Search

Abstract Guangdong is one of China's fastest developing provinces, and thus faces the challenge of reducing CO 2 emissions whilst fostering economic growth. In order to advance the goal of developing a low-carbon economy in China, this study explored influencing factors, change trends, and reduction potential in relation to CO 2 emissions in Guangdong Province using a provincial dataset covering the period 1995 to 2014. We used extended STIRPAT (stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence, and technology) model and the technique of ridge regression in order to identify key influencing factors behind Guangdong's CO 2 emissions. We also forecasted emission trends and estimated reduction potential in the period 2015–2030. Our empirical results indicate that economic development, population growth, urbanization, fixed asset investment, and industrialization level all positively affected CO 2 emissions during the period studied, while the impacts of energy consumption structure and technology progress were found to be negative. Scenario simulations reveal that the aggregate CO 2 emissions of Guangdong Province will increase continuously up to 2030 under all of the twenty scenarios developed and tested in this study; despite this, we argue that the potential for emission reduction remains large. An optimal scenario was identified after cross-sectional comparison. Our analysis casts new light on the importance of exploring socioeconomic determinants and reduction potential in relation to emissions, in order to plan for rapidly developing regions like Guangdong. The empirical findings have significant implications for the Chinese government in implementing policy measures in order to promote low-carbon development. Highlights • The influencing factors, change trends and reduction potential of CO 2 emissions in Guangdong are explored. • Extended STIRPAT model, ridge regression and scenarios analysis are utilized. • Economic growth, population, urbanization, fix asset investment and industrialization positively affected CO 2 emissions. • Technology and energy consumption structure have a negative impact on CO 2 emissions. • An optimal scenario to promote low-carbon strategy for Guangdong government is identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the global water crisis has become the third biggest threat to the world, how to deal with water-risk becomes essential for enterprises. Water disclosure is an important means for enterprises to convey information about water management and water risk to external stakeholders. Based on signaling theory and legitimacy theory, this study examines the impact of water disclosure on corporate risk-taking and the moderating effect of organizational legitimacy. The study chooses 334 listed companies in Chinese high water-risk industries and selects 2010 to 2015 as the water disclosure observation period. The results show that water disclosure is negatively related to corporate risk-taking, and the relationship between the two varies with the difference in property rights and the relative level of water information disclosure. A further study finds that, organizational legitimacy plays a significant moderating role on the impact of water disclosure on corporate risk-taking. The study reveals the impact mechanism of water disclosure on corporate risk-taking, will cause more effective water disclosure and water management that is beneficial to the continued development of enterprises and entire social economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japan has achieved the decoupling of economic growth from air-pollutant emissions since the rapid decrease in air-pollutant emissions in the 1970s and the further-abatement period. Air-pollutant emissions also decreased in China recently. We analyzed the factors driving the changes in air-pollutant emission, which enabled us to identify each factor's contribution and compare the further-abatement period in Japan with the primary reduction stage in China. This study performed the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index analysis to decompose the industrial-emission changes (SO 2 and NO x ) in Japan and China into the socioeconomic factors that drive these changes. Results showed that changes in these factors, especially energy intensity and economic level, contributed differently to the emission reduction in Japan and China because the two countries differed in emission-reduction periods. The decline in emission coefficient, measured by emissions per unit of energy consumption, was the most important contributor to emission reduction in Japan. The other factors did not exert considerable influence. However, energy intensity decrease in China significantly contributed to emission reduction besides emission coefficient, and economic growth had a substantial negative impact on emission reduction. Differences also appeared in contributions from the industrial and economic structure between the two countries. Some factors may have reached their limitation after the rapid reduction period and thus contributed less significantly in the further-abatement period. A tendency toward a similar condition to Japan was also observed in some factorial contributions in China. From a sectoral perspective, emission change was distributed evenly among sectors in Japan than in China. Based on the comparison between the two countries and the “new normal” that China is experiencing, we provided insights for China for further abating industrial air-pollutant emissions in succeeding years. [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]

With the Rise of Central China Plan, the central region has had a great opportunity to develop its economy and improve its original industrial structure. However, this region is also under pressure to protect its environment, keep its development sustainable and reduce carbon emissions. Therefore, accurately estimating the temporal and spatial dynamics of CO 2 emissions and analysing the factors influencing these emissions are especially important. This paper estimates the CO 2 emissions derived from the fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes of 18 central cities in China between 2000 and 2014. The results indicate that these 18 cities, which contain an average of 6.57% of the population and 7.91% of the GDP, contribute 13% of China's total CO 2 emissions. The highest cumulative CO 2 emissions from 2000 to 2014 were from Taiyuan and Wuhan, with values of 2268.57 and 1847.59 million tons, accounting for 19.21% and 15.64% of the total among these cities, respectively. Therefore, the CO 2 emissions in the Taiyuan urban agglomeration and Wuhan urban agglomeration represented 28.53% and 20.14% of the total CO 2 emissions from the 18 cities, respectively. The three cities in the Zhongyuan urban agglomeration also accounted for a second highest proportion of emissions at 23.51%. With the proposal and implementation of the Rise of Central China Plan in 2004, the annual average growth rate of total CO 2 emissions gradually decreased and was lower in the periods from 2005 to 2010 (5.44%) and 2010 to 2014 (5.61%) compared with the rate prior to 2005 (12.23%). When the 47 socioeconomic sectors were classified into 12 categories, “power generation” contributed the most to the total cumulative CO 2 emissions at 36.51%, followed by the “non-metal and metal industry”, “petroleum and chemical industry”, and “mining” sectors, representing emissions proportions of 29.81%, 14.79%, and 9.62%, respectively. Coal remains the primary fuel in central China, accounting for an average of 80.59% of the total CO 2 emissions. Industrial processes also played a critical role in determining the CO 2 emissions, with an average value of 7.3%. The average CO 2 emissions per capita across the 18 cities increased from 6.14 metric tons in 2000 to 15.87 metric tons in 2014, corresponding to a 158.69% expansion. However, the average CO 2 emission intensity decreased from 0.8 metric tons/1000 Yuan in 2000 to 0.52 metric tons/1000 Yuan in 2014 with some fluctuations. The changes in and industry contributions of carbon emissions were city specific, and the effects of population and economic development on CO 2 emissions varied. Therefore, long-term climate change mitigation strategies should be adjusted for each city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socio-economic development and economic growth is connected with the intensive use of energy resources, which poses also risks to long-term viability of the biosphere by causing natural resource depletion and environmental degradation. One of the options to reduce Human and environmental risks from extensive energy generation are renewable energy sources. However, there are several barriers for transformation of energy sector towards a greater share of renewable energies. Human factors such as social support or opposition are crucial drivers for this transition. This paper examines the state of infrastructure projects in South Africa and assesses how lessons from these projects can contribute to improve development of energy transformation in the country. It analyses the challenges of applying participatory governance in the energy transition in South Africa, as a critical component of successful infrastructure project implementation, and of insights into fostering environmental leadership. The paper is based on the case studies analysis of ten large infrastructure projects in South Africa and focuses on public participation in these projects, its effects and challenges by applying the ladder of public participation methodology. Findings from the study support the scientific arguments that public participation in decision-making regarding deployment infrastructure projects creates an enabling environment for successful implementation. In conclusion public participation was only in the context of environmental impact assessment which is a mandatory requirement for infrastructure projects in South Africa. Currently public participation is manly regarded as a reactive measure to conflict resolution. It is organized to provide feedback on the results of environmental impact assessment, mainly as a way to address conflict, which has already emerged. Our results show that provision of information and consultation are the two most frequent levels of public participation. Land use issues and questions about benefits and impacts from infrastructure projects on local communities are the most frequent concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is the largest emitter of carbon emissions in the world. In this paper, we present an Integrated Model of Economy and Climate (IMEC), an optimization model based on the input-output model. The model is designed to assess the tradeoff between emission deceleration and economic growth. Given that China's projected average growth rate will exceed 5% over the next two decades, we find that China may reach its peak CO 2 emissions levels by 2026. According to this scenario, China's carbon emissions will peak at 11.20 Gt in 2026 and will then decline to 10.84 Gt in 2030. Accordingly, approximately 22 Gt of CO 2 will be removed from 2015 to 2035 relative to the scenario wherein China's CO 2 emissions peak in 2030. While this earlier peaking of carbon emissions will result in a decline in China's GDP, several sectors, such as Machinery and Education, will benefit. In order to reach peak CO 2 emissions by 2026, China needs to reduce its annual GDP growth rate to less than 4.5% by 2030 and decrease energy and carbon intensity levels by 43% and 45%, respectively, from 2015 to 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper analyses the compatibility of growth and sustainability in the European Union (EU) including a new EU member states from the former Soviet bloc (EU10). The extension of EU borders, financial and technological support stimulated rapid convergence and decreased the socio-economic differences between the old (EU15) and newly accepted EU member states. The transition from a command to a market economy resulted in the remarkable increase in resource efficiency and other positive aspects of sustainability. Along with 1.5 times increased GDP, final energy consumption decreased by 20%, greenhouse gases emissions by 25% and the emissions of acidifying compounds were halved during the period from the collapse of former Soviet bloc to the recent economic crisis. However, the per capita production and consumption in EU10 is still approximately half that of EU15, and further catch-up growth should be expected ensuring that economic and social cohesion is not achieved at the expense of increased environmental impact. Decelerated economic growth is a feature characteristic of mature economies and the GDP growth rate in EU15 states decreased almost 2.5 times during the last 50 year. Similar trends are characteristic of other developed countries, and market economies have adapted to this trend. Even with a decelerated growth rate, the ecological footprint in developed countries currently exceeds three and more times the allowable limits and almost two-thirds of the ecological footprint relates to traditional energy. De-fossilisation by a greater increase in energy efficiency, use of renewable energy, and more intense material recovery is the most promising option for reducing the ecological footprint of these countries. Deceleration of the economic growth rate supplemented by the aforementioned options is a hard but realistic track leading to the reduction of ecological footprint in developed countries to allowable limits without radical de-growth in consumption and production that can result in unpredictable and unacceptable consequences. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The belief that it is possible to have a perpetual “economic growth” based on fossil energy has been challenged since the 1970s. However, only in the last decade is this issue re-emerging once again because of the predicaments of climate change and peak oil. Many, finally start to perceive that an “economic degrowth” entailing a downscaling of the current size and pattern of socio-economic systems seem unavoidable. In this paper we analyze the implications, the feasibility and the desirability of possible trajectories of downscaling from an energetic perspective. The quantitative analysis is based on the methodological approach of societal metabolism, and it provides a dynamic accounting of the profile of energy flows required and consumed by societies in relation the expression of a given set of societal functions. This analysis makes it possible to check two types of constraints: external constraints (supply and sink side limits for the whole) and internal constraints (the feasibility of energy budget of the various parts of the society expressing the required functions). The analysis of the metabolic pattern of a sample of developed countries is used to discuss possible implications of: (i) demographic changes; (ii) the declining supply of net energy sources, and (iii) the effects of the Jevons'' Paradox. Within such an analysis, a few assumptions and recipes of the degrowth movement seem problematic: (i) population is and will remain as a relevant variable to be considered; (ii) the proposed reduction in working hours seem to be impractical unless a major catastrophe will reset current civilization to pre-industrial standards; and (iii) voluntary reduction of personal energy consumption, even if a welcome adjustment, alone will not solve the existing problems. In the final part of the paper, future energetic road maps are questioned within the realm of post-normal science. Can we “plan” degrowth? If we are serious about the need of doing “something completely different”, societies will have to learn how to deliberate under uncertainty within the realms of flexible management and stop planning for either growth or degrowth. Moreover, before suggesting policies, it would be wise first to try to understand the option space. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This article reviews the burgeoning emerging literature on sustainable degrowth. This is defined as an equitable downscaling of production and consumption that increases human well-being and enhances ecological conditions at the local and global level, in the short and long term. The paradigmatic propositions of degrowth are that economic growth is not sustainable and that human progress without economic growth is possible. Degrowth proponents come from diverse origins. Some are critics of market globalization, new technologies or the imposition of western models of development in the rest of the world. All criticize GDP accounting though they propose often different social and ecological indicators. Degrowth theorists and practitioners support an extension of human relations instead of market relations, demand a deepening of democracy, defend ecosystems, and propose a more equal distribution of wealth. We distinguish between depression, i.e. unplanned degrowth within a growth regime, and sustainable degrowth, a voluntary, smooth and equitable transition to a regime of lower production and consumption. The question we ask is how positive would degrowth be if instead of being imposed by an economic crisis, it would actually be a democratic collective decision, a project with the ambition of getting closer to ecological sustainability and socio-environmental justice worldwide. Most articles in this issue were originally presented at the April 2008 conference in Paris on Economic Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity. This conference brought the word degrowth and the concepts around it into an international academic setting. Articles of this special issue are summarized in this introductory article. Hueting, d''Alessandro and colleagues, van den Bergh, Kerschner, Spangenberg and Alcott discuss whether current growth patterns are (un)sustainable and offer different perspectives on what degrowth might mean, and whether and under what conditions it might be desirable. Matthey and Hamilton focus on social dynamics and the obstacles and opportunities for voluntary social action towards degrowth. Lietaert and Cattaneo with Gavaldà offer a down-to-earth empirical discussion of two practical living experiments: cohousing and squats, highlighting the obstacles for scaling up such alternatives. Finally van Griethuysen explains why growth is an imperative in modern market economies, raising also the question whether degrowth is possible without radical institutional changes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]