Limit Greenhouse Gas Emissions Research Articles

Innovative Strategies for Bio-Waste Collection in Major Cities during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comprehensive Model for Sustainable Cities—The City of Athens Experience

This paper introduces an innovative model for the organization and management of municipal bio-waste collection networks in major cities, particularly relevant in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Embracing circular economy principles and sustainable city practices, the proposed model addresses the urgent need for sustainable urban bio-waste management systems. Delving into the dynamic urban landscape, with a focus on the city of Athens, the study highlights the necessity of a robust decision-making methodology, the implementation of resilient processes, and the evaluation of their efficacy, especially during challenging times. The model centers on the effective collection, transportation, and monitoring of bio-waste, with a strategic aim to moderate environmental impacts, limit greenhouse gas emissions, and advance sustainable development goals. Utilizing the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method, this paper thoroughly examines critical components of an innovative bio-waste collection network, including infrastructure, technology, and human resources. By merging best practices from global urban centers and accounting for the unique characteristics of Athens, the model envisions a transition toward a circular economy. Notably, the proposed municipal bio-waste collection network at the source anticipates substantial contributions to achieving Sustainable Development Goals in major cities. The study concludes by showcasing the successful application of these methodologies in the Municipality of Athens, providing tangible evidence of their positive impact.

Life Cycle Assessment of Plant-Based vs. Beef Burgers: A Case Study in the UK

As the world attempts to decarbonise the food industry and limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, plant-based meat analogues (PBMAs) have emerged as a sustainable alternative to traditional meat. The objective of this study is to assess the environmental impacts of PBMAs compared to traditional beef burgers, aiming to address the research gap in the life cycle assessments (LCAs) of publicly available PBMA recipes. Utilising a cradle-to-fork system boundary, this research conducted a rigorous LCA on a 100 g plant-based burger patty and its beef burger (BB) counterpart, each produced in the UK but sourced from different global locations. The results demonstrated that the plant-based burger had significantly lower environmental impacts across several categories, including a 65% reduction in global warming potential and a 45% reduction in water consumption. A simple extrapolation illustrated that if the UK population switched from beef to meat analogue patties, 3 million tonnes of CO2e could be saved annually, corresponding to 0.74% of the country’s yearly territorial GHG emissions. Scenario analyses displayed how the environmental impact of the MA patty remained stable regardless of changes in exportation, ingredient origin or soy protein sourcing. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis conducted with an alternative characterisation method corroborated the initial findings, whilst uncertainty analysis ensured that nearly all of the conclusions generated from the original comparison were robust. Future studies should conduct LCAs on PBMA patties with commercial recipes using varied plant-based sources, as well as fully understanding any potential health implications of long-term PBMA consumption.

The impact of compromised insulation on building energy performance

Improving the performance of buildings is a key part of the global effort to limit greenhouse gas emissions and reduce energy consumption. Reducing the designed thermal transmittance of building envelopes through the addition of insulation is one of the primary measures adopted in many nations aiming to address the building sector. In theory, these globally adopted measures to improve design should result in considerable energy savings. The reality however is different. And a mismatch between design and in-use performance has been widely cited. This performance gap is extensively attributed to changes in occupant behaviour – the rebound effect. Considerably less research has investigated technical performance gap rationale. This paper aims to address this literature gap by investigating two technical reasons why design and in-use performance might differ; namely: i) moisture presence in the building’s insulation and ii) thermal bypass of the insulation system. The study uses a combination of thermal resistance analogies and computational fluid dynamics, to ascertain the extent to which compromised insulation would impact the performance of building envelopes. An increase in envelope heat loss results in an increase in a building’s energy consumption, and hence its associated greenhouse gas emissions. The study concluded that, in extreme cases, the presence of moisture in the insulation layers can increase the thermal transmittance of highly insulated envelopes by a factor of 2.2, while closed- and open-loop thermal bypass can increase it by a factor of 3.5 and 3.7 respectively. Although these might be considered extreme cases, the results align with findings from several past studies that quantified the gap between in-situ and design thermal transmittance. The results suggest that, while ensuring building envelopes are designed with adequate levels of insulation is important, ensuring that the insulation is adequately installed is potentially of equal importance.

Computational Fluid Dynamic study of gas mixtures in a Non-Thermal Plasma reactor for CO2 conversion with Argon as diluent gas

CO2 utilization has been an emerging technology of increasing global interest due to its direct impact in limiting greenhouse gas emissions. In this contribution, the fluid dynamic behavior of a CO2 conversion non-thermal plasma (NTP) in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor is studied through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations.
 Calculations are provided in conjunction with experimental results and the thermodynamic characterization of the compounds and mixtures involved. This CFD study utilizes a well-established methodology that allows the optimization of fluid flow with limited computational burden.
 Firstly, results are presented for an Example Case, in which several variables are studied both at the final iteration as well as across iterations. Secondly, a range of Study Cases, changing the inlet composition and volume rate, are presented. Average velocity is one of the most significant variables to predict the reactor’s yield, while the temperature, density and pressure in the reactor remain, in most cases, almost constant.
 The resulting CFD computations describe the behavior of the fluids in the reactor in a predictive manner for future experimental results. Limitations in the fluid’s characterization occur due to not explicitly including the plasma reaction, which will be aimed at in future contributions.

Implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement in the Legal Systems of the EAEU Member States

The Paris Climate Agreement provides for the acceptance by the participating States of obligations, which this treaty enshrines as «nationally determined contributions» (NDC). The goal of these commitments is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and keep global temperature increases well below 2°C compared to preindustrial levels. This mechanism has a number of legal features: first, each state establishes NDC independently, reports them to the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), acting as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement, and registers them with the Secretariat. From this moment, a new international legal obligation of the state to implement the NDC arises. Secondly, it can be changed only in the direction of greater «ambition», that is, by increasing targets for limiting greenhouse gas emissions. Thirdly, the Paris Agreement does not require the coordination of national measures with the rest of the parties to the treaty. Each participant in the Paris Agreement represents an NDC, which determines the scope of its own obligations without the participation of other states, unlike the mechanism provided for in the GATT and GATS, where WTO member states are required to coordinate their national measures with the rest of the participants (Goods schedule / Services schedule). Fourthly, the monitoring mechanism provides for the first stage of summing up in 2023, when an assessment of the progress towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement will be given.A comparative analysis of the NDC of the EAEU member states, all of which are parties to the Paris Agreement, allows us to generalize. The Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation announced the achievement of carbon neutrality by 2060, the rest of the states — by 2050. Some states (the Republic of Belarus, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Kazakhstan) have set two targets for the implementation of NDC: conditional (achievement of the indicator with international financial support and access to modern technologies) and unconditional (achievement of the indicator at own expense). The level of development of the legal framework for the implementation of the NDC of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus and the Kyrgyz Republic is inferior to the level of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan in terms of limiting greenhouse gas emissions, turnover of carbon units and taxation of carbon emissions (introduction of a carbon tax). At the EAEU level, the member states have adopted a roadmap on the climate agenda, and much work remains to be done to develop a regulatory framework.

Peatland restoration in Norway – evaluation of ongoing monitoring and identification of plant indicators of restoration success

Norway launched a national action plan on wetland restoration in 2016. So far, 90% of the restoration effort has been on peatland restoration, with about 140 mires restored so far. There are three main restoration goals stated in the action plan: 1) limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, 2) climate adaptation and 3) improved ecological condition. Quantifying the outcome of the restoration actions is necessary to evaluate whether the goals of the action plan are met. A vegetation monitoring protocol was suggested before restoration started and has been implemented at five restoration sites. As the peatland restoration effort in Norway is increasing, it is timely to evaluate if the data currently collected can measure peatland restoration outcome. We evaluate the monitoring protocol based on statistical analyses of the data collected at two sites, describe how indicator species can be identified using generalized composition data used as the basis for classifying habitats in Norway (EcoSyst framework), and suggest the way forward for peatland restoration monitoring in Norway. Data collected according to the monitoring protocol can document changes in species composition at restoration sites, but has limitations when the ecological complexity at the sites increases and reference sites are unavailable. We argue that adjusting the monitoring protocol will: 1) facilitate alignment with existing peatland research; 2) connect better with monitoring programs where data is collected applying EcoSyst framework principles; and 3) enable upscaling to cover the wide variation emerging in peatland restoration.

Optimizing renewable polygeneration: A synergetic approach harnessing solar and wind energy systems

Transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy ensures a sustainable and green future by limiting greenhouse gas emissions and their nuisance effects. This study proposes a polygeneration system that harnesses renewable energy to produce multiple energy vectors simultaneously and equipped with storage to mitigate the impact of intermittent weather. To perform dynamic analysis, proposed system has been modeled, optimized, and simulated using the transient simulation software TRNSYS®. The designed model has been optimized in GenOpt, linked with TrnOpt, under the weather conditions of Gujrat, Pakistan. The power system is energized by solar photovoltaic, thermal and wind power to produce cooling, heating, electricity, hydrogen, and oxygen as energy vectors, and also provides electric, hydrogen, and thermal storage. Prime movers utilized for energy conversion consists of evacuated glass tube collector, photovoltaic panels, wind energy conversion system, fuel cell, electrolyzer, and absorption chiller, which facilitate air-conditioning, space and water heating, electric power supply for electric vehicle, building load & national grid, hydrogen for internal combustion engines, fuel cell electric vehicle and industrial applications, as well as oxygen for hospitals. The study has shown that thermal collector has 68% efficiency, a solar fraction 0.78, peak outlet temperature 143.77 °C, and generates a total 1399656.25 kJ thermal energy. The wind and photovoltaic systems have maximum efficiencies values 52.24 % and 10.90 % respectively, resulting in the production of 44.8 MWh electric energy. Embracing the synergy of solar and wind power in a polygeneration system holds the key to a sustainable and eco-friendly future.

Coordinating social equity and emissions: Challenges in carbon tax policy

This study addresses the challenging trade-off between maximizing environmental benefits and ensuring social fairness in a domestic carbon tax context. Focusing on France, where the pathway to decarbonization has faced public opposition, we explore four redistribution policies to reverse the regressive effect of a €100/t of CO2e carbon tax. While the homogeneous redistribution scheme reaches progressivity, its social and environmental implications are not without issues. A substantial portion of the emissions reduction achieved by the carbon tax dissipates due to increased emissions from overcompensated households. Additionally, the compensation generates higher tax burden inequality within and between income groups. Three tailored scenarios are designed to overcome misguided redistribution and maintain the social objective: a vertical scenario targeting financially constrained households, a horizontal scenario focusing on vulnerable households, and a mixed scenario considering both aspects. The vertical scenario efficiently reduces tax burden dispersion among the most affected households, limiting post-redistribution emissions (a mere 0.65% increase) and proving cost-effective for the government. While the horizontal scenario requires a larger share of tax revenue, it successfully reduces overall tax burden dispersion without increasing emissions. Compared to the previous scenario, the mixed scenario falls short in reducing tax burden inequality but exhibits promise in limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

11.D. Round table: Anti-inflammatory vs. sustainable dietary patterns throughout the life course

Abstract Diet is well known to affect the risk of several chronic diseases throughout the life course, potentially through modulation of the inflammatory response. Chronic inflammation, which increases with age, may contribute to the development of various chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. In parallel, the environmental impact of diet varies substantially depending on the choice of food products and the underlying production systems. Adopting sustainable diets produces co-benefits for population health, but also for the environment by limiting greenhouse gas emissions and land use. However, these patterns may be deficient in micronutrients, and are not consistently associated with lower risk of chronic conditions throughout the life course. In particular, among children and adolescents, nutritionally adequate and appealing sustainable diets are important to promote healthy growth and to develop sustainable dietary habits. Therefore, we developed this workshop with the aim to explore the overlap and synergies between sustainable and anti-inflammatory diets at different stages in life. As dietary patterns provide a more complete overview of usual diet intake, in this panel we will (1) briefly present different methods that can be used to estimate dietary patterns and as an example, we will present previous results from inflammatory dietary patterns and their association with cognitive decline. Regarding adherence to sustainable diets, we will present results from (2) studies in adults (Danish Diet, Cancer and Health study) and their association to stroke, type 2 diabetes and overall mortality and (3) studies in children (‘Children of the 90s’ ALSPAC cohort) regarding their growth curves. Regarding challenges in policy implementation, we will present (4) an example of a co-creation strategy with students and chefs to develop innovative and healthy plant-based foods for school canteens. In the discussion part of the round table, we will focus on how to combine anti-inflammatory and sustainable diets to promote health across the life course and the potential strategies for policy implementation of these dietary patterns. The objectives of this workshop are (1) to discuss within a multidisciplinary set of experts the potential synergies between two very popular “healthy” dietary patterns and (2) to evaluate what are the main challenges of implementing dietary strategies based on these diets in different generations: among children who could potentially not have their needs fulfilled and among adolescents who might not accept such dietary changes, plus potential strategies for middle-aged and older adults. The added value is to bring domain experts together in a discussion space, where new knowledge can be generated, research gaps in this field can be highlighted and future interdisciplinary collaborations be fostered. Key messages • Some dietary factors might have an impact on chronic conditions through inflammatory pathways. Yet the overlap and synergies between sustainable and anti-inflammatory patterns is still not explored. • Sustainable diets may produce health benefits throughout the life course. Implementation strategies can be challenging, however innovative strategies in schools may be successful. Speakers/Panelists Patricia Chocano-Bedoya Institute of Primary Health Care, Bern, Switzerland Christina Dahm Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark Jessica Laine Carmeli Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland Margarita Kokkorou European Commission Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy

Practical investigation and evaluation of the Start/Stop system's impact on the engine's fuel use, noise output, and pollutant emissions

Prior to the emergence of alternative energy sources, research on the start-stop system, which shuts down the engine at idle, was rapidly conducted by car manufacturers, in parallel with the growing need for energy-efficient technologies and the tightening of environmental regulations for vehicles. In addition, in order to increase sales as well as convenience and fuel efficiency, car manufacturers are attempting to commercialize start-stop technology by merging it with the generic smart key system. This paper shows a new practical study to evaluate a start/stop system designed specifically for the job. We have built and implemented a complete electronic start-stop mechanism for an aftermarket smart key system that uses an ECU starter and OBD-II interface. In addition to meeting all specified response time thresholds for vehicle status requests, the implemented Start Stop system standardizes the interface with vehicles to reduce the time required to install the Start Stop system on various vehicles. The results of this study highlight the importance of the resting system in terms of reducing fuel consumption, limiting greenhouse gas emissions, and keeping the vehicle engine quiet.

Experimental Validation of the Numerical Model for Oil–Gas Separation

The oil and gas sector is important to the global economy because it covers the exploration, production, processing, transportation, and distribution of oil and natural gas resources. Despite constant innovation and development of technologies to improve efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and optimize operations in the gas and oil industry over the last few decades, there is still room to increase the efficiency of the industry’s equipment in order to reduce its carbon footprint. The separation of gas from oil is a critical stage in the technological production chain, and it is carried out using high-performance multi-phase separators to limit greenhouse gas emissions and have a low impact on the environment. In this study, an improved gas–oil separator configuration was established utilizing CFD techniques. Two separator geometry characteristics were studied. Both cases have the same number of subdomains, two porous media, and four fluid zones, but with a difference in the pitch of the cyclone from the inlet subdomain. The streamlines in a cross-plan of the separator and the distribution of the oil volume fraction from the intake to the outlet were two of the numerical results that were shown as numeric outcomes. The validation of these results was performed using an experimental testing campaign that had the purpose of determining the amount of lubricating oil that is discharged together with the compressed gas at the separator outlet.

Analysis of the Influence of External Wall Material Type on the Thermal Bridge at the Window-to-Wall Interface.

Although many works focus on increasing the energy efficiency of buildings, there are still a number of problems that need to be solved, such as reducing heat losses at the window-to-wall interface, especially since the requirements for saving energy used for heating/cooling rooms are constantly increasing. This paper analyses the impact of the material parameters of the external wall and the window installation in the insulation layer on the size of thermal bridges around the window. The aim of the work is to demonstrate the benefits resulting from the correct installation of the window, the appropriate location of the window in relation to the face of the external wall, as well as the correct selection of construction materials. In order to show the improvement in the energy efficiency of buildings, an analysis of the heating/cooling energy consumption was carried out for the selected buildings. The thermal and humidity analyses were carried out using TRISCO program, while the economic analysis was performed using the Audytor OZC program. It was found that the proposed system of window installation in the thermal insulation layer reduced the annual heating demand by at least 10% on average. It has been shown that the method of window installation and the type of the wall structural materials are interrelated and therefore should be considered simultaneously. Their proper selection allows for a reduction in the amount of energy needed for heating and cooling buildings, and thus a reduction of heating/cooling costs, as well as limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

Matheuristics for a multi-day electric bus assignment and overnight recharge scheduling problem

To limit greenhouse gas emissions in the public transportation sector, transit authorities are constantly increasing the proportion of electric buses (EBs) in their fleets. Due to space and budget constraints, more often than not, the number of chargers that can be installed at the depots is less than the number of EBs in the fleet. Moreover, even if there is one charger for each EB, it is virtually impossible to use all the chargers at the same time due to maximum power grid constraints. Thus, there is a need to devise optimization techniques that help to recharge the buses in an efficient and acute way, taking into account these charging infrastructure capacity constraints. In this study, we consider a multi-day electric bus assignment and overnight recharge scheduling problem that can be briefly stated as follows. Given a set of vehicle blocks (sequences of timetabled bus trips performed by the same bus on a given day) to be operated over several days, a set of identical EBs, and a set of chargers available at the depot whose charging function is a piecewise linear function, the problem consists in assigning an EB to each block and to schedule the overnight recharging operations at the depot such that the EBs never run out of energy when performing their blocks and the depot charging capacity is never exceeded. The objective is twofold: minimizing the total charging costs and minimizing the impact of the charging decisions in the long-term health of the batteries. We first model this problem as a mixed integer linear program (MILP) that can be solved with a commercial solver. Then, to yield faster computational times, we develop two multi-phase matheuristics based on the MILP. To show the interest of considering a multiple-day horizon, we introduce two other matheuristics that mimic current industrial practices and solve the problem sequentially, one day at a time. To evaluate all these algorithms, we use a set of 264 instances generated from data of an EB operator.

Carbon footprint of smallholder rain-fed sorghum cropping systems of Kenya: A typology-based approach

Agricultural ecosystems are the main sources of soil-atmosphere exchange (methane-CH4, Carbon dioxide-CO2 and Nitrous oxide -N2O) in sub-Saharan African countries, including Kenya. To feed the ever-growing population, there is a need to identify agricultural management practices to increase food production while reducing GHG emissions for climate change mitigation and adaptation. This study aimed to estimate the GHG balance at the farm scale and identify environmental hotspots and mitigation opportunities among smallholder sorghum farms in Western Kenya. The study hypothesized that different intensification levels influenced the GHG balance. The study collected data from 300 smallholder farms in western Kenya. The principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis were used for farm typologies construction. Five farm types were constructed that ranged from no or minimal external inputs and highly intensified, small to large, and low to highly endowed in tropical livestock units. The Cool Farm Tool Excel program model was used to estimate GHG balances. that the sorghum cropping systems were net sinks of soil GHGs. The GHG balance, carbon footprint, and monetary footprint significantly varied across the farm types at p = 0.025, p = 0.018, and p = 0.004, respectively. The GHG balance ranged from – 818.76 kg CO2 eq. ha−1 in manure-intensive and low fertilizer-intensity small farms to 174.29 kg CO2 eq. ha−1 in fertilizer-intensive and moderate manure application rates on small farms. Fertilizer production and direct and indirect emissions (fertilizer application) were the environmental hotspots accounting for 63 and 30 % of the GHG emissions. The carbon and monetary footprints ranged from -1.29 to 0.45 kg CO2 eq. kg sorghum −1 and -2.02 to 0.13 kg CO2 eq. US$−1 generated, respectively. The study established that sorghum cropping systems in Kenya produced limited greenhouse gas emissions.

Administrative and legal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions in the framework of a regional experiment

A legal experiment refers to approbation of legislative novelties on a limited scale and covering a limited number of people aiming at assessing effectiveness and usefulness of novelties in order to determine optimal options for future commonly applicable law-making decisions. During the Soviet period, legal experiments were conducted in a systematic manner. The scientific concept of the experiment was in place, including the methodology of conducting the experiment, goal setting, principles of the experimental legal regime, its stages, and results’ evaluation. Today, legal experiments are not regulated. The criteria and principles for conducting legal experiments are formulated mostly for the scientific field. Nevertheless, there are some emerging legal forms where definitions and procedures for conducting experiments are being legally codified. This may be a sign of the emergence of a new direction in the development of the administrative laws. Experiments are conducted in various areas of legal relations, such as economics and finance, culture, environmental and social spheres, digitalization, ets. A recent example of a legal experiment in the environmental sphere is the Law on conducting an experiment on limiting greenhouse gas emissions in some regions of Russia, which was adopted in 2022. The experiment will continue until 2028. It involves introduction of a pilot cap and trade system. Sakhalin region has been chosen for its piloting. Cap and trade system is being introduced for key regional emitters – regional regulated organizations (RRO) in an attempt to achieve carbon neutrality of the Sakhalin Region by 2025. The analysis of the pilot regulatory framework for the Sakhalin experiment has led to the following conclusions:– the experiment is based on a combination of administrative and civil law norms; – generally speaking, the pilot regulatory framework in the Sakhalin Region meets the main criteria for conducting the experiment. However, lack of a clear system for evaluating its results and uncertainty regarding its further application in the country are significant drawbacks;– the use of quotas as one of the administrative and legal methods of regulation is being tested. A comprehensive experiment could involve testing other methods in order to identify the most effective approach for greenhouse gas emissions’ reduction. The option of paying a fixed amount (1000 rubles) for exceeding the quota represents a quasi-tax, which can be seen as a separate regulatory method;– the state support measures are a counterweight of the additional financial burden put on the RRO and should be specified is dedicated normative acts. Substantial support measures may potentially allow for replacement of a special coefficient that reflects the amount of the tax payed by RRO used in the quota calculation methodology and thus help to ensure harmonization with foreign analogues.

A bibliometric analysis of published literature on membrane photobioreactors for wastewater treatment from 2000 to 2022.

With the focus on limiting greenhouse gas emissions, microalgae-based technology is a promising approach for wastewater treatment, combining cost-effective operation, nutrient recovery, and assimilation of CO2. In addition, membrane technology supports process intensification and wastewater reclamation. Based on a bibliometric analysis, this paper evaluated the literature on membrane photobioreactors to highlight promising areas for future research. Specifically, efforts should be made on advancing knowledge of interactions between algae and bacteria, analysing different strategies for membrane fouling control and determining the conditions for the most cost-effective operation. The Scopus® database was used to select documents from 2000 to 2022. A set of 126 documents were found. China is the country with the highest number of publications, whereas the most productive researchers belong to the Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain). The analysis of 50 selected articles provides a summary of the main parameters investigated, that focus in increasing the biomass productivity and nutrient removal. In addition, microalgal-bacterial membrane photobioreactor seems to have the greatest commercialisation potential. S-curve fitting confirms that this technology is still in its growth stage.

An empirical Analysis of Chinese Carbon Emissions Market Trading in the First Half of 2022

Carbon trading is increasingly being adopted as a policy tool to limit greenhouse gas emissions. This paper empirically explores the international and domestic carbon markets in the first half of 2022. International relations, climate, energy, and unexpected events can impact the Chinese carbon market. The study revealed that trading activity in the Chinese carbon market needs to be improved. Furthermore, the number of critical emitters in China's carbon market varies significantly by region.

Perception of the Transition to a Zero-Emission Economy in the Opinion of Polish and Foreign Students: A Comparative Analysis

Renewable energy sources serve as an alternative to conventional energy sources, with the main advantages being their inexhaustible nature and the absence of or significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, the development of energy production utilising renewable sources remains controversial, primarily because of the high initial costs of RES investment projects and the carbon footprint during the production phase of RES facilities. However, these appear to be gradually offset by the many benefits that outweigh the initial RES facility maintenance costs. Unsurprisingly, European Union (EU) countries are at the forefront of the transition to a low-emission economy. This is evidenced by such things as the 22% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in the Member States, achieved despite a 58% increase in gross domestic product (GDP) between 1990 and 2017. Nonetheless, the use of renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, water, etc., is much more expensive than burning fossil fuels. It must be stressed that the European Union’s success in this regard is influenced by the actions taken by all Member States to implement the European Green Deal and their individual targets. Furthermore, the transition to a zero-emission economy is also the result of the informed participation and involvement of all European Community residents. Therefore, there exists a need for education on renewable energy sources to facilitate the transition to a zero-emission economy in European Union countries. This education should primarily target young people, whose critical choices will shape this area in the future. It is the knowledge and awareness of young people that will largely determine whether it will be possible to limit greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This article aimed to determine how Polish and foreign students view the transition to a zero-emission economy. The article places a special emphasis on renewable energy sources as a key factor in shaping national security in terms of sustainable ecology and friendly social development. The aim of the study was achieved through a research process using theoretical and empirical research methods. To that end, the subject literature and current legislation on renewable energy sources were analysed. Moreover, a survey was conducted among Polish and foreign students living in Poland. The analysis of the research results made it possible to formulate recommendations on how to shape national security in terms of sustainable ecology and friendly social development.

APPLICATION OF INDUSTRIAL SYMBIOSIS CONCEPT TO OIL AND GAS SECTOR ON EXAMPLE OF ASSOCIATED PETROLEUM GAS PROCESSING

Nowadays, the state level has set the task of forming a systematic approach to secondary resources management that were obtained from production waste, as well as increasing the efficiency of resource useage throughout the production life cycle. This is evidenced by the initiation and implementation of the sectoral program «Usage of secondary resources and secondary raw materials from waste in industrial production», supervised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation since November 2022, Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of November 4, 2020 No. 666 «On Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions», Strategy «Socio-Economic Development of the Russian Federation with Low Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2050» approved by order of the Government of the Russian Federation of October 29, 2021 No. 3052-r and Federal Law of 02.07.2021 No. 296-FZ «On Limiting Greenhouse Gas Emissions» (entered into force 30.12.2021).
 To achieve economic, social and environmental sustainability, it is necessary to interact between enterprises, universities and authorities in order to stimulates the application of the principles of circular economics. This article discusses the problem of utilization and use of associated petroleum gas, as well as analyzes the possibilities of applying the concept of industrial symbiosis both to reduce the produced resources and minimize the loss of materials during use. The relevance of this topic is justified by an increase in the volume of associated petroleum gas (APG) production and, accordingly, the damage caused to the environment due to its combustion. In addition, insufficient financial investment hinders the successful development of innovative economic schemes such as industrial symbiosis.
 The methods of APG disposal and processing used at present were analyzed, the negative consequences of combustion, sanctions imposed by the state and restrictions on their application were investigated. According to the authors, an important problem is the lack of new technologies, as well as the low level of their technological readiness, which leads to the use of most APG as energy resources instead of its processing. The study briefly discusses the main methods of processing associated petroleum gas, their advantages and disadvantages, as well as possible recommended areas of APG use.
 The effectiveness and feasibility of introducing the concept of industrial symbiosis in the oil industry is justified. As a result of the study, the authors of this article proposed the most optimal option for processing and further use of the obtained components, the probability and reality of the implementation of the described processing method is also described.

P-Graph approach for the economical optimisation of biomass supply network that meets requirements on greenhouse gas emissions savings - A case study of rural areas

This work presents a novel P-graph-based model for optimizing a biomass supply network. The objective of this optimisation is twofold: to find the most cost-effective biomass supply network with a minimum cost, while also fulfilling the required greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions savings defined in Directive 2018/2001 (80% savings compared to fossil fuel comparators) for the use of biogas.To achieve this goal, an extension to a P-graph-based biomass supply network was developed, which allows the optimisation of the network while limiting GHG emissions associated with the use of biogas. The model includes a summary of GHG emissions for each stage of biogas production and consumption, compared to threshold values. Additionally, seasonal variation in biomass supply was integrated into the model by using a multiperiod approach.The model was developed and solved in P-Graph Studio, with input data defined using the Geographic Information System (GIS) tool, including feedstock availability, an optimal location for a biogas site, and transportation distance. The approach was tested in a case study located in a rural area. This model can benefit a wide range of stakeholders, including biogas plant operators, policymakers, researchers, and energy regulatory authorities.