Environmental efficiency, energy efficiency and aggregate well-being of Japanese prefectures

The growing risk of climate change caused by the emission of greenhouse gases poses new challenges to contemporary countries. The development of economies is usually related to increasing levels of greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, the question arises whether it is possible to achieve sustainable economic and financial development and simultaneously reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This paper assumes it is possible if energy efficiency is increased. The aim of the paper is to show the link between energy efficiency and sustainable economic and financial development in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries for the period 2000–2018 by using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and regression analysis. The results show a slight upward trend of total factor energy efficiency (TFEE) in OECD countries for the analysed period; however, there is a difference in TFEE levels. Developed OECD countries have higher TFEE levels than developing OECD countries. The links between total factor energy efficiency and sustainable economic and financial development reveal different impacts depending on the variables taken into consideration.

Low-carbon production of iron and steel: Technology options, economic assessment, and policy

Assessing the energy cycle and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of wheat production in small Egyptian farms is essential to improve wheat productivity to meet population growth and achieve sustainable development. This study aims to compare wheat production in terms of energy use and GHG emissions for different scenarios in the Delta of Egypt and to use Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to optimize the wheat production system. Three common scenarios of the wheat production system (S-I, S-II, and S-III) from old lands with one scenario (S-IV) from newly reclaimed land were included in the study. Data were collected from small farmers through a face-to-face questionnaire and interviews in 2022–2023. The results showed that the third scenario (S-III) in the old lands had the lowest input energy consumption (42,555 MJ ha−1) and the highest output energy (160,418 MJ ha−1), with an energy use efficiency of 3.770. In comparison, the input and output energy for the newly reclaimed scenario (S-IV) were 37,575 and 130,581 MJ ha−1, respectively, with an energy use efficiency of 3.475. S-III was an optimum scenario due to its high energy indicators, such as energy productivity of 0.173 kg MJ−1. The total GHG emissions of S-III were the lowest in old lands with a value of 1432.9 kg CO2-eq ha−1, while S-IV had 1290.2 kg CO2-eq ha−1. The highest GHG emissions input was diesel fuel for machinery and irrigation, followed by manure, chemical fertilizers, and agricultural machinery use. Using mechanization in most farming operations for S-III and S-IV led to decreased losses of agricultural inputs with increasing outputs (yield and straw). Therefore, using them in wheat farming practices is recommended to increase the wheat farming system’s energy efficiency and GHG emissions.

Energy use and greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions in rainfed canola production in north eastern Iran were analyzed to find measures to reduce energy use and GHG emissions. Four production scenarios, i.e. a high-input, a low-input, a better crop management and a usual scenario, evaluated. All activities and production processes were monitored and recorded over three consecutive years. The usual scenario consumed 13 GJ ha -1 energy input, resulted in 52 GJ ha -1 energy output and GHG emissions of 1028 kg CO2-eq ha -1 and 556 kg CO2-eq t -1 . The key factors relating to energy use and GHG emissions were nitrogen fertilizer and fuel for field operations. Compared to the usual production scenario, the better crop management production scenario was significantly more efficient; it consumed 25% less input energy, needed 17% lower amount of nitrogen fertilizer, but resulted in 35% more grain yield and output energy. This scenario also resulted in 26% less GHG emissions per unit field area and 45% less GHG emissions per ton of grain. Measures of improvement in energy use and GHG emission were identified.

A feasibility study of microgrids for reducing energy use and GHG emissions in an industrial application

Better information on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and mitigation potential in the agricultural sector is necessary to manage these emissions and identify responses that are consistent with the food security and economic development priorities of countries. Critical activity data (what crops or livestock are managed in what way) are poor or lacking for many agricultural systems, especially in developing countries. In addition, the currently available methods for quantifying emissions and mitigation are often too expensive or complex or not sufficiently user friendly for widespread use.The purpose of this focus issue is to capture the state of the art in quantifying greenhouse gases from agricultural systems, with the goal of better understanding our current capabilities and near-term potential for improvement, with particular attention to quantification issues relevant to smallholders in developing countries. This work is timely in light of international discussions and negotiations around how agriculture should be included in efforts to reduce and adapt to climate change impacts, and considering that significant climate financing to developing countries in post-2012 agreements may be linked to their increased ability to identify and report GHG emissions (Murphy et al 2010, CCAFS 2011, FAO 2011).

Energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in organic and conventional farming systems in the Netherlands

The expanding petrochemical industry depends on fossil fuels both as feedstock and a source of energy and is at the heart of the intertwined global crises relating to plastics, climate, and toxic emissions. Addressing these crises requires uprooting the deep-seated lock-ins that sustain petrochemical plastics. This perspective identifies lock-ins that stand in the way of ambitious emission reductions and ending plastic pollution. We emphasize that addressing the growing plastic production and consumption requires confronting the political economy of petrochemicals. We put forward key elements needed to address the dual challenges of moving away from the unsustainable production of plastics and drastically reducing emissions from the petrochemical sector, and argue for attention to the links between fossil fuels and plastics, which in turn involves challenging entrenched power structures and vested interests linked to the fossil-based plastics economy. A critical step would be ensuring attention to the production of petrochemicals and related upstream issues in the upcoming global plastics treaty.

Bioenergy from perennial grasses mitigates climate change via displacing fossil fuels and storing atmospheric CO2 belowground as soil carbon. Here, we conduct a critical review to examine whether increasing plant diversity in bioenergy grassland systems can further increase their climate change mitigation potential. We find that compared with highly productive monocultures, diverse mixtures tend to produce as great or greater yields. In particular, there is strong evidence that legume addition improves yield, in some cases equivalent to mineral nitrogen fertilization at 33–150 kg per ha. Plant diversity can also promote soil carbon storage in the long term, reduce soil N2O emissions by 30%–40%, and suppress weed invasion, hence reducing herbicide use. These potential benefits of plant diversity translate to 50%–65% greater life-cycle greenhouse gas savings for biofuels from more diverse grassland biomass grown on degraded soils. In addition, there is growing evidence that plant diversity can accelerate land restoration. Bioenergy from perennial grasses mitigates climate change via displacing fossil fuels and storing atmospheric CO2 belowground as soil carbon. Here, we conduct a critical review to examine whether increasing plant diversity in bioenergy grassland systems can further increase their climate change mitigation potential. We find that compared with highly productive monocultures, diverse mixtures tend to produce as great or greater yields. In particular, there is strong evidence that legume addition improves yield, in some cases equivalent to mineral nitrogen fertilization at 33–150 kg per ha. Plant diversity can also promote soil carbon storage in the long term, reduce soil N2O emissions by 30%–40%, and suppress weed invasion, hence reducing herbicide use. These potential benefits of plant diversity translate to 50%–65% greater life-cycle greenhouse gas savings for biofuels from more diverse grassland biomass grown on degraded soils. In addition, there is growing evidence that plant diversity can accelerate land restoration.

A Case Study of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV in Remote Australia 2016-21

Energy inputs and greenhouse gases emissions in wheat production in Gorgan, Iran

The energy consumption pattern and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission of any rice production system is important to know the sustainability of varied cultivation and establishment technique. This study was conducted to determine the energy use pattern, GHG emission and efficiency of rice farms in puddled transplanted (PTR, rainfed) and direct-seeded rice (DSR, irrigated) production systems in Karnataka, India. The energy indices and GHG emission of different input and output in a rice production system were assessed by using energy and carbon equivalence. The efficiency of PTR and DSR farms were identified using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and energy optimization was ascertained. The key finding was excessive use of non-renewable energy inputs was observed for the PTR (92.4%) compare to DSR (60.3%) methods. The higher energy use efficiency (7.3), energy productivity (0.3 kg MJ−1) and energy profitability (6.3) were mainly attributed to the large decrease in energy inputs under DSR. The DEA showed efficiency for 26 PTR farms in comparison for 87 DSR farms. The mean technical efficiency value highlighted the scope for saving energy by 6% and 2% in PTR and DSR, respectively and showed an economic reduction of $405.5/ha with PTR versus $163.3/ha with the DSR method if these inefficient farms perform efficiently. The GHG emissions revealed that the total emissions for PTR versus DSR production caused by on-farm emissions were 86% and 65%, respectively. The DSR method also had a higher carbon efficiency ratio and carbon sustainability index (10.1 and 9.1, respectively). Thus, adoption of DSR method is imperative for reduction of energy consumption and GHG emissions to achieve the carbon sustainability.

Energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in organic and conventional grain crop production: Accounting for nutrient inflows

This study applies a directional distance function (DDF) data envelopment analysis (DEA) model to measure the environmental efficiency of 12 U.S. airlines 2013–2016 by considering flight delay and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as joint undesirable outputs. First, the environmental efficiency of airlines is compared using the CCR DEA (without flight delay) and DDF DEA (with flight delay). We find that several airlines experienced substantial changes in environmental efficiency scores when flight delay is considered. Secondly, a tobit regression is used to explore whether the environmental factors of fleet age, ownership type, freight traffic, market share, and carrier type affect airlines’ environmental efficiency. The results demonstrate that all of these factors significantly influence airline performance.

Due to large and deepening development disparities among countries, comparisons across them have gained utmost importance, both in theoretical and empirical sense. At the same time, overuse of natural resources and climate change are among the most difficult issues today’s world is facing. Consequently, there is a growing research interest in investigating the performance of countries, especially in terms of environmental and energy efficiency. This paper brings a literature overview on the application of data envelopment analysis (DEA) to studies that empirically explore socio-economic efficiency of OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) member countries. The listed papers are categorised with regard to the relevance given to economic, environmental or energy indicators. Their basic content is summarised, along with the major findings. In this way, both measurement of countries’ performance and the non-parametric approach of DEA have been given deserved attention.