Emission Reduction Goals Research Articles

The influences of renewable energy, globalization, technological innovations, and forests on emission reduction in Colombia

The utilization of fossil fuels and deforestation are the primary causes of global warming and climate change. Innovation is therefore essential to achieve green energy and sustainable development. As part of the Paris Agreement, Colombia has pledged to cut 51% of its emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Thus, the present study examined the emission reduction potential of economic growth, renewable energy utilization, globalization, technological innovations, and forests in Colombia by employing the Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) technique utilizing time series data from 1990 to 2020. The empirical results revealed that a rise in economic growth is connected with a boost in emissions, while a boost in the consumption of renewable energy, technical innovation, globalization, and forest cover might cut Colombia's carbon emissions in the long run. Furthermore, a credibility test was conducted by utilizing total greenhouse gas emissions as other measurements of emission reduction. The DOLS results are stable while applying the fully modified least squares (FMOLS) and canonical cointegrating regression (CCR) techniques. This article includes policy ideas aiming at a low-carbon economy, promotion of renewable energy, financing technical innovation, globalization, and sustainable forest management to meet Colombia's goal of emission reduction.

Can the transformation of trade patterns achieve carbon reduction? Empirical evidence from a panel of 201 Chinese cities during the period 2000-2016.

How the transformation of trade patterns affects carbon emissions is an important topic in the field of trade and the environment. Based on the panel data of Chinese cities from 2000 to 2016, this paper uses fixed effect model, instrumental variable model and threshold estimation model to investigate the impact of the transformation of export trade patterns on carbon emissions and its internal mechanism. We find that during the investigation period, the transformation of export trade pattern has a significant "U"-shaped nonlinear impact on carbon emissions, and the research results still hold after a series of robustness checks and instrumental variable estimation; through the mechanism analysis of the threshold effect, it is found that in the process of the impact of trade patterns transformation on carbon emissions, there are double thresholds for energy structure transition; the nonlinear impact of export trade pattern transformation on carbon emissions has significant heterogeneity in different regions, city categories, and different periods; the mechanism analysis results show that industrial structure upgrading, industrial co-agglomeration, and green technology innovation are the main paths that the transformation of export trade patterns affects carbon emissions. Under the dual goals of fulfilling China's commitment to "carbon peak in 2030 and carbon neutrality in 2060" and implementing corporate social governance to promote green and sustainable development, this paper will provide suggestions for realizing the goal of low-carbon emission reduction from the perspective of the transformation of export trade patterns.

Digital Economy, Energy Structure Transformation, and Regional Carbon Dioxide Emissions

For China to reach its “dual carbon” aim, the digital economy presents both opportunities and obstacles. This paper examines the potential impact of digital economy development on regional carbon dioxide emissions, concluding that while the direct impact on regional carbon dioxide emissions through industrial structure upgrading and technological progress is unclear, the indirect impact through promoting energy structure transformation is both positive and clear. This research experimentally validates the results of a theoretical analysis using panel data from 30 Chinese provinces from 2011 to 2019 and the STIRPAT model and discovers an inverted U-shaped association between digital economy development and regional carbon dioxide emissions. According to the transmission path test, the digital economy primarily achieves its carbon dioxide emission reduction effect by promoting energy structure transformation, while the carbon dioxide emission reduction effect from upgrading industrial institutions and technological progress is insignificant. By region, the expansion of the digital economy in eastern China has a large carbon dioxide emission reduction effect but not in central and western China. The policy implication of this paper is that curbing new carbon dioxide emissions caused by digital infrastructure construction using the digital economy to accelerate energy structure transformation and accelerating digital economy development in central and western China can be effective policy options for the Chinese government to achieve the goal of carbon dioxide emission reduction.

Development trend of Pakistan's natural gas consumption: A sectorial decomposition analysis

Natural gas is a crucial transitional energy for Pakistan to attain the emission reduction goal for sustainable economic growth. To imply environmentally-friendly fuel and save foreign exchange, huge indigenous resources can be used. Under sustainable policies, Pakistan's natural gas is predicted to adequately rise, which will significantly impact energy security, economy and environment. The objective of the study is to analyze NGC factors' decomposition in Pakistan from 1996 to 2020, applying the logarithmic mean Divisia index method to provide evidence of the effect of key factors, including NGC intensity, income and population effects. The results show that: (a) during 1996–2020, natural gas is raised maximally due to the rise in income and population levels. (b) Population effect was the second key driver of gas rising, while the intensity effect was added to slow down during the maximum intervals. With the rising trend of a population between 0.12 and 0.22 billion, it is the only leading factor that is increasing the NGC to maximum level. (c) The sectorial outcomes influenced population growth with positive income, evidenced by the per capita. Looking forward to the energy targets, prediction highlights that sustainability and energy security could be guaranteed by modifying technological progress and environmental policies.

Carbon Neutrality in Municipalities: Balancing Individual and District Heating Renewable Energy Solutions

Carbon neutrality in municipalities can be achieved by combining individual heating and district heating solutions involving the use of renewable energy sources. Each approach has advantages and disadvantages, but the best solution depends on the specific circumstances of each municipality. As an environmentally friendly and efficient energy use, a decentralised heat supply contributes to achieving energy conservation and emissions reduction goals. Decentralised energy use, such as solar collectors with thermal energy storage or biomass as a resource, reduces dependence on centralised heat generation and transmission. The appropriate infrastructure for connection to district heating networks has not yet been built. On the other hand, it is easier to make investments to construct proper infrastructure in the case of large-scale centralised heat supplies. Moreover, a centralised heat supply with renewable energy sources can provide more inhabitants with renewable heat energy. Within the framework of the study, the possibilities of using renewable energy sources in one of the municipalities of Latvia—the Carnikava parish of Ādaži Municipality—are analysed. The study examines two scenario complexes including individual heating solutions in buildings or district heating solutions with a centralised approach. The study evaluates several alternatives to increase the share of RES (solar collectors, biomass, heat pumps, etc.) in the centralised heat supply. To evaluate individual RES solutions in various municipal buildings, this study evaluates alternatives with different technical solutions that increase the use of RES in heat supply.

Does Sustainable Development in Resource-Based Cities Effectively Reduce Carbon Emissions? An Empirical Study Based on Annual Panel Data from 59 Prefecture-Level Cities in China

This study presents an analysis of the impact of the National Plan for the Sustainable Development of Resource-based Cities (2013–2020) on urban carbon emissions and explores the underlying mechanisms of this policy’s effect. Panel data from 59 prefecture-level cities in the Shandong, Henan, Hunan, and Hubei provinces in China for the period between 2007 and 2019 were used to perform a DID (difference-in-differences) method analysis and conduct various robustness tests, including counterfactual testing, a PSM-DID (propensity score matching-difference-in-differences) method analysis, and a placebo test. The findings demonstrate that The Plan effectively reduces urban carbon emissions, with its effects varying across provinces and classes of resource-based cities. Specifically, Henan Province shows the most significant effect in reducing carbon emissions compared to the other three provinces. The Plan is more successful in regenerative and recessionary resource-based cities than in mature ones. Furthermore, it reduces carbon emissions by decreasing cities’ dependence on resources, improving citizens’ quality of life, and limiting the pace of industrial development. This article provides important policy implications for promoting the sustainable development of China’s resource-based cities and achieving carbon emission reduction goals amidst the carbon peak and carbon neutrality contexts.

Electric vehicles as a sustainable energy Technology: Observations from travel survey data and evaluation of adoption with Machine learning method

Governments worldwide are promoting Electric Vehicles (EVs) to achieve the energy conservation and emissions reduction goal, but low penetration of EVs means that it still has far to go before stepping into the sustainable energy future. In addition to technological breakthroughs to enhance the appeal of EVs, how to locate demand and make targeted promotions is also vital in increasing the share of EVs. This study explored the household characteristics related to EV adoption with the household travel survey data and proposed a LightGBM-based prediction modelling framework with high accuracy and explainable results. During this process, the details of sampling techniques to overcome data imbalance were discussed with the aim of improving the model performance. Furthermore, through constructing the model with high interpretability, we identified important factors regarding EV adoptions through both statistical significance and feature importance analysis. The research findings can not only assist EV manufacturers in targeting potential buyers but also help policymakers understand families’ EV purchasing decisions and develop more targeted and equitable policies and incentive programs. Such two-pronged efforts have the potential to advance the sustainability transition towards greener transportation systems.

Carbon Neutrality in Municipalities: Balancing Local and Centralized Renewable Energy Solutions

Carbon-neutrality in municipalities can be achieved by combining individual heating (IH) and district heating (DH) solutions involving the use of renewable energy sources (RES). Each approach has advantages and disadvantages, but the best solution depends on the specific circumstances of each municipality. As an environmentally friendly and efficient energy use, a decentralised heat supply contributes to achieving energy conservation and emissions reduction goals. Decentralised energy use, such as solar collectors with an accumulation system or biomass as a resource, reduces dependence on centralised heat generation and transmission. Often, the appropriate infrastructure for connection to DH networks has not yet been built. On the other hand, it is easier to make investments to construct proper infrastructure in the case of large-scale centralised heat supply. Moreover, a centralised heat supply with RES can provide more inhabitants with RES heat energy. Within the framework of the study, the possibilities of using renewable energy sources in one of the municipalities of Latvia – the Carnikava parish of Ādaži Municipality – are analysed. The study examines two scenario complexes including IH solutions in buildings or DH solutions with a centralised approach. The study evaluates several alternatives to increase the share of RES (e.g., solar collectors, biomass, heat pumps, etc.) in the centralised heat supply. To evaluate RES individual solutions in various municipal buildings, the study evaluates alternatives with different technical solutions that increase the use of RES in heat supply.

Characteristics of Carbon Emission Transfer under Carbon Neutrality and Carbon Peaking Background and the Impact of Environmental Policies and Regulations on It

In recent years, with the increase in global carbon dioxide content, the negative impact of the greenhouse effect has become increasingly significant. Moreover, countries have gradually recognized the importance and urgency of carbon emission (CE) reduction. Under the dual-carbon background, CE transfer has received increasing attention. The study of its characteristics can help carry out CE reduction. Therefore, the study analyzes the characteristics of CE transfer, hoping to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, environmental policies and regulations have a significant impact on CE transfer. CE transfer under different environmental policies and regulations varies greatly. The relationship between environmental policies and regulations and CE transfer needs to be specifically analyzed. Therefore, a theoretical model is built based on environmental policies and regulations and CE transfer. This model is used to analyze the impact of different environmental policies and regulations on CE transfer. The measurement is tested via numerical simulation. The results show that good environmental policies and regulations can effectively reduce global CE. This study also compares and analyzes the relationship between differences in environmental policies and regulations and carbon leakage (CL). The results show that positive environmental policies and regulations can reduce CL, thus achieving the goal of carbon emission reduction. The above results show that in the context of dual carbon, appropriate environmental policies and regulations can reasonably regulate CE transfer and CL level. This can reduce the global emissions of carbon dioxide and the negative impact of the greenhouse effect on the world.

Study on the initial carbon quota allocation and spatial balance compensation strategy at the provincial level in China

With the official national unified carbon market launch on July 16, 2021, the allocation and trading of initial carbon quotas between regions will become the focus of research in the future. Based on a reasonable regional initial carbon quota allocation, introducing the concept of carbon ecological compensation and formulating differentiated emission reduction strategies according to the characteristics of different provinces can better guarantee the realization of China's carbon emission reduction goals. Based on this, this paper first analyzes the distribution effects under different distribution principles from the perspective of fairness and efficiency. Secondly, the Pareto optimal multi-objective particle swarm optimization (Pareto-MOPSO) algorithm is used to build the initial carbon quota allocation optimization configuration model to optimize the allocation results. The optimal initial carbon quota allocation scheme is determined through the comparative analysis of the allocation results. Finally, we explore the combination of carbon quota allocation and the concept of carbon ecological compensation and formulate the corresponding carbon compensation scheme. This study not only reduces the relative sense of exploitation of carbon quota allocation in different provinces but also contributes to the realization of a carbon peak in 2030 and carbon neutrality in 2060 (the "30.60" double carbon target).

Designing climate policy mixes: Analytical and energy system modeling approaches

A matter of debate in climate policy is whether lawmakers should rely on carbon pricing or regulations, such as low-carbon standards, to reach emission reduction goals. Past research showed that pricing is more cost-effective. However, previous work studied the two policies when implemented separately, in effect comparing two policy extremes. In contrast, we explore the full spectrum of climate policy mixes that include both types of policies but vary in how much they rely on each. We do this both analytically by extending previous theory and numerically with two energy system models. In line with past work, increasing reliance on pricing increases the cost-effectiveness of the policy mix. However, we show that this benefit exhibits diminishing marginal returns. Thus the gain in cost-effectiveness from complementing stringent standards with modest pricing is relatively large. Our results show that relying on pricing for 20% of emission reductions (and on a standard for 80%) reduces costs by 32%–57% compared to a standard-only approach. Importantly, trading off more of the standard for pricing delivers smaller and smaller gains in cost-effectiveness. For example, a policy mix that relies on each policy for 50% of emission reductions decreases costs by 60%–81%, which is already 71%–88% as cost-effective as the theoretically most cost-effective pricing-only policy.

Encouraging sustainable mobility: community case study on workplace initiatives in Lahti, Finland

The transport sector represents about 30 per cent of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in developed countries. Developing sustainable transport and mobility play a central role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Sustainable mobility means a mind shift where transport in private cars is replaced by different modes of more sustainable mobility, such as, walking, biking, and public transport. The transformation toward more sustainable mobility plays a key role in reaching CO2 emission reduction goals. However, in addition to the environmental perspective, also social and economic aspects are interconnected in the change. In this sustainability shift, employers can encourage the employees through offering and supporting new alternatives for mobility. This article aims to study how different sustainable mobility initiatives provided by an employer are adopted by employees. This case study presents a set of pilots implemented at a workplace in Lahti, Finland in May-October 2022. The mobility forms offered for commuting were fringe benefits from employment, that is, employer-subsidized commuter tickets and employer-provided bicycle benefits. Travel during the workday was supported through introducing the use of shared electric city bikes and scooters. The research data consisted of short surveys before (n = 70) and at the end of the pilots (n = 66), and thematic interviews (n = 8) during the implementation period. The pilots were implemented in collaboration with the employer and two local universities. Before the pilots, the main part of the employee participants was using private cars for commuting and travel during the workday. Results show that the pilots were successful in introducing more sustainable ways of mobility. However, the employer's role in preparing, supporting, and planning the continuation of support for sustainable commuting and mobility is essential.

Mechanically Robust, Recyclable, and Self-Healing Polyimine Networks.

To achieve energy saving and emission reduction goals, recyclable and healable thermoset materials are highly attractive. Polymer copolymerization has been proven to be a critical strategy for preparing high-performance polymeric materials. However, it remains a huge challenge to develop high-performance recyclable and healable thermoset materials. Here, polyimine dynamic networks based on two monomers with bulky pendant groups, which not only displayed mechanical properties higher than the strong and tough polymers, e.g., polycarbonate, but also excellent self-repairing capability and recyclability as thermosets are developed. Owing to the stability of conjugation effect by aromatic benzene rings, the final polyimine networks are far more stable than the reported counterparts, exhibiting excellent hydrolysis resistance under both alkaline condition and most organic solvents. These polyimine materials with conjugation structure can be completely depolymerized into monomers recovery in an acidic aqueous solution at ambient temperature. Resulting from the bulky pendant units, this method allows the exchange reactions of conjugation polyimine vitrimer easily within minutes for self-healing function. Moreover, the introduction of trifluoromethyl diphenoxybenzene backbones significantly increases tensile properties of polyimine materials. This work provides an effective strategy for fabricating high-performance polymer materials with multiple functions.

An Analysis of Carbon-Reduction Pledges of U.S. Oil and Gas Companies

We study carbon-reduction pledges of publicly traded U.S. oil exploration and production (E&P) companies. Of the 69 firms in the sample, 18 have committed to net-zero carbon targets, 14 have announced significant emissions cuts, whereas the remaining 37 firms have not announced any formal commitment to reduce emissions. We find that a firm’s energy production and ownership by BlackRock is positively associated with its decision to announce a net-zero pledge or significant emission cuts. E&P firms are likely to announce such commitments after Engine No. 1 proposed its slate of directors for Exxon’s board. The stock market reacts more negatively to net-zero pledges relative to emission-reduction pledges on average. However, the market reaction is related to the quality and credibility of these pledges. In particular, we find that the negative market reaction to net-zero pledges is mainly driven by firms with post-2030 target years relative to firms that commit to achieving net zero by 2030. We also find that the market reacts more negatively to net-zero pledges when the firm does not show the strength of its commitment via the presence of a board-level committee to monitor the company’s progress toward its emission goals or when the top management’s pay is not linked to specific emission reduction goals. This paper was accepted by Ranjani Krishnan, accounting. Funding: The research was funded by Columbia Business School. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4765 .

Impact of carbon tax on energy sector segmentation under different closures: A case study of China via CGE model

Carbon tax is important to achieve carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goal. In this paper, we study the impact of carbon tax on energy sector segmentation in China under different closures. First, the social accounting matrix (SAM) of year 2017 is constructed. Second, the electric sector is subdivided into five power generation sectors. Third, by building a static computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, carbon tax is simulated under Neoclassical closure (NC) and Keynesian closure (KC) respectively. The results validate that carbon tax is efficacious in reducing CO2 emission. Specific findings include the following. (1) Carbon tax on three fossil fuels (i.e., coal, oil and natural gas) will increase with the improved emission reduction goal. (2) Reducing the usage of coal and thermal power plant in the electric power sector will significantly contribute to CO2 emission reduction. (3) Carbon tax can produce double dividend effect under KC scenario to increase the income of households and government. (4) The 30% emission reduction goal can be achieved under KC with the carbon tax at 84.19 yuan/ton, which is 3.3 yuan/ton less than that under NC. In the meantime, the carbon emission density will reduce to 116.93 t/million yuan.

A dynamic game modeling on air pollution mitigation with regional cooperation and noncooperation.

Mitigating regional air pollution involves multifaceted trade-offs, including long-term versus short-term development versus emission-reduction among different regions. Considering the heterogeneity of levels of regional economic development and capacity for environmental governance as well as the spatial spillover effect of pollution, the game theory method can explore each region's dynamic emission-reduction path. In this article, the dynamic game mechanism (Regional Environment Economy Game Modeling model) is incorporated into the environment economy system to solve the Nash equilibrium under dynamic conditions and explore the game strategies of each region. Taking air pollution mitigation in North China as an example, this article compares the emission-reduction effect and social welfare under regional cooperative and noncooperative game scenarios and clarifies the abatement-sharing mechanism between provinces. The results show that a noncooperative policy is strictly inferior to a cooperative policy for achieving given emission-reduction goals and maximizing social welfare. Our findings offer evidence for strengthening regional cooperation in reducing carbon emissions and provide policy recommendations for synergistic pollution abatement and joint regional pollution mitigation. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2023;19:1555-1569. © 2023 SETAC.

Research on carbon emission peak prediction and path of China’s public buildings: Scenario analysis based on LEAP model

The building sector is an important field of energy consumption and carbon emission. Public buildings currently account for the majority of building energy consumption in China. But at present, there is a lack of research on the potential carbon peak and time of public buildings. Therefore, this research focuses on carbon peak prediction and path of China's public buildings based on the LEAP model. Firstly, a carbon emission prediction framework is proposed with the assistance of the LEAP model. Subsequently, according to the historical development of key factors, various carbon emission scenarios of public buildings are established, taking into account energy efficiency improvement and energy transition measures. The key findings obtained from the analysis of these scenarios are as follows: (1) Limiting the building space can help to achieve carbon peak, however, in the benchmark scenario, public buildings are unable to do so. (2) Both the moderate emission reduction scenario and the peak emission reduction scenario can meet the target of carbon peaking by 2030, and in the peak emission reduction scenario, the public construction sector may almost reach carbon neutrality by 2060. (3) The peak time can be advanced by boosting energy efficiency of new buildings, energy conservation of existing buildings, renewable energy application and power grid cleaning. (4) Both independent measures of the public construction sector and external measures are essential, with power grid cleaning making the most significant contribution to carbon neutrality in public buildings. Finally, this research provides policy recommendations to support public buildings in achieving their carbon emission reduction goals, which not only has the potential to improve carbon emission forecasting in the construction sector, but can also provide useful reference for relevant decision makers.

Quality of life and carbon emissions reduction: does digital economy play an influential role?

ABSTRACT Relying on the digital economy may help reconcile contradictions between the need to improve quality of life (QoL) and the need to reduce carbon emissions. Yet, previous research has not systematically explored the correlation between the digital economy, QoL, and carbon emissions. This paper explores the influence of the digital economy and of changes in QoL on carbon emissions, using a system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) model. To do this we first use principal component analysis to calculate an objective QoL and a digital economy index using provincial panel data in China from 2006 to 2018. The results demonstrate that both the digital economy and QoL exhibit inverted U-shaped effects on carbon emissions. Our results also show that the growth of the digital economy improves QoL while mitigating the influence of QoL on carbon emissions. Thus, these findings illustrate that policymakers can rely upon the digital economy to help reconcile potential conflicts that arise between QoL and carbon emission reduction goals. Overall, these findings add a new dimension to carbon reduction policies. We propose that policymakers can improve QoL and reduce carbon emissions by coordinating the scale and efficiency-enhancing effects of developing the digital economy. In addition, regions that rely on energy industries should consider the efficiency-enhancing effect of the digital economy when formulating provincial and national emission reduction policies.

Green energy carriers and energy sovereignty in a climate neutral European energy system

Meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement poses significant challenges to provide renewable energy for the power, heating, transport, and industrial sector. Both green hydrogen and methane are considered key energy carriers for reaching these climate targets. However, future needs for an effective infrastructure deployment are highly uncertain, particularly concerning the timely and substantial expansion of renewable electricity generation in Europe. To better understand the trade-offs between domestic production and large-scale energy imports and their corresponding infrastructures needs, we use the energy system optimisation model REMix. We consider different strategic European story lines and constraints on expansion of pipelines and power grids to identify robust capacity targets from a cost optimal perspective. The results indicate that European energy sovereignty is feasible but comes at around 3% higher cost compared to stronger cooperation with resource-rich areas such as the British Isles or the Maghreb region. In contrast, preventing any network expansion lead to an increase of up to 15%. With regard to the extensive adaptations of energy infrastructures required to achieve the emission reduction goal, the timely and substantial expansion of electricity generation from renewable sources in particular is to be regarded as crucial.

How does environmental policy stringency influence green innovation for environmental managements?

In the struggle to limit global climate change and rising temperatures, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) was held in Egypt last November. Bringing together nations to recognize climate change as a global concern and to create new “building blocks” to enhance the implementation of the Paris Agreement through actions that can move the world toward a greener, and carbon free future. This study examines a panel of high-income economies from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to investigate the empirical linkage between Green Innovations (GI), Disaggregated trade (exports and imports), Environmental policy stringency (EPS), and Consumption-based carbon dioxide emissions from 1990 to 2020. We proceed with the panel cointegration check based on the results of the diagnostic tests. The method of moment quantile regressions (MMQR) is used to investigate the relationships between CCO2 and various variables in different quantiles. The data show that GI, export, imports, and EPS are major contributors in explaining the substantial variance in CCO2 emissions in the chosen panel. Specifically, severe environmental rules boost the benefits of green technologies through the use of environmentally friendly technology. Imports, on the other hand, have been determined to be harmful to environmental quality. As a result, member economies should reform their environmental policies to include consumption-based emissions objectives and discourage people’ desire for carbon-intensive items from developing countries. This will eventually result in a decrease in consumption-based carbon emissions, assisting in the achievement of true emissions reduction goals and COP27 targets.