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Insulating paper is the key material utilized in ultra-high voltage (UHV) projects, and it affects the safe and stable operation of the whole power system. Cellulose fiber-based insulating paper, having the advantages of low price and environmental friendliness, has been widely used as the preferred insulating material for certain transformers. Bamboo, as a fast-growing raw material, has a favorable fiber length and its carbon sequestration is better than that of wood. Bamboo can be potentially used as a new raw material for insulating paper, thus promoting the green development of the power and paper industry. This article mainly discusses the challenges and potentials of bamboo fiber-based insulating paper and the opportunities of bamboo fiber-based paper materials.

People often think of paper as an environmentally harmful product because trees are cut down to make it. A new generation that has grown up in today’s digital society may think that the use of digital devices is a waste-free way to protect our environment. Although the pulp and paper industry is making various efforts to preserve the environment, it has not been properly recognized. Developing new technologies to produce better products at lower cost while protecting our environment is important. But it is also important to enhance the image of the pulp and paper industry in the eyes of the public. The pulp and paper industry’s efforts to reforestation for raw materials and to expand the recycling of waste paper should be more widely introduced.

Waste paper disposed in landfills notably contributes to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and impedes more sustainable, circular alternatives, such as recycling. In Hong Kong, this unsustainable approach is currently dominant as 68% of waste paper products are treated in landfills in 2020. To contextualize the impact of local waste paper management and explore mitigation potentials of circular alternatives, this paper develops a quantitative assessment framework around GHG emissions development trajectories. Combining guidelines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), national GHG inventories, and local parameters from life cycle analysis, five GHG emissions projections were simulated along the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) until 2060. Most recent baselines indicate that Hong Kong's current waste paper treatment generated 638,360 tons CO 2 -eq in 2020, comprising 1,821,040 tons CO 2 -eq from landfill and 671,320 tons CO 2 -eq from recycling, and −1,854,000 tons CO 2 -eq from primary material replacement. Proceeding along a Business-as-Usual scenario under SSP5, GHG emissions will dramatically increase to a net 1,072,270 tons CO 2 -eq by 2060, whereas a recycling-intensive scenario will lead to a net saving of −4,323,190 tons CO 2 -eq. To complement the quantitative evidence on the benefits of waste paper recycling, field research was conducted to explore the feasibility of circular policy innovation from the perspective of recycling stakeholders. These empirical qualitative and quantitative findings from stakeholders' business routines and material transactions provide crucial indications for policy and institutional innovation: Essentially, for Hong Kong to improve waste paper recycling capacities and facilitate a circular economy (CE), local stakeholders require support via fiscal policy measures (financial subsidies or tax reductions) and infrastructure improvements (delivery access and material storage). In sum, this study employs a novel analytical framework combining original qualitative and quantitative evidence to provide policy innovation towards circular, GHG emission-saving waste paper management. [Display omitted] • A new framework assessing greenhouse gas emissions from waste paper treatment. • Exploring long-term carbon neutrality pathways for managing waste paper. • Using empirical evidence from recycling stakeholders for circular policy innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue of the International Journal of Production Research, focuses on the 'Carbon Neutrality' and 'SCM'. Nine articles have been selected for this special issue, and they cover various aspects to understand the manifestation of 'Carbon Neutrality' in supply chains, and to further illuminate how to achieve 'Carbon Neutrality' with supply chain innovation. This editorial provides a brief overview of the research domain, then introduces each article in the context of the state-of-the-art and highlights the contributions of selected papers to the field. Finally, the research perspectives are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper products are carbon-intensive and having a huge potential for carbon reduction due to their biomass-oriented characteristics. A uniform standard for total carbon footprint (CF) accounting is vital. However, the existing standards have not yet been unified. Inconsistencies between standards cause difficulties in their use and significantly weaken the credibility and comparability of the carbon footprint of a product (CFP). This work rethought the three most widely used standards (Publicly Available Specification 2050 (PAS2050), Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard (GHG Protocol), and Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard (ISO14067)) from the life-cycle perspective, and established a more appropriate and comprehensive CF accounting standard for paper products (CFASPP). Sanitary pads were selected as a case study to illustrate the discrepancies between PAS 2050, the GHG Protocol, ISO 14067, and CFASPP, for which the annual production CF results were 1424.60, 1481.08, 1453.57, and 1427.04 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO 2 e) respectively. The main reasons for the different CF results were the cut-off criteria and the inclusion or exclusion of carbon storage, delayed emissions, and energy recovery. Each element increased or decreased 22.57 (carbon storage), 29.96 (cut-off criteria), 10.4 (delayed emissions), and 27.52 (incineration with energy recovery) tons of CO 2 e in the results. With increasing demand, these discrepancies will become increasingly significant and may lead to corporations shouldering more or less carbon emission responsibilities by selecting different standards, which will challenge the fairness of product carbon neutrality management. CFASPP covers all paper product life-cycle stages and places greater emphasis on the aspects of carbon storage, delayed emissions, and energy recovery in incineration, which cannot be ignored for the CF accounting of paper products and other biomass-oriented products. This study aims to provide a more applicable and comprehensive guide for corporations to evaluate the CF of paper products, and to provide a reference for the construction of a carbon-neutral evaluation system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global energy security is a growing worldwide concern in the presence of high economic policy uncertainty (EPU) that can be addressed by advancing sustainable energy diversification (ED) practices. Energy security can be estimated by combining ED and EPU indices; hence, this study uses a dataset covering three continents and 26 countries from 1995 to 2023 to measure energy security employing this approach. The study employs quantile regression and panel data analysis, finding a positive relationship between EPU and ED. The results reveal that when EPU increases, the spectrum of energy sources declines, negatively impacting energy security. Other factors of globalization, Gross Domestic Product, gross capital formation, and the labor force also have an impact on the spectrum of energy sources. To obtain a sustainable level of ED, policymakers should increase investment in gross capital formation because economic growth and openness via pro-global policies have less impact on ED. This study also demonstrates that labor capital shifts have a significant effect on ED. The quantitative results reveal the importance of clear and precise economic policies for increasing investment in carbon-free energy security. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU has set the ambitious target of raising the share of EU energy consumption produced from renewable resources to 32% by 2030, with a target of climate neutrality by 2050. The aim of this paper is to assess the role of biomass usage in the context of these targets. The paper identifies the progress made between 2013 and 2022 by focusing on a selection of EU countries. The largest bioenergy increments of 130, 77, and 60 PJ were reported for Poland, Sweden, and the Netherlands. This study evaluates the crucial role of co-generation and heat in EU regions, with biomass usage between 55 and 80% of the combined heat and power (CHP) energy in Nordic countries. The future perspectives for bioenergy based on EU policies, biomass resources, and technical issues were addressed. The EU possesses around 9% of the global biomass supply, ensuring a certain level of biomass resource dependence. Thus, the biomass usage demand in energy production, non-energy sectors, and transport is expected to rise, leading to increments of 13–76% on biomass imports. It appears that bioenergy development is mostly limited by economic issues and uneven support for bioenergy in different EU countries as well as environmental issues. The study shows a promising and sustainable potential of bioenergy in the EU as a renewable energy source while minimizing negative impacts on the environment and the economy. By 2050, liquid biofuels are likely to be increasingly used in the transport sector. Non-energy sector usage of biomass is still in an early stage of development, except for the pulp and paper industry, and significant use of biomass in non-energy sectors seems unlikely in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tries to explain the economic significance of “pursuing green development and promoting harmony between humanity and nature” in the Report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) from the following eight aspects. First, it explains how to respect, adapt to, and protect nature through the confirmation of ownership, valuation classification and incentive. Second, it analyzes why China should work actively toward the goals of peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality from the new security concept, new challenges, new situations, and new tasks brought by the urgency and severity of climate change risks. Third, it expounds on the difficulty and complexity of addressing climate change from multiple aspects, such as the ratchet effect, Giddens’s paradox, prisoner’s dilemma, lock-in effect, asset stranding, intergenerational equity, and the Wandering Earth scenario. Fourth, it recognizes the importance of stability, overall planning, and coordination based on the overall planned and coordinated triangle of high-quality development, carbon neutrality, and energy security. Fifth, it emphasizes the importance of green and low-carbon technological innovation by means of the IPAS equation. Sixth, it explains the essence of carbon neutrality as the industrial transition based on the energy transition, which is an economic logic. Seventh, taking the carbon market as an example, it explains the economic principle that the market mechanism plays an important role. Eighth, it explains how finance empowers the goals of peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality as well as high-quality development. Finally, this paper is of guiding significance for economics, finance, international trade, and policy research, and in the meantime, provides new research tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As China puts forward its "carbon emissions peak and carbon neutrality" goals, how to achieve carbon reductions has become a key for China's goal. The manufacturing industry is a significant source of carbon dioxide emissions. For a manufacturing country such as China, adjustments in various aspects of the industry would have a huge impact on its carbon emissions. As an important reform of the contemporary production mode, the process of production automation in China will inevitably affect China's carbon emissions; therefore, the analysis of the impact of that production automation on the carbon dioxide emissions is an important basis for judging the future carbon reductions in China. Referring to the traditional study of the carbon Kuznets curve, this paper analyzes the impact of an average wage on production automation and the role of production automation in the carbon Kuznets curve (CKC). This paper proposes that production automation plays a mediating role in the process of carbon emissions, and gives a verification model of that mediating role. By analyzing the relationship between average wages and the production automation process, the U-shaped curve relationship between them was verified. By examining the relationship between carbon dioxide emissions data and the production automation industry in China, we verified that production automation plays a partial mediating role in the change of the carbon Kuznets curve. Combined with the analysis of the two parts, this paper believes that with the continuous development of China's intelligent manufacturing industry, China's carbon reduction prospects are more optimistic, and that there is a good industrial foundation to achieve the "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality" goals. Finally, this paper proposes policy suggestions so as to increase research investment in production automation, to help promote the application of production automation, encourage the research and application development of low-carbon technology, especially encouraging modular design, and to give full play to the role of production automation in the process of carbon neutrality in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urgent challenge of reducing industrial greenhouse gas emissions has created a growing demand for a more comprehensive understanding of how various technology options can contribute to achieving carbon neutrality. Energy efficiency has long been regarded as a key pathway in this context, but the volume and diversity of efficiency options has resulted in an unclear understanding of their combined impacts. In this study, we present a novel technology-explicit method to estimate the overall abatement potential associated with a comprehensive suite of 115 energy efficiency technologies spanning all relevant sector processes and energy types. By applying our flexible analysis framework to a case study of the Canadian pulp and paper sector, we demonstrate that energy efficiency could be the single largest contributor to achieving a carbon-neutral target for the sector. We find that efficiency can reduce emissions by 4.92 MtCO 2 e/yr (66%) relative to business-as-usual by 2050 at a weighted average abatement cost of -$162/tCO 2 e when accounting for capital, operating, maintenance, and energy costs. Abatement at the energy system-wide level is even larger, reaching 6.67 MtCO 2 e in 2050 when accounting for upstream effects. Adoption of the full suite of efficiency measures could materially improve the competitiveness of the sector by reducing energy and carbon costs. On the whole, our results suggest that proven energy efficiency technologies could be the primary element of a credible low-cost pathway towards achieving a target of carbon neutrality for the pulp and paper sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has always tried to maintain multilateralism and advocated working together to deal with global climate change through multilateral mechanisms. Although China’s announcement to peak its carbon emissions by 2030 comes as no surprise, its commitment to carbon neutrality does. As the period between its carbon peaking and carbon neutrality is far shorter than that in the developed countries, China’s economic and energy structures need to be adjusted toward the low-carbon and carbon-free end with unprecedented efforts. To that end, China should define the responsibilities of local authorities and industrial entities to promote the orderly accomplishment of carbon peaking in all regions and industries. To supply the huge investments needed to achieve the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, China has an urgent need to accelerate the development of green finance and a national carbon emissions trading market, guide the rational allocation of resources, and channel resources to eco-friendly projects for green and low-carbon development. At the same time, China and the international community should strengthen dialogue and coordination, promote international cooperation on the way to carbon neutrality, formulate widely acceptable policy guidelines as soon as possible, and avoid unilateral measures that may cause conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the optimal vehicle fleet planning and collaboration problem for a fuel vehicle (FV) transport service provider, a commercial electric vehicle (CEV) transport service provider, and a carbon emission treatment agency under carbon neutrality. The FV transport service provider pays a fixed fee or a portion of its sales revenue to a carbon emission treatment agency in exchange for technology to reduce its carbon emissions, and it can adopt three strategies (i.e., no emission reduction, purchasing technology for emission reduction, and entrusting a carbon emission treatment agency). We derive each party's optimal fleet size, price, and profit in the three scenarios. Our results suggest that carbon emission reduction strategies may improve the market performance of the FV transport service provider. Then, we find no certain strategy is always preferable to another: the optimal cooperation strategy between the transport service provider and carbon emission treatment agency depends on the fixed technology fee, ratio of revenue sharing, government penalty, the transport service market potential, and consumer green preference, as well as the cost per CEV. This paper gives the transport service provider and carbon emission treatment agency a full picture of whether, when, and how to collaborate in green commerce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of carbon neutrality does have economic costs; however, few studies have measured the cost and the economic neutral opportunities. This paper uses a dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to simulate China's carbon neutrality path from 2020 to 2060 and analyzes its economic impact. This paper innovatively adjusts the CGE modeling technology and simulates the boundary of the Porter hypothesis on the premise of economic neutrality. The results show that the carbon neutrality target may reduce the annual GDP growth rate by about 0.8% in 2020–2060. To make the carbon pricing method under the carbon neutrality framework meet the strong version of the Porter hypothesis (or economic neutrality), China must increase its annual total factor productivity by 0.56–0.57% in 2020–2060; this is hard to achieve. In addition, the study finds that China's 2030 carbon target has little impact on the economy, but the achievement of the 2060 carbon neutrality target will have a significant effect. Therefore, the paper believes that the key to carbon neutrality lies in the coexistence of technological innovation and carbon pricing to ensure that we can cope with global warming with the lowest cost and resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the structure of energy consumption (ECS) through green finance and the digital economy is one of the main paths to achieving the goal of carbon neutrality. This paper explores the impact of green finance and the digital economy on the ECS of 30 regions in China from 2007 to 2022 using the Generalized method of moments(GMM) model, further analyzes its heterogeneity, and then provides a reference for the scientific development of relevant decisions. The conclusions are as follows: (1) The change in the ECS is closely related to the degree of optimization of the ECS in the previous year, and this is a process of dynamic adjustment. The level of digital economy development can improve the ECS of the country as a whole and in the eastern and central regions, while the western regions have not yet played a significant role due to the underdevelopment of the digital economy. Green finance can inhibit fossil fuel energy consumption in all regions, and it promotes cleaner, more efficient, and low-carbon energy consumption, thereby improving the ECS. However, the impact effect is the largest in the east and smaller in the west. (2) The urbanization levels of the country as a whole and that of the central and western regions show a positive correlation with the results of energy consumption. However, in the eastern region, it shows an inhibitory effect on fossil fuel energy consumption, which can optimize the ECS. The industrial structures in all regions have positive impact coefficients; the development of industry is not conducive to the optimization of the ECS. Trade openness can improve the ECS only in the eastern region; technological progress in all regions can significantly improve the ECS. Based on the background of carbon neutrality, this paper reveals that green finance and the digital economy promote cleaner, more efficient, and lower carbon energy consumption and reduce the level of energy consumption. This paper also provides a reference for the scientific formulation of relevant decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change, driven by increasing carbon emissions, has posed a significant challenge to both human survival and development, becoming a major issue for the sustainable progress of human society. This paper examines the characteristics and differences in the spatio-temporal distribution of carbon emissions and sinks across Wuhan Region that is stratified into three spatial levels: Hubei Province, the Wuhan Metropolitan Area, and Wuhan City. On a finer spatial scale within Wuhan, it uncovers the spatial correlations and disparities between carbon emissions and sinks. Accordingly, the paper proposes strategies and suggestions for reducing carbon emissions and enhancing carbon sinks at the provincial, metropolitan, and municipal levels. These findings are valuable for sustainable regional development and construction of low-carbon eco-cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study estimates the environmental impacts of Bitcoin mining. Employing a top-down measurement approach, this paper assesses the carbon footprint of Bitcoin mining in China from 2017 to 2021. The findings reveal that mining activities during this period contributed to a total of 77.84 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions in China. By utilizing data at the provincial level, we find that the seasonal migration of Bitcoin mining pools will lead to regional power demand shocks in China. Additionally, this study predicts future carbon emissions from Bitcoin mining in China, projecting cumulative carbon dioxide emissions of 76.40 million tons and 722.18 million tons by 2030 and 2060 respectively, in the absence of any policy interventions. Based on these findings, this paper posits that governments worldwide should make efforts to restrict the carbon emissions from Bitcoin mining and opt for environmentally friendly technological methods to fundamentally alleviate Bitcoin's reliance on energy. The implication for central banks is that carbon emission should be taken into consideration when designing the central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid-state hydrogen storage technology has emerged as a disruptive solution to the "last mile" challenge in large-scale hydrogen energy applications, garnering significant global research attention. This paper systematically reviews the Chinese research progress in solid-state hydrogen storage material systems, thermodynamic mechanisms, and system integration. It also quantitatively assesses the market potential of solid-state hydrogen storage across four major application scenarios: on-board hydrogen storage, hydrogen refueling stations, backup power supplies, and power grid peak shaving. Furthermore, it analyzes the bottlenecks and challenges in industrialization related to key materials, testing standards, and innovation platforms. While acknowledging that the cost and performance of solid-state hydrogen storage are not yet fully competitive, the paper highlights its unique advantages of high safety, energy density, and potentially lower costs, showing promise in new energy vehicles and distributed energy fields. Breakthroughs in new hydrogen storage materials like magnesium-based and vanadium-based materials, coupled with improved standards, specifications, and innovation mechanisms, are expected to propel solid-state hydrogen storage into a mainstream technology within 10–15 years, with a market scale exceeding USD 14.3 billion. To accelerate the leapfrog development of China's solid-state hydrogen storage industry, increased investment in basic research, focused efforts on key core technologies, and streamlining the industry chain from materials to systems are recommended. This includes addressing challenges in passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and hydrogen refueling stations, and building a collaborative innovation ecosystem involving government, industry, academia, research, finance, and intermediary entities to support the achievement of carbon peak and neutrality goals and foster a clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient modern energy system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a new abstract computational model in evolutionary transfer optimization (ETO), single-objective to multi-objective optimization (SMO) is conducted at the macroscopic level rather than the intermediate level for specific algorithms or the microscopic level for specific operators; this method aims to develop systems with a profound grasp of evolutionary dynamic and learning mechanism similar to human intelligence via a "decomposition" style (in the abstract of the well-known "Transformer" article "Attention is All You Need", they use "attention" instead). To the best of our knowledge, it is the first work of SMO for discrete cases because we extend our conference paper and inherit its originality status. In this paper, by implementing the abstract SMO in specialized memetic algorithms, key knowledge from single-objective problems/tasks to the multi-objective core problem/task can be transferred or "gathered" for permutation flow shop scheduling problems, which will reduce the notorious complexity in combinatorial spaces for multi-objective settings in a straight method; this is because single-objective tasks are easier to complete than their multi-objective versions. Extensive experimental studies and theoretical results on benchmarks (1) emphasize our decomposition root in mathematical programming, such as Lagrangian relaxation and column generation; (2) provide two "where to go" strategies for both SMO and ETO; and (3) contribute to the mission of building safe and beneficial artificial general intelligence for manufacturing via evolutionary computation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Giving full play to carbon emission reduction of green credits is essential to achieve carbon neutrality. According to low-carbon pilot policies and the condition of industrial transfer, this paper first sorts those provinces into different research zones. The zones are as follows: (Ⅰ) the first and second batch of low-carbon municipalities and the first batch of pilot provinces (L1) and other provinces (L2) and (Ⅱ) strong industry transfer-out zone (STR), weak industry transfer-out zone (WTR), and industrial transfer-in area (TIR). Then, we employ a dynamic panel data model and systematic GMM (SYS-GMM) approach to empirically test the impact of green credit and nongreen credit on carbon emissions. Further, this paper analyzes how to coordinate two types of credits to achieve carbon neutrality. The results show that, first, at the national level, the nexus of green credit and carbon emissions with an inverted U-shaped curve and the current impact of green credit is still in the first half of the inverted U-shaped stage. The achievement of carbon neutrality is associated with the ratio structure of green credit to nongreen credit and the scale of green credit. Second, the achievement of carbon neutrality is with regional heterogeneity. The achievement of carbon neutrality is associated with the scale of green credit in L2 and TIR, but also with the ratio structure of nongreen credit to green credit in L2 and STR. However, the carbon neutralization effects with green credit are insignificant in L1 WTR. Finally, based on those conclusions, this paper puts forwards some suggestions to provide references for the policy formulation of green credits and carbon neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving tourism carbon neutrality is essential for sustainable tourism development. This paper uses the coupled coordination distance model, modified gravity model and social network analysis to attempt to construct a nationwide tourism carbon neutral spatial network to clarify the role of each province in the process of achieving China's tourism carbon neutrality. The results show that: (1) only seven provinces will achieve tourism carbon neutrality in the target year of carbon neutrality in China (2060). (2) From 2001 to 2060, most provinces are at the stage of coordinated development of tourism carbon emissions and tourism carbon sinks, but the degree of coordinated development is low. (3) The structure of China's tourism carbon-neutral spatial network tends to be looser from 2001 to 2060. As the time series progresses, the role of each province in the spatial network will be gradually clarified. (4) In the process of achieving the goal of China's tourism carbon neutrality, the number of tourism carbon sink input areas is much larger than that of tourism carbon sink output areas. Accordingly, this paper proposes countermeasures from three aspects: government-led, market system and voluntary mechanisms, in order to promote the achievement of China's tourism carbon neutrality goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the acceleration of urbanization and industrialization, carbon neutrality and peak carbon dioxide emissions have become common sustainability goals worldwide. However, there are few literature statistics and econometric analyses targeting carbon neutrality and peak carbon dioxide emissions, especially the publication trends, geographic distribution, citation literature, and research hotspots. To conduct an in-depth analysis of existing research fields and future perspectives in this research area, 1615 publications from the Web of Science Core Collection, between 2010 and 2020, were evaluated by using three analysis tools, under the framework of the bibliometrics method. These publications are distributed between the start-up (2010–2015) and the stable development (2016–2020) phases. Cluster analysis suggests three areas of ongoing research: energy-related carbon emissions, methane emissions, and energy biomass. Overall, future trends in this field include cumulative carbon emissions, the residential building sector, methane emission measurement, nitrogen fertilization, land degradation neutrality, and sciamachy satellite methane measurement. Finally, this paper further examines the most comprehensive coverage of nitrogen fertilization and the most recent research of the residential building sector. In view of the statistical clusters from 1615 publications, this paper provides new insights and perspectives for climate-environment-related researchers and policymakers. Specifically, countries could apply nitrogen fertilizer to crops according to the conditions of different regions. Additionally, experiences from developed countries could be learned from, including optimizing the energy supply structure of buildings and increasing the use of clean energy to reduce CO2 emissions from buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Externalities influencing countries, such as wars tend to disrupt the regular economic and social processes. This paper analysis how a military conflict impacts the efforts of world acters in climate change and carbon neutrality. It focuses on armed conflict between Russian Federation and Ukraine, research the most recent available data and compare the emissions in given periods in order to provide and estimated impact of such events on climate efforts of countries directly and indirectly involved in conflict. Assumption, that crises directly lead to neglecting the climate goals and therefore an increase in GHG emissions is tested. Paper also analyzes the overall impact of war on GHG emissions, providing a overview of its severity. The results indicate that emissions on territory of countries directly involved in conflict tend to increase significantly, while change in emissions of external actors are insignificant. Results that would confirm or disprove the assumption of increased GHG emissions during crises are inconclusive and indicate a high subjectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals were proposed, different institutions and scholars carried out research on China's medium- and long-term mitigation pathways. Through the literature review of China's research on carbon neutrality, this paper finds that the zero-carbon energy transition is the key to achieving carbon neutrality. The main driving factors of reducing energy-related carbon emissions include the cleanliness of primary and secondary energy supply systems, the electrification of energy consumption and the development of hydrogen energy, energy efficiency improvement, carbon capture and storage (CCS), and negative emissions. Furthermore, based on the literature, this paper conducts a quantitative comparative analysis, and selects key indicators for comparative analysis and summary from seven dimensions, including economic and social development, carbon emission pathways, primary energy consumption, final energy consumption, final hydrogen energy consumption, electricity demand and supply, and installed capacity and structure of power generation. Main conclusions are as follows: (i) In terms of carbon emission pathways, the institutions generally believed that China will peak carbon emissions around 2028 and achieve carbon neutrality between 2050 and 2060. Achieving net-zero or near-zero emissions first in the power sector is the key to carbon neutrality across the society; (ii) In terms of energy supply, it is a consensus to increase the proportion of clean energy and reduce carbon emissions from the source. The proportion of clean energy in primary energy will increase to more than 85%, and the proportion of clean energy power generation and installed capacity will reach more than 90%; (iii) In terms of energy use, electricity will become the core of final energy consumption in the future. The predicted electricity consumption across the society will range 14.3–18.4 PWh, and the predicted electrification rate will exceed 65%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past few decades, human activities have caused the emission of large amounts of carbon dioxide, which has severely impacted the Earth's ecosystem and human health. Therefore, carbon reduction has become the focus of global attention. In this study, the Zhouyuan region of China, which is rich in ancient remains, is taken as an example. Based on the land use characteristics in 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020, the spatial-temporal evolution of land use and carbon storage in the Zhouyuan region is simulated using four methods, including land use classification, land use transfer maps, patch-level land-use simulation (PLUS), and the integrated valuation of ecosystem services and trade-offs (InVEST) models under three scenarios, including the natural development scenario, urban development priority, and heritage conservation priority in 2030. According to the results, the carbon storage in the area in 2030 under all three scenario simulations has decreased compared with 2020, indicating that the region faces great challenges in achieving its targets of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. The paper points out four causes for the decrease in carbon storage, and five suggestions for increasing carbon storage are proposed, such as developing a carbon storage master plan, applying energy-saving technologies, establishing an ecological substitution mechanism, and so on. Through the study of carbon storage in the Zhouyuan region, this paper hopes to establish a mechanism to balance urban development, heritage conservation, and carbon sinks on the one hand, and encourage more scholars to participate in the study of carbon sinks in areas rich in ancient remains, so as to to jointly promote their healthy development on the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon neutrality is urgent as rapidly emerging economies aggravate their share of global energy demand. In China, the energy structure is dominated by fossil fuels, but it varies significantly across provinces. As an indicator of carbon neutrality, previous studies of decoupling between carbon dioxide emissions and economic growth focused at the national and sector levels in China. However, they overlook the role of industrial structure in decoupling at the provincial level. In this light, the following paper focuses on Qinghai Province, analyzing decoupling and its influencing factors for achieving carbon neutrality from an industrial structure perspective over 1990–2021. It uses the Tapio decoupling model to evaluate decoupling states and the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index decomposition to evaluate the influencing factors. A Data Envelopment Analysis model of super-efficiency Slacks-Based Measure is used to evaluate the decarbonization efficiency. The study finds that the overall trend shifted from weak to strong decoupling. Strong decoupling dominated the primary industry while weak decoupling dominated the secondary and tertiary industries. Economic growth negatively impacted overall decoupling, while population had a marginal effect. Energy structure and intensity generally promoted decoupling. Additionally, the overall mean efficiency of decarbonization was 0.95, led by the tertiary industry. The paper concludes by discussing policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon neutrality is the only way for green low-carbon development. Technological progress is an important starting point for improving energy efficiency. Through scientific and technological innovation, improving energy efficiency is a practical way to achieve the goal of carbon neutralization. Due to the limitation of data and index selection, there is no qualitative analysis of carbon neutrality in this paper. Compared with previous studies, the paper has the following contributions: Firstly, the energy efficiency score of China's provincial level is measured with the DEA method and it is found that the average energy efficiency score of the eastern region is the highest, followed by the western region, and finally the central region. The results also show that the energy efficiency is not in accordance with the economic growth. The regions with higher energy efficiency scores are not always economically developed because of huge energy consumption supporting the economic development. Secondly, the Tobit method is used to study the impact of the reverse technology spillover effect of OFDI on China's energy efficiency. The results show that the spillover effect has a significant positive effect on the improvement of China's energy efficiency, and has a positive impact on the eastern and western regions, but has no significant impact on the western region. Finally, we put forward some policy recommendations to increase energy efficiency to approach carbon neutrality and thus promote green economic development. This paper enriches the content of energy economy, the research method is innovative, and the conclusion is more scientific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land is being degraded rapidly worldwide. United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in 2015 has invited countries to formulate voluntary targets to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN). Under the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty adopted in 2015, the world is transitioning toward Carbon Neutrality (CN) with more mitigation actions. This paper intended to review the concepts of land degradation, LDN along with CN emphasizing the degradation types, approaches, models available to analyze, synergies, economic aspects and challenges. The review explores approaches and models available for achieving LDN and CN which are both synergistic, economically efficient and could overcome the common challenges. Land degradation has to focus beyond the traditional definitions to incorporate more persistent and the difficult to restore degradation causes. Such complex land degradation requires specialized LDN approaches. The level of degradation and restoration progress could be analyzed using a variety of modeling approaches including economic models. Approaches for LDN and CN can bring significant synergies for each other. The approach proposed by the present study will provide a logical flow for decision-making while minimizing time and effort and avoiding a piecemeal approach. The approach therefore maximizes the output in relation to the inputs thus enhancing sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CO2 capture from coal power plants is an important and necessary solution to realizing carbon neutrality in China, but CCS demonstration deployment in power sector is far behind expectations. Hence, the reduction potential of energy consumption and cost for CCS and its competitiveness to renewable powers are very important to make roadmaps and policies toward carbon neutrality. Unlike the popular recognition that capturing CO2 from flue gases is technically and commercially mature, this paper notes that it has been proved to be technically feasible but far beyond technology maturity and high energy penalty leads to its immaturity and therefore causes high cost. Additionally, the potential energy penalty reduction of capture is investigated thermodynamically, and future CO2 avoidance cost is predicted and compared to renewable power (solar PV and onshore wind power). Results show that energy penalty for CO2 capture can be reduced by 48%-57%. When installation capacity reaches a similar scale to that of solar PV in China (250 GW), CO2 capture cost in coal power plants can be reduced from the current 28-40 US$/ton to 10-20 US$/ton, and efficiency upgrade contributes to 67%-75% in cost reduction for high coal price conditions. In China, CO2 capture in coal power plants can be cost competitive with solar PV and onshore wind power. But it is worth noting that the importance and share of CCS role in CO2 emission reduction is decreasing since renewable power is already well deployed and there is still a lack of large-scale CO2 capture demonstrations in China. Innovative capture technologies with low energy penalties need to be developed to promote CCS. Results in this work can provide informative references for making roadmaps and policies regarding CO2 emission reductions that contribute towards carbon neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conversion of coal-fired power plants to nuclear power stations is a potential method for decarbonizing coal power and offers a pathway for low-carbon development in China's power industry. This paper focuses on retrofitting China's coastal coal-fired power stations and compares the potential nuclear reactor technologies for the retrofit: China's mainstream pressurized water reactor and the commercially operated fourth-generation high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR). The analysis compares the degree of matching between the two technologies and coal-fired power stations in terms of unit capacity, thermal system parameters, unit speed, structural dimensions, and weight, which significantly impact the retrofit scheme. The results indicate that HTGR is more compatible with coal-fired power plants and is recommended as the type of nuclear reactor technology to be retrofitted. The study selected the 210 MWe High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor Pebble-Bed Module (HTR-PM) as the reactor technology for retrofitting a typical 300 MW class subcritical coal-fired unit. Based on the concept of subcritical parameters upgrading, the potential analysis and strategy study of retrofit is carried out in terms of the turbine, the main heat exchange equipment, the main pumps, and the main thermal system pipelines in the conventional island. The results indicate that the conventional island of the HTR-PM nuclear power plant has significant potential for retrofitting, which can be a crucial research direction for nuclear retrofitting of coal-fired power plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-carbon tourism is an important way for the tourism industry to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. In order to promote the development of Guilin as a world-class tourism city and ensure the sustainable development of the tourism industry in Guilin, this paper combines the concept of carbon footprint and the theory of life cycle to build a tourists' carbon footprint life cycle analysis model of Guilin. Taking tourists in Guilin as an example, the composition and changes of tourists' carbon footprint are dynamically analyzed. The research shows that: (1) The overall tourism carbon footprint of Guilin showed an upward trend during 2011–2019. From 2020 to 2022, due to the impact of COVID-19, Guilin's tourism carbon footprint has decreased significantly. The per capita carbon footprint of tourism in Guilin showed a downward trend from 2011 to 2022; (2) The order of the size of Guilin's tourism carbon footprint is tourism transportation > tourism catering > tourism accommodation > tourism activities; (3) From 2011 to 2022, the carbon footprint of tourism transportation in Guilin showed an obvious narrowing state, while the carbon footprint of tourism accommodation, tourism activities, and tourism catering showed an obvious expanding trend. Based on the characteristics of the carbon footprint of Guilin's tourism and the current situation of the development of Guilin's tourism, this paper puts forward suggestions on reducing carbon emissions, forms a new tool for evaluating and constructing low-carbon tourism, and provides a scientific basis and practical reference significance for the sustainable development of low-carbon tourism in Guilin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, excessive emissions of carbon dioxide have further intensified global warming, which poses a great threat to human society. The best way to reverse this situation is to take action to equalize the "carbon emissions" with the "carbon absorption," i.e., carbon neutrality (CN). To better understand the evolution and display a broad panorama of CN research, this paper provides a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of publications in the field of CN from 2006 to 2021. We use the Web of Science Core Collection as the data source, and a total of 633 publications have been retrieved. In the paper, we measure the productivity and influence of publications through recognized bibliometric metrics, and visually analyze publications using VOS Viewer and CiteSpace. The analysis results show that China is the most productive country/region. The study illustrates that in order to reach the goal of CN, it is necessary to reduce carbon emissions such as full using renewable energy. Simultaneously, it is also essential to enhance the "negative emissions" of carbon such as taking advantage of carbon sink and carbon capture, utilization, and storage. This paper provides some references for scholars who are interested or research in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In rural regions of Japan, specifically in Shizuoka, the majority of elementary school classrooms lack ventilation systems, and the operation is manually conducted by teachers and students. Instead of relying on the implementation of high-performance hardware solutions, the aim is to strive for a harmonious coexistence of COVID-19 mitigation and Zero Energy Building (ZEB) realization through appropriate information dissemination and proactive environmental behavior. This paper investigates the environmental behavior of educators and its indicators, and assuming homeroom teachers in X City implement classroom ventilation based on threshold value notifications, it is demonstrated that a reduction of up to 20% in the current air conditioning heat load can be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The establishment of the green belt and road is an inevitable choice to conform to and lead the green and low-carbon cycle development and an inherent requirement for sustainable development. Therefore, we establish an evaluation system of green development oriented to carbon neutrality, and calculate the green development level (GDL) of the provinces along the belt and road in China from 2003 to 2018 by using a three-dimensional evaluation model. In addition, this paper employs the Obstacle Degree Model to identify the main obstacle factors that affect GDL, and provides targeted and differentiated countermeasures and suggestions for improving the regional GDL. Our results suggested that the overall GDL has improved, but not obvious, with a low level. The GDL and coordination degree between different regions exist certain differences, and its spatial pattern is characterized by "high in southeast and northeast, low in southwest and northwest". From a regional perspective, innovation capacity is the key factor that affects the green development of the region in southeast, northeast, northwest and southwest China. Driving economic green transformation and promoting industrial energy conservation and emission reduction through technological innovation are the internal driving forces to achieve regional green sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the world grapples with the effects of climate change, there is an urgent need for sustainable solutions to help reduce carbon emissions. Historic urban centres can indicate one possible way forward, and this is because of the way traditional buildings (in this paper centring on the Mediterranean) are built. Their materials and technologies are usually well chosen and adapted to hot climates, while the layout of historic centres, often with quite narrow, winding streets, provide shading and frequently also appropriate direction of cooling winds, especially in marine locations. These often result in these urban cores being cooler than more modern city centres. Traditional roofs, in particular, have over the centuries proved to be reliable and sustainable (when given appropriate maintenance), with layers of porous materials providing inbuilt breathable (evaporative) properties. These lead to a degree of passive cooling and ultimately to less energy consumption (less use of air conditioning for example), thus creating a smaller carbon footprint for each building, and hence also for the urban centre when a number of these buildings are present. This paper is based on a three-year pilot study, where an innovative methodology using a combination of remote data (obtained from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and satellite) with in situ measurements, allows for the remote identification of traditional and modified roofs, as well helping understand the thermal behaviour of such roofs, with this study concentrating on historic centres in the Island of Malta, in the Mediterranean. Ultimately aimed at promoting preservation of these traditional roofs, this study provides data to help address, at least in part, current climatic concerns, whilst also potentially providing some adaptation strategies to address climate change (in particular increased ambient temperatures). Our studies on the behaviour of traditional deffun mortar roofs have shown that they are effective in protecting the internal environment from the external one. This can lead to a reduction in carbon emissions and help create a more carbon-neutral future over an entire historic centre. Therefore, in the long term, with the right management policies in place, traditional roofs on traditional buildings can provide an excellent and cost-effective way of moving towards carbon neutrality in historic urban centres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The income gap and global warming have always been topics of common concern to scholars worldwide. Internationally, there is no consensus yet about the impact of the income gap on carbon emissions, and there are few studies about that in China. To explore the effect of the income gap on carbon emissions at the provincial level in China, this paper first theoretically and qualitatively analyzes the non-linear impact of the income gap on carbon emissions. Then, the Gini coefficient of the resident income of different regions in China from 2010 to 2019 is calculated. Finally, a threshold regression model is used to quantitatively test the existence of a threshold effect between the income gap and carbon emission intensity in China. The threshold value is the per capita disposable income of residents. The results show that the income gap is positively related to carbon emission intensity in poor regions. In high-income areas, the widening income gap inhibits the increase in carbon emission intensity. Based on this, this paper proposes policy recommendations to narrow the income gap and reduce the intensity of carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is important to explore the energy–economy–environment (3E) coupling mechanism for building a sustainable economy in the context of carbon-peaking and carbon-neutralization strategy. Based on the DPSIRM (driving force–pressure–state–influence–response–management) theoretical model, this paper constructs the evaluation system of 3E coupling-coordinated development, takes the carbon-neutral and sustainable-development strategy and spatiotemporal heterogeneity into account in the index system, and constitutes the energy–economy–environment and carbon-neutral strategy–sustainable development–space (3E3S) strategic-development model. This paper uses the coupling-coordination-degree model to measure the coordinated development of 3E in Jiangsu from 2010 to 2020 and analyzes the time-sequence evolution and spatial-difference evolution characteristics of the coupling-coordinated development. The results show that (1) when the coupling coefficient of 3E was in a stable and high-level coupling state and the correlation degree of each system was high, the coupling-coordination degree increased from 0.4 in 2010 to 0.7 in 2020; the level of coordination of 3E coupling transited from the initial maladjustment recession to the intermediate coordinated development and moved towards high-quality coordinated development. (2) In addition, at the beginning, the development level of southern and central Jiangsu was generally higher than that of northern Jiangsu; in the middle term, the overall development was in a stage of barely coordinated development. The urban difference between northern and central Jiangsu was relatively high, and the level in southern Jiangsu was generally high; in the later stage, the overall development was in a well-coordinated stage. The development of southern Jiangsu was relatively saturated, gradually approaching the stage of high-quality coordinated development. Roughly speaking, in 2010, the average level of coupling coordination degree of South Jiangsu, Central Jiangsu, and North Jiangsu was 0.5, 0.4, and 0.3, respectively; by 2020, it had developed to 0.9, 0.8, and 0.7, respectively, and the development level rose steadily despite regional differences. The level of coupling coordination generally increased from north to south. Therefore, strengthening the strategic-development awareness of 3E and establishing and improving the government consultation mechanism according to local conditions will help decision-makers to formulate effective regional sustainable-development and carbon-neutral strategies and form a coordinated-development strategy of 3E3S in Jiangsu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The main goal of the paper is to define the level of energy efficiency in the economies of selected countries in the Balkan region that have opted for the EU Green Deal, a circular economy, and a transition to carbon neutrality. Energy efficiency, as a determinant of carbon neutrality, was selected as an indicator for analysis because it records particularly unfavorable indicators in the region under observation. The research was carried out on a sample of seven Balkan countries and their surrounding areas. An initial qualitative analysis was followed by a quantitative analysis based on a combination of statistical methods and soft computing. Six indicators were selected for the analysis covering a period of 30 years (1990–2020). Results: A significant obstacle to the green transition and the region's transition to a circular economy and carbon neutrality is energy efficiency and energy related pollution—the reliance of most countries on coal-fired thermal power plants for electricity generation. The research results showed the following: (a) the degree of economic development and membership in the European Union are not significantly related to the level of energy efficiency; (b) most of the sampled countries are in the initial stages of introducing activities to achieve carbon neutrality; and (c) only Slovenia has documented consistent indicators and evident advancements in its efforts to achieve carbon neutrality. Based on the research findings, proposals for improvements were made in the direction of policymaking and in a methodological sense. Conclusions: The implementation of circularity and carbon neutrality as a long-term goal of the European Union is not necessarily related to the level of economic development, nor can its trajectory be exclusively ascertained by means of data processing and monitoring. A more precise understanding of a carbon-neutral future can be achieved through the incorporation of qualitative data to a greater extent, a realistic evaluation of historical facts and their repercussions, as well as projections of the effects that reality and global developments after 2022 will have on each country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frequency response performance in power systems is becoming vulnerable due to the transition toward the higher penetration of renewable energy such as achieving carbon neutrality. In particular, reducing power system inertia energy as the asynchronous generation increases could result in violating the frequency stability constraint when a disturbance occurs in the power systems. In order to control the rapidly fluctuating frequency of the power system with low inertia, it is necessary to introduce fast frequency response resources such as a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). This paper proposes a method to calculate the required capacity of BESS for compensating the frequency control performance of the power system using inertia energy. For calculating the required capacity of BESS, the inertia energy in the critical power system, where frequency control performance marginally satisfies frequency stability constraint, should be calculated. Also, the inertia energy in the evaluated power system having deficit inertia energy should be calculated. By comparing power systems that respond with different dynamics when the same disturbance occurs, the proposed calculation corresponds to the ratio of inertia energy deficiency based on critical power system inertia energy within the power imbalance. Through various case studies employing Korean power systems, the effectiveness of the inertia energy-based calculation method for the required BESS is verified by the fact that the BESS integrated power system marginally satisfies the frequency stability constraint. In these study cases, it is found that the instant response of BESS is very effective for compensating the frequency control performance of the low inertia power system. By applying the proposed method, it is also found that about 840 MW of BESS can achieve carbon neutrality in the Korean power system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]