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The limited water supply of the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City has become a challenge for local companies. The region's aquifer is listed as closed due to pressure on the water supply as a result of growth in manufacturing as well as increased domestic water use. The environmental, economic and legal benefits of a cleaner production scenario studied were highly encouraging; implementation of cleaner technologies reduces water extraction by up to 16 times. While initial investment is high, the internal rate of return rate is approximately 35% per year, implying a three year return on initial investment. Under this scenario, the business complies with environmental regulations, avoiding great amounts of water extraction and future wastewater discharge, thus conserving this vital resource. This study proves what Silvo et al. (2009) states that In the longer run the combination of the Integrated Pollution and Prevention Control permit approach with other regulatory and voluntary policy instruments taking into account the results of system assessments such as Life Cycle Assessment could potentially produce eco-efficient solutions. Thus, for this industry, cleaner production pays off in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 1990 to 2017, the number of vehicles in China increased sharply from 5 million to 310 million, and vehicle emissions became one of the major sources of air pollution. Among the main sources of PM 2.5 in Beijing, the contributions from vehicle sources increased from 5.6% (2000) to 31.1% (2012) to 45% (2017). In 2010, the CO, hydrocarbon (HC), NO x , and particulate matter (PM) emissions of yellow-label vehicles (YLVs) accounted for 46.1%, 47.9%, 63.1% and 86.1% of the total emissions from on-road vehicles. In recent years, China has been implementing a YLV scrappage subsidy policy to control air pollution, and this policy has cost several hundred billion yuan nationwide. However, China has not evaluated the costs and benefits of the policy. Many people question whether the YLV scrappage subsidy policy is worthwhile, but all the stakeholders involved complicate the process of accurately evaluating the true value of the policy. In this study, we evaluated and compared the costs and benefits of the policy in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region based on 1.362 million YLVs from 2008 to 2015. Because of the implementation of the policy, the PM 2.5 , PM 10 , NO x , CO and HC emissions in the BTH region decreased by 16.46, 18.12, 174.44, 669.11, and 91.64 kt, respectively, in 2008–2015. The results show that the policy played an important role in reducing pollutant emissions and improving environmental quality in the BTH region. The costs, benefits, and net benefits of the policy were 13.69, 34.03, and 20.34 billion yuan , respectively. The cost-benefit ratio in the BTH region was 1:2.49; at the city scale, Beijing ranked first (1:7.27), and the cost-benefit ratios of Tianjin and Hebei Province were 1:2.06 and 1:1.14, respectively. Of the 13 cities in the BTH region, Beijing had the highest net benefits, amounting to 16.43 billion yuan , while Handan City has the lowest net benefits, amounting to −0.58 billion yuan. The results may provide scientific support for the promotion of older vehicle and diesel vehicle scrappage subsidy policies, the development of cost-benefit analysis (CBA), and effective environmental decision-making in China. • Based on net number of scrappage YLVs, net benefits of the policy are calculated. • This paper estimates costs and benefits of the policy based on 1.27 million YLVs. • The costs, benefits, and net benefits are 13.69, 34.03, and 20.34 billion yuan. • The results help China promote vehicle scrappage subsidy policy on a large scale. • The results promote the development of the cost-benefit analysis in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

End-of-life vehicles (ELV) represent a relevant waste source in Europe, even if ELV recycling is a priority of the European Union waste legislation and Environment Action Programmes (EAPs). End-of-Life Tires (ELTs) constitute a relevant portion of ELV waste. Textile fibre, which is a relevant portion of the ELT material, is considered as a special waste (European Waste Catalogue – EWC code 19.12.08). The main problem related to textile fibre is its contamination with rubber which does not allow to obtain a pure product economically and qualitatively useable. The aim of this paper is to illustrate an innovative technology for ELT fibre's recycling, which allows to transform textile fibre into a useful secondary raw material for different applications. In particular, the use of ELT fibre as additive for bituminous conglomerates has been investigated. The different processes have been analysed from an environmental point of view, applying the Life Cycle Assessment methodology. It came up there is an impact reduction in case the ELT fibre is reused as additive for bituminous conglomerates, instead of disposing it (through incineration). Moreover, the financial and economic sustainability of the related technological process has been evaluated to check whether the process is sustainable in the long term. Starting from the results of the Life Cycle Assessment, economic performance indicators have been calculated, by applying the European Commission methodology for cost-benefit analysis. According to the present cost-benefit analysis, in the medium and long term the system is financially viable, and the high economic profitability makes the process economically sustainable. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis as well as a risk assessment have been carried out in order to identify critical variables, evaluate risks and define risk mitigation measures. According to the sensitivity analysis performed, the project is not highly risky since even in the worst scenario the possible loss is moderate. Based on the results of this analysis, it can be concluded that this ELT fibre's recycling system can be replicated across Europe, conveniently fostered by national policies (such as subsidies, value added tax etc.). • A crucial technological add-on to existing installations is illustrated. • The aim is to transform ELT textile fibre into a useful secondary raw material for different applications. • ELT fibre's reuse presents a reduced environmental impact in comparison to the fibre's incineration. • The high economic profitability makes this recycling system economically sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Cost-benefit analysis of emission control measures is an important part of the development and refinement of policies in the transportation sector, especially in China. In this paper, a cost-benefit analysis of the measures in place to reduce air pollutants [carbon monoxide (CO), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NO X), fine particulate matter (PM 2.5)] and greenhouse gases (GHGs) [carbon dioxide (CO 2)] in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region by 2020 is conducted. Based on the design of five types of emission reduction scenarios and normalization of the emission reduction effect, the total costs and the cost-benefit of these reduction scenarios in the PRD region by 2020 are evaluated. Results show the scenario, which new cars bought after 2014 are all upgraded from China V emission standard to China VI emission standard and motorcycles are still China III emission standard (UES), has a significant effect with 717,690 tons of the air pollutants equivalent and 38,960 tons of the GHGs equivalent reduction, while the Eliminate Motorcycles (EM) scenario produces the worst emissions reduction result. Therefore the cost-benefit of the UES scenario is extremely high, and the unit cost of air pollutants and GHGs reductions is only 0.003 Renminbi/g (RMB/g), showing a win-win situation of emission reduction and cost savings. Although the total cost of the BPSevere scenario, giving priority to public transportation development to reduce the mobility for private cars and motorcycles, is the highest (197.47 billion RMB), it can effectively reduce 9925 tons of GHGs equivalent and bring significant climate benefits. Moreover, for any reduction scenarios, the cost-benefit cannot be improved by strengthening the control level. And the comparison of the unit reduction costs among four different sectors shows that the cost-benefits of reduction scenarios in the transportation sector are worse and more variable. Graphical abstract Image Highlights • A cost-benefit analysis of vehicle emissions reduction in the Pearl River Delta region by 2020 is conducted. • The cost-benefit of the "Updated Emissions Standard" scenario is extremely high. • A win-win situation of emissions reduction and cost savings could be achieved in "Bus Priority" scenario. • The cost-benefit of emissions reduction measures in the transportation sector shows is worse and more variable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstracts Energy Efficiency Retrofit (EER) of existing buildings is a key program for improving building energy efficiency in northern regions of China. This paper presents a methodological framework to conduct an economic cost-benefit analysis for EER projects, based on the calculation of costs and benefits over life cycle. By conducting a case study of a retrofit project located in Huixin Western Street Residential Area, Beijing, China, this research empirically examines its economic sustainability. The research found that in China, retrofit of existing buildings generally lack of attractiveness to investors from an economic perspective. The retrofit of heat source and outdoor heating pipe networks is cost effective, whilst buildings envelopes retrofit is not economically beneficial. For building envelopes retrofit, if replacing windows using appropriate material, retrofit of external windows represents higher cost effectiveness than that of external walls. By applying sensitivity analysis, the research further discussed the effects of relevant factors on the economic viability of retrofit projects, and found that energy price is the most sensitive factor, followed by initial costs and energy conservation rate. The selection of retrofit materials also greatly influences the economic outcomes. This research offers directions for policy makers and managers to develop incentive mechanisms and management interventions to promote the implementation of the retrofit program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adoption of green design and technology in buildings, which can mitigate negative impacts on the environment, has been recognized as a key step towards global sustainable development. In addition to technology development, economic viability plays a pivotal role in stimulating the design, construction and use of green buildings. This paper provides a comprehensive review of recent studies on the economic viability of “going green”, including cost-benefit analyses from the perspective of building life cycle and from the perspective of major market participants. While “going green” is more likely to be seen as profitable from the building life cycle perspective, economic viability, from the perspective of developers and occupants, remains unclear due to information, behavior and policy factors. Such discrepancy in the results regarding economic viability is one major reason for the “paradox” of the very gradual diffusion of apparently cost-effective green buildings in most economies. We also propose several key topics that merit future research, including more comprehensive evidence about life-cycle costs and benefits of green buildings, the incorporation of ancillary long-term or intangible benefits in the analysis of economic viability for developers and occupants, an investigation on the dynamics of the adoption of green buildings, and institutional arrangements for stimulating green practices in the building sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Denmark is ambitious in the green transition of its transport sector. The biogas has potentials to substitute diesel as the vehicle fuel. In this paper, we examine the whole chain of biogas utilisation (biomass supply, biogas production and distribution, and fuel substitution) from both environmental and economic perspectives. We find that with low/high biomass supply potentials, the saved greenhouse gas emissions range from 0.89 to 1.66 million tons/2.19 to 4.27 million tons CO 2 e (carbon dioxide equivalent). The soil carbon stock could increase 52310/124770 tons with low/high biomass supply potentials (measured as remaining carbon in soil in 100 years after application of digestate into soil). The biogas plant owners can obtain a return of investment ranging from 10.78% to 13.62% depending on biomass supply potentials and biogas production technologies. The farmers can save up to 717.93 and 1382.1 million DKK (Danish krone) by substituting mineral P (phosphorus) and N (nitrogen) fertilisers with low biomass supply potential and 1.74 and 3.44 billion DKK with high biomass supply potential. Finally, the vehicle users have incentives to use biogas because of its cost advantage. However, there are also some potential barriers and uncertainties in achieving the green transition, e.g. initial investment for CO 2 conversion equipment and diesel-vehicle users' sunk costs, which could require suitable policy supports. We suggest that using biogas in heavy-duty vehicles could be an effective way to reduce carbon emissions in the transport sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, many coal-to-olefin (CTO) plants have started up in China. It is important for China to answer the following question: between coal-based ethylene and oil-based ethylene, which is the better choice? To provide a reference for policy makers and investors, this paper analyses the economic performance and the impact of future environment policy of both the CTO project and the oil-based ethylene project by a cost-benefit analysis. Quantitative analysis shows that the CTO project has a slight advantage over the oil-based ethylene project in a basic scenario when the crude oil price is above $70/bbl. However, international oil prices have a greater impact on the CTO project than the oil-based ethylene project. Thus, the CTO project has less anti-risk ability to the international oil market fluctuation than the oil-based ethylene project. What's more important is the environmental policy impact. After taking carbon trading costs and wastewater surcharge into account, the CTO project no longer has any advantage over the oil-based ethylene project. It can be seen in the foreseeable future that the CTO project will soon lose competitiveness. This indicates that the CTO project may not be consistent with sustainable development. These results suggest that from an environment perspective, policy makers and investors should be prudent about developing the CTO project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increase in the output of crops such as cassava, sugarcane, and oil palm, is necessary for biofuels development. To increase the crop yield, a large amount of water is required which can have an impact on the net social welfare. This study aims to assess the benefit and cost of water resource use in biofuel crops production to support the cost-benefit analysis of biofuels development. Benefit of water is presented through the value of its marginal product estimated by using economic valuation methods. The loss due to water consumption is assessed and monetized based on life cycle impact assessment. To show how the approach is applied to the regional level, Thailand is considered as a case study. The results show that the economic gains from using a cubic meter of water in cassava, sugarcane, and oil palm production are 1.6–6.9, 1.0–5.0, and 0.8–2.9 Thai baht, respectively. However, using this amount of water can also bring about the external cost around 0.2 Thai baht, leading to the net benefits of using a cubic meter of water in cassava, sugarcane, and oil palm production between 1.5 and 6.7, 0.9–4.8, and 0.6–2.6 Thai baht, respectively. Gain and loss of the water used in cassava, sugarcane, and oil palm cultivation are expressed in monetary units for the first time by this study. Besides, this paper could be a guideline for future research towards an integration of life cycle impact assessment and the economic analysis tool, cost-benefit analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The embodied green-house gas (GHG) emissions from the high speed rail (HSR) stations are non-negligible given the considerable scale of modern HSR stations that serve as multifunctional complex. However, the magnitude of the GHG emissions is often underestimated owing to the limited use of reliable inventory data, as well as the simplified modelling that fails to capture the versatile structural/architectural features. To fill the knowledge gap, this paper reviewed the design documents of 117 HSR stations in China to provide more reliable quantification and reveal the factors associated with the GHG emissions. The embodied GHG emissions of the HSR stations were quantified by use of the actual inventory data. Based on the quantification results, a data-driven prediction model was constructed by an optimized general regression neural network (GRNN), which identified a link between the seven design parameters of HSR stations and the embodied GHG emissions. In addition, a cost-benefit analysis was conducted considering the balance between the embodied GHG emissions and serviceability. and discussion The results revealed a non-negligible contribution of HSR stations to the embodied GHG emissions of rail infrastructure. For regional HSR lines, the embodied GHG emissions from the stations could account for over 26% of the whole line. The results also revealed the large stations to be the major source of emissions, for which the embodied emissions per area are 2.84 times of the smaller stations. A Pareto-type distribution exists as the ten largest stations (in station area) contribute nearly 60% of the total emissions of the 117 samples. A canonical correlation analysis (CCA) revealed the station area to be the most prominent factor to the embodied GHG emissions, and the optimized GRNN with CCA-processed input vector make more reliable prediction. The regional HSR lines are subject to higher risk of unsound carbon investment, owing to the low service level of some stations. [Display omitted] • Real inventory data of 117 sample HSR stations in China are used for quantification. • Large stations are responsible for more embodied emissions per station area. • The top 10 largest stations contribute about 60% of the samples' total embodied GHG emissions. • Station area is the most prominent factor affecting the embodied GHG emissions. • Stations of regional HSR lines are more vulnerable to unsound carbon investment due to low service level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon emission from municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment is one of the anthropogenic sources to cause climate change, which accounts for 3–5% of global greenhouse gas emissions according to the report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). At the same time, the gases and liquid discharged from MSW treatment can also cause other environmental impacts, such as climate change, photochemical ozone synthesis, and acidification, especially in huge city with huge population as Beijing, China. This paper proposed an eco-efficiency analysis method, which aimed to yield maximum overall environmental improvement per unit investment cost during its life cycle processing. This method took the overall reduction in the environmental impact of MSW treatment using cost-effective techniques as the objective to optimize waste disposal systems. The separation ratio during MSW collection and the proportion of techniques used for treatment were the major indicators for optimization measures. For Beijing, an increase in the waste separation ratio during collection proved to be the most effective measure, with an eco-efficiency score of 0.144. Adjustment of the proportion of treatment techniques used was less eco-efficient, with an increase in the proportion of composting being the most effective approach. Based on real needs, the objective should be to reduce the proportion of landfills used and increase the amount of composting and incineration. This optimization measure had the lowest cost and an eco-efficiency score of 0.0461, which is 60% higher than that for the measure with the lowest eco-efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In environmental systems analysis tools like Life Cycle Assessment, strategic environmental assessment, cost–benefit analysis and environmental management systems, results need to be presented in a comprehensible way to make alternatives easily comparable. One way of doing this is to aggregate results to a manageable set by using weighting methods. In this paper, we explore how weighting methods are used in some selected Environmental Systems Analysis Tools (ESATs), and suggest possible developments of their use. We examine the differences in current use patterns, discuss the reasons for and implications of such differences, and investigate whether observed differences in use are necessary. The result of our survey shows that weighting and valuation is broadly used in the examined ESATs. The use of weighting/valuation methods is different in different tools, but these differences are not always related to the application; rather, they are related to traditions and views on valuation and weighting. Also, although the requirements on the weights/values may differ between tools, there are intersections where they coincide. Monetary weights, using either endpoint or midpoint methods, are found to be useful in all the selected tools. Furthermore, the inventory shows that that there is a common need for generic sets of weights. There is a need for further research focusing on the development of consistent value sets derived with a wide range of methods. In parallel to the development of weighting methods it is important with critical evaluations of the weighting sets with regard to scientific quality, consistency and data gaps. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]