• We evaluated Nellore steers’ muscle development and meat quality traits as well as the methane (CH 4 ) emissions intensity per kg of carcass. • Five tropical pasture-based beef cattle production systems were analyzed. • Carcass and meat quality traits observed are positively influenced by well-managed intensified systems. • This increased efficiency allows CH 4 emission intensities, confirming their potential as a viable sustainability system to avoid pasture degradation processes. This study evaluated the effects of five pasture-based production systems on the carcass and meat quality traits, as well as the methane (CH 4 ) emissions intensity of male Nellore steers per kg of carcass under tropical conditions. Over two years (2019-2021), uncastrated male steers (three/year/experimental spatial unit) were randomly assigned to five treatments (with two replicates): 1) degraded pasture without nitrogen (N) fertilization (DP0); 2) silvopastoral with 200 kg N ha -1 (SP200); 3) rainfed pasture with 200 kg N ha -1 (RP200); 4) rainfed pasture with 400 kg N ha -1 (RP400); and 5) irrigated pasture with 600 kg N ha -1 (IP600). Animals grazed exclusively, receiving water and mineral-protein supplement ad libitum until being stunned by the Brazilian-approved method cranial concussion, followed by exsanguination, without electrical stimulation. The carcass and meat quality traits observed are positively influenced by intensification. Specifically, IP600, RP400 and RP200 demonstrate a clear benefit in improving RA, BFT, LCCW, CEP and FT (including HEP, FEP and spareribs), and Bones (expressed as kg carcass -1 and %); while SP200 and DP0 restricted the growth rates and muscle development of the animals due to the competition between the trees and the pasture and lack of fertilization, respectively. For CH 4 emission intensities (per kg of carcass), SP200 and DP0 exhibited the highest emissions without proportional production gains, while IP600, RP400, and RP200 showed the lowest values. Well-managed intensified pasture-based systems consistently achieved lower CH 4 emission per unit of product than those observed in DP0, confirming their potential as a viable sustainability system.

Greenhouse gas emissions and water-carbon cost-adjusted yield of drought-tolerant rice under varying irrigation amounts in the Jianghan Plain of China

This study evaluated the integration of a photovoltaic–thermal (PV/T) system with a heat pump (HPs) to reduce energy consumption and carbon intensity in a community-scale cricket farming facility during the winter season. Two configurations were compared: a conventional HPs-only system and a hybrid HPs–PV/T system maintaining the rearing temperature at 28–30 °C. In the hybrid setup, a 10.8 kWth heat pump served as the main heating unit, while eight 550 Wp PV/T panels supplied supplementary heat and electricity. The system performance was experimentally assessed, yielding an average heat-pump Coefficient of Performance (COP) of 3.13 and a PV/T performance ratio (PR) of 0.90 under winter conditions. The hybrid system reduced grid-electricity use to 1.58 kWh/day compared with 24.37 kWh/day in total consumption, achieving a 95.4% grid electricity displacement. Annually, the PV/T array generated 7,570.63 kWh of renewable energy—exceeding the total electricity demand of 7,369.07 kWh/yr. The organizational carbon-footprint analysis showed emissions declined from 5,025.98 kg CO₂e to 1,525.83 kg CO₂e, a 69 % reduction. Overall, the HPs–PV/T hybrid configuration proved to be an energy-efficient, low-carbon solution for temperature-controlled insect farming, particularly suitable for small- and community-scale applications.

A techno-economic, carbon intensity, and policy assessment of hydrogen production in the United States

Crop-specific biogenic volatile organic compound emissions in China.

Shipboard carbon capture and storage (SCCS) is a viable retrofit for maritime decarbonisation, yet its environmental and techno-economic performance remains under-quantified. This study links life-cycle assessment with life-cycle costing to evaluate SCCS across four fuel configurations comprising very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), marine gas oil (MGO), liquefied natural gas (LNG), and methanol, analysed with/without capture. Fuel system boundaries follow International Maritime Organization guidance. The SCCS boundary covers post-combustion monoethanolamine (MEA) absorption, compression/liquefaction and onboard liquid CO 2 storage; one-off manufacture/transport/installation and periodic maintenance are included, whereas port offloading and downstream transport, storage or utilisation are excluded. To enhance generalisability, conservative settings are adopted, assuming post-combustion monoethanolamine at 1.5 kg/t CO 2 , 58% capture efficiency, 3.7 GJ/t CO 2 energy use, and a 30-year service life with 5-year maintenance. Under these settings, installing SCCS lowers well-to-propeller greenhouse-gas emissions by 48.8–49.5% across all fuels after including 8.5–9.2% SCCS self-emissions. These net reductions support technical feasibility through policy alignment, with attained Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index decreasing and Carbon Intensity Indicator improving by up to two grades for representative container, bulk-carrier, and tanker vessels. MGO with SCCS attains decarbonisation comparable to methanol, hence the economic comparison focuses on these two pathways. Over 30 years, MGO with SCCS is 7.1% less costly, with fuel prices the primary driver. Probabilistic analysis indicates SCCS on MGO is the lower-cost option in 69.8% of cases. Overall, within the stated boundary, the findings demonstrate the significance and effectiveness of SCCS for ship decarbonisation. • Study links life cycle assessment and costing for ship carbon capture and storage. • Shipboard carbon capture cuts well-to-propeller emissions by 48.7% to 49.5%. • Carbon capture on ships helps meet 2030 International Maritime Organization rules. • Marine gas oil with carbon capture costs 7.4% less than that of methanol conversion. • Shipboard carbon capture is the lower-cost option in 81.7% of cases studied.

When innovation meets regulation: Reducing carbon intensity in Europe

• Compares oxy-BECCS H₂ pathways with electrolyzer and ASU oxygen supply. • Low-CI grids yield net-negative H₂; ASU-O₂ doubles CO₂ removal per kg H₂. • Feedstock-specific CFbio shows harvested trees, residues weaken net removal. • Grid carbon intensity and O₂-supply energy dominate life-cycle GHG results. • TEA–LCA integration shows credit levels where ASU-O₂ undercuts electrolyzers. Four cradle-to-gate life-cycle assessments are performed for biomass-to-hydrogen pathways with integrated carbon capture and storage. The pathways comprise oxy-combustion and oxy-gasification at 2 and 27 bar(a), with oxygen supplied either from electrolyzer-integrated oxygen or, for selected gasification cases, a cryogenic air-separation unit. The functional unit is 1 kilogram hydrogen compressed to 71 bar(a). Low-carbon intensity (hydro/nuclear-dominated) and high-carbon intensity (fossil-dominated) Canadian grids are modelled in openLCA. Biogenic carbon is quantified using a feedstock-specific biomass-regrowth global warming potential factor and compared with a climate-neutral baseline. Under a low-carbon intensity grid, all electrolyzer-integrated systems are net-negative, with gasification removing ≈21–23 % more carbon dioxide equivalent than combustion. Substituting air separation unit oxygen roughly doubles total carbon removal: similar carbon dioxide is captured from about half the hydrogen output, doubling carbon dioxide per kilogram of hydrogen and cutting oxygen-supply electricity use by nearly an order of magnitude. On high-carbon intensity grids, electrolyzer configurations become net-positive, whereas air separation unit systems remain net-negative (≈ –3 to –5 kilogram carbon dioxide equivalent per kilogram of hydrogen) due to lower electricity use and higher carbon dioxide captured per kilogram of hydrogen. Under low-carbon supply, the biomass-regrowth global warming potential factor values govern outcomes: harvested trees cut net removal by ∼58 % versus climate-neutral, while forest residues cut it by ∼82 %. Additional sensitivities (process pressure, biomass and carbon dioxide transport, future grid decarbonization) exert a secondary influence relative to grid intensity, oxygen-supply route, and feedstock type. Techno-economic integration shows that, without carbon dioxide credits, electrolyzer-oxygen yields lower levelized cost of hydrogen than air separation unit-oxygen in Québec- and Ontario-like grids, while increasing carbon dioxide credits favour air separation unit-oxygen due to greater per-kilogram carbon dioxide removal and stronger levelized cost of carbon mitigation response.

In response to the recently strengthened regulations by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) concerning the Carbon Intensity Index (CII), there is a growing need to adopt alternative propulsion technologies to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions. In this context, wing sails, as one of the wind-assisted propulsion systems, are gaining attention as an eco-friendly solution to enhance ship fuel efficiency. However, their practical implementation requires a comprehensive assessment of their influence on ship stability under diverse sea conditions. To address this gap, this study experimentally evaluates the resistance reduction and roll motion characteristics of wing sail vessels under various marine environmental conditions using the Software-in-the Loop (SIL) method. In the present study, the SIL method creates a closed-loop system where the aerodynamic forces generated by wing sails are simulated as virtual forces and updated in real-time based on the measured motion of the vessel. As a result, the wing sail achieved a maximum resistance reduction of 33%, while the lateral force induced by the wing sail caused a maximum heel angle change of 0.6°. Furthermore, in terms of trim and sinkage, the wing sail showed a tendency to reduce trim, whereas sinkage remained unchanged. • SIL method developed to measure real-time wing sail performance in towing tank tests. • Wing sail aerodynamics were implemented by dynamically adjusting forces based on ship motion. • Wing sails achieved 9.26% to 33.23% drag reduction across various wind conditions. • Heel motion was measured to evaluate wing sail stability on container ships.

This study examines the relationship between liberal democracy and climate performance. In the econometric analysis conducted using the panel ARDL model, the long-term effects of liberal democracy, climate change performance, urban population, and per capita gross domestic product (GDP) on carbon emissions (CO 2 ) are analyzed based on OECD member countries. We find that an increase in the level of liberal democracy increases carbon emissions in the long term, while improved climate performance significantly reduces emissions. It means that liberal democracy not only generates a “demand for climate mitigation” but also a “demand for climate-insensitive economic growth and urbanization.” If the institutional capacity for climate mitigation cannot balance these demands, an increase in carbon emissions will be inevitable. In this context, we argue that relationship between liberal democracy and climate change performance is not linear, but “conditional”. Liberal democracies can only succeed in climate mitigation when a certain institutional capacity threshold is exceeded. This capacity can be increased with the following concrete policy recommendations for OECD countries: To base carbon reduction targets on permanent/legislative rather than temporary/political grounds, to strengthen emission monitoring and reporting mechanisms, and to encourage investments in renewable energy. To expand investments in electric public transport and low-carbon transportation systems, and develop energy-efficient building standards. To focus not only on the rate of growth but also on the carbon intensity and energy structure of that growth.

ABSTRACT Drawing on a multi-task principal-agent framework and panel data from 2,069 Chinese counties (2008–2023), this study utilizes a staggered difference-in-differences (DID) approach to examine how abandoning “GDPism” in performance appraisals influences low-carbon development. The empirical results demonstrate that phasing out “GDPism” assessments significantly and persistently reduces carbon intensity. This effect is driven by a realignment of political incentives that increases promotion prospects for ecologically successful officials, which in turn facilitates green innovation and industrial upgrading through targeted environmental subsidies. Furthermore, the reform’s efficacy is conditioned by regional contexts: while amplified by complementary ecological institutions, the carbon-reduction effect is negatively moderated by financial marketization—suggesting a substitution between administrative incentives and market discipline—and constrained by infrastructure-based “carbon lock-in.” These findings highlight the pivotal role of institutional incentive restructuring in advancing the dual-carbon transition.

Introduction Food production systems are a significant source of carbon emissions, and optimizing agricultural infrastructure is crucial for advancing low-carbon food systems. This study investigates how different configurations of agricultural infrastructure contribute to lower carbon intensity in 30 Chinese provinces between 2013 and 2022. Methods We employ fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to analyze the combined effects of farmland water conservancy, rural transportation, digital infrastructure, agricultural electrification, cultivation scale, and technological progress on agricultural carbon emissions. Results Our findings reveal that no single infrastructure type is necessary for emission reduction. Instead, two dominant pathways emerge. The scale expansion pathway involves the joint presence of farmland water conservancy, rural transportation, and large-scale grain cultivation. The technological progress pathway combines digital infrastructure, farmland water conservancy, and advances in grain production technology. The technological progress pathway demonstrates slightly stronger consistency (0.9813) than the scale expansion pathway (0.9674). Discussion Regional analysis shows that scale-driven pathways are more common in southeastern coastal provinces, whereas technology-driven pathways dominate in northwestern and southwestern regions. These findings provide actionable guidance for region-specific, policy-driven low-carbon transitions in Chinese agriculture.

The Rapid rise of AI and cloud services are increasing in the modern data centers, which consume a large amount of energy consumption. There are certain key concerns like Sustainability, operational cost and environmental impact. However, many AI-based approach had been implemented to maintain workload prediction, Resource optimization and renewable energy integration in cloud infrastructure. In existing studies, there is a lack of unified sustainability-oriented framework. This research does a Comprehensive survey which includes AI-based energy prediction model for unified sustainability, that includes techniques like machine learning, Deep learning and reinforcement learning that does predictions such as workload forecasting, intelligent scheduling, predictive maintenance and energy-aware resource management. while doing this study we found some problems in current cloud systems, which includes limited cross-layer coordination, lack of carbon-aware scheduling, data heterogeneity, explainability issues and minimal real-world validation. To overcome these issues we can use a unified multi-layer sustainable cloud framework, this is nothing but building one complete system that connects all layers of the cloud together that is data acquisition, AI-driven prediction, optimization and sustainability monitoring. A Modified and simpler mathematical model is introduced to reduce the maximum energy consumption along with satisfying Quality of Service (QoS), carbon intensity, and renewable usage constraints. This proposed models approach is to provide a better point of view for building intelligent, energy-efficient and environmentally applicable cloud infrastructures that ensures the sustainability as well as supporting the future research in green computing and sustainable digital ecosystems.

Introduction Against the backdrop of China’s comprehensive push toward the “dual carbon” goals, local governments are expected not only to articulate green development commitments in annual work reports, but also to translate those commitments into concrete action through environmental governance inputs. Yet policy rhetoric and governance inputs do not always move in tandem, and whether such rhetoric–action divergence affects firms’ abatement behavior remains underexplored. Methods Using matched city–firm data from China for 2008–2015, this paper employs a two-way fixed effects model to examine how divergence between local governments’ environmental rhetoric and policy action affects firms’ carbon emission intensity and through which channels. Results We find that greater rhetoric–action divergence significantly increases firms’ carbon emission intensity: a one-standard-deviation increase in the gap raises carbon emission intensity by 3.4%. Mechanism analysis shows that this effect mainly operates through three channels: weakened city-level innovation capacity, reduced investment attraction, and lower environmental regulatory intensity. Heterogeneity analysis further indicates that the effect is more pronounced for state-owned enterprises and foreign-invested firms. Reducing the rhetoric–action gap generates sizable abatement gains and remains net beneficial even after accounting for the associated fiscal costs. Discussion Overall, the paper identifies rhetoric–action consistency as a distinct and underexplored dimension of local green governance quality. Strengthening such consistency can reinforce firms’ incentives to reduce emissions and allow environmental governance to deliver positive net gains under real fiscal constraints.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel is the most viable near-term strategy for decarbonizing commercial aviation. Its performance depends fundamentally on the quality of the feedstock and conversion efficiency. This paper examines the four principal ASTM-certified pathways: Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA), Fischer-Tropsch Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (FT-SPK), Alcohol-to-Jet (ATJ), and Power-to-Liquid (PtL/eSAF). Additionally, it highlights how feedstock chemical composition, contaminants, moisture content, and carbon intensity affect conversion outcomes, including fuel yield, catalyst performance, minimum fuel selling price, and lifecycle greenhouse gas reduction. Feedstock cost accounts for 60-80% of the minimum fuel selling price across bio-based pathways. Fatty acid chain-length profiles directly determine hydrocarbon yield and jet-fraction selectivity in HEFA. Lignocellulosic heterogeneity is the principal technical bottleneck in gasification-FT routes. PtL pathways decouple production from biological feedstock constraints by substituting renewable electricity cost and CO$_2$ source quality as the governing variables.

Governance is often treated as a slow-moving background condition in energy transition research, even though institutional reform and implementation capacity shape outcomes over long horizons. This study adopts a time–frequency perspective to examine how institutional quality aligns with energy-system and carbon-efficiency transition dynamics using multivariate wavelet coherence. Unlike mean-based regression approaches, the multivariate design allows assessment of whether governance aligns with carbon efficiency through three distinct systems—external integration, energy transition with resource rents, and governance coherence—using carbon intensity of GDP (CIGDP) as a common anchor. Using annual data for a comparative sample of GCC economies and non-GCC emerging economies over the period 1996–2022, we examine the evolution of coherence among governance indicators, energy use, renewable energy consumption, external economic exposure, and carbon efficiency, with emissions-related measures explicitly incorporated into the wavelet systems. Environmental implications are therefore interpreted only for systems that directly include carbon-efficiency indicators. The results indicate that institutional quality is most strongly associated with transition dynamics at low frequencies, pointing to persistent long-run alignment rather than short-run adjustment. Across GCC economies, low-frequency coherence is stronger and more continuous, while medium-term weakening appears as time-specific episodes that do not disrupt the underlying long-run structure. In non-GCC emerging economies, long-run coherence remains evident but is less continuous, and medium-horizon fragmentation is more frequent and more prolonged. At high frequencies, coherence is generally weak across countries, suggesting that short-run variation appears more closely associated with external shocks and market conditions than with structural or institutional alignment. Overall, the findings position institutional quality as a stabilising and conditioning factor in energy and carbon-efficiency transitions, operating primarily through long-run coherence and resilience. Systematic differences across governance regimes reflect variation in the continuity and stability of alignment across time horizons, rather than differences in the relevance of governance itself.

This study examines how regulatory heterogeneity in digital services trade relates to the carbon intensity of bilateral trade flows. Using a structural gravity framework estimated with Poisson pseudo maximum likelihood (PPML), we analyzed 10,719 bilateral observations from the Eora Multi-Region Input–Output (MRIO) database over 2014–2020. Bilateral gaps in the OECD Digital Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (DSTRI) were used as the main measure of regulatory heterogeneity, and the overall gap was decomposed into infrastructure-related hard barriers and institutional soft barriers. The results suggest that digital regulatory gaps are associated with a higher carbon intensity in trade while also being associated with lower total embodied emissions through reduced trade volumes. This indicates that lower aggregate emissions under regulatory divergence may reflect contraction in trade activity rather than genuine environmental improvement. The decomposition analysis further suggests that infrastructure-related misalignment is more closely associated with carbon inefficiency, whereas institutional divergence operates mainly through its association with trade volume. In addition, environmental policy stringency in the importing country appears to strengthen the positive association between institutional regulatory gaps and carbon intensity, consistent with the possibility of regulatory overload. The study contributes to the sustainability literature by showing that carbon intensity provides a more informative indicator of sustainable trade performance than aggregate emissions alone in fragmented regulatory environments. It also suggests that digital governance, trade policy, and environmental policy should be considered together in promoting more sustainable forms of international trade, particularly in the context of emerging policy frameworks such as WTO digital trade negotiations, OECD digital governance initiatives, and carbon border adjustment mechanisms (CBAMs).

The accelerating global energy transition has substantially increased demand for critical minerals such as copper, nickel, and lithium, positioning mining firms as key actors in the decarbonization of energy systems. However, the expansion of mineral extraction raises important sustainability challenges because mining activities remain highly energy- and carbon-intensive. This study investigates whether green innovation can simultaneously improve environmental performance and financial performance in critical mineral mining firms and examines the moderating role of institutional governance. Using a balanced panel of 35 publicly listed mining companies from Australia, Canada, Chile, Brazil, and Indonesia over the period 2015–2024, the analysis applies fixed-effects panel regressions complemented by dynamic specifications and multiple robustness tests, including alternative variable definitions and System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimation. The results show that green innovation significantly reduces carbon intensity, indicating that environmental investments in renewable energy integration, electrification, and process efficiency contribute to improving emissions performance in mining operations. Green innovation also enhances firm financial performance, although the benefits emerge gradually over time, suggesting delayed financial gains followed by long-term efficiency improvements. Furthermore, governance quality strengthens the positive relationship between green innovation and firm performance, highlighting the importance of institutional environments in shaping the economic returns of sustainability strategies. By providing firm-level evidence across major mineral-producing economies, this study contributes to the literature on critical minerals, environmental finance, and the institutional dimensions of the just energy transition.

ABSTRACT Understanding the drivers of carbon emissions from the water–food–energy (WFE) system during urbanization is essential for achieving China’s carbon peak and neutrality goals; yet, systematic quantification in this domain remains limited. This study develops a consumption-based accounting framework to estimate WFE carbon emissions for 41 cities in China’s Yangtze River Delta (YRD) from 2000 to 2023. By integrating restricted cubic splines, boosted regression trees, and piecewise structural equation modeling, we systematically uncover the nonlinear impacts and multi-path transmission mechanisms of comprehensive urbanization on WFE emissions. The key findings are as follows: (1) WFE carbon emissions (WFEC) in the YRD exhibit a fluctuating pattern with an overall upward tendency since 2000, mainly driven by industrial and residential water use. (2) A significant nonlinear relationship exists between the composite urbanization index (UI) and both WFEC and WFE carbon intensity (WFECI), with a turning point at approximately UI = 0.2. (3) The marginal effects of population, spatial, and social urbanization on WFEC intensify over time, while that of ecological urbanization weakens; effects on WFECI are predominantly negative. (4) Population, economic, and spatial urbanization exert significant direct effects on emissions, alongside indirect effects mediated by resource use intensity and behavioral consumption structure, marking them as the most pivotal and complex dimensions. The present study provides new evidence on consumption-driven WFE emissions and offers theoretical and policy insights for low-carbon transitions in resource-intensive regions.

Abstract This study investigates how aligning public and private investments can improve carbon efficiency, providing a context for policymakers seeking sustainable growth. An econometric approach is used to analyze the relationship between capital stock and carbon dioxide emissions across 25 European countries from 1990 to 2019. The study emphasizes the need for policymakers to prioritize public investments in renewable energy infrastructure to create conditions conducive to private-sector participation. This research also demonstrates: (i) a negative effect of globalization on the carbon intensity of the capital stock, particularly in the long run; (ii) the impact of trade on carbon emissions varies across specifications, indicating that trade openness can either reduce or increase carbon intensity; (iii) The ecological footprint negatively affects the carbon efficiency of the capital stock, suggesting the need to protect the environment further and combat global warming; and (iv) the urbanization trend in Europe is primarily linked to a decrease in the carbon intensity of the capital stock, especially over the long run. The interaction among energy transitions, capital stocks, and governance structures provides EU policymakers with a comprehensive roadmap for effectively mitigating climate change.