Testing of a Monitoring Reporting & Verification (MRV) Scheme for non-CO2 aviation effects

Darstellung des Projekts "Testing of a Monitoring Reporting & Verification (MRV) Scheme for non-CO2 aviation effect

Decision parameters of an MRV scheme for integrating non-CO2 aviation effects into EU ETS

Although about two-thirds of aviation's climate impacts are caused by non-CO2 effects, such as ozone production or contrail cirrus formation, these effects are not yet considered in existing and currently planned policy instruments (e.g. EU ETS or CORSIA). Due to their climatological relevance, however, various economic concepts have been proposed recently to internalise nonCO2 effects. Most of these approaches are based on the principle of equivalent CO2 emissions (CO2e), a way of unitizing the impact of all climate agents. Several calculation methods for CO2 equivalents are in principle available, which differ in the degree of detail and are subject to uncertainties related to atmospheric science. There are a quite a few key decision parameters for policy makers for setting up a monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) scheme for non-CO2 effects. The aim of this study is therefore to analyze and discuss the most important decision parameters for the integration of non-CO2 aviation effects into EU ETS

Fast assessment of long axis strain with standard cardiovascular magnetic resonance: a validation study of a novel parameter with reference values

Background: Assessment of longitudinal function with cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is limited to measurement of systolic excursion of the mitral annulus (MAPSE) or elaborate strain imaging modalities. The aim of this study was to develop a fast assessable parameter for the measurement of long axis strain (LAS) with CMR. Methods: 40 healthy volunteers and 125 patients with different forms of cardiomyopathy were retrospectively analyzed. Four different approaches for the assessment of LAS with CMR measuring the distance between the LV apex and a line connecting the origins of the mitral valve leaflets in enddiastole and endsystole were evaluated. Values for LAS were calculated according to the strain formula. Results: LAS derived from the distance of the epicardial apical border to the midpoint of the line connecting the mitral valve insertion points (LAS-epi/mid) proved to be the most reliable parameter for the assessment of LAS among the different approaches. LAS-epi/mid displayed the highest sensitivity (81.6 %) and specificity (97.5 %), furthermore showing the best correlation with feature tracking (FTI) derived transmural longitudinal strain (r = 0.85). Moreover, LAS-epi/mid was non-inferior to FTI in discriminating controls from patients (Area under the curve (AUC) = 0.95 vs. 0.94, p = NS). The time required for analysis of LAS-epi/mid was significantly shorter than for FTI (67 ± 8 s vs. 180 ± 14 s, p < 0.0001). Additionally, LAS-epi/mid performed significantly better than MAPSE (Delta AUC = 0.09; p < 0.005) and the ejection fraction (Delta AUC = 0.11; p = 0.0002). Reference values were derived from 234 selected healthy volunteers. Mean value for LAS-epi/mid was −17.1 ± 2.3 %. Mean values for men were significantly lower compared to women (−16.5 ± 2.2 vs. -17.9 ± 2.1 %; p < 0.0001), while LAS decreased with age. Conclusions: LAS-epi/mid is a novel and fast assessable parameter for the analysis of global longitudinal function with non-inferiority compared to transmural longitudinal strain

Verifiability of Reporting Aviation’s non-CO2 Effects in EU-ETS and CORSIA

The EU Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS) and CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation) are introduced or planned market-based measures (MBM) in aviation to reduce CO2 emissions. As the amount of CO2 emissions is proportional to the fuel consumption, monitoring, it is relatively straight forward to monitor, to report and to verificate (MRV) these instruments. In a new or revised MBM that would also take into account non-CO2 effects from air transportation, additional MRV efforts would become necessary, which will largely depend on the actually chosen calculation methodology. This report collects the required database and assesses the additional administrative burden for three different calculation methods: (1) a relatively simple distance dependent CO2 equivalence (eqCO2) factor, (2) a climatological latitude-height dependent eqCO2 factor and (3)a detailed weather and spatial dependent eqCO2 factor. Greater accuracy in considering the relevant atmospheric processes will lead to greater benefits for climate protection. However, more accurate eqCO2 approaches require more data for MRV. The use of a distance-dependent factor, for example, is not suitable for emissions trading because it does not create incentives for airlines to reduce their climate impact of CO2 and non-CO2 effects. If a latitude-height dependent eqCO2 is applied, the competent authority (CA) would require 3D emission inventories to check the non-CO2 emissions reported by the operator, which would result in substantially more administrative effort and the need for tools to model and verify the reported emissions as fuel consumption and the exact waypoints would not be immediately available to the CA. The administrative burden would increase further if detailed weather information is necessary

Integration of Non-CO2 Effects of Aviation in the EU ETS and under CORSIA

In addition to carbon dioxide, air traffic operation affects the climate through other emissions and atmospheric processes, such as the formation of ozone and contrail cirrus. The climate impact of these non-CO2 effects is strongly dependent on the emission location (in particular cruise altitude) and emission time (e.g. weather conditions) and, thus, highly non-linear to the fuel consumption. Although non-CO2 effects are responsible for about 2/3 of the climate impact of aviation, they are not yet taken into account in existing and currently planned emissions trading systems (e.g. EU ETS) or market-based measures (MBM, e.g. CORSIA 1). This research project focuses on the development of concepts for the integration of non-CO2 effects of air traffic into the EU ETS and under CORSIA. For this purpose, suitable climate metrics for assessing the relationship between non-CO2 and CO2 climate impacts are analyzed first (Part A). For selected non-CO2 calculation methodologies, the availability of the necessary data is examined and estimation procedures for non-existent data are investigated (Part B). Afterwards, the current practice in voluntary carbon markets for estimating CO2 and non-CO2 effects of aviation is presented (Part C). The additional administrative burden to verify reporting on aviation’s non-CO2 is examined in Part D. In the final step, key design parameters for the integration of non-CO2 consequences of aviation in the EU ETS and CORSIA are evaluated (Part E). The inclusion of non-CO2 effects in the EU ETS and CORSIA is highly recommended for climate-logical reasons and technically feasible, but involves an additional administrative burden for authorities and aircraft operators. The level of the resulting mitigation incentive as well as the additional effort is strongly depending on the calculation methodology of the CO2 equivalents. For this choice, a trade-off must be made between a simple operational feasibility and a high incentive level to modify flight routing and to reduce the NOx emission indices. False mitigation incentives, which can arise from to the non-linearity between non-CO2 climate effects and fuel consumption, must be prevented

The Role of Private Standards for Manufactured Food Exports from Developing Countries

The effect of food standards on agricultural trade flows remains unclear. We contribute to the debate with a unique dataset that contains the number of food processing firms of 88 countries from 2008 to 2013 that are certified with the International Featured Standard (IFS). Based on a theoretical framework that combines Melitz-type firm heterogeneity with quality upgrading, we estimate a gravity-model using the one-year lag of IFS as well as modern grocery distribution as an Instrument to address potential endogeneity. We find that IFS increases c.p. bilateral exports on average of seven agricultural product categories in both specifications. However, the effect remains only for upper- and middle-income countries once we separate by income and turns even negative for low income countries in the IV-specification. Hence, whereas IFS increases exports on average, it has a trade-impeding effect for low-income countries. Therefore, private standards are not a sufficient development policy tool to integrate low-income countries to the world trading system without being accompanied by other measures

Inclusion of non-CO2 effects of aviation in the EU ETS: Testing of a Monitoring Reporting & Verification (MRV) Scheme for non-CO2 aviation effects

Darstellung des Projekts "Testing of a Monitoring Reporting & Verification (MRV) Scheme for non-CO2 aviation effect