Global Carbon Emission Reduction Research Articles

An Examination of Green Credit Promoting Carbon Dioxide Emissions Reduction: A Provincial Panel Analysis of China

The implementation of green finance is a powerful measure to promote global carbon emissions reduction that has been highly valued by academic circles in recent years. However, the role of green credit in carbon emissions reduction in China is still lacking testing. Using a set of panel data including 30 provinces and cities, this study focused on the impact of green credit on carbon dioxide emissions in China from 2006 to 2016. The empirical results indicated that green credit has a significantly negative effect on carbon dioxide emissions intensity. Furthermore, after the mechanism examination, we found that the promotion impacts of green credit on industrial structure upgrading and technological innovation are two effective channels to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Heterogeneity analysis found that there are regional differences in the effect of green credit. In the western and northeastern regions, the effect of green credit is invalid. Quantile regression results implied that the greater the carbon emissions intensity, the better the effect of green credit. Finally, a further discussion revealed there exists a nonlinear correlation between green credit and carbon dioxide emissions intensity. These findings suggest that the core measures to promote carbon emission reduction in China are to continue to expand the scale of green credit, increase the technology R&D investment of enterprises, and to vigorously develop the tertiary industry.

Re-calculation of responsibility distribution and spatiotemporal patterns of global production carbon emissions from the perspective of global value chain

This study proposes a non-differentiated producer responsibility (NDPR) principle to assign carbon dioxide emission responsibility. The NDPR principle redistributes carbon dioxide emissions along a value chain according to the proportion of profits obtained, which can eliminate the unfairness of carbon dioxide emissions transfers caused by transnational production processes. Compared with existing models, the NDPR model can be directly applied to a multi-region input–output table (MRIO), thereby improving the practical value of the method. Furthermore, this study applies the NDPR model to a long-term MRIO to analyze the spatiotemporal evolution of carbon emission responsibility worldwide. We found that both the volume and growth of carbon emissions are highly concentrated in European countries, the United States, and emerging market countries, and the basic emission pattern is stable. Both the producer and consumer responsibility principles lead to most developing countries in Asia bearing a greater proportion of the emission responsibility than the proportion of value they capture from global value chains. This study suggests that countries with the highest carbon emissions should assume the greatest responsibilities for global carbon emission reduction targets and develop measures and policies that significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions. More attention should be paid to correcting the unfairness of carbon dioxide emission transfers within the global value chain and providing middle-income and low-income countries with more rights for development in future carbon emissions accounting.

Research on the influence of the VREs’ penetration on the capacity of transmission lines

Under the trend of global carbon emission reduction and energy transformation, variable renewable energies (VREs mainly wind power and solar) will develop rapidly. Many countries have put forward ambitious VREs development plans, and a high penetration of VREs will have a significant impact on the grid. This paper focuses on the analysis of the influence of the VREs’ penetration on the capacity of transmission lines, establishes an analysis model based on mixed integer optimization and power transfer distribution factors (FTDFs), and uses this model to carry out a quantitative study on a typical system. Through the analysis of the research results, as the penetration rate of VREs increases, the transmission power of the transmission lines and the investment cost of the transmission lines will increase, and the line utilization rate will decrease. Utility companies should pay attention to the impact of future development of VREs on grid investment costs and recovery.

The impact of the global stock and energy market on EU ETS: A structural equation modelling approach

Abstract The industrial revolution has brought about great development in the economy, but it has also increased the dependence on fossil energy. The emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases have contradicted economic development and the ecological environment. The establishment of the EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS) has improved the global carbon emission price mechanism, but as a new commodity, its price trend will affect buyers’ risk evaluation. Therefore, it is influential to master the driving factors behind carbon emission prices and make effective predictions. First, the paper points out that the driving factors are divided into macroeconomic risk factors and energy factors. Second, the Bayesian Network is used to select variables and make prediction of carbon prices. The results show that its accuracy exceeds other machine learning algorithms. Third, a structural equation model is used to study the impact of the selected markets on the carbon market. Finally, from the perspective of global carbon emission reduction, the relationship between driving factors and the carbon futures market is explained. The empirical results show that Cotation Assistee en Continu 40, natural gas and Brent crude oil will directly affect the yield of European Union Allowances and Certified Emission Reduction futures, and the Standard Poor 500 and Global Clean Energy Index will indirectly affect the yield of European Union Allowances and Certified Emission Reduction futures. The energy market will affect the carbon market through the intermediary effect of the stock market, in which the clean energy index is the most relevant factor. From the perspective of how to improve the carbon trading system, this paper proposes suggestions for the sustainable development of the world to promote the virtuous cycle of the global carbon emission market and the high-quality development of the global economy.

BATTERY TECHNOLOGY: THE FUTURE FOR SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRIAL AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

Depleting oil reserves and environmental concerns on emission have heightened the search for alternative energy sources and efficient electrochemical energy systems through renewable energy sources. Technological advancements in the field of automation, robotics, communication, nanotechnology, electrification and hybridization of vehicles as well as the push for renewable energy sources have broadened the scope of opportunities for Electrochemical Energy Storage Systems (ESS). These new technologies place a growing demand on compact, safe and higher capacity batteries to enable functionality. Battery technology for different needs and application have become an indispensable aspect of sustainable development in the quest for renewable energy and global sustainable carbon emission reduction. This paper briefly looks at the integrated nature of batteries to human day to day activities, the current state and impact of battery technology, future of energy storage systems and an analysis of battery storage systems for sustainable industrialization.

Mitigating climate change by global timber carbon stock: Accounting, flow and allocation

The carbon stock in timber has been included in the carbon removal category of the national greenhouse gas inventory, and the measurement of a nation's timber carbon stock determines the allocation of its responsibility for reducing carbon emissions in future climate change negotiations. However, the leakage of global timber carbon stock is prominent, calling for unveiling the flow patterns of global trade-embodied timber carbon stock to scientifically allocate the contributions of cooperative emission reduction among nations. This study employed the multi-regional input-output model based on the Eora database to calculate the volume of timber carbon stock and analysed the spatial and temporal characteristics of 190 nations between 1990 and 2015 from the perspectives of production, consumption, and trade. Furthermore, it identified the directions of the timber carbon stock flow of critical nations. Based on the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities”, we explored the allocation of timber carbon stock between suppliers and consumers. The results of this study show that developed nations consume a high volume of the timber carbon stock from developing and undeveloped economies through international trade. The top 10 nations in production- and consumption-based timber carbon stock are the main sources of global timber carbon stock, with average contributions of 59.1% and 62.2%, respectively. The research findings expand the scope of carbon stock research to timber products, contributing to advancing global climate negotiations and cooperative carbon emission reduction.

The carbon footprint of foreign multinationals within the European Union

AbstractAlthough European countries have made great efforts to reduce their territorial carbon emissions, global emissions are still growing. Multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating within Europe, as transnational institutions, can make significant contributions in translating European efforts into global emissions reduction. Here, we estimate the carbon footprint of the foreign multinationals’ affiliates (FMNEs) operating within the European Union (EU) in 2015 as a first assessment of the MNEs’ potential regarding European and global carbon emissions reduction targets. Our findings show that FMNEs generate 17% of the total carbon footprint of the EU but only 12% of the total value added. Thus, the net impacts of FMNE are considered to be in environmental deficit because their adverse environmental impacts are relatively higher than their positive economic ones. Calculations are made under the assumption that FMNEs produce using the same technology as their domestic peers; therefore, the carbon/economic imbalance found is attributed to the FMNEs’ distribution across sectors. The participation of FMNEs in carbon‐intensive industrial sectors are remarkably high in low‐income EU members; therefore, the effective reduction of the carbon footprint in those countries is largely conditioned by the decisions of foreign MNEs’ headquarters. Furthermore, those countries are more vulnerable to capital leakages in the case where a European carbon tax was to be imposed. We conclude by discussing the economic and policy implications of the country‐level inequality of MNEs’ environmental impacts within the EU.

A preliminary assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on environment – A case study of China

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is seriously threatening world public health security. Currently, >200 countries and regions have been affected by the epidemic, with the number of infections and deaths still increasing. As an extreme event, the outbreak of COVID-19 has greatly damaged the global economic growth and caused a certain impact on the environment. This paper takes China as a case study, comprehensively evaluating the dynamic impact of COVID-19 on the environment. The analysis results indicate that the outbreak of COVID-19 improves China's air quality in the short term and significantly contributes to global carbon emission reduction. However, in the long run, there is no evidence that this improvement will continue. When China completely lifts the lockdown and resumes large-scale industrial production, its energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are likely to exceed the level before the event. Moreover, COVID-19 significantly reduces the concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the atmosphere. The decline initially occurred near Wuhan and eventually spread to the whole country. The above phenomenon shows that the decreasing economic activities and traffic restrictions directly lead to the changes of China's energy consumption and further prevent the environment from pollution. The results in this study support the fact that strict quarantine measures can not only protect the public from COVID-19, but also exert a positive impact on the environment. These findings can provide a reference for other countries to assess the influence of COVID-19 on the environment.

Driving factors of global carbon footprint pressure: Based on vegetation carbon sequestration

Carbon sequestration capacity of vegetation plays an important role in global carbon emission reduction. Based on vegetation carbon sequestration, this paper establishes a carbon footprint pressure index to evaluate the carbon footprint pressure in 60 sample countries, and discusses the driving factors that influence carbon footprint pressure in various countries through IPAT equation and Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index decomposition approach. The results indicate that the global carbon footprint pressure shows an upward trend from 2000 to 2015, mainly owing to population growth and rapid socioeconomic development; technological progress has a certain inhibitory effect on the rise of carbon footprint pressure. Furthermore, the overall carbon footprint pressure in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries shows a downward trend, while the carbon footprint pressure in non-OECD countries is rising, even exceeding the economic growth rate, which is probably related to the transfer of a large number of implied carbon emissions from OECD countries to non-OECD countries.

Overview of research on carbon information disclosure

Against the background of addressing global climate change and carbon emission reduction, corporate carbon information disclosure (CID) has become an important measure to achieve carbon emission reduction worldwide and a research hotspot closely investigated by the academia. This study provides a systematic overview of literature on CID, including its research trend, theoretical basis, disclosing features, influencing factors, and consequences. Results indicate that, first, CID has been increasing in recent years, but the content and quality of the disclosure still need to be improved. Second, the main influencing factors of CID include company features, corporate governance, environmental performance, institutional characteristics, and stakeholders. Third, the consequences of CID are based mainly on company performance, ecological environment, and investors’ decision-making. Lastly, most studies have confirmed the positive effect of CID on company performance and investors’ decision-making, but the nexus of environmental performance and corporate CID remains to be investigated. Several important future research directions are also proposed based on these results.

Economic optimization and potential analysis of fuel cell vehicle-to-grid (FCV2G) system with large-scale buildings

The popularization of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCV) is an important measure for solving the global carbon emission reduction problem. However, the overall cost of FCV and the production cost of fuel hydrogen are relatively high, so FCV promotion is slow. Considering that FCV has the characteristics of near-zero carbon emission and high endurance, which is suitable for the vehicle-to-grid (V2G) system, this paper hoped to provide a boost for the promotion of FCV by analyzing the economic potential of the FCV2G system. Firstly, a large-scale commercial building in Japan was selected as the research target and the agent of vehicles to provide a V2G service for the power grid. Then the Monte Carlo simulation method was used to simulate the visiting time and condition of the vehicles. Secondly, the discharge model was established. Combined with the carbon emission price and self-elasticity coefficient of the discharge price, the overall economic optimization model was established. Then, the genetic algorithm was used to optimize the model. With continuous importing of FCVs, the overall economic benefit was improved. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was carried out on the six parameters of daily electricity price, battery cost, fuel cell cost, carbon emission price, power grid carbon emission and hydrogen cost. It was concluded that FCV2G has good economic benefits and high development potential, and the economic benefits of FCV2G will continue to increase with the passage of time.

Experimental research on the characteristics of ash in oxy-fuel combustion

CO2 capture and storage technology plays an important role in global carbon emission reduction, and oxy-fuel combustion is one of the key future technologies. The slagging and deposition characteristics of ash under oxy-fuel combustion restrict the competitiveness and development of this technology. In this study, an ash sample of Shenhua coal was obtained in a flat flame-assisted entrained flow reactor under different conditions, and an X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence probe, and scanning electron microscope–energy dispersive spectrometer were used. The slagging tendency under oxy-fuel combustion was thoroughly analyzed. Results showed that the characteristics of the ash samples obtained under oxy-fuel and air combustion varied. Obvious differences existed in the mineral characteristics and relative content, and these may have affected the slagging characteristics. The presence of Ca in ash was mainly in the form of CaO, and Fe was likely to react with Si, Ca, Al, and other minerals. Compounds with low melting points were generated under oxy-fuel combustion, indicating that the slagging tendency was aggravated. Moreover, the slagging tendency of Shenhua coal in different atmospheres was predicted with common and viscosity slagging indexes, and the result was consistent with the experimental ones. The sphericity of the ash samples obtained under oxy-fuel combustion was better than that of the samples under air combustion.

Advanced heat treated die-cast aluminium composites fabricated by TiB2 nanoparticle implantation

The global carbon emission reduction strongly requires high strength lightweight die-cast aluminium alloys in industry. Here die-cast AlSiMgMn–TiB2 composites with advanced mechanical performance were fabricated by the implantation of TiB2 nanoparticles. Super vacuum assisted high pressure die casting was applied to enable the T6 heat treatment of the composites, and the super vacuum of 20 mbar was achieved in the limited evacuation time of 1.6 s. The composites demonstrated good die castability within the addition of 3.5 wt% TiB2, while the composites could not fill into the chill vent with the addition of >3.5 wt% TiB2. The composite with 3.5 wt% TiB2 nanoparticles delivered the high hardness of 150.2 kg/mm2, yield strength of 351 MPa, tensile strength of 410 MPa, and the industrially applicable good ductility of 5.2%, after T6 heat treatment. The strengthening of the T6 heat treated composite was a result of both TiB2 nanoparticles and nanoscale β′′ precipitates that had coherent interfaces with α–Al matrix, i.e., Al(11-1)//TiB2(0001), Al[011]//TiB2[11-20], Al[320]//β″(a-axis), Al[1-30]//β″(c-axis) and Al(020)//β″(b-axis). The T6 heat treated composite reinforced by 3.5 wt% TiB2 showed ductile fracture.

Economic growth, energy consumption, and carbon emission nexus: fresh evidence from developing countries.

The developing countries and emerging economies are crucially contributing to global economic development, energy transition, and climate governance. This paper employs panel cointegration technique to investigate the long-run relationship between carbon emissions and five impacting factors (per capita GDP, primary energy consumption, international trade, fossil proportion, and quadratic per capita GDP) in 50 representative developing countries during 1995-2017. The empirical findings confirm the existence of long-run equilibrium, and the regressing coefficients of fully-modified OLS (FMOLS) indicate that (a) impacting features of the inverted U-shaped curve of Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) theory appear in a few countries, such as Mexico, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Iran, Algeria, Indonesia, and Thailand; (b) the energy consumption has statistically positive and significant impacts on boosting the carbon emissions; (c) the negative effect of international trade emerges in the developing nations enjoying trade surpluses; and (d) fossil energy share poses a mixed impact. This paper reveals that the vast and inspiring contribution of developing countries to global carbon emission reduction should attract more international attention and assistance.

How should government and users share the investment costs and benefits of a solar PV power generation project in China?

Under the circumstances of global carbon emissions reduction, it has become a trend to promote the adoption of clean energies, such as solar energy. With the increasing maturity of photovoltaic (PV) technology, household-type distributed solar PV power generation projects are increasingly popular in China. Nevertheless, compared with conventional power generation, the initial cost of a solar PV project remains relatively high. Therefore, to mobilize the incentives of the general public, there is an urgent need for studies on how to share the costs and benefits of a solar PV power generation project between the government and users. By adopting the Shapley Game methodology, this paper has conducted a theoretical analysis of the cost-sharing among the central government, local government, and users and has built an investment cost-sharing model (Ci′=P(i)−Vs(i)−Vri,i=1,2,3), which is able to coordinate the benefit of all three stakeholders. This is followed by a case study. The results show that, under China's central government subsidy of 0.42 yuan per kWh, the best strategy for the local government to encourage the public to install solar PV facilities is to provide a one-off compensation equal to 30% of the initial investment. Finally, this paper proposes relevant policy recommendations to promote the development of solar PV power generation for emissions reduction in China.

Approach to establish carbon emission benchmarking for construction materials

The construction industry will play a crucial rule in global carbon emission reduction as the embodied carbon of construction materials shares an increasing portion of a building’s life-cycle carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In order to reduce CO2 emissions by selecting low-carbon construction materials, it is inevitable that a proper benchmarking mechanism and severity representation of different emission levels should be established, as benchmarking is a useful tool for pursuing consumer purchasing habits toward selection of low-carbon materials. In addition, high variation of carbon emissions is observed among the large number of studies and databases, and there is no consensus on how these should be used in practice. Therefore, standardization and benchmarking of emissions for construction materials are essential. In this study, a novel benchmarking approach was developed for embodied carbon emissions of commonly used construction materials by applying a fuzzy set theory. Given that a reliable local database is lacking, the benchmark was developed by referring to the existing carbon inventories, linguistic variables of severity levels from a questionnaire survey, and the fuzzy set analysis. A six-step method was proposed based on a horizontal and graphical approach. This study offers an alternative approach in benchmarking where a database or a set of real data is not available. It is expected that the developed benchmarks will help practitioners and decision-makers compare the embodied CO2 emissions of a specific batch of construction materials and select low-carbon materials in construction projects.

The structural roles of sectors and their contributions to global carbon emissions: A complex network perspective

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have a significant impact on global climate change. Previous studies have mostly focused on the impact of economic performance of sectors on carbon emissions, however, there is a lack of information about the influence of the structural roles on the full industrial chain. This article first built global embodied carbon emission transfer networks from 2000 to 2015, combining multi-regional input-output analysis and complex network theory, to explore the structural characteristics and recognize the structural roles of sectors. Then, panel regression analysis was applied to quantify the contributions of the structural roles of sectors to their carbon emissions. The results first showed that there were significant scale-free network characteristics in the global embodied carbon emissions transfer networks. The majority of global carbon emission transfers was concentrated on a limited number of sectors over time. Moreover, the network analysis revealed that sectors played different roles with different levels of importance in the global embodied carbon emission transfer networks. The results also suggested that the carbon emissions of sectors related to economic activity were significantly determined by some structural roles in the global embodied carbon emission transfer networks. Degree-in, strength-out and closeness-out and betweenness had significant positive influences, while degree-out, strength-in and closeness-in had significant negative impacts. These results indicated that carbon emissions mainly were increased by the domestic markets rather than international trades. Thus, adjusting the domestic consumption structures can be helpful for global carbon emission reduction. It also indicated that carbon emissions were not only driven by direct production demand from downstream sectors, but also were significantly influenced by indirect production demand in the industrial chain. Therefore, reducing carbon emissions should be established in both the direct and the indirect relationships in the production process.

Marine heatwaves under global warming.

Marine heatwaves (MHWs) are periods of extreme warm sea surface temperature that persist for days to months1 and can extend up to thousandsof kilometres2. Some of the recently observed marine heatwaves revealed the high vulnerability of marine ecosystems3-11 and fisheries12-14 to such extreme climate events. Yet our knowledge about past occurrences15 and the future progression of MHWs is very limited. Here we use satellite observations and a suite of Earth system model simulations to show that MHWs have already become longer-lasting and more frequent, extensive and intense in the past few decades, and that this trend will accelerate under further global warming. Between 1982 and 2016, we detect a doubling in the number of MHW days, and this number is projected to further increase on average by a factor of 16 for global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius relative to preindustrial levels and by a factor of 23 for global warming of 2.0 degrees Celsius. However, current national policies for the reduction of global carbon emissions are predicted to result in global warming of about 3.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the twenty-first century16, for which models project an average increase in the probability of MHWs by a factor of 41. At this level of warming, MHWs have an average spatial extent that is 21 times bigger than in preindustrial times, last on average 112 days and reach maximum sea surface temperature anomaly intensities of 2.5degrees Celsius. The largest changes are projected to occur in the western tropical Pacific and Arctic oceans. Today, 87 per cent of MHWs are attributable to human-induced warming, with this ratio increasing to nearly 100 per cent under any global warming scenario exceeding 2 degrees Celsius. Our results suggest that MHWs will become very frequent and extreme under global warming, probably pushing marine organisms and ecosystems to the limits of their resilience and even beyond, which could cause irreversible changes.

Carbon Emission Intensity, Economic Development and Energy Factors in 19 G20 Countries: Empirical Analysis Based on a Heterogeneous Panel from 1990 to 2015

The increasing global climate problem caused by excessive carbon emissions results in global carbon emission reduction governance becoming a top priority and requires close international coordination. Group of Twenty (G20) is gradually becoming the leading agency of global carbon emission reduction governance, but the unbalanced development among G20 countries has hindered the full play of G20’s role. Thus, this paper aims to examine the interrelationships among economic development mode, economic development level, and energy factors including energy use efficiency and structure in 19 G20 countries over the period 1990–2015. Considering the panel heterogeneity and the endogeneity of variables, a series of heterogeneous panel analysis techniques are employed in this paper. The empirical findings suggest that for the panel, the improvement of energy use efficiency and the optimization of energy use structure can help to achieve a low-carbon development mode, implying that some international agreements such as the Copenhagen Accord and Paris Agreement on Climate Change are necessary, binding, and effective. However, for individuals, energy factors and development level influence development mode differently across countries, revealing that each country should formulate specific policies that are consistent with its own actual situation. Finally, this paper discusses the role that G20 can play in the global carbon emissions reduction governance, which provides a reference for global low-carbon and sustainable development.

Impacts of stratospheric aerosol geoengineering strategy on Caribbean coral reefs

PurposeCurrently, negotiation on global carbon emissions reduction is very difficult owing to lack of international willingness. In response, geoengineering (climate engineering) strategies are proposed to artificially cool the planet. Meanwhile, as the harbor around one-third of all described marine species, coral reefs are the most sensitive ecosystem on the planet to climate change. However, until now, there is no quantitative assessment on the impacts of geoengineering on coral reefs. This study aims to model the impacts of stratospheric aerosol geoengineering on coral reefs.Design/methodology/approachThe HadGEM2-ES climate model is used to model and evaluate the impacts of stratospheric aerosol geoengineering on coral reefs.FindingsThis study shows that (1) stratospheric aerosol geoengineering could significantly mitigate future coral bleaching throughout the Caribbean Sea; (2) Changes in downward solar irradiation, sea level rise and sea surface temperature caused by geoengineering implementation should have very little impacts on coral reefs; (3) Although geoengineering would prolong the return period of future hurricanes, this may still be too short to ensure coral recruitment and survival after hurricane damage.Originality/valueThis is the first time internationally to quantitatively assess the impacts of geoengineering on coral reefs.