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    Evaluation of New Zealand's absolute environmental sustainability performance : development and application of a method to assess the climate change performance of New Zealand's economic sectors : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Science in Environmental Life Cycle Management, School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Chandrakumar, Chanjief
    Existing environmental sustainability assessment methods such as Life Cycle Assessment and environmental footprints quantify the environmental impacts of a system and compare it to a system that is similar to the nature or the function of the examined system. Hence, they are referred to as relative environmental sustainability assessment (RESA) methods. Although they provide useful information to improve the eco-efficiency of the system at a particular economic level, they generally fail to inform the environmental sustainability performance of a system against the so-called absolute environmental boundaries. Therefore, the significance of the contribution of an examined system to the overall environmental impacts of human activities is mostly overlooked. To address the limitations associated with RESA methods, researchers have suggested the development of absolute environmental sustainability assessment (AESA) methods, which guide how human societies can operate and develop within absolute environmental boundaries. In this context, this research investigated the development of an innovative AESA framework called ‘Absolute Sustainability-based Life Cycle Assessment’ (ASLCA) based on the environmental indicators and absolute environmental boundaries proposed in three popular frameworks: Planetary Boundaries, Sustainable Development Goals and Life Cycle Assessment. The proposed framework was applied to assess the production-based climate change performance of New Zealand agrifood sector, particularly in terms of the two-degree Celsius (2°C) climate target. The results showed that the production-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of New Zealand agri-food sector and its products exceeded the assigned shares of the 2°C global carbon budget. Similar results were observed when the consumptionbased climate change performance of a typical New Zealand detached house was evaluated against the 2°C climate target. The framework was then applied to address the consumption-based climate change performance of an economic system using environmentally-extended multi-regional inputoutput analysis. This framework was used to evaluate the consumption-based climate change performance of New Zealand’s total economy (covering 16 sectors) in 2011 against the 2°C climate target, and the outcomes were compared with the production-based climate change performance in the given year. The consumption-based analysis showed that New Zealand exceeded the assigned share of the 2°C global carbon budget; the consumptionbased GHG emissions were 26% more than the assigned carbon budget share. However, the sector-level analysis indicated that three of the 16 sectors (financial and trade services, other services and miscellaneous) were within their assigned carbon budget shares. When the consumption-based GHG emissions were compared with the production-based GHG emissions, New Zealand was a net exporter of GHG emissions in 2011, and the dominating sectors were quite different. The results clearly imply that a significant reduction in GHG emissions associated with New Zealand’s consumption and production activities are necessary to stay within the assigned shares of the 2°C global carbon budget. Given that AESA methods (including ASLCA) are built upon multiple value and modelling choices, the outcomes of these studies may vary depending upon these choices. Therefore, the influence of different value and modelling choices on the outcomes of the ASLCA was investigated, particularly regarding the choice of GHG accounting method, the choice of climate threshold, the choice of approach to calculate the global carbon budget, and the choice of sharing principle to assign a share of the global carbon budget. The analysis showed that, for each GHG accounting method the largest uncertainty was associated with the choice of climate threshold, followed by the choice of sharing principle, and then the choice of calculation method for the global carbon budget. Overall, the proposed ASLCA framework aims to address the question, “Are the environmental impacts of a system within the assigned share of the Earth’s carrying capacity, and if not, what is the required reduction?” The outcomes of this research are useful to support policymakers in understanding the climate impacts of different economic sectors, goods and services, relative to global climate targets. The approach provides a basis for developing a range of environmental impact reduction targets that can potentially catalyse innovation and investment in the environmentally-transformative activities and technologies that are needed to enable human societies to operate and develop within the Earth’s “safe operating space”.
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    Least-cost domestic heat energy investments for Great Barrier Island under restrictions on the harvesting of native fuelwood species : a thesis to the value of 75 points presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Agricultural Economics in Natural Resource and Environmental Economics at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1995) Wharton, Tony L
    The Auckland City Council's 1992 district plan for Great Barrier Island introduced areal restrictions upon the clearance of manuka and kanuka (teatree), which is one of the main sources of energy for domestic heatloads on the island. The restrictions will force many households to change the way in which they allocate their resources to heat energy production, and many households will incur additional compliance costs as a result. This study addresses the alternative energy investments available to households on the island (including teatree and eucalyptus biomass energy crops; petrol, diesel, solar, and wind generated electricity; LPG; and solar waterheating) and identifies the least-cost energy investments under the restrictions for a number typical island households. Biomass growth rates are derived for a teatree fuelwood crop, and the cost of domestic heat production is modelled for each household through the use of energy expenditure models. The optimal energy investment for each model household, both under restrictions and in the absence of restrictions, is determined, and the total financial cost of compliance for each model household is calculated. The effectiveness of the council's current restrictions and policies is assessed, and alternative energy and environmental conservation policies are evaluated. The study found that the current policies were not effective, and that 63% of model households would incur additional energy costs from complying with the restrictions. Of all the energy sources compared, teatree fuelwood was found to produce heat at the lowest cost per kW. However the high capital cost of wood-fuelled appliances made LPG the least-cost fuel type where no appliances were owned, and appliance capital costs were found to be the main factor determining the overall economics of a particular energy system. The study also found that rather than promoting the development of eucalyptus fuelwood crops on Great Barrier Island, the promotion of sustainable methods of teatree fuelwood crop management, such as the Swiss method, would both lead to environmental conservation and would satisfy the heat energy needs of island households.
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    PREM : Personalised residential energy model : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree Master of Applied Science in Natural Resource Engineering at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2004) Keller, Reto
    Climate change is a major world environmental problem accepted by these governments who have ratified the Kyoto Protocol which aims to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) internationally 5% below the 1990 level during 2008 to 2012. The Protocol needed the ratification of Russia to get into force as the United States and Australia withdrew from the protocol. The New Zealand government ratified the protocol with the negotiated goal to reduce the GHGs back to the level of 1990. The main driver of this study is to help people reducing their personal GHG emissions in order to meet the government's objective of the Kyoto Protocol. Many people know about climate change and understand they will need to change their lifestyle significantly to reduce their GHG emissions. The how and where to change is often unclear. People need to be incentivised in order to encourage emission reduction. Some GHG-calculators already exist, but mostly without practical personalised suggestions and financial effects. This study aimed to develop a model which targeted responses by individuals based on their lifestyle and interests. The Personalised Residential Energy Model (PREM) which was developed in this study uses findings of energy related behaviours from existing psychological and technical research to develop an easy to handle and individualised computer model to assess a person's current energy demand. It includes household and travel demand and assesses the general ecological behaviour. Users will be provided with relevant information to assist them to seek practical and economic solutions in order to reduce their personal CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions which is the main GHG in the assessed sectors. Starting with the current situation as a baseline, it establishes which behaviours have the highest probability of being undertaken by the person to lower their energy demand. Information about the financial effect and the CO2 emission reductions are provided for specific activities. Energy efficiency and conservation are the main focus of the model output. Further research could include the possible use of renewable energy. Using PREM found changes in domestic dwellings and transportation vehicles to be an important factor in reducing anthropogenic CO2 emissions. The model is made for New Zealand conditions but can be adapted to suit any other country.
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    Investigating the characterisation of temperatures within New Zealand buildings : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Physics at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2001) Pollard, Andrew Richard
    The variations in indoor temperatures between New Zealand buildings can be due to differences in the behaviour of the occupants (for example how frequently the building is occupied) or due to physical differences between the buildings (such as differing insulation levels or degree of shading). This thesis will look at some physical processes that give rise to temperature variations and will look to see how the overall variation in temperatures is affected by these physical properties. One systematic physical process affecting the indoor temperature within a building occurs when the area being considered is small (such as the living room of a house) and the degree of heat flow into the room is reasonably large, the temperature within the room will then have a tendency to increase with height resulting in a vertical temperature gradient. Detailed vertical temperature distributions are examined for two houses. Another source of variation is the differences in temperatures throughout a building. This examines the extent to which buildings are only partially heated. This has briefly been examined in this thesis by examining the contrasts between the temperature measurements throughout a set of nine houses. Some sources of physical temperature variation within a building can be unpredictable. Localised temperature anomalies can be due to the presence of specific heat flows (frequently from household appliances). This thesis contains examples of these localised sources and provides guidance for placing temperature sensors to minimise localised effects.