The Relationship between Human Well-Being and 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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Decoupling global environmental pressure and economic growth: scenarios for energy use, materials use and carbon emissions

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.

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.

After more than two decades of negotiation, the China–Russia gas deal represents a new era of energy cooperation between China and Russia. In total, this is a win–win deal for both sides. For China, the deal will decrease energy consumption and carbon emission but will not significantly influence air quality; for Russia, it will provide a new market for its gas resources. In this study, we calculated the energy consumption, carbon emission, and particulate matter pollution (PM2.5 and PM10) in China in 2020, 2030, 2040, and 2050 under four IPCC representative concentration pathways (RCPs 8.5, 6.0, 4.5, and 2.6). We found that energy consumption and carbon emission decreased under the gas deal in RCPs 8.5, 6.0, and 4.5, although the rate of decrease slowed over time; however, in RCP 2.6, the rate of decrease of energy consumption and emission increased over time. PM2.5 and PM10 emission showed similar trends but with increasing rate, although the gas deal would mitigate air pollution in the short term. Although China’s government hopes to reduce carbon and pollutant emission under the deal, our results suggest that additional mitigation measures will be necessary to achieve this goal. Nonetheless, the reduction in carbon emission suggests that the China–Russia gas deal provides a model that other countries can follow to slow climate change.

Compared to general public and residential buildings, large public buildings are often difficult to construct and have a long construction period, creating greater construction energy consumption and carbon emissions on the one hand, while generating a large amount and many types of difficult-to-track process data on the other. As such, it is difficult to measure carbon emissions and analyze various influencing factors. By realizing the simple calculation of energy consumption and carbon emissions, as well as discerning the degree of influence of various factors based on the results of influencing factors research, it is of considerable practical significance to propose energy savings and emission reductions in a targeted manner. In view of the above, this work aimed to establish a more practical calculation method to measure energy consumption and carbon emissions in the construction of large public buildings, as well as to identify the multiple influencing factors related to energy consumption and carbon emissions during the construction process. To demonstrate the practicality of our approach, quantitative calculations are carried out for a new terminal building in a certain place and from the perspective of sustainable urban construction; thus, the driving factors of the traditional STIRPAT model are extended to seven. Based on the calculation results, a modified STIRPAT model is used to analyze the comparative study of impact factors, such as population and construction machinery performance, on energy consumption and carbon emission intensity. The results show the following: (1) The energy consumption value per square meter of this terminal building is 3.43 kgce/m2, and the average carbon emission per square meter is about 13.88 kgCO2/m2, which is much larger than the national average of 6.96 kgCO2/m2, and (2) the type of energy used in the construction process has the greatest degree of influence on energy consumption and carbon emission, and the local GDP, population factor, construction machinery performance specifications, and shift usage also show a positive correlation with the growth of total energy consumption and carbon emissions. Moreover, while the government’s continuous investment in energy conservation and environmental protection has reduced the total energy consumption and carbon emissions in construction, there is still considerable room for improvement. Finally, according to the results, we provide theoretical references and constructive suggestions for the low-carbon construction of large public buildings in the construction stage. Thus, the results of our study will allow policy makers to formulate appropriate policies.

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

Analyzing the impacts of technological progress on agricultural energy consumption and carbon emissions is of great significance for the development of low-carbon agriculture. Most of the existing studies focus on the agricultural sector level and lack of assessment of the impacts of technological progress on agricultural energy use and carbon emissions from the perspective of crops. In this study, we evaluated the impacts of technological progress on the energy consumption and carbon emissions of main crops in China under energy intensity constraints using a price endogenous partial equilibrium model with scenario analysis. We found that China's agriculture will have the highest yield and social welfare in 2025 under the production technological progress scenario, which will be 695.44 million t and 287.91 million yuan. Energy consumption for production will be the least under the energy technology progress scenario, which will be reduced by 9.02 million t ce or 16.01% compared to the baseline scenario. Under energy intensity constraints, synergy progress in production and energy technology will be the most effective way to reduce carbon emissions in the agricultural sector. Compared to the baseline, China's agricultural sector will reduce carbon emissions by 22.18 million t c in 2025 under the synergy scenario, a decrease of 16.18%. Therefore, we suggested that China's agricultural sector should pay more attention to the synergetic development of agricultural energy and production technology to further reduce carbon emissions and promote the development of green agriculture.

This paper presents a novel approach to reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions in the construction industry by integrating biophilic design and energy-based building elements. The research focuses on the implementation of natural elements such as plants, daylighting, natural ventilation, and views of nature into building design to enhance energy efficiency and decrease carbon emissions. The investigative approach of this study involves a thorough analysis of the application of natural materials like wood, stone, and wool as passive energy strategies to lessen the dependence on active heating and cooling systems. The research also scrutinizes daylighting techniques and the integration of green structures and vegetation in buildings to exploit natural solar energy. The key findings reveal that the combination of energy-based building elements with biophilic design can significantly reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions in buildings. The research underscores the importance of natural elements in building design and their substantial contribution to energy efficiency. The study concludes that the amalgamation of biophilic design principles and energy-efficient building components presents a potent solution to the challenges of energy use and carbon emissions in the construction sector. This approach transcends prior efforts in the literature by showcasing the practical application of natural elements in architectural design to attain sustainability objectives. The novelty of this work lies in its comprehensive analysis of various natural elements and their impact on energy efficiency, and the emphasis on the practical implementation of these elements in building design to achieve tangible reductions in energy consumption and carbon emissions. This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on sustainable construction practices and offers valuable insights for architects, designers, and policymakers in the field.