [460–920 million U.S. dollars (USD)] among the evaluated new CO₂-reduction technologies. One of the implications from our calculations is that extending electric power corporations' commercial coverage to dispersed power generation, in addition to centralized power generation, is desirable to help lower overall costs in society, as well as to secure industry profits.     

A differentiated tolls system – an effective transport policy tool for Slovenia?

We provide an econometric model of passenger and freight transportation demand based on panel data for 10 sections of toll roads in Slovenia. Transportation demand on Slovenian motorways is price inelastic. The price elasticity of transportation demand statistically varies among different parts of the toll sections, so it would seem sensible to introduce a differentiated toll system that would allow the simultaneous achievement of multiple objectives, such as increasing the internalization of the external costs of transport, increasing transportation demand management on the basis of price and increasing cost recovery for the maintenance and development of toll roads in Slovenia. Transportation demand is even more responsive to changes in fuel price than changes in tolls, so transportation policy can manage transportation demand using differences in fuel prices. Based on estimates of demand models differentiated according to several geographical groups of road sections, we also find that growth in the price elasticity of transportation demand in Slovenia can be achieved through the expansion of the transport supply by increasing the competitiveness of rail transport and alternative transportation routes.     

A comparison of alternative technologies to de-carbonize Canada's passenger transportation sector

Using a full systems model of Canada's economy, six alternative scenarios to de-carbonize the personal passenger vehicle fleet are compared to a business as usual non de-carbonized scenario in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, trade disposition of energy commodities, and the physical resources required for energy production. Three scenarios are analyzed to compare the impacts of increasing either ethanol 85, hydrogen, or electricity powered vehicles into the vehicle fleet, with each starting to penetrate the light vehicle stock in 2010 to reach 100% of the new vehicle market by 2050. For each of these three scenarios, we then construct a variant scenario that considers the additional effects of de-carbonizing electricity production. With a de-carbonized electricity sector, net emission reductions are 29% for ethanol 85, and 31% for both hydrogen and electricity. When considering the transportation sector only, net emission reductions equal 13% for ethanol 85, and 14% for hydrogen and electricity. However, although the ethanol scenario results in the lowest reduction in total emissions, it has significant impacts on other parts of the physical resource base. By the time ethanol reaches 5% of the fuel mix in 2015, domestic consumption of grains increases by 20%, in turn impacting crop trade disposition. At this point, emissions are reduced by less than 0.5%, owing to the fossil fuels required since most ethanol is still grain based. By 2050 it is projected that almost all ethanol will be cellulose based, generating a more significant emission reduction but in turn requiring potentially unsustainable amounts of crop residue.     

Energy demand in the transportation sector of Mexico

This paper report results of an analysis of the demand for energy in the Mexican transport sectors, focusing on the railroad, air transport and motor vehicle modes. The approach is an econometric one with emphasis placed on the structure for each mode. For two of the modes a two-stage approach is employed where in the first stage demands for services from the particular mode are modeled, and in the second stage demand is treated as a derived demand from these transport services. For the motor vehicle mode, gasoline demand is considered as the product of gasoline consumption per vehicle times the total number of vehicles, and then these components are related to economic and structural variables. Diesel demand of motor vehicles is modeled in a more reduced from approach. The principal finding is that changes in income play a more important role in affecting energy demand than do changes in energy prices, especially in the railroad and air transport sectors. For the gasoline and diesel fuel demand in the monitor vehicle sector, however, price is of substantial importance.     

Intermodal traffic,regulatory change and carbon energy conservation in US freight transport

Conserving transport carbon emissions is an important policy goal. Conventional wisdom often holds that conservation is best achieved by increased regulation, and that such gains are best achieved in passenger auto transport (fuel efficiency standards or diversion to transit). We argue that the growth of rail freight has conserved carbon fuel use in the United States, and that fuel-saving changes have been facilitated by reduced regulation since 1980. Methods used include estimation of translog cost functions (and related demand functions for fuel) for intermodal rail and for truck, allowing controlled comparisons of modal fuel use. We find intermodal rail (e.g. trailer on flatcar) to be a powerful conserver: if intermodal rail were eliminated, and traffic transferred to over-the-highway truck, extra annual carbon emissions would be nearly 25?Tg. By comparison, if urban passenger transit were eliminated and replaced by autos (according to one study) the extra annual emissions would be only 3.9?Tg.     

Scenario Analysis of Chinese Passenger Vehicle Growth

This article reports on a simulation and scenario analysis of Chinese passenger vehicle growth and resulting energy demand and CO₂ emissions. The model includes provincial level logistic growth functions with saturation levels representative of neighboring Asian economies, income growth measured in international dollars, and both estimated and literature-based income elasticities. Scenarios explore variation in key parameters, including income and population growth rates, elasticity income ranges, fuel economy, and vehicle saturation. Countrywide base case results estimate growth from 4.22 to 54.33 passenger vehicles per thousand people from 1995 to 2025. Resulting passenger vehicle oil demands and CO₂ emissions increase nearly 17-fold.     

Biofuels as Sustainable Technologies: Perspectives for Less Developed Countries

The future outlook of biofuels is beset by uncertainty. Key factors for the adoption of biofuels as alternative technologies are policy decisions by governments in terms of regulations, such as government procurement schemes and fuel specifications, along with financial and economic instruments, such as subsidies and preferential taxation. In this framework, the present analysis is a prospective as to the future development of a biofuel program in the European Union and the hypothetical role of developing countries as suppliers in this new market. The focus of this article is, exclusively, on liquid fuels.     

The household demand for energy and fuels in OECD countries

This paper estimates the household demand for energy and fuels. The linear expenditure model is estimated using data from eight OECD countries over a period of sixteen years. The basic similarities in household demand for fuels and the differences among OECD countries are discussed. The results indicate that household demand for energy is highly income dependent. With regard to four basic fuels, the income and price elasticities for gasoline and gas are higher than for either coal or oil. The demand patterns are shown to differ significantly among groups of OECD countries. Coal has been gradually replaced by oil as the major household fuel in OECD countries, whereas the demand pattern for gas has changed only a little during the fifties and sixties.     

FUEL CHOICE FOR MULTI-FUEL VEHICLES

Consequences of consuming petroleum in transportation—e.g., air pollution, global warming, energy insecurity—have stimulated interest in alternative automotive fuels and in vehicles that can use multiple fuels and combinations of fuels. Consumer behavior in choosing motor fuels for flexible- or dual-fuel vehicles will likely be a key factor in creating and maintaining stable markets for new fuels. This paper explores the implications of recent studies on the sensitivity of choice of gasoline grade to price. It analyzes natural gas vehicle owners' refueling behavior, based on a survey of natural gas vehicles in Canada. The paper uses statistical models to estimate the importance of performance, range, refueling convenience, and other factors in the fuel choice decision. Choice of gasoline grade is highly sensitive to fuel prices. The cost advantage of natural gas also is of paramount importance for natural gas users. However, refueling convenience is essential for overall satisfaction and is a major factor in the frequency of natural gas use. Alternative fuels not only must be cost competitive with gasoline but initially will require a cost advantage so as to overcome range limitations and refueling inconvenience.     

Sustainable global automobile transport in the 21st century: An integrated scenario analysis

Transport represents a significant threat to long-term sustainable development, and is one of the fastest-growing consumers of final energy and sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, transport is heavily reliant on petroleum, a limited resource that is also associated with geopolitical risks to security of supply. Together, threats to the global environment and limited resource availability warrant a closer examination of possible pathways to a sustainable transport system. This study describes a sustainable automobile transport scenario based on the SRES B2 scenario, but with key demographic and economic drivers updated to incorporate developments between 1990 and 2000, and revisions to population projections. Multiple sustainable development objectives are incorporated, including: i) continuing economic growth, with a moderate reduction in disparities in income between different world regions; ii) maintaining a buffer of oil and gas resources to enhance security of energy supply, both globally and in vulnerable regions; iii) abating greenhouse gas emissions to ensure atmospheric CO₂ concentrations do not exceed double pre-industrial levels; and iv) ensuring global mobility demands are met, without resorting to assumptions about a large counter-trend shift to public transport or lower travel demand. We then explore the technological, economic, fuel production and infrastructure implications of realizing this scenario over the long term. This provides a number of policy insights by identifying critical developments required for the emergence of a sustainable global passenger transport and energy system.     

Incorporating stakeholders' perspectives into models of new technology diffusion: The case of fuel-cell vehicles

The literature on the modeling of diffusion of technologies typically uses historical data to calibrate a model. For cases where data on the diffusion of comparable technologies are not available and where high multi-sector stakes are involved, models that use more specific information may be useful. The potential transition to alternative transportation vehicle technologies and fuels, like fuel-cell vehicles and hydrogen, would be an example of such cases. We propose an integration of theoretical frameworks on the diffusion of innovations with data on stakeholders' opinions, to develop estimates of FCVs' market-share evolution. Our estimates of the time scales required for the market, particularly for the initial stages, are longer than those obtained in other studies.     

A multi-level analysis of sustainable mobility transitions: Niche development in the UK and Sweden

A wide range of intractable problems such as polluting emissions, noise, accidents, resource depletion, and inaccessibility of amenities are associated with the current transport regime. Given the slow movement towards a more sustainable mobility system, more radical, systemic innovation - a ‘transition’ - is required. Broadly speaking, this may be achieved via three routes: technological change, modal shift, and reduced travel demand. Drawing on concepts from the transitions literature (e.g., [Geels, F.W.: Technological Transitions and System Innovations: A Co-evolutionary and Socio-Technical Analysis, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, 2005.]), we conceptualise each of these routes as a bundle of niche activities within an Area of Innovation, deviating to differing degrees from the current mobility ‘regime’. We present empirical evidence and indications of ongoing development of niches in these three areas within the UK and Sweden, and explore processes of co-evolution, divergence and tension within and between niches. Findings indicate recent market penetration of novel transport technologies, more advanced than modal shift or demand management activities; however, different transport technologies are more successful in each country. We also identify examples of a close relationship between development of radical vehicle/fuel technologies and provision of mobility services; and information technology as a driver in all three areas of innovation. We conclude that future innovation in transport depends on diversity, hybridisation, and co-evolution of niches. Finally, policy implications are discussed.     

The effect of the 2007 ethanol mandate on downside risk in agriculture: evidence from Kansas farmers

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 increased the amount of corn ethanol that must be blended into motor vehicle and other fuels as part of the renewable fuel standard. The purpose of this article is to look at how the increase in demand for corn influenced the profitability and downside risk of farms. We conducted this investigation using annual data for more than 300 farms in Kansas from 1997 through 2014. We find that the probability of a farmer’s experiencing a negative return on equity (i.e. the ‘downside risk’ of farming) decreased by 25 percentage points after 2007.     

Infrastructure investment for a transition to hydrogen automobiles

This paper describes work undertaken in the MATISSE project to explore the potential for a sustainable hydrogen transition within Europe and the implications for infrastructure investment. Stakeholder engagement work conducted within MATISSE identified unsustainable aspects of current transport and desirable characteristics of sustainable hydrogen road transport. Key criteria were: emissions reduction, security of energy supply, affordability and economic competitiveness.Results from the ASTRA model show that a transition to hydrogen transport fuels would have an increase in GDP, employment and investment; and growth in a number of sectors (electronic, chemical, mechanical and automotive) associated with hydrogen fuel cell technology. A hydrogen diffusion model shows that in a few years after 2040 all cars in Germany could be hydrogen driven cars. Fast build-up of a network of at least 500 filling stations (in urban areas and at highways) is very important for the market acceptance of hydrogen vehicles and compared with subsidies for vehicles and fuel the necessary investments are very small. For fuel infrastructure:

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Only a total amount of approx. 200 million Euros are necessary for infrastructure build-up in urban areas.

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Additional support is needed for installation of hydrogen filing stations on highways (approx. 100 million Euros).

     

Using FRED data to teach price elasticity of demand

In this article, the authors discuss the use of Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) statistics to teach the concept of price elasticity of demand in an introduction to economics course. By using real data in its computation, they argue that instructors can create a value-adding context for illustrating and applying a foundational concept in economics. Additionally, this pedagogical strategy contributes to developing an expected proficiency for economics majors related to “interpreting and manipulating data” (Hansen 2009, 2012). The authors provide step-by-step instructions on how to use FRED to compute the price elasticity of demand for motor vehicle fuels and gasoline as well as examples of in-class discussion questions and take-home assignments related to this instructional technique.     

Fossil fuel subsidies and environmental constraints

Fossil fuel subsidies are applied in many countries for different policy reasons such as maintaining jobs in fossil fuel sectors, securing national energy supply or lowering the energy costs of selected industries to strengthen competitiveness. The current economic costs of fossil fuel subsidy policies can be substantially increased by future environmental constraints. We illustrate this point in the framework of a general equilibrium analysis for Germany where we quantify the economic costs of alternative hard coal subsidy policies at different CO₂ reduction levels. Our calculations show that German hard coal subsidies as a means of retaining jobs can get very expensive with additional specific costs of up to annual 70 000 DM per job for a given CO₂ reduction target of 35%. Though the empirical analysis is focused on Germany the general conclusion that current subsidy policies of fossil fuels must be fundamentally reconsidered in view of forthcoming environmental constraints is also relevant for other countries.     

Exploring technology paths: The development of alternative transport fuels in Sweden 2007-2020

By using socio-technical scenarios, we investigate how present policy choices may affect the development of alternative transport fuels in Sweden. One important choice for policy lies in the balance between general tax exemptions stimulating the market for alternative fuels, and funding of research and development more directly promoting new technology. The implications of this choice are illustrated with four diverging development paths until 2020. In the market-oriented scenarios, we illustrate consequences of breaking the dominance of entrenched technologies and demonstrating a growing market potential for alternatives, but also the risks with a large focus on first generation renewable fuels. In the technology-oriented scenarios, we point out the value of keeping variety among niches in this stage of the transition. In conclusion, if policy is implemented without taking the dynamic forces within the system into account, there is a risk that any measure leads the system into a dead end. But if policy strives to balance the development in different parts of the technological system while making use of various prevailing forces of change, a multitude of different efforts can contribute to the development of a more sustainable transport system.     

Market Power with Interdependent Demand: Sale of Emission Permits and Natural Gas from Russia

With implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, Russia will most likely be able to exert market power in the emission permit market. But, as Russia is also a big exporter of fossil fuels, the incentives to boost the permit price may be weak. However, a significant share of Russia’s fossil fuel exports is natural gas. If a high permit price boosts the demand for natural gas through substitution from more polluting fuels and thus increase gas profits, this may increase the incentives to exert monopoly power in the permit market. Moreover, a large fossil fuel exporter may use its market position to influence the effective demand for permits. Hence, the relationship between permit income and fossil fuels exports runs in both directions. In this article, we explore the interdependence between the revenues from permit and fossil fuel exports both theoretically and numerically. A computable general equilibrium model suggests the fact that Russia as a big gas exporter has small effect on the incentives to exert monopoly power in the permit market. Moreover, Russia’s monopoly power in the permit market has a small, but non-negligible impact on the optimal level of Russian gas exports.     

Greenhouse gas emission reduction potentials in air transport: a structural equation modelling-based multi-group analysis

In this study, we used a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach to identify the key factors that influence greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction potentials in air transport (ERPAT). We explored the correlations among constructs from the perspectives of aviation GHG emission reduction. Organisation type is one of the contextual factors that may change the nature of these correlations. Person- and self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data from 249 aviation experts. The results obtained using SEM showed that aircraft technology and design, aviation operations and infrastructure, socio-economic and policy measures, and alternative fuels and fuel properties are the key factors for reducing GHG emission. Conclusively, organisation type can help in controlling the relationship among the constructs. Thus, organisation type acts as a moderator in the research model. The outputs can be used to measure the level of knowledge and understanding regarding ERPAT and can provide policy-makers, government organisations, and airlines with valuable information for designing appropriate air transport policies for emission reduction.     

Modelling transport fuel pathways: Achieving cost-effective oil use reduction in passenger cars in Sweden

Several technology and fuel options could be used to lower the strong oil dependence of the transportation sector. To formulate policies and to cost-effectively meet oil reduction objectives, assessments and comparisons of the long-term economic performances of different technology trajectories are essential. In this work, the energy and technology costs associated with reducing oil consumption in passenger cars in Sweden are calculated for a number of possible future transport fuel pathways and for different energy prices and climate policies. An optimisation model is applied in a simulatory multiple-run approach for this purpose. The model encompasses the transportation sector, as well as the stationary energy system. In terms of results, a methanol-based pathway gives incremental system costs in the range of ? 0.9–3 billion EUR for a complete phase-out of passenger car oil up to 2030. As compared to the methanol pathway, other biomass gasification-based fuel pathways involve additional incremental system costs in the region of 3 billion EUR, whereas ethanol- and electricity-based pathways give additional incremental system costs of 4–5 billion EUR. At lower oil reduction levels, the cost differences between the pathways are smaller and the electricity-based pathway is significantly more cost-competitive.