Energy-related CO2 Emissions Research Articles

Emission-decoupling accounting framework of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) for India with structurally decomposed production and consumption based drivers

PurposeThe study attempts to capture the comprehensive accounting framework of the inverted U-shaped Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis relevant for an emerging economy based on an emission-growth decoupling approach. The paper intends to re-examine and analyze the roles of influential production- and consumption-based drivers for the prominently observable increasing pattern of the energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the Indian Territory.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted an annual time series structural decomposition analysis (SDA) based on a single-country input-output framework for the period 2000–2014 to identify and elaborate the contribution of the responsible drivers to the production-based carbon emission of India. The study further proceeded to analyze a decoupling index to explore the features of economic growth and carbon emissions comovement over time.FindingsThe results from the empirical exercise reflect a pattern of consistently developing relative decoupling character for most of the production-based drivers. The paper produces insightful results on the pattern of energy-related CO2 emissions from the perspective of the EKC hypothesis and highlights the importance of consumption-based drivers as substantial contributors to the economy-wide CO2 emissions to be controlled for effective decoupling of the aggregate production-based CO2 from the volume of aggregate production to enhance the opportunities for sustainable economic development.Originality/valueThe study uniquely correlates the declining trend of the emission intensity of India's gross domestic product (GDP) and the inclining trend of the overall emissions due to ever-increasing gross output in the form of a comprehensive accounting relationship.

City-wide greenhouse gas emissions of communities nearby the world heritage site of Ayutthaya, Thailand

Climate change has emerged one of the greatest threats to sustainable development. Cities are a major contributor to high carbon dioxide levels. This research aimed to quantify city-wide GHG emissions and investigate the potential for climate change mitigation in communities near the World Heritage Site (WHS) of Ayutthaya, Thailand via the multi-criteria analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The total city-wide GHG emission of Ayutthaya Municipality in 2018 was 99,137.04 tCO2eq (1.93 tCO2eq per capita). Energy and waste sectors were the two largest emitters. Pratuchai, the most populated subdistrict and the WHS location, was the largest source of GHGs. However, the cultural heritage site emitted only 0.2% of total GHGs. Based on the IPCC2013 LCA method, residential sector accounted for the largest share (74%), while the WHS contributed only < 1% of total energy-related CO2 emissions. If all the Thailand’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) Roadmap are fully implemented in the residential sector, total GHGs would be reduced by 9735.47% tCO2eq and 6846.86 tCO2eq in 2030. Based on expert interviews, AHP pairwise comparison showed that energy-saving strategies were more preferable than renewable energy technologies. For climate policy initiative, ‘feasibility of implementation’ had the highest AHP weight (0.45) followed by ‘policy feasibility’ (0.39), and ‘environmental performance’ (0.16).

The Driving Forces of Energy-Related CO2 Emissions in the United States: A Decomposition Analysis

This paper uses the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) approach to decomposition analysis to identify the factors that influence changes in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the United States.&amp;nbsp; The LMDI approach decomposes CO2 emissions into specific determinants.&amp;nbsp; The data set includes the 50 states plus the District of Columbia from 1998 &amp;ndash; 2018.&amp;nbsp; The five factors that influence the change in CO2 emissions include the emissions per unit of fossil fuel consumption, share of fossil fuels in total energy consumption, energy intensity, GDP per capita, and population.&amp;nbsp; The results indicate that, during the 20-year period, CO2 emissions declined in 36 states plus the District of Columbia.&amp;nbsp; The reduction in energy intensity served as the most important factor in the change of CO2 emissions, offsetting 63 percent of the effects of per capita GDP and population.&amp;nbsp; From the perspective of climate change, the importance of a change in energy intensity demonstrates the effectiveness of a decrease in primary energy consumption per unit of GDP.&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;

Mechanical characterization of double-skin perforated-sheet façades

The need to reduce energy consumption and related CO2 emissions within buildings requires further in-depth analysis of buildings and their components. Building envelope materials are crucial in that regard. One example is the double-skin façade, a passive energy saving alternative, the various advantages of which include increased acoustic protection, natural lighting, natural ventilation, and user comfort. This type of system can employ lightweight perforated steel or aluminium sheets, that are industrially manufactured. The metal frames in which the sheets are fixed withstand deformation due to wind forces that the perforated sheets alone might otherwise not withstand. In this research, the mechanical behaviour of the perforated sheets is analyzed to establish whether the use of frames is necessary and to determine, through experiments on sheet size materials and thicknesses, the optimal fold dimensions of the sheets to withstand deformation in the absence of frames. To do so, the sheets underwent Finite Element Method (FEM) modelling and laboratory testing, the results of which were carefully analyzed. The performance of the steel sheets was observably better than the thinner aluminium sheets. The sensitivity of the perforated sheets and their behaviour could be observed when the fold supports were attached to the inner structure.

Can China achieve its climate pledge: a multi-scenario simulation of China’s energy-related CO2 emission pathways based on Kaya identity

China is currently in the process of the middle and late stage of industrialization, and energy-related CO2 emissions have reached 10 Gt. This paper models energy consumption and related CO2 emissions and analyzes the development trends of various driving factors of CO2 emissions, explicitly considering China’s economic and social development goals in the medium- and long-term. Different scenarios for 2020–2060 are projected based on the Kaya identity. Energy consumption will peak at 6,200 Mtce in 2035 in the BAU scenario with the energy-related CO2 emissions peaking at 11.1 Gt in 2026–2027 advanced by the rising non-fossil energy share, while energy consumption and CO2 emissions in the accelerated transition scenario would be potentially reduced by 300 Mtce and 300–400 Mt respectively. In the BAU scenario, the net CO2 emissions will remain around 2,000 Mt in 2060, after removing 1,800 Mt by CCS/CCUS, indicating that China needs to enhance its post-2030 policy to deliver the carbon neutrality pledge. Steady energy efficiency improvement, radical industrial and energy restructuring are three key driving forces for carbon neutrality.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11356-022-21044-w.

MEASURING THE INTER-STRUCTURAL LOW-CARBON ECONOMIC INEQUALITIES FROM PERSPECTIVES OF INDUSTRIAL HETEROGENEITY AND SCALE ECONOMY: A CASE STUDY OF CHINA’S 29 NON-FERROUS METAL INDUSTRIES

With the rapid energy consumption increase in China’s non-ferrous metal industry (NMI), there are inequalities in energy-related CO2 emissions among the sub-sectors. In this paper, a meta-frontier decomposition analysis was proposed for decomposing inter-structural low-carbon economic development inequalities among 29 sub-sectors in China’s NMI from 2004 to 2018 into 11 components, including four new factors, i.e., energy- and output- oriented technological gaps and scale economies. In addition, an I(CI) index is constructed to measure the inter-inequalities of low-carbon economic development among NMI and decomposed from the static and dynamic perspectives, respectively. Results show that: (1) I(CI) index was in a downward trend during 2004–2010, while remained stable during 2010–2018; (2) the energy-oriented technological gap (ETG) was the key promoters to increase I(CI); (3) the potential energy intensity (PEI) was the primary inhibiting factor for I(CI); (4) the government can reduce the inter-inequalities by narrowing the technological gap and reducing potential energy intensity in the energy market.

Decarbonization roadmaps for ASEAN and their implications

The objective of this paper is to derive, for the first time, decarbonization roadmaps for the ten nations of ASEAN. This study first presents a regional view of ASEAN’s fossil and renewable energy usage and energy-related CO2 emission. Results show that renewable energies have been losing ground to fossil energies in the last two decades and fossil fuels will likely continue to be an important part of ASEAN’s energy mix for the next few decades. Therefore, decarbonizing efforts should focus not only on increasing the share of renewable energies in electricity generation, but also on technologies to reduce CO2 emission from fossil power and industrial plants. This study next performs a technology mapping exercise for all ten ASEAN countries to determine decarbonization technologies that have high impact and high readiness for individual countries. Besides installing more sustainable renewable energies, common themes coming from these roadmaps include switching from coal to gas for power generation, using carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies to decarbonize fossil and industrial plants, replacing internal combustion vehicles by electric vehicles, and for countries that have coal and natural gas resources, upgrading them to blue hydrogen by chemical processes and using CCS to mitigate the emitted CO2. Blue hydrogen can be used to decarbonize hard-to-decarbonize industries. Policy implications of these roadmaps include imposing a credible carbon tax, establishing a national hydrogen strategy, intergovernmental coordination to establish regional CCS corridors, funding research and development to improve carbon capture efficiency on a plant level and resolving sustainability issues of hydropower and bioenergy in ASEAN.

Scenarios for mitigating CO2 emissions from energy supply in the absence of CO2 removal

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the effectiveness of different energy scenarios for achieving early reductions in global energy-related CO2 emissions on trajectories to zero or near-zero emissions by 2050. To keep global heating below 1.5°C without overshoot by 2050, global CO2 emissions must decline by about half by 2030. To achieve rapid, early emission reductions entails substantially changing recent pre-COVID (2000–2019) observed trends, which comprise increasing total primary energy supply (TPES) and approximately constant fraction of TPES derived from fossil fuels (FF fraction). Scenarios are developed to explore the effects of varying future trends in these variables in the absence of substantial CO2 removal, because relying on the latter is speculative and risky. The principal result is that, to reduce energy-related emissions to at least half the 2019 level by 2030 en route to zero or near-zero CO2 emissions by 2050, either TPES must be reduced to at least half its 2019 value by 2050 or impossibly rapid reductions must be made in the FF fraction of supply, given current technological options. Reduction in energy consumption likely entails economic degrowth in high-income countries, driven by policies that are socioeconomic, cultural and political, in addition to technological. This needs serious consideration and international cooperation. Key policy insights If global energy consumption grows at the pre-COVID rate, technological change alone cannot halve global CO2 emissions by 2030 and hence cannot keep global heating below 1.5°C by 2050. In the absence of substantial CO2 removal, policies are needed to reduce global energy consumption and hence foster degrowth in high-income economies. Policies to drive technological and socioeconomic changes could together cut global energy consumption and thus total primary energy supply and associated emissions by at least 75% by 2050.

Green finance support for development of green buildings in China: Effect, mechanism, and policy implications

The building sector accounts for a major portion of China's total energy use and energy-related CO2 emissions. Promoting the development of green buildings (GBs) via the application of green financial instruments (GFIs, including green fiscal investment, green credit, green insurance, and green bonds) is crucial for China to achieve carbon mitigation goals. This study explores the effect and mechanism of GFIs on supporting the development of GBs using time series econometrics. Results show that the overall green finance system exhibits significant supporting effects on the development of GBs. Among four types of GFIs, green fiscal investment plays a critical and an indispensable role. The effects of alternative GFI combinations on GB development are compared. The combination of green fiscal investment, insurance, and credit shows the most satisfactory supporting effect. In this combination, insurance plays a bridging role, as it better ensures that GBs' actual energy performance meets expected performance, thus promoting green credit financing for GBs. However, the results also indicate that the current green finance market is still in a government-driven pattern. To facilitate its transformation to a market-driven pattern, policies should focus on designing more targeted GFI-combination products, bridging GBs' performance gaps, and updating GBs' rating system.

Life cycle-based environmental impacts of energy system transformation strategies for Germany: Are climate and environmental protection conflicting goals?

In the development of climate-friendly energy system transformation strategies it is often ignored that environmental protection encompasses more than climate protection alone. There is therefore a risk of developing transformation strategies whose climate friendliness comes at the expense of higher other environmental impacts. Consequently, an assessment of environmental impacts of energy system transformation strategies is required if undesired environmental side effects of the energy system transformation are to be avoided and transformation strategies are to be developed that are both climate and environmentally friendly. In this paper, ten structurally different transformation strategies for the German energy system were re-modeled (in a harmonized manner). Five of these scenarios describe pathways for a reduction of direct, energy related CO2 emissions by 80%, the other five by 95%. Life cycle-based environmental impacts of the scenarios were assessed by coupling the scenario results with data from a life cycle inventory database focusing on energy and transport technologies. The results show that the transformation to a climate-friendly energy system reduces environmental impacts in many impact categories. However, exceptions occur with respect to the consumption of mineral resources, land use and certain human health indicators, which could increase with decreasing CO2 emissions. The comparison of environmental impacts of moderately ambitious strategies (80% CO2 reduction) with very ambitious strategies (95% CO2 reduction) shows that there is a risk of increasing environmental impacts with increasing climate protection, although very ambitious strategies do not necessarily come along with higher environmental impacts than moderately ambitious strategies. A reduction of environmental impacts could be achieved by a moderate and – as far as possible – direct electrification of heat and transport, a balanced technology mix for electricity generation, by reducing the number and size of passenger cars and by reducing the environmental impacts from the construction of these vehicles.

The role of green growth, green financing, and eco-friendly technology in achieving environmental quality: evidence from selected Asian economies.

Many countries are trying to achieve carbon neutrality targets by using environment-friendly technology and green growth. Thus, this analysis effort to identify the key role of green growth in improving the environmental quality. This study investigates the impact of green growth, income, environmental taxes, environment-friendly technology, renewable energy, and financial development in the context of 12 Asian economies over the period of 1990 to 2018. This study used the method of cross-section - augmented autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) to find out the impact of green growth and growth (GDP) on environment quality with some plausible variables under the scheme of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). The study employed the method of CS-ARDL and for robustness the augmented mean group (AMG) method to find out the impact of green growth and GDP growth on environment quality with some plausible variables under the scheme of EKC. The results of CS-ARDL concluded that CO2 is significantly affected by GDP growth, green growth, and technological change in the context of Asian economies. The GDP square is inversely and the GDP growth is positively related to the CO2, indicating the presence of inverted U-shaped EKC in this region. But the inverse relationship between green growth and green growth square and concave EKC is observed in Asian countries. The study used the Dumitrescu and Hurlin panel test to gauge the causality between the variables. This study suggested that policymakers should focus on transforming the country's energy system in ways that will reduce energy-related CO2 emissions faster than previously expected.

The role of China's terrestrial carbon sequestration 2010-2060 in offsetting energy-related CO2 emissions.

Energy consumption dominates annual CO2 emissions in China. It is essential to significantly reduce CO2 emissions from energy consumption to reach national carbon neutrality by 2060, while the role of terrestrial carbon sequestration in offsetting energy-related CO2 emissions cannot be underestimated. Natural climate solutions (NCS), including improvements in terrestrial carbon sequestration, represent readily deployable options to offset anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. However, the extent to which China's terrestrial carbon sequestration in the future, especially when target-oriented managements (TOMs) are implemented, can help to mitigate energy-related CO2 emissions is far from certain. By synthesizing available findings and using several parameter-sparse empirical models that have been calibrated and/or fitted against contemporary measurements, we assessed China's terrestrial carbon sequestration over 2010–2060 and its contribution to offsetting national energy-related CO2 emissions. We show that terrestrial C sequestration in China will increase from 0.375 ± 0.056 (mean ± standard deviation) Pg C yr−1 in the 2010s to 0.458 ± 0.100 Pg C yr−1 under RCP2.6 and 0.493 ± 0.108 Pg C yr−1 under the RCP4.5 scenario in the 2050s, when TOMs are implemented. The majority of carbon sequestration comes from forest, accounting for 67.8–71.4% of the total amount. China's terrestrial ecosystems can offset 12.2–15.0% and 13.4–17.8% of energy-related peak CO2 emissions in 2030 and 2060, respectively. The implementation of TOMs contributes 11.9% of the overall terrestrial carbon sequestration in the 2020s and 23.7% in the 2050s. The most likely strategy to maximize future NCS effectiveness is a full implementation of all applicable cost-effective NCS pathways in China. Our findings highlight the role of terrestrial carbon sequestration in offsetting energy-related CO2 emissions and put forward future needs in the context of carbon neutrality.

Success and failure of the voluntary action plan: Disaggregated sector decomposition analysis of energy-related CO2 emissions in Japan

To accomplish the goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the Japanese Business Federation (JBF) has implemented the voluntary action plan (VAP), which includes the unique feature of not penalizing industrial organizations for failing to meet the CO2 emissions or energy consumption reduction targets. This study evaluates the role of the VAP in emission reduction by analyzing highly disaggregated data of 197 sectors from 1980 to 2015 using the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method. The results indicate that the increase in CO2 emissions among Japanese industries is mainly caused by the increase in indirect CO2 emissions. Moreover, the energy consumption structure has progressively shifted from fossil fuels to electricity. The decomposition analysis highlights two key points. (1) The VAP is ineffective in reducing emissions in sectors with low market concentration. (2) Energy intensity targets of the VAP does not lead to a significant reduction in CO2 emissions. Thus, this study concludes that the contribution of the VAP in reducing CO2 emissions is limited. Evidence from our research suggests four directions for future policy design and implications.

A Comprehensive Planning Method for Low-Carbon Energy Transition in Rapidly Growing Cities

Coping with climate change requires promoting low-carbon energy transition (LCET) in cities. However, the planning method of LCET for rapidly growing cities deserves further study because it involves dynamicity and interactions of multiple factors. This paper aims to put forward a comprehensive methodology to fill that gap. First, a theoretical framework of “energy system–sustainability–governance–operation of rapidly growing cities” is put forward to explain the general mechanism of LCET. Second, a three step method is built for LCET planning, including energy system analysis based on low emissions analysis platform modeling, operation analysis applying multilevel perspective and stakeholder theories, and governance evaluation by policy review. To verify this method, a city in Western China, Chengdu, was selected as the case study. The results show that Chengdu’s energy related CO2 emissions are expected to peak in 2025 under timely and aggressive measures. The main obstacles lie in three aspects: techno–economic insufficiencies, lack of social cognition, and problems of institution and policy. To realize this scenario, Chengdu must incorporate the target and pathway of a carbon peak as soon as possible into its policy system and enhance the coordination among governmental departments.

Revisiting energy efficiency and energy related CO2 emissions: Evidence from RCEP economies

Since the last four decades, energy demand has been reached to the utmost level, which also leads to emissions and causes environmental degradation, global warming and climate change all over the world. In this sense, policy makers have suggested various measures including renewable adoption and energy efficiency. Current study aims to investigate the influence of economic growth, energy consumption, renewable electricity output, and energy efficiency on the energy related emissions. A panel of 12 RCEP economies are examined covering the period 1990-2020. Since the data follows irregular path, therefore a novel method of moment panel quantile regression is employed along with the Granger causality test. The empirical results indicate that economic growth and energy consumption significantly enhances energy related emissions, where the magnitude and significance level is found strengthening from lower to upper quantiles (Q0.25, Q0.50, Q0.75 and Q0.90). Conversely, renewable electricity and energy efficiency are the significant tools for lowering energy related emissions in the region. Additionally, a unidirectional causality is found from energy consumption and renewable electricity output to energy related emissions. However, a feedback effect is validated between economic growth, energy efficiency, and energy related emissions. Based on the empirical findings, this study suggests enhancement of renewable electricity output and adoption of energy efficient technologies to reduce environmental degradation and emission level.

District level decoupling analysis of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions from economic growth in Beijing, China

Energy-related CO2 emissions are mainly concentrated in urban areas. Quantitative research on the relationship between CO2 emissions and economic growth at city and sub-city level is of great importance. Based on the Tapio’s decoupling model, this paper analyzes the decoupling status of CO2 emissions from economic growth in the 16 districts of Beijing during the period of 2006–2017. The decoupling state of the 16 districts showed obvious phased improvement characteristics. In 2017, 93.75% districts achieved decoupling state, including strong decoupling and weak decoupling, of CO2 emissions from economic growth and 37.50% districts achieve strong decoupling, the most desirable decoupling state. The effect of urban functional zoning and industrial structure transition on the total CO2 emissions and the direct influences of the national environmental protection policies and big public event on the decoupling of CO2 emissions from economic growth were observed. This study will enrich the body of decoupling research at the district level and will provide scientific support to the achievement of the “double carbon” target in Beijing and other Chinese cities.

Why do many prospective analyses of CO2 emissions fail? An illustrative example from China

The main contribution of this paper is a demonstration of the importance of taking into account the evolution of the generation of value added and productivity to avoid biased prospective analysis of Chinese energy-related CO2 emissions. To that end, the paper delivers a Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index decomposition analysis of carbon emissions intensity from 1995 to 2014 for a balanced panel of disaggregated Chinese economic sectors. The paper shows that similar assumptions deliver different outcomes when prospective analyses are based on energy intensity, or alternatively its factorial decomposition, in order to take into account changes in the generation of value added (e.g., productivity). Following this hypothesis, the paper suggests that China will be unable to accomplish its pledged commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate change, despite strong reductions in energy intensity. Analyses based on the usual (standard) approach, by using intensity measures instead of its factorial decomposition, reach the opposite conclusion. The main lesson from this paper is that alternative designs of prospective analysis (using alternative drivers or variables) leads to different lines of reasoning and conclusions. Therefore, researchers, consultants and policy makers will underestimate CO2 emissions if they continue to base their prospective analysis on intensity indicators.

A review on electro-mechanical properties of solar photovoltaic panels with graphene material

The global power demand was increasing rapidly, one of the most important global problems are Electricity demand and Energy-related CO2 emissions. World countries now focus on mass energy production in clean and green manner. So now world turned into solar power generation. It preserves natural resources and controls the environment problems. But normal solar panel have lot of issues like less efficient, land requirements, etc. silicon play major roll in PV panels manufacturing,but it cost is lightly high, efficient of power conversion is less,material strength is low and important thing is silicon is non flexible. Therefore, the PV industry wants one master material that replaces the silicon. That master materialise Graphene. Graphene is single layer (monolayer) of carbon atoms (oneallotropeofcarbon). It is thinnest material with one atom thickness and stronger than steel. 2Dmaterial and transparent, also grapheme have high electrical and thermal conductivity, low resistance. So overall efficiency of the graphene solar panel is greater than silicon or other normal solar panels. Graphene is carbon-based element, so it is eco-friendly element.

Quantifying Energy Related Co2 Emissions Reduction Potential of a Proposed Organic Rankine Cycle System for Exhaust Heat Recovery Application In Commercial Trucks

Quantifying Energy Related Co2 Emissions Reduction Potential of a Proposed Organic Rankine Cycle System for Exhaust Heat Recovery Application In Commercial Trucks

Research on Energy-Related CO2 Emissions Characteristics, Decoupling Relationship and LMDI Factor Decomposition in Qinghai

Based on the statistical data from 1997 to 2017, with the utilization of the IPCC carbon accounting method, Tapio decoupling model, and Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI), the temporal evolution characteristics of Qinghai’s energy-related carbon emissions, the decoupling relationship, and its driving factors were analyzed. The results indicated that 1) The carbon emissions of Qinghai showed a trend of first slowly increasing, then rapidly increasing, and finally fluctuating and decreasing. It increased from 3.85 million tons in 1997 to 14.33 million tons in 2017, with an average annual growth rate of 6.79%. The carbon emission intensity revealed a steady downward trend, from 189.82 tons/million CNY in 1997 to 54.6 tons/million CNY in 2017, with an average annual growth rate of –6.04%. 2) The relationship between carbon emissions and economic growth was represented by four types: weak decoupling, strong decoupling, expansion negative decoupling, and expansion coupling. Among them, a strong decoupling was achieved only in the five periods of 1997–1998, 1999–2000, 2001–2002, 2013–2015, and 2016–2017. 3) The structural effect of energy consumption was the paramount factor in restraining carbon emissions, followed by the energy intensity effect, while economic growth, and population size were important factors facilitating the increase in carbon emissions. To this end, Qinghai should continuously optimize its energy structure and improve energy utilization efficiency, thus achieving economic green and high-quality development.