Communication Is Key: How to Discuss Energy and Environmental Issues with Consumers
Scientists are now more certain than ever that humans are responsible for climate change through the combustion of fossil fuels. A recent Global Energy Assessment report, compiled by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, indicates that, globally, domestic energy consumption accounts for about a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. A fundamental shift in energy consumption is needed, moving away from the use of fossil fuels to meet emission reduction targets.
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Optimal Carbon Taxes for Emissions Targets in the Electricity Sector
The most dangerous effects of anthropogenic climate change can be mitigated by using emissions taxes or other regulatory interventions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This paper takes a regulatory viewpoint and describes the Weighted Sum Bisection method to determine the lowest emission tax rate that can reduce the anticipated emissions of the power sector below a prescribed, regulatorily-defined target. This bilevel method accounts for a variety of operating conditions via stochastic programming and remains computationally tractable for realistically large planning test systems, even when binary commitment decisions and multiperiod constraints on conventional generators are considered.
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Electric Vehicles and Climate Change: Additional Contribution and Improved Economic Justification
Climate and weather patterns are changing in California and across the planet. Extreme weather events such as wildfires are happening more frequently, precipitation has become increasingly variable, heat waves are more common, and temperatures are warming. Climate and weather scientists have tracked the observed changes since the mid-20th century and linked them mainly to human activity and influence. The human activity, including the burning of fossil fuels, has led to a significant release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which disrupts the global carbon cycle and leads to global warming.
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