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The document highlights a growing problem where U.S. transportation fuels are becoming 'dirtier' as oil companies shift toward unconventional sources like tar sands and use high-emission extraction methods such as fracking. It argues that while vehicle efficiency has improved by 20 percent, these gains are undermined by the increasing emissions associated with extracting and refining oil, which can vary from less than 50 to 250 kilograms of CO2e per barrel. To counter this, the report advocates for eliminating wasteful practices like flaring, requiring better emissions disclosure, and shifting toward advanced biofuels made from wastes and perennial grasses. It also emphasizes the role of electric vehicles, noting that their climate benefit depends on the grid; for example, charging an EV in California produces only 35 percent of the emissions of a conventional vehicle.

The study finds that ethanol produced from cane molasses in Indonesia results in a 67% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to gasoline, with emissions estimated at 29 gCO2e per MJ. While the Net Energy Value is -7 MJ/l, the Net Renewable Energy Value is 17.7 MJ/l and the energy yield ratio is 6.1. The analysis indicates that results are highly sensitive to molasses price, ethanol yield, and sugarcane yield, and suggests that energy and environmental gains can be improved through biogas recovery from wastewater and surplus bioelectricity generation via efficient cogeneration using sugarcane biomass residues.

A Union of Concerned Scientists analysis finds that battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) generate approximately 50 percent fewer lifetime global warming emissions than comparable gasoline cars in the U.S., despite higher initial manufacturing emissions. The report highlights that the emissions benefits of EVs increase as the electricity grid shifts toward renewable energy, noting that the average EV currently produces emissions equivalent to a gasoline vehicle achieving 68 MPG.

The Union of Concerned Scientists finds that driving on electricity produces lower global warming emissions than the average new gasoline car in every U.S. region. While battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) have higher manufacturing emissions due to lithium-ion battery production, this is offset by lower operational emissions, resulting in lifetime emissions approximately 50% lower than gasoline counterparts. The analysis highlights that the electricity source used for charging and manufacturing is the most critical factor in determining an EV's total emissions impact.

The report finds that battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) produce significantly lower lifetime global warming emissions than comparable gasoline cars, despite higher emissions during the manufacturing process. On average, BEVs sold in the U.S. produce less than half the emissions of gasoline vehicles, with the extra manufacturing burden offset within 6 to 16 months of driving. The environmental benefit of EVs increases as the U.S. electricity grid shifts from coal to renewable energy sources.

Hammarby Sjöstad is a sustainable urban district in Stockholm developed on a former industrial brownfield. The project utilizes the 'Hammarby Model,' a closed-loop system integrating waste, energy, and water cycles to minimize environmental impact. While the district achieved significant success in soil remediation, transit-oriented development, and waste management—including a vacuum waste system that reduced landfill use to 0.7%—it did not fully meet its original energy consumption targets. Economically, the project demonstrated that high environmental standards can increase property values, with a 25% increase in value despite 5% higher construction costs. The development was characterized by a 'triple helix' collaboration between government, private developers, and academia.

The report uses the IISD GPP Model to quantify the benefits of greening public procurement in China across five product categories: air conditioners, lighting, cars, paper, and cement. It argues that while some categories require an initial 'cost of leadership,' others pay for themselves through energy savings and avoided health and environmental costs. The document proposes 13 recommendations, including making GPP mandatory for state-owned enterprises and extending it to infrastructure procurement.

The document examines the potential for mid-level ethanol blends (E25 to E40) to improve fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. transportation sector. It highlights that a significant portion of the existing vehicle fleet and fuel infrastructure can accommodate these blends with moderate costs. Research indicates that increasing ethanol content can enhance engine performance and that a nationwide E25 blend could reduce transportation GHG intensity by 5 to 9 percent.

The document examines the potential for mid-level ethanol blends (E25-E40) to serve as high-octane fuels, reducing GHG emissions and increasing efficiency for both existing and future internal combustion engines. It highlights that while infrastructure and 'blend wall' challenges exist, a significant portion of the current U.S. fleet—including 17.4 million FlexFuel Vehicles and 80% of cars newer than 2001 (for E15)—can accommodate higher blends. The text details the role of ethanol in preventing engine knock, the lifecycle GHG benefits of corn and cellulosic ethanol, and the DOE's Optima Initiative aiming to reduce petroleum consumption by 30% by 2030.

The report examines China's green public procurement (GPP) landscape, highlighting a reliance on two product lists: the mandatory Energy Conservation Product (ECP) list and the voluntary Environment Labeling Product (ELP) list. It identifies significant barriers to effectiveness, including a fragmented legal framework split between the Bidding Law and the Government Procurement Law, a lack of life-cycle cost assessments, and corruption. The authors argue for a transition toward performance-based specifications and the expansion of GPP to include services and construction projects. To support this, the report introduces the 'China Green Public Procurement model,' a system dynamics tool designed to monetize and quantify the trade-offs and multiplier benefits of more ambitious GPP policies across various product categories.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) supports the readoption of California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) through 2020 but argues against reducing the indirect land use change (ILUC) emissions score for corn ethanol. CATF contends that current modeling, specifically the CA GTAP-BIO model, underestimates emissions by ignoring water scarcity, failing to differentiate between commercial and non-commercial forests, and using flawed yield price elasticity assumptions. The document also highlights the negative impact of corn ethanol on global food security and proposes liquid ammonia as a scalable, low-carbon fuel alternative for the post-2020 period.

The document describes the OECD's framework for the safety of manufactured nanomaterials, centered on the Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN). It details four steering groups focusing on testing, risk assessment, exposure measurement, and sustainable use. Key mechanisms discussed include the Mutual Acceptance of Data (MAD) and Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) to harmonize international chemical safety standards.

The document argues that traditional techno-economic approaches to energy access are insufficient and proposes an ecosystem services lens to better understand how biomass use affects human welfare and the environment. It details three primary research methodologies: demand-side surveys, supply and value chain analysis, and economic modeling of consumer choice, with a particular focus on the charcoal sector in sub-Saharan Africa.

The report assesses 50 environmental impact assessment frameworks, finding that few focus exclusively on livestock. It identifies nine key impact dimensions—including GHG emissions, water use, and biodiversity—and notes a significant lack of ex-ante analysis and explicit rationale for indicator selection. The review highlights that while many frameworks target policymakers, they often rely on short-term data and lack clear methodologies for up-scaling results across different spatial and temporal scales.

The report identifies a portfolio of low-carbon opportunities for the European steel sector, ranging from energy efficiency and fuel shifting to breakthrough technologies like Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) and increased recycling. It argues that current EU ETS mechanisms, particularly free allocation based on historic volumes, fail to provide sufficient incentives for deep decarbonisation and high-value product innovation. The authors recommend a structural reform of leakage protection, specifically proposing a combination of output-based allocation and the inclusion of consumption in the EU ETS to create a credible business case for breakthrough technologies and material efficiency. The report also emphasizes the need for sustained public funding for process innovation to overcome the 'valley of death' in technology scaling and suggests strengthening links between steel producers and downstream consumers, particularly in the automotive and construction sectors, to drive demand for lightweight, high-strength steels.

The report examines performance-based specifications (PBSs), which define desired outputs rather than prescriptive inputs, as a tool for sustainable public procurement. While PBSs can drive innovation and circular economy models, they shift the public sector's burden to the evaluation and monitoring stages and require robust data and financial frameworks to succeed.

The document examines Gevo's GIFT platform, which converts corn sugars into isobutanol for use as a fuel additive or chemical feedstock. It highlights that achieving 'advanced biofuel' certification from the US EPA is critical for the technology's commercial success, as the product would otherwise be only marginally better than ethanol in terms of carbon impact. The report notes significant financial instability at Gevo, including a risk of insolvency and potential delisting from the NASDAQ. Economically, retrofitting an ethanol refinery with GIFT and a combined heat and power (CHP) system would increase capital requirements by approximately 60%. Additional risks include past process contamination at a Minnesota plant, ongoing patent litigation with Butamax, and the emergence of potentially cheaper ethanol-to-butanol conversion technologies.

The report examines the 'peace potential' of oil and gas resources, analyzing how joint development, revenue sharing, and infrastructure projects like pipelines can either mitigate or fuel conflict. It contrasts successful cooperation, such as the Saudi-Kuwaiti Partitioned Neutral Zone and Turkey-Iraqi Kurdish relations, with failures in the Caucasus and disputes in the South China Sea and Eastern Mediterranean. The study also addresses the role of international environmental law and the climate impact of transitioning from coal to natural gas.

The analysis compares a 'No-Policy' scenario with a 'Policy Proposal' scenario for 2020, focusing on the upstream emissions from the production, processing, and transport of fuels. Under the base case using EPA figures, the policy proposal is projected to increase total upstream greenhouse gas emissions by 9.9 million metric tons (MMT) of CO2e, consisting of a 9.6 Tg increase in CO2 and a 0.3 Tg CO2e increase in methane. A sensitivity 'high case', which assumes non-hydraulic fracturing methane emissions are twice the EPA's 2011 reports, projects a total increase of 16.9 MMT CO2e. The document notes that upstream CO2 emissions are higher for natural gas (ratio of 0.108 to stack CO2) than for coal (ratio of 0.0193 to stack CO2).

The report assesses the volume and composition of municipal solid waste in Tallinn, evaluates current collection models, and compares the environmental impact of different waste treatment scenarios. It identifies significant contamination in bio-waste and packaging streams and argues that a centrally managed waste service model is most effective for achieving recycling goals, despite legislative restrictions in Estonia. Life cycle assessments indicate that mass incineration is more environmentally beneficial than landfilling or mechanical-biological treatment (MBT) due to energy recovery and the avoidance of fossil fuels.