Projects and Related Studies
Supply Curves for Non-CO2 Trace Gases
The objective of this project is to develop detailed agronomically and economically consistent supply relationships for nitrous oxide, methane, and carbon dioxide emissions from agriculture for the purpose of conducting policy-sensitive emissions modeling of these greenhouse gases. The basic economic framework of the MiniCAM integrated assessment model is used along with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Phase II guidelines developed by the IPCC and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for national emissions inventories. The supply relationships developed in this project can either be used as a separate model to estimate emissions, or they can be included in an integrated assessment model-for example, as an enhancement of the MiniCAM version of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's (PNNL's) Global Change Assessment Model. The supply relationships are being designed so that feasibility, cost, and implications of non-CO2 mitigation actions can be tested with them. The method and database lend themselves to analyses such as:
- determining how changes in land use might effect nitrous oxide emissions,
- projecting principal agricultural sources of nitrous oxide emissions in a region, particularly fertilizer use,
- estimating the potential impact of various trends in the use and efficiency of fertilizers by regions, and
- determining the potential the importance of increased efficiency of animal waste management.
Project contact: Michael Scott