Luiz Pinguelli Rosa

Global warming potentials : The case of emissions from dams

Abstract The global warming potential index (GWP) has been proposed to quantitatively compare the integrated greenhouse effect of different gases. However, the use of the GWP index is still subject to major conceptual difficulties. Here we revise and generalize this index and then apply our alternative index to the case of emissions from some hydroelectric reservoirs in Brazil. Our results suggest that, though the cumulative heating effects of emissions from hydroelectric reservoirs may be far from negligible, for the cases studied hydroelectricity in general contributes less to the greenhouse effect over a long time horizon than fossil fuelled electricity generation.

Brazilian waste potential: energy, environmental, social and economic benefits

The potential energy that could be produced fromsolid wastes in Brazil tops 50 TWh. Equivalent to som e 17% of the nation’s total power consumption at costs that are competitive with more traditional options, this would also reduce greenhouse gases emissions. Moreover, managing wastes for energy generation purposes could well open up thousands of jobs for unskilled workers. Related to power generation and conservation, energy use requires discussions on the feasibility of each energy supply option, and comparison between alternatives available on the market. Power conservation is compared to projects implemented by the Federal Government, while power generation is rated against thermo-power plants fired by natural gas running on a combined cycle system. Although the operating costs of selective garbage collection for energy generation are higher than current levels, the net operating revenues of this scheme reach some US

Comments on the Brazilian Proposal and contributions to global temperature increase with different climate responses—CO2 emissions due to fossil fuels, CO2 emissions due to land use change

4 billion/year. This underpins the feasibility of garbage management being underwritten by energy uses and avoided environmental costs. The suggested optimization of the technical, economic, social and environmental sustainability of the expansion of Brazil’s power sector consists of compatibilizing the use of fossil and renewable fuels, which is particularly relevant for hybrid thermo-power plants with null account on greenhouse gases emissions. r 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Present, Past, and Future Contributions to Global Warming of CO2 Emissions from Fuels

Abstract This paper addresses the question of how to take into account the anthropogenic contribution to the increase of global temperature, instead of being restricted to the Carbon emissions adopted in the Kyoto Protocol on responsibility sharing. It is shown the sensibility of the results to the variation of the parameters from different authors used for simulating the climate response based in the so-called Brazilian Proposal (BP). It is also discussed the methodological and scientific aspects of the BP being discussed by an expert group coordinated by SBSTA/UNFCCC and results of energy sector and land use change contributions by groups of countries.

Regional Variations in Energy Consumption of Appliances: Conditional Demand Analysis Applied to Brazilian Households

The objective of this paper is to emphasize theresponsibility of developed countries to implement the Climate Convention, as well as the role ofdeveloping countries in CO2 emissions controlwhile sustaining their rights to increase energyconsumption per capita during the development process. Itis shown that the growth in CO2

Greenhouse gases and initial findings on the carbon circulation in two reservoirs and their watersheds

emissions fromfossil fuel consumption in North America, excludingMexico, from 1990 to 1996 was 3.7 times higherthan that of Latin America in absolute terms. Thecumulative contribution to global warming, expressedas the mass of the gas multiplied by time (GtCy), can becalculated as the integration of the atmosphericconcentration of the emitted gas along time, witha weight function in the integrand to simulate theclimate response. To simulate climate response,we used the superposition of exponential decay functions with different decay constants. Thehistorical contributions of the OECD countries,the Eastern European countries and theex-Soviet Union, and from all developingcountries are considered. The future contributionsare computed in three scenarios. All of them showthat emissions from Non-Annex I countrieswill become higher than those of Annex I countriessoon after 2010, while the curves of atmosphericconcentration will cross one another later, not muchbefore 2050, and the respective contributions toglobal temperature increase will cross about 2090.

Putting solid household waste to sustainable use: a case study in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Estimating the true consumption of appliances in use is important both for modeling and short term forecasting of electricity demand, as well as for planning and assessing Demand Side Management (DSM). This paper applies the new technique known as Conditional Demand Analysis (CDA) to estimate consumption of these appliances. This was made possible due to a major survey carried out for the Brazilian National Electricity Conservation Program by the Brazilian electric utility companies while they were still state owned. Results were checked against traditional appliance energy consumption figures, and investigations carried out to ascertain if differences were due to regional variations in consumption patterns from northern to southern Brazil.

The declared barriers of the large developing countries waste management projects: the STAR model

the overlying water. Bubbles containing mainly CO2, and CH4 also rise from this fresh sediment layer. We draw the lower boundary at the surface below which all carbon is permanent (i.e. not susceptible to mobilization and on its way to fossilization). We estimate that this boundary is somewhere between 5‐20 cm below the water-sediment interface. At this depth humic substances are already resistant to further carbon decomposition, as can be seen from the constant C/Si ratio starting at about this depth. In fact, the lower boundary could be described as lying in the two-dimensional region where this ratio is constant from this point down. Reservoir carbon inputs into the black box come through rivers, underground water, rainfall, and occasional diffusive absorption. Carbon outputs are effluent outflow, permanent sedimentation, and diffusive and bubbling emissions such as CH4 and CO2.

Geração hidrelétrica, termelétrica e nuclear

The management of solid residues has, in recent decades, been a source of concern for public administrators the world over. Experiments in the sustainable use of such residues are highly relevant in social and environmental terms, stimulating widespread interest and debate, with considerable research going into sustainability projects. In many areas, however, adequate public funding for sustainable-use projects is hard to come by. One of the major reasons for this is that public authorities, particularly in times of financial constraints, are reluctant to invest in undertakings in which the economic returns are difficult to quantify. Official scrutiny of the expenditures of public authorities is also normally heavily influenced by cost-benefit analyses. The specific objective of this article is to show that putting solid domestic residue (household solid waste) to sustainable use is capable of generating economic returns, as well as environmental benefits for society as a whole. These economic returns can be set out in financial statements, which may, in turn, be used to justify expenditures by public authorities on sustainable-use projects and as a basis for further investment in such incentives. We drew on the findings of existing research into sustainable use, undertaken by the Municipal Urban Cleaning Company in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to establish a conceptual framework for setting out the economic results of the collection of household solid waste.

Gross Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Brazilian Hydro Reservoirs

The aim of this study is to investigate and describe the barriers system that precludes the feasibility, or limits the performance of the waste management projects through the analysis of which are the declared barriers at the 432 large waste management projects registered as CDM during the period 2004-2014. The final product is a waste management barriers conceptual model proposal (STAR), supported by literature and corroborated by projects design documents. This paper uses the computer assisted qualitative content analysis (CAQCA) methodology with the qualitative data analysis (QDA) software NVivo®, by 890 fragments, to investigate the motives to support our conclusions. Results suggest the main barriers classification in five types: sociopolitical, technological, regulatory, financial, and human resources constraints. Results also suggest that beyond the waste management industry, projects have disadvantages added related to the same barriers inherent to others renewable energies initiatives. The STAR model sheds some light over the interactivity and dynamics related to the main constraints of the industry, describing the mutual influences and relationships among each one. Future researches are needed to better and comprehensively understand these relationships and ease the development of tools to alleviate or eliminate them.