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The energy crisis caused by climate change is the most significant challenge of the 21st century. Single-objective and multi-objective optimization studies for buildings often only consider the building itself, without considering the impacts of climate change. However, in the future, energy-efficient design and appropriate operating parameters will be crucial considerations in the face of global climate change. This paper aims to discuss the impact of climate change in the humid-hot region over the past 60 years on the energy consumption of office buildings and propose countermeasures. Firstly, the meteorological data of Guangzhou from 1960 to 2020 is statistically analyzed, and four typical meteorological years and corresponding air conditioning design days are established. Secondly, Energyplus is used to simulate the building's energy consumption, and the energy consumption factors are analyzed for sensitivity using jEplus. Finally, a multi-objective optimization is performed using jEPlus + EA with the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II). The results found that climate change led to a significant increase in the duration of high outdoor temperatures during summer. Specifically, the daily dry-bulb temperature for air conditioning design increased by 0.4–0.7 °C, and due to climate change, the energy consumption of the office building increased by about 4.6 %. The main factor affecting the cooling energy consumption in summer was the indoor cooling set point (8.29%–30%), infiltration air volume (1.0%–8.6%), fresh air volume (3.2%–16.06%), the glazing solar transmission rate (1.25%–9.0%), building orientation (0%–1.43%), and relatively small influence of envelope insulation performance. The operation scheme determined by multi-objective optimization can reduce the cooling energy consumption of the building by 10.6%–16.8%, which can mitigate the rise in energy consumption resulting from climate change to a greater extent. [Display omitted] • Discuss the impact of climate change over the past 60 years on the energy consumption of office buildings. • There was a significant increase in the duration of high outdoor temperatures during the summer. • Multi-objective optimization is performed using jEPlus + EA. • Climate change caused energy consumption to increase by about 4.6 %. • Optimal solutions can reduce the cooling energy consumption of the building by 10.6%–16.8%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The regional impact of climate change on heating and cooling demand is important to consider when designing optimal long-term energy policies. Several studies have addressed this issue, but either at a very aggregated level or without optimizing the whole energy system. The aims of this paper are to fill this gap in a generic way and to assess the impact of climate change on heating and cooling energy demands for residential and commercial sectors at the regional and nodal levels in the context of Chile's energy transition. We propose a methodology based on high resolution climate simulations for the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) RCP 2.6 and RCP 8.5 scenarios. First, a statistical analysis is performed to estimate the long-term trends of so-called heating and cooling degree-days and their impact on final regional energy demands. Then, demand pathways in the energy transition are assessed using a multi-sectoral energy planning model. Numerical experiments using data from Chile show an overall positive economic impact of climate change (limited to heating and cooling demands) for the energy system, with a significant decrease in heating demand compared to a limited increase in cooling requirements. For the RCP 8.5 scenario, cost reductions reach 2.1% of the total discounted system cost on the 2020-2050 period mainly due to a significant decrease of gas consumption for heating. This research highlights the importance for policymakers to consider climate change in efficient energy policies. [Display omitted] • Climate change impact on heating/cooling is assessed for Chile's energy transition. • Significant heating demand decrease and low cooling demand increase are observed. • A global positive economic impact for the energy system is estimated. • For the RCP 8.5 scenario, cost reductions reach 2.1% of the total discounted system cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policies targeting energy efficiency and renewable energy are sometimes viewed as more politically feasible than carbon pricing in pursuit of emission reduction goals. This paper assesses underlying drivers of energy policy development. These factors include economic, social, environmental, and institutional variables. The between estimator for panel data is an appropriate method for our focus on some exogenous variables that vary more across countries than over time. We find that larger oil reserves per capita have a negative relationship with renewable energy policy development. Education and political globalisation have strong positive relationships with both energy-efficiency and renewable-energy policy development. These results suggest that greater participation in global political groups can be an indirect approach toward energy policy development, in cases where direct and immediate policies are hard to implement. OECD countries have higher policy scores by 33 and 25 points in energy efficiency and renewable energy respectively. Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition analysis shows that these higher scores are primarily due to social and political institution predictors rather than economics and physical endowments. • Large-n cross country international sample on continuous policy score measurement. • Political globalisation is positively linked with renewables and energy efficiency policies. • Education is positively linked to energy policy development, especially for efficiency. • Higher OECD countries' policy scores are primarily due to social and political predictors. • Higher incomes are unlikely to lead to automatic improvements in energy policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming, climate change, and resource depletion have forced us to reconsider energy usage and efficiencies over the last few decades. Residential and commercial buildings are both large energy consumers, so improving energy and material usage efficiency in this sector is a common research topic. According to a recent study, the Building Sector (BS) accounts for 40% of greenhouse gas emissions. The primary objective of this paper is to examine and assess the potential of Renewable Energy Systems (RES) and their combinations for enhancing energy efficiency in the BS. Specifically, the focus will be on converting low energy-efficient buildings into highly efficient ones. The potential of the RES and their combinations for the BS is evaluated based on payback durations, energy generation, and reduction of CO 2 emissions. The optimization flow charts for the RES, feasibility studies, commercialization road maps of energy storage systems and the necessity of control mechanisms for enhancing RES efficiency were discussed. Additionally, the technology drawbacks are discussed, along with various innovative techniques recommended to direct future study in this area. Finally, this article assists the audience clear idea in the selection of the right combination of potential RES based on different conditions to achieve deep decarbonization in BSs. • Buildings sector (BS) responsible for 40% of GHG emissions. • Study assesses potential of Renewable Energy System (RES) in BS. • RES evaluated on payback, energy generation, and CO 2 reduction. • Optimization, feasibility and commercialization studies were discussed. • Article recommends right RES combinations for deep decarbonization in BS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policies on bioeconomy are some of the key emerging ones around the world to support sustainability in terms of using renewable resources. However, these may lead to significant demand for biomass feedstock which relies on limited resources, viz., water, land, and energy. The impact of climate change on water availability makes it more challenging. This paper demonstrates the analysis of the water, energy, and food resource nexus of a bioeconomy-based industrial complex and future climate change impact. The model structure consists of cultivation, crop processing, and urban sectors. Sugarcane is the major crop in the case study area and is the main bioeconomy crop. The results indicate that the average sugarcane yield will be lower than the minimum industrial goal for the 2020s and 2030s decades. Consequently, sugarcane feedstock shortage may often occur. The drought situation tends to be increased, so groundwater resources can be the main reserve source of water. In all improvement scenarios on water supply management, nexus energy used for water acquisition was mainly for groundwater acquisition. Direct energy use in the cultivation process is high and fossil fuels based, while most of the energy used in processing came from biomass waste. This implies that technologies for water acquisition will be more important in the future and should be developed in terms of energy efficiency and the aspect of promoting the usage of renewable energy to reduce greenhouse gases and fossil fuels use. The impact of climate change will cause significant fluctuations in the annual rainfall characteristics of the study area. An additional irrigation water supply of about 250 mm and expansion to cover more than 90% of the cultivation area should be considered to secure the minimum supply of sugarcane for the local biorefinery complex in the following decades. [Display omitted] • Integrate climate change impact to Water-Food-Energy nexus model for bioeconomy. • The water–crop yield response model was set up to analyze interventions for improving yield. • In all scenarios, nexus energy used for water acquisition was mainly for groundwater acquisition. • The area will face a water supply shortage in the 2020s, and groundwater is the primary reserve source. • The irrigation expansion to cover 90% of the cultivation area can secure the supply of sugarcane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the fight against global climate change, improving energy efficiency and reducing related emissions are critical to mitigating sustainability issues such as global warming. In this regard, technological progress is known to improve energy efficiency and reduce related emissions. However, previous sustainability studies on Africa have paid less attention to energy and emission efficiency convergence among countries, along with the contribution of technological progress to the continent's sustainability. Accordingly, this paper develops a novel framework that assesses energy and emission efficiency convergence, gauges technology inequality, identifies the barriers to technology diffusion, and explores the factors influencing energy and emission efficiency convergence in Africa. The proposed framework incorporates Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), several economic convergence concepts, a K-means clustering model, the concept of efficiency Gini coefficient, and a group-based inequality decomposition method. We empirically covered 39 African countries from 2006 to 2018. The results show that African countries are, on average, 71.1% energy efficient and 65.3% CO 2 emission efficient, leaving more room for energy saving and emissions reduction. Second, there is strong evidence of convergence in energy and emission efficiencies in Africa. Third, despite the observed convergence process, there is significant heterogeneity between two research groups (i.e., low-and high-efficiency groups of countries) in terms of energy and emission efficiencies, with persistent technology inequality suggesting a lower contribution of environmental technological advancements to the continent's sustainability. Furthermore, cross-group inequality is the primary barrier to technology diffusion. Fourth, regional cooperation accelerates the convergence process in the two efficiency indicators. While economic development, industrial structure, and renewable energy consumption (REC) tend to favor energy and emission efficiency growth, rising foreign direct investment (FDI) and energy prices have a negative impact. Meanwhile, the effects of energy prices, FDI, and REC on emission efficiency are insignificant. Based on our findings, we discussed policy implications to promote energy and emission efficiency convergence and narrow environmental technology gaps. • Convergence in Total-factor energy and emission efficiency in Africa is explored. • Technology inequality across African countries is measured. • There is strong evidence of convergence in TFEE and TFCEE in Africa. • A persistent technology inequality is found among African countries. • Cross-group efficiency inequality is the main barrier to technology diffusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular economy principles can lead to a series of opportunities to tackle climate change, particularly in cities of developing countries where the generation of waste, consumption and demand for energy is growing rapidly. This paper aims to advance the understanding of the expansion of circularity for tackling climate change using biomass for energy at the urban scale. In addition, little is known about how Circular Economy (CE) flows can be quantitatively integrated, what potential trade-offs exist in promoting Circular Economy using biomass, and how governance models can integrate these flows and contribute to a Circular Economy transition in cities. Based on an empirical study of a city in India, where the private sector participation through an innovative Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model enabled the use of urban wastewater in thermal power plants, the study presents the viability of Circular Economy models at the city scale. The feasibility of a further expansion of this circularity by co-firing biomass in local thermal power plants was analyzed, as a potential solution for reducing pollution and carbon emissions in a hard-to-abate sector. The result indicated an average 20.5 MJ kg−1 calorific value for torrefied mixed biomass pellets from crop residues, which, if applied to about 447 kt y−1 surplus biomass available in Nagpur would amount to 9.18 PJ of energy (per year). Overall, local power plants demanded about 19.85 Mt of coal in 2017–18, equivalent to 297.8 PJ in that fiscal year. Thus, the supply of torrefied pellets from peri-urban crop residues can meet between 2 and 3% of the demand from coal-fired power plants, resulting in a 0.3% decrease in the emissions from the power sector in India in 2017–18 (i.e., 922 MtCO 2), benefiting different sectors and levels of government. The analysis provides a framework for understanding the technical and institutional possibilities for strengthening the relationship between circular economy and climate change in the cities of developing countries by connecting flows and systems within and beyond urban centers. Therefore, the expansion of Circular Economy in cities can occur by integrating urban sectors and policy coordination at different levels of governance. Partnerships between local governments, utilities, and civil society for co-managing energy, water, and waste in cities can reduce the financial burden on national governments, including meeting national emission targets. [Display omitted] • Urban circular economy can be advanced using biomass in thermal power plants. • Our model estimates biomass contribution to national decarbonization targets. • Biomass pellets can meet between 2 and 3% of the demand from local coal-fired power plants. • Such replacement accounts for a 0.3% decrease (or 922 MtCO 2) in the emissions from India's power sector. • Results contribute to the design of CE models for cities and regions by including different levels of government and sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Production of mature oil fields emits significant amount of CO 2 related to circulation and handling of large volumes of gas and water. This can be reduced either by (1) using a low-carbon energy source and/or (2) reducing the volumes of the non-hydrocarbon produced/injected fluids. This paper describes how improved oil recovery techniques can be designed to reduce CO 2 intensity (kgCO 2 /bbl oil) of oil production by efficient use of the injectants. It is shown that CO 2 emissions associated with injection of chemicals is strongly influenced by water cut at the start of the project, extent of the water cut reduction, and chemical utilization factor defined as the volume of produced oil per mass or volume of the injectant. As an example, for the oil field considered in this study, 3–8% reduction in water cut can result in 50–80% reduction in its CO 2 intensity. In addition to the incremental oil production with lower CO 2 intensity, the earlier implementation of enhanced oil recovery methods can extend the lifetime of the mature fields if carbon emission cut-offs are applied. In case of CO 2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR), the large storage potential for CO 2 can significantly reduce the overall CO 2 emissions of oil, albeit at a large energetic cost. For CO 2 EOR using CO 2 captured from gas power plants, improving the utilization factor from 2 bbl/tCO 2 to 4 bbl/tCO 2 can reduce the CO 2 intensity of the produced oil from 120 kgCO 2 /bbl to 80 kgCO 2 /bbl (33% reduction). [Display omitted] • Improved oil recovery methods can lead to cleaner production of oil. • Efficient utilization of injectants is key to reduce CO 2 emissions from operations. • CO 2 enhanced oil recovery reduces total CO 2 intensity of oil by 80%. • Cleaner production of hydrocarbon fields extends their lifetime. • Earlier implementation of EOR techniques lowers overall CO 2 footprint of fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design of low-carbon energy systems towards sustainable cities requires correctly quantifying uncertainties in future climate variations, since they affect both energy demand of urban cities and energy system performance. However, quantifying climate uncertainties is challenging due to the stochastic and unpredictable nature of future climate events. This paper develops a novel and general framework to quantify climate uncertainties for urban energy system design using scenario-based stochastic optimization. Climate models are coupled with building performance simulation to generate scenarios for uncertainty quantification and energy system optimization. We apply this optimization framework to US cities for demonstration. We find that climate uncertainties in renewable generation and energy demand can lead to significant performance differences in urban energy systems. Neglecting climate uncertainties results in an optimistic energy system; however, it is unable to provide stable power supply to urban cities. Moreover, we observe that maintaining a certain degree of grid integration is beneficial for urban energy systems and can alleviate the economic burden of urban cities. Finally, we provide some valuable insights on urban energy systems for system designer and policymakers. The designers should fully consider uncertainties associated with various climate events during system design and deploy proper backup systems in case of contingency. The policymakers should thoroughly account for climate uncertainties and their resulting costs when stipulating energy policies for promoting low-carbon energy systems. Both designers and policymakers need to cooperate together and coordinate their actions on urban energy systems towards sustainable cities. • The uncertainties in climate change are quantified using stochastic scenarios. • A novel stochastic optimization framework is proposed for urban energy system design. • Neglecting climate uncertainties results in optimistic energy systems that suffer from loss of load. • Valuable insights on urban energy systems are provided for both designers and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change, natural resource depletion and waste problems reveal the importance of natural resource saving. Resource-saving behaviour is necessary in order to enhance energy and water efficiency. By applying various theories of pro-environmental behaviour, researchers have recommended the main tools, such as financial, social and informational for the promotion of this behaviour. However, none of those works explored the impact of the proposed tools on the resource-saving behaviour. Therefore, this study showed the most effective tools, which can be regarded as the most important for policymakers. Furthermore, considering statements about the current level in respect of these tools, the aim of this study was to analyse the influence of declared financial, social and informational tools and real situations on resource-saving behaviour. Using data of the survey performed in Lithuania at the beginning of 2020, and by applying a new theory defined as "Assumptions and reflections of real situations", the results revealed that according to citizens' opinion, only the informational tool significantly determined the resource-saving behaviour. Social and financial tools had insignificant impact on this behaviour. However, the current level in respect of social and informational tools significantly affected resource-saving behaviour. Considering the financial tool, the results showed that only the money-saving aspect significantly determined resource-saving behaviour. A high price of resources did not motivate people to save natural resources. Therefore, this paper provided practical insights how effectively promote the resource-saving behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mitigation of climate change is the main issue for environmental policymakers. A large number of authors analysed the impact of various factors on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this paper, we proposed a multiplicative approach to use 2- and 3-way interactions simultaneously in order to analyse the effects of energy efficiency, renewable energy and sector mix as the moderators that shape the economic activity – environmental degradation nexus. The results encompassing global panel data show that the turning point increased from 1990 to 1995 to 2002–2007 and decreased afterwards. Considering the analysis of moderators, a high share of agriculture and industry sectors make the curve flat with a positive slope and a high level of economic activity was associated with more GHG emissions with no turning point. The marginal effect of energy efficiency to reduce the negative impact of agriculture and industry sectors was growing. Meanwhile, the marginal effect of renewables to reduce the negative impact of agriculture and industry sectors was diminishing. Service sector and energy efficiency, service sector and renewables worked as the substituting forces reducing GHG emissions with a diminishing marginal rate of substitution. Therefore, this study confirms that the economic activity – environmental degradation relationship is very complex and further studies should consider the role of the moderators of this nexus. [Display omitted] • Technique, composition effects should be considered as moderators of HGH emissions. • The multiplicative approach was applied to model interactions of GHG factors. • Agriculture, industry sectors made the economic activity GHG emissions curve flat. • Marginal effect of renewables to reduce GHG emissions was diminishing. • Service sector and renewables worked as substituting forces reducing emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]