Electricity portfolio innovation for energy security: the case of carbon constrained China

China’s energy sector is under pressure to achieve secure and affordable supply and a clear decarbonisation path. We examine the longitudinal trajectory of the Chinese electricity supply security and model the near future supply security based on the 12th 5 year plan. Our deterministic approach combines Shannon-Wiener, Herfindahl-Hirschman and electricity import dependence indices for supply security appraisal. We find that electricity portfolio innovation allows China to provide secure energy supply despite increasing import dependence. It is argued that long-term aggressive deployment of renewable energy will unblock China’s coal-biased technological lock-in and increase supply security in all fronts. However, reduced supply diversity in China during the 1990s will not recover until after 2020s due to the long-term coal lock-in that can threaten to hold China’s back from realising its full potential

Driving forces of Iran\u27s CO2 emissions from energy consumption: An LMDI decomposition approach

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd In order to address climate change in an effective manner, it is essential to quantify driving forces of CO2 emissions in the fossil-fuel rich countries. Iran is among the top ten CO2 emitting countries. Moreover, it has the largest natural gas reserve and the fourth largest oil reserve in the world. However, there is a lack of comprehensive analytical studies on quantifying the contributions of key drivers to Iran\u27s CO2 emissions. This study fills this gap and performs in a systematic manner three variations of decomposition analyses on driving forces of carbon emissions from 2003 to 2014 due to energy consumption of the industry, driving forces of carbon intensity of the electricity generation, and key drivers of carbon emissions due to total fossil fuel combustion. In addition, the other novelty of this study is inclusion of the effect of electricity import and export in the decomposition analysis, which opens important avenues for analysis of emissions’ driving factors in countries currently engaged, or will engage in electricity trade. In the discussion of results, we take an international perspective and discuss findings pertaining to Iran as a fuel-rich country. Furthermore, we demonstrate real applications of decomposition analysis in policymaking using real experiences of Iran. Major findings highlight that the main driver to Iran\u27s CO2 emissions is increased consumption, which was responsible for an additional 201.5 MtCO2 since 2004, while technology-related improvements (e.g. energy mix) were only able to offset 7.7 MtCO2. Additional natural gas capacity, especially in the transport sector helps improve the energy mix, but would require more. Insights on electricity trading and hydropower are also presented, before we end with appropriate policy implications

Members of the endocannabinoid system are distinctly regulated in inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer

Preclinical studies have demonstrated that the endocannabinoid system (ECS) plays an important role in the protection against intestinal inflammation and colorectal cancer (CRC); however, human data are scarce. We determined members of the ECS and related components of the ‘endocannabinoidome’ in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and CRC, and compared them to control subjects. Anandamide (AEA) and oleoylethanolamide (OEA) were increased in plasma of ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) patients while 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) was elevated in patients with CD, but not UC. 2-AG, but not AEA, PEA and OEA, was elevated in CRC patients. Lysophosphatidylinositol (LPI) 18:0 showed higher levels in patients with IBD than in control subjects whereas LPI 20:4 was elevated in both CRC and IBD. Gene expression in intestinal mucosal biopsies revealed different profiles in CD and UC. CD, but not UC patients, showed increased gene expression for the 2-AG synthesizing enzyme diacylglycerol lipase alpha. Transcripts of CNR1 and GPR119 were predominantly decreased in CD. Our data show altered plasma levels of endocannabinoids and endocannabinoid-like lipids in IBD and CRC and distinct transcript profiles in UC and CD. We also report alterations for less known components in intestinal inflammation, such as GPR119, OEA and LPI

Einbindung des ECOLOG-Modells 'E"3Net' und Integration neuer methodischer Ansaetze in das IKARUS-Instrumentarium (ECOLOG II) Schlussbericht

Aim of the study: Aim of the research project 'The linking of the ECOLOG-model 'E"3Net' to the IKARUS instrument and the integration of new methodological approaches (ECOLOG II)' was the integration of different modeling approaches and tools for energy-economic analysis in one instrument. The results of this research project are based on the IKARUS and ECOLOG projects. IKARUS stands for 'Instruments for climate gas reduction strategies' and ECOLOG means 'Development of a linear optimization model to model regional energy systems applied to the example of Germany'. Method of approach: In ECOLOG II enhancements in the following areas were introduced: (1) Integration of E"3Net in the IKARUS instrument; (2) Introducing nonlinear modeling approaches in E"3Net; (3) Macro-economic extension of E"3Net; (4) Development and application of the multi sector energy economy model NEWAGE; (5) Development of a simulation model for energy systems analysis PlaNet; (6) Extension of the analytical features of NetWork. Scientific and technological success of the study: In the framework of the ECOLOG II research project, the following goals were achieved: linking the FIZ-Technology database of NetWork, connecting the FIZ-LP database with NetWork, transforming the IKARUS LP data into a case study for the energy systems optimization model E"3Net, developing an energy systems model with price-elastic demand (E"3Micro), developing an equilibrium model E"3Macro which combines a detailed technology description and a macro economic part, realizing a prototype of the general equilibrium model NEWAGE, in which a technology-oriented energy supply model was integrated into a general equilibrium model, realizing the simulation model PlaNet, developing the network designer and analyst (NDA), and testing these modules with case studies of the IKARUS project. (orig.)SIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: F98B1788+a / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekBundesministerium fuer Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie, Bonn (Germany)DEGerman