Reducing Energy Intensity Research Articles

The impact of regional renewable energy development on environmental sustainability in China

With the increasing concerns about environmental degradation and the growing awareness of sustainable development, the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions has become a topic of intense scholarly interest. This research makes use of panel data from 30 provinces in China covering the years 2000–2019 to explore how renewable energy development affects this nation's environmental sustainability by assessing the reduction of carbon intensity. The results reveal that renewable energy development contributes to decreasing carbon intensity. The mechanism analysis results indicate that the development of renewable energy achieves environmental sustainability by reducing energy intensity, improving energy structure, and upgrading industrial structure. We also find that the beneficial effects of renewable energy development are more pronounced in high-polluting provinces and provinces with high levels of renewable energy development status and well-functioning financial systems. Finally, the improvement of local government fiscal size and the introduction of a policy for green finance and geopolitical risk further improve the positive influence of renewable energy development on environmental sustainability.

The spatial impact of digital economy on energy intensity in China in the context of double carbon to achieve the sustainable development goals.

Using the provincial panel data of China during 2012-2019, the present study employed spatial Durbin error model to explore the spatial effect of the digital economy on energy intensity. The results show that both digital economy and energy intensity have spatial autocorrelation, showing the distribution characteristics of spatial aggregation. The digital economy has a significant negative influence on energy intensity. The result shows a significant spatial spillover effect of digital economy on energy intensity, and the development of the digital economy in neighboring regions reduces energy intensity in the central region. Additionally, industrial structure, urbanization, energy price, and foreign direct investment have a heterogenous impact on energy intensity. Thus, it is crucial to give importance to the development of the energy intensity, plan the spatial layout of the digital industry as a whole, drive the coordinated growth of the regional digital economy, quicken the upgrading of industrial structure, promote urbanization, perfect the energy price formation mechanism, raise the entry threshold for foreign direct investment, to effectively reduce the energy intensity, and facilitate the smooth realization of the "double carbon" goal.

Do transportation taxes promote pro-environmental behaviour? An empirical investigation.

The transportation sector is a crucial driver of energy intensity and environmental degradation. Therefore, we aim to explore the nexus of transportation taxes, energy intensity, and CO2 emissions for the BICS economies. The econometric approaches, CS-ARDL and PMG-ARDL, have been employed to compute the estimates. The long-run estimates of the green transportation tax variable are negatively significant in both energy intensity and CO2 emissions models irrespective of the estimation technique. These findings imply that green transportation taxes help reduce energy intensity and CO2 emissions in BICS economies. Conversely, in the short-run, the effects of transportation taxes on energy intensity and CO2 emissions are mixed and inconclusive. Hence, transportation taxes are necessary to keep the polluters under control not only from the transport sector but also serve as a deterrent for other sectors as well.

Historical trend and drivers of China's CO2 emissions from 2000 to 2020.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10668-022-02811-8.

Nanocellulose-Based Polymer Composites Functionalized with New Gemini Ionic Liquids.

The manuscript discusses the application of dimeric imidazolium ionic liquids with an aliphatic linker of different lengths, constituting a new class of compounds called gemini, for the modification of renewable materials. This innovative functionalization with the use of ionic liquids made it possible to obtain polymer composite nanomaterials with renewable fillers, which will reduce the consumption of petroleum-based raw materials and also be directly related to the reduction of energy intensity. Renewable filler in the form of nanocellulose modified with ionic liquids, as well as polymer composites with such filler obtained by extrusion and injection molding techniques, were subjected to detailed characterization using techniques like: X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform spectroscopy (FTIR), dispersion studies (DLS), morphological analysis (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), hot-stage polarized light microscopy and characterization of mechanical properties. The use of innovative dimeric ionic liquids proved to be an effective method to carry out efficient functionalization of cellulose. This provided a stable space structure between polysaccharide particles, limiting aggregate formation. It was shown that chemical modification with ionic liquids has a significant effect on the nucleation activity of cellulose fillers and the formation of the supermolecular structure of the polymer matrix, which consequently allowed to obtain polymer composites with excellent strength characteristics and increased flexibility, which will allow to increase their application potential. Innovative ionic liquids have contributed to obtaining green nanomaterials with excellent functional properties, which have not been described in the literature so far.

К вопросу о состоянии энергосбережения и повышении энергоэффективности: зарубежный и российский опыт

Elaboration of measures and patterns to increase energy efficiency appears as one of the priority objectives of the world economy and is aimed at solving environmental problems associated with energy consumption and climate changes. The paper deals with the issue of the impact of economic growth and structural changes on the energy intensity of territories. Empirical studies highlight a significant influence of macroeconomic, demographic and political factors on changes in the energy intensity of economies. Russia has significant capacity for improving energy efficiency, primarily in the electricity and housing sectors. The released fossil fuels can be exported, reduce emissions into the atmosphere, and, as a result, improve life quality. A consistent reduction in the consumption of fuel and energy resources due to the transition to a new technological order is demonstrated by electric power industry, manufacturing industry and transport sector. It is noted that for Russia the transition from raw-material economic model to innovative one is a priority for sustainable development. To overcome the causes of low energy efficiency and realize the existing potential, it is necessary to intensify the state policy both at the regional and federal levels. At the same time, saving energy and increasing energy efficiency cannot reduce energy intensity of GDP/GRP without high economic rates. The paper analyses the influence of the gross regional product structure on energy consumption in the Rostov region as well as the characteristics of the economic structure and electricity consumption of the region. It is noted that service sector and high-tech industries development, investment in environmental technologies will allow the Rostov region to move to an energy-efficient model of economic growth.

Energy Demand of the Road Transport Sector of Saudi Arabia—Application of a Causality-Based Machine Learning Model to Ensure Sustainable Environment

The road transportation sector in Saudi Arabia has been observing a surging growth of demand trends for the last couple of decades. The main objective of this article is to extract insightful information for the country’s policymakers through a comprehensive investigation of the rising energy trends. In the first phase, it employs econometric analysis to provide the causal relationship between the energy demand of the road transportation sector and different socio-economic elements, including the gross domestic product (GDP), number of registered vehicles, total population, the population in the urban agglomeration, and fuel price. Then, it estimates future energy demand for the sector using two machine-learning models, i.e., artificial neural network (ANN) and support vector regression (SVR). The core features of the future demand model include: (i) removal of the linear trend, (ii) input data projection using a double exponential smoothing technique, and (iii) energy demand prediction using the machine learning models. The findings of the study show that the GDP and urban population have a significant causal relationship with energy demand in the road transportation sector in both the short and long run. The greenhouse gas emissions from the road transportation in Saudi Arabia are directly proportional to energy consumption because the demand is solely met by fossil fuels. Therefore, appropriate policy measures should be taken to reduce energy intensity without compromising the country’s development. In addition, the SVR model outperformed the ANN model in predicting the future energy demand of the sector based on the achieved performance indices. For instance, the correlation coefficients of the SVR and the ANN models were 0.8932 and 0.9925, respectively, for the test datasets. The results show that the SVR is better for predicting energy consumption than the ANN. It is expected that the findings of the study will assist the decision-makers of the country in achieving environmental sustainability goals by initiating appropriate policies.

CO2 emissions in China under electricity substitution: Influencing factors and decoupling effects

Over the past years, economic growth has been joined by massive environmental pollution, raising global concerns. It is necessary to break down the elements affecting carbon emissions and decouple CO2 from economic development for the largest emitter China. The LMDI (Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index) model is extended by introducing electricity substitution factors and is then combined with the Tapio decoupling model to investigate the carbon emission drivers and decoupling status. The findings display that (1) the cumulative net additions to China's carbon emissions over the study period is 6532.64 million tonnes. From the ridge regression results, carbon emissions are inverted U-shaped with terminal electrification and negatively correlated with electricity cleanliness. (2) The decoupling state of carbon emissions and economic growth is dominated by weak decoupling, and the decoupling index has been improving, with the optimal strong decoupling state appearing in 2014 ∼ 2015 and 2015–2016. The reduction of energy intensity and the increase in electricity cleanliness drive China towards a strong decoupling state. (3) Carbon intensity, terminal electrification, and electricity cleanliness promote the decoupling of carbon emissions from economic growth, while clean energy intensity, economic growth, and population inhibit decoupling. In particular, economic growth is the primary inhibitor of decoupling, and electricity cleanliness is the major factor facilitating decoupling. The findings show that the increase in electricity cleanliness and the decrease in energy intensity not only reduce carbon emissions but also make a significant contribution to the decoupling of carbon emissions and economic growth. This research provides a reference for other countries to exploit the decomposition and decoupling of carbon emissions under the background of energy substitution.

Reduce carbon emissions efficiently: The influencing factors and decoupling relationships of carbon emission from high-energy consumption and high-emission industries in China

High-energy consumption and high-emission industries contribute a lot to economic development, but their carbon emissions are also huge. In order to achieve the dual-carbon target as early as possible, it is necessary to reduce the carbon emissions of high-energy consumption and high-emission industries. This paper selected five representative factors (population, per capita gross domestic product (GDP), energy intensity, energy structure and carbon emission coefficient) and adopted the logarithmic mean divisia index (LMDI) method to decompose the driving factors of carbon emissions. Therefore, this paper uses Tapio decoupling model to analyze the decoupling relationship between the two factors with the greatest impact on carbon emissions and carbon emissions. The results show that: (i) There is a good decoupling between high-energy consumption and high-emission industries and per capita GDP, and the impact of per capita GDP on carbon emissions will gradually decrease in the future; (ii) The decoupling relationship between carbon emissions and energy intensity is poor. For some industries, the reduction of energy intensity can help reduce carbon emissions. Finally, this paper puts forward some suggestions to promote carbon emission reduction. This paper provides theoretical support for studying how to reduce carbon emissions and formulate relevant emission reduction policies in the high-energy consumption and high-emission industries.

ТЕМПОРАЛЬНО-РЕТРОСПЕКТИВНИЙ АНАЛІЗ РОЗВИТКУ КОМУНАЛЬНОГО СЕКТОРА ТА ВИКОРИСТАННЯ ЕНЕРГЕТИКИ В НЬОМУ

This article examines the problems associated with the formation and development of the utility sector in individual countries, as well as the use of energy in this sector. According to the temporal retrospective analysis, the authors have provided recommendations for ensuring the sustainable development of the utility sector in a variety of countries by reducing energy intensity and energy consumption, introducing green technologies, and taking into account the structure of the utility sector’s energy consumption. The article explores the dynamics of electricity production for 2012-2021 in China, the United Kingdom, the United States, and some European countries, as well as differences in the degree of electricity independence among them. These differences are reflected in the division of countries into electricity-sufficient and electricity-deficient countries, with a predominance of the latter. A study of the dynamics of energy consumption from 2012 to 2021 has been presented by the authors in order to estimate the level of fuel consumption per unit of the gross domestic product produced by the country. According to the analysis performed, the dynamic of electricity price indexes for Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and France for 2019-2021 indicates that the high cost of energy threatens both the availability of basic energy requirements for the utility sector and the competitiveness of the entire industry. Excessive energy production costs automatically increase the prices of goods and services for all utility consumers. Analysis of the dynamics of household electricity use for 2012-2021 has revealed trends towards diversification and an increase in the share of alternative energy sources in the total volume of energy consumption. The dynamics of the share of renewable energy sources in the total electricity production analyzed by the authors indicate that the provision of energy services and energy consumption should be more efficient and energy-saving. A statement of the problem of utility sector use and its connection with important scientific or practical tasks has been proposed in the article. The utility sector depends significantly on the political context and the public trust factor of society. It represents an important part of the economy and is characterized by the presence of multilateral connections with other spheres of the social economy. In many countries, the utility sector is represented by public services. Considering this, the authors have noted that it must be regulated quite strictly. Clearly defined property rights are a significant factor influencing the process of reforming the utility sector. The article stresses that one of the characteristics of the utility sector is its attachment to individual use by end users and its reliance on electricity. In addition, the authors have emphasized that scarcity of resources, relevant geopolitics, and the economy of a particular country, as well as agreements on the supply of gas, oil, and coal influence the politics of the electricity market globally

Global energy intensity convergence using a spatial panel growth model

ABSTRACT In this paper, we empirically test the convergence of income and energy intensity for 61 countries using an augmented spatial growth model that includes energy and urbanization variables. We test an income convergence model to understand how energy use affects economic growth, and reveal that developing countries have energy constraints on their economic development. We show that energy is an essential component of economic growth in the early stages of development and that energy intensity converges between countries. It is consistent with the OLS estimation results that the convergence rate of energy intensity in developing countries of the spatial panel data model is still higher than in developed countries. However, the spatial panel data model shows that the gap between the two convergence rates is narrowed when spatial dependence is included. This implies that a country’s steady state is influenced by the neighbouring countries and emphasizes the importance of international cooperation policies for reducing energy intensity. Since the effects of economic variables on the reduction of energy intensity are different in developed and developing countries, a country-specific energy policy rather than an internationally uniform policy is required.

The impact of carbon emission trading system on energy intensity

From 2008 to 2019, the panel data of 30 provinces and cities in China were selected to study the impact of carbon emission trading system on energy intensity using a two-way fixed-effect dual-difference model. The research shows that the carbon emission trading system is beneficial to the reduction of energy intensity, and the degree of reduction is 4.65%. In addition, the level of technological innovation, economic development, energy structure, urbanization, expenditure on energy conservation and environmental protection and energy price can inhibit the impact of energy intensity, while the increase of energy consumption and the total population can bring about the improvement of energy intensity. Therefore, in order to improve the efficiency of energy utilization and achieve green development, it is necessary to promote the reform of market mechanism, enhance the marketization level of all regions, and establish a unified national carbon emission rights trading market.

The impact of OFDI reverse technology spillovers on China's energy intensity: Analysis of provincial panel data

Reducing energy intensity is crucial for maintaining national energy security and achieving a green economic transition. Outer circulation creates good external conditions for improving the home country's energy utilization efficiency. Given this, we pioneer the measurement of reverse technology spillovers (RTS) using the data of the domestic enterprise's overseas investment, innovatively construct an instrumental variable involving money supply fluctuations and the modern history of port opening, and adopt the two-stage least squares (2SLS) method to obtain a consistent estimate of the effect on energy intensity at the provincial level. The main findings show that RTS significantly reduces energy intensity, which remains robust after recalculating the dependent variable and the core explanatory variable, shortening the time window, and reducing the sample size. Furthermore, the decline in energy intensity benefits more from technology spillovers obtained by overseas investment activities in areas along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and technology-intensive and non-resource-intensive industries.

Outward foreign direct investment and energy intensity: evidence from the listed companies in China.

Since 2005, China's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) has increased year by year, which corresponds to the continuous decline of energy intensity. But there is limited literature concerning their relationship nowadays. To answer whether or not OFDI can reduce energy intensity, this paper selects data from 29 provinces in China from 2006 to 2015 and establishes a fixed-effects model to analyze the relationship. Further, this paper divides OFDI into technology-intensive ones and non-technology-intensive ones in order to distinguish the impact of outward foreign direct investment from different types of enterprises on the energy intensity. Combined with the micro-data of A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, we find that OFDI plays a significant role in reducing the energy intensity in China, and OFDI of high-technology-intensive enterprises has a greater effect on the decrease of energy intensity than that of low-technology-intensive enterprises. This paper classifies OFDI from the perspective of enterprise technology intensity, which enriches the existing research results in the field of international cooperation and energy intensity. It also overcomes the limitations of previous literature data and provides new evidence for encouraging high-tech enterprises to strengthen international cooperation from a micro level.

Can the Resource Curse for Well-Being Be Morphed into a Blessing? Investigating the Moderating Role of Environmental Quality, Governance, and Human Capital

One of the most pressing global concerns is ensuring high levels of human well-being without overburdening natural resources. The impact of natural resource abundance on the economy’s monetary dimensions has long been controversial, with researchers debating whether it is a blessing or a curse. Recently, focus has shifted to its impact on non-monetary attributes (i.e., human well-being), with conflicting empirical evidence with respect to existence of the resource curse. However, studies on the indirect impact of natural resources on well-being are rare. This inquiry extends previous research by investigating the effect of natural resource abundance on human well-being and the underlying mechanisms that may clarify the convoluted link between the two variables in the UAE from 1990 to 2019. The novel contribution of this research is the evaluation of the resource curse concept from a broader perspective by considering how resource endowments indirectly affect human well-being via environmental quality, human capital, and governance channels. To this end, in the present study, we utilized the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) technique for cointegration and deployed the vector error correction model (VECM) for causality investigation. The ARDL results indicate cointegrated variables with diverse integration orders, signifying a long-term bond. Furthermore, the outcomes endorse the notion that resource endowment is inversely related to well-being as calibrated by the Human Development Index (HDI), corroborating the “Resource Curse Concept”, whereby large resource endowments impede human well-being. In terms of transmission channels, natural resources improve human well-being through environmental quality. In contrast, both human capital and governance have insignificant impacts on the influence of natural resources on well-being. Therefore, resource endowments improve human well-being as long as they do not harm the environment. The present analysis also resulted in the development of a feedback hypothesis between natural resource endowments and human well-being. The findings of this study provide several insights into the control of the direct and indirect adverse effects of natural resources on human well-being, the foremost being the provision of incentives for low-carbon energy use, reducing energy intensity, and assisting businesses engaged in R&D to minimize the cost of employing renewables, as well as investments in low-carbon technologies/cleantech and environmental technologies.

The carbon reduction potential by improving technical efficiency from energy sources to final services in China: An extended Kaya identity analysis

Improving energy efficiency is one of the most reliable ways toward carbon neutrality. Most previous studies have focused on how to reduce energy intensity; however, it is not enough to provide an overview of how many carbon emissions can be reduced by technical efficiency improvements underlying energy systems. To fill this gap, this study extended the common Kaya identity to systematically evaluate the carbon reduction potential from technical efficiency improvements of various technical conversion components within the energy system at a granular level. The extended Kaya identity includes technical efficiency factors of electricity efficiency, conversion efficiency, and passive efficiency. It provides a comprehensive framework to evaluate current performance, historical contributions, and future potential of technical efficiency improvements. The case of China reveals that: Currently, only around 5% of energy sources were delivered to final services. By improving technical efficiency to high levels, 59% carbon reduction can be achieved during the future energy transition, even when the economy is still growing. In the past, electricity efficiency and conversion efficiency have significantly reduced carbon emissions. Future policymakers should pay more attention to passive systems to provide more final services, such as improved room insulation, streamlined vehicle designs, and smart energy management.

Does the Urban Agglomeration Policy Reduce Energy Intensity? Evidence from China.

With the expansion of the scale of China's economy and the acceleration of urbanization, energy consumption is increasing, and environmental degradation and other problems have arisen. In order to solve such prominent problems, China proposed the "carbon peak" and "carbon neutral" targets in 2020. Although there are research conclusions about the impact of urbanization on energy intensity (EI), conclusions about the impact of the urban agglomeration policy (UAP) on EI are still unclear. Therefore, the article studies the impact of the urban agglomeration policy on EI in 279 prefecture-level cities by constructing a Difference-In-Differences (DID) model and mediating effect model. The results show that UAP has a significant effect on reducing EI, but their effects are different with the impact of urban heterogeneity, and the urban agglomeration policy of "Core" cities is less effective than those of "Edge" cities. From the perspective of the influencing mechanism, UAP takes green innovation capability as the intermediary variable to influence EI. The placebo test, PSM-DID regression, counterfactual test, and instrumental variable method all reflect the robustness of the research conclusions. Based on this, the paper puts forward some suggestions for urban agglomeration planning and green technology innovation.

Environmental Management from the Point of View of the Energy Intensity of Road Freight Transport and Shocks.

The research aimed to identify the directions of rationalization of the energy intensity of road freight transport in the context of the long-term balance of the drifting economy. The study was related to the case of Poland, and its scope spans 8.5 years. The long-term drift of the economy and shocks from the production process of the construction, industry, and processing sectors were taken into account in the research. In addition, the structural shocks were decomposed and validated. Twenty-one statistically significant multidirectional and varying relationships between the energy consumption of road transport and production in the construction, industry, and processing sectors were confirmed, including 7 long-term and 14 immediate relationships. The leakage of shocks in production has been demonstrated in the construction, industry, and processing sectors. The shock from the construction sector lowered the energy consumption of road transport in the long run. The greatest impact of the shock occurred only after 6-12 months and slowly stabilized after approximately 24 months. On the other hand, the shock in production in the industry and processing sectors reduced energy intensity in the short term but increased in the long term. The shocks in the industry and processing sectors transformed relatively quickly.

Impact of information and communication technologies on corporate energy intensity: evidence from cross-country micro data

Using a sample of manufacturing enterprises from the World Bank Survey during the period from 2006 to 2020, this study explores the impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) on corporate energy intensity and its mechanisms. Empirical results show that ICT adoption significantly improves the energy intensity of manufacturing enterprises in emerging and developing countries; a change in the standard deviation of ICT adoption can contribute 22.58% of the difference in corporate energy intensity. On the one hand, ICT adoption intensifies market competition and reduces product price markups, leading manufacturing enterprises to reduce investment in energy conservation. On the other hand, ICT adoption is complementary to energy and can promote energy input to replace traditional factors such as labor and capital, thereby increasing corporate energy intensity. The market competition effect and factor substitution effect account for 14.96% and 73.71% of the total effect. This study also confirms the Solow Productivity Paradox in ICT adoption, leading to the failure of the productivity mechanism for ICT to reduce energy intensity.

State of Play for 100% Renewable Energy Futures for Cuba: Recent Changes and Challenges

Over the last decades Cuba has been remarkably successful at revitalizing its energy sector by significantly increasing efficiency and reducing energy intensity and emissions. These achievements, made through a comprehensive approach targeting infrastructure, consumption habits and people’s understanding of energy issues, can provide Cuba with fertile ground on which to tackle the policy challenges ahead in order to achieve its 2030 energy policy goals. This review carries out a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis of the late 2010s until 2022 on the variety of changes that have taken place and the challenges still ahead. Overcoming critical challenges under the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Cultural (PESTEC) conditions is crucially important; how will Cuba be able to tackle the challenge of implementing the transition to renewable energy and find the resources to actualize the 2030 vision?