Application of Energy-Carbon Flow Charts in High-Tech Industrial Park

Is there a turning point in the relationship between income and energy use and/or carbon emissions?

The unavoidable option for socially sustainable development is a low-carbon economy. One of the essential steps for China to attain high-quality development is reducing carbon emissions. It is necessary to realize low-carbon development in Sichuan, as it is not only an important economic zone but also an ecological protected area. The concurrent relationship among energy consumption, carbon emissions, and economic growth was examined in this study using the Tapio decoupling indicator, and the factors affecting energy consumption and carbon emissions in Sichuan were broken down using the logarithmic mean Divisia indicator (LMDI). The findings demonstrate a fundamental relative decoupling relationship between Sichuan's energy use and carbon emissions. Analysis of energy consumption and carbon emissions in Sichuan Province from 2005 to 2020 shows distinct patterns. From 2005 to 2012, in 2014, and from 2016 to 2020, the relationship between energy use and carbon emissions was relatively decoupled, with decoupling values ranging between 0 and 1. Absolute decoupling occurred in specific years: 2010, from 2013 to 2018, and in 2020. These periods are characterized by economic growth alongside reductions in carbon emissions. Factors affecting energy consumption and carbon emissions were consistently analyzed, showing similar impacts throughout the study periods. We find that population and economic growth are the main driving forces of these effects. The effects of energy intensity and industrial structure mainly play restraining roles, and the latter has a slightly weaker effect than the former.

This report surveys world energy use and carbon emissions patterns, with particular emphasis on the non-OECD countries. The non OECD is important not only because it currently makes up 84% of world population, but because its energy consumption, carbon emissions, population, and grow domestic product have all been growing faster than OECD`s. This presentation has seven major sections: (1) overview of key trends in non-OECD energy use and carbon emissions since 1970; (2) Comparison and contrasting energy use and carbon emissions for five major non OEDC regions (former Soviet Union and eastern Europe, Pacific Rim including China, Latin America, other Asia; Africa; 3-7) presentation of aggregate and sectoral energy use and carbon emissions data for countries within each of the 5 regions.

The urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon has differential impacts on energy use and carbon emissions in buildings depending on the climate of the region and the urban planning strategies in place. This study explores the differential effects of UHI on energy use and carbon emissions in warm and cold climates, using North Africa and North Europe as case studies. We address the following research questions: 1) How does the UHI phenomenon impact energy use and carbon emissions in buildings in these regions? 2) What urban planning strategies are currently in place to mitigate the negative impacts of UHI on energy demand and emissions in these regions? 3) How effective are these strategies in mitigating the negative impacts of UHI on energy demand and emissions in both warm and cold climates? 4) What additional urban planning strategies could be implemented to reduce further the negative impacts of UHI on energy demand and emissions in both warm and cold climates? The UHI increases energy bills and emissions due to the higher demand for cooling energy in warm climates, while in cold climates, UHI reduces energy demand and emissions by decreasing the need for heating energy. Urban planning strategies, such as incorporating green space, using reflective materials, choice of colors, and designing for natural ventilation, can effectively mitigate the negative impacts of UHI on energy demand and emissions in both warm and cold climates. However, the effectiveness of these strategies varies depending on the climate of the region and the specific urban context. In this study, we will provide a recommendation for urban planning strategies that can be implemented to further reduce the negative impacts of UHI on energy demand and emissions in both warm and cold climates. Our study contributes to the understanding of the UHI phenomenon. It provides insights for urban planners and policymakers in developing effective strategies to reduce energy use and carbon emissions in buildings and cities.

Many areas in the world with chronic and intermittent water shortages rely on informal water systems for much of their daily water needs with water from tanker trucks, purchased bottled water, rainwater cisterns, or pumped well water. These alternative sources all require varying amounts of energy. Water–energy nexus studies have not yet considered environmental impacts of informal water sources, specifically from an energy intensity and carbon emissions perspective. This study compares energy use and carbon emissions per cubic meter and per capita for both formal and informal water sources for a neighborhood in Beirut Lebanon. Energy use and carbon emissions are calculated for three delivery stages per source including pumping, treatment and distribution. The results show that informal sources have the highest energy use and carbon emissions. From the total water delivered to households, they account for 83% of energy use and 72% of carbon emissions per capita, even though they only provide 23% of total delivered volume per capita. Bottled water and distribution of water by tanker trucks have the highest energy intensity values per cubic meter of all water sources. Moreover, internal building water pumping, which is not typically accounted for, takes up to 14% of total energy use and 23% of total carbon emissions per capita compared to other water sources. To address model uncertainty, we conduct a sensitivity analysis, showing that the base model presented reasonably stable results and identifying the most sensitive parameters for further research. While informal sources help communities overcome water shortages they result with negative impacts. Strategies are proposed to improve the environmental performance of the Lebanese electrical grid, reduce water losses, replace inefficient truck engines and incentivize household to invest in low carbon technologies.

How does urbanization affect energy carbon emissions under the background of carbon neutrality?

Governments around the world are actively exploring strategies to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. In addition to technological progress, promoting a transformation of residents’ behaviors to a low carbon mode is also a solution. Many people are concerned about how to reduce carbon emissions while ensuring human well-being. Starting from the comparative analysis of two main theories of human well-being, this paper sorted out existing well-being measurement methods from the perspectives of “top-down” and “bottom-up” and further sorted out research on the relationship between human well-being and energy carbon emissions. While “top-down” research is conducive to the layout of macro policies, “bottom-up” research can better help to promote the transformation of society to a low carbon life by estimating the energy consumption and carbon emissions contained in human needs. Current research discusses human well-being, human needs, energy use and carbon emissions, respectively, but they are not systematically integrated. Furthermore, this paper proposes a framework combining these aspects to analyze the relationship between human well-being and carbon emissions. In addition, this paper suggests future research directions.

This article takes Henan Province as the research object and analyzes the relationship between the green energy use, carbon emissions and economic growth in Henan Province by constructing a VAR model. The results show that: 1) There is a long-term equilibrium relationship between the green energy use, carbon emissions and economic growth in Henan Province. The green energy use can simultaneously promote the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and sustainable growth of economy; 2)The article examines the “creative” effect and “destructive” effect of green energy use on economic structure in Henan Province, and the “creative” effect is greater than the “destructive” effect, so, the green energy use can help Henan Province to achieve green and low-carbon economic growth; 3) Carbon dioxide emission and economic growth are the important factors affecting the green use of energy in Henan Province. Recently, the call of national carbon emission reduction and the pressure of economic development transition have induced Henan Province to change to a clean and green use of energy to some extent; 4) The contribution rate of green energy use to economic growth shows an inverted U-shaped trend, which increases first and then decreases. Carbon emission has influence on both green energy use and economic growth to a certain degree. Finally, targeted recommendations are presented to promote the green energy use and ensure the coordinated and sustainable development of economy and environment of Henan Province.

The Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region (BTH) is a key area with large carbon emissions in China and a demonstration area for renewable energy development, facing the dual test of energy structure transformation and the achievement of carbon peak and neutrality goals. This study analyzes the main influencing factors of carbon emissions based on Kaya’s identity, establishes a socio-economic-energy-carbon emission coupled with system dynamics (SD) model, and designs five scenarios to predict and compare the future trends of energy consumption, renewable energy development and carbon emissions in BTH, respectively. The results show that (1) under the baseline scenario, energy carbon emissions in BTH will peak around 2034, and the intermediate development scenario, the transition development scenario and the sustainable development scenario all show that the region can achieve the emission peak target around 2030. (2) The renewable energy output value of BTH will reach CNY 486.46 billion in 2050 under the baseline scenario, and the share of renewable energy consumption will exceed 50% under the sustainable development scenario. (3) Increasing energy tax regulation and scientific and technological investment and adopting more stringent policy constraints can guarantee the lowest emission intensity while maintaining the current social and economic development level. This study predicts the development of a renewable energy industry and carbon emissions in BTH under different scenarios and provides policy recommendations for the future energy transition in the region.

Transport profoundly affects energy use and carbon dioxide emissions in the tourism sector. The Wulingyuan Scenic Area (WSA), a natural heritage destination in China, is chosen for the case study. The energy consumption and carbon emission of 10 types of tourism transportation modes at the destination are measured and analyzed using a bottom‐up approach for the period of 1979 to 2010. Scenarios were created to project the effects of single and multiple factors on energy consumption and carbon emission by tourism transportation during 2011‐2020. The results showed the following: (a) there is a large difference in energy consumption and carbon emission per capita and per kilometer per capita among the 10 vehicle modes; (b) the monthly energy consumption and carbon emission of tourism transportation differed significantly, the month with the highest (October) are respectively 6.8 and 4 times that of the lowest month (January); (c) the highest annual growth rate of energy consumption and carbon emission are respectively as 32.16% and 27.98% during 1979‐2010; and (d) the amount of energy consumption and carbon emission in the multiple factor scenarios are lower than that in the reference and single factor scenarios during 2011‐2020.

A future bamboo-structure residential building prototype in China: Life cycle assessment of energy use and carbon emission

Effectively addressing today’s energy challenges requires advanced technologies along with policies that influence economic markets while advancing the public good.

Climate change is a global problem facing mankind, and achieving peak CO2 emissions and carbon neutrality is an important task for China to respond to global climate change. The quantitative evaluation of the trends of urban energy consumption and carbon emissions is a premise for achieving this goal. Therefore, from the perspective of urban expansion, this paper analyzes the complex relationship between the mutual interactions and feedback between urban population, land expansion, economic growth, energy structure and carbon emissions. STELLA simulation software is used to establish a system dynamics model of urban-level carbon emissions effects, and Changsha city is used for the case study. The simulated outputs of energy consumption and carbon emissions cover the period from 1949 to 2016. From 1949 to 2016, Changsha’s total energy consumption and carbon emissions per capita have continuously grown. The total carbon emissions increased from 0.66 Mt-CO2 to 60.95 Mt-CO2, while the per capita carbon emissions increased from 1.73 t-CO2/10,000 people to 18.3 Mt-CO2/10,000 people. The analysis of the structure of carbon emissions shows that the industrial sector accounted for the largest proportion of emissions, but it had gradually dropped from between 60% and 70% to about 40%. The carbon emissions of residential and commercial services accounted for less than 25%, and the proportion of transportation carbon emissions fluctuated greatly in 2013 and 2016. From the perspective of carbon emissions effects, carbon emissions per unit of GDP had a clear downward trend, from 186.11 t-CO2/CNY104 to 1.33 t-CO2/CNY104, and carbon emissions per unit of land showed two inflection points: one in 1961 and the other in 1996. The general trend showed an increase first, followed by a decrease, then a stabilization. There is a certain linear correlation between the compactness of urban shape and the overall trend of carbon emissions intensity, while the urban shape index has no linear correlation with the growth rate of carbon emissions. The carbon emissions assessment model constructed in this paper can be used by other municipalities, and the assessment results can provide guidance for future energy planning and decision making.

PurposeThe growth of the Indian economy is accompanied by the rising trend of energy utilisation and its devastating effect on the environment. It is vital to understand the nexus between energy utilisation, climate and environment degradation and growth to devise a constructive policy framework for achieving the goal of sustainable growth. This study aims to analyse the long- and short-run association and direction of association between energy utilisation, carbon emission and growth of the Indian economy in the presence of structural break.Design/methodology/approachThe study probes the association and direction of association between variables at both aggregate (total energy utilisation, total carbon emission and gross domestic product [GDP]) and disaggregates level (coal utilisation and coal emission, oil utilisation and oil emission, natural gas utilisation and natural gas emission along with GDP) over the time period of 50 years, i.e. 1971–2020. Autoregressive distributed lag model is used to examine the association between the variables and presence of structural break is confirmed with the help of Zivot–Andrews unit root test. To check the direction of association, vector error correction model Granger causality is performed.FindingsAggregate carbon emissions are affected positively by aggregate energy consumption and GDP in both short and long run. Bidirectional causality exists between total emissions and GDP, whereas a unidirectional causality runs from energy consumption towards carbon emission and GDP in the long run. At disaggregate level, consumption of coal energy impacts positively, whereas GDP influences coal emission negatively in the long run only. Furthermore, consumption of oil and GDP influences oil emissions positively in the long run. Lastly, natural gas is the energy source that has the fewest emissions in both short and long run.Originality/valueThere is a rapidly growing body of research on the connections and cause-and-effect relationships between energy use, economic growth and carbon emissions, but it has not conclusively proved how important the presence of structural breaks or changes within the economy is in shaping the outcomes of the aforementioned variables, especially when focusing on the Indian economy. By including the impact of structural break on the association between energy use, carbon emission and growth, where energy use and carbon emission are evaluated at both aggregate and disaggregate level, the current study aims to fill this gap in Indian literature.

Does new energy consumption conducive to controlling fossil energy consumption and carbon emissions?-Evidence from China