This book presents a unique analysis of the sustainability performance of various renewable energy sources, based on Brazilian case studies. The evaluation also covers the potential held by regions with diverse socioeconomic and environmental characteristics and how they affect the development of each source. Considering that energy is essential to sustaining and improving modern society, the answer to the current energy dilemma lies in the development of a system that comprises multiple renewable, reliable, and sustainable energy sources. Brazil, which has a predominantly renewable electricity grid, has the privilege of being home to a range of different sustainable sources, although most of its electricity comes from hydroelectric power plants. With that in mind, this book has the primary objective of developing a performance evaluation system for important renewable sources in Brazil (solar, wind, and hydro), taking into account different scenarios and investor profiles. The analysis is based on the study of sustainability indicators related to the technical, economic, social and environmental aspects of the evaluated energy systems. As the availability of renewable sources is very location-specific, the scope of this book covers two Brazilian States with distinct characteristics. It makes it possible to determine which renewable energy source is most adequate from a sustainability perspective, and in light of the analyzed scope and investor profile.

This monograph offers analyses of construction activities using various key concepts and assessments of sustainable development, and provides students and researchers with methodologies and design aspects for the sustainable development of the built environment. Additionally, the book demonstrates various national and international policies for assisting architects, engineers and policy makers in understanding the relevant decision-making approaches to sustainable development in construction. The book begins by reviewing the background of sustainability and sustainable development. The focus then turns to the effects of climate change on the built environment, including impacts of energy and carbon emissions, as well as constraints on water and waste management. The remaining chapters discuss the necessary approaches to achieve sustainable waste management, energy efficient building design, and resilience and adaptation in the built environment In eight chapters, the book encourages readers to think independently, logically and objectively about the complex issues presented by the applications of sustainable development in construction, including resource efficiency, environmental impacts, human health, building economics and social development.

Crises in Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Industries: Disasters and Environmental Challenges provides an overview of both natural and manmade disasters occurring in oil, gas and petrochemical industries while also covering special solutions based on their types. This volume includes the effects of natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods and hurricanes as well as manmade incidents including fire events, explosions and the release of dust and toxic substances on various related units and plants. In addition, the long-term side effects on both humans and the environment resulted from these industries are presented. Problems such as releasing wastes and venting gases into the environment and challenges from overusing the natural resources and producing noise pollutants are also discussed in detail. - Introduces the effects of natural disasters on the oil, gas and petrochemical industries - Describes the effect of manmade disasters on oil, gas and petrochemical industries - Discusses the long-term side effects of oil, gas and petrochemical units on humans and the environments

Virtually all fiscal measures influence people's health, through their impacts on behaviour, consumption, income and wealth. A narrow subset of fiscal measures, however, can be more directly aimed at improving health by targeting behaviours and risks that are known to be strongly associated with health outcomes. The purpose of this book is to discuss the subject of these measures, which we define as 'health taxes'. The book aims to enumerate key health taxes of interest, explore their positive and negative effects, and how these effects are influenced by the design of these taxes and the context in which they are applied. We ask how and where they can be implemented. Critically, we build an argument throughout the book for why policymakers across government should care about health taxes.

This volume gathers selected peer-reviewed papers presented at the XXVI International Joint Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management (IJCIEOM), held on July 8-11, 2020 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The respective chapters address a range of timely topics in industrial engineering, including operations and process management, global operations, managerial economics, data science and stochastic optimization, logistics and supply chain management, quality management, product development, strategy and organizational engineering, knowledge and information management, work and human factors, sustainability, production engineering education, healthcare operations management, disaster management, and more. These topics broadly involve fields like operations, manufacturing, industrial and production engineering, and management. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable resource for those engaged in optimization research, operations research, and practitioners alike.

This report is the first OECD review of Brazil’s environmental performance. It evaluates progress towards sustainable development and green growth, with a focus on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and protected areas.

This report synthesises key findings on biodiversity and ecosystem services from the Environmental Performance Reviews completed for Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru between 2013 and 2017. The report aims to provide a sense of the common challenges facing these Latin American countries ...