To curb greenhouse gases and mitigate climate change is one of the biggest challenges human society face today. Carbon dioxide (CO2) has accumulated rapidly in the atmosphere as a consequence of burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. The aim of this study is to explore two methods to store carbon dioxide in geological formations and biological sinks. The aim is also to discuss the two mitigation options from a sustainable perspective and whether it can lead to a better environment and benefits for local and global societies. The research questions are: Which method to store carbon dioxide, geological or biological, is the most effective? Which method to store carbon dioxide, geological or biological, has the greatest potential to promote sustainable development for local communities?The method used is a comparative case study and presents four case studies that explore the potential for CO2 storage offshore in Norway and Brazil; and in tropical forests in Mexico and Brazil.

Methane (CH4) is a greenhouse gas (GHG) that contributes to the global warming. One of the largest sources of methane is livestock, preferably ruminants which alone counted for 30% of the total agricultural anthropogenic methane emissions in the year of 2000. The reason to why ruminants are such large contributors of methane are that the gas is produced in the rumen by enteric formation and leaves the animals by belching, exhaling or by the excreta.Diets high in concentrates can result in a lower emission of methane. Also diets with a high content of starch, such as alfalfa-grass, have a methane-decreasing. It is profitable to reduce enteric methane formation since that form of methane is unavoidably lost.

During the last decades the housing sector has increased continuously, and housings and services accounted for 40 % of the energy usage in Sweden during 2011. The expansion in number of buildings in society has resulted in an increase in both energy usage and emissions of greenhouse gases. It is crucial to enable a sustainable development of society and as a result, the demand to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide is a current question. In this study, the carbon dioxide emitted from the housing sector in Stockholm is estimated. The housing sector can be divided into different types of houses such as apartment blocks, single-family houses and holiday houses. By collecting information of the energy purchased in respective households, a computational model is generated that calculates the total emission of carbon dioxide.

The eutrophication of inshore seas, lakes and watercourses is mainly due to leaching of nitrogen and phosphorus (P) from agriculture. Many efforts are made to reduce the lea-kage of phosphorus in Sweden and the Baltic Sea countries. Phosphorus is also a finite resource and the mining of good quality raw material gets more and more difficult. Se-dimentation dams in combination with filters is one relatively new method to separate P from run-off and drainage water from agricultural land. This study was a part of an IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute?s project which tests the capacity and func-tion for separation of phosphorus in four phosphorus filters.

During the past decade environmental challenges have been intensified and given increased attention. This implies that businesses in all sectors strategically need to manage these challenges. The service sector is often considered as a sector with a low environmental impact if the direct environmental aspects are assessed. Still, it has been argued that the environmental impact that the sector gives rise to can create severe indirect environmental impacts. The products and services that are produced by this sector have a relatively limited use of physical resources which may make the environmental impact challenging to visualize. Banks belong to the service sector and it is partly banks that make the development of societies possible.

I arbetet undersöks hur kunskap om systemtänkande och ekosystemtjänster kan användas vid utformning av ett produktionslandskap ansluten till fjärrvärme i området Elleholm i Karlshamns kommun. Anledningen till arbetets fokus är slutsatser om utbyggnad av resurshushållande växthussystem i Elleholm som drogs under masterkursen Energy Landscapes, våren 2014. Målet med examensarbetet har varit att bidra med djupare analys av växthusutbyggnad utifrån teori och att med en landskapsarkitektonisk vinkling rekommendera placering och utformning av utbyggnad inom ett avgränsat projektområde. Systemtänkande och ekosystemtjänster undersöktes först teoretiskt i en litteraturstudie och applicerades sedan praktiskt i en fallstudie. Litteraturstudien visar att systemtänkande baseras i en vetenskaplig teori, systemteori, som influerat flertalet discipliner och även påverkat teori inom landskapsarkitektur. Landskapet kan ses som ett komplext och öppet system med flera subsystem och systemnivåer. Begreppet ekosystemtjänster (ekosystemens direkta och indirekta bidrag till människors välbefinnande) har i sin tur uppkommit för att försöka påverka och styra samhällsplanering mot beslut som möjliggör ekosystem att fortsätta ?ge? människan ekosystemtjänster. Ekosystemtjänster kan ses som komponenter i ett landskapssystem. I fallstudien applicerades teori kring landskapssystemets nivåer och ekosystemtjänster för att få kunskap om system inom projektområdet i Elleholm.

Den textila industrin, en egen värld, är nu under rampljuset som en av de största miljöpåverkande industrierna. Precis som i fallet med många andra industrier så måste textilbranschen intensivt arbeta med att minska sin negativa påverkan på miljön. Slutmålet måste vara att helt balansera uttagen och insättningarna så att man skapar en bransch som blir klimat- och miljöneutral. I denna rapport har en livscykelanalys gjorts på en underställströja från Helly Hansen tillverkad av 99 % polypropylene. Inom denna livscykelanalys har vi noggrant studerat och undersökt fakta för att hitta de processer som har den största påverkan på miljön.

The crucial factor for successful municipal climate work is that there are driving forces. Most importantly is that the senior officials and politicians in the municipality are dedicated to the cause considering that they have the power to influence and make a change. Besides proactive and committed individuals, it is necessary that the work is organized and anchored by clear and concrete documents and control systems. It is also important that the work is continuously monitored and evaluated. To collaborate with other municipalities, authorities or participate in various networks is another factor contributing to the improved climate work in the form of exchange of information, knowledge and experience.A major driving force for municipalities to improve themselves is the distribution of state aid and grants.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects on a simulated wastewater plant regarding GHG emissions and use of energy and resources when implementing source separated wastewater systems. The effects were studied for different restrictions of effluent quality and for different temperatures on the influent. The simulation model BSM2G calibrated for Käppala wastewater treatment plant was used. The task was executed by simulating nine different scenarios with an increase in influent load from new connections equivalent to 3, 10 and 30 % of the present connections. These new connections were served by conventional, urine separated or black water separated systems.

The use of fossil fuels such as coal and gas are a contributor to the global warming. The climate change is a worldwide problem with far reaching consequences that is believed to be very expensive. The United Nations has been introducing a framework convention on climate change. One component of the convention is the Kyoto protocol. The protocol is obligating the developed countries to decrease their emissions of greenhouse gases by 5.2 percent during the time period 2008-2012.

De internationella klimatförhandlingarna handlar om att hitta lösningar för att stabilisera halten av växthusgaser i atmosfären och att uppnå tvågradersmålet. För att uppnå målet finns olika utsläppsmål att sträva mot. Ett är ett utsläppstak där varje land inte får släppa ut mer än 2 ton CO2-ekv/capita per år för att tvågradersmålet ska uppnås. Ett annat utsläppsmål är att minska de nationella utsläppen med en viss procentsats. EU:s del i minskningen ligger på 80-95 % till 2050.Som en del av arbetet mot målet presenterade EU i mars 2011 en färdplan för ett utsläppsnålt samhälle.

The purpose of the house which is the basis of this report is to be able present itself on the market as a relatively cheap and at the same time a climate friendly choice. The house is supposed to be able to be built anywhere in Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia in a short period of time. This puts demand on what kind of heating system the house can have, since not all places have the geographic advantage of being able to use geothermal or district heating. Therefore the heating system choices will only include those that are not limited by their geographic location. The house will be built in modules which only require the groundwork to be done before the house can be erected. In this report "System solutions for plus or passive-housing" a comprehensive literature search has been conducted as well as a number of calculations.

Aquaponics is a food production system consisting of a consecutive cultivation of plants and aquatic animals, fish or shellfish, in recirculating water. The plants feed on the nutritious effluents from the fish tank and bacteria converts ammonia from the fish tank into nitrate that is absorbed by the plants. The plants receive nutrition and the fish gain purified water. The environmental impact of the production of fish meal and fish oil used in conventional fish feed includes a large consumption of fossil fuels with subsequent carbon dioxide emission. The aquaponic system can be made environmentally sustainable and self-supporting if supplemented with a vermicompost/vermiculture for the production of worm protein as a fish feed. Vegetable waste from the hydroponic part of the system can be reused as worm feed in the compost and the protein rich worms can be harvested, dried and grinded and brought back to the aquaculture as fish feed. As a first step in this direction, I have investigated the effect of recycling of vegetable waste in vermicomposts on the growth and number of earthworms (this was evaluated after harvesting). The hypotheses were that earthworms can be cultivated in the vegetable waste and that by adding manure to the vermicompost it is possible to obtain a nutrient content adequate to support a continuous worm harvest, in other words create a vermiculture. Eisenia fetida and Dendrobaena veneta were grown in 20 L bins containing peat mixed with either poultry or cattle manure. The proportions were 70% peat and 30 % manure. Discarded plant parts from lettuce cultivation was added to the vermicomposts (35 g per week) and water was supplied with 0.8 L per week.

Solid waste management is one of the most essential functions in a country to achieve asustainable development. In India, it has been one of the least prioritized functions during thelast decades. The most common ways to treat waste in India today are open dumping anduncontrolled burning. These methods are causing severe environmental pollution and healthproblems. India is one of the world?s largest emitter of methane gas from waste disposal.Since methane is a strong greenhouse gas, even small emissions have large impact on theclimate.

In organic animal production, synthetic amino acids are not allowed. Therefore, a higher level of crude protein is needed in the diet to pigs, which lead to more nitrogen (N) excreted in the faeces and urine. N can be emitted to the air in the form of e.g. ammonia (NH3), which contributes to eutrophication and acidification and as nitrous oxide (N2O), which is a very potent greenhouse gas. The emission of N can be reduced by e.g.