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- Pelkmans, L., et al.
(author)
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Monitoring the Impact of Sustainability Certification in Relation to Biomass Use for Energy
- 2012
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In: EUBCE 2012 proceedings. - 9788889407547 ; , s. 2013-2018
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Since the public has expressed concern about unintended consequences associated with potentially unsustainable biomass production and use for energy (or biofuels), producers of biomass feedstocks in the private sector as well as governmental and non-governmental organisations have initiated many generally unlinked efforts to define 'sustainable' bioenergy production and supply chains. These 'sustainability' standards may be implemented through certification systems involving 3rd party audit, and influence production systems and trade of bioenergy products from producers to consumers of ‘green' energy. At present numerous biomass and biofuel sustainability certification systems are being developed or implemented by a variety of private and public organisations. Systems are applicable to different feedstock production sectors (forests, agricultural crops), different bioenergy products (relatively unprocessed forest residues, ethanol, biodiesel, electricity), and whole or segments of supply chains (production system, chain of custody from growers to energy consumers). It is expected that such a wide range of systems, developed largely without coordination among the organisations involved, could be problematic for all stakeholders along the supply chain in individual sectors and for those involved in deployment of bioenergy systems globally. These are individual feedstock producers, companies and commodity sectors that must comply with these systems either to maintain market access and share or to comply with legislative mandates, and also consumers who prefer to purchase certified green energy, and regulatory agencies and local to national governments that may be involved in enforcing sustainability standards. The potential for confusion among the actors, depression of markets, and unnecessary restrictions on sustainable trade seems high. Within IEA Bioenergy a strategic study was initiated between Task 40, Task 43 and Task 38 to monitor the actual implementation process of sustainability certification of bioenergy, evaluate how stakeholders are affected by certification initiatives, quantify the anticipated impact on worldwide bioenergy trade, assess the level of coordination among schemes, and make recommendations to remove barriers which may depress markets and reduce sustainable trade. Interaction with different stakeholder groups is one of the main objectives of this study, so we anticipate the recommendations being representative of the whole bioenergy certification sector and therefore having high potential to improve an otherwise uncoordinated interest in ensuring bioenergy trade is sustainable.
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| 7. |
- Goovaerts, I., et al.
(author)
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Galaxy main sequence and properties of low-mass Lyman-α emitters towards reionisation as viewed by VLT/MUSE and JWST/NIRCam
- 2024
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 683
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. Faint, star-forming galaxies are likely to play a dominant role in cosmic reionisation. Great strides have been made in recent years to characterise these populations at high redshifts (z > 3). Now, for the first time, with JWST photometry beyond 1 μm in the rest frame, we can derive accurate stellar masses and position these galaxies on the galaxy main sequence.Aims. We seek to assess the place of 96 individual Lyman-α emitters (LAEs) selected behind the A2744 lensing cluster with MUSE IFU spectroscopy on the galaxy main sequence. We also compare the derived stellar masses to Lyman-α luminosities and equivalent widths to better quantify the relationship between the Lyman-α emission and the host galaxy.Methods. These 96 LAEs lie in the redshift range of 2.9 < z < 6.7, with their range of masses extending down to 106 M⊙ (over half with M⋆ < 108 M⊙). We used the JWST/NIRCam and HST photometric catalogues from the UNCOVER project, giving us excellent wavelength coverage from 450 nm to 4.5 μm. We also performed an SED fitting using CIGALE, fixing the redshift of the LAEs to the secure, spectroscopic value. This combination of photometric coverage with spectroscopic redshifts allows us to robustly derive stellar masses for these galaxies.Results. We found a main sequence relation for these low-mass LAEs of log SFR = (0.88 ± 0.07 − 0.030 ± 0.027 × t) log M⋆ − (6.31 ± 0.41 − 0.08 ± 0.37 × t). This is in relative agreement with the best-fit results of prior collated studies; however, here we see a steeper slope and a higher normalisation. This indicates that low-mass LAEs towards the epoch of reionisation lie above the typical literature main sequence relations derived at lower redshift and higher masses. In addition, by comparing our results to UV-selected samples, we can see that while low-mass LAEs lie above these typical main sequence relations, they are likely not singular in this respect at these particular masses and redshifts. While low-mass galaxies have been shown to play a significant role in cosmic reionisation, our results point to the likelihood that LAEs hold no special position in this regard.
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| 8. |
- Pelkmans, Luc, et al.
(author)
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The role of sustainability requirements in international bioenergy markets
- 2013
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In: International Bioenergy Trade. - : Springer. - 9789400769816 ; , s. 125-149
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- As the main driver for bioenergy is to enable society to transform to more sustainable fuel and energy production systems, it is important to safeguard that bioenergy deployment happens within certain sustainability constraints. There is currently a high number of initiatives, including binding regulations and several voluntary sustainability standards for biomass, bioenergy and/or biofuels. Within IEA Bioenergy studies were performed to monitor the actual implementation process of sustainability regulations and certification, evaluate how stakeholders are affected and envisage the anticipated impact on worldwide markets and trade. On the basis of these studies, recommendations were made on how sustainability requirements could actually support further bioenergy deployment. Markets would gain from more harmonization and cross-compliance. A common language is needed as ‘sustainability’ of biomass involves different policy arenas and legal settings. Policy pathways should be clear and predictable, and future revisions of sustainability requirements should be open and transparent. Sustainability assurance systems (both through binding regulations and voluntary certification) should take into account how markets work, in relation to different biomass applications (avoiding discrimination among end-uses and users). It should also take into account the way investment decisions are taken, administrative requirements for smallholders, and the position of developing countries.
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| 9. |
- Pelkmans, Luc, et al.
(author)
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The role of sustainability requirements in international bioenergy markets
- 2014
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In: Lecture Notes in Energy. - Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands. - 2195-1292 .- 2195-1284. ; 17:1, s. 125-149
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- As the main driver for bioenergy is to enable society to transform to more sustainable fuel and energy production systems, it is important to safeguard that bioenergy deployment happens within certain sustainability constraints. There is currently a high number of initiatives, including binding regulations and several voluntary sustainability standards for biomass, bioenergy and/or biofuels. Within IEA Bioenergy studies were performed to monitor the actual implementation process of sustainability regulations and certification, evaluate how stakeholders are affected and envisage the anticipated impact on worldwide markets and trade. On the basis of these studies, recommendations were made on how sustainability requirements could actually support further bioenergy deployment. Markets would gain from more harmonization and cross-compliance. A common language is needed as 'sustainability' of biomass involves different policy arenas and legal settings. Policy pathways should be clear and predictable, and future revisions of sustainability requirements should be open and transparent. Sustainability assurance systems (both through binding regulations and voluntary certification) should take into account how markets work, in relation to different biomass applications (avoiding discrimination among end-uses and users). It should also take into account the way investment decisions are taken, administrative requirements for smallholders, and the position of developing countries.
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