252 research outputs found
On the regional distribution of mitigation costs in a global cap-and-trade regime
No full textThis paper analyzes the regional distribution of climate change mitigation costs in
a global cap-and-trade regime. Four stylized burden-sharing rules are considered, ranging
from GDP-based permit allocations to schemes that foresee a long-term convergence of percapita
emission permits. The comparison of results from three structurally different hybrid,
integrated energy-economy models allows us to derive robust insights as well as identify
sources of uncertainty with respect to the regional distribution of the costs of climate change
mitigation. We find that regional costs of climate change mitigation may deviate substantially
from the global mean. For all models, the mitigation cost average of the four scenarios
is higher for China than for the other macro-regions considered. Furthermore, China suffers
above-world-average mitigation costs for most burden-sharing rules in the long-term. A
decomposition of mitigation costs into (a) primary (domestic) abatement costs and (b) permit
trade effects, reveals that the large uncertainty about the future development of carbon prices
results in substantial uncertainties about the financial transfers associated with carbon trade
for a given allocation scheme. This variation also implies large uncertainty about the
regional distribution of climate policy costs
Implications of weak near-term climate policies on long-term climate mitigation pathways, Climatic Change
No full textWhile the international community has agreed on the long-term target of
limiting global warming to no more than 2 °C abov e pre-industrial lev els,
only a f ew concrete climate policies and measures to reduce greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions hav e been implemented. We use a set of three
global integrated assessment models to analy ze the implications of current
climate policies on long-term mitigation targets. We def ine a weak-policy
baseline scenario, which extrapolates the current policy env ironment by
assuming that the global climate regime remains f ragmented and that
emission reduction ef f orts remain unambitious in most of the world’s
regions. These scenarios clearly f all short of limiting warming to 2 °C. We
inv estigate the cost and achiev ability of the stabilization of atmospheric
GHG concentrations at 450 ppm CO2e by 2100, when countries f ollow the
weak policy pathway until 2020 or 2030 bef ore pursuing the long-term
mitigation target with global cooperativ e action. We f ind that af ter a
def erral of ambitious action the 450 ppm CO2e is only achiev able with a
radical up-scaling of ef f orts af ter target adoption. This has sev ere ef f ects
on transf ormation pathway s and exacerbates the challenges of climate
stabilization, in particular f or a delay of cooperativ e action until 2030.
Specif ically , reaching the target with weak near-term action implies (a)
f aster and more aggressiv e transf ormations of energy sy stems in the
medium term, (b) more stranded inv estments in f ossil-based capacities,
(c) higher long-term mitigation costs and carbon prices and (d) stronger
transitional economic impacts, rendering the political f easibility of such
pathway s questionable
The economically optimal warming limit of the planet
No full textBoth climate-change damages and climate-change mitigation will incur
economic costs. While the risk of severe damages increases with the level of
global warming (Dell et al., 2014; IPCC, 2014b, 2018; Lenton et al., 2008), mitigating
costs increase steeply with more stringent warming limits (IPCC, 2014a; Luderer et al., 2013;
Rogelj et al., 2015). Here, we show that the global warming limit that
minimizes this century's total economic costs of climate change lies between
1.9 and 2 ∘C, if temperature changes continue to impact national
economic growth rates as observed in the past and if instantaneous growth
effects are neither compensated nor amplified by additional growth effects
in the following years. The result is robust across a wide range of normative
assumptions on the valuation of future welfare and inequality aversion. We
combine estimates of climate-change impacts on economic growth for 186
countries (applying an empirical damage function from Burke et al., 2015)
with mitigation costs derived from a state-of-the-art energy–economy–climate
model with a wide range of highly resolved mitigation options (Kriegler
et al., 2017; Luderer et al., 2013, 2015). Our purely economic assessment,
even though it omits non-market damages, provides support for the
international Paris Agreement on climate change. The political goal of limiting
global warming to “well below 2 degrees” is thus also an economically optimal goal
given above assumptions on adaptation and damage persistence.</p
Structural optimization and biological evaluation of 2-substituted 5-hydroxyindole-3-carboxylates as potent inhibitors of human 5-lipoxygenase.
No full textPharmacological suppression of leukotriene biosynthesis by inhibitors of 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) is a strategy to intervene with inflammatory and allergic disorders. We recently presented 2-amino-5-hydroxy-1H-indoles as efficient 5-LO inhibitors in cell-based and cell-free assays. Structural optimization led to novel benzo[g]indole-3-carboxylates exemplified by ethyl 2-(3-chlorobenzyl)-5- hydroxy-1H-benzo[g]indole-3-carboxylate (compound 11a), which inhibits 5-LO activity in human neutrophils and recombinant human 5-LO with IC50 values of 0.23 and 0.086 μM, respectively. Notably, 11a efficiently blocks 5-LO product formation in human whole blood assays (IC50 = 0.83-1.6 μM) and significantly prevented leukotriene B4 production in pleural exudates of carrageenan-treated rats, associated with reduced severity of pleurisy. Together, on the basis of their high potency against 5-LO and the marked efficacy in biological systems, these novel and straightforward benzo[g]indole-3-carboxylates may have potential as anti-inflammatory therapeutics
Environmental co-benefits and adverse side-effects of alternative power sector decarbonization strategies
No full textThis package contains the data and source code used in preparation for the
paper "Environmental co-benefits and adverse side-effects of alternative power
sector decarbonization strategies" by Gunnar Luderer et al., published in Nature
Communications.</p
No evidence for binding between resistance gene product Cf-9 of tomato and avirulence gene product AVR9 of Cladosporium fulvum
No full textEnvironmental co-benefits and adverse side-effects of alternative power sector decarbonization strategies
No full textThis package contains the data and source code used in preparation for the
paper "Environmental co-benefits and adverse side-effects of alternative power
sector decarbonization strategies" by Gunnar Luderer et al., published in Nature
Communications.</p
Ovarian Toxicity from Reactive Oxygen Species
No full textOxidative stress occurs when cellular mechanisms to regulate levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) are overwhelmed due to overproduction of ROS and/or deficiency of antioxidants. This chapter describes accumulating evidence that oxidative stress is involved in ovarian toxicity caused by diverse stimuli, including environmental toxicants. There is strong evidence that ROS are involved in initiation of apoptosis in antral follicles caused by several chemical and physical agents. Although less attention has been focused on the roles of ROS in primordial and primary follicle death, several studies have shown protective effects of antioxidants and/or evidence of oxidative damage, suggesting that ROS may play a role in these smaller follicles as well. Oxidative damage to lipids in the oocyte has been implicated as a cause of persistently poor oocyte quality after early life exposure to several toxicants. Developing germ cells in the fetal ovary have also been shown to be sensitive to toxicants and ionizing radiation, which induce oxidative stress. Recent studies have begun to elucidate the mechanisms by which ROS mediate ovarian toxicity
Towards a Better Understanding of Disparities in Scenarios of Decarbonization: Sectorally Explicit Results from the RECIPE Project
No full textThis paper presents results from a model intercomparison exercise among regionalized global energy-economy models conducted in the context of the RECIPE project. The economic adjustment effects of long-term climate policy aiming at stabilization of atmospheric CO2 concentrations at 450 ppm are investigated based on the cross-comparison of the intertemporal optimization models REMIND-R and WITCH as well as the recursive dynamic computable general equilibrium model IMACLIM-R. The models applied in the project differ in several respects and the comparison exercise tracks differences in the business as usual forecasts as well as in the mitigation scenarios to conceptual differences in the model structures and assumptions. In particular, the models have different representation of the sectoral structure of the energy system. A detailed sectoral analysis conducted as part of this study reveals that the sectoral representation is a crucial determinant of the mitigation strategy and costs. While all models project that the electricity sector can be decarbonized readily, emissions abatement in the non-electric sectors, particularly transport, is much more challenging. Mitigation costs and carbon prices were found to depend strongly on the availability of low-carbon options in the non-electric sectors.Decarbonization, Energy and Climate Policy
Modeling of deep-convective transport of forest fire smoke into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere
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