Carbon Intensity Of Production Research Articles

The landscape of CO2 emissions across Africa: A comparative perspective

AbstractThis paper provides evidence on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for 51 African and 132 other countries in 163 sectors over the period 1995–2015. The resulting landscape is summarised in four patterns. Patterns identified for Africa differ from those identified for other regions but are closely related to a synthetic aggregate comparator based on key country characteristics. (1) All regions have reduced emission intensities over the period 1995–2015. Africa's share of global CO2 emissions has remained constant from 1995 to 2015. (2) The carbon intensity of production has increased in Africa in both decades. Over half of the 20 top African emitting countries shifted towards more carbon‐intensive techniques. (3) Over 1995–2015, intra‐regional shares of emissions fell by seven percentage points to 84% for Africa. Africa's share of emissions originating from Asia rose from 4% to 11%. Europe's share of emissions from Africa rose from 2% to 4%, respectively. (4) The export basket of Africa is skewed towards high CO2 equivalent‐intensity products. CO2 emission intensities correlate positively with output upstreamness (OU) and input downstreamness (ID). The OU/ID indicator of position in a supply chain is negatively correlated with CO2 emission intensities within regions.

РАЗРАБОТКА СИСТЕМЫ ЭКСПЕРТНОЙ ОЦЕНКИ ПРОЕКТОВ РАЗВИТИЯ И ЭКОЛОГО-ТЕХНОЛОГИЧЕСКОЙ МОДЕРНИЗАЦИИ ПРОМЫШЛЕННОСТИ

The article presents new approaches to the development of a system for the expert evaluation (peer review) of technological development and industrial modernisation projects aimed at increasing production resource efficiency and environmental performance and reducing carbon intensity. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to set uniform criteria and develop an integrated system for evaluating projects. It is emphasised that the Russian Federation has objectives to expand technological capabilities of the economy and ensure the growth of the domestic industry while improving the resource and reducing the negative environmental impact. These objectives are achieved through the development and implementation of innovative technological solutions, the transition to the best available techniques (BAT) and the formation of a circular economy. Both the state and business allocate significant funds to the industrial environmental and technological modernisation projects. Authors substantiate their position and emphasize that in order to provide support for priority areas of industrial development, it is necessary to develop objective criteria for assessing resource efficiency and environmental performance, as well as to develop a system of expert evaluation of projects. They propose to form a unified system of criteria for pre-financial evaluation of projects based on indicators characterising BAT, including indicators of environmental efficiency (air emissions and water discharges of pollutants), as well as resource intensity and carbon intensity of production. At the same time, the system of expert evaluation of projects should include tools for voluntary (at the stage of selecting technological solutions, developing projects and preparing documentation) and mandatory assessment (at the stage of considering projects by authorised executive authorities, commissions, banks, etc.). Authors demonstrate advantages of the system of expert evaluation of projects for environmental and technological modernisation of industry running a comparative analysis of the cement production projects. They conclude that using uniform criteria will allow taking into account the consistent improvement of the BAT, expanding the spectrum of areas of BAT application and clarifying (tightening) industry indicators, as well as international approaches to the evaluation of green projects. It is recommended using approaches worked out in the Russian Federation for strengthening Eurasian integration in the field of sustainable (including green) development.

Optimization of Technological Regulation of Container Glass Production: Best Available Technologies, General Binding Rules, and Carbon Intensity of Products

Optimization of Technological Regulation of Container Glass Production: Best Available Technologies, General Binding Rules, and Carbon Intensity of Products

Benchmarking systems for greenhouse gases specific emissions in steel industry

The incipient low-carbon transformation of the world economy requires elaboration of market mechanisms, based on determination and comparison of carbon intensity of products (benchmarking), separate facilities, enterprises, countries, regions and the world as a whole. Description of foreign benchmarking systems for specific energy consumption and specific greenhouse gases (GHG) in steel industry given. Results of benchmarking of energy efficiency of steel production in the countries of G20 presented, which was accomplished by International Energy Agency (IEA) in 2021. Russian experience of selective benchmarking by ecological parameters (in information and technical reference books on best available technologies) considered as well as experience of Russian metallurgical companies on evaluation specific emissions of GHG. Comparison of IEA data and those of Russian companies showed that result of benchmarking substantially depends on chosen calculation system and reliability of the initial information, as well as highlighted necessity of harmonization of benchmarking systems and provision of possibility to obtain results in various benchmarking systems based on the same initial information. Actuality and necessity substantiated to create a Russian benchmarking system for specific emissions of GHG first of all to keep ability of exporting Russian products of steel industry into EC, where from 2023 a system of boundary carbon control will come into force, as well as to keep and expand market niches at other markets, including the internal Russian one. The list of products of steel industry and limits of technological processes of their production in the Russian benchmarking system being created, must provide a possibility of comparison with foreign systems and comparison with benchmarking for products which can be covered by CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) system. Basic items of CBAM concept being discussed by European parliament presented. It was noted that in view of plans to introduce CBAM, the provision of correspondence of Russian system to the system of trade by EC quotas or to other scheme, due to which the CBAM mechanism will be launched becomes a matter of particular actuality. The list of products of steel industry, covered by benchmarking within European system of trade by quotas for GHG emissions, limits of a product production system and significance of benchmarkers presented. It was noted that for Russian exporters of steel industry products, the benchmarking for specific GHG emissions should become a routine procedure. It was proposed to elaborate a calculator “Benchmarking of carbon intensity of products of steel industry of Russia”, which could provide comparison of the results obtained with benchmarkers of other international systems.

Estimating the European CO2 emissions change due to COVID-19 restrictions

The carbon dioxide variations generated by the socio-economic restrictions imposed by the management of the COVID-19 crisis are analysed in this paper for 23 European countries and 10 economic sectors. By considering the most up to date information on GDP and carbon intensity of production, this paper represents one of the first attempts to estimate the CO2 emissions change that have taken place in Europe during the first six months of 2020. Results show that more than 195,600 thousand tons of CO2 have been avoided between January and June 2020, compared to the same period of the previous year, representing a −12.1% emissions change. The largest reductions have taken place in the Manufacturing, Wholesale, Retail Trade, Transport, Accommodation and Food Service sectors, accounting for more than 93.7% of total CO2 change. Spain, Italy and France have been the most affected areas with −106,600 thousand tons emissions drop. In line with the results provided by previous studies, this paper highlights that the geographical and the sectoral distribution of the CO2 emissions change has been largely influenced by the magnitude of the COVID-19 impacts. In addition, the carbon intensity of production, characterizing the most affected economic activities, has been the main element of differentiation compared to the previous 2008 crisis. By providing preliminary estimation of the CO2 emissions change that have taken place across geographical and sectoral activities, this paper contributes to the existing climate policy debate and can support future estimation of CO2 variations both in a context of confinement release as well as in a context of reintroduced COVID-19 restrictions.

Инновационный потенциал металлургических предприятий: корпоративные и институциональные условия развития

Relevance. The transition of developed countries to a new technological order and environmental disasters pose new challenges and threats to the domestic economy in the field of accelerating the environmentally friendly transformation of the economic system at an innovative level. These challenges are especially important for metallurgical enterprises, in connection with which the issue of innovative development of the potential of metallurgical enterprises is urgent. Purpose. Based on the analysis of ferrous metallurgy and PJSC "Severstal", to assess the prospects for the development of innovative potential through the introduction of technologies that reduce the burden on the environ-ment. Objectives: Identify the main factors affecting the decline in effective demand for ferrous metallurgy products; to characterize the areas of activity of PJSC "Severstal" with the help of which the problem of reducing the carbon intensity of production is solved; analyze the effectiveness of measures to develop innovative potential. Methodology. The research methodology included the use of methods of retrospective analysis of the volumes of production and consumption of steel; monitoring of individual indicators of corporate financial statements of domestic metallurgical holdings; analysis and synthesis of trends in innovative development and promising directions for modernization of production in the context of the environmental aspect of the concept of sustainable development. Results. The activity of metallurgical enterprises in the development of innovative potential remains insufficiently high, despite the volatility in the domestic and foreign markets. One of the development trends is the introduction of "green" technologies. This conclusion is confirmed by a study of the elements of the investment policy implemented at PJSC "Severstal" and the growth of the enterprise's ESG rating in international analytical agencies. Conclusions. The transition to a new technological structure of developed countries reduces the demand for the products of environmentally dirty industries. This necessitates in the long term the need to develop the innovative and technological potential of domestic metallurgical companies through the implementation of projects that reduce the burden on the environment and increase the level of transparency in the field of carbon intensity of manufactured products while updating equipment and products is updated.

Who Bears the Economic Costs of Environmental Regulations?

Public economics has a well-developed literature on tax incidence – the ultimate burdens from tax policy. This literature is used here to describe not only the distributional effects of environmental taxes or subsidies but also the likely incidence of non-tax regulations, energy efficiency standards, or other environmental mandates. Recent papers find that mandates can be more regressive than carbon taxes. We also describe how the distributional effects of such policies can be altered by various market conditions such as limited factor mobility, trade exposure, evasion, corruption, or imperfect competition. Finally, we review data on carbon-intensity of production and exports around the world in order to describe implications for effects of possible carbon taxation on countries with different levels of income per capita.

Greenhouse gas emissions from tourist activities in South Tyrol

Tourism is a non-negligible source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Using South Tyrol (ST) – a small region with a tourism-intensive economy situated in the North of Italy – as a case study, this article discusses a multiregional input–output (MRIO) framework for calculating the direct and indirect emissions embodied in tourist consumption of goods and services at a subnational level. Compared to more standard single-region implementations of the input–output approach, MRIO analysis offers a more accurate depiction of the amount of emissions, that is, embodied in imports, because it acknowledges that in the modern economy supply chains often stretch across multiple borders and that the carbon intensity of production can vary widely from one location to another. Operationalizing the framework has become relatively straightforward since a number of new global MRIO databases have become available in recent years. Furthermore, the analysis could easily be extended to other environmental externalities of tourism, where the model’s capability to explicitly account for spatial spillovers might also be of interest. The modelling exercise at the heart of the article suggests that, over the course of 2010, the process of producing the goods and services consumed by tourists in ST resulted in 1092 kt CO2e of GHGs being emitted into the atmosphere. This is equivalent to average emissions of 191 kg CO2e per overnight visitor, 38 kg CO2e per night or 0.316 kg per euro of tourist expenditure. Direct emissions account for about one-fourth of the total. Almost four-fifths of total emissions appear to be the result of productive activities sited outside ST itself.

Paths to Carbon Stabilization: How Foreign Carbon-Restricting Reforms Will Affect US Industry, Climate Policy and the Prospects of a Binding Climate Change Treaty

This article investigates new paths for achieving a binding treaty on emission stabilization. Because industry support for US participation in such an agreement is essential, an empirical analysis of lobbying expenditures during Congress’s last attempt to pass emission-restricting legislation is used to gauge industry support and opposition for such reform. The article qualifies its finding of no major spending asymmetry and explains the role of ideological and structural features of the US political system in impeding the passage of any such bill. Scepticism aside, it argues that a shift in US climate policy is coming due to: (i) the implementation of foreign carbon-restricting regimes; and (ii) the US exporters’ response to these reforms. A microeconomic analysis demonstrates that US exporters will increasingly elect carbon-efficient technologies to minimize costs and adjust to a changing regulatory environment. This shift in the carbon intensity of production will cause these industries to form a majority coalition with pro-environment groups in favour of domestic and global emission-restricting reforms. Because these developments lead to the use of border measures designed to curb carbon leakage and address trade concerns, the article makes a few suggestions for reducing potential conflicts between the trade and climate change regimes.

Does the EU ETS Bite? The Impact of Allowance Over-Allocation on Share Prices

The aim of this paper is to find out whether shareholders consider the EU Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) as value relevant for polluting firms. An analysis is conducted of changes in share prices, caused by the first publication of annual compliance data. In April 2006, it turned out that there was an over-allocation of emission allowances, causing a large drop in allowance prices. Through an event study, the impact of this drop on share prices of firms under the EU ETS is analyzed. It is considered to what extent these share price impacts have been determined by (1) their carbon-intensity of production, (2) the pass-through of carbon-related production costs (carbon leakage), (3) their allowance holdings, and (4) their involvement in allowance trade. The results are, respectively, that the carbon-intensity of production has a negative value impact on firms, that larger allowances holdings are positively valued, and that the trade activity of firms has no significant impact. Due to measurement problems, carbon leakage cannot be reliably specified in the regressions. The conclusion is that the EU ETS does ‘bite’. The main impact on the share prices of firms arises from their carbon-intensity of production. The EU ETS is thus valued as a restriction on pollution.

Paths to Carbon Stabilization: How Foreign Carbon-Restricting Reforms Will Affect US Industry, Climate Policy and the Prospects of a Binding Emission Reduction Treaty

'If factors of production are thought of as rights, it becomes easier to understand that the right to do something which has a harmful effect . . . is also a factor of production.' This article investigates new paths for achieving a binding treaty on emission stabilization. Because industry support for US participation in such an agreement is essential, an empirical analysis of lobbying expenditures during Congress's last attempt to pass emission-restricting legislation is used to gauge industry support and opposition for such reform. The article qualifies its finding of no major spending asymmetry and explains the role of ideological and structural features of the US political system in impeding the passage of any such bill. Scepticism aside, it argues that a shift in US climate policy is coming due to: (i) the implementation of foreign carbon-restricting regimes; and (ii) the US exporters' response to these reforms .A microeconomic analysis demonstrates that US exporters will increasingly elect carbon-efficient technologies to minimize costs and adjust to a changing regulatory environment. This shift in the carbon intensity of production will cause these industries to form a majority coalition with pro-environment groups in favour of domestic and global emission-restricting reforms. Because these developments lead to the use of border measures designed to curb carbon leakage and address trade concerns, the article makes a few suggestions for reducing potential conflicts between the trade and climate change regimes. (JEL:D 21, K 32, K 33)

Energy Needs and Efficiency, Not Emissions: Re-framing the Climate Change Narrative

The basic narrative on climate change between the rich and poor worlds has been problematic. The focus on emissions has made industrial countries inadequately sensitive to the unmet energy needs in developing countries. And it has led developing countries to adopt the rhetoric of recrimination and focus on the legacy of historical emissions by industrial countries. The ensuing blame game has led to the current gridlock. As a way out, we suggest some simple principles for determining equitable distribution of emission cuts between developed and developing countries to meet global targets. These principles emphasize basic energy needs and the equality of access to energy opportunities rather than emissions, taking account of development levels, as well as energy efficiency in creating such opportunities. To apply these principles, we develop a new data set to distinguish between energy needs and emissions-intensity for major developing - and developed - country emitters and quantify the relationship between these variables and changes in income (or development). This quantification allows us to project emissions levels in 2050. Our main finding is that meeting global emissions targets equitably requires very large, probably revolutionary, improvements in the carbon intensity of production and consumption, much larger than seen historically. We conclude that a new shared narrative that places equality of energy opportunities at the forefront would naturally shift the focus of international cooperation from allocating emissions “rights” or reductions and blame to maximizing efforts to achieving technology gains and rapidly transferring them worldwide. Abandoning the setting of emissions targets for developing countries and creating instead a framework where all countries contribute to maximizing technology creation and diffusion is what Copenhagen should be about.