Low-carbon Sustainable Development Research Articles

Evaluation mechanism of sustainable development level for the cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt under the dual-carbon policy.

Low carbon sustainable development (LCSD) has become an inevitable choice, for which China has put forward a "dual-carbon" policy. The purpose of this study is to capture the interaction between the environment and the economy in the context of this goal, thus evaluating LCSD level from a systematic perspective. This paper proposes a super slack based measurement (SBM) model with a non-equal weight structure to assess the LCSD level. Firstly, a maximum influence minimum redundancy (MIMR) index selection algorithm is designed to establish input and output index systems, which avoids redundancy indexes. Secondly, the objective function of the original super SBM employs an equal weight structure, which leads results inadequately reflect the research preferences. Therefore, the weights of indexes are introduced to form an improved super SBM. Finally, 40 cities along the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) are selected for empirical analysis. Results show that (1) the LCSD level of YRBE decreases from downstream to upstream to midstream; (2) Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Sichuan provinces have higher LCSD levels, while Hunan and Jiangxi provinces have lower levels; and (3) up to 2021, there are 32 effective cities and 8 ineffective cities. The research implies that balancing the economy-environment relationship is crucial for higher efficiency. The LCSD evaluation method not only reflects the coordination level between the economy and the environment, but also integrates the research preference into the results, providing decision support for the government to formulate carbon reduction policies and allocate resources.

Exploring dynamics relationship between carbon emissions and eco-environmental quality in Samarinda Metropolitan Area: A spatiotemporal approach

Carbon emissions have a negative impact on climate change. Environmental quality has faced significant challenges in the last decades. Eco-environmental quality helps assess the condition of the ecological environment to support humans' civilization and development. By using emissions raster dataset, remote sensing images, and LULC data, this study explores the status of carbon emissions (CE), eco-environmental quality (RSEICs), and the dynamic relationship between both variables in Samarinda Metropolitan Area, Indonesia. This study uses the spatiotemporal approach to deepen the understanding of CE-RSEICs during 2000–2021. The methods include the analysis of CE and the principal component of RSEICs. To understand the CE-RSEICs spatial features, the directional distribution ellipse method is used. Also, this study performs CE-RSEICs coupling analysis and identifies its LULC type composition. The findings show that CE status is still on an increasing trend, concentrating in the eastern region and keeping expanding during the period. The location of the low-emission ellipse is in the southwest, while the high-emission ellipse is in the east and intersects with the core cities. The mean RSEICs value is between 0.2878 to 0.4223, which indicates that the eco-environmental quality is categorized as fairly poor to inferior. Greenness, wetness, and Csink have a positive impact on RSEICs. The very poor-class ellipse is located in the inland region, and the very good-class ellipse is in the coastal area. The CE-RSEICs coupling status shows that the majority of the area has a weaker coupling degree. However, the higher coupling degree is concentrated in the population center and built-up region, which is the settlement area. The dominance composition of settlement area in higher coupling degree shows that settlement area has an impact on increasing CE-RSEICs coupling degree. So, sustainable low carbon development in coastal metropolitan area must continue to be carried out by considering CE-RSEICs and its spatial aspects.

How Does the New-Type Urbanization Policy Affect Urban Low-Carbon Development?

The profound transformations brought about by the rapid advancement of urbanization have had a significant impact on low-carbon cities. In this study, we utilize the "New-type Urbanization Policy" (NTUP) as a quasi-natural experiment to examine the influence of NTUP on carbon emissions using the difference-in-differences (DID). Our findings indicate that NTUP effectively reduces carbon emissions and enhances emission efficiency, with consistent results even after conducting rigorous tests and addressing endogeneity concerns. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that resource-based cities, eastern cities and small- and medium-sized cities benefit more from NTUP in terms of reducing carbon emissions and improving efficiency. The mediating effect demonstrates that NTUP's impact on carbon emissions primarily operates through three mechanisms: promoting industrial structure upgrading, reducing energy use and promoting green technology innovation. This research offers valuable insights for achieving urban low-carbon sustainable development through new-type urbanization initiatives.

Exploring the potential of agricultural waste as an additive in ultra-high-performance concrete for sustainable construction: A comprehensive review

Abstract This study thoroughly reviews the recent design methods for ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) with agricultural waste. The goal is to identify UHPC composites that meets environmental sustainability requirements while fulfilling workability, durability, and mechanical properties. The capacity of typical review studies is limited in bridging the various literature aspects systematically. The article includes comparative analyses identifying these methods’ intrinsic connections and current trends. The analysis indicates that 71% of documents on incorporating agricultural waste into UHPC are in the “Engineering” and “Materials Science” disciplines, with 69% being journal articles, and 27% conference documents. Significant research keywords involve “Ultra-High-Performance Concrete,” “Cements,” “Sustainable Development,” and “Agricultural Wastes,” highlighting the extensive exploration of agricultural waste in UHPC. It has been discovered that agricultural waste can replace silica fume in UHPC, improving strength and durability by reducing pore volume and enhancing microstructure. Substituting 5–30% of cement with rice husk ash significantly boosts compressive strength, enhancing cement hydration, pore structure, and pozzolanic reaction, offering substantial environmental benefits and supporting the construction industry’s contribution to low-carbon sustainable development. This article provides guidance and recommendations for developing sustainable UHPC to meet diverse design specifications, promoting environmentally friendly construction practices.

Prospects for the development of legal regulation of Green Recovery in Ukraine

Ukraine has committed itself to developing and implementing long-term measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As a party to the Paris Agreement to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the state is obliged to make its nationally determined contribution to achieve the goals of sustainable low-carbon development of all sectors of the economy and increase the ability to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change. The official announcement of joining the European Green Deal demonstrates Ukraine’s unwavering intention to overcome the challenges posed by climate change and environmental degradation by transforming into a modern resource-efficient and competitive economy. In June 2022, Ukraine was granted the status of a candidate for EU membership. These measures should be implemented despite Russia’s anti-Ukrainian armed aggression and difficult economic challenges.
 The purpose of this work is to determine the main directions of development of the legal mechanism for preventing climate change, which is being formed in the context of military realities, while ensuring that Ukraine strictly complies with its obligations under the European Green Deal.
 It is concluded that when developing the conceptual legal framework of the environmental security component as part of the Strategy for Post-War Recovery and Development of Ukraine and the relevant Action Plan, as well as sectoral programs for the restoration of the State, an appropriate climate policy should be formulated, coordinated with Ukraine’s further European integration.
 These include updated priority measures of the national climate policy, broad state support for environmental protection measures; digitalization of environmental relations; provision of funding for measures and investments aimed at developing competitive renewable generation and improving existing infrastructure, developing the potential of the hydrogen ecosystem, increasing the energy efficiency of buildings through the integration of renewable energy sources, decarbonizing insulation and cooling of buildings, ensuring the development of transport with low.

Carbon Footprint Drivers in China’s Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants and Mitigation Opportunities through Electricity and Chemical Efficiency

Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to address climate change is a global consensus, and municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWWTPs) should lead the way in low-carbon sustainable development. However, achieving effluent discharge standards often requires considerable energy and chemical consumption during operation, resulting in significant carbon footprints. In this study, GHG emissions are systematically accounted for, and the driving factors of carbon footprint growth in China’s MWWTPs are explored. In 2020, a total of 41.9 million tons (Mt) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-eq) were released by the sector, with nearly two-thirds being indirect emissions resulting from energy and material usage. The intensity of electricity, carbon source, and phosphorus removing agent consumption increasingly influence carbon footprint growth over time. Through statistical inference, benchmarks for electricity and chemical consumption intensity are established across all MWWTPs under various operational conditions, and the potential for mitigation through more efficient energy and material utilization is calculated. The results suggest that many MWWTPs offer significant opportunities for emission reduction. Consequently, empirical decarbonization measures, including intelligent device control, optimization of aeration equipment, energy recovery initiatives, and other enhancements to improve operational and carbon efficiency, are recommended.

China contributed to low-carbon development: carbon emission increased but carbon intensity decreased

IntroductionPopulation expansion and economic development increased global greenhouse gas emissions, leading to serious environmental degradation. China, the world's largest developing country and promoter of the “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI), accounts for 28.8% of the world"s total energy carbon emissions. How to reduce energy consumption to achieve the “double carbon” target (i.e., carbon peaking and carbon neutrality) and promote the implementation of Green BRI is still a serious challenge that China needs to face. MethodsWe evaluated China's carbon emissions using three indicators (i.e., total carbon emission, carbon intensity, and carbon emissions effect), and used spatial analysis to reveal the spatial and temporal trends of China's carbon emissions. In addition, the LMDI model was adopted to explore the driving mechanism of carbon emissions, so as to seek a path that can achieve harmonious economic and environmental development, as well as the “double carbon” target.ResultsChina's total carbon emission increased at a rate of 226.12% from 2000 to 2019, while the carbon intensity decreased at a rate of 48.84%. Carbon emission showed a trend of increasing and then decreasing from southwest to northeast. From 2000 to 2019, the total carbon emission, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), population size and total energy consumption are growing in synergy. Economic and population effects are positively related to carbon emissions, while technology effects are negatively related to it, indicating technological innovations contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions.DiscussionSome suggestions were proposed to control carbon emissions with a view to helping policy makers to formulate relevant policies. The findings provide a scientific basis and reference for the country to achieve the “double carbon” target and the low-carbon sustainable development of BRI.

Valorization of straw biomass into lignin bio-ink, bacterial cellulose and activated nanocarbon through the trade-off alkali-catalyzed glycerol organosolv biorefinery

Integrated lignocellulosic biorefinery that transforms low-value lignocellulose into multiple value-added products is crucial for a low-carbon sustainable development. Herein, a one-pot alkali-catalyzed glycerol organosolv (ALGO) pretreatment-based integrated biorefinery process to directionally produce lignin bio-inks, bacterial celluloses (BCs), and activated nanocarbons (ANCs) was proposed. ALGO pretreatment could modify the structure of dissolved lignins by glycerolysis. The extracted lignin fragments with high-purity (>90 %), uniform with low molecular weight (2500–4000 of Mw), and abundant hydrophilic aliphatic –OH were promising candidates in 3D-printable inks preparation. The glycerolysis reaction during ALGO process also enabled pretreated substrates toward high hydrolyzability and protected pretreatment liquor from generating fermentable inhibitors, making the solid fractions more liable for enzymatic deconstruction and microbial fermentation. Without any detoxification treatments, hydrolysates from ALGO pretreated substrates were used directly as carbon sources for BCs production, resulting in the BC yields were 56 % higher than that of the commercial glucose. The enzymatic hydrolysis residue and BC fermentation waste liquid were synthesized into ANCs via a facile carbonization process, which could further increase the value of ALGO biorefinery. Calculations showed that this ALGO integrated strategy rendered the conversion of ∼75 % lignins in pretreatment liquor to bio-inks and nearly 100 % solid fractions to BCs and ANCs. Unlike the conventional “lignin-first” route to obtain high-purity cellulose by sacrificing the value-adding conversion ability of by-products, the designed technical route in this work achieved a good trade-off between fractionation ability and subsequent conversion potential, inspiring further exploration of the technical correlation between biomass fractionation and bioproduct processing.

Spatio-temporal Evolution and Multi-scenario Simulation of Carbon Storage in Karst Regions of Central Guizhou Province：Taking Puding County as An Example

Regional land use change is the main cause for the change in karst carbon storage. It is important to analyze the spatial and temporal evolution and future spatial distribution trends of carbon storage in typical counties in central Guizhou's karst region， such as Puding County， to improve regional carbon storage， optimize land ecological security patterns， and promote low-carbon sustainable urban development. The PLUS-InVEST model was coupled， based on the interpreted land use data and future land prediction， the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of land use change and carbon storage in Puding County from 1973 to 2020 were inverted， and the spatial pattern evolution of land use and carbon storage change under different scenarios in 2060 were simulated and predicted. The results showed： ① from 1973 to 2020， the overall carbon storage in Puding County increased by 6.61×105 t， showing an upward trend. The spatial distribution showed a significant increase in the northeastern and southwestern parts of Puding County and a significant decrease in the south-central parts. The change was due to the increase in carbon storage in dryland to shrubland and forest land and the decrease in carbon storage in areas where paddy fields are converted to construction land. ② The land use change in Puding County in the historical period was mainly reflected in the continuous expansion of construction land and the increased fluctuation of the proportion of forest land and shrub forest land， and the change in land use in different scenarios projected in 2060 retained the change characteristics of the historical period. ③ In 2060， the carbon storage in Puding County under the scenarios of natural evolution， ecological protection， and economic development increased by 2.93×105， 5.40×105， and 1.11×105 t， respectively， compared with that in 2020. Of these， the increase in ecological protection scenarios was the most significant， with the transfer of dryland to shrubland being the main reason for the increase in regional carbon sequestration capacity. These results can serve as a scientific reference for land use management decisions and the formulation of emission reduction and sink increase policies in Puding County. The future land use planning of karst areas should be guided by the goal of "carbon neutrality" in 2060， take appropriate ecological protection measures， strictly control the rapid expansion of construction land to paddy fields， optimize the land use structure， and effectively improve the level of regional carbon storage.

Trading our way to a greener future: how environmental rights trading reduces urban carbon emissions in China-empirical analysis based on China's emission rights trading.

Environmental rights trading (ERT) is considered one of the crucial instruments for environmental governance in China, accelerating urban low-carbon sustainable development. This study utilized the Chinese Emissions Trading System (ETS), which has been implemented most widely, longest, and most typical, to represent ERT and examine its contribution to urban carbon emission reduction. Through a quasi-natural experiment perspective, urban panel data were collected from 2003 to 2019, and a time-varying difference-in-differences model and moderating models were developed. The study indicates that ERT can significantly reduce carbon emissions in cities, with robust results. In addition, the carbon reduction effect of ERT varies by city region, type, and size. This phenomenon is more obvious in central and western cities and resource-based cities. Finally, a framework to strengthen the carbon reduction effect of ERT was creatively constructed. The strengthening effects of green innovation, industrial structure, and clean energy are evident. This helps provide evidence for ERT layout and extension, especially in countries with high carbon reduction needs such as China. ERT affects not only policymakers but also a greener future for every organization and individual in the city.

Green Finance and Low-carbon Sustainable Development -- from the Perspective of Commercial Bank Management

Low-carbon and green development is an significant part of sustainable development. In the context of sustainable development, commercial banks, as a major social body, have derived a variety of financial products by strengthening green management. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), green finance is a service that reduces pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in environmental protection, improves the efficiency of natural resource utilization and reduces resource waste while achieving economic growth. Green finance is a business activity corresponding to commercial banks and a concrete manifestation of green development in the financial field. Faced with the challenge of reducing carbon emissions, commercial banks have accelerated the transformation and upgrading of business concepts and developed into green industries. The basic nature of a bank is to provide reliable services and obtain corresponding profits by providing financial products and services to responsible entities. At this stage, banks have accelerated development of green financial products, forming different forms of green credit, green bonds and other content. Meanwhile, commercial banks are also facing many challenges and problems in this context.

Ecological and Economic Benefits of Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Strategies in Rice Production: A Case Study of the Southern Rice Propagation Base in Hainan Province

Developing tailored emission reduction strategies and estimating their potential is crucial for achieving low-carbon rice production in a specific region, as well as for advancing China’s dual carbon goals in the agricultural sector. By utilizing water-saving and drought-resistant rice (WDR) with enhanced water and nitrogen utilization efficiency, the mitigation strategies were constructed for rice production systems, and their potential for emission reduction was estimated in the southern rice propagation base of Hainan Province. This study revealed that the implementation of a reduction strategy, which involves dry direct seeding and dry cultivation, combined with a 53% reduction in nitrogen fertilizer, can effectively synergize the mitigation of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from rice paddies. Compared with traditional flooded rice cultivation, this integrated approach exhibits an impressive potential for reducing net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 97% while simultaneously doubling economic benefits. Moreover, when combined with plastic film mulching, the strategy not only sustains rice yields but also achieves a remarkable emission reduction of 92%, leading to a fourfold increase in economic benefits. Our study provides a comprehensive low-carbon sustainable development strategy for rice production in the southern rice propagation base of Hainan Province and offers valuable insights for researching GHG emissions in other regions or crops. These emission reduction pathways and the assessment method could contribute to the realization of low-carbon agriculture.

Research on the economic security application of energy economy in a low-carbon sustainable development society

Research on the economic security application of energy economy in a low-carbon sustainable development society is an important research field. Its purpose is to explore how to achieve the safe development of the national economy in the context of low-carbon sustainable development, including economic structural adjustment, green technology innovation, resource conservation and recycling, environmental protection, etc. This article explores how to ensure green and sustainable development of energy security and the security risk assessment of green energy economy.

The Impact Mechanism and Strategy Analysis of Green Consumption Behavior of Chinese Residents under the Dual Carbon Target

Consumption is the terminal of carbon emissions, and achieving the "dual carbon" goal cannot be achieved without the joint efforts of consumers. In the context of actively promoting energy conservation, environmental protection, green and low-carbon sustainable development in the whole society, green development is one of the five development concepts in China. Promoting green economic development and improving residents' green consumption level are of utmost importance. How residents, as consumers, can improve their level of green consumption is an urgent issue that needs to be addressed. This article is based on the theory of planned behavior and embeds an analysis of behavioral externalities. It elaborates on the path that residents form green consumption intentions driven by their consumption attitudes, subjective factors, and behavioral control factors, and explains the mechanism by which consumption intentions promote consumption behavior. Finally, policy recommendations are proposed to enhance the green consumption level of Chinese residents, promote green consumption behavior among residents, leverage the protective role of laws and regulations, and enhance the supply of green consumer goods by enterprises, in order to achieve sustainable economic development from the perspective of the "dual carbon" goal.

Evaluating the Scandinavian economy's transition to a sustainable environment. Fresh evidence from newly developed CS-ARDL approach

Scandinavian economies have yet to contribute to low-carbon sustainable development. This study analyzes the short-term and long-term effects of economic growth, sustainable energy, natural resources, technological innovation, and financial development on the sustainable environment in Scandinavian economies from 1990 to 2021. This research holds significance as it represents the initial attempt to examine the interconnections between these variables within this specific framework. The “Westerlund cointegration” confirms the long-run relationship among variables by proving a cross-section reliance in panel data. We employed the “Cross-sectional autoregressive distributive lag (CSARDL),” which corroborates that total natural resources have positive long-run and short-run effects on CO2 emissions. Economic growth has a positive short-run effect on CO2 emissions. At the same time, economic growth square, sustainable energy and technological innovation have negative short-run and long-run effects on carbon emissions. However, Financial development has no effect on CO2. The study suggests that Scandinavian economies develop policies to increase sustainable energy production by improving green technologies.

Climate Change Impacts on Agricultural and Industrial Water Demands in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region Using Statistical Downscaling Model (SDSM)

As a politically and culturally important city cluster, the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region is the most prominent area in China where the imbalance between the supply and demand of water resources restricts the sustainable and healthy development of the regional social economy. In the context of global warming, research into water demand prediction that takes climate change into consideration would be more in line with the strategic goal of the low-carbon sustainable development of future cities. At the same time, the prediction of agricultural water demands against a background of climate change is urgently needed, while industrial water consumption is weakly correlated with climate change, an investigation of the statistical relationship between the two is needed. Thus, in this paper, future climate data from the BTH region under the scenarios RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 were generated using a statistical downscaling model, and then coupled with agricultural and industrial water demand prediction models to simulate and analyze the impact of climate change on the agricultural and industrial water demands, respectively. The results show that during the forecast period (2020–2035), the reference crop evapotranspiration (ET0) growth rates in the Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei areas under the RCP2.6 scenario are 1.438 mm·a−1, 1.393 mm·a−1 and 2.059 mm·a−1, respectively. Under the RCP4.5 scenario, they are 2.252 mm·a−1, 2.310 mm·a−1 and 2.827 mm·a−1, respectively. Under the RCP8.5 scenario, they are 3.123 mm·a−1, 2.310 mm·a−1 and 2.141 mm·a−1, respectively. Furthermore, under each climate scenario, the increase in evapotranspiration in the Hebei area is the largest, followed by that in the Tianjin area, and that in the Beijing area is the smallest. For water consumption per CNY 10,000 of industrial added value during the forecast period, under the three different climate scenarios, a downward trend is seen in the Beijing area, with rates of 0.158, 0.153 and 0.110, respectively, but in the Tianjin area, there is an upward trend, with an upward tendency in rates of 0.170, 0.087 and 0.071, and an upward trend in the Hebei area, with an upward tendency in rates of 0.254, 0.071 and 0.036, respectively. This study will help the BTH region to rationally allocate agricultural and industrial water against the background of future climate change, and strengthen the coordination and cooperation between the different regions to promote the healthy and sustainable development of the cities.

Multi-Traveler Salesman Problem for Unmanned Vehicles: Optimization through Improved Hopfield Neural Network

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, communities utilize unmanned vehicles to minimize person-to-person contact and lower the risk of infection. This paper addresses the critical considerations of these unmanned vehicles’ maximum load capacity and service time, formulating them as constraints within a multi-traveling salesman problem (MTSP). We propose a comprehensive optimization approach that combines a genetic simulated annealing algorithm with clustering techniques and an improved Hopfield neural network (IHNN). First, the MTSP is decomposed into multiple independent TSPs using the fuzzy C-means clustering algorithm based on a genetic simulated annealing algorithm (SA-GA-FCM). Subsequently, the HNN is employed to introduce the data transformation technique and dynamic step factor to prepare more suitable inputs for the HNN training process to avoid the energy function from falling into local solutions, and the simulated annealing algorithm is introduced to solve multiple TSP separately. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is verified by small-scale and large-scale instances, and the results clearly demonstrate that each unmanned vehicle can meet the specified constraints and successfully complete all delivery tasks. Furthermore, to gauge the performance of our algorithm, we conducted ten simulation comparisons with other combinatorial optimization and heuristic algorithms. These comparisons indicate that IHNN outperforms the algorithms mentioned above regarding solution quality and efficiency and exhibits robustness against falling into local solutions. As presented in this paper, the solution to the unmanned vehicle traveling salesman problem facilitates contactless material distribution, reducing time and resource wastage while enhancing the efficiency of unmanned vehicle operations, which has profound implications for promoting low-carbon sustainable development, optimizing logistics efficiency, and mitigating the risk of pandemic spread.

Spatial–Temporal Characteristics of Carbon Emissions in Mixed-Use Villages: A Sustainable Development Study of the Yangtze River Delta, China

With the progression of novel urbanization, rural regions are increasingly characterized by mixed-use features, where work and living activities intersect, resulting in a significant surge in per capita carbon emissions. This research article aims to elucidate the spatio-temporal relationship of carbon emissions in rural areas and their association with mixed-use intensity from a sustainable development perspective. For the study, we selected four of the most representative mixed-use village types in the Yangtze River Delta region. Using the STING method, each rural space was delineated into micro-level mixed-use units. Subsequently, a quantitative evaluation model was constructed to gauge the relationship between mixed-use intensity and carbon emissions. This was complemented by employing GIS simulations to analyze the spatio-temporal attributes of carbon emissions in mixed-use villages. Our findings indicate that (1) different types of villages display considerable disparities in mixed-use intensity and carbon emissions. Their correlation also varies significantly, with traditional agricultural villages exhibiting the lowest values of 0.338 and 0.356, while E-commerce-centric villages recorded the highest at 0.674 and 0.653. (2) The carbon emissions of rural units manifest diverse patterns that include dispersed distribution, core aggregation, linear decay, and dissipative fragmentation. These correspond to traditional agriculture, industrial production, tourism service, and E-commerce villages, respectively. (3) The carbon emissions of mixed-use villages exhibit cyclical fluctuations over time, with different magnitudes observed across villages. Traditional agricultural villages display the smallest fluctuations (within 30%), while those centered around tourism services can experience fluctuations exceeding 150%. Building on these insights, we delved deep into the challenges faced by each village type in enhancing the quality of work and living while concurrently achieving energy conservation and emission reduction. Based on these aspects, we propose a sustainable low-carbon development pathway tailored for mixed-use villages.

Carbon emission reduction effects in Yangtze River Delta from the dual perspectives of forest resource endowment and low-carbon pilot policy in the digital age

Although Chinese society has transformed into the digital age, carbon peaking and neutrality are still important starting points for implementing the national strategy of green and low-carbon integrated growth in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) of China. With data from 41 cities in YRD from 2005 to 2019, this paper empirically analyzes the carbon emission reduction effects from dual perspectives of forest resource endowment and low-carbon pilot policy in the digital age. The findings include: (1) Forest resources are indeed conducive to reducing carbon emissions. However, when considering the carbon sequestration effect of forests, a nonlinear U-shaped relationship exists between forest resource abundance and net carbon emissions per GDP. (2) Low-carbon city pilot policies are effective in reducing carbon emissions. (3) Low-carbon pilot policies perform better in smart cities, resource-based cities, and cities with abundant forest resources, showing significant heterogeneity. Forests can be relied on to assist in carbon emission reduction in the short term, but in the long term, a forest ecosystem with biodiversity is needed to achieve low-carbon sustainable development. This article provides some experience and references for building green and carbon-neutral cities for YRD in the digital age.

How does civil aviation achieve sustainable low-carbon development? — An abatement–cost perspective

With the rapid development of civil aviation, carbon emissions have brought severe environmental problems. Realizing efficient and sustainable carbon emission reduction is of great significance for achieving green development in civil aviation sector. Therefore, in the process of pursuing civil aviation carbon emission reduction goals, it is necessary to further consider how to achieve emission reduction at the lowest cost. Based on the accurate carbon emission performance evaluation, the carbon abatement cost among different representative airlines have been systematically compared. The main work and findings of this study can be summarized in the following three aspects. Firstly, a new nonparametric shadow price measurement method was constructed based on the Slacks-Based Measurement Data Envelopment Analysis (SBM-DEA). This can better reflect the essence of efficiency evaluation and the calculated shadow price results are more consistent with the real market. Secondly, the average value of carbon emission efficiency has experienced a fluctuating downward trend from 2011 to 2017, indicating that the carbon emission efficiency of global airlines has decreased. Thirdly, the average value of the shadow price is generally between 313.4 and 398.4 dollars/ton, showing an “up-down-up” trend, and reaching a peak of 398.4 dollars/ton in 2014. This can provide a basis for low-carbon policy makers in the civil aviation sector, and also provide reference for different types of airlines to achieve low-cost emission reduction.