Energy Use In Sectors Research Articles

Demand-side strategies enable rapid and deep cuts in buildings and transport emissions to 2050

Abstract Decarbonization of energy-using sectors is essential for tackling climate change. We use an ensemble of global integrated assessment models to assess CO2 emissions reduction potentials in buildings and transport, accounting for system interactions. We focus on three intervention strategies with distinct emphases: reducing or changing activity, improving technological efficiency and electrifying energy end use. We find that these strategies can reduce emissions by 51–85% in buildings and 37–91% in transport by 2050 relative to a current policies scenario (ranges indicate model variability). Electrification has the largest potential for direct emissions reductions in both sectors. Interactions between the policies and measures that comprise the three strategies have a modest overall effect on mitigation potentials. However, combining different strategies is strongly beneficial from an energy system perspective as lower electricity demand reduces the need for costly supply-side investments and infrastructure.

Green horizons: Using fodder crops to harness carbon and combat climate change

Climate change, influenced by both natural processes and human activities, has notably transformed Earth's atmospheric composition, primarily due to heightened energy use in industrial and agricultural sectors. To combat this, a study was conducted focusing on soil management strategies, particularly using cumbu napier hybrid grass, to mitigate climate change by enhancing carbon sequestration. The research evaluated the effects of different nutrient sources including inorganic fertilizers, farmyard manure (FYM), poultry manure (PM) and biofertilizers like Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) and Azophos on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, soil carbon pools and soil organic carbon (SOC). The findings revealed that integrating organic manures with biofertilizers, particularly in the treatment involving PM at 75 % nitrogen equivalent combined with AM and Azophos (T10), significantly increased SOC levels (1.04 %) and lowered GHG emissions. This treatment also recorded the highest levels of soil inorganic carbon (0.131 %), passive carbon (7890 mg kg-1), permanent soil carbon stock (14.91 t ha-1 year-1), carbon pool index (1.37), carbon management index (201.1) and green fodder yield (370.2 t ha-1 year-1). On the other hand, the treatment with FYM alone at 100 % nitrogen equivalent (T7) resulted in the highest CO2 emissions (71.4 t ha-1 year-1), while the untreated control plot (T11) exhibited the highest global warming potential (GWP). This study underscores the effectiveness of strategic soil management in forage crop systems as a sustainable method to boost soil health, increase carbon sequestration and reduce GHG emissions, thus contributing to climate change mitigation.

Dynamics of total and industrial energy use in Turkiye from 1991 to 2019: a case study

AbstractEnergy use is an indicator of economic growth. However, high energy intensity has two main disadvantages. First, low energy efficiency increases a country’s dependence on other countries, especially when the country lacks energy sources. Second, if the country’s energy needs are met using traditional fossil fuels, this increases its CO2 emissions and reduces its air quality. Improving energy efficiency and reducing energy intensity are essential to reach the sustainability targets. This paper investigates the determinants of energy use in Turkiye for the period 1991–2019 by taking a dual approach. First, utilizing the Tapio decoupling factor, the decoupling factor analysis is not only being done for total energy use and real GDP, but also for industrial energy use and industrial income. Second, the factors determining the country’s total energy use are also examined, followed by an investigation of the indicators of energy use in the industry sector, which is highly energy intensive. For the industrial sector, two different decomposition analyses are performed and results are compared. The refined Laspeyres index method is adopted, and for each analysis, three main factors are considered. The empirical findings demonstrate that the income effect and population effect increased Turkiye’s total energy use, whereas the energy intensity effect decreased it. The first decomposition analysis for the industrial energy use reveals partly contrasting results with the previously published articles. For the industry sector, the second analysis show that productivity and employment increased Turkiye’s sectoral energy use; however, the sector’s energy intensity reduced it. Turkiye achieved some success in terms of reducing energy intensity at the sectoral and aggregate levels; however, as the findings of the present study demonstrate, further efforts are needed to lessen the country’s energy dependence and also to achieve future environmental sustainability targets. Trends relating to the determining factors in total and sectoral energy use are also compared in this paper, and some policy implications are presented.

Development of Energy Consumption in Agriculture in the European Union between 2010 and 2021

Agriculture is the basis of national economic and social development, and the sector's energy consumption is an important part of the energy system. This study examines the energy consumption, agricultural production and energy consumption of the sector in the 27 countries of the European Union with a time series analysis, making a forecast until 2025. Between 2010 and 2022, agricultural production in the European Union increased by 19% from 2021 to 2022. Both primary (by 13.5 million tonnes of oil equivalent, by 0.98%) and fnal energy consumption (by 5.15 million tonnes of oil equivalent, by 0.52%) decreased in the examined period. On the other hand, the energy consumption of the agricultural sector increased (by 258.1 thousand tonnes oil equivalent, 0.96%) and will continue to increase based on the forecasts. Thus, with the increase in agricultural production, the sector's energy use has increased, even though the EU's energy consumption has decreased.

Exploring the impact of public investment on income, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions in ASEAN: new insights from a panel cointegration approach.

Policy adjustments can help strike a balance between economic growth and environmental sustainability, which has increasingly been the heart to nations and regions throughout the World. This paper examines how public investment affects economic growth, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions in eight ASEAN countries: Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Extension of a Cobb-Douglas production function and application of panel cointegration techniques reveal bidirectional Granger causation between public investment and both private development and CO2 emissions from 1980 to 2019. Public investment Granger causes energy usage, the opposite does not hold statistically. More findings from pooled mean group estimations show a mean-reversion dynamic that corrects disequilibria by 14% yearly. State investment crowds in private sector growth, energy use, and carbon footprint. It also finds an inverted U-shaped relationship between public investment and energy consumption, and a U-shaped relationship between public investment and CO2 emissions, indicating complex regional interactions. It is suggested the implementation of public investment policies that enrich green infrastructure projects to foster growth while minimizing environmental impacts, and encourage a strategic approach to public investment for prioritizing environmental sustainability and thus, achieving Sustainable Development Goals 7 to 9 and 11 to 13 in this region.

Simulated effects of carbon pricing on industrial sector energy use

The aim of this paper is to analyze the simulated effects of carbon pricing on South Korea's industrial sector by using carbon pricing scenarios. The estimation results show that carbon taxation is highly effective to reduce carbon emissions of industrial sector only when the changes of energy mix take place. If the energy mix remain unchanged, the level of carbon tax should be higher than 60,000 Korean won (USD 54.55) to achieve the NDC goal of 14 % emissions reduction in industrial sector. In addition, the reduction in industrial production due to the carbon tax is estimated to be relatively small when substitution between energy and other production factors is possible. This paper proposes policies that can induce changes in the energy mix are very necessary in order to decarbonize and strengthen the competitiveness of industrial sector.

The benefits of low-carbon energy efficiency technology adoption for data centres

Economies are struggling to achieve a low-carbon transition while also fostering increased digitalisation. EU-level targets for renewable generation, emissions reduction and energy efficiency present a unique challenge for Ireland which features substantial intermittent renewable generation, limited district heating and data centres forecast to consume 37% of national electricity demand by 2028. This study quantifies the key private and public benefits associated with large-scale adoption of energy efficiency technology for data centre cooling. It considers technology that provides cooling to data centres, surplus hot water supply and electricity storage. A unique plant-level model informs a national forecast of data centre energy savings and estimates of hot water supply for use in district heating. National public benefits of adoption are quantified using a power systems model (ENGINE) of the Irish transmission system, subject to 2030 climate policy constraints. Results show that technology adoption could lower sectoral energy use by 26% and supply 12.40 TWh of hot water for a 4th generation district heating network. Technology adoption could reduce renewable electricity generation requirements by 6.92% and lower system-wide emissions by 3%. Results highlight the potential for technology adoption to deliver multiple benefits to private and public stakeholders.

Emission accounting, sectoral contributions and gridded spatial distribution of greenhouse gases in a typical petrochemical district of Shanghai

In this study, a petrochemical industrial district (PID) in the megacity of Shanghai was selected as a case study to investigate the quantity and components, sectoral contributions, and spatial distribution of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). The total GHG emissions from the PID were 25.86 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq), of which CO2 made the largest contribution (96.9%), followed by N2O (2%) and CH4 (1.1%). In terms of the sectoral contributions, energy use and industrial processes and product use (IPPU) were the two major emission sources of GHGs, accounting for 76.14% and 23.17% of the total, respectively. Moreover, GHG emissions from energy use and IPPU in the petrochemical industry accounted for 36.1% of the total, indicating the significance of the petrochemical industry for GHG emissions. A high-resolution gridded (200 × 200 m) spatial distribution map of GHG emissions was created based on point source, line source, and area source databases, showing a clear difference in the emission levels of GHGs among the grids. Thirteen ultra-high grids with GHG emissions above 10,000 tonnes CO2eq, accounted for more than 90% of the total emissions in the PID, which should be given more attention in emission management programs. The results provided useful insights into the amount and composition, sectoral contributions, and gridded spatial distribution characteristics of GHG emissions in the petrochemical industry, and can be used by decision makers to develop refined management strategies for GHG emission reductions in typical petrochemical districts.

Microstructure-Property Correlation and Its Evolution during Aging in an Al4.4Co26Cr19Fe18Ni27Ti5.6 High-Entropy Alloy.

The efficient energy use in multiple sectors of modern industry is partly based on the efficient use of high-strength, high-performance alloys that retain remarkable mechanical properties at elevated and high temperatures. High-entropy alloys (HEAs) represent the most recent class of these materials with a high potential for high-temperature high-strength applications. Aside from their chemical composition and microstructure-property relationship, limited information on the effect of heat treatment as a decisive factor for alloy design is available in the literature. This work intends to contribute to this research topic by investigating the effect of heat treatment on the microstructure and mechanical performance of an Al4.4Co26Cr19Fe18Ni27Ti5.6 HEA. The solution annealed state is compared to aged states obtained at different heat treatment times at 750 °C. The temporal evolution of the matrix and the γ'-precipitates are analyzed in terms of chemical composition, crystallography, size, shape, and volume fraction by means of scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and atom probe tomography. The yield strength evolution and strength contributions are calculated by classical state-of-the-art models as well as by ab-initio-based calculations of the critical resolved shear stress. The findings indicate promising mechanical properties of the investigated alloy and provide insight not only into possible strengthening mechanisms but also into the evolution of main phases during the heat treatment.

Measurement of Tourism-Related CO2 Emission and the Factors Influencing Low-Carbon Behavior of Tourists: Evidence from Protected Areas in China.

In the fight against climate change, future policy directions in the transition toward a green travel- and tourism-based economy include improving tourism-derived CO2 emission levels and guiding individual low-carbon behavior. In China, people tend to engage in outdoor adventure travel and cultural tourism in natural areas. However, limited information is available on the empirical evaluation of energy use and the CO2 emissions associated with tourism in protected areas. The present study used a life cycle assessment to explore energy use and CO2 emissions due to tourism and identify the factors driving low-carbon behavior. To these ends, survey data for the protected areas of the Qinling Mountains from 2014 to 2019 were used. The results showed that energy use and CO2 emissions in various tourism sectors steadily increased from 2014 to 2019, primarily because of an increase in transportation activity. This study used data derived from the calculation of CO2 emissions per tourist per trip to identify the various factors jointly contributing to the low-carbon behavior of tourists. These included a low-carbon attitude, low-carbon knowledge, environmental education, and policy reward. The broader implications of this study are that several emission reduction policy options are available to address the challenges inherent in sustainable tourism development and that these policies may be selected according to specific conditions. The low-carbon transformation of recreational facilities at travel destinations, policy rewards, and environmental education can regulate tourist behavior, holding the key to sustainable tourism development in protected areas.

The Impacts of Energy Consumption by Sector and Foreign Direct Investment on CO2 Emissions in Malaysia

The global push for sustainable development has brought environmental issues to the fore. As minimizing environmental deterioration implies reducing energy consumption, this has come under intense discussion among economists and policymakers. This is because it may affect productivity, and thus slow economic growth ensues. Most earlier studies focused on overall energy consumption rather than energy use by sector to see how it can affect CO2 emissions. However, little research has been conducted on the connection between energy use in particular sectors, such as agriculture and transportation, and CO2 emissions. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impacts of energy use in Malaysia’s transportation, industrial, and agricultural sectors and foreign direct investment (FDI) on CO2 emissions between 1989 and 2019. The ARDL technique is employed, and the results demonstrate that energy consumption in the transportation sector has a greater impact on CO2 emissions than in the industrial sector. On the other hand, energy use in the agricultural sector reduces CO2 emissions. These findings may help policymakers formulate the right policies in specific sectors to benefit communities. They will be at low risk of suffering from diseases attributed to environmental degradation.

Environmental Impact of ICT on Disaggregated Energy Consumption in China: A Threshold Regression Analysis

Due to resource scarcity, high energy demand, and environmental degradation, China’s rapid economic growth over the past three decades has been accompanied by certain serious issues that require quick attention. The excessive use of fossil fuels worsens the ecosystem and raises the level of carbon in the atmosphere. However, the use of ICT has affected the behavior of energy use in various sectors differently. Although ICT-induced activities, on one hand, may affect the environment positively by reducing energy consumption, on the other hand, they may affect the environment adversely by causing an energy rebound effect. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the nonlinear impact of ICT on the environmental effects of energy consumption in the residential, transport, and industrial sectors in China. The study used threshold regression for empirical analysis by employing data for the period from 1990 to 2021. ICT is used as a threshold variable, while energy consumption in the residential, industrial, and transport sectors is used as a regime-dependent variable. Based on the findings, we deduce that the use of ICT asymmetrically affects sectoral energy consumption and the empirical result varies across sectors. Based on the results, we recommend that the possibility of rebound effects should be given more attention in the development of policies regarding the digitalization of the sectors.

The Nexus among Energy Intensity, Energy Mix and Economic Performance in Europe: A Decomposition Analysis

Using a versatile piecewise linear regression model, this study revisits the connection between energy intensity, energy mix, macroeconomic variables, and economic performance. The analysis determines a threshold effect of income growth on changes in energy intensity based on dynamic panel data for a collection of European economies from 1990 to 2020. The study builds on the three specifications: The Skelton model (M1), the human capital model (M2), and the policy model (M3). The Skelton model is a fundamental model that explains the energy economic relationship with energy use in many economic sectors and with various energies. Additionally, in M2, achieve basic and secondary education as human capital, investment, and commerce as models for policies (M3). Numerous diagnostic procedures are carried out to examine serial correlation, heteroscacity, and cross-sectional dependence. In order to evaluate the robustness of the results, the specification of the dynamic panel is put through the Generalized Method of Movement (GMM) regression framework. Although energy intensity and income growth are negatively correlated for the entire sample and study period, the rate of decline significantly slows after the level of per capita income reaches $5,000, by more than 30%. According to the analysis's findings based on index decomposition, structural change is crucial for intensity levels across all nations. Additionally, moving from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources has a positive correlation with economic success in terms of energy intensity. While increasing energy intensity spurs global growth because of the current state of environmentally friendly technological innovation.

Investigating renewable energy-climate change nexus by aggregate or sectoral renewable energy use?

Investigating the effect of renewable energy on the drivers of climate change correctly is significant as it is the basic source of climate change mitigation. In the extant literature, its effect on climate change has been estimated predominantly by regressing aggregate rather than sectoral renewable energy use either on aggregate greenhouse gas emissions or the components of greenhouse gases (GHGs) like carbon dioxide emissions. Against this backdrop, the paper investigates if we should estimate the nexus (i) by the causal effects running from aggregate or sectoral renewable energy use to GHG emissions and (ii) by the causal effects running from renewable energy consumption to aggregate GHG emissions or to its components like carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. To this end, the paper introduces negative and positive (functional) complementarity between sectoral renewable energy consumptions in reducing or increasing GHG emissions, takes 20 OECD countries from 1990 to 2019, and uses augmented and non-augmented auto-regressive distributed lag approach and vector error correction mechanism. The study finds substantial differences among the results coming out of (i) regressing aggregate and sectoral renewable energy consumption on GHG emissions and (ii) regressing renewable energy consumption on aggregate GHG emissions and on CO2 emissions. The paper suggests regressing sectoral rather than aggregate renewable energy consumption on the components of aggregate GHG emissions like CO2 emissions rather than on aggregate GHG emissions to produce workable, specific, and conclusive policy alternatives.

Reactive Hydride Composite Confined in a Polymer Matrix: New Insights into the Desorption and Absorption of Hydrogen in a Storage Material with High Cycling Stability

AbstractHydrogen is key to the transformation of today's energy technology toward a sustainable future without carbon dioxide emissions. Hydrogen can be produced from water using renewable or sustainable energy sources such as solar or wind power. It can buffer fluctuations between energy generation and use in all energy sectors, stationary heat, and power, as well as mobility. Safe, fast, and easy to handle solutions for storing and releasing hydrogen are essential for the implementation of hydrogen technology. Among the storage alternatives, metal hydride materials represent a safe and efficient option. For the first time, detailed investigations of the local chemical changes in a confined hydrogen storage material before and after 21 hydrogen‐unloading and loading cycles are reported. The system is based on micrometer‐sized reactive hydride composite (RHC) particles, namely 6Mg(NH2)2 + 9LiH + 1LiBH4, dispersed in a matrix of poly(4‐methyl‐1‐pentene) (TPXTM). The morphological stability of the confined RHC particles during the reversible and almost complete reaction with hydrogen is visualized in detail, explaining the excellent long‐term cycling stability.

Towards a climate-neutral energy system in the Netherlands

This paper presents two different scenarios for the energy system of the Netherlands that achieve the Dutch government's national target of near net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2050. Using the system optimisation model OPERA, the authors have analysed the technology, sector and cost implications of the assumptions underlying these scenarios. While the roles of a number of key energy technology and emission mitigation options are strongly dependent on the scenario and cost assumptions, the analysis yields several common elements that appear in both scenarios and that consistently appear under differing cost assumptions. For example, one of the main options for the decarbonisation of the Dutch energy system is electrification of energy use in end-use sectors and for the production of renewable hydrogen with electrolysers. As a result the level of electricity generation in 2050 will be three to four times higher than present generation levels. Ultimately, renewable energy – particularly from wind turbines and solar panels – is projected to account for the vast majority of electricity generation, around 99% in 2050. Imbalances between supply and demand resulting from this variable renewable electricity production can be managed via flexibility options, including demand response and energy storage. Hydrogen also becomes an important energy carrier, notably for transportation and in industry. If import prices are lower than costs of domestic production from natural gas with CCS or through electrolysis from renewable electricity (2.4–2.7 €/kgH2), the use of hydrogen increases, especially in the built environment.

Synergy between sectoral output, energy and CO2 emission: a panel cointegration analysis of South Asia

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the synergy between sectoral output, energy use and CO2 emission with other factors for a panel of South Asian economies including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis is done using annual panel data from 1980–2019 using dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS), fully modified OLS (FMOLS) and Toda-Yamamoto techniques.FindingsEmpirical findings reveal the existence of a statistically significant long-run cointegrating relationship between energy use, sectoral output such as agricultural, industry and service gross domestic product (GDP), globalization, urbanization and CO2 emission. DOLS and FMOLS result posits that in the case of the South Asian region agriculture GDP does not contribute to increasing CO2 emission while service and industrial GDP is responsible for increasing CO2 emission along with urban population, energy use and to some extent globalization. More remarkably, the contribution of the service GDP is greater than the other two sectoral outputs in increasing CO2 emission with a feedback hypothesis.Practical implicationsAs CO2 emission is a global phenomenon with a cross-boundary effect, these empirical findings might contribute to formulating implementable energy and environmental policies to sustain growth, as well as to protect the environment in the regional context.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the literature by providing an empirical investigation of South Asia incorporating the contribution of sectoral output to understand the potential contribution of each sector on energy and emission. This is the first study on the South Asian context from the perspective of sectoral output, energy and emission.

An effect of green energy utilization on Industrial development in India

India is a developing country, with a population of about 1,387,297,452. India requires a lot of energy both for development and running all its systems smoothly. Most of the energy consumed in India is in electrical form. The electrical energy consumption of India is around 1,137.00 billion kWh of electric energy per year. When counted per person, this energy comes to an average of around 841 kWh. When looking at the tactical data given out by the Indian government, 80% of the total electrical energy is produced using fossil fuels, even though there is a lot of abundant availability of renewable energy here in India. This paper studies the various renewable energy sources currently utilized in various sectors in India. This paper looks at the effect of technical efficiency gains on energy use in industrial, agricultural, and other sectors in India, at varying levels of aggregation. This paper gives the present status of energy sources and utilization areas. Although around 80% of the average temperature zone is available in the Indian subcontinent, the electrical energy produced in India via solar energy is less than around 1.3% of total consumption. India currently produces 63.730 GW, which is very less when compared to the total energy required. Similarly, India produces 32 GW of electrical energy from the wind sector, which is very little compared to the total energy consumption.

Global warming consequences of replacing natural gas with hydrogen in the domestic energy sectors of future low-carbon economies in the United Kingdom and the United States of America

Hydrogen has a potentially important future role as a replacement for natural gas in the domestic sector in a zero-carbon economy for heating homes and cooking. To assess this potential, an understanding is required of the global warming potentials (GWPs) of methane and hydrogen and of the leakage rates of the natural gas distribution system and that of a hydrogen system that would replace it. The GWPs of methane and hydrogen were estimated using a global chemistry-transport model as 29.2 ± 8 and 3.3 ± 1.4, respectively, over a 100-year time horizon. The current natural gas leakage rates from the distribution system have been estimated for the UK by the ethane tracer method to be about 0.64 Tg CH4/year (2.3%) and for the US by literature review to be of the order of 0.69–2.9 Tg CH4/year (0.5–2.1%). On this basis, with the inclusion of carbon dioxide emissions from combustion, replacing natural gas with green hydrogen in the domestic sectors of both countries should reduce substantially the global warming consequences of domestic sector energy use both in the UK and in the US, provided care is taken to reduce hydrogen leakage to a minimum. A perfectly sealed zero-carbon green hydrogen distribution system would save the entire 76 million tonnes CO2 equivalent per year in the UK.

POTENTIAL ASSESSMENT OF GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION IN PATTAYA HOTELS, THAILAND

Hotels in Thailand are one of the country's main economic growth sectors which inevitably result in increased sector energy use and cause a rise in GHG emissions. A study on the source of GHG emissions in the hotel sector can guide the suitable reduction measures. This paper reports the study results of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and their reduction potential in 4- and 5-star hotels in Pattaya, Thailand. In the study, seven 4- and 5-star hotels participated in surveys to assess their GHG emissions from electricity use, stationary combustion, mobile combustion, refrigerant leak, wastewater, solid waste, and outsourced laundry. The data used in this study were based on the 2018 statistics. The average emission by the surveyed hotels was at 4,466.99 tCO2e/year, equivalent to 107.88 kgCO2e/m2-year, and 45.42 kgCO2e/room-night. Electricity use was the major activity accounting for 77% of the total emissions. Hence, the GHG reduction plan was put forth to the energy efficiency improvement of energy-intensive machines. The findings from surveyed hotels were used as the basis to estimate the GHG emissions and potential reduction for 4- and 5-star hotels in the whole of Pattaya. By the proposed improvement scheme, the potential to reduce the GHG emission was 13,818.28 tCO2e, for an equivalent reduction of 7.8% of the total GHG emissions. This study approach for GHG reduction can further be applied to other tourism hotels nationwide to support the country in achieving the national GHG emission reduction target and the sustainable tourism industry.