Carbon Reduction Targets Research Articles

Digital governance and carbon emission reduction: Evidence from “National Pilot Policy of Information Benefiting the People” in China

Promoting digital governance is crucial for the Chinese government's governance reform. This study utilizes panel data covering 280 cities in China to examine the influence of government digital governance on reducing carbon emissions. The "National Pilot Policy of Information Benefiting the People," implemented in 2014, serves as the quasi-natural experiment for the analysis. The study employs the difference-in-difference (DID) methodology to indicate that improving the government's digital capacity contributes to reducing carbon emissions, which is robust to several robustness tests. Government digital governance facilitates the reduction of carbon emissions primarily via three mechanisms: developing green finance, gathering green talents, and promoting green technology innovation. Enhanced digital governance by the government exerts a more pronounced effect on reducing carbon emissions in cities in the eastern region, smaller municipalities, and resource-dependent municipalities. Additionally, current policies have notably decreased carbon emissions in the pilot cities, though a lag exists in the policy spillover effect affecting neighboring cities. This study investigates the influence of government digital governance on reducing carbon emissions through the lens of digital transformation. It offers valuable empirical insights for enhancing the governance capabilities of the Chinese government in the new era and facilitating the achievement of carbon reduction targets in urban areas.

Embodied carbon saving potential of using recycled materials as cement substitute in Singapore’s buildings

Material production and construction activities are key contributors to global carbon footprints, necessitating sustainable alternatives. This study aims to investigate the potential of integrating recycled materials as Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs) in concrete production to mitigate the substantial carbon emissions of Singapore’s building and construction sector. The research focuses on Ground Granulated Blast-furnace Slag (GGBFS), waste glass powder, and calcined marine clay as alternative SCMs, aiming to reduce environmental impact and waste disposal emissions in Singapore. Employing a cradle-to-gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology for 1 m3 of concrete with different grades, this study quantifies embodied carbon savings and assesses the feasibility of substituting these SCMs in concrete. The results reveal that substituting Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) with GGBFS in concrete offers the most significant reduction, up to 56%, in 1 m3 of concrete. In contrast, the use of calcined marine clay and glass powder in concrete results in reductions of up to 21% and 16%, respectively. Two case studies were used to exemplify the impact of using SCM concrete at the project scale. Results indicate that up to 31% of the total embodied carbon could be saved in the building. Additionally, scenario analysis suggests that the total emissions from cementitious materials in Singapore could decrease by 20% through the incorporation of locally recycled marine clay and glass powder. This reduction could potentially reach 56% if the GGBFS supply is not constrained. To further enhance sustainability in Singapore’s construction sector, the study proposes sourcing GGBFS from neighboring countries to minimize transportation emissions and localizing the production and usage of calcined marine clay and glass powder. These measures can improve material circularity and significantly contribute to achieving carbon reduction targets.

Comparative carbon emission assessment of vertical and modular ground source heat pump systems

The urgent need to address climate change necessitates a reduction in carbon emissions, particularly within the building sector. To achieve carbon neutrality, innovative technologies such as carbon capture, renewable energy systems, and carbon-neutral materials have been developed. However, there remains a dearth of research quantitatively analyzing carbon emissions through a life cycle assessment while implementing these technologies in real-world building scenarios. Additionally, Ground-source Heat Pumps (GSHPs) demonstrate superior efficiency compared to Air-source Heat Pumps (ASHPs) by leveraging stable ground temperatures, yet their widespread adoption is hindered by high initial investment costs. This study compares and analyzes the carbon emissions of GSHPs with Modular Ground Heat Exchangers (MGHXs), designed to mitigate initial investment barriers, alongside Vertical Ground Heat Exchangers (VGHXs) and ASHPs. The primary objective is to evaluate technology adoption feasibility from a carbon equivalent perspective, focusing on energy demand through building energy simulation. Results indicate that MGHXs exhibit a 6.7 % reduction in carbon emissions compared to VGHXs during production and construction (stage A). However, MGHXs generate 0.57 CO2-eq more per square meter per year during building operation (stage C). The implementation of geothermal energy systems in new buildings across South Korea could potentially achieve a maximum reduction effect of 11.6 % concerning the country's NDC (Nationally Determined Contributions) 2030 carbon reduction target.

Roof Shape Design for Ice Rinks in Cold Regions under Carbon Reduction Targets

In the midst of today’s energy crisis, carbon emissions from ice rinks in cold regions present a significant environmental challenge. The shape of an ice rink’s roof significantly influences these emissions. This study developed a methodology to quantify the carbon emissions of ice rinks and explained how their roof shapes impact emissions during the operational phase. Roof shapes were divided into the following three categories: flat, curved, and combined torsion shell. Carbon emission modeling was established and calibrated using the Ladybug + Honeybee platform, followed by regression analyses on the slope and curvature of each roof type. The findings indicate a robust correlation between the carbon emissions of an ice rink and the slope and curvature of its roof. Roof shape influences approximately 2% of carbon emissions during the operational phase of an ice rink. Among the various roof shapes, the curved dome roof demonstrates the most effective overall carbon savings, at a rate of 0.93% compared to the flat roof. Selecting an appropriate roof shape has significant carbon-saving potential for ice rinks. The findings of this study may serve as a valuable reference for the formulation of energy-saving design standards in cold regions.

Optimizing air quality and health Co-benefits of mitigation technologies in China: An integrated assessment

Carbon mitigation technologies lead to air quality improvement and health co-benefits, while the practical effects of the technologies are dependent on the energy composition, technological advancements, and economic development. In China, mitigation technologies such as end-of-pipe treatment, renewable energy adoption, carbon capture and storage (CCS), and sector electrification demonstrate significant promise in meeting carbon reduction targets. However, the optimization of these technologies for maximum co-benefits remains unclear. Here, we employ an integrated assessment model (AIM/enduse, CAM-chem, IMED|HEL) to analyze air quality shifts and their corresponding health and economic impacts at the provincial level in China within the two-degree target. Our findings reveal that a combination of end-of-pipe technology, renewable energy utilization, and electrification yields the most promising results in air quality improvement, with a reduction of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) by −34.6 μg m−3 and ozone by −18.3 ppb in 2050 compared to the reference scenario. In contrast, CCS technology demonstrates comparatively modest improvements in air quality (−9.4 μg m−3 for PM2.5 and −2.4 ppb for ozone) and cumulative premature deaths reduction (−3.4 million from 2010 to 2050) compared to the end-of-pipe scenario. Notably, densely populated regions such as Henan, Hebei, Shandong, and Sichuan experience the most health and economic benefits. This study aims to project effective future mitigation technologies and climate policies on air quality improvement and carbon mitigation. Furthermore, it seeks to delineate detailed provincial-level air pollution control strategies, offering valuable guidance for policymakers and stakeholders in pursuing sustainable and health-conscious environmental management.

Mechanisms for implementing fossil fuel divestment in portfolio management with impact on risk, return and carbon reduction

Mechanisms to incentivize divestment strategies, such as divestment schedules, are an important component of carbon reduction strategies. We use dynamic asset allocation methodologies to assess this impact over time on index portfolios (S&P 500 and FTSE 100), and global exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Although return profiles are not affected, the risk profile of S&P 500 divestment portfolios is impacted by rapid divestment strategies as divestment concentration increases. Instantaneous divestment may benefit management structure, while slower divestment provides greater stability in portfolios’ tracking errors and benefits carbon reduction, especially from reinvested capital. Divesting from energy and utilities sectors reduces carbon footprint of up to 7%, while ETFs’ divesting from highly carbon concentrated ETFs offers further carbon footprint reductions. Investing in funds with low carbon footprint results in lower dividend returns and management fees. Although ETFs’ returns are insensitive to divestment strategies and schedules, their risk profiles are affected, proportionally to their carbon intensity, especially for rapid divestment and at the expense of higher tracking errors. Divestment strategies based on ESG rating screening of FTSE 100 portfolios improve diversification and impact risk/return performance. Our study underscores the importance of considering investors’ demographics, such as dividends, management structure, and carbon reduction targets.

Analysing Greenhouse Gas Emission Trends of Indian Companies Through Their Disclosures

With the increasing trend of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions worldwide and the subsequent evolution of new national and international commitments related to climate change, corporates have started to limit and disclose their emissions. This paper analyses the comprehensiveness of disclosures on Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions of the top 100 Indian companies by market capitalisation and their trend compared to the previous reporting year through their publicly available reports/ websites. The analysis revealed that 66 of these companies reported their scope 1 & 2 emissions, whereas 48 reported on all three scopes, with 35 companies making emission reduction targets voluntarily. This shows that Indian companies are increasingly becoming self-aware of their responsibilities. The analysis of emission targets showed that companies with carbon reduction targets scored better in disclosures than those without foreseeable targets, suggesting that these targets motivate corporates to calculate emissions and report more transparently. Additionally, a rating score of 1 to 5 was assigned to all the National Stock Exchange Fifty (NIFTY) 100 companies to assess their GHG emission disclosure performance, which could be important for setting the benchmark for different sectors/industries on emission reduction targets in India. Furthermore, the study discusses the significance of such analysis in anticipation of India’s regulation on domestic and voluntary carbon markets

Command thy blessing from above: vertically delegated carbon reduction targets and firm export performance in China

Command thy blessing from above: vertically delegated carbon reduction targets and firm export performance in China

Spatiotemporal dynamics and influencing factors of CO2 emissions under regional collaboration: Evidence from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in China

Against the backdrop of global climate change and the “dual carbon” target, cities have a significant responsibility to achieve carbon reduction targets. As a crucial urban agglomeration in northern China, effectively balancing economic growth with CO2 emission reduction to achieve high-quality economic development remains a significant challenge that the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region should address both presently and in the future. The objective of this study is to utilize nighttime lighting data and energy consumption information to quantify the CO2 emissions of diverse cities within the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region spanning from 2006 to 2020. The research aims to analyze the spatial progression patterns of CO2 emissions across these urban centers, identify key determinants and their interrelations, and delve into the underlying mechanisms pivotal for advancing carbon mitigation strategies within urban agglomerations. The results indicate that: with an exception in Beijing where CO2 emissions slightly decreased compared to 2006, CO2 emissions increased across cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region by 2020. High-value CO2 emission areas are primarily concentrated in central of the study area, exhibiting negative spatial correlation characteristics. Based on its urban development positioning, it is imperative for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration to formulate and implement carbon reduction strategies on innovative development, industrial upgrading, and ecological protection among other aspects towards coordinated low-carbon development.

Assessing the Environmental Performance of Agricultural Production Using a Parametric Approach: An Application for Crop Producers in Ukraine

ABSTRACT Agriculture is characterized not only by the production of desirable outputs but also by generating environmental pressures. This article emphasizes the necessity of accounting for “bad” outputs when assessing the performance of agricultural producers. It provides a first attempt to empirically evaluate the environmental performance of crop producers in Ukraine employing farm-level panel data. Our results suggest that the average environmental efficiency for crop producers in Ukraine was 0.84 over the period 2017–2019, meaning a reasonable scope exists for farmers to improve their environmental performance and contribute to meeting carbon reduction targets, as well as help achieve a green postwar economic recovery.

A computer vision approach to estimate the localized sea state

This research presents a novel application of computer vision (CV) and deep learning methods for real-time sea state recognition, aiming to contribute to improving the operational safety and energy efficiency of seagoing vessels, key factors in meeting the legislative carbon reduction targets. Our work focuses on utilizing sea images in operational envelopes captured by a single stationary camera mounted on the ship bridge. The collected images are used to train a deep learning model to automatically recognize the state of the sea based on the Beaufort scale. To recognize the sea state, we used 4 state-of-the-art deep neural networks with different characteristics that proved useful in various computer vision tasks: Resnet-101, NASNet, MobileNet_v2, and Transformer ViT -b32. Furthermore, we have defined a unique large-scale dataset, collected over a broad range of sea conditions from an ocean-going vessel prepared for machine learning. We used the transfer learning approach to fine-tune the models on our dataset. The obtained results demonstrate the potential for this approach to complement traditional methods, particularly where in-situ measurements are unfeasible or interpolated weather buoy data is insufficiently accurate. This study sets the groundwork for further development of sea state classification models to address recognized gaps in maritime research and enable safer and more efficient maritime operations.

Decomposition analysis of regional differences in China's carbon emissions based on socio-economic factors

Developing policies and setting carbon reduction targets for various regions in China are important actions to narrow the gap of regional carbon emissions. This study reports on the differences in carbon emissions in the eastern, central, and western regions of China from 2005 to 2021 using the Theil index, and decomposes carbon emissions into emission intensity, industrial structure, economic scale, and population size effects using the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index. In order to analyze the impact of socio-economic factors on carbon emissions, the industrial structure and emission intensity effects are divided into six socio-economic sectors. The major outcomes reported that: (1) the regional differences account for 70 % of the total carbon emissions difference, and the eastern region reported the most significant carbon emission difference; (2) the emission intensity and the economy scale are the top two effects on carbon emissions. The economic scale effect always drives an increase in carbon emissions, while emission intensity promotes a decrease in carbon emissions. The industrial structure effect shows a gradually decreasing trend in all regions, especially in the eastern region, the effect has turned negative since 2013. This is due to the proposed industrial transformation and upgrading in China since 2013, which has promoted the reconstruction of competitive advantages for high polluting heavy industry enterprises and accelerating the green transformation of industrial technology; (3) the industry sector contributes to the highest carbon emissions, followed by the transportation sector. Both sectors are the top two emitters and should be targeted for carbon reduction. The carbon emissions were generated based on the terminal energy consumption. The contribution effects of multiple industries and the differences in carbon emissions as affected by the driving factors and economic mechanisms among different regions in China were analyzed.

Estimating built-up area carbon emissions through addressing regional development disparities with population and nighttime light data

Carbon emission inventories in urban built-up areas are critical for formulating effective emission reduction policies. Nighttime light data, reflecting socioeconomic activities, is routinely used as a proxy for estimating emissions. However, the reliability of this proxy is limited in areas with minimal or absent lighting and demonstrates variability according to the urban development. To address these limitations, a novel approach was developed. Firstly, it enhances the representation of human activities under different light values through integrating light values and population distributions into multidimensional proxy features. Secondly, cities with different socio-economic development were clustered to minimize the development disparities within the same cluster. Four clusters were detected including ‘Agriculture-dependent & Low-density’, ‘Agriculture-dependent & High-density’, ‘Industry-oriented’, and ‘Tertiary-oriented’. Then A multilayer perceptron regressor, refined with a moving average method, was employed to model the nonlinear relationships between emissions and these proxy features. The results show a significant increase in modeling accuracy when regional development disparities are incorporated through this clustering strategy. Additionally, the Shapley Additive Explanatory method was utilized to analyze the influence of regional development heterogeneity on the estimation model. It demonstrated that areas with high light intensity and population significantly influence emission estimates in all clusters, except for the ‘Industry-oriented cluster’. This finding underscores the varying effectiveness of proxy features across different regions, emphasizing the importance of considering regional development disparities. Finally, based on the estimated inventory obtained, spatio-temporal hot spot detection pinpointed eastern and central China as significant emission hot spots. This research not only enhances the data resources for managing carbon emissions but also underscores the need for inter-city cooperation strategies to achieve China's carbon reduction targets.

A Tri-party Collaboration Empowering Tenants and Employees to Strive Towards Sustainability Goals – The Industry-first ESG Partnership Programme

Abstract With the global aspiration for net zero carbon emissions by 2050, it has become common practice in building design to strive for the implementation of smart and innovative technologies in development projects. This is done to achieve excellent energy and environmental performance while minimizing carbon emissions. However, despite the adoption of various sustainable strategies during the design and construction phases, it should be acknowledged that operational carbon can still contribute significantly to the total carbon emissions over the building’s lifecycle. To effectively work towards the carbon net zero target in building development, a suggested approach is the implementation of a Landlord-Individual-Tenant (LIT) ESG Partnership Programme. This program aims to realize the potential for carbon reduction during the operational phase. In the case study of The Henderson, which is Henderson Land Development Company Limited’s upcoming flagship commercial development in Central Hong Kong, an industry-first Landlord-Individual-Tenant (LIT) ESG Partnership Programme is set to be launched. The LIT ESG Partnership Programme involves a three-way collaboration that includes not only corporate tenants of the commercial development but also their individual employees, all working together to pursue ambitious, data-driven sustainability goals. The ultimate goal of the program is to reshape the current ESG landscape in the property sector by showcasing that an effective ESG partnership program can create synergy between the developer, tenants, and individual occupants to achieve carbon reduction targets.

Carbon Trading and Its Role in Shaping Indonesia’s Environmental Resilience to Climate Change

Abstract In Indonesia, considerable environmental issues originate from industrial and agricultural activity, peatland fires, and deforestation. The government of Indonesia is legally required to adopt efforts to address these challenges. One feasible alternative under discussion is the formation of a carbon market, whereby firms are issued permits to release particular amounts of greenhouse gases. This notion has attracted support from both the European Union (EU) and numerous Asian nations. This paper investigates the function and importance of carbon emission trading systems in attaining carbon reduction targets. Leveraging global data envelope analysis (DEA), it formulates performance indicators for energy consumption and carbon emissions via a two-stage procedure. Furthermore, the study assesses the policy effect of carbon trading by developing counterfactual trajectories using the synthetic control technique. The study presents the notion of carbon markets and analyzes its potential to become a vital aspect of Indonesia’s climate mitigation plans. It indicates that carbon markets contain the ability to dramatically boost carbon and energy-carbon performance, mostly owing to technical restrictions and stakeholder participation.

Get the balance right: lessons from UK higher education in managing environmental and economic performance

ABSTRACT Since 2008, there have been a growing number of social policies placed on UK higher education institutions (HEIs) to engage in reducing carbon emissions and meet self-imposed carbon reduction targets while producing graduates, publishing research papers and attracting research income. HEI managers thus face the challenging task of having to determine the optimal level between environmental performance and economic performance – from activities that generate income, to which we refer as overall efficiency. To that end, the current study measures the overall efficiency levels of UK HEIs from 2012/13 to 2018/19 using a slacks-based measure model that incorporates bad outputs. The study aims to determine the extent to which the optimal balance between environmental performance and economic performance has been achieved as evidenced by the efficiency of HEIs over the course of the sample period. The study also identifies factors associated with efficiency and provides policy recommendations. Over the study period, overall efficiency (incorporating the bad output of carbon emissions) initially fell and then rose in the last 2 years suggesting some optimism that carbon emissions management has improved since then. The second-stage analysis, which identifies factors associated with efficiency, suggests that the ratio of students to staff and HEIs in the Russell group is positively associated with the efficiency of inefficient HEIs. When both efficient and inefficient universities are considered, having an environmental management system is positively associated with efficiency, while the opposite is the case for having science, engineering and medicine disciplines and having carbon reduction targets.

The role of financing constraints and environmental policy on green investment

Despite ambitious carbon reduction targets set by policymakers worldwide, current investments fall well short of the net-zero emissions scenario. This paper investigates the impact of financing constraints (FCs) on green investment among large, publicly listed firms across diverse sectors and countries. We find that FCs significantly reduce the propensity to undertake green investments by 2.5 percentage points. This result is even more pronounced in a difference-in-differences framework when focusing on the exogenous increase in financing costs resulting from the Great Financial Crisis of 2007/08. The study reveals further that the negative impact of FCs can be reduced by market-based environmental policies.

Investigation into the Methodology and Implementation of Life Cycle Engineering under China's Carbon Reduction Target in the Process Industry

The industrial sector is the primary source of carbon emissions in China. In pursuit of meeting its carbon reduction targets, China aims to promote resource consumption sustainability, reduce energy consumption, and achieve carbon neutrality within its processing industries. An effective strategy to promote energy savings and carbon reduction throughout the life cycle of materials is by applying life cycle engineering technology. This strategy aims to attain an optimal solution for material performance, resource consumption, and environmental impact. In this study, five types of technologies were considered: raw material replacement, process reengineering, fuel replacement, energy recycling and reutilization, and material recycling and reutilization. The meaning, methodology, and development status of life cycle engineering technology abroad and domestically are discussed in detail. A multidimensional analysis of ecological design was conducted from the perspectives of resource and energy consumption, carbon emissions, product performance, and recycling of secondary resources in a manufacturing process. This coupled with an integrated method to analyze carbon emissions in the entire life cycle of a material process industry was applied to the nonferrous industry, as an example. The results provide effective ideas and solutions for achieving low or zero carbon emission production in the Chinese industry as recycled aluminum and primary aluminum based on advanced technologies had reduced resource consumption and emissions as compared to primary aluminum production.

The impact of Fintech on corporate carbon emissions: Towards green and sustainable development

AbstractFintech, as the fusion of finance and technology, has not only transformed the traditional financial industry and contributed to reshaping the real economy. But also, it holds the potential to offer a feasible solution for achieving green and sustainable development. This paper investigates the impact of Fintech on corporate carbon emissions (CCEs) by using data from the National Tax Survey Database (NTSD). The results suggest that Fintech development leads to a reduction in CCEs. Our findings remain robust even after using the instrumental variable approach to alleviate endogeneity problems. The mechanism analysis reveals that Fintech reduces CCEs via alleviating financing constraints, improving energy efficiency, and promoting green innovation. Heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that Fintech dramatically decreases CCEs from coal energy consumption, while increasing CCEs from consuming power and gas energy. Additionally, carbon emissions from state‐owned and foreign companies experience a more pronounced reduction through Fintech compared to those from private firms. Furthermore, firms in eastern and middle regions are more vulnerable to Fintech development. Moreover, enterprises in non‐high‐tech industries and high‐polluting industries exhibit noteworthy performance in reducing carbon emissions through Fintech adoption. This research offers policymakers a path to effectively govern CCEs and achieve their carbon reduction targets.

Quantifying COVID-19′s impact on GHG emission reduction in Oman's transportation sector: A bottom-up analysis of pre-pandemic years (2015–2019) and the pandemic year (2020)

On February 24, 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit Oman, forcing nationwide lockdowns and movement limitations. This study estimates the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on Oman's transportation sector's Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. Using a bottom-up methodology, this analysis compares the years preceding the pandemic (2015–2019) to the pandemic year (2020). According to the results, the implementation of COVID-19 lockdown measures significantly reduced GHG emissions from passenger vehicles by 26.4 % and 27.8 % from whole road transportation. The overall GHG reduction from whole road transportation in Oman during the pandemic year (2020) was estimated around 1,502 kilotons CO2eq. These reductions represent 17 % of the pledged of carbon reduction target in the Second Nationally Determined Contributions by 2030. These results highlight the possibility of achieving emission reduction goals through the adoption of remote work practices, which has contributed significantly to the decline in emissions during the pandemic. Remote work has the potential to reduce commuter trips, thereby reducing overall mobility and emissions, particularly in Oman, which lacks public transportation and relies heavily on private vehicles. The potential benefits of remote work in reducing carbon emissions in the transportation sector should be carefully evaluated and encouraged by policymakers in order to help Oman achieve its climate goals.