A better Kyoto: options for flexible commitments

A 'new Kyoto', called for by the Australian government, may well be based on cap-and-trade, but with significant changes. Under the old Kyoto, broad participation and meaningful commitments were difficult to achieve - in part because of uncertainty about compliance costs and the dichotomy between countries with targets and those without. This policy brief examines options for making greenhouse gas commitments under a 'New Kyoto' more flexible: intensity targets, sectoral targets, non-binding targets, permit price caps, and linking targets with commitments for technology development. We also touch on market-based options outside the target-based paradigm.new Kyoto, compliance costs, greenhouse gas commitments

Mechanisms for Abating Global Emissions Under Uncertainty

We give theoretical, partial equilibrium comparisons of a tax with thresholds, tradable targets ('emissions trading' or ET), and non-tradable targets, as mechanisms to abate well-mixed ('global') emissions from many parties, under independent uncertainties in both future business-as-usual emissions and marginal abatement costs. All three mechanisms are revenue-neutral, and use flexible thresholds or targets indexed continuously to parties' activity levels. We analyse both risk-neutral or risk-averse behaviour. Key theoretical results are that because of emissions uncertainty, there is no simple Weitzman (1974) rule for choosing between 'prices' (a tax) to 'quantities' (ET); under ET, marginal abatement cost uncertainty is a benefit, compared to certainty; and under risk aversion, any mechanism with more expected welfare also gives more expected abatement. We apply our theory to global greenhouse gas abatement in 2020, using an 18-region numerical simulation model with new uncertainty estimates. Key global, empirical results are that under either risk behaviour, a tax dominates ET, which hugely dominates non-tradable targets; and under risk aversion, an optimally indexed tax gives about 60% more welfare and 30% more abatement than unindexed ET, while optimally indexed ET achieves about two-fifths of these improvements.emissions trading, global abatement, greenhouse gases, risk aversion, tax, uncertainty

Optimal intensity targets for emissions trading under uncertainty (now replaced by EEN0605)

Uncertainty can hamper the stringency of commitments under cap and trade schemes. We assess how well intensity targets, where countries' permit allocations are indexed to future realised GDP, can cope with uncertainties in a post-Kyoto international greenhouse emissions trading scheme. We present some empirical foundations for intensity targets and derive a simple rule for the optimal degree of indexation to GDP. Using an 18-region simulation model of a 2020 global cap-and-trade treaty under multiple uncertainties and endogenous commitments, we estimate that optimal intensity targets could achieve global abatement as much as 20 per cent higher than under absolute targets, and even greater increases in welfare measures. The optimal degree of indexation to GDP would vary greatly between countries, including super-indexation in some advanced countries, and partial indexation for most developing countries. Standard intensity targets (with one-toone indexation) would also improve the overall outcome, but to a lesser degree and not in all cases. Although target indexation is no magic wand for a future global climate treaty, gains from reduced cost uncertainty might justify increased complexity, framing issues and other potential downsides of intensity targets.Climate policy, emissions trading, flexible targets, intensity targets, optimality, simulation modelling, uncertainty.

A role for jasmonates in the release of dormancy by cold stratification in wheat

Hydration at low temperatures, commonly referred to as cold stratification, is widely used for releasing dormancy and triggering germination in a wide range of species including wheat. However, the molecular mechanism that underlies its effect on germination has largely remained unknown. Our previous studies showed that methyl-jasmonate, a derivative of jasmonic acid (JA), promotes dormancy release in wheat. In this study, we found that cold-stimulated germination of dormant grains correlated with a transient increase in JA content and expression of JA biosynthesis genes in the dormant embryos after transfer to 20 (o)C. The induction of JA production was dependent on the extent of cold imbibition and precedes germination. Blocking JA biosynthesis with acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) inhibited the cold-stimulated germination in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, we have explored the relationship between JA and abscisic acid (ABA), a well-known dormancy promoter, in cold regulation of dormancy. We found an inverse relationship between JA and ABA content in dormant wheat embryos following stratification. ABA content decreased rapidly in response to stratification, and the decrease was reversed by addition of ASA. Our results indicate that the action of JA on cold-stratified grains is mediated by suppression of two key ABA biosynthesis genes, TaNCED1 and TaNCED2.This project was funded by a CSIRO Office of the Chief Executive PDF scheme

Avidin as a probe of the conformational changes induced in pyruvate carboxylase by acetyl-CoA and pyruvate

AbstractSheep liver pyruvate carboxylase was mixed with avidin at a molar ratio of 1:1 in the presence of various combinations of the components of the assay systems required for either the acetyl-CoA-dependent or the acetyl-CoA-independent activity and negatively stained samples were examined by electron microscopy. Significant numbers of chain-like polymers of enzyme-avidin complexes were evident only when acetyl-CoA or high levels of pyruvate were present in the media. Similar results were also obtained for chicken liver pyruvate carboxylase despite this enzyme's almost complete lack of acetyl-CoA-independent activity. Thus, although acetyl-CoA and high concentrations of pyruvate may induce pyruvate carboxylase to adopt a ‘tight’ tetrahedron-like conformation which can interact with avidin to form chains, this structural change alone does not result in an enzymic form that is maximally active. This suggests that the allosteric activation of pyruvate carboxylase by acetyl-CoA is attributable, at least in part to more subtle conformational changes, especially in the case of the chicken enzyme

Microwave additive manufacturing of continuous carbon fibers reinforced thermoplastic composites: Characterization, analysis, and properties

Traditional additive manufacturing (also known as 3D printing) of continuous carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CCFRP) lacks the ability to manufacture parts with high speed and energy efficiency. This is mainly because of the contact needed and the slow heat transfer from the conventional hotend to the composite filaments. A microwave heating assisted additive manufacturing method is here presented which allows manufacturing CCFRP with a higher speed as compared to conventional methods. The permittivity of printed specimens with different fiber volume fraction was investigated. By using the measured dielectric properties, a micro-scale microwave radiation and heat transfer model between the fiber and resin matrix has been established. The skin-core temperature difference of the moving CCFRP filaments during conventional thermal and microwave heating has been simulated to reveal the relationship between the temperature difference, filament diameter and printing speed. Non-isothermal crystallization behavior and mechanical strengths of thermal and microwave printed specimens have been studied, and the reasons for the different results have been analyzed

Estimating the opportunity costs of bed-days.

Opportunity costs of bed-days are fundamental to understanding the value of healthcare systems. They greatly influence burden of disease estimations and economic evaluations involving stays in healthcare facilities. However, different estimation techniques employ assumptions that differ crucially in whether to consider the value of the second-best alternative use forgone, of any available alternative use, or the value of the actually chosen alternative. Informed by economic theory, this paper provides a taxonomic framework of methodologies for estimating the opportunity costs of resources. This taxonomy is then applied to bed-days by classifying existing approaches accordingly. We highlight differences in valuation between approaches and the perspective adopted, and we use our framework to appraise the assumptions and biases underlying the standard approaches that have been widely adopted mostly unquestioned in the past, such as the conventional use of reference costs and administrative accounting data. Drawing on these findings, we present a novel approach for estimating the opportunity costs of bed-days in terms of health forgone for the second-best patient, but expressed monetarily. This alternative approach effectively re-connects to the concept of choice and explicitly considers net benefits. It is broadly applicable across settings and for other resources besides bed-days

Variations of the McEliece Cryptosystem

Two variations of the McEliece cryptosystem are presented. The first one is based on a relaxation of the column permutation in the classical McEliece scrambling process. This is done in such a way that the Hamming weight of the error, added in the encryption process, can be controlled so that efficient decryption remains possible. The second variation is based on the use of spatially coupled moderate-density parity-check codes as secret codes. These codes are known for their excellent error-correction performance and allow for a relatively low key size in the cryptosystem. For both variants the security with respect to known attacks is discussed