Chapter 3: Energy Systems

The focus of SOCCR-2 is on the scientific understanding of U.S. and North American carbon cycle stocks and fluxes, in the context of and interactions with global scale budgets and climate change impacts in managed and unmanaged systems. Carbon stocks and fluxes in soils, water (including oceans), vegetation, aquatic-terrestrial interfaces (coastal/ estuaries/ wetlands), human settlements, agriculture, forestry etc. are included. This chapter assesses the contribution of the North American energy system to the global carbon cycle, including the identification of pathways to greater energy efficiency with lower emissions. The system - defined by energy-related activities in Canada, Mexico, and the United States - includes primary energy sources; the infrastructure to extract, transport, convert, transmit, distribute, and use these resources; and the socioeconomic and political structures and dynamics associated with these processes (Romero-Lankao et al., 2014).