Understanding the Economic Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Policies on Shipping : What Is the State of the Art of Current Modeling Approaches?

The International Maritime Organization's initial strategy on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships stipulates that the international shipping sector should assess the impacts on states prior to adoption of the mitigation measures included in the strategy. This assessment should be undertaken as a matter of urgency, and disproportionately negative impacts should be assessed and addressed as appropriate. This paper aims to contribute to this discussion by reviewing the state-of-the-art research on the economic impacts of greenhouse gas mitigation measures on states, using model-based analysis. Specifically, the paper: (i) identifies four areas of economic impacts and their relationships, (ii) compiles the latest findings on the estimated magnitudes of these impacts, and (iii) presents relevant modeling approaches along with best practices for selecting and applying these approaches in impact assessments. The paper concludes that introducing greenhouse gas mitigation measures, such as carbon prices applied to bunker fuels in the range of 10 to 50 USD/ton of carbon dioxide, might increase maritime transport costs by 0.4 percent to 16 percent. However, this would only marginally increase the import prices of goods (by less than 1 percent). For transport choices, the increased cost of maritime transport induced by greenhouse gas mitigation measures might only slightly reduce the share of maritime transport, by 0.16 percent globally. Furthermore, a global carbon tax applied to all transport modes might stimulate a shift toward maritime transport from all other modes. The impacts of a carbon price in the range of 10 to 90 USD/ton of carbon dioxide on national economies are expected to be modest (-0.002 percent to -1 percent of GDP). Document type: Boo

Methodology for CDM eligibility criteria definition

This study analyses different issues related to defining approaches to limit CDM eligibility in the context of the evolving future climate regime. This is based on the notion that in the future climate regime all countries will need to contribute to global mitigation efforts. It is highly likely that a more differentiated spectrum of national contributions by developing countries will also result in a more strongly differentiated eligibility of CDM project types and host countries. Therefore, the study develops a set of criteria for limiting CDM eligibility. After a thorough assessment and discussion, four scenarios for limiting Certified Emission Reduction (CER) supply for imports into domestic emission trading schemes (ETS) are determined. Based on the indicator sets and the chosen scenarios representing different choices of eligibility criteria, the respective credit quantities, geographic distribution and project type distribution are modelled quantitatively in order to arrive at an estimation of the global impact on CER supply of each scenario. The study also assesses ways to reinforce the mitigation impact of the CDM by discounting of CERs. Options exist to set strong incentives that strengthen the positive developments in the CDM, and to further align the mechanism with the political objectives of the UNFCCC process

Anglicismos y vida docente

Pertenece a la sección diaria del CVC (Centro Virtual Cervantes).Una de las vías de entrada de anglicismos en nuestra lengua es el mundo universitario y escolar.Peer reviewe

Distributing carbon revenues from shipping

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), the specialized United Nations agency responsible for international shipping, aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the shipping sector. International shipping accounts for approximately three percent of global GHG emissions. The Initial IMO GHG Strategy, adopted in 2018, aims to peak GHG emissions from international shipping as soon as possible, reduce them by at least 50 percent by 2050 over the 2008 levels, while pursuing efforts to phase them out on a pathway consistent with the Paris Agreement temperature goals. More ambitious GHG reduction targets are being discussed for inclusion in the revised strategy, which is expected to be finalized in July 2023. The IMO is currently negotiating the policy measures that must be adopted to meet GHG emissions reduction targets. Achieving the sector’s climate targets requires a policy environment that maximizes energy efficiency, supports the uptake of zero-carbon bunker fuels and technologies, and makes them cost-competitive with fossil-based fuels. In line with the Initial IMO GHG Strategy, climate negotiations at the IMO are focused on identifying additional measures (“mid-term measures”) to reduce GHG emissions from ships. Such measures could materialize as technical standards or market-based measures like carbon pricing instruments

Synthesis and first X-ray structure of a hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene–fullerene-dyad: a model for an inter-carbon-allotrope hybrid

The synthesis of a new hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene (HBC)–fullerene dyad 1 was accomplished involving a covalent linkage between both the planar and the spherical conjugated π-system of the two chromophores. We also present the first X-ray single crystal structure of a HBC–fullerene conjugate. A very short HBC–fullerene distance of 3.2 Å is observed. For the synthesis of this molecule, a new versatile applicable template, namely, a mono-functionalized hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene 7 was attached to a fullerene. Absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, as well as quantum yield measurements of 1, indicated close electronic communication between the two subunits, which is promising for possible applications in molecular electronics

Search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu decay channel, where l = e or mu, in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is presented. The data were collected at the LHC, with the CMS detector, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 inverse femtobarns. No significant excess is observed above the background expectation, and upper limits are set on the Higgs boson production cross section. The presence of the standard model Higgs boson with a mass in the 270-440 GeV range is excluded at 95% confidence level.Comment: Submitted to JHE

Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV

A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters

Search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to ll tau tau decay channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV

A search is reported for the standard model Higgs boson in the decay mode H to ZZ to tau plus lepton pairs, where the leptons are either electrons or muons, in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 inverse femtobarn collected with the CMS detector at the LHC. No evidence is found for a significant deviation from the background expectation. An upper limit four to twelve times larger than the predicted value is set at 95% confidence level for the product of the standard model Higgs boson production cross section and decay branching fraction in the mass range 190 < m(H) < 600 GeV.Comment: Submitted to JHE

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Search for the standard model Higgs boson produced in association with W and Z bosons in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV

A search for the Higgs boson produced in association with a W or Z boson in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is performed with the CMS detector at the LHC using the full 2011 data sample, from an integrated luminosity of 5 fb−1. Higgs boson decay modes to ττ and WW are explored by selecting events with three or four leptons in the final state. No excess above background expectations is observed, resulting in exclusion limits on the product of Higgs associated production cross section and decay branching fraction for Higgs boson masses between 110 and 200 GeV in these channels. Combining these results with other CMS associated production searches using the same dataset in the H→ γγ and H→ b b¯ decay modes, the cross section for associated Higgs boson production 3.3 times the standard model expectation or larger is ruled out at the 95% confidence level for a Higgs boson mass of 125 GeV