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The pulp and paper industry accounts for approximately 5% of total industrial energy consumption and contributes 2% of direct carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from industries. World paper and paperboard demand and production are increasing significantly, leading to an increase in this sector's energy use and CO 2 emissions. Although current studies identify a wide range of energy-efficiency technologies that have already been commercialized for the pulp and paper industry, information is limited or scattered regarding new energy-efficiency technologies that are not yet fully commercialized. Development of emerging or advanced energy-efficiency technologies and their deployment in the market will be crucial for this industry's mid- and long-term energy saving and climate change mitigation strategies. This paper compiles available information on energy savings, environmental and other benefits, costs, and commercialization status for 25 emerging technologies to reduce the energy use and CO 2 emissions. The purpose is to provide a well-structured comprehensive review on these emerging energy-efficiency technologies for engineers, researchers, investors, policy makers, pulp and/or paper companies, and other interested parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantifying the use of resources in food production and its environmental impact is key to identifying distinctive measures which can be used to develop pathways towards low-carbon food systems. In this paper, a first-principle modelling approach is developed, referred to as gThermaR (Glasshouse-Thermal Requirements). gThermaR is a generic tool that focuses on the energy requirements of protected heated production, by integrating holistic energy, carbon, and cost modelling, food production, data analytics and visualization. The gThermaR tool employs historic data from weather stations, growing schedules and requirements specific to grower and product needs (e.g. set-point temperatures, heating periods, etc.) in order to quantify the heating and cooling requirements of glasshouse food production. In the present paper, a case study is reported that employs a database compiled for the UK. Another relevant feature of the tool is that it can quantify the effects that spatial and annual weather trends can have on these heating and cooling requirements. The main contribution of this work, therefore, concerns the development a tool that can provide a simple integrated approach for performing a wide range of analyses relevant to the thermal requirements of heated glasshouses. The tool is validated through collaborations with industrial partners and showcased in a case study of a heated glasshouse in the UK, offering the capacity to benchmark and compare different glasshouse types and food growth processes. Results from the case study indicate that a significant reduction in the heating requirement and, therefore, carbon footprint, of the facility can be achieved by improving key design and operational parameters. Results indicate savings in the peak daily and annual heating requirements of 44–50% and 51–57% respectively, depending on the region where the glasshouse is located. This improvement is also reflected in the carbon emissions and operating costs for the different energy sources considered. Furthermore, the temporal variability/uncertainty of the annual energy requirements and of the peak daily energy requirements are found to be considerably lowered through improvements to the glasshouse attributes. Overall, gThermaR proves its value in quantifying and identifying key factors that have a significant impact on energy requirements of heated glasshouses. Such valuable outputs are invaluable for stakeholders in the food industry that have an interest in mapping the sustainability and mitigating the carbon footprint of their supply chain processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The five major power generation corporations dominate the power industry in China, and play vital roles in China's carbon trading scheme. Under this circumstance, this paper studies the allocation of carbon emission quotas to China's five major power generation corporations based on the fairness and efficiency principles, which proves the primary prerequisite for setting up the national carbon market. Specifically, a bi-level programming model is developed to optimally allocate carbon emission quotas to the corporations, and then a zero sum gains data envelopment analysis (ZSG-DEA) model is adopted to evaluate the efficiency of the allocation so as to adjust towards the optimal solution. The results indicate that power generation has significantly positive influence on the allocation of carbon emission quotas. Moreover, the difference between the sum of optimal carbon emissions and the sum of carbon quotas allocated is 1.431 billion tons, which implies that the emission reduction potential of the five major power generation corporations is tremendous. Finally, the bi-level model in this paper can well capture the context of China's power industry and provide effective results for the allocation of carbon quotas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metallurgy industry plays a very important role in China's economic growth. Due to its energy concentration, the energy consumption of the industry accounts for a large proportion of China's total energy consumption, and thus contributes to carbon emissions. Whether the metallurgy industry can successfully reduce emissions is related to the future of China's carbon emissions targets. In this paper, the logarithmic mean Divisia index model is used to analyze the change in China's carbon dioxide emissions from 1991 to 2014. The empirical results show that there are three main factors affecting the carbon dioxide emissions of China's metallurgy industry. The three factors are labor productivity, energy intensity and industry size. In addition, we further analyzed the deep motivation of carbon dioxide emissions in the industry, and calculated the future emission reduction potentials. Lastly, according to the empirical results, the paper proposes policy recommendations for the future emission reduction of China's metallurgy industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The allocation of carbon emission quotas is recognized as a fundamental and critical step towards the establishment of an effective nationwide carbon emissions trading (CET) market in China. This paper aims to examine the quota allocation pertaining to China's east coastal areas. These regions are pioneers in reformation and the domestic heavy emitters. In this paper, a multi-criteria decision analysis model is proposed. This model is based on the principles of efficiency and equity. In order to reflect the true efficiency of carbon emissions, a weighted Russell direction distance model is employed. Three criteria, namely capacity, responsibility and potential, are used to evaluate the degrees of equity. Furthermore, different situations are set to evaluate the related indicators. The results indicate the following: (1) Industrial provinces have less carbon emission quota increments. (2) The Yangtze River Delta Economic Zone has notably improved energy efficiency, and future quota increments correspond with the zone's current carbon emissions. (3) Circum-Bohai Sea Economic Zone will be a major buyer of carbon emission quotas, while Pan-Pearl River Delta Economic Zone currently receives surplus quota. (4) The overall allocation of quotas converts from uneven to even as a result of GDP growth. These results provide a reference for collaborative regional reductions in carbon emissions and for the construction of a CET market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One-third of global energy demand as well as CO 2 emissions is accounted to industrial processes. In particular, over 30% of total industrial energy consumption is attributed to the iron and steel, cement and refining industry. The aim of the present paper is to review crosscutting technologies and measures adopted to improve energy efficiency in the main Italian industrial sectors regulated by the recent EU legislation on integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC-IED). In fact, 2010/75/EU Directive on industrial emissions, a general improvement on the entire environmental performance of the industrial installations is pursued by taking into account relevant environmental issues, such as emissions into water, air, soil as well as energy efficiency, waste production, recovering and recycling, restoration of the site upon definitive cessation of activities. Moreover, according to 2010/75/EU Directive, IPPC permits should be based on Best Available Techniques (BAT) aimed to reach an adequate level of environmental protection and should establish all the necessary measures including operating conditions, emission limit values for relevant polluting substances as well as monitoring requirements. Thus, in the present paper an assessment of Best Available Techniques (BAT) related to energy efficiency in the main Italian industrial installations is carried out on the base of the analysis on the IPPC permits released by the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea, and made available on its web site. As a result a significant improvement in energy efficiency was assessed. In fact, many process units were upgraded, by major revamping or even by replacing the process completely with one showing better performances. Finally, since energy efficiency is at its best at the beginning of the life cycle of the plant, operators, whenever necessary, periodically monitor and measure the actual energy performance of their own installations for process control and maintenance purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important part of smart grid optimizations, optimal dispatch of microgrid is of great significance to reduce energy consumption, environmental pollution and user's electricity costs. The development objective of microgrid is not only to meet the basic demand of power supply, but also to improve its economic efficiency and environmental protection. In this regard, this paper proposes a multi-objective optimal dispatch model for microgrid under grid-connected mode, which comprehensively considers the operation cost and the environmental protective cost of the microgrid system. Distribution generators in the microgrid system include photovoltaic array, wind turbine, diesel engine, micro turbine and electric vehicle. The batteries of the accessed electric vehicles are treated as a kind of mobile distributed energy storage device in the model. In order to solve the proposed model effectively, according to the configuration and characteristics of the model, this paper proposes an improved particle swarm optimization algorithm to solve the optimization model. Two different operation scheduling scenarios under grid-connected mode are researched, and the dispatch results of different optimization goals are discussed in this paper. The simulation results show that the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed model, which can effectively reduce the user's electricity costs and environmental pollution, promote the optimal operation of microgrid and achieve the economic management of the batteries of electric vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing energy demand in harbour areas, coupled with the need to reduce pollutant emissions, has led to the development of renewable energy-based polygeneration systems to face the carbon footprint of ports and ships at berth. In this way, in the coming years, ports can be converted into modern energy hubs. From this point of view, this paper presents a new dynamic simulation model for assessing and optimizing the energy and economic impact of ports. Here, energy systems and renewable sources can be designed to be connected to national electricity and natural gas grids and can include also alternative fuels (hydrogen, biomethane, etc.) and thermal energy networks, as well as different biomass fluxes (to be exploited for energy aims). Energy availability/demands of near towns and port buildings/infrastructures, as well as on-shore power supply are also included in the dynamic assessments. Hourly weather data and different prices for all the considered energy carriers are taken into account hour by hour. A multi-objective optimization approach is also implemented in the model considering energy and economic indexes to be optimized. The whole model is implemented in a computer tool written in MATLAB. For showing the capability of the developed model, a novel case study referred to the port of Naples (South-Italy) is presented. Here, several renewable energy sources are considered, including an anaerobic biodigester for producing biogas from the organic waste of docked cruise ships. A combined heat and power system (fed by biogas) is implemented in the port energy hub also for supplying absorption chillers. PV panels, and marine power generators are also included. In the conducted analysis, optimization targets are the maximization of system self-consumption and self-sufficiency as well as the minimum simple payback period. The proposed system can effectively contribute to the decarbonization of the port energy demand and reduce harmful pollutant emissions. Results showed that very high rate of renewable energy produced on-site can be exploited (up to 84%) by the considered port facilities, ensuring increasing independency from utility power grid (self-sufficiency index up to 40%). By the obtained results and through the developed simulation/optimization tool, novel design and operating criteria can be achieved for future port energy hubs featured by renewables and bi-directional energy exchange between ships and port. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates CO 2 emissions produced by two different container terminal operating models (tire transtainers and rail transtainers) at the port of Kaohsiung, and seeks to determine energy saving and CO 2 reduction strategies for shipping companies and terminal operators in order to comply with green port requirements. This paper's research methodology involves carbon footprint analysis and gray relational analysis. Carbon footprint analysis is employed to calculate the CO 2 emissions per container of two different container terminal operating models employing data for various areas (such as the berthing area, container yard, and gate area), where the raw data is collected from shipping companies or terminal operating companies at the port of Kaohsiung. Gray relational analysis is then used to determine the ranking order of different container terminal operating models based on the green port assessment criteria of working time efficiency, energy consumption, and CO 2 emissions. The chief findings of this paper are that the ranking order of container terminal types based on carbon footprint is tire transtainer ahead of rail transtainer; optimal green port assessment criteria constituted working time efficiency, energy cost, and CO 2 emissions; and use of container handling equipment with high operating efficiency can not only accomplish work rapidly, lessening the berthing time of ships in port, but also reduce energy costs and CO 2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that many past studies have only been concerned with efficiency and not with the efficiency achievement ratio, whereas information on Baltic Sea countries' energy or environmental efficiency has always been based on studies that focus on different research objectives, but do not include all the Baltic Sea countries. Hence, the main aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of the achievement ratios for energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions on both energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions by including all Baltic Sea countries as a case study and constructing new static and dynamic efficiency indices. The study's results show that the 2008 Global Financial Crisis resulted in low achievement ratios for energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, and the conclusion is that since a lot of attention has been paid to staving off an economic downturn, the Global Financial Crisis may in fact have stalled actions to combat carbon dioxide emissions and energy over-consumption. In addition, the Baltic Sea countries should strengthen energy management on the demand side. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions are long lasting issues and need continuous research to improve efficiency evaluation and performance monitoring of economies. The static and dynamic aspects of efficiency need to be dealt with simultaneously to thoroughly analyze the performance of economies. This paper aims at conducting a static and dynamic analysis of energy and CO 2 emissions efficiency of major economies. In this paper, we applied slacks based model of Tone (2001) with the treatment of undesirable output in objective function and constraint assuming free disposability of undesirable output and built a dashboard. The results can be summarized by saying that the larger economies with intensive production strategy, larger secondary industry, and weaker carbon tax laws are more likely to be inefficient. China, India, and Russia have the greatest potential for improvement in both energy efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions efficiency. The suggested dashboard has the ability to dig out the potential for efficiency improvement of countries like the USA, which mostly appear at the efficient frontier with other techniques. Concluding it can be suggested that economies in lower ranks of dashboard need stricter policy measures to cut energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions and encourage a shift from fossil fuels to other renewable resources of energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Home energy consumption is increasing, and renewable energy sources are being deployed. The use of renewable energy sources as an alternative to fossil fuels and nuclear energy is a significant opportunity for reducing CO 2 emissions. However, carbon emissions from electricity generation are dependent on the type of renewable energy source and the quantity of the electricity that is produced. With the emergence of the smart grid, residents are able to reduce their electricity consumption by shedding the power usage in their homes. The objective of this study is to smooth power peak demand and diminish CO 2 emissions. This paper describes the power shedding benefits of reducing energy consumption and CO 2 emissions. This reduction of CO 2 emissions eliminates the need for auxiliary power plants in the grid in the case of peak demand points and the need to switch to renewable energy sources. In this study, we prove that emerging information and communication technology can reduce energy use and CO 2 emissions. Wireless communication architecture is introduced in this study to increase grid flexibility and rapidity in the data flow among all of the components in the proposed system. Our proposed system with local renewable generation can reduce CO 2 emissions nearly 72% of all CO 2 emissions when all appliances are supplied with the grid. With our load shedding algorithm, the CO 2 emissions decrease nearly 91%. The yearly estimation shows that our system can reduce 62% of CO 2 emissions and 37% of consumed power. In this paper, we introduce an efficient architecture of a smart home energy management system and propose a shedding algorithm for home energy usage. This system is based on wireless communication among home appliances, a home management and control system, a grid management and control system and domestic renewable energy sources. Our proposed system, which employs wireless communication, domestic renewable generation and a power shedding algorithm, can operate in conjunction with future smart grids by applying real-time data, such as peak demand points. Numerous real data sets permitted the development of some of the statistics in the system results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract As a significant basic industry for the national economic development, coal chemical industry is one of the main contributors to energy consumption and CO 2 emission. In this paper, the CO 2 emission in the time series of 2020 and 2030 was calculated and the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) method was employed to explore the driving forces of CO 2 emission change. According to the industry development, the CO 2 emission in 2020 and 2030 was tentatively predicted. The results show that China's coal chemical industry has experienced a significant increase in CO 2 emission, from 177.87 million ton CO 2 (MtCO 2) to 427.19 MtCO 2 in 2005–2015, with an average annual growth rate of 9.16%. Currently, the coal-to-ammonia industry is the largest contributor. According to the decomposition analysis, the economic growth and energy intensity are the two positive factors and the industry structure is a negative factor to carbon emission change. In 2020, the CO 2 emission will be 617.34 MtCO 2 under slow development scenario and 759.69 MtCO 2 under rapid development scenario. In 2030, the CO 2 emission will reach 1041.90 MtCO 2 and 1440.13 MtCO 2 under slow and fast development scenarios, respectively. The coal-to-olefins industry will take the place of coal-to-ammonia and turn to be the largest one in 2020 and 2030 if no CO 2 capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies are adopted. It is probable that the contribution from coal-to-methanol will also play important role for CO 2 emission due to its rapid development. In addition, by 2030, if coal-to-natural gas industry develops as planned, its CO 2 emission will significantly increase, which has the potential to be equivalent to that of olefins industry. Highlights • The CO 2 emission evolution trend in China's coal chemical industry is analyzed. • The major driving factors of CO 2 emission change are identified and the effect sizes of various factors are evaluated. • The CO 2 emission in 2020 and 2030 is forecasted. • Policy implications to policymakers are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Improving thermal insulation of buildings envelopes can reduce their energy consumption and related CO 2 emissions considerably. Searching for new and innovative insulation materials is therefore a key challenge. This paper presents an experimental study to show the effect of adding spent coffee grounds (SCGs) on thermal properties of plaster composite. The obtained results using the box method show a significant decrease of thermal conductivity along with an increase of the coffee ground content, indicating the possible usage of the resulting material as efficient insulation in buildings. It is found that the thermal conductivity of the resulting building material can be decreased from 0.5 to 0.31 W/m.K by adding 6 wt% of CGs to the initial material. To illustrate energetically and environmentally the benefit of using the proposed material, annual simulations were carried out for a typical Moroccan house located in Marrakech. The results indicated that up to 20% of the cooling and heating loads of the building can be reduced if the proposed material substitutes the conventional one. From an environmental point of view, the utilization of the proposed material can reduce up to 1500 kg CO 2 , annually for the studied case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Theses on China's low-carbon economy focus on the driving forces of carbon emissions, energy–carbon efficiency, and the carbon–economy nexus. Meanwhile, comprehensive frameworks that assess China's green economy and also analyze its driving forces are lacking. This paper constructs a green productivity index based on the Global Malmquist–Luenberger productivity index to evaluate the development of the low-carbon economy in China. A panel vector auto-regression model is adopted to further analyze the endogenous interactions and dynamic relationships among aspects of the green economy and its influencing factors. Empirical results show that China has seen a balanced development of green economic growth in 2000–2016, achieved in a series of clear stages. To maintain the sustainable growth of the low-carbon economy in the future, China must rely more on technological progress. This research also makes some important discoveries that have not been found in previous studies: the impact of China's industrial structure and energy consumption structure on the green economy are short term, having a duration of impact of approximately four years. Finally, we provide an assessment of provincial green economy development and describe the corresponding policy implications. Graphical abstract Image Highlights • A comprehensive analysis of China's green economy. • A slack-based Global Malmquist–Luenberger index is adopted to calculate the Green Productivity Index in China. • The stage characteristics of green economic development are identified. • A panel vector autoregressive model is used to analyze the interactions among aspects of the environmental economic system. • The findings that the impact duration of energy structure, industry structure, and urbanization on the green economy is about four years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The construction industry is one of the largest energy consumers and CO 2 emitters in China. This paper primarily aimed to explore the driving forces of energy-related CO 2 emissions (ECE) from the construction industry. Adopting a comprehensive decomposition approach, this study decomposes the changes in ECE into eight factors. The main results provide the following findings. (1) Industrial activity was the largest factor pushing the growth of CO 2 emissions, driving up CO 2 emissions in all years and contributing to a 174.65 Mt CO 2 emissions increase in total. (2) In contrast, advances in industrial output technology represented the dominant factor inhibiting CO 2 emissions, cumulatively reducing CO 2 emissions by 99 Mt. (3) The effects of potential energy intensity changes and industrial output technical efficiency fluctuated in different years but exerted positive effects on CO 2 emissions over the entire period. (4) Additionally, changes in spatial structure, energy-saving technology, and energy consumption structure as well as energy usage efficiency all contributed to emissions reductions to varying degrees. The CO 2 emissions of the construction industry increased in all provinces, while emissions changes and their factor effects varied distinctly across provinces. Highlights • Direct and indirect CO 2 emissions in China's construction industry are calculated. • Impacts of driving factors are quantified by combining the PDA and IDA methods. • Industrial activity is mainly responsible for CO 2 emissions increase. • Industrial output technology change is the dominant curbing factor. • Factor effects of China's construction industry vary distinctly across provinces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable energy statistics serve as the foundation and starting point for understanding the climate policies of any country. As the most comprehensive sources of energy data for China, China Energy Statistics Yearbooks (ESY), published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), underwent three major revisions since 2005. This paper analyzes how these three major revisions correspond to data on China's energy use from 1996 to 2012, and theirs impacts on CO 2 emissions, emission intensity and the share of non-fossil energy in total energy consumption, which are key indicators of China's climate policies. Some notable changes include CO 2 emissions for 2012, which increased by 594 Million tons – a figure equivalent to South Korea's annual emissions, which implies that China's emissions at peak level will be higher than previous estimation. Meanwhile, revised emission intensity data show a higher amount and lower decreasing rate, which means that China's achievements in decreasing emission intensity during 2005–2012 have been overestimated, while future difficulties for achieving the goal of 40–45% reduction will be greater. On the share of non-fossil fuel energy in China's total energy mix, the adjustments increased the indicator by 1.26%, reflecting the fact that China's effort in developing non-fossil energy had been underestimated. Discrepancies in reported scattered coal in different statistics versions are the main contributors to these changes. To further enhance the reliability of its energy statistics, and thereby its climate policies, China should remove incentives for misreporting through legal means, and make the technical system for data collection more comprehensive and accurate, with particular emphasis on scattered coal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-Carbon Consumption Behavior (HCCB) of urban residents is one of the main obstacles to the goals of low carbon development in China with the rapid development of the national economy. Among all the uptrend influences, the one caused by conspicuous consumption is worth more attention. In this paper, a structural equation model was applied to analyze the impact path of conspicuous consumption motivation on HCCB. Multiple group analysis was then used to test the moderating effect of individual face conscious and demographics on the impact. Our data originated from a social study of Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, China (n = 351). The results indicated four leading aspects. First, the raising habitual HCCB is mainly affected by three points, materialistic hedonism, interpersonal mediation and social status demonstration, and the influence is reduced in successively. While communication of belonging to/dissociation from a group and ostentation have little effect on habitual HCCB. The second, purchased HCCB of residents is mainly impacted positively by materialistic hedonism, and other factors have weak influence on it. The third, face consciousness has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between residents’ conspicuous consumption motivation and HCCB. People with strong face consciousness are more affected by the social status demonstration and interpersonal mediation; those with weak face consciousness are only driven by material hedonism. The last, gender, marital status, age, education level, and household monthly disposable income have significant moderating effects on the relationship. Among them, the HCCB from males, young people, married persons, highly educated people, and higher income groups is more affected by materialistic hedonism, interpersonal mediation, and social status demonstration, while from females with lower education, and lower income groups is more likely to be driven by social status demonstration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, carbon emissions produced by coal consumption have raised concerns around the world, but the carbon emissions associated with coal production should also be considered. As China's second-largest province for coal production, it is of extreme importance around the whole country for small and medium-sized coal enterprises in Inner Mongolia to achieve low-carbon transition. In this paper, we apply the IPAT equation to analyze the relationships among environmental impact, population, affluence and technology. The results of the analysis show that technological innovation can make an environmental impact or can cause pollutant emissions of a unit GDP to decline. Technological innovation is viewed as an avenue for environmental improvement, and corporate entities are key players in the environmental improvement. This equation can also be used indirectly on the micro-scale, for example, to determine the directions of development of enterprises and encourage the enterprises to achieve low-carbon transition as soon as possible. Selecting the example of a surface coal mine in Inner Mongolia (China) under the framework of cleaner production and the theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ), cleaner production options helping to reduce carbon emissions were proposed and implemented. Through the implementation of the options, carbon emissions of the coal mine were reduced by approximately 4%. Contributing cleaner production options for reducing carbon emissions mainly include increasing the efficiency of energy usage, substitution of environmentally friendly materials, optimization of process controls and changing process technologies. The results obtained in this paper can not only provide a decision-making foundation for the local governments when they invest in carbon reduction projects but also play an exemplary role for other similar enterprises to reduce carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese government committed to reduce its national CO 2 emissions intensity by 40–45% until 2020 in response to climate change. This paper quantitatively evaluates the performance of CO 2 emissions reduction over the period 2005–2020 from the historical and prospective perspectives by using a combination of decomposition analysis and scenario analysis, aiming to provide suggestions about how to achieve the target in key emissions reduction fields. Unlike traditional index decomposition methods, this paper incorporates the total energy conversion efficiency effect into the model, and further decomposes it into a final energy mix effect and a final energy conversion efficiency effect by a multilevel decomposition procedure, allowing to measure the contributions of primary energy structure low-carbonization, the final energy mix electrification, and the energy conversion efficiency improvement. The results show that the carbon intensity could decline over the period 2005–2020 by 47.8%, 50.9%, 48.0%, 44.5% and 47.5% in the Business as Usual, S1, S2, S3 and S4 scenarios, respectively. This shows that the 40–45% target is very likely to be achieved. The final energy intensity effect is always the most important driving factor, causing carbon intensity to decrease by 24.0% and 22.1%, again respectively, from 2005–2012 to 2012–2020. Moreover, the energy conversion effect was another major driver during 2005–2012. The Chinese government needs to make more efforts to adjust the industrial structure, which could cause carbon intensity to decrease by 3.6% during 2012–2020, and to adjust the primary energy mix, which could cause carbon intensity to decrease by 7.1% during 2012–2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging economies like China, India, and Mexico are becoming the world's manufacturing leaders through the engagement in offshoring production activities. In achieving this status, however, they have met with difficult environmental issues. This paper features an analysis of industry-level panel data to examine the link between different offshoring tasks in China and carbon dioxide emissions. Through this analysis, the environmental effects of offshored production are addressed. Specifically an input–output model is presented, thereby quantifying offshored production tasks in China. The results show that iron and steel, nonferrous metals (IS) and chemicals (CH) generate the most carbon dioxide during production of processed goods. Additionally, electrical machinery (EM) and general machinery (GM) generate a higher amount of carbon dioxide during production of parts and components. The results also show that those industries characterized by higher energy consumption have higher carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions induced by offshoring. Given these results, it seems that any solutions geared towards reducing the energy consumption of entire manufacturing industries would be useful. Furthermore, the results of the analyses presented here indicate that China would be responsible for working with developed countries to reduce carbon dioxide emissions through cooperative environmental regulation. A globalization perspective is adopted to offer unique insight into the environmental issues faced by China. The results of this paper would provide quantified, actionable information for formulating practical industrial policies geared towards reducing carbon dioxide leakage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The material processing industry has to deal with material and energy reduction targets, and such a need becomes more and more urgent when future energy and resource consumption predictions are considered. The optimization of machining operations has conventionally been performed by identifying the range of process parameters that lead to the maximum efficiency, which are generally defined on the basis of maximum productivity and minimum cost criteria. Cost-based models are part of the industrial cultural background, while the emerging environmental impact analysis has not yet become fully established. The paper describes an approach that is aimed at the integration of system-level models for the environmental and economic assessment of machining. Process time, cost, energy demand and carbon dioxide emissions are assumed as optimization targets. The dry and wet turning of Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb and Ti-6Al-4V alloys, while varying the process parameters, is considered as a case study. The results highlight that the range of process parameters that allow the maximum process efficiency to be achieved is influenced by material machinability, and that a holistic approach to process optimization appears to be a key task which is worth further research efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major consumption of energy around the globe is related to human activities. However, it may be essential to quantify how renewable energy consumption influence process of human development. This particular area of research still needs to be explored. Thus, this paper explores the relationship between renewable energy consumption, economic growth and human development index for 1990–2014 in Pakistan by using Two-Stage Least Square (2SLS) method. Empirical results reveal that renewable energy consumption does not improve the situation of the human development process in Pakistan. More, interestingly higher the income of the country the lower is level of human development. In addition, the CO 2 emission is helpful to improve human development index. Furthermore, trade openness discourages human development process in Pakistan. Furthermore, causality analysis confirms feedback hypothesis between environmental factor and human development process in the long run path. These novel findings would help policymaker and government officials to better understand the role of renewable energy and economic growth in the human development process in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, carbon emissions reduction is a very important challenge all over the world. Improvement of human capital helps to reduce carbon emissions. This paper studies the long- and short-term effects of human capital on carbon emissions in Pakistan from 1971 to 2014. We employ an autoregressive distributed lag model and the vector error correction model to analyze the co-integration and direction of causalities between human capital and carbon emissions, respectively. Results show that a significant long-term relationship exists between human capital and carbon emissions. Improvement of human capital will reduce carbon emissions without decreasing economic growth. Granger causality test results describe the bidirectional causality that exists between human capital and carbon emissions in the long term and no causality in the short term. Human capital and economic growth have feedback effects in the long term and no effect in the short term. The results of this study show that improvement in human capital through education will help carbon emissions reduction in the long term. This study will help policymakers devise a comprehensive strategy to reduce carbon emissions through improvement of human capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The surge in energy consumption and CO 2 (carbon dioxide) emissions is exacerbating global warming. The Chinese government has promised to reduce CO 2 emission by 60%–65% per unit of GDP over the 2005 level by around 2030. Analyzing the factors influencing CO 2 emissions is one of the key aspects involved in effectively reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In this paper, we add climatic factors based on socio-economic factors, and adopt the extended STIRPAT model to investigate the mechanism driving emissions by the co-action of natural and socio-economic factors. The results show that the 1995–2014 emissions in China's Zhejiang province had an upward trend with growth rates varying between intermediate periods. The order of the factors' elasticity coefficients is urbanization rate (0.181) > GDP per capita (0.180) > population (0.177) > energy intensity (0.170) > trade openness (0.170) > cooling degree days (0.127) > mean temperature anomaly (0.116). Economic development and urbanization were the main factors promoting CO 2 emissions in 1996–1999, while economic development and foreign trade were the main factors in 2000–2014. Policy makers should pay more attention to keeping a healthy pace of economic development, introducing more low energy consumption and low pollution enterprises and encouraging technological innovation. Improving the quality of urbanization, guiding a sustainable lifestyle, adjusting the structure of foreign trade and curbing energy intensity are also expected to reduce emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon emission is not as free as they used to be. Under the carbon emission tax policy, manufacturers face a choice of whether to reduce their carbon emission through remanufacturing or low-carbon technologies. In this paper, we characterize the optimal carbon emission tax policy through a two-period production decision model, in which new products and remanufactured products are clearly distinguishable. The effects of a carbon emission tax on the optimal production decision of manufacturing and remanufacturing is investigated. It is found that there are rational remanufacturing production strategies for different products based on different remanufacturing cost savings and carbon emission savings per remanufactured product under a carbon emission tax policy. Manufacturers can offset the cannibalisation and negative economic impact of the carbon emission tax policy by making low-carbon emission technology investment. Furthermore, the government can stimulate the manufacturer to invest in carbon emission reduction technologies and remanufacturing simultaneously by choosing a reasonable carbon emission tax. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the largest energy consumers, the transport sector generated direct and indirect emissions which significantly affect the environment, accounting for approximately one-third of the total carbon emissions. While the major impacts are from transport energy use and emissions, very few studies attempted to examine the impacts from transport infrastructure, especially at a city or country level. This paper, taking Shenzhen in China (a fast developing megacity) as the case study, is specially designed to quantify the carbon footprint of the urban roads by using streamlined life cycle assessment method. For given years (ranged from 2004 to 2013), various activities of urban roads (e.g. newly planned road construction, maintenance of road in use, and road renovation and demolition) have been examined in this study. The results show that the total carbon footprint from urban roads in Shenzhen was 260 (±20) thousand tons CO 2 e in 2013. The major contributor was the materials use (embodied impact) from newly constructed roads, which accounts for 52.3% of the total carbon footprint, followed by the maintenance stage (24.3%). The eco-design process of road construction plays a vital role in achieving the effective carbon footprint reduction. These findings help to better understand the carbon footprint from urban roads in megacities, and provide useful inputs for policy making process in terms of identifying carbon reduction opportunities for the transport sector. In addition, the methodologies are useful for the quantification of carbon footprint in other cities of China and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to concerns related to climate change, and an attempt to encourage more sustainable behavior, individuals are often provided with information on greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) of consumer items, such as personal vehicles. Currently in the US, information on vehicle efficiency is provided as grams of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) per mile. Previous research presenting CO 2 as a mass and testing willingness-to-pay through Discrete Choice Experiment has found that such information can influence vehicle choice. However, other research has questioned whether how this information is presented might affect choice. That research argues that CO 2 emission information generally lacks contextualization that allows for interpretation. As well, it argues that the type of contextualization may affect choices. That research though did not test willingness-to-pay and the strength of its influence is not clear. In addition, research exists that argues that using pro-social, as opposed to financial, contextualization might be more influential on people’s choices. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to build on these previous findings on how CO 2 emissions are presented to determine whether changing how that information impacts vehicle choice with a Discrete Choice Experiment of vehicle choice analyzed using latent class modeling. No previous study has so robustly studied the influence that different framings might have on vehicle purchase. Five different methods of presenting CO 2 information are tested in this experiment: CO 2 emissions as grams per mile (current method), CO 2 emissions as pounds per year (consistent imperial units), CO 2 emissions as tons per year (yearly contextualization), an annual tax on CO 2 (yearly financial contextualization), and CO 2 as a percentage of the 2025 US EPA reduction target of 26% from 2005 levels (social goal contextualization). Results demonstrate that the current method results in lowest willingness to pay for CO 2 emission reductions, while the social goal contextualization results in the highest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change, environmental problems and consequent ecological damages due to excessive consumption of resources and to the continuing human population growth of more than 80,000,000 net increase per year, have damaged and continue to accelerate the devastation of numerous ecosystems. These changes have brought significant harm to humans and are imposing high costs on societal maintenance and development. In that context, low/no-fossil carbon transformations and improved material’s and energy efficiency are crucial elements for reconciling human activities with sustainable societal development, which is built upon vibrant and sustainable ecosystems. The urgently needed changes are bound to be difficult to make due to the perceived contradictions between low/no-fossil-carbon systems and sustainable and economically vibrant societies. This Special Volume (SV) is comprised of thirty-three articles, which mainly focus on investigations of low/no-fossil carbon transformations in countries, regions, industries and enterprises. Some authors provided insights of ways to proceed based upon new research and development (R&D), evaluations of specific low/no-fossil carbon technologies and lessons learned from policy simulations and analyses of potential post-fossil carbon societies. This SV introductory article contains an overview of the content of the articles divided into five topics: (a) low/no-fossil carbon transformations within industrial sectors, (b) regional planning and low/no-fossil carbon developments, (c) multi-regional, low/no-fossil carbon economies, (d) specific low-fossil carbon technologies, and (e) low/no-fossil carbon policy results. Given the extensive coverage of low/no-fossil carbon transformations, the papers on mechanisms and pathways are clearly the most important contributions of this SV. The researchers focused broadly on ways to address two objectives: (a) To characterize the main factors catalyzing high-fossil carbon development and (b) To accelerate the transition to low/no fossil carbon societies. Some authors focused upon new, low/no-fossil carbon development and planning in different countries and regions, while others focused upon ways to make changes within energy-intensive industries. Additionally, some authors reported on progress in the evaluation of the effectiveness of specific low/no-fossil-carbon technologies and in the design and implementation of low/no-fossil carbon policies. The findings and recommendations of the authors are positive and encouraging. However, it is clear, that there are many additional research, policy and educational challenges, which must be solved, to establish and support systems to guide and to monitor the transformations to sustainable, equitable, livable, low/post-fossil carbon societies. Much work remains but the wisdom in the articles in this SV will help societies make the needed transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The iron and steel industry is a major industrial emitter of carbon dioxide globally and in Germany. If European and German climate targets were set as equal proportional reduction targets (referred to here as “flat” targets) among sectors, the German steel industry would have to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions from about 60 million metric tons currently to 28–34 million metric tons by 2030. Technical options to further reduce CO 2 that are based on existing production processes are limited. Hence, in the future, the CO 2 emissions of the steel industry could be reduced by alternative and new production processes and variations in production levels. This paper describes four production pathways from 2015 to 2035 that reveal the impact of constant, increasing and decreasing production levels as well as different production processes. The diffusion of energy-efficient technologies, the increase of renewables in the German electricity mix and the age and lifetime of blast furnaces are considered as well. The findings suggest that the German steel sector will only manage to achieve its European CO 2 emissions reduction target for 2030 if it strongly decreases its production levels. Furthermore, it is highly unlikely that the German steel sector will meet its German climate target regardless of the production pathway selected. The findings suggest that efforts to reduce CO 2 emissions in the steel industry should focus on two areas. First, alternative steelmaking processes need to be developed. Besides low-CO 2 process technologies, CO 2 -free processes should be considered as well. Direct reduced iron could be produced based on hydrogen and then fed into an electric arc furnace powered by electricity generated using CO 2 -free sources. Steel could also be produced using electrolysis based on CO 2 -free electricity. However, because these technologies might take decades to develop and introduce, there should be a second focus on incremental CO 2 reductions in the short to medium term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Serbia, a developing country, energy consumption per capita is higher than in most other countries in the region. Implementation of energy management practices is therefore necessary to cut energy consumption and CO 2 emissions. This paper gives an insight into how energy management is implemented in Serbian manufacturing (focusing on food processing and manufacturing of non-metallic mineral products, defined as priority industrial sectors). No similar study for Serbian manufacturing has been published. The study was carried out using an on-line questionnaire based on the ISO 50001 requirements. Questions were grouped into 16 categories and presented according to the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle. The proposed methodology has not been used by other researchers for similar problems. The survey was conducted in 52 organizations and lasted from May to December 2015. We found that the average level of requirements fulfillment in priority industrial sectors in Serbia is 59.05%. Full implementation was found in only 5.8% of participating organizations. Average implementation of the PLAN phase (establishing basics for energy management) is 61.87%, implementation of the DO phase (realization of energy management processes) is 59.98%, implementation of the CHECK phase (monitoring and measurement of energy performance) is 59.61%, and finally, implementation of the ACT phase (review and improvement of energy management) is only 35.34%. The study results offer scientific data for improving national policy and education on energy management in Serbia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Rapid economic development of industrial cities has led to a significant increase in energy consumption and carbon emissions in China. Through the log-mean Divisia index decomposition method and the cluster analysis method, this paper provides a systematic method to (1) analyze the time series of carbon emissions from the energy consumption of the industrial sector in a city; (2) explore the main factors affecting carbon emissions; and (3) divide industries in a city into different types and analyze combination features of “emissions–efficiency”. Finally, this paper takes Tianjin as an example, and studies the emissions characteristics of Tianjin. Results show that high-emission and low-efficiency industries play important roles in the development and economic growth of industries in Tianjin, improvements in energy utilization efficiency are the most important contributors to effective industrial energy conservation and emission reductions in Tianjin, and that the method developed in this paper is practical in the analysis of carbon emissions characteristics of an industrial city or region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper analyses the cost effectiveness of the implementation of some of the Best Available Technologies (BATs) and Innovative Technologies (ITs) in the European industry up to 2030. This is done using a bottom-up model that considers the main processes involved in each facility. The model described in the paper assumes the retrofitting/upgrade of each European facility with a BAT or IT as soon as the criterion for a capital budgeting decision is met. The paper details the effect on the savings in energy and CO2 emissions by European industry, assuming different levels of requirement in the payback period used as main capital-budgeting decision criterion. This approach reveals the full potential that some technologies under research (as the ones considered in the Ultra–Low CO2 Steelmaking project and Carbon Capture and Storage technologies, as well as other technologies that are not widely deployed (Direct Reduced Iron technologies), may have in the European industry. The starting point of the simulation is adjusted so that the CO2 emissions of each facility in the model have a counterpart in the emissions recorded for the benchmarking exercise of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme. The results show that, by 2030, for a payback period of two years, the margin of improvement in CO2 emissions is around 20%. Whereas, by 2030, for a payback period of six years, the margin of improvement in CO2 emissions is in the range between 50% and 65%. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Climate change which is induced from energy consumption and CO 2 emissions has got people's attention; hence, many strategies and ways are being adopted to mitigate CO 2 emissions. Energy substitution is crucial to the promotion of energy conservation and CO 2 emissions reduction. The purpose of this paper is to estimate both inter-factor and inter-fuel substitution in China's iron & steel industry during the period 1985–2011. Empirical results show several conclusions for China's iron & steel industry: (1) own-price elasticity of energy is negative, so increase in energy price will reduce energy input; (2) energy and capital, and energy and labor are substitutes, and the substitution in energy/capital is relatively stronger; (3) though coal, oil and electricity are also substitutes, the substitution effect is not so obvious because of pricing distortions in China. The driving forces of energy efficiency change are further discussed and the results show that technology progress is the key factor determining energy intensity. Therefore, market-oriented reforms in terms of energy prices, improvement in energy substitution (including inter-factor and inter-fuel substation) and promotion of energy saving technologies are important means for ensuring future energy conservation and CO 2 emissions reduction practices in China's iron & steel sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction management in China has embraced a new practice encompassing the evaluation criteria of green construction. Thus, greenhouse gas emissions produced during the construction period should not be overlooked anymore. The greenhouse gas emissions from construction projects are evaluated based on life cycle assessment theory, and on green construction evaluation and management techniques. A procedure for assessing the greenhouse gas emissions from construction projects is developed using the unit construction process, and by classifying and integrating the different components of construction projects. A segregation-integration method was established for calculating the greenhouse gas emissions of construction project. A mathematical model and framework to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions from construction projects have been established. The energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions for earthwork, foundation work, masonry, and reinforced concrete during construction are calculated based on the example of a commercial building in a large-scale residential complex in the Pingshan New District of Shenzhen City. The greenhouse gas emissions were calculated as equivalent carbon dioxide emissions. High-rise buildings and villas have the highest unit carbon emissions of 54.51 kg/m 2 , and account for 84% of the carbon dioxide emissions produced during the construction of the residential community. The unit carbon emissions for construction of the entire residential community are approximately 54.18 kg/m 2 . The scientific value of this paper is that the carbon emissions during the construction stage of a residential community were quantitatively assessed. The unit carbon emissions of the buildings during construction can be used to calculate unit energy consumption of buildings during construction, which should be useful in realising energy savings, and can therefore provide management guidance for reducing energy consumption during the life cycle of building, especially consumption during construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Due to increasing energy scarcity and pressures from climate change, Chinese iron & steel (IS) companies have struggled to implement practices to reduce their energy consumption and CO2 emissions. However, it is not clear whether these practices can improve the environmental or economic performance of these companies. The determinants that drive or hinder the implementation of these practices are also not known. Therefore, this paper describes an empirical analysis of a total of 85 questionnaires of various IS companies across China. A regression analysis was applied in this paper to verify the relationship among CO2 reduction practices, determinants and performance as reported by the IS companies. The results show that although some CO2 reduction practices can result in significant environmental performance, their impacts on the improvement of economic performance are less clear. The paper discusses some implications regarding strategies for prompting CO2 reduction practices that have been considered during the discussion about the determinants that impact on the practices. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The coal-fired power sector is the main source of CO 2 emissions in China. This paper proposes a carbon abatement cost estimate model based on computing the emissions gap between the Chinese national energy consumption standards of units (NECS) and the units' coal consumption for per unit electricity supply (CCES). By applying the proposed model, the abatement costs of four coal-fired power generation units (600 MW USC, 1000 MW USC, 265 MW IGCC, 600 MW SC CFB) with or without Carbon capture and storage (CCS) are estimated in six combined scenarios. The results show that (1) the units' total cost would increase more than one time after conducting CCS while the unit cost of carbon emissions abatement would decrease more than 64%; (2) the 1000 MW USC unit with CCS has the largest carbon reduction potential and the lowest unit abatement cost among all units in all scenarios; (3) 265 MW IGCC unit would have no carbon reduction potential after 25 service years, and its service years may be shortened; and (4) the 256 MW IGCC and 600 MW SC CFB is the most sensitive to the average annual decline rate of NECS but the four units of installed CCS are not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the self-declared energy and environmental protection objectives of many car manufacturers responsible companies must use energy-efficient production technologies. The running costs of production sites are a decisive factor in the overhead of automotive production. Therefore, it is important for many operators to reduce those costs in a sustainable way. For this purpose, they attempt to reduce both the energy consumption costs and CO 2 emissions of production systems. However, most components of the energy costs are determined during the very early phases of the product creation process. To achieve an estimation of the energy consumption in this early planning stage, a new suitable forecasting method is required. Therefore, this paper presents an approach for determining the prospective energy consumption by using Methods-Energy Measurement combined with defined energy reference cycles for manufacturing technologies. With this approach, key performance indicators are defined, and the production technologies are divided into basic energy consumers. The average energy values will be determined empirically by using the defined energy reference cycles. With these data, the energy demands for different scenarios are calculated. Thereby, it is possible to estimate the potential energy consumption of complex manufacturing cells. The designed method is validated within a case study of a modern automotive body shop. In summary, the approach contributes to identify and realize sustainable solutions in advance and thus increase the profitability of a factory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the environmental impacts of a refrigerator recycling system in Brazil and quantifies its ecological advantages over primary resource production through a Life Cycle Assessment based on ISO 14040. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) accounts for savings of 720 kg CO 2 -eq per recycled refrigerator on average, thus demonstrating that an environmentally sound recycling process holds substantial emission reduction potential. In addition, the application of the recycling process in conjunction with collection and reverse logistics of refrigerators in a recycling system can reduce energy demand in Brazil by an average of 1.5 GJ per recycled unit. As a result, refrigerator recycling systems qualify as a valid and scalable energy efficiency measure in accordance with the Brazilian national framework for the evaluation of energy efficiency projects (PROPEE). The energy economics for projects based on recycling systems are shown for the 30 largest energy distributors in Brazil. Available budgets, calculated with diagnostics undertaken in conformity with the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP) for a threshold value (cost-benefit ratio = 0.8), clearly indicate the viability and competitiveness of these recycling systems as project opportunities for energy conservation under the national energy regulation agency ANEEL's energy efficiency program (PEE). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improved material efficiency is a key to improve the circular economy and capturing value in industry. Material efficiency reduces the generation of industrial waste, the extraction and consumption of resources, and energy demands and carbon emissions. However, material efficiency in the manufacturing sector, as a means of improving the recyclability, reusability, reduction and prevention of industrial waste, is little understood. This study aims to investigate, on a micro-level, further material efficiency improvement opportunities, barriers and strategies in selected manufacturing companies in Sweden, focusing on increasing waste segregation into high quality circulated raw material. Improvement opportunities at large global manufacturing companies are investigated; barriers hindering material efficiency improvement are identified and categorized at two levels; and strategies that have been deployed at manufacturing companies are reviewed. Empirical findings reveal (1) further potential for improving material efficiency through higher segregation of residual material from mixed and low quality fractions (on average, 26% of the content of combustible waste, in weight, was plastics; 8% and 6% were paper and cardboard, respectively); (2) the most influential barriers are within budgetary, information, management, employee, engineering, and communication clusters; (3) a lack of actual material efficiency strategy implementation in the manufacturing companies. According to our analysis, the majority of barriers are internal and originate within the manufacturing companies, therefore they can be managed (and eradicated if possible) with sufficient resources in terms of man hours, education and investment, better operational and environmental (waste) management, better internal communication and information sharing, and deployment of material efficiency strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2015 Paris climate change negotiations represents the most ambitious worldwide effort to date to combat climate change. As the largest energy consumer and carbon emitter, China pledges 60–65% cut in carbon intensity below 2005 levels by 2030. To accelerate China's climate efforts, China has also committed to cap its primary energy use at 4.8 billion tons of coal equivalent in 2020. This paper proposes an equitable and efficient scheme to disaggregate this national goal among provinces. A three-step disaggregation procedure is proposed which takes into account the initial allocation, national redistribution and inter-provincial adjustment. First, this study allocates the incremental energy quota, taking 2010 as the base year. Second, part of the energy quota is set aside by the central government for redistribution purposes, while an incremental energy quota index comprising equity and efficiency criteria is used for initial allocation among provinces. Finally, historical efforts and inter-provincial energy flows are considered for inter-provincial adjustment. This disaggregation scheme is flexible and can be easily extended to allocation and management of other resource and environmental targets. The empirical findings can assist decision-makers in identifying which provinces are likely to over-consume the energy quota relative to the proposed allocation and which provinces are likely to perform better in energy conservation. Moreover, the results show that the energy cap set for 2020 is unachievable without further action. Market-based instruments, such as an energy allowance trading market, are strongly recommended to achieve the energy use target in an equitable and cost-effective manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollution emissions have become a matter of public concern in recent years. However, the vast majority of existing researches on PM 2.5 pollution are from the natural science perspective, and few studies have been conducted from an economic point of view. This paper adopts provincial panel data from 2001 to 2012 and panel data models to analyze the key driving forces of PM 2.5 emissions at the regional level in China. The results show that economic growth is a decisive factor of PM 2.5 emissions. The impacts of urbanization on PM 2.5 emissions vary across regions and decrease continuously from the central region to the western and eastern regions. The effects of private cars and coal consumption on PM 2.5 emissions in the eastern region are greater than that in the central and western regions because of significant differences in R&D investment, private car ownership and total coal consumption. Energy efficiency improvement has greater potential to mitigate PM 2.5 emissions in the central and western regions than that in the eastern region due to its low level of technology. Hence, in order to effectively reduce emissions, the Chinese government should consider all these factors as well as regional heterogeneity in developing appropriate mitigation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses annual data to detect the nexus between urbanization, energy use, and carbon emissions in a panel of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries spanning the period 1980–2009. The study contributes to the increasing empirical literature by investigating the effects of urbanization and detecting causal links between the variables. Results from the Pedroni panel cointegration tests show evidence for the existence of a long-term equilibrium relationship between urbanization, energy use, and carbon emissions for the ASEAN countries. Using the panel fully modified ordinary least squares technique, the effect of urbanization on carbon emissions is further revealed; i.e., a 1% rise in urban population results in a 0.20% increase in carbon emissions. Unilateral short-run causal relationships from urbanization to energy use and from urbanization to carbon emissions have been found by Granger causality tests. Also, the results clearly indicate that in the long term, urbanization together with energy use Granger causes carbon emissions. The paper concludes with main findings and provides recommendations toward rational planning of urban development and energy-efficiency improvement strategies for the ASEAN countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personal Carbon Trading (PCT) is a downstream cap-and-trade scheme to reduce carbon emissions from the household sector. In comparison to an upstream carbon trading scheme, PCT is a progressive scheme in which the poorer consumers are mostly ‘winners’, as their levels of emissions are generally lower. This paper investigates the equilibrium price for allowances and distributional effects under a PCT scheme. First, we propose an equilibrium model for PCT from which we derive an equilibrium price for allowances. Second, a consumer surplus analysis is conducted to examine the welfare changes caused by the PCT scheme. Generally, we find that the PCT scheme is progressive and can provide a buffer between the energy and allowance price. Based on these results, the implications are discussed and suggestions for a future study are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has been viewed as an emission abatement option with great potential in China as coal has dominated China's energy consumption. China has already started to pay attention to CCS, as well as to the proposed the concept of ‘CCUS’ (which adds CO 2 Utilization into the chain of capture, transportation and storage). However, CCS is still in the early stages of its technological development, and the high cost, with several internal and external uncertainties make the role that CCS can play in China's future emission reduction unclear. From the perspective of general equilibrium analysis, this paper introduces CCS into a regional energy–economy–environment integrated assessment model, and makes a comprehensive evaluation of CCS's potential for future development and contribution to emission abatement in China. At climate policy level, the potential contribution of CCS in emission abatement has been evaluated against different future emission constraint scenarios in China. At technological level, the effects of endogenous learning and policy incentives on CCS have been investigated, and the substitution capacities of CCS and Non-hydro renewables to fossil energy have been discussed, as well as their technology penetration rates. Furthermore, the impact of CO 2 utilization on the development of CCS has also been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the combustion of fossil fuel became the largest contributing factor of greenhouse gas emissions in China, the growth of energy consumption caused by urbanization has led to significant increase in carbon emissions. Applying both the carbon-emissions-coefficient and the sector-energy-consumption method, we predicted the energy consumption and carbon emissions, explored the characteristics of energy consumption and carbon emissions in different urbanization stages, and analyzed the energy crisis in Shandong which is a typical province in China. The results indicate that in 2015 and 2020, the total primary energy consumption will be 1.57 times and 1.85 times higher than that of in 2009, and the carbon emissions are estimated to be 1.48 times and 1.67 times respectively. The urbanization has distinct positive effects on energy consumption and carbon emissions, and the influence is more obvious in the intermediate-stage than in the early-stage. From a policy perspective, this paper could provide valuable information for planners and decision makers to formulate feasible and practical polices with a view to optimize energy structure and mitigate carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is experiencing a stage of rapid urban development. The energy consumption and related carbon dioxide emissions of households continue to increase. This paper calculates direct and indirect carbon dioxide emissions of households based on the input–output method in China from 1996 to 2012. The results reveal that there were more total carbon dioxide emissions from urban households than from rural households, far more indirect emissions from urban households than from rural households, slightly more direct emissions from urban households than from rural households, and differences in direct carbon dioxide emissions from various fuels and in indirect emissions from various sectors between urban and rural households. To examine the causal relationship between urbanization and the carbon dioxide emissions of households, cointegration and Granger causality tests are applied. A unidirectional causal relation was found running from urbanization to both direct and indirect household carbon dioxide emissions, and the direct and indirect carbon dioxide emissions of households would increase 2.9% and 1.1%, respectively, for every increase of one percent in urbanization. We discuss the reasons of why the development of urbanization will lead to more household direct and indirect carbon dioxide emissions, and suggest certain policy implications for urbanization and carbon dioxide emissions based on the results of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The non-metallic minerals industry is the third-largest industrial energy consumer, and it constitutes around 7% of global CO 2 emissions due to the high energy intensity of production processes. Although the substantial improvement of the energy efficiency of this industry in the EU observed since 1995, the energy intensity of this sector is still relatively high. To reach the goals of the Paris Agreement, it is necessary to implement further steps towards the decarbonization of this sector. Previous works do not provide information about research trends in this field or the current development of technologies. To fill this gap, the following research questions have been asked: (Q1) which decarbonization measures are already applied or under development in the non-metallic minerals sector?; (Q2) which of these measures might bring breakthrough to this sector?; (Q3) what is the impact of these measures on costs, energy consumption and GHG emissions? To this end, this paper performs a systematic literature review of GHG emission mitigation options of the non-metallic minerals industry by screening 2964 articles and performing an in-depth analysis of 48 full-text relevant articles following the PRISMA approach. The results show that the carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is the most popular research topic and has the highest decarbonization potential for the industry (up to 60%). However, more research is needed for the full-scale implementation. Further lowering the clinker to cement ratio to at least 75% is also of major importance, however, it is a mature technology, and not much research is required in this field. Despite the relatively low representation in scientific literature, heat electrification is an unavoidable direction for the industry in the long term, resulting from the global shift towards sustainable energy from renewables. The article also sets directions for future research, especially in terms of further development of the most promising technologies and on the industry transition pathways that would be legally adopted at the international level. • The non-metallic minerals industry constitutes around 7% of global CO 2 emissions. • A systematic literature review of GHG emission mitigation options of the industry. • 2964 articles screened and 48 full-text articles analyzed. • CCS is the most discussed mitigation option, yet not ready for commercialization. • Heat electrification is an unavoidable direction, resulting from the climate policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite strong correlation between Lean and Green, companies have found it challenging to integrate and implement Lean and Green practices simultaneously especially when resources are limited. Although there are existing model, framework, and methodologies, some limitations and challenges still exist. This paper aims to overcome some of the limitations and challenges from the existing works. Specifically, one of the objectives is to propose a methodology that aims to integrate Lean and Green practices, and enables the implementation of the integrated Lean and Green practices in an easy and practical manner. To achieve this objective, the proposed methodology will adopt and streamline some of the approaches used in existing works. In this methodology, an easy-to-track metric called Carbon-Value Efficiency, which aims to integrate metrics derived from Lean and Green implementation, is introduced. The other key objective is to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed methodology using a case study of metal stamped parts production. The results show that Carbon-Value Efficiency can be improved by 36.3%, given an improvement in production lead time by 64.7% and a reduction in carbon footprint by 29.9%. This case study demonstrates that the proposed methodology helps to overcome the challenge in integrating and implementing Lean and Green practices, and achieve beneficial results. Future work could study other cases and explore other case specific supporting tools and techniques in order to enhance the proposed methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low carbon manufacturing is of growing importance due to the severity of energy shortage and increasing energy costs, as well as a series of environmental problems, i.e., climate change and global warming. This paper investigates the potential of process parameter optimization to minimize carbon emissions during machine processing. A process model of CNC machining is first presented to scope the system boundaries for energy footprint and process efficiency. A multi-objective optimization model is then proposed to explore the impact of cutting speed and feed rate on carbon emissions and processing time. The benefit of the approach is illustrated through a case study of a CNC cylindrical turning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]