Meet Climate Change Research Articles

“We can't be too saintly”: Why members of parliament in the United Kingdom are reluctant to lead by example with low-carbon behaviour

Low-carbon behaviour change from individuals is both essential for meeting climate change targets and highly politically contentious. Shifting away from activities such as flying, driving and meat eating can greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, yet political leaders have avoided introducing policies to stimulate this for fear of alienating voters and confronting political orthodoxies. This article examines low-carbon behaviour change through the novel lens of individual leadership and leading by example. Applying threories of credibility enhancing displays (CREDs) and embodied leadership, we present evidence from 19 interviews with UK members of parliament (MPs), exploring how they think leading by example may affect their credibility as democratic representatives. We find that MPs believe leading by example is important as a general principle but is problematic when it comes to low-carbon behaviour. While some MPs do deliberately model sustainable behaviours to maintain credibility as climate advocates, they tend to do this quietly for fear of negative reactions from the media, political rivals, and constituents. MPs say modelling low-carbon behaviour may be perceived as a threat to individual freedoms, such as flying for holidays, and risks disapproval from local business interests related to high-carbon activities, such as car manufacturers or the airline industry. Even pro-climate MPs tend to frame low-carbon behaviour as “extreme”, and position themselves in contrast to this extreme, thus perpetuating social and moral norms of high-carbon behaviour. We discuss how individual politicians form part of a systemic resistance to low-carbon behaviour change.

Subnational Investments in Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change: Some Financing and Governance Issues

Meeting climate change goals requires steadfast action at all levels of government in terms of both mitigation (measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions) and adaptation (measures to reduce the impacts of climate change on economies and societies). Against this background, this paper discusses the role of subnational investment, including funding and financing options, as well as governance arrangements. It fills a gap in scholarly work on the principles guiding subnational investment in climate change mitigation and adaptation, identifies areas for future work, and underscores the need for cross-country comparable information on policy instruments and outcomes at the subnational levels of administration that could be used in more systematic hypothesis testing in this area. JEL classification codes: H11, H70, Q54.

Better policy to support climate change action in the built environment: A framework to analyse and design a policy portfolio

Climate change action in built environments has not been at the scale or pace required to achieve the global goal (Paris Agreement) to limit warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. Action towards climate change goals can be facilitated by effective policy design, and policy reform. However, this is challenging because built environment policy contexts are complex and include policy from multiple sectors (e.g. urban planning, construction, design and property); supporting infrastructures (e.g. transport and water) and areas of cross cutting importance (e.g. climate change and sustainability). Limited guidance exists on how to design or analyse portfolios of policy instruments to meet climate change goals and challenges. The aim of this paper is to develop a framework for designing and analysing policy portfolios. The method of developing this framework was via a descriptive and explorative review of literature and a synthesis of key attributes yielded in the review. The framework is comprised of seven attributes: inclusion, prescription, discretion, legibility, vertical integration, horizontal integration, and balance. The framework can be used to analyse the appropriateness of the content of existing policy instruments and portfolios of policy instruments to address climate change goals. Additionally, the framework can be used to guide the development and design of policy portfolios for urbanising and rapidly urbanising areas, to address the challenge of climate change effectively and adequately.

A value-based framework from Building Stock Model to Retrofit Model

The study has as its original database the decarbonization process initiated in Mexico by the National Commission for the Efficient Use of Energy (CONUEE) as part of its “Savings Program of Electric Power in Buildings of the Federal Public Administration” (PAEIAPF) of 1999. The primary purpose of PAEIAPF was to reduce the levels of electric power consumption in Federal Government buildings. The program has operated for 20 years; however, its scope only reaches operational carbon. Since 90% of existing buildings will be in use by 2050, the Retrofit Models will be the base to determine solutions for a more resilient living environment that fortifies and extends the grid’s capacity and meets climate change mitigation targets. Secondly, significant socioeconomic and profound environmental impacts are not calculated explicitly in existing tools and are often referred to as “secondary” or Non-Energy Benefits (NEB). “The goal is to give them a measurement value to be considered in the decision-making calculus. It is assumed that soon; such factors will enter the general climate change economy, not unlike carbon in the past decade.” In this context, the proposed research aims to develop a value-based framework that will support a Building Stock Model and subsequent Retrofit Models, documented in a web-tool platform. The framework has three main steps:A) Building Stock Model: Mapping of selected buildings of the program PAEIAPF in a GIS system. Documentation of the baseline energy consumption and embodied CO2-eq of the existing building.B) Retrofit Models: Involving a Whole Life Cycle Assessment (WLCA) and Non-Energy Benefits (resilience coefficient, health, productivity).C) Web Tool Platform: Application and toolset that allows for consistent documentation, environmental impact evaluation of existing building stock, and solution design in identifying energy reduction concepts.

Decarbonising the power sector of the Dominican Republic: An approach from electric mobility transition

The electrical power and land transportation systems of the Dominican Republic are facing significant challenges due to growing demand in both sectors. These two systems are responsible for around 62% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. With the deployment of electric mobility, the power and transport sectors can synergise and contribute significantly to long-term sustainable planning. This article analyses the impact of the penetration of electric mobility programmed by the Dominican Republic's National Institute of Transit and Land Transport (INTRANT), the country's goal of reducing GHG emissions by 27% by 2030 and the decarbonisation process. Using the open-source modelling system OSeMOSYS, four scenarios are built to explore strategies that contribute to sustainable development in the long term. Meeting climate change commitments necessitates that all coal-fired plants in the country will be closed or transformed by 2040. Despite the positive role of electric mobility in reducing GHG, decarbonising the electricity sector while facing the energy crisis requires investments totalling around 16 billion USD. Failing to make these investments will incur expenses of approximately 6 billion USD on the user's side in the period from 2024 to 2030 to cover energy needs; this figure represents more than 270% of the amount that should be invested in the electrical power system to supply these users' needs.

Mathematical modeling of vehicle carbon dioxide emissions

The demand for transportation, driven by an increasing global population, is continuously rising. This has led to a higher number of vehicles on the road and an increased reliance on fossil fuels. Consequently, the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels has contributed to global warming. Therefore, it is important to consider sustainable transportation practices to meet climate change mitigation targets. In this research paper, a non-linear mathematical model is developed to study the dynamics of atmospheric CO2 concentration in relation to human population, economic activities, forest biomass, and vehicle population. The developed model is analyzed qualitatively to understand the long-term behavior of the system's dynamics. Model parameters are fitted to actual data of world population, human economic activities, atmospheric CO2, forest biomass, and vehicle population. It is shown that increased vehicular CO2 emissions have a potential contribution to the increase in atmospheric CO2 and the decline of human population. Numerical simulations are carried out to verify the analytical findings and we performed global sensitivity analysis to explore the impacts of different sensitive parameters on the CO2 dynamics.

Nature-based solutions in agricultural landscapes for reducing tradeoffs between food production, climate change, and conservation objectives

This paper presents a synthesis of evidence and implementation gaps in the application of nature-based solutions (NbS) in agricultural landscapes that contribute to reduce trade-offs between food production, climate change and conservation objectives. The literature and data surveyed relies primarily in peer-reviewed sources and is organized around an overview of NbS science and applications in agricultural landscapes in major biomes. To date, the focus of NbS applications in food production has been predominantly for carbon sequestration, water quality, and disaster-risk management objectives while documented examples of NbS benefits in agricultural production are sparse. Conservation applications of NbS appear to show evidence of effectiveness across multiple objectives in biodiversity, land, soil and water. Evidence and analysis of NbS to meet climate change mitigation targets has surged in recent years driven by global community efforts. Overall, considerable scientific work remains to refine and reduce the uncertainty of NbS benefit estimates across production, climate and conservation objectives, and resilience implications. However, delaying implementation of NbS in agricultural landscapes would likely increase the costs to meet agricultural production, climate, conservation and other societally beneficial goals, while degrading the capacity of natural systems to continue to provide these and other ecosystem services.

Delineation of high‐resolution soil carbon management zones using digital soil mapping: A step towards mitigating climate change in the Northeastern Himalayas, India

AbstractDelineation of carbon management zones (CMZs) by capturing geospatial distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) stock down the profile is an effective strategy for precision agriculture and climate change mitigation. Satellite (Landsat OLI 8), terrain (SRTM 30 m DEM) and bioclimatic (WorldClim dataset) factors were used as covariables in this digital soil mapping approach. Depth harmonization using the quadratic spline method (equal‐area) was carried out prior to quantile regression forest (QRF) algorithm‐based modelling to estimate SOC stock at six standard soil depths (0–5, 5–15, 15–30, 30–60, 60–100 and 100–200 cm). Soil depth and SOC stock for the whole soil profile were used for the delineation of CMZs using fuzzy k‐means clustering. The predicted SOC stock, varied from 14.68 to 42.35 Mg ha−1 in the top layer (0–5 cm depth), while 17.91 to 36.88, 14.15 to 34.70, 12.55 to 35.59, 10.30 to 28.52 and 7.26 to 20.16 Mg ha−1 in the depths of 5–15, 15–30, 30–60, 60–100 and 100–200 cm, respectively. The QRF algorithm performed well in predicting SOC stock with high R2, which ranged from .67 to .83 for all the soil depths. To delineate three CMZs, modified partitioning entropy and the fuzzy performance index were used. In CMZ2, there was a significant increase in SOC stock, followed by CMZ1 and CMZ3. This zone (CMZ2) was located in the central region of the study area and was mostly covered by dense forest and perennial plantations (rubber). The CMZs provided the necessary foundation for the development of site‐specific carbon management techniques that can enhance ecosystem service and meet climate change mitigation goals.

Co-Design Methods for Non-Standard Multi-Storey Timber Buildings

To meet climate change goals and respond to increased global urbanisation, the building industry needs to improve both its building technology and its design methods. Constrained urban environments and building stock extensions are challenges for standard timber construction. Co-design promises to better integrate disciplines and processes, promising smaller feedback loops for design iteration and building verification. This article describes the integrated design, fabrication, and construction processes of a timber building prototype as a case study for the application of co-design methods. Emphasis is placed on the development of design and engineering methods, fabrication and construction processes, and materials and building systems. The development of the building prototype builds on previous research in robotic fabrication (including prefabrication, task distribution, and augmented reality integration), agent-based modelling (ABM) for the design and optimisation of structural components, and the systematisation of timber buildings and their components. The results presented in this article include a functional example of co-design from which best practises may be extrapolated as part of an inductive approach to design research. The prototype, with its co-designed process and resultant flat ceilings, integrated services, wide spans, and design adaptability for irregular column locations, has the potential to expand the design potential of multi-storey timber buildings.

Low-carbon lifestyle revolution: China’s recent progress toward a personal carbon market

Meeting climate change targets requires inclusive carbon policies to encourage mass public participation. As a bottom-up strategy allows participation from all walks of society, personal carbon market may promote low-carbon behavior and further encourage technological innovation. We analyze the advantages of Personal Carbon Trading (PCT), examples of its application in other countries, and its limitations. To promote a low carbon emissions lifestyle, China has proposed and rapidly developed Inclusive carbon credits (ICC), which is a voluntary PCT scheme. We compare the government-led and enterprise-led ICC platforms with relevant examples in China and highlighted the need for academic-industry-government partnerships. Furthermore, we identify the barriers, opportunities, and the path forward with integrating ICC into the carbon market regarding technology and public participation. We hope that the understanding of ICC and China’s recent exploration of the personal carbon market could serve as an example to revolutionize the low-carbon lifestyle worldwide.

In Situ Raman Methodology for Online Analysis of CO2 and H2O Loadings in a Water-Lean Solvent for CO2 Capture.

Carbon capture represents a key pathway to meeting climate change mitigation goals. Powerful next-generation solvent-based capture processes are under development by many researchers, but optimization and testing would be significantly aided by integrating in situ monitoring capability. Further, real-time water analysis in water-lean solvents offers the potential to maintain their water balance in operation. To explore data acquisition techniques in depth for this purpose, Raman spectra of CO2, H2O, and a single-component water-lean solvent, N-(2-ethoxyethyl)-3-morpholinopropan-1-amine (2-EEMPA) were collected at different CO2 and H2O concentrations using an in situ Raman cell. The quantification of CO2 and H2O loadings in 2-EEMPA was done by principal component regression and partial least squares methods with analysis of uncertainties. We conclude with discussions on how this simultaneous online analysis method to quantify CO2 and H2O loadings can be an important tool to enable the optimal efficiency of water-lean CO2 solvents while also maintaining the critical water balance under operating conditions relevant to post-combustion CO2 capture.

Long-Term Forecasting Framework for Renewable Energy Technologies’ Installed Capacity and Costs for 2050

Published forecasts underestimate renewable energy capacity growth and potential cost reductions, creating uncertainty around investment decisions and slowing progress. Scenario-based projections diverge widely, driven by variations in modelling techniques and underlying assumptions, with policy-based models typically being overly conservative. With historical generation capacity and cost data readily available, this research demonstrates that data-driven approaches can be leveraged to improve long-term capacity and cost forecasts of solar, wind, and battery storage technologies. Unlike exponential growth models prevailing over shorter time scales, logistic curves requiring asymptotic limits, or machine learning algorithms dependent on extensive datasets, this analysis demonstrates that temporal quadratic regressions are a better starting point to represent capacity growth trends over two to three decades. When coupled with published learning rates, trend-based capacity forecasts provided tighter and lower capital and levelized cost of energy outlooks than most reviewed scenarios, with photovoltaics global average levelized cost of energy reducing from 0.057/kWh to below USD 0.03/kWh by 2030 and below USD 0.02/kWh by 2040. Greater transparency on manufacturing ecosystems is proposed so that more advanced analytical techniques can be utilized. This analysis indicates that without direct interventions to accelerate the growth in wind power generation, global renewable energy technology deployment will fall short of the generation capacities required to meet climate change objectives.

Vessel noise prior to pile driving at offshore windfarm sites deters harbour porpoises from potential injury zones

Efforts to meet climate change targets are resulting in rapid and global expansion of offshore windfarms. In many regions, development areas are also used by protected marine mammals, requiring the assessment and mitigation of any risk of injury during construction and operation. For small cetaceans such as the harbour porpoise, there is particular concern over the risk of injury from impulsive noise should individuals remain within near-field injury zones during the installation of pile driven turbine foundations. Currently, this risk is assessed by comparing predicted noise levels at the start of piling with baseline estimates of animal density, which are, in turn, based on data collected at least one year earlier. However, vessel-based preparation work immediately prior to piling may displace animals, thus reducing any risk of injury when pile-driving begins. We investigated the effects of pre-piling activities on local soundscapes and harbour porpoise occurrence during the construction of two deep-water offshore windfarms in NE Scotland. Arrays of echolocation click detectors deployed at a sub-set of turbine sites were used to assess porpoise occurrence within a 5 km buffer during a 48-h period prior to the initiation of piling. In parallel, we characterised local vessel activity using AIS data and underwater broadband noise levels. We then used daily engineering records to characterise variation in construction activities and explore how porpoise occurrence varied during the 48 h prior to piling. On average, vessels arrived onsite 11–15 h before the start of pile-driving activities at both windfarms. In both installation campaigns, harbour porpoise acoustic detection gradually declined by up to 33% during the 48 h prior to piling. This decrease in detections was associated with increased levels of vessel and pre-piling installation activities, and increased local underwater broadband noise levels. These results provide strong evidence of porpoise displacement prior to active mitigation activities, highlighting the need to account for disturbance from multiple sources when optimising mitigation measures aimed at reducing impacts of windfarm construction on protected marine mammal populations.

Environmental benefits of combined electro-thermo-chemical technology over battery-electric powertrains

Electric vehicles are being promoted worldwide in an attempt to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and improve air-quality in cities. Yet, alternative propulsion systems could allow meeting climate change and air-quality policy goals while not raising other environmental burdens. This study offers a glimpse into the mobility solutions aside from traditional battery-electric vehicles (BEVs). A feasibility study of the novel combined electro-thermo-chemical (CETC) propulsion technology composed of a fuel-cell (FC), an internal-combustion engine (ICE) and thermochemical recuperation (TCR) of waste heat is performed based on a life-cycle assessment. A comprehensive comparison between the proposed technology and the BEV is conducted across multiple categories of environmental impacts from the stage of manufacturing, through vehicle use and vehicle end-of-life. Our findings showed for the first time that a technology comprising an internal combustion engine can assure a better environmental performance compared to BEV. Moreover, we demonstrate that the climate-change benefits of the suggested CETC technology over BEV are more pronounced when the share of renewable energy use increases. The study results show that the new CETC technology outperforms the battery electric propulsion for the majority of environmental impacts, including climate-change, air-pollution, human-health and ecological impacts by up to 22%, 62%, 60% and 43%, respectively. It is found that the environmental advantages of the CETC technology over the BEV stem mainly from the vehicle manufacturing stage, affected by the BEV's higher weight and resource-intensive production. These encouraging findings call for further examination and research into BEV alternatives, such as the discussed hybrid CETC powertrain. The latter has promising prospects for future implementation in both mobile and stationary applications.

Rethinking Abandoned Buildings as Positive Energy Buildings in a Former Industrial Site in Italy

The transition from nearly zero-emission building (NZEB) to positive energy building (PEB) models is a new trend, justified by the need to increase the efforts to address the climate change targets and the ambition for a clean energy transition in the construction sector. In line with this scenario, this study assumes that PEB may be applied to meet climate change targets and promote new approaches to urban regeneration plans. It focuses on the functional and energy regeneration of abandoned buildings, considering that many abandoned European buildings are often located in a strategic part of the city. Therefore, the research question is as follows: to what extent can abandoned buildings be converted into a PEB? What would be the meaning of this new association? In order to answer this question, this study developed a procedure to transform an abandoned building into a PEB, implemented through a case study of a former Italian industrial site. Findings pointed out the variables impacting PEB configuration and were used to support a discussion, stressing how rethinking abandoned buildings as PEB may drive new trends to synchronise the socio-technical evolution of energy infrastructure and urban regeneration plans.

A Climate-Change Scorecard for United States Non-commercial Driver Education

<div>In the United States (USA), transportation is the largest single source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, representing 27% of total GHGs emitted in 2020. Eighty-three percent of these came from road transport, and 57% from light-duty vehicles (LDVs). Internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, which still form the bulk of the United States (US) fleet, struggle to meet climate change targets. Despite increasingly stringent regulatory mechanisms and technology improvements, only three US states have been able to reduce their transport emissions to the target of below 1990 levels. Fifteen states have made some headway to within 10% of their 1990 baseline. Largely, however, it appears that current strategies are not generating effective results.</div> <div>Current climate-change mitigation measures in road transport tend to be predominantly technological. One of the most popular measures in the USA is fleet electrification, receiving regulatory and fiscal encouragement from 45 US states and federal bills. However, zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) might not be the climate change panacea for the transport sector. ZEVs are facing adoption issues ranging from affordability, equity, and charging infrastructure to vehicle class availability limitations. Despite increasing sales, US electric vehicle (EV) adoption has been behind the curve with a current market penetration of 4.5%. Outside of ZEVs, emission reduction in the US road transport sector has been sluggish.</div> <div>In road transport, which contributes the bulk of traffic-related air pollution (TRAP), there are clear gaps between policy targets, technology-based expectations, and actual results. For a sector that is struggling to meet climate change targets, broadening its scope of climate change mitigation measures for road transport would be useful. Driver behavior may be an underexplored strategy.</div> <div>Eco-driving is a known strategy and has been attributed to reducing TRAP by up to 50% (through nontechnological means) in various studies in the USA and across the world. If technological eco-driving measures are included, they can improve fuel economy in excess of 100%. But the extent to which it is included in driver education and licensing protocols in US states is unclear.</div> <div>This study, therefore, evaluates eco-driving in state-sponsored non-commercial Driving License Manuals (DLMs). Provisions in state DLMs were assessed based on the <i>intent</i> of the prescribed practices (collision safety, environmental exposure, or both), the <i>extent</i> to which these were included, and the <i>strength</i> of the recommended mechanisms (prescriptive or regulatory). The scores were converted into Grades A–D.</div> <div>The results are revealing. Despite thirty-three US states (66%) with extant climate change commitments, almost the same percentage (62%) of states received a “D” grade and entirely omitted to mention driver influence on fuel consumption and emissions. Only five states (10%) received an “A” grade with substantive eco-driving measures in their DLMs. There is thus significant scope for eco-driving content in DLMs, which can range from the state’s communicating climate change commitments to how drivers influence fuel consumption through their driving practices to empowering drivers with strategies they can adopt to save fuel and money and reduce emissions.</div> <div>This inclusion has the potential to improve vehicular fuel economy and help states meet their climate change goals. Driver education is the first step. Eco-driving principles can be further bolstered through subsequent inclusion in the driver training and testing phases of driver licensing.</div>

In Vitro Rumen Fermentation Kinetics Determination and Nutritional Evaluation of Several Non-Conventional Plants with Potential for Ruminant Feeding

Using invasive plants as non-conventional forage in livestock production can contribute to meeting climate change targets and provide a competitive advantage in a global market. This study evaluated the nutritional potential of several non-conventional plants: Pennisetum setaceum, Ricinus communis, Arundo donax, Acacia melanoxylon, Opuntia ficus-indica, Agave americana, Pittosporum undulatum, and Hedychium gardnerianum. Chemical composition, in vitro digestibility, gas production, and energy estimates were determined. Opuntia showed the lowest DM value (6.65%), while the highest was found for Acacia (39.43%). Ricinus recorded the highest levels of CP (23.56% DM), RFV (273.86), and in vitro gas production at 24 h (43.49 mL/200 mg DM). The highest NDF (80.39% DM), HEM (39.03% DM), and CEL (36.81% DM) values were observed for Pennisetum. Agave produced the highest amount of gas from the start to the end of incubation (22.68 to 48.99 mL/200 mg DM), while Acacia produced the least (3.83 to 14.78 mL/200 mg DM). The highest ME (8.72 MJ/kg DM) and NEL (5.06 MJ/kg DM) estimates were obtained for Agave. Correlations between the chemical compositions and feed quality indices of the plants were observed, showing strong negative correlations between ADF and DMD, OMD, and DMI (r > 0.86, p < 0.01). We can conclude that all these non-conventional plants have potential as an alternative feed for ruminants when there are fodder shortages.

Enablers and barriers for energy prosumption: Conceptual review and an integrated analysis of business models

Energy transition is a crucial issue for sustainable development in the energy sector. It is also the main instrument to meet climate change goals. The development of energy technologies and economic instruments has created new interactive forms for prosumers involvement. The paper systematically analyzes new business models for energy prosumption and performs SWOT analysis from the prosumers’ perspective. The systematic literature review was applied to outline the main business models for energy prosumption. The performed analysis also allowed the main policy directions for the further development of prosumerism to be identified. The paper presents integrated analysis of Aggregator, Demand Response, Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Trading Platforms, Energy as a Service, Collective Services and Pay as You Go models. It was revealed that the main enablers encouraging energy prosumption are environmental concern, energy independence, control over energy (micro)generation, new and user-friendly technologies, energy saving and monetization of surplus energy, and stable and clear regulatory framework. The main barriers include lack of effective support initiatives, quite slow market penetration of innovative technologies, and low level of public awareness and acceptance. Finally, the main policy directions to encourage further development of energy prosumption are provided.

Research on minimum height above ground considering total and ionized field when ± 800 kV power lines at the high altitude cross the residential areas

Recently, in order to reduce carbon emissions and meet climate change targets set by governments worldwide, which has led to the growth of renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar and hydropower energy, more and more ± 800 kV power lines have been built for more than 1500 km long-distance transmission, and the total and ionized field under it serve as important assessment indicators of an electromagnetic field. To calculate the total electric field and ionized field under UHVDC power lines, based on the upwind difference idea proposed by Takuma, the boundary condition and initial value selection are improved with the Kaptzov hypothesis as the boundary condition, and the difference between the surface field strength on the wire and the critical coronal voltage is used as the benchmark to estimate the initial value of charge density. By adopting the improved method, the calculation results of the total electric field and ionized field under the ± 800 kV power lines in typical high altitude regions suggest that the total electric field on the ground increases with the decrease in the wire’s height above ground, while the ion current density goes up with the reduction in the roughness coefficient of the wire; when the ± 800 kV power lines stipulated by national standards go through the residential areas, and the wire’s minimum height above ground is 21 m, total electric field and ionized field under the power lines are less than the limits set by national standards. Also, the calculation method proposed in this paper is suitable for the calculation of ground total electric field for future ± 1,200 kV power lines, which can provide reference for UHVDC power line designing and carbon emission target realization.

Lessons From Government Venture Capital Funds to Enable Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy: The U.K. Case

Early-stage small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) cleantech innovation, if properly funded, can initiate disruptive low-carbon reduction impacts across a wide range of sectors to meet climate change net zero requirements. The role of venture capital (VC) finance in successfully commercializing new technologies remains contentious, particularly where socio-environmental returns may well be greater than the economic returns that are the exclusive captures of the investors. This article addresses a pertinent question facing government policymakers: how best to support VC to achieve climate change objectives? It focuses on the supply-side policy, design, and implementation of four U.K. government-backed venture capital funds (GVCFs) at various stages of their development. A systems framework and an absorptive capacity learning lens inform a grounded qualitative methodology, spanning a decade of over 100 in-depth interviews with policymakers, fund managers (private and public), alternative finance providers, and low-carbon finance market experts. A model is developed to assess GVCF learning evolution to address the nascent early-stage precommercialization cleantech venture investment market. This avoids the pitfalls of quantitatively analyzing the investment outcomes of these long-horizon investment funds prior to their completion by providing qualitative process findings that inform policy, practice, and theory in the evolving early-stage low-carbon GVCFs.