Emission Scenarios for Methane and Nitrous Oxides from the Agricultural Sector in the EU-25

This report presents three emission scenarios of non-CO2 greenhouse gases from the agricultural sector of the EU-25 until 2020. These scenarios explore the likely implications of changes in agricultural production due to the - implementations of the EU Agenda 2000 CAP Reform of 1999 and the EU Nitrates Directive of 1991 (as used for the analyses of the EU Clean Air for Europe (CAFE) programme), - the implementation of the 2003 Mid-term review of the CAP reform and from anticipated impacts on fertilizer use of the reform of the EU sugar sector agreed in 2005, - and compare them with the agricultural projections provided by the EU Member States to IIASA for the preparations of the revision of the EU Emission Ceilings Directive in 2005. The emission scenarios have been developed with IIASA's Greenhouse and Air pollution Interactions and Synergies (GAINS) model (www.iiasa.ac.at/gains), which constitutes an extension of the Regional Air Pollution Information and Simulation (RAINS) model (www.iiasa.ac.at/rains) to greenhouse gases. All scenarios suggest for the EU-25 a significant decline of agricultural non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions between 1990 and future years, mainly as a consequence of declining cattle numbers due to productivity increases in milk and beef production and more efficient application of fertilizers. For the first scenario (i.e., CAFE projections reflecting the impacts of the Agenda 2000 CAP reform and the Nitrates Directive), an 11-13 percent decline of emissions from the EU-25 is estimated for the period 1990 to 2010, depending on the calculation methodology. The changes in livestock numbers and fertilizer use implied by the 2003 Mid-term review of the CAP reform and the EU sugar reform would reduce non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions further by approximately four percentage points. Based on the national projections of livestock numbers and fertilizer use as provided in 2005 by the Member States for the NEC revision, agricultural non-CO2 greenhouse gases are computed to decline by approximately 16 percent up to 2010. These trends show significant variations across Member States. Emissions from the old Member States (EU-15) are calculated to decline by between 7 to 13 percent, depending on the agricultural scenario and calculation method. For the new Member States (NMS-10), reductions between 32 and 35 percent are estimated. More than half of these reductions have occurred between 1990 and 1995, mainly due to the structural changes in the New Member States. Scenario 1 results in four percent additional emission reductions between 1995 and 2010, while the Mid-term CAP review Scenario 2 and the national projections suggest an eight percent further decline by approximately two percentage points

Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy Based Biosensors: Mechanistic Principles, Analytical Examples and Challenges towards Commercialization for Assays of Protein Cancer Biomarkers

Impedimetric affinity biosensors are, without any doubt, among the most sensitive analytical devices available, offering low limits of detection and wide linear response ranges. There are, however, only a few papers detailing the application of impedimetric biosensors for the analysis of clinically relevant samples with due clinical performance. The fact that these devices have not found their way to any commercial or clinical use to date might be surprising, since an electrochemical assay platform based on portable potentiostats is a success story for monitoring a range of clinical parameters such as ions, haematological indicators and glucose. This review discusses the reasons behind this discrepancy and addresses the barriers to be overcome in order to achieve the point-of-care diagnostics using such devices for detection of protein oncomarkers approved by FDA. The final part of the review covers the most recent progress in the area.The financial support received from the Slovak Scientific Grant Agency VEGA 2/0137/18 and 2/0090/16 and the Slovak Research and Development Agency APVV 17-0300 and APW-15-0227 is acknowledged. The research received funding from the European Research Council (no. 311532). This publication is the result of the project implementation: Centre for materials, layers and systems for applications and chemical processes under extreme conditions - Stage I, ITMS No.: 26240120007, supported by the ERDF

Technical regulations about thermal energy savings and thermal protection in buildings

Opisuju se zakonodavne mjere zemalja Europske unije vezane za uštedu energije u zgradama i uspoređuju s tehničkim zahtjevima iz tog područja u Hrvatskoj, posebno u vezi s novim Tehničkim propisom o uštedi toplinske energije i toplinskoj zaštiti u zgradama. Prikazuje se sadržaj propisa i zahtjevi za zgrade, za toplinsko-izolacijske proizvode, sadržaj iskaznice potrebne topline za grijanje, uređivanje prijelaznog razdoblja te ocjena očekivanih rezultata primjene novog popisa.The legislation used in European Union countries in relation to energy savings in buildings is described and compared with technical requirements in this field in Croatia, particularly with respect to the new technical code regulating heat energy savings and thermal protection in buildings. The authors present the content of the code, requirements for buildings and thermal insulation products, the content of the heat requirement schedule for heating, situation in transition period, and assessment of results that may be expected after implementation of the new code

Environmental improvements of the 2012 revision of the Gothenburg Protocol

In May 2012, Parties to the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution have reached agreement on a revision of its Gothenburg multi-pollutant/multi-effect protocol. Inter alia, the revised protocol includes quantitative emission reduction commitments for the year 2020. This report estimates the improvements for human health and ecosystems protection that can be expected from the committed emission reductions in 2020