Amount Of Carbon Emissions Research Articles

Growing Digital Trade and Sustainability: What Lies Ahead?

p class="MsoNormal"This article explores sustainability issues in the context of the growing digital trade globally. Increasing digital trade is leading to digital transformation of economies across the globe. Governments are emphasizing on the development and adoption of digital tools and technologies. Digital technologies are considered engines of growth that help in increasing productivity, reducing transaction costs, and achieving economies of scale through access to a larger population. However, increasing digital trade is also leading to enhanced concerns for environmental sustainability due to higher amounts of carbon emissions and enhanced demands for electricity in the use of new-age technologies, such as the blockchain. In addition to ‘environmental sustainability’, growing digital trade is also creating challenges for ‘economic sustainability’ and ‘social sustainability’, the other two dimensions of sustainability. Several countries are signing digital economy partnership agreements (DEPA) that have provisions to promote digital trade and look at the entire economy from the perspective of ‘digital trade’. However, sustainability issues arising out of rising digital trade remain primarily untouched in government policies and these new age trade and digital economy agreements. Without sustainabilityfocused policies, the environmental, economic, and social costs of digital trade could reduce the benefits of the digital revolution. Therefore, while it is important to promote digital trade, the sustainability aspects should not be ignored.o:p/o:p

WHY DOES CARBON EMISSION DISCLOSURE MATTER? EXPLORING ITS IMPACT ON FIRM VALUE: A CASE STUDY OF SHARIA-COMPLIANT COMPANIES IN INDONESIA

The large amount of carbon emissions in Indonesia with a percentage reaching 4.1% of total global emissions has made Indonesia ranked 5th as a country that contributes the most CO2 emissions in the world during 1850-2021 and made the public encourage companies to disclose their carbon emissions. Disclosure of carbon emissions can then affect the company's image to investors which leads to its effect on the level of company value. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of disclosure of carbon emissions on the value of Islamic companies in Indonesia. This study uses a quantitative approach by processing secondary data which is panel data using panel data regression analysis and cluster analysis. The sample from the cross-section data includes 30 companies registered with ISSI and issues a company sustainability report, while the sample from the time series data is annual and takes the period 2016-2021. This study uses four control variables, namely earnings per share (EPS), leverage, firm size, and investment opportunity set (IOS). The test results show that partially the variable of disclosure of carbon emissions and simultaneously the variables of disclosure of carbon emissions, earnings per share (EPS), leverage, firm size, and investment opportunity set (IOS) have a significant effect on firm value. This research has implications for companies, governments, and investors related to the disclosure of carbon emissions.

Developing Low-Carbon Pathways for the Transport Sector in Ethiopia

This paper discusses the development of baseline and mitigation scenarios to guide the creation of a long-term plan supporting low-carbon transport in Ethiopia. Developing this method involved comprehensively reviewing policy documents, collecting historical activity data, and modelling the baseline and mitigation scenarios. The paper emphasises the importance of stakeholder engagement, which is instrumental in validating the model inputs, policy targets, and results at each stage, ensuring the credibility and robustness of our findings. The scenario development and analysis are based on the IPCC guidelines, informed by the policies of the Government of Ethiopia, and implemented with the Low-Energy Analysis Platform (LEAP). Three net-zero scenarios are assessed for the time horizon between 2020 to 2050. The so-called maximum ambition, NDC-aligned, and late action scenarios reflect the energy requirements and emissions contribution for varying levels of government ambition towards low-carbon interventions in the transport sector. In the baseline scenario, the total amount of carbon emissions is estimated at 4.81 million tonnes of CO2e in 2020, which is projected to increase to over 15 million tonnes by 2050. Under the mitigation scenarios, significant reductions are projected, with specific interventions like electrification in road freight reducing emissions by 9.68 MtCO2e and expanding rail transport reducing 9.95 MtCO2e by 2050 compared to the baseline. Other strategies identified for mitigating transport sector emissions, like improving energy efficiency, encouraging mass transit and non-motorised transport, show good potential for achieving a greener future. With the transport sector in Ethiopia identified as a major contributor to GHG emissions and climate change, this paper underscores the government’s efforts to ensure the long-term sustainability of its transport sector.

Carbon footprint of private dental laboratories in Egypt: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundClimate change poses a serious threat to the planet, mainly driven by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Dental laboratories contribute to GHG emissions through staff travel, waste, energy and water consumption, and procurement. Carbon footprinting is the process of quantifying the direct and indirect GHG emissions associated with a service. This study aimed to assess the Carbon Footprint (CFP) of private dental laboratories in Egypt.Materials and methodsData were collected from private dental laboratories in Cairo, Alexandria, and Elbeheira, Egypt in August 2024 through interview questionnaires. A CFP calculator was used to estimate carbon emissions from staff travel, waste, energy and water consumption, and procurement. The data of all laboratories was summed and divided to determine the average CFP per laboratory and per prothesis/appliance, both with and without the depreciation of dental equipment.ResultsData from 21 dental laboratories were collected. An average private dental laboratory in Egypt worked 309 days with a staff of around 7 persons and makes around 7119 prostheses/appliance per year. The CFP of dental laboratories was around 20,820 kg CO2e, equal to 2.9 kg CO2e per prosthesis/appliance. The largest contributor to the CFP was staff travel (43.6%), followed by procurement (27.8%), energy consumption (25%), waste (3.3%), and water consumption (0.1%). After including the depreciation of dental equipment, the CFP increased by 7.7%.ConclusionPrivate dental laboratories in Egypt produce a significant amount of carbon emissions. Staff travel was the major contributor to the carbon emission because each laboratory hired several couriers to deliver the prostheses/appliances and impressions. The CFP of electricity consumption was significant, likely because the air conditioning ran throughout the year to cool the machines down. Future studies are needed to develop customized country-specific CFP calculators to accurately measure the carbon emissions of dental laboratories in various settings. Preventing oral diseases, educating technicians on sustainable dental practices, optimizing public transportation, using bulk delivery services, shifting to renewable energy, and adopting circular economy are essential to mitigate the carbon emissions of dental laboratories.

Spatiotemporal evolution and influencing factors of blue carbon resilience in the East Java, Indonesia.

Spatiotemporal evolution and influencing factors of blue carbon resilience in the East Java, Indonesia.

Effect of In-Process Inspection on Highly Imperfect Production System Considering Environmental Deliberations

The aim of almost every production firm is to gain maximum profit along with customer satisfaction. The formation of imperfect products is an obvious process in a production system, which is not a good thing from a business point of view. This paper considers an inventory model for an imperfect production system. All the imperfect products are assumed to be reworkable. An investment occurs for in-process inspection to reduce the rate of formation of imperfect items. A comparison is performed with a production system without in-process inspection to demonstrate the effectiveness of the model. The study shows that the implementation of in-process inspection significantly reduces the total cost of the system as compared to a production system without in-process inspection. The results obtained show that the use of in-process inspection can reduce the total cost by up to 9.3%. Moreover, reducing the formation of defective items saves energy as well as resources. In addition, to reduce carbon emissions, a penalty is implemented on carbon emissions caused by manufacturing, reworking, disposal, and indirect emissions caused by the transportation of disposed items to the treatment facility. As everyone should now be concerned about the environment, green technology is implemented to reduce the amount of carbon emissions to some extent. A classical optimization technique is used to achieve decision variables, i.e., optimal production quantity (Q), fraction of profit invested in in-process inspection (Pf), and green technology investment (G), such that the total cost of the system is minimized. A sensitivity analysis is performed to determine the effects of various parameters on the decision variables and total cost. Maple 18 and Mathematica 11 software are used for mathematical work and graphical representation.

Renewable Energy and Ecological Sustainability in Africa: Does Foreign Debt and Financial Globalisation Matter?

Since the last decade, ecological preservation has become a critically debated topic in developing and developed nations. Hence, to ensure environmental sustainability, countries and international bodies have canvassed for measures that support severe restrictions to protect the Earth's biodiversity. This study's objectives were two-fold: the sole effect of renewable energy on ecological sustainability and second, identify the impacts of external debt and financial globalisation in the renewable energy-ecological sustainability nexus, both within the Environmental Kuznet Curve (EKC) framework for 44 African economies. Second-generation estimation techniques were employed and deduced inferences from the cross-sectional autoregressive distributed lag method used in the study. The study empirically demonstrated that renewable energy is insignificant for ecological sustainability without debt stock and financial globalisation. However, the inclusion of both variables revealed that while renewable energy and financial globalisation accelerated ecological sustainability, external debt worsened it in the short and long-term periods. Therefore, the study proposed amongst others that for the productive benefits of renewable energy use to human and environmental well-being, policymakers must execute clean energy portfolios by restricting brown energy use. This measure will require considering introducing a significant amount of carbon tax or emission permit and incentivising businesses to adopt green technologies.

Analysis of the market drivers of carbon emissions for REITs in Hong Kong, China

ABSTRACT The construction industry is the world’s largest consumers of energy and the largest emitters of greenhouse gases. The potential long-term benefits created by the carbon reduction behaviors of enterprises can be perceived by the market as a means of obtaining a higher premium and economic motivation to implement the carbon reduction strategy. This paper analyzes the correlation between carbon emission performance and the financial performance of Hong Kong real estate investment trusts (REITs) to study the economic incentives for carbon emission reduction actions in the construction industry. The results show that (1) operating margin and Tobin’s Q Ratio are positively correlated with carbon emission performance indicators; (2) the greater the amount of carbon emissions, the better the financial performance − the carbon reduction of related REITs does receive the economic incentive of improving financial performance; (3) the reasons for the lack of carbon emission market drive are the different quality information disclosures of different REITs and the lack of public awareness of carbon emission; and (4) it is necessary to promote the driving force of the REIT carbon emission market through the guidance, incentive, and promotion of government and regulatory agencies and the active participation of micro subjects.

Spatio-temporal Variation of Landuse Carbon Budget and Carbon Compensation Zoning at County Level in Henan Province

As an important province in China with a large population, agriculture, industry, and energy consumption, Henan Province is in a period of attack and opportunity for low-carbon transformation of its economy and optimization of its energy structure, and carrying out a study on the assessment of carbon budget and carbon compensation at the county level, to promote the coordinated development of a low-carbon economy in central China and to realize China's vision of carbon neutrality by 2060, is important. The study selected 123 county-level units in Henan Province as the research object, based on the land use data of Henan Province from 2000 to 2020, constructed the carbon balance estimation model and measured the horizontal compensation standard with the help of the modified carbon compensation model, studied the spatio-temporal pattern of carbon balance and carbon compensation zoning of Henan Province under the perspective of the main functional area, and put forward the regional development strategy guided by the development of low-carbon economy. The research results demonstrated that： ① From 2000 to 2020, the total amount of carbon emissions from land use in Henan Province first increased and then decreased, with the peak in 2015, and the construction land was the major source of carbon. The amount of carbon absorption continued to grow steadily, and arable land and forest land were the major carriers of carbon sinks. The carbon budget showed significant spatial and temporal characteristics； carbon absorption showed a spatial pattern of "high in the west and low in the east, high in the south and low in the north；" and carbon emissions were spatially characterized by "a concentration of high values in the center and the north and a scattering of low values towards the outside." ② Henan Province exhibited similar spatial patterns in carbon intensity and net emissions, with high values in the central and northern regions tapering off outwards. From 2000 to 2020, carbon emission intensity ranked as follows： national key development zones （1.09） > provincial key areas （0.93） > agricultural areas （0.83） > provincial ecological zones （0.70） > national ecological zones （0.47）. For net carbon emissions, the order was （×104 t）： national key zones （165.94） > provincial key areas （52.55） > agricultural areas （-35.52） > provincial ecological zones （-47.11） > national ecological zones （-60.93）. Conversely, carbon compensation rates（%） were highest in provincial ecological zones （821）, followed by those in national ecological zones （773）, agricultural areas （412）, provincial key areas （198）, and lowest in national key zones （11）. ③ Carbon compensation varied significantly across 123 counties in Henan Province, with a total carbon payment of 9 207.09×104 yuan and offset of 4 819.29×104 yuan in 2020. A total of 45 payment zones and 78 compensation zones were identified, including 20 heavy payment zones and 30 heavy compensation zones. ④ Henan Province was divided into seven carbon intensity control areas, 33 total carbon control areas, 12 carbon balance areas, 12 low-carbon optimization areas, and 59 green carbon sink areas based on main functional areas. A regional optimization strategy was proposed to foster low-carbon economy development in Henan Province. The study offers insights for 123 counties in Henan Province to establish localized carbon compensation mechanisms, supporting the coordinated low-carbon economic development in central China and the pursuit of carbon neutrality.

Safety Risk Prevention and Control‐based Analysis of Carbon Emission Reduction by Construction Waste Maden Recycled Aggregate Subgrade

AbstractIn recent years, the occurrence of extreme weather is more and more frequent, severe extreme weather leads to subgrade water damage, slope instability and other safety problems. Especially in flood season, the damage of subgrade drainage facilities, as well as the erosion of roadbed slope, may cause a serious threat to the safety of roadbed, a large number of roadbed reconstruction and safety risk protection become a problem. As a by‐product of the development of the construction industry, a large amount of carbon emissions will be released when construction waste is disposed. Analysing the carbon reduction potential of the resource treatment of construction waste will promotes the construction industry's transition to a low‐carbon model. In this study, taking a vehicle section of Line 12 of the Zhengzhou Metro as an example, recycled aggregates (RA) from construction and demolition waste (CDW) were used to replace natural materials (NM) in backfilling the road base, and their quality was tested to meet the architectural design standards in order to be used as a safety guarantee subgrade backfill. LCA was used to identify and quantify the material and energy consumption of each unit process, analyse the carbon emissions of the entire construction process and its various stages, and compare the process with a landfill case to measure the carbon reduction benefits of this resource‐based treatment method. Finally, it is concluded that the construction waste maden recycled aggregate subgrade has significant advantages in safety risk prevention and control and carbon reduction benefits.

The impact of economic factors on environmental degradation: price instability, monetary growth and renewable energy investments

PurposeThis study examines the complex relationship between price stability, monetary growth and renewable energy investments. The pursuit of environmentally sustainable economies is intertwined with the need to maintain price stability and poses a complex challenge for global policymakers.Design/methodology/approachThrough a comprehensive review, this study seeks answers to how price stability affects pollution, particularly carbon emissions, through various economic channels. Employing panel data analysis for 84 countries between 1999 and 2020, we find a multifaceted effect of price instability on carbon emissions.FindingsAccording to system-GMM estimation results, we find (1) price stability has no significant direct effect on carbon emissions. However, it emerges as a crucial environmental factor through consumption, investment and monetary policy channels. (2) Moreover, price stability reverses the positive effects of renewable energy investments on carbon emissions, and it slows down the carbon emissions-increasing effect of energy consumption. (3) Monetary expansion combined with price stability increases environmental pollution. These findings underscore the complexity of balancing economic stability and environmental sustainability and highlight the need for comprehensive policy approaches to address these global challenges effectively.Originality/valueThere is a significant gap in the existing literature examining the impact of price stability on carbon emissions. Most of the studies observe the impact of carbon emissions on inflation. However, the complex interaction between economic and environmental factors reveals inflation as a factor affecting pollution, particularly the amount of carbon emissions.

Development Path of Guangxi to Reach the Carbon Emission Peak Based on STIRPAT Model

In this work, to ensure that Western China achieves the goal of peaking carbon emissions while developing, considering Guangxi as an example, based on the statistical data of population, economy, society, energy, urban development, and other dimensions from 2000 to 2021, the total amount of carbon emissions and sinks from 2000 to 2021 was calculated according to the recommended formula of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change （IPCC）, the key factors affecting carbon emissions based on the ridge regression were identified, the STIRPAT carbon emission prediction model was constructed, and the carbon emissions of Guangxi from 2022 to 2040 were predicted for the three scenarios of different development paths. The results showed that the total carbon dioxide emissions （CO2） in Guangxi showed an overall upward trend from 2000 to 2021, growing from 95.49 Mt in 2000 to 390.15 Mt in 2021, with an average annual growth rate of 6.93%. Energy structure, industrial structure, and urbanization ratio were the three significant influencing factors on carbon emissions in Guangxi. The carbon emissions could be 623.32 Mt and 591.20 Mt by 2040 in the high-carbon scenario and the medium-carbon scenario, respectively, while in the low-carbon scenario, the carbon emissions could reach a peak at 531.99 Mt in 2035. In the three designed scenarios, Guangxi needs to face different emission reduction pressures to realize carbon peaking, and only the low-carbon development path can achieve carbon peaking before 2040. If carbon peaking in Guangxi needs to be achieved by 2030, green, low-carbon, and high-quality development should be further strengthened.

1992-2015 Changes and Causes of Carbon Sink in Shenzhen City

Greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon emissions, are exacerbating climate change and may pose risks to the future survival of humans and other species on Earth. Therefore, measures to alleviate the pace of climate change have become increasingly urgent. Under this situation, carbon sinks have been put forward as one of the measures that can effectively reduce the amount of carbon emissions. Shenzhen, a city at the forefront of China’s Reform and Opening Policy, presents its carbon sinks change set as an example to China’s national Double Carbon Targets. Therefore, this study investigates the changes and causes of carbon sinks in Shenzhen city, a coastal city in southern China, between 1992 and 2015 using the land use area multiplied by its carbon density index retrieved from past scholarship. The QGIS software and the carbon density index method are used in this research. The QGIS software possess the advantages of being open source, suitable for city-wide scale investigations, and being able to visualise changes in land use/land cover (LULC). The carbon density index method simulated using InVEST model, based on past literature, is beneficial in terms of having high spatial resolution and suited for city-wide scale investigations. The results demonstrate that there has been an overall decrease of carbon sinks from 1.65*107 t in 1992 to 1.39*107 t in 2015 during the 23 years, with the main cause being urbanisation on cropland, the land use/land cover (LULC) with the highest carbon density index and the highest carbon sink in both 1992 and 2015 (8.20*106 t in 1992 and 5.53*106 t in 2015). Shenzhen has already implemented ecological compensation programmes such as constructing carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) testing platforms, zero carbon emission office parks and schools, and more highly efficient electric charging power stations. In order to improve carbon sinks in Shenzhen, it is suggested that the government of Shenzhen could consider tailored strategies on different scales involving different stakeholders at long, middle, and short run, which may include restoring partial cropland or implementing land carbon sink technology in order to improve the carbon sink capacities of other LULC types.

Partial Replacement of Cement with Bamboo Leaf Ash as a Sustainable Approach in Concrete Production

This study showcases the binding ability of bamboo leaf ash as a partial substitute for ordinary Portland cement in concrete production. This is to improve the sustainability approach to the impact of the construction industry on global warming. Bamboo leaf ash was used because of the presence of pozzolanic properties and it possesses a very eco-friendly and can be used as an alternative to conventional cement. Conventional cement has been discovered to possess significant amounts of carbon emissions. The partial replacement of Bamboo leaf ash used in the concrete production for this study was within the content of 0%, 2.5%, and 5%. The workability, compressive strength, and durability of the concrete were determined over a standard curing period of 7, 14, 21, and 28 days. The result shows that as the content of bamboo leaf ash increases in concrete production, the compressive strength decreases. The study supports bamboo leaf ash as a partial substitute which is sustainable in the construction industry minimizing environmental impact and reducing carbon emissions. This study highlights the binding potential of bamboo leaf ash as a partial substitute for ordinary Portland cement in concrete production, aiming to enhance the sustainability of the construction industry's impact on global warming.

Correlation between concentration of particulate matter 2.5 and solar energy production in Brooklyn, NY

Many people have started using solar panels in recent years. Switching to renewable energy sources can greatly decrease the amount of carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. One effect of climate change is a rise in wildfires. Smoke from wildfires can be detrimental to human health by increasing the air quality index (AQI). In June 2023, the AQI drastically increased in Brooklyn, New York due to fires in British Columbia from the west to Quebec and Nova Scotia in the east. We hypothesized that particulate matter (PM) 2.5 would negatively affect solar energy production because when the sun’s rays are blocked by clouds or smoke, there is usually less solar energy production. Our hypothesis was supported given that during the month of the fires across British Columbia, Quebec, and Nova Scotia, the PM 2.5 concentration had a strong negative correlation to solar energy production (p = 0.05). Throughout the rest of the year, the PM 2.5 concentration generally did not have an effect on solar energy production. PM 2.5’s positive correlation with solar production was measured against cloud cover and wind speed as benchmarks for a strong and weak negative correlation. Our findings can help determine what factors should be considered when deciding where to install solar panels or to place solar fields. By making renewable energy more effective we hope that more individuals will choose to switch away from carbon fuel sources.

Exploring the analysis of the impact of Tianjin’s economic development on carbon emissions

Amid the swift expansion of the global economy, environmental issues in China have garnered increasing scrutiny. Along with the increase in China’s economic development level, the total amount of carbon emissions in China is also rising. As one of the economically developed cities in northern China, Tianjin will inevitably impact the environment during its development. This paper explores the factors affecting carbon emissions in Tianjin through relevant data from 2002 to 2021, based on the Kaya constant equation and using the LMDI model. It learns that economic development is the main contributing factor to carbon emissions and further compares and analyzes the GDPs of various industries in terms of economic benefits. In order to promote the low-carbon development of Tianjin, it should maintain sustained and stable economic growth, formulate low-carbon policies that are tailored to its actual situation, transform the economic development model, restructure the industry, and promote the ideology of sustainable consumption, among other measures.

Research on the Carbon Footprint Impact of Using Individual Plastic Bottles in Orienteering Events in China

Global warming is nowadays seriously affecting people’s production and life and causing great harm to the natural environment. The main cause of global warming is the greenhouse effect, which is due to the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. As a measure of an activity’s contribution to global warming, the calculation of carbon footprint is essential. In China orienteering events, single-use bottled water is widely used as post-race supplies, which generates a large amount of carbon emissions and carbon footprint. However, although bottled water is convenient, this consumption is still unnecessary, since there are other efficient alternatives. In this paper, the author discusses the possibility of changing the water supply strategy and method for orienteering events in China. Comparing the basic information and carbon footprint results produced by bottled water, barrel water and tap water, the author concludes that plastic materials required for barrel water are much less than bottled water since bottles own larger surface area than barrels when containing same amount of water. The author also summarizes that single-use bottled water system produces much more carbon footprints than municipal tap water system does due to the former one’s more complex and energy consuming process. In conclusion, the author considers that replacing single-use bottled water with barrel water and recycled cups or tap water is promising and has great benefits for the environment.

DAMPAK PENERAPAN NET ZERO EMISSION TERHADAP PERTUMBUHAN FISKAL INDONESIA

This study has three objectives. First, to estimate the factors affecting the level of energy consumption, especially coal subject to carbon tax. Second, to project the amount of carbon emissions from 2020 to the year of carbon tax implementation (2025) using the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). Third, to calculate the potential government revenue from the implementation of carbon tax starting from the year of carbon tax implementation (2025) until 2050. This study uses panel data of 33 provinces in Indonesia from 2021 to 2022 and time series data of Indonesia from 1990 to 2020. Research results from Indonesian panel data show that Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) and GRDP per capita have a significant positive influence. The VECM analysis projects that the amount of CO₂ carbon emissions moves dynamically in the 2021 to 2025 time series. The results are then used in the projection of government revenue for the next 25 years with potential government revenue through carbon tax amounting to 6.6 trillion rupiah.

Bitumen quantity reduction for stone mastic asphalt (SMA) – suitable material for the environment

This paper describes the mix design (recipe) for SMA that consists of aggregate obtained from stone with relatively high specific gravity and relatively high refractive index (LA>16) but which significantly reduces the amount of Bitumen. and in this case, it also reduces the amount of carbon emissions in the environment. For the production of stone mastic asphalt is used aggregate produced from stone with special mineralogical and petrographic characteristics. The aggregate used for the wearing course of the highway has a coefficient of resistance to crushing Los Angeles LA = 18 and a specific mass greater than 3000kg / m3. Los Angeles coefficient does not meet the standard requirements for the road layer with heavy traffic and the maximum bulk density is greater than the bulk density of ordinary aggregates used for this type of asphalt. Also, for the production of stone mastic asphalt SMA for the highway is used bitumen with additives in the amount of 4.6%, a quantity that is smaller than the amount of bitumen provided by the standard for stone mastic asphalt which is 6-7%. However, the designed mix with the aggregate produced from M.G quarry stone and with the amount of polymerized bitumen (with polymer additives) (4.6%) has met the requirements for SMA stone mastic asphalt it also increases its performance in protecting the environment.

Assessment of land use efficiency under carbon emission constraint: An empirical study of Pearl River Delta, China

Land use efficiency (LUE) is the comprehensive reflection of the input and output in the process of land resource utilization. However, carbon emission during this process will lead to a decrease in LUE. It is necessary to evaluate LUE under carbon emission constraint for urban sustainable development. Although the carbon emission and efficiency of land use have been extensively studied, few researches considered the uncertainties in carbon emissions when evaluating LUE. In this study, a comprehensive assessment model of LUE was proposed. Interval parameter is introduced to a super efficiency slack-based measurement (SBM) model, leading to an assessment method of interval LUE, which can analyze the impact of carbon emission on LUE. A case study in Pearl River Delta (PRD) was conducted from 2005 ~2020. Results revealed that the overall carbon emissions of land use in the PRD increased significantly during the study period. Particularly, Zhuhai and Huizhou had a relatively larger increase. In terms of the total amount of carbon emission, it was relatively higher in Guangzhou and Shenzhen than the other cities in the region. Taking the carbon emission into account, the LUE of PRD still improved, especially in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Foshan, and Jiangmen. However, an opposite trend was found for the LUE of Huizhou and Zhaoqing, changing from effective to ineffective. The LUE of Zhuhai and Zhongshan was always effective, while that of Dongguan was ineffective during the study period. In conclusion, the assessment method of LUE considering carbon emissions should be used to promote the efficient use of land resource. The results of the case study in this research can also provide decision-making reference for PRD and other urban agglomerations to improve LUE.