IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute

To evaluate direct greenhouse gas emissions from Membrane Biological Reactor (MBR), measurements of nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) were made at a pilot-scale MBR treating municipal wastewater Measurements were conducted during two campaigns with some changes in processes, i.e. introducing a pre-aeration tank in the second measurement, different distributions of aeration in the treatment line, not the same wastewater inflow rate, two types of ultrafiltration membrane. It was found that about 0.004% and 0.07% of the total ammonium loads were emitted as N2O, CH4 emissions were 0.026% and 0.12% of incoming TOC (0.008% and 0.04% of incoming COD) in 2014 and 2018. The obtained N2O emission values were relatively low.

The study suggested that a high aeration at the beginning of the treatment line may result in significantly high emissions of both N2O and CH4. A significant change in aeration in the membrane ultrafiltration tank did not have the same impact. The MBR process is known for high quality effluent but have been questioned due to its higher carbon footprint due to energy consumption. This study gave a reference case about direct GHG emissions from MBR process and provide information for the further evaluation of MBR processes.

In order to evaluate the role of air pollution and air pollution control for climate policies, SwedishEnvironmental Protection Agency invited leading experts and scientists, senior administrators andnegotiators, international organisations and industry to an international workshop in Gothenburg, Sweden,19-21 October 2009.

Air quality is a common issue of large concern all over the world. Threats to health and ecosystems have initiated policy measures ranging in scale from local to international.

Though significant steps have been taken in many countries, the problems are not solved and are also increasing in many areas. 

The project Closing the loop of industrial plastic aims to increase the circular use of materials from industrial plastic packaging through closed loop recycling. Within this project, a study has been made where the goal was to compare the climate change impact of four different scenarios for three case studies.

The four main scenarios are Closed loop recycling, Closed and open loop recycling, Open loop recycling, and Incineration and the three case studies included in the study are Packaging made of expanded polystyrene (EPS), big bags made of polypropylene (PP) and film made of low-density polyethylene (LDPE).

For all three case studies, the main conclusion is that the climate impact is lower for closed loop recycling than for all three alternatives mentioned above. Additionally, the study identifies the second-best option as a mix of Closed and open loop recycling, followed by Open loop recycling, and finally, Incineration.

This report highlights the critical role that cities play in addressing climate challenges and the strength they possess as centres for innovation and action. Specifically, it focuses on the planned city district of Jägersro in Malmö, Sweden, and its ambition to be the most sustainable district in the Öresund region.A central aspect of the report is the recognition that cities contribute to approximately 70% of greenhouse gas emissions, which simultaneously means that they have enormous potential to be catalysts for positive change. This is linked to the goals of the Paris Agreement and the need to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.Jägersro, the new city district, is described as a dense green mixed-use development that will include housing, workplaces, schools, preschools, retail, and more, over an area of approximately 40 hectares.

A key factor here is that the project has set ambitious sustainability goals and is striving to become the most sustainable district in the Öresund region.The report introduces two methods for calculating and managing climate impact. First, in line with the Paris Agreement, the climate impact of the district and its inhabitants is linked to the remaining CO2 budget for 2050 according to IPCC calculations. Second, the concept of climate neutrality is used, where the climate impact for the district is calculated up to 2050 with a system boundary linked to the builders' and landlords’ sphere of influence.A central point in the report is the importance of clear system boundaries and delimitations for accurately measuring climate impact from cities. This is discussed in conjunction with the complex interaction between urban areas and their surroundings, which involves multifaceted processes and activities. Clear guidelines are advocated to avoid underestimation or overestimation of climate impact and to address key factors effectively.

The report presents a dynamic mathematical scenario tool to quantify the climate impact from the district. This model includes various variables, including construction, energy consumption, and mobility, which provides a more realistic picture of how these factors interact and affect climate impact.This report describes and develops the benefits and challenges of using the CO2e budget model for an urban development project such as Jägersro, including the complexity involved in calculating climate impact for an entire city district. Its adaptability and flexibility are mentioned as critical factors, especially as the community develops and new sustainability strategies are implemented. This dynamic modelling enables real-time adjustment to better address uncertainties in the future.

The report goes into specific categories that have a major impact on the climate, including buildings, energy, and person-related emissions such as food, consumption, and mobility. Measures to balance climate impact, such as "embedded wood," "biochar," and "trees," are identified as important sources of carbon sinks.In conclusion, the report emphasizes that for cities to lead the climate transition, a holistic perspective and collaboration at all levels are required. Urban planning, political decisions, and citizen engagement are mentioned as essential factors for creating green and sustainable cities that not only contribute to achieving climate goals but also provide attractive and healthy living environments for todays and future generations.Key points•    Cities play a critical role in addressing climate challenges and have the potential to be catalysts for positive change.•    The planned city district of Jägersro in Malmö, Sweden, is ambitious to be the most sustainable district in the Öresund region.•    The report introduces two methods for calculating and managing climate impact from cities: the CO2e budget model and the concept of climate neutrality.•    The report also presents a dynamic mathematical scenario tool to quantify the climate impact from Jägersro.•    The report concludes that for cities to lead the climate transition, a holistic perspective and collaboration at all levels are required.Research implicationsThe report's findings have several important implications for research on climate impact from cities. First, it emphasizes the importance of clear system boundaries and delimitations for accurately measuring climate impact. Second, it suggests that dynamic modelling can be a valuable tool for quantifying climate impact from cities, especially when considering the complex interactions between different factors. Third, it highlights the need for collaboration between researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to develop and implement effective strategies for reducing climate impact from cities.Policy implicationsThe report's findings also have several important implications for policy. First, it suggests that cities should adopt ambitious sustainability goals, such as the goal of becoming climate neutral. Second, it recommends that cities use clear and consistent methods for calculating climate impact. Third, it suggests that cities invest in research and development to develop new technologies and strategies for reducing climate impact.Public engagement implicationsThe report's findings also implications for public engagement. It emphasizes the need for public awareness of the importance of climate action in cities. 

Ancient semi-natural grasslands in Europe are important for ecosystem service (ES) provision. Often, the surrounding matrix contains ‘Grassland Green Infrastructure’ (GGI) that contain grassland species which have the potential to supplement grassland ES provision across the landscape. Here we investigate the potential for GGI to deliver a set of complementary ES, driven by plant composition.We surveyed 36 landscapes across three European countries comprising core grasslands and their surrounding GGI. We calculated community-level values of plant species characteristics to provide indicators for four ES: nature conservation value, pollination, carbon storage and aesthetic appeal.Inferred ES delivery for GGI was substantially lower than in core grasslands for conservation, pollination and aesthetic appeal indicators, but not for carbon storage.

These differences were driven by the GGI having 17% fewer plant species, and compositional differences, with 61% of species unique to the core grasslands. In addition, connectivity to the core, the amount of GGI and inferred seed dispersal distances by livestock, were strongly positively correlated with conservation value, pollination and aesthetic indicators. All ES indicators showed similar responses to the GGI spatial structure and distance to the core, suggesting robust effects of these drivers on ES. We projected that improved landscape-wide delivery of nature conservation value and pollination could be achieved through targeted GGI management. Reductions in the distances seeds would need to disperse, more GGI, along with a diversification of the GGI elements, were predicted to enhance service credits.We conclude that for vegetation-related ES, species surveys can be employed to assess potential ES delivery. Creating and enhancing GGI is a useful landscape management strategy to supplement the ES delivered by ancient grasslands.

The biogenic and fossil climate impacts that results from forestry were estimated within the productive forests that are owned by the forest company Sveaskog, in different parts of Sweden. These results were compared with the results from corresponding calculations made for all productive forests that are present in the same parts of Sweden. The calculations showed a biogenic uptake of CO2 to the forest ecosystems in the productive forests owned by Sveaskog in all parts of Sweden. The estimated area based net uptake of CO2 was higher for the productive forests owned by Sveaskog, compared the estimated values for all productive forests present for all different parts of Sweden, except south Norrland. The estimated, area based emissions of fossil GHG were somewhat lower in the productive forests of Sveaskog, as compared to the corresponding estimates for all productive forests in the different parts of Sweden, except for south Norrland.

In a future warmer climate, extremely dry, warm summers might become more common. Soil weathering is affected by temperature and precipitation, and climate change and droughts can therefore affect soil chemistry and plant nutrition. In this study, climate change and drought effects on soil weathering rates and release of Ca, Mg, K and Na were studied on seven forest sites across different climates in Sweden, using the dynamical model ForSAFE.

Two climate scenarios were run, one medium severity climate change scenario from IPCC (A1B) and one scenario where a future drought period of 5 years was added, while everything else was equal to the first scenario. The model results show a large geographical variation of weathering rates for the sites, without any geographical gradient, despite the strong dependence of temperature on weathering and the strong gradient in temperature in Sweden. This is because soil texture and mineralogy have strong effects on weathering.

The weathering rates have a pronounced seasonal dynamic. Weathering rates are low during winters and generally high, but variable, during summers, depending on soil moisture and temperature. According to the model runs, the future yearly average weathering rates will increase by 5 %–17 % per degree of warming. The relative increase is largest in the two southeastern sites, with low total weathering rates. At sites in southern Sweden, future weathering increase occurs throughout the year according to the modelling.

In the north, the increase in weathering during winters is almost negligible, despite larger temperature increases than in other regions or seasons (5.9 ∘C increase in winter in Högbränna; the yearly average temperature increase for all sites is 3.7 ∘C), as the winter temperatures still will mostly be below zero. The drought scenario has the strongest effect in southern Sweden, where weathering during the later parts of the drought summers decreases to typical winter weathering rates.

Soil texture and amount of gravel also influence how fast the weathering decreases during drought and how fast the soil rewets and reaches normal weathering rates after the drought. The coarsest of the modelled soils dries out and rewets quicker than the less coarse of the modelled soils. In the north, the soils do not dry out as much as in the south, despite the low precipitation, due to lower evapotranspiration, and in the northernmost site, weathering is not much affected. Yearly weathering during the drought years relative to the same years in the A1B scenario are between 78 % and 96 % for the sites.

The study shows that it is crucial to take seasonal climate variations and soil texture into account when assessing the effects of a changed climate on weathering rates and plant nutrient availability.

The high proportion of unidentified extractable organofluorine (EOF) observed globally in humans and the environment indicates widespread occurrence of unknown per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

However, efforts to standardize or assess the reproducibility of EOF methods are currently lacking. Here we present the first EOF interlaboratory comparison in water and sludge. Three participants (four organizations) analyzed unfortified and PFAS-fortified ultrapure water, two unfortified groundwater samples, unfortified wastewater treatment plant effluent and sludge, and an unfortified groundwater extract.

Participants adopted common sample handling strategies and target lists for EOF mass balance but used in-house combustion ion-chromatography (CIC) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods.

EOF accuracy ranged from 85-101% and 76-109% for the 60 and 334 ng L-1 fluorine (F) - fortified water samples, respectively, with between-laboratory variation of 9-19%, and within-laboratory variation of 3-27%. In unfortified sludge and aqueous samples, between-laboratory variation ranged from 21-37%.

The contribution from sum concentrations of 16 individual PFAS (∑PFAS-16) to EOF ranged from 2.2-60% but extended analysis showed that other targets were prevalent, in particular ultra-short-chain perfluoroalkyl acids (e.g. trifluoroacetic acid) in aqueous samples and perfluoroalkyl acid-precursors (e.g. polyfluoroalkyl phosphate diesters) in sludge.

The EOF-CIC method demonstrated promising accuracy, robustness and reporting limits but poor extraction efficiency was observed for some targets (e.g. trifluoroacetic acid).

Achieving the European Union's (EU-27) climate targets for 2050 requires moving away from fossil fuels, for which the necessary heating and cooling (H&C) technologies are mostly already available in the domestic sector. These H&C technologies, such as heat pumps and photovoltaic and thermal solar panels, reduce air pollution and thus have positive climate and health effects, but require the increased use of limited materials.

Although the integration of such technologies into technology packages (TPs) further increases energy efficiency, monetary values of the climate and health effects of these TPs have not been assessed from a life cycle perspective including the production phase. Therefore, we monetize the full impacts of adopting such innovative H&C TPs in refurbished and new residential and tertiary buildings in the EU-27. With that aim, we combine an analysis of air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions from the life cycle assessment of the TPs with long-term scenarios of H&C demand, to generate country-specific emissions (2030 and 2050).

Accordingly, climate and health impacts are estimated using the Greenhouse gas and Air pollution Interactions and Synergies and Alpha RiskPoll models. The total estimated monetary benefits of TP implementation in the EU-27, including its health effects (dominated by reduced premature mortality) and climate impacts, are approximately 15–49 billion €2015 in 2030 and 34–123 billion €2015 in 2050. Furthermore, the benefits are 13 %–15 % higher if the health effects on all European countries are considered. These substantial benefits can justify the broader deployment of TP technologies in the future.

This study employs a life cycle perspective to analyze the carbon footprints of various waste streams, evaluating 52 cases across 26 types of household waste in Sweden, with a focus on waste prevention and management. It demonstrates that while recycling can reduce carbon emissions, prevention could significantly enhance these benefits, with savings ranging from −36.5 to −0.01 kg-CO2-eq per kg of waste.

Notably, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), textiles, tires, residual household, and plastic waste are the top five fractions most amenable to prevention on a per mass basis. Further analysis, considering waste volumes, shows that targeted recycling of materials like WEEE, metals, and paper could account for over 80% of potential carbon savings. However, the majority of potential climate impact is attributed to the energy recovery of unsorted (mixed) waste, contributing to more than 90% of total impacts. Redirecting all mixed waste to recycling could triple carbon savings, but focusing on prevention could potentially increase benefits twenty-sevenfold, particularly for waste like WEEE, food, and textiles.

This research provides a valuable tool for identifying key areas in waste management to optimize climate benefits and enhance public awareness. However, it advises using local data for precise planning due to inherent uncertainties.

The OP-FLYKLIM project investigated the potential to reduce the climate impact of aviation through climate optimization of flight routes to reduce the high-altitude effects of aviation with a focus on climate forcing from contrails and contrail cirrus under Scandinavian conditions. We have developed a calculation methodology where areas with potential to form persistent contrails are identified. The duration and climate forcing of contrails and contrail cirrus in these areas are calculated using data from SMHI's meteorological forecast model. Information on the position and climate forcing potential of these areas has been used to quantify climate forcing of flights on selected routes over a period of several months, and to test optimization of route planning for reduced climate effect with the flight planning system used by the airline Novair.

Climate forcing from contrails and contrail cirrus during the flight calculated with the OP-FLYKLIM methodology is compared with calculations of climate forcing from the CO2 emitted from combustion of the jet fuel. This enables a direct comparison of the climate benefit of avoidance of contrail formation with its fuel penalty. In the future this method could be deployed in flight planning systems to enable climate optimization. The method can also be used in cost-benefit analyses of climate-optimized flight planning.

We have also investigated several issues that are important for route optimization in general and for correct assessment of whether persistent contrails occur. Meteorological models of good quality in terms of forecasts of winds, temperature and humidity at flight altitude is of great importance both for ordinary route planning and for climate optimization. In OP-FLYKLIM, SMHI has tested streaming data from aircraft (so-called Mode-S EHS data) through air traffic control radars and local data receivers directly to their operational forecast model, which showed improved quality of forecasts.A persistent contrail occurs only if the humidity in the area of the flight is supersaturated relative to ice but is not already containing clouds.

In the project, we have thus investigated the distribution of ice-saturated areas across Scandinavia as an average over several years using data from the ECMWF global numerical weather prediction (NWP) model. The results show a quite high potential for the formation of persistent contrails and thus for high-altitude effects in the area. Comparison to published data on the frequency of occurrence of ice supersaturated layers over Sweden and Europe indicate that observations and model data are broadly consistent. However, when comparing to observed relative humidity with respect to ice (RHI) from radiosondes directly it becomes clear that both the ECMWF model and the MetCoOp model used by SMHI for short range forecasts underestimate RHI near the tropopause, where most flights take place.

As an additional means to evaluate the performance of NWP models with respect to ice supersaturation SMHI initiated observations of contrails by their climate observers. The observations were then matched against flights in the area and RHI calculated by the SMHI forecast model to determine if observations of persistent contrails also corresponded to ice supersaturation in the model. In agreement with the evaluation against radiosondes it was found that the NWP model underestimated RHI in connection with observed contrails.

A correct calculation of fuel consumption and emissions during the flight is a prerequisite both for calculating its high-altitude effects and for monitoring of aviation emissions by national and international authorities. In OP-FLYKLIM the fuel consumption calculated with FOI3 methodology, used for the Swedish reporting of the national emissions from aviation to the UNFCCC and other international reporting obligations, has been compared with true fuel consumption obtained from data from the flight data recorder (FDR data) onboard aircraft on several routes. Comparison showed differences below 10% that could be explained by differences between route plans and type of aircraft in the FDR data and the FOI calculation, respectively.

I detta projekt har en klimatberäkningsmetod tagits fram med syftet att kunna beräkna klimatpåverkan för en bransch bestående av både produkter och tjänster. Metoden har testats för Golvbranschens Riksorganisation (GBR) som ett led i branschens arbete mot att formulera en klimatfärdplan.

Byggbranschen står för ca 20% av samhällets klimatpåverkan varav cirka hälften kommer från materialanvändning. År 2018 tog byggsektorn fram en färdplan för att nå en klimatneutral värdekedja i byggsektorn år 2045. Som en del av färdplanen ska byggbranschens aktörer senast år 2022 ha kartlagt sina utsläpp och satt egna klimatmål. Golvbranschens Riksorganisation (GBR) initierade ett samverkansprojekt tillsammans med IVL för att skapa en gemensam överblick för hur klimatpåverkan från hela golvbranschen kan beräknas, en bransch bestående av både produkter och tjänster.

Genom detta projekt har en klimatberäkningsmetod inspirerat av GHG-protokollet tagits fram för att vara tillämpbar på en bransch med både produkter och tjänster. Metoden har testats med GBR som fallstudie, och en klimatberäkning av branschen har gjorts för basår 2021.

Baserat på klimatberäkningen står avfallshanteringen av ytskikt (förbränning) för GBR:s största klimatpåverkan, följt av materialtillverkning och tredjepartsleveranser.

I samarbete med GBR har relevanta klimatåtgärder identifierats, och dessa åtgärder har graderats efter potential till sänkta klimatutsläpp för GBR som helhet. Då klimatpåverkan från produktskedet och förbränning är väldigt stora i förhållande till GBR:s totala klimatpåverkan är det relevant med åtgärder riktade mot dessa områden, såsom klimatförbättrade material och att ytskikten får utnyttja en större del av sin tekniska livslängd. Det är också relevant med åtgärder riktade mot sänkt klimatpåverkan från transporter, såsom användning av alternativa drivmedel.

Climate change concerns the energy sector to a high degree because the sector is sensitive both to changing conditions for power and heat production, and to changing demand for electricity, heating and cooling. In this study potential consequences of climate change on different parts of the Swedish energy sector were assessed in a series of workshops, where climate and energy scientists, energy systems experts and analysts met with representativesof the energy sector to assess the vulnerability of the sector and consider what climate indicators could be used to assess impacts of relevance. The impact of climate change depends on the energy type. Hydropower, for which production is naturally linked to weather and climate, is significantly impacted by climate change. For other forms of production, such as nuclear power, other factors such as e.g. policy and technology development are more important. The series of workshops held in this study, where different aspects of climate change and consequences were discussed, proved very successful and has increased our understanding of climate impacts on the energy system.

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The report provides detailed information on emission trends and European actions on air quality during 2016-2020, in support of the second UNEP global summary report of policies and programmes to reduce air pollution. The pollutants in focus are sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, non-methane volatile organic compounds, ammonia, and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). 

Thanks to the continued strengthening of policies developed under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, EU policies and legislation, as well as national legislations, emissions of most monitored air pollutants have decreased. Since 2010, this trend has continued in Western, Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe. Emissions are however increasing in Central Asian countries. Looking at the entire European and Central Asian region covered in this report, there is one pollutant that stands out: ammonia. Ammonia emissions have in all sub-regions increased during 2010-2017, and there is no sign of decline.

The EU member states and Norway, UK and Switzerland, with the largest past emission reductions, are also those with well-developed air quality monitoring and assessment infrastructure. In addition, these countries report the largest portfolio of further actions to reduce emissions in a cost-effective manner, including investments in energy efficiency improvements as well as in clean technologies. Awareness and progress in efforts to improve air quality assessment infrastructures in Eastern and South Eastern Europe as well as Central Asia are improving, and there are several examples of knowledge-sharing initiatives and capacity building efforts.

В докладе представлена детальная информация относительно трендов выбросов и мер по обеспечению качества воздуха в Европе за период 2016-2020 в поддержку второго глобального обзора ЮНЕП стратегий и программ по снижению загрязнения воздуха. Рассматриваемые в докладе загрязнители – диоксид серы, оксиды азота, неметановые летучие органические соединения, аммиак и мелкодисперсные твердые частицы (PM2.5).

Благодаря продолжающемуся усилению стратегий, разработанных в рамках Конвенции ЕЭК ООН о Трансграничном Загрязнении Воздуха на Большие Расстояния (КТЗВБР), стратегиям и законодательству ЕС, а также национальным законодательствам, выбросы большинства загрязнителей снизились. Этот тренд продолжается и после 2010 года в странах Западной, Центральной, Восточной и Юго-Восточной Европы. Выбросы однако растут в странах Центральной Азии. Во всем общеевропейском регионе, рассматриваемом в рамках данного доклада, можно выделить один загрязнитель, отличающийся трендом от остальных – аммиак. Выбросы аммиака в период 2010-2017 возросли во всех под-регионах, и признаков снижения пока не наблюдается. 

Страны-члены ЕС, Норвегия, Великобритания и Швейцария, являясь странами с наиболее заметными снижениями выбросов в прошлом, обладают хорошо развитой инфраструктурой мониторинга и оценки качества воздуха. Кроме того, по результатам опроса, в этих странах наиболее разнообразно портфолио дальнейших мер по затратно-эффективному снижению выбросов, включая инвестиции в повышение энергоэффективности и в чистые технологии. В странах Юго-Восточной Европы, Восточной Европы и Центральной Азии наблюдается рост осведомленности и активизация усилий по улучшению инфраструктуры оценки качества воздуха; имеются хорошие примеры инициатив по обмену опытом и знаниями и укреплению потенциала.