Carbon Dioxide Emission Intensity Research Articles

Institutional Performance and Carbon Reduction Effect of High-Quality Development of New Energy: China’s Experience and Policy Implication

Based on the policy text from 1999 to 2022, this paper quantitatively analyzes photovoltaic power, wind power and new energy policies in mainland China by keyword capture and policy strength and establishes a spatial Durbin model to study the carbon reduction effects. The results show the following: (1) The development of new energy is primarily project-based and concentrated in rural areas. (2) Financial support is a double-edged sword. (3) After the implementation of the Renewable Energy Law in 2015, the change trend in policy quantity, total policy intensity, and average policy intensity is generally consistent. (4) The increase in the strength of new energy policies has effectively reduced the intensity of provincial carbon dioxide emissions. (5) New energy policies introduced in a single region are less effective in reducing carbon emissions than joint regional regulation. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the quality and coordination of new energy policies through the effective convergence of policies and regular evaluations to enhance the positive guidance of the policies. Policy measures for new energy are refined in three areas: improving the amount and quality of new energy policies, strengthening new energy policies and establishing cooperation mechanisms for the cross-regional consumption of new energy.

Spatial characteristics of carbon dioxide emission intensity of urban road traffic and driving factors: Road network and land use

Road traffic is a major contributor to global carbon dioxide emissions. The impact of urban road networks and land use on these emissions remains controversial. This study proposed carbon dioxide emission intensity (CEI) based on road network length, analyzed the spatial distribution characteristics of CEI of passenger and freight traffic in the Southern Kanto region of Japan through spatial autocorrelation analysis, and examined the driving effects of urban road network and land use characteristics through Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) models. The results showed that the CEI of passenger traffic demonstrated more significant spatial heterogeneity than freight traffic, exhibiting a spatial pattern of high-value clustering in the center and low-value clustering in the peripheral area. Road network characteristics are the primary driving factor for CEI of passenger traffic. A road network with lower density, rich branching streets does not necessarily promote the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. The industrial land proportion exerts a stronger and more extensive driving effect on the CEI of freight traffic than road network characteristics. As a specialized study on carbon dioxide emissions from road traffic, this study provides the decision-making criteria for urban planning strategy and urban management to enhance urban sustainable development.

Multi-aspect analysis of an innovative environmentally friendly process integrated into a gas turbine power plant using a multi-heat recovery approach

This study presents a novel heat integration model for a gas turbine power plant that enables sustainability through efficient utility generation and production of fresh water. Significant advantage of proposed system lies in its utilization of a novel thermal matching method between integrated combined processes, leading to development of an environmentally sustainable multi-generation structure. Consequently, the integrated system includes a Kalina cycle, high- and low-temperature organic Rankine cycles, an absorption chiller, a heating provision unit, and a water desalination subsystem. The simulated procedure utilizes the Aspen HYSYS software and follows with a comprehensive analysis to assess its energy, exergy, economic, and environmental characteristics. The study's findings exhibited net power output, cooling load, heating load, and desalination energy output of 23,924.06 kW, 3486 kW, 6671 kW, and 230.9 kW, respectively. The system's energy efficiency improves from 47.81 % to 68.58 % when operating in single-generation and multi-generation modes. Likewise, the exergy efficiency improves from 45.55 % to 52.42 %. The study also illustrates the carbon dioxide emission intensity associated with both mentioned modes at 0.4187 kg/kWh and 0.2641 kg/kWh, respectively. Besides, the economic evaluation reveals total annual cost, cost of energy, and total cost of products of 147.65 M$/year, 0.5783 $/kWh, and 10.71 $/GJ, respectively.

The undesirable impact of China’s “national sustainable development plan of resource-based cities” on CO2 intensity

ABSTRACT China’s numerous resource-based cities have confronted severe environmental and economic problems, which were substantial impediments to the regional sustainable development. In 2013, China started to implement its ‘National Sustainable Development Plan of Resource-Based Cities’, in order to transform the previous development patterns. This study employs the difference-in-differences (DID) method to evaluate the policy’s impact on the city-level carbon dioxide (CO2) emission intensity. CO2 intensity is defined as the scale of CO2 emitted per unit of GDP. The research sample covers 326 Chinese cities during 2008—2017. Research results indicate that the policy significantly increased the CO2 intensity in resource-based cities. Moreover, it is found that the policy dampened resource-based cities’ innovation levels and these cities did not strengthen their environmental regulations, which can be provided as the explanations of why the policy effect on carbon intensity was positive. Furthermore, this study reports the discrepancies in policy effects when cities have different development stages, spatial locations and marketization levels. Overall, this research discovers an undesirable policy effect. More actions should be taken to reduce the carbon intensity during the structural transformation in resource-based cities.

Cofinancing and infrastructure project outcomes in Chinese lending and overseas development finance

Cofinancing from government agencies, development banks, and private actors is acknowledged as an important tool to bridge the infrastructure finance gap in developing countries, but relatively little is known about outcomes for cofinanced projects. To fill this void, we explore the role of cofinancing in shaping Chinese lending and overseas development finance for infrastructure projects in terms of implementation outcomes and environmental performance. We examine a sample of 2997 infrastructure projects committed between 2000 and 2017 that were funded by Chinese finance, among which 15 percent are cofinanced. Our study shows that cofinancing correlates with higher infrastructure project completion rates, as cofinanced projects are 3.3–7.1 percentage points less likely to be cancelled or suspended than non-cofinanced ones. We also find that cofinancing with certain partners suggests specific benefits. Cofinancing with partners from the recipient country is associated with more localized implementation, whereas cofinancing with international partners has demonstrated improved environmental performance, with a 2.7 percent lower carbon dioxide emissions intensity and a 0.42 standard deviation decrease in biodiversity risks. The results suggest that cofinancing could be an effective tool to enhance infrastructure project success and achieve greater sustainable performance in Chinese lending and overseas development finance.

Multi-variable study of a novel multigeneration system using biogas separation unit and LNG cold energy utilization, producing electricity, cooling, heat, fresh water, liquid CO2, biomethane, and methanol

Biogas fuel has gained recognition as a highly suitable alternative to fossil fuels, attributed to its renewable nature and remarkable energy density. Biogas fuel utilization facilitates the integration of combined energy systems equipped with multi-generational structures, rendering them suitable for long-term planning and management. Hence, this study presents a unique approach to using biogas for multigeneration, exhibiting enhanced thermodynamic efficiencies and negative carbon dioxide emissions. To achieve the stated objective, an innovative system is devised that involves the utilization of a biogas separation unit in integration with several other components, including a LNG cold energy utilization unit, an ammonia Rankine cycle, a desalination unit, a Kalina cycle, a solid oxide electrolyzer cell, a biomethane combined cycle, and a methanol synthesis unit. The newly devised configuration is simulated through the Aspen HYSYS software and assessed from energy, exergy, environmental, and economic considerations. Based on the research findings, the suggested methodology exhibits energy and exergy efficiencies of 91% and 83%, correspondingly. Furthermore, the evaluation of the entire unit cost of the product and the levelized energy cost reveals values of 4.81 $/GJ and 0.033 $/kWh, respectively. The carbon dioxide emission intensity of the newly implemented process is calculated to be − 0.1041 kg/kWh. The economic aspects reveal a favorable net present value of 1470.6 M$ and a payback period of 5.29 years.

A bibliometric and visualized analysis of research on green finance and energy in a global perspective

In order to explore the current status and progress trend of global research in the field of green finance and energy, this paper is based on 162 literature information of research in this field published from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2022 in the Web of Science Core Collection, using bibliometric methods and CiteSpace and VOSviewer software to analyze the number of publications, citation frequency, authors, journals, keywords and countries, etc., so as to analyze the global research progress in this field during this period. The results illustrate that the number of literature publications in this field has grown dramatically since 2021. The literature in the WOS database involves 48 countries around the world, among which China has the largest number of publications, accounting for 75.31% of the total number of publications, and Japanese scholars have the highest average number of citations for their articles, at 57.21. “Environmental science and pollution research” and “Renewable energy” are the main journal carriers of the literature in this field. High-frequency keywords for instance “green finance”, “economic-growth”, “renewable energy”, “CO2 emissions”, and “consumption” constitute the representative terms in this field and are the core content of the research in this field. Exploring the link between green finance and carbon dioxide emissions intensity, climate finance and renewable energy are the core objectives of investigation in this field. At present, there is a paucity of literature that systematically explores the intrinsic links between green finance and the energy field, so we have filled the relevant research gaps to some extent. The results analyzed by a bibliometric method are helpful to comprehensive understand the current status, progress and foresight of this field, and to provide reference for future studies. Furthermore, we identified key themes in this research area, finally, provide the following policy recommendations: (1) Integrated planning, cooperation, and global transformation for green finance (2) Research, diversify finance, and support for green energy progress (3) Collaboration for sustainable development and environmental responsibility.

Globalization, Foreign Direct Investment, and Climate Change

Abstract There has been a dramatic increase in the long-term accumulation of foreign direct investment (FDI) in less-developed countries from 1980–2018. Scholars argue that these processes have harmful effects on climate change-inducing emissions. Here, the author argues that such expansions have beneficial impacts. He empirically evaluates such theorization using fixed effects (FE) panel regression models. Results provide support for his view. These results suggest that the long-term accumulation of foreign direct investment in less-developed countries has beneficial implications for the scale, intensity, and ecoefficiency of carbon dioxide emissions.

How do power shortages affect CO2 emission intensity? Firm-level evidence from China

Power shortage is a development challenge that most developing countries often face, which not only brings negative impacts to firms' growth, but also has an impact on their environmental performance. In this study, a city-level power shortage index in China from 2008 to 2015 was used to investigate how electricity shortages can affect firms' carbon dioxide (CO2) emission intensity. We also examined the indirect impact of electricity shortages on CO2 emission intensity through three channels, namely, technological innovation, energy intensity and productivity. Our empirical results indicate that power shortages have a statistically significant positive impact on firms' CO2 emission intensity. The findings are robust to various robustness checks and endogeneity concern. The results verify the robustness of our proposed three mechanisms and imply that power shortages have an inhibitory effect on China's green and low-carbon transition in addition to their other well-known negative effects. Therefore, policymakers should consider the effect of power shortages on the energy transition in addition to the conventional negative impacts of power shortages on economic activities.

Measurement and analysis of the comprehensive emission intensity and coupling coordination relationship of carbon dioxide emissions and pollutant emissions in the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration

Investigating the characteristics and coupling coordination relationship of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and pollutant emissions at the urban-agglomeration scale, is helpful for analyzing how urbanization and the environment interact. This paper measured the comprehensive emission intensity of CO2 and pollutant emissions in the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration (YRDUA) and explored the spatiotemporal characteristics of the comprehensive emission intensity using the Theil index and cold–hot spot analysis. Further, we constructed a coupling coordination model for CO2 emissions and pollutant emissions to calculate their coupled coordination degree. The dynamic evolution trend of the coupling coordination level was examined using spatiotemporal analysis and kernel density estimation. The results showed that: (1) The comprehensive emission intensity shows a trend of first increasing and then decreasing, with a characteristic change from a “two polarization” distribution in 2011 to a “centralized” distribution in 2018 and then to a “two polarization” distribution in 2020. (2) The difference in comprehensive emission intensity across cities in the YRDUA has been decreasing and is negatively correlated with economic growth. Additionally, Tongling, Maanshan, and Jiaxing were primary hotspots of the YRDUA. (3) The trend of the coupling coordination level of CO2 and pollutant emissions showed a significant increase. The level of coupling coordination in Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuxi, Changzhou, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Jiaxing was higher than in the YRDUA on average, while it was lower in other cities during the study period, indicating that there is still much room for improvement in CO2 and pollution reduction in the YRDUA.

Exploring the interplay among energy dependence, CO2 emissions, and renewable resource utilization in developing nations: Empirical insights from Africa and the middle east using a quantile-on-quantile approach and spatial analysis

As an indicator of a nation's reliance on foreign suppliers, Energy dependence is a determining factor in the optimal utilization of fossil fuels, upon which developing countries' economies and environments rely heavily. However, prior empirical research has neglected energy dependence despite its substantial impact on energy consumption structure and pollution. This study examines the effect of energy dependence on energy intensity, carbon dioxide (CO2) emission intensity, and the use of renewable resources in 65 African and Middle Eastern developing countries using the novel quantile-on-quantile method (1990–2020). The study also performs a spatial analysis using Moran's I method to understand the effect of fossil resource distribution on these factors and their interconnections. More than 70% of quantiles revealed a positive relationship between energy dependence and other variables. Indeed, energy dependence has accelerated the growth of all factors, which was unexpected for energy and emission intensity. The spatial analysis revealed a spillover effect in the majority of the regions, implying that the impacts of energy dependence are nearly identical in neighboring countries. In conclusion, establishing regional energy exchange unions could effectively mitigate the adverse environmental and economic effects of energy dependence.

Ecological and economic determinants of energy efficiency in European countries

Since economic development is often associated with an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, it is especially important to answer the question of whether it is possible to achieve sustainable economic development and improve energy efficiency at the same time, which implies a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The purpose of this study was to build models that can help find the environmental and economic determinants of energy efficiency in European countries. An ecological and economic determinants of energy efficiency indicators of 38 European countries were found based on panel regression models. The models were built based on statistical data characterizing the level of their economic development and consumption of diverse types of energy for 1995-2021. To obtain the necessary approximations of energy efficiency indicators, one of three types of models was used: the random effects method, the fixed effects method, or the pooled model. For this, appropriate statistical tests were used. As a result, it was found that the factors that have a statistically significant impact on the energy intensity of GDP in European countries include the intensity of carbon dioxide emissions, unemployment rate, primary energy consumption per capita, and gross electricity production per capita. The findings showed that determinants of primary energy consumption were domestic consumption of solid fossil fuels per capita, domestic natural gas consumption per capita, and primary energy consumption per capita. The study results generally confirm the modern-day thesis that economic development can be achieved while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The monitoring of factors that have a statistically significant impact on the indicators under consideration can become an essential element of the modern energy efficiency management system of the national economies of European countries

Energy consumption, economic growth and environmental sustainability: Evidence from China

This paper mainly investigated the interactions between energy consumption, economic growth, and the environment in China. The carbon dioxide emission intensity variable was introduced to represent the environmental variable. Data covered the period from 1965 to 2016. Coal, oil, and hydroelectricity use, real GDP (gross domestic product), and the environment were cointegrated. Coal, oil, and hydroelectricity consumption and real GDP were weakly exogenous but emissions were not. In the long run, a 1% increase in hydroelectricity consumption reduced CO2 emission intensity by 2.15%. However, a 1% increase in coal and oil consumption increased CO2 emission intensity by 2.89% and 0.76%, respectively. The impact of coal consumption on emissions is much larger than that of oil consumption. Coal and hydroelectricity consumption appeared to have a lagged effect on carbon emissions. Also, in the long run, coal, oil, and hydroelectricity consumption had impacted GDP and vice versa. The economy appeared to heavily depend on coal consumption. The study suggests a positive long-run unitary relation between oil consumption and the economy. Real GDP positively impacted CO2 intensity in the short run but the long-run effect was negative. This result is consistent with the post-materialist value theory and prosperity hypothesis, both of which imply that people’s environmental concerns will increase as income increases. Therefore, reducing carbon emissions can be achieved without sacrificing economic growth in the long run.

Examples of carbon dioxide emissions data in the circular economy: highway transport

The UK needs to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of its transport sector to meet its net-zero target. This paper considers the carbon dioxide cycle for two UK motorway bridges built in the 1960s. The emissions estimates are validated using both carbon dioxide emission intensity and by comparison with published data of similar assets, while user emissions are estimated from estimates of the number of vehicles using the assets. Conclusions on past and future carbon dioxide emissions are drawn from these examples. The work confirms that driving down user-generated emissions rather than capital or operational and maintenance emissions is the key to achieving net-zero targets.

Multi-dimensional Analysis of the Synergistic Effect of Pollution Reduction and Carbon Reduction in Tianjin Based on the STIRPAT Model

Based on the STIRPAT model, this study quantitatively analyzed the synergistic effect of pollution reduction and carbon reduction in Tianjin from three dimensions:total emission, emission reduction, and synergy coefficient. The results showed that the main emission sources of air pollutants and greenhouse gases in Tianjin were industrial sources, and the Pearson correlation coefficient of air pollutants and greenhouse gases was 0.984. The total population, urbanization rate, gross regional product, energy intensity, and carbon dioxide emission intensity were important factors affecting the synergistic effect of pollution reduction and carbon reduction in Tianjin. In 2011 and 2012, Tianjin's air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions increased synergistically, and the synergistic effect coefficients were 0.18 and 0.17, respectively. From 2013 to 2014 and from 2018 to 2023, the air pollutant emission reduction and greenhouse gas emission increased, the synergistic effect coefficient was less than 0, and the pollution reduction and carbon reduction had no synergistic effect. In 2015-2017 and 2024-2060, air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions were predicted to be reduced at the same time, with a synergistic effect coefficient ranging from 2.74 to 8.76. Tianjin had the conditions to enter the synergistic stage of pollution reduction and carbon reduction in 2024. The most important things for Tianjin to do to promote the synergy of pollution reduction and carbon reduction were to strictly control the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions, continue to promote the reduction in energy intensity and carbon dioxide emission intensity, and reasonably control the total population, urbanization rate, and regional GDP.

Spatial Zoning of Carbon Dioxide Emissions at the Intra-City Level: A Case Study of Nanjing, China

With ever-increasing urbanization and industrialization in developing countries, the challenge posed by carbon dioxide emissions (CDEs) has become a hot topic of concern in the realm of sustainable development from a socioeconomic perspective. However, previous studies have only been conducted at macro and meso scales, including at the global, country, and urban levels, and few researchers have delved into the territorial space of urban areas due to a lack of high-precision data. To address this deficiency, we established a theoretical framework to explore the spatial zoning of CDEs based on the newly emerging China high-resolution emission gridded data (CHRED). This study's innovativeness lies in its provision of a step-by-step process for spatial matching of CDEs based on CHRED in the framework and the construction of square layers to reveal spatial heterogeneity of CDEs at the intra-city level. Taking Nanjing City as the case study area, our findings indicated that CDEs intensity (CDEI) shows an inverted "U-shaped" trend that first increased and then decreased, and finally stabilized from the center to the periphery of the city. With further urbanization and industrialization, the energy consumption sector was found to be the largest contributor to CDEs in Nanjing, and the expanding carbon source zonings will therefore shrink the existing carbon sink zonings. Collectively, these results can provide a scientific reference point to realize China's "dual carbon" target from the perspective of spatial layout optimization.

Network attention and carbon dioxide emission performance of agricultural enterprises: Empirical evidence from China’s baidu search index

Based on the network attention data of China’s agricultural listed companies from 2012 to 2020, this paper uses the IV model to measure and investigate the impact of network attention on the carbon dioxide emission performance of China’s agricultural listed companies and its mechanism. The findings are as follows: 1) The carbon dioxide emission intensity of listed agricultural companies in China is generally decreasing year by year and the carbon dioxide emission performance is improving; 2) The increasing network attention has significantly reduced the carbon dioxide emission intensity of agricultural listed companies and brought about better carbon dioxide emission performance; 3) The relationship between network attention and carbon dioxide emission performance of agricultural listed companies has network, regional and property heterogeneity; 4) The investment in environmental protection has strengthened the inhibition effect of network attention on the unit carbon dioxide emissions of agricultural listed companies. The research conclusion enriches the literature on “network concern - environmental governance”, and also provides ideas for developing countries to exert the environmental governance effect of network concern in the process of carbon neutrality.

Investigation of the intensity of carbon dioxide emissions by steppe soil when introducing fallow lands into circulation

The paper reflects the results of studying the temporal variability of carbon dioxide fluxes by the soils of deposits when they are introduced into agricultural circulation. The purpose of the research is to study the change in carbon dioxide emissions by the soils of fallow lands in the conditions of the steppe of Western Siberia. In 2022, research was conducted in the Omsk Region at key sites. The soils of the site are solodic, malodorous medium low-sodium columnar heavy loamy meadow-chernozem; cortical columnar heavy loamy saline meadow-chernozem, fine-grained low-humus heavy loamy meadow malt. Seasonal changes in carbon dioxide fluxes by soils on deposits when introduced into circulation using agrotechnical technology are significant (Figure 2) with a maximum in July (67.7 g CO2/m2/day) and a minimum in September (16.7 g CO2/m2/day); on deposits with combined technology, respectively, 54.4 and 14.1 g CO2/m2/day. Agrotechnical technology contributed to a greater emission of carbon dioxide from the soils of the deposit than combined. The system of agrotechnical techniques when introducing fallow soils into agricultural circulation has a significant impact on the release of carbon dioxide by the soil surface. Of the soil level of the deposit without treatment, it was 162% with agrotechnical technology (tillage), and with combined (tillage + herbicide application) 133%.

Carbon Dioxide Emission Evaluations in the Chinese Furniture Manufacturing Industry Using the IPCC Tier-2 Methodology

Abstract Estimating industrial carbon dioxide emissions at the national scale is crucial for China's carbon peak and carbon neutralization targets, as well as the low-carbon development of the Chinese furniture manufacturing industry. For this purpose, in this study the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Tier-2 methodology was used to evaluate the carbon dioxide emissions of the Chinese furniture manufacturing industry at the national scale. The results show that carbon dioxide emissions increased from 219.50 × 10,000 tons of CO2 equivalent in 2000 to 850.68 × 10,000 tons of CO2 equivalent in 2019. Moreover, carbon dioxide emission intensity decreased from 9.50 tons of CO2 per million dollars to 1.73 tons of CO2 per million dollars in this period. Moreover, electricity and raw coal were observed to have a significant influence on carbon dioxide emissions, followed by diesel oil, gasoline, heat energy, and natural gas. The results reveal that the Chinese furniture manufacturing industry has generally realized low-carbon development over the past two decades. This work proposes several suggestions to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the Chinese furniture manufacturing industry, including promoting the use of clean electricity, the installation of photovoltaic cells, industrial transformation and upgrading, the optimization of transport modes for product delivery and material supply, and the employment of low-carbon raw materials.

Crossing the rivers by feeling the stones: The effect of China's green credit policy on manufacturing firms' carbon emission intensity

To combat environmental exacerbation and energy overuse, the Chinese government issued the Opinions on Implementing Environmental Protection Policies and Regulations to Prevent Credit Risks in 2007, which was the first time it employed a financial market instrument (i.e., the green credit policy) to deal with the environmental problem. By regarding the 2007 green credit policy (GCP) as an exogenous shock, this paper applies the Difference-in-Difference (DID) estimation to examine the impact of the GCP on the carbon dioxide emission intensity of firms in heavily polluting industries and potential impact channels. First, we find that GCP has significantly reduced the carbon emission intensity of heavily polluting firms. Second, the policy can reduce the total energy intensity, especially the coal consumption intensity, thus lowering the carbon emission intensity. Third, the policy improves carbon emission performance through capital renewal instead of technological innovation. Finally, we conclude that the policy can exert a more profound negative effect on small-scale and non-state-owned heavily polluting firms, heavily polluting firms in capital-intensive and higher financial independence industries and heavily polluting firms in provinces with better financial development and marketization.