Global Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Research Articles

Methodology Underlying Indonesian Corporates Decarbonization Evaluator (INCODE)

The urgency to significantly decarbonize is increasing with the rising frequency of natural disasters caused by climate change. In 2019, the industrial sector produced more than 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq) (Ritchie et al. 2023) and played a crucial role in the reduction of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, due also to substantial cross-sector emission contributions. The reduction of GHG emissions in the industrial sector can be achieved with proper and ambitious decarbonization planning, but formulating decarbonization strategies for the industrial sector is complex due to supply chain activities related to various sectors. Furthermore, the tools currently available are generally not easily accessible and have not integrated emission reduction with the impacts and costs generated. Recognizing this complexity, the Indonesian Corporates Decarbonization Evaluator (INCODE) was developed as an Excel-based tool that is easy to use, accessible, and comprehensive for the development and evaluation of net-zero emission strategies employed by companies involved in the industrial sector. In performing its functions, INCODE consists of two tools, namely the Corporate Greenhouse Gas Inventory Tool for Scopes 1, 2, and 3 (AIGRK) and the Decarbonization Evaluator Tool (AED). These two tools will offer four different features: emissions inventory, emission reduction evaluation, cost evaluation, and impact evaluation.

Risks associated with global warming of 1.5 to 4 °C above pre-industrial levels in human and natural systems in six countries

The Topical Collection “Accrual of Climate Change Risk in Six Vulnerable Countries” provides a harmonised assessment of risks to human and natural systems due to global warming of 1.5–4 °C in six countries (China, Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, and India) using a consistent set of climate change and socioeconomic scenarios. It compares risks in 2100 if warming has reached 3 °C, broadly corresponding to current global greenhouse gas emission reduction policies, including countries’ National Determined Contributions, rather than the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to ‘well below’ 2 °C and ‘pursuing efforts’ to limit to 1.5 °C. Global population is assumed either constant at year 2000 levels or to increase to 9.2 billion by 2100. In either case, greater warming is projected to lead, in all six countries, to greater exposure of land and people to drought and fluvial flood hazard, greater declines in biodiversity, and greater reductions in the yield of maize and wheat. Limiting global warming to 1.5 °C, compared with ~ 3 °C, is projected to deliver large benefits for all six countries, including reduced economic damages due to fluvial flooding. The greatest projected benefits are the avoidance of a large increase in exposure of agricultural land to severe drought, which is 61%, 43%, 18%, and 21% lower in Ethiopia, China, Ghana, and India at 1.5 °C than at 3 °C, whilst avoided increases in human exposure to severe drought are 20–80% lower at 1.5 °C than 3 °C across the six countries. Climate refugia for plants are largely preserved at 1.5 °C warming in Ghana, China, and Ethiopia, but refugia shrink in areal extent by a factor of 2, 3, 3, 4, and 10 in Ghana, China, India, Ethiopia, and Brazil, respectively, if warming reaches 3 °C. Economic damages associated with sea-level rise are projected to increase in coastal nations, but more slowly if warming were limited to 1.5 °C. Actual benefits on the ground will also depend on national and local contexts and the extent of future investment in adaptation.

The Living Wonders case: A Backwards Step in Australian Climate Litigation on Coal Mines

Abstract As one of the world’s largest exporters of coal and gas, Australia’s domestic regulation of fossil fuels plays an important part in global greenhouse gas emission reduction efforts. This analysis examines the Australian Federal Court’s Living Wonders decision—the latest judicial review challenge to coal mines based on Australia’s federal environmental law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).1 This legislation has significant flaws as a tool for regulating the climate impacts of fossil fuel projects, which the Living Wonders decision emphasises. The Federal Court found no legal error in the Environment Minister’s reasoning that large export-oriented coal mines will produce ‘no net increase’ in global emissions and/or have emissions which are too ‘small’ to warrant detailed assessment under the EPBC Act. The Living Wonders judgment delivers a blow to hopes for progressive, climate-friendly interpretation of Australia’s federal law in coal litigation and strengthens arguments for law reform.

Decarbonisation pathways of the cement production process via hydrogen and oxy-combustion

Decarbonising cement production is of profound importance for meeting global greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and mitigating the impact of climate change. This study evaluates various technical options for achieving deep decarbonisation in a clinker production facility by utilising hydrogen (H2) as an alternative fuel to replace fossil fuels and by integrating an oxy-combustion technique with carbon capture and storage (CCS). Using Aspen Plus process simulations, we examined the extent of decarbonisation and assessed the thermal and electrical energy demands. This was achieved by incorporating an amine-absorption-based CO2 capture to a conventional natural gas fuelled reference plant, implementing oxyfuel-combustion of natural gas, and exploring four different scenarios for replacing fossil fuel with H2. In these scenarios, H2 was assumed to be produced through on-site water electrolysis, which also supplied oxygen for oxyfuel combustion, potentially eliminating the need for an air separation unit (ASU). The processes utilizing H2, except for the case of indirectly heated pre-calcination, employed oxyfuel combustion. The results indicate that the natural gas-fuelled oxyfuel-combustion process had the lowest total energy input at 4.92 GJ/t clinker, approximately 35% lower than that of the reference plant. Processes using H2 reduced energy demand by 11% in the H2-d scenario and 33% in the H2-a scenario. However, the process with indirect calcination required 6.24 GJ/t clinker, about 8% more H2 fuel than direct calcination but helped eliminate the need for an ASU. The results also reveal that greater H2 substitutions led to higher total process energy requirements due to the inefficiencies of the electrolysis process. While the H2-using processes could reduce the CO2 generation by up to 559 kgCO2/t clinker, this represents only about 27.6% of the CO2 reductions relative to the reference plant. These findings underscore the limitation of fuel substitution alone in cement production and emphasize the need for innovations in raw materials and the adoption of CCS to achieve deeper decarbonisation in cement industries.

Public buildings: Life-cycle GHG emission scenarios and reduction trajectories by 2050

Responsible for 37% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the construction and operation of buildings involves substantial potential to mitigate climate change. Although they represent only a small part of the building stock, publicly-owned buildings can lead by example and stimulate emission reductions through public procurement processes that are aligned with existing climate goals. In this paper, possible GHG emission reduction pathways for public office buildings in Austria are explored. A building stock model for Austria’s publicly-owned office buildings is developed, which projects operational and embodied GHG emissions from new construction, renovation and demolition until 2050. Findings show that phasing out fossil fuel use in building operations by 2050 enables GHG emission pathways that are compatible with the Carbon Law but still exceed Austria’s available carbon budget for public office buildings. A higher renovation rate can facilitate the fossil fuel phase-out by reducing energy demand. Embodied GHG emissions are becoming increasingly important and the main source of GHG emissions when phasing out fossil fuels in space heating. More research and policies are therefore needed to accelerate reductions of embodied GHG emissions towards net zero.

Enhancing electric vehicle market diffusion modeling: A German case study on environmental policy integration

In order to reduce national and global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, many countries worldwide have committed themselves to a more sustainable development of their transport sector. Promoting the use of electrical vehicles (EVs) rather than combustion engine cars is one political strategy to achieve a reduction in GHG emissions. To implement targeted and effective promotion measures governments can refer to market diffusion models for EVs. However, in our study we identify that in existing models the consideration of environmental measures is underrepresented. Hence, this paper addresses this gap in current market diffusion models for EVs by particular focusing on environmental effects as additional influencing factors of the market diffusion. Results are drawn for the German car market with a market diffusion simulation until 2050 applying the market diffusion model ALADIN considering the introduction of distinct CO2 tax trajectories. The results are analyzed based on scenarios, where (i) no CO2 tax, (ii) the current governmental plan for a CO2 tax, and (iii) a considerable high CO2 tax is applied. Additional insights when incrementally increasing the CO2 tax are provided. The scenario analysis shows that the market diffusion is highly dependent on the evolution of external factors. A CO2 tax considerably higher than the current governmental plan by 2030 (such as 150€/t, based on its monetary value by 2020) is required to have a meaningful impact on the market diffusion of EVs. Moreover, applying a considerable high CO2 tax leads to a slower growth of BEV and PHEV from 2040 onwards that is compensated by a growth in FCEV vehicles.

Finance “Blending” and NDC achievement under the Paris agreement

Climate finance, funded by governments of high-income (H) countries, can be used to purchase assets in the international carbon market for offset trading, thus “blending” with such transactions. In this paper it is shows analytically that when there are no distortions in credit markets, finance blending leads to too little greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation in H countries, and too much in L countries. The offset market is then distorted by climate finance blending, given that all offset credits are attributed to the carbon market participants. This distortion is removed when such “blended” climate finance resources are instead attributed in proportion to their finance shares. Adding climate finance to the carbon market has no impact on global GHG mitigation as long as the trading countries’ targets for emissions reductions (their “climate ambition”) is not changed; higher ambition levels are thus always required for climate finance to contribute to a reduction in global GHG emissions. When L country market participants have limited access to credit markets, blending can increase global greenhouse-gas mitigation by adding climate finance resources to the carbon market, thus facilitating L country market participants’ access to funding of their planned mitigation projects.

Through-life stochastic carbon emission assessment and optimisation for critical assets

International governments and businesses are increasingly pledging more action to address human-induced climate change, including committing to the Paris Climate Agreement, which seeks to reduce global Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGE). Critical assets provide essential capabilities where failure could have catastrophic consequences. These assets have long service lives and are exposed to varying operational conditions and service requirements, which makes assessing through-life GHGE challenging. Current modelling techniques provide deterministic, single-point results, which provides a limited assessment of critical asset through-life GHGE where uncertainty can be significant. Furthermore, no modelling technique was identified that relates asset GHGE to Whole Life Cost (WLC) and operational effectiveness, which are both organisational priorities. This leaves decision-makers without robust information regarding the possible impacts of GHGE reduction strategies on the WLC and the operational effectiveness of their critical assets. This study develops a methodology framework to model critical asset GHGE with WLC and operational availability based on industry best practices and transferrable modelling techniques from other sectors. A model was created based on an in-service helicopter platform and was subjected to four test scenarios to demonstrate effects on WLC, GHGE and operational availability relative to baseline. Monte Carlo simulation was used to appropriately present modelling uncertainty.

Numerical sensitivity analysis of CO2 mineralization trapping mechanisms in a deep saline aquifer

There is a growing interest in geo-sequestration of CO2 for its safe disposal given the emergency of global greenhouse gas emissions reduction. Depleted oil and gas fields and deep saline aquifers are the most promising CO2 storage locations. Deep saline aquifers have been regarded preferable due to their widespread and great storage capacity. However, there exists a notable research gap regarding the understanding of CO2 geochemical reactivity with in-situ minerals, specifically in deep saline aquifers. Hence, this study focuses on the mineralization trapping mechanisms of CO2 by simulating the sequestration of at least 48 million tons of CO2 over a five-year period in a saline aquifer. The effectiveness of CO2 mineralization trapping for the siliciclastic aquifer was analyzed and characterized in relation to injection period, pressure, temperature, and salinity. The ability of the aquifer to store significant amounts of injected CO2 for a duration of 1000 years was studied using a numerical simulator. Our study also examines geochemical-induced changes, such as pH and porosity, resulting from mineralization. The results reveal that longer injection periods enhance the efficiency of CO2 mineralization trapping, primarily due to the increased availability of CO2 in the reservoir. Moreover, our findings provide valuable insights into the optimal mineralization temperatures for the simulated minerals, determining their dissolution or precipitation tendencies. Notably, calcite and dolomite exhibit higher mineralization efficiency at medium and lower temperatures, while minerals like illite, kaolinite, K-feldspar, and quartz are more favorably reactive at higher temperatures. Although porosity and pH exhibited minimal variations, they were sufficient to indicate the dynamics of mineral reactivity and mineralization trapping efficiency. By addressing these research gaps and presenting our novel findings, this study significantly contributes to the understanding of CO2 storage in deep saline aquifers and offers valuable insights for optimizing CO2 mineralization processes.

Agricultural transformation towards delivering deep carbon cuts in China’s arid inland areas

Since agriculture is a main source of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, reducing agricultural GHG emissions is crucial for achieving global climate goals. Nevertheless, there has been a lack of thorough and systematic assessment of the spatiotemporal distribution of agricultural GHG emissions at the county level, considering many factors such as crop and livestock products, different processes and gases, and the impact of carbon fixation. Furthermore, the potential of comprehensive technical strategies to reduce GHG emissions remains uncertain. Considering the unique attributes of agricultural development in arid areas of northwest China, this study aimed to explore long-term changes in agricultural net GHG emissions by county, product group, process, and gas and quantify the future reduction potential based on the Agricultural System-induced GreenHouse Gases INVentory (ASGHG-INV) econometric model. The results showed increasing trends in carbon emissions (CE), carbon sequestration (CS), carbon footprint (CF), crop carbon footprint per unit area (CFCF), and crop carbon footprint per unit product (CPCF) in various regions from 1991 to 2019, while there was a decreasing trend in livestock carbon footprint per unit product (LPCF). Focus on reducing GHG emissions in the crop-sector should be in Shihezi, Alaer, and Liangzhou; those of the livestock-sector should be in Xinyuan, Yecheng, Liangzhou, and Gaotai. Scenario analysis indicated that agricultural transformation could substantially reduce GHG emissions in all regions. Reducing the loss of reactive nitrogen was shown to be the most effective single strategy for reducing crop emissions. A comprehensive scheme further integrating the optimization of nitrogen fertilizer management, increasing water-saving, manure application, and straw returning measures, and using biochar and inhibitors can decrease CE, CF, CFCF, and CPCF by 22.62–43.45%, 40.55–111.60%, 41.38–111.78%, and 43.33–111.32%, respectively, increase CS by 9.07–39.97%. Optimizing forage composition was the most influential strategy for reducing livestock GHG emissions. The integrated strategy of further using forage additives, breeding low-emission varieties, and optimizing fecal management can reduce CF and LPCF by 37.32–76.42% and 40.51–78.70%, respectively. This study’s results can be a reference for developing more effective GHG emissions reduction and green transformation pathways for global dryland agriculture.

A Comparative Techno-Economic Assessment of Alternative Fuels in SOFC Systems for Cruise Ships

Maritime transportation accounts for about 2.9% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, according to the fourth International Maritime Organization (IMO) GHG study. In the period from 2012 to 2018, shipping emissions have increased by almost 10%. Facing growing political and societal pressure, the IMO has established GHG emissions reduction targets consistent with the Paris Agreement temperature goals, aiming to reduce the total annual GHG emissions by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008 levels. In this context, alternative fuels and innovative technologies are needed to allow the maritime industry to comply with forthcoming regulations, as well as to fulfil decarbonisation targets within the European and the global markets.The shipping industry has already started to transition from traditional marine fuels, such as heavy fuel oil and marine diesel oil, to Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) in Internal Combustion Engines (ICEs). However, this can only be regarded as a bridging solution. In recent years, three major research lines can be identified: First, battery-electric propulsion, exploring the potential benefits of shaving peak thruster power and improving the energy efficiency and range of ships. Second, Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs), which have a marked advantage of fuel flexibility and offer higher electrical efficiencies than ICEs and other fuel cell technologies, as well as higher-grade waste heat. Third, alternative marine fuels, such as synthetic hydrocarbons, biofuels, ammonia and hydrogen, as a way to significantly reduce or even phase out GHG emissions and other air pollutants.The present study bridges the aforementioned research lines by proposing a novel integrated marine energy system composed of an SOFC-battery hybrid genset that consumes LNG. The objective is to perform a techno-economic assessment of the hybrid genset for LNG and four identified potential alternative fuels (i.e. methanol, diesel, ammonia, and hydrogen). The best solutions will be identified and analysed, and a decision-making framework will be proposed. The comparison will identify the critical conditions for the genset processes being competitive to the state-of-the-art engine-based energy system.The analysis is divided into two main parts. The first part is dedicated to the SOFC module, which is composed of the SOFC stack and the balance of plant equipment. The BOP includes fuel storage, reformer, combustor, heat recovery system, pumps, and blowers. Previous work by the authors has developed the thermodynamic analysis of the genset systems that provide the starting point for the present analysis. The flow-sheet software Cycle Tempo was used in those analyses. The SOFC module has a nominal power production of 100 kWe, which is achieved by combining several stacks of 10 kWe, and produces hot water at 90 °C and saturated steam at 180 °C from waste heat recovery.In the second part, the SOFC-battery hybrid genset is achieved by combining several 100 kWe SOFC modules into power blocks and hybridizing them with batteries. The systems are designed to cover all the electricity and heat demands of the vessel, including propulsion and hotel load. A representative electrical demand of a large cruise ship is selected in the range of 30-60 MWe, of which about 80% is required for propulsion while the remaining is needed for the hotel.Among the main criteria for comparing the hybrid genset running on different fuels are the total annual cost, composed of the annual investment cost and annual operation cost, and the Levelized Costs of Energy, Electricity and Exergy. The latter is especially important because of the joint production of electricity and heat (saturated steam at 180 °C and hot water at 90 °C) that takes place in the genset. The investment cost was estimated using data collected from the literature or provided by manufacturers. The necessary replacement of SOFC stacks is taken into account, given the stack lifetime. Weight and volume requirements associated with the use of different fuels are assessed. The annual operation cost consists of fuel consumption and maintenance costs, as well as the application of an environmental tax for CO2 emissions.Different scenarios are proposed to evaluate the impacts of improvements in key parameters on the overall feasibility of the systems. The robustness of the results is evaluated by sensitivity and uncertainty analyses of the key technical and economic parameters used in the model, including, among other parameters, the fuel purchase price, SOFC and battery investment costs, stack lifetime, and interest rate. This research provides a systematic comparison of the techno-economic feasibility of five alternative fuels for cruise ships. The results will aid decision-makers, including shipyards and policymakers, in designing new energy systems with low emissions for maritime applications.

Assessing the economic implications of national climate change mitigation policies on cities: A CGE analysis of Auckland, New Zealand

Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models have proven to be instrumental in the climate policy literature. Although their use at the sub-national level has increased, their application to assess the implications of national climate policies on cities is scarce due to the low availability of city-level economic and environmental data. Cities could play an instrumental role in the fight against climate change as they are home to more than half of the world population, generate more than 80% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and are responsible for 75% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. National CGE assessments of climate policies overlooking cities could result in missing major opportunities to achieve ambitious reduction targets considering that cities are centres of innovation and wealth. Hence, the objective of this study is to fill that gap in the literature by developing and using a recursive dynamic, multi-regional CGE model to link a city's economy to the rest of the nation to assess the direct and indirect economic impacts from national GHG emissions reduction pathways. The city of Auckland, New Zealand (NZ) has been used as a case study due to the city's proactive climate mitigation plans. The model and scenarios used resemble the ones developed by the New Zealand Climate Change Commission (CCC) to inform national policy advise provided to the government. Additional scenarios were developed to incorporate Auckland's growth and climate strategies. The results showed that in contrast to the rest of New Zealand, the impacts on the Auckland economy are more pronounced as reflected by the more drastic percent changes (with respect to baseline) of the regional GDP (−6% for Auckland and −1% for NZ) and consumer welfare (−5% for Auckland and 1% for NZ). The more pronounced impacts on Auckland are due to the difference in profile emissions (e.g., urban versus rural sectors), fewer low-emission technological alternatives (e.g., rural technologies do not cater to urban sectors' needs), and indirect impacts from importing agricultural products with a higher price tag due to rising GHG prices. This study's contribution in the climate policy literature is to serve as evidence and precedent to carefully evaluate the nuances encountered in complex urban systems when developing national climate policies considering that the number of countries establishing legally binding reduction targets is continually increasing.

A systematic review protocol for identifying the effectiveness of greenhouse gas mitigation interventions for health care systems in low- and middle-income countries.

Background: Climate change is predicted to be our century's most significant health threat. In 2021, 46 countries committed to environmentally sustainable low carbon health care systems. Of those, 34 were from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Currently, health systems are responsible for 4.4% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with health systems in high-income countries (HICs) contributing the largest proportion to the sector's GHG emissions. However, future increases are predicted in LMICs in the absence of robust GHG mitigation. This systematic review aims to identify evidence-based GHG mitigation interventions to guide the transformation of health care systems towards net zero, specifically in LMICs. Additionally, potential synergies between interventions that aid adaption to climate change and mitigate GHG emissions will be investigated. Methods: This protocol will follow the 'Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) checklist of recommended items to address in a systematic review protocol'. A comprehensive search will be conducted on electronic databases identified as relevant. Search terms were identified to capture all relevant peer-reviewed, primary research published between 1990 and 2022. The risk of bias will be assessed, and the quality of evidence graded. The eventual narrative synthesis will feed into a theory of change framework on GHG mitigation of health care systems in LMICs. Discussion: This systematic review will synthesise the existing evidence around GHG mitigation interventions across all scopes of emissions, including scope 1 (health care operations), scope 2 (energy), and scope 3 (supply chains). It can be used to inform recommendations on how health care systems in LMICs can reduce emissions while prioritising which actions to take to gain the most significant reductions in GHG emissions, considering ease of implementation, scope and cost. Finally, this can catalyse further research in this area which is urgently needed.

Global and regional trends in greenhouse gas emissions from rice production, trade, and consumption

As the content of the climate policy to meet the 2 °C targets, actions in all economic sectors, including agriculture, are required to mitigate global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Although there has been an ever-increasing focus on agricultural GHG emissions, little is known about the environmental benefits of individual crops, making it challenging to link production to consumption (including trade) and GHG emissions. In this study, we estimated GHG emissions related to rice in 227 countries and three sectors, taking time series data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) from 1986 to 2017. The results showed that production-based emissions increased by 25.5%, and actual consumption-based presented the same trend while assuming domestic production (no trade) expanded by 45.1%. The reason for the unbalance between the two sectors is that the total transfer volume embodied in the rice trade increased by 151.6% in 32 years. Meanwhile, we found that trade flows increased from low- to high-emission intensity countries, while rice emissions intensity was significantly reduced, contributing to a global GHG emission reduction of an average of 56.3Mt per year. Our results provide a comprehensive, forward-looking assessment of the environmental impacts of global growing rice production and consumption on the main countries and their trading relationships. Thus, besides domestic policies, main importing countries should also consider environmental benefits in developing sustainable international trade to limit the negative environmental impacts of its growing rice consumption.

Comparative environmental assessment of limestone calcined clay cements and typical blended cements

Decarbonization of the cement and concrete industries is one of the top priorities on the path to a carbon-neutral economy. This article presents a novel model for evaluating the emissions from the production of metakaolin (MK) as a supplementary cementitious material used in ternary blended cements (e.g., 35% metakaolin, 15% limestone, and 50% portland cement) and an accompanying decisions-support tool (MKC-Tool). Applications with a case study in California showed 36%–39% reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ternary blends with MK compared to portland cement. Compared to commercially available blended cements, the ternary blend showed the lowest global warming potential. All the cements containing fly ash showed higher GHG intensities than the ternary blend (16%–42% higher GHG emissions). The development of cements made with portland cement, metakaolin, and limestone at an industrial scale will have the potential to contribute 5%–50% to the global reduction of GHG emissions from the cement industry.

Driving factors of NOX emission reduction in China's power industry: based on LMDI decomposition model.

Under the policy background of "joint prevention and control" of global greenhouse gas emission reduction and regional air pollutants, the power industry, as an important target industry of energy conservation and emission reduction policies, has become an effective choice to release dual pressures. In this paper, the "bottom-up" emission factor method was used to measure the emission of CO2 and NOX from 2011 to 2019. Then, the contributions of six factors to NOX emission reduction in China's power industry were identified using the Kaya identity and logarithmic mean divisia index (LMDI) decomposition methods. The research results show that (1) there is a significant synergistic emission reduction effect between CO2 emission reduction and NOX emission reduction; (2) the factor that inhibits the growth of NOX emissions reduction in the power industry is economic development factor; and (3) the main factors that promote the reduction of NOX emission from the power industry are synergy effect, energy intensity, power generation intensity, and power production structure factors. Several suggestions are proposed, which are the power industry should adjust its structure, improve energy intensity, focus on applying low-nitrogen combustion technology, and improve the air pollutant emission information disclosure system to reduce NOX emissions.

Application of CO2 Geological Storage Technology in Global Greenhouse Gas Reduction

Greenhouse gas emission has serious impacts on human societies, ecosystems and economies as a result of global climate change. In response to this challenge, the global community has set greenhouse gas reduction targets aimed at reducing emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2). In terms of emission reduction technology, CO2 geological storage technology is considered to be an important and potential solution. The wide application of CO2 geological storage technology can help achieve greenhouse gas reduction targets and slow down the greenhouse effect of the earth. The research will explore the role of CO2 geological storage technologies for global greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. Through extensive collection of relevant information on CO2 geological storage technology around the world, comprehensive research and analysis of the principle, application cases, limiting challenges and environmental impact of this technology, to evaluate the prospects and prospects of CO2 geological storage technology in achieving global emission reduction goals challenge. The study found that the geological storage of CO2 can promote the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions, and its long-term effect will be more obvious, and the advantages will be more obvious with the improvement of technology and the cooperation between international governments.

Modelling the integrated achievement of clean cooking access and climate mitigation goals: An energy systems optimization approach

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal target 7.1, to provide universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy by 2030, must be achieved in the context of rapid reductions in global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While replacing solid cooking fuels with liquid petroleum gas (LPG) opens questions about the compatibility of energy access and climate mitigation objectives, the environmental impact of 2.6 billion people continuing to rely on solid fuel for cooking and heating is significant. However, models used to map deep decarbonization pathways typically do not feature a granular pathway for universal clean cooking access, which limits the representation of these two interconnected transitions, mitigating climate change and achieving universal energy access. Here, we present a novel methodology for representing residential cooking pathways within the TIMES energy systems optimization model (ESOM) framework. The methodology is demonstrated using India as a proof-of-concept case study, where scenario analysis explores solutions that reach universal clean cooking access in the context of GHG emissions reductions. The model presented here is published and publicly available to access.

Development of a Multi-Criteria Analysis Decision-Support Tool for the Sustainability of Forest Biomass Heating Projects in Quebec

Residual forest biomass for heating is an alternative to fossil fuels that is in line with global greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. Even if the opportunities and the benefits of such projects may be important, one should not neglect the barriers and potential impacts of these projects regarding their sustainability. The decision support tool developed and presented in this paper will help guide and support public decision makers in selecting the best project and improving its sustainability. A reliable and relevant weighting method is determined, based on the use of the Analytic Hierarchical Process multi-criteria decision analysis method, allowing the integration of stakeholders and the consideration of their views and opinions. This choice, combined with the privileged use of quantifiable qualitative data, allows the use of the tool in a preliminary phase of the project development and enables the evaluation of the project and its sustainability from a social acceptability perspective. The tool was applied to two fictional scenarios to demonstrate its ability to guide decision making and to highlight the differentiation of weights and scenarios through both weighting and evaluation methods.

Towards indicative baseline and decarbonization pathways for embodied life cycle GHG emissions of buildings across Europe

Buildings’ construction and operation are major contributors to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the substantial reduction of GHG emissions across their full life cycle is required to enable meeting international climate targets. For effective climate change mitigation - as recent studies have shown - a special focus has to be put on lowering embodied GHG emissions, i.e., emissions related to construction production manufacturing and construction processes, maintenance and replacement as well as end-of-life processing. As the importance of reducing embodied GHG emissions rises, so does the need for understanding both the baseline and pathways for reduction across the full life cycle of buildings. In this paper, we offer insights into the data-driven analysis of embodied GHG emissions across the whole life cycle of buildings from recent studies. Our investigation builds on the data collection, processing and harmonisation of around 1.000 building LCA case studies. We offer an integrated perspective on GHG emissions across the life cycle of buildings, considering historical trends, current baselines and indicative reduction pathways for embodied GHG emissions in different countries across Europe. This serves to inform our current ‘decade of action’ and the transformation to a regenerative built environment by 2050.