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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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

In 2023, China's crude steel production amount reached 1.019 billion tons, and the energy consumption of China's steel industry amount reached 561 million tons of coal. China's steel industry, with its dominant reliance on coal for energy and the primary use of blast furnaces and converters in production processes, as well as its massive output, has become the main field for achieving China's "carbon peaking" and "carbon neutrality" goals. Firstly, this article summarizes the current production status of the steel industry and the situation of carbon emissions in the steel industry. Secondly, it discusses the dual-carbon policies based on the national and steel industry levels and outlines the future directions for China's steel industry. Subsequently, it analyzes the current state of research and application of mature and emerging low-carbon technology in China's steel industry and details the low-carbon plans of China's steel companies using the low-carbon technology roadmaps of two representative steel companies as examples. Finally, the article gives policy suggestions for the further carbon reduction of China's steel industry. The purpose of this paper is to show the efforts and contributions of China's steel industry to the early realization of its "carbon peaking" and "carbon neutrality" goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Societal pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has compelled organisations to actively manage their carbon footprint. This paper investigates calculating the carbon footprint of the company Prague Water Supply and Sewerage, which serves as an example of a water management organisation in Central Europe. The specificity of research lies in consideration of characteristics related to the energy balance, water sources, climate, the number of consumers, and the political situation, which are most characteristic of the chosen location but may differ from the characteristics of organisations in other parts of the world. A comprehensive assessment of the carbon footprint of the investigated organisation is based on the life cycle assessment methodology. The results of this study show three main directions that significantly impact the carbon footprint: process emissions, purchased energy and purchased services. The recommendations based on the obtained results include the replacement of outdated equipment with more modern and energy-efficient alternatives, transitioning to renewable energy sources, implementation of energy recovery technologies, investigation of alternative processing methods that use fewer chemicals and energy, and giving preference to suppliers of goods and services with good environmental characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the potential of using ammonia (NH 3 ) as a primary fuel in heavy-duty engines for decarbonization, with some challenges yet to be addressed. It presents a numerical study of a Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition engine, where pilot diesel is used to ignite the premixed ammonia/air mixture. The numerical model and combustion mechanism are validated against engine experimental results using methanol and iso-octane fuels and ignition delay times of ammonia/n-heptane mixtures measured in a rapid compression machine. The findings show that the engine can effectively operate with up to 50% of the total energy supplied by premixed ammonia, albeit with slightly elevated NO emissions compared to a diesel-fueled engine. Increasing ammonia further leads to lower combustion efficiency. Hydrogen can be utilized in the ammonia engine to enhance ammonia combustion; however, NO emissions increase further. Ammonia leakage primarily originates from regions near the cold wall, the center of the cylinder, and the crevice. N 2 O mainly forms at the ammonia flame front. Emission of N 2 O is therefore mainly due to flame front quenching near the wall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, published in Frontiers in Energy Research, focuses on the topic of energy-efficient and energy-flexible buildings towards net-zero carbon emissions. It presents five research papers that explore innovative strategies and technologies for advancing energy efficiency and flexibility in buildings. The papers cover a range of topics, including predictive models for carbon emissions in the Chinese construction sector, multi-objective energy-saving optimization methods for residential buildings, climate mitigation options post-Paris Agreement, the impact of rural logistics on consumption in China, and the potential of digital twin technology in the built environment. The article emphasizes the importance of technological innovation, interdisciplinary research, and policy integration in achieving sustainable built environments. [Extracted from the article]

This paper proposes a practical framework for developing a net-zero electricity mix scenario (NEMS), which considers detailed conditions for supply of each energy. NEMS means a path scenario for power generation amount by year of each generation resource required to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050. NEMS framework refers to a methodological framework that contains procedures and requirements to continuously update the NEMS by comprehensively reflecting policy changes. For evaluation of NEMS, indicators such as a system inertia resource ratio (SIRR) and a fuel conversion rate (FCR) are proposed. The proposed framework and indicators are applied for the 2050 NEMS in Korea's electricity sector. The SIRR, indicating the ratio of inertial resources to total resources, projects values of 49% and 15% for the years 2030 and 2050, respectively. Furthermore, the FCR, reflecting the ratio of fuel conversion for resources undergoing this process, predicts that all targeted resources will have completed conversion by the year 2043. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of plastic production and consumption globally, the amount of post-consumer plastic waste has reached levels that have posed environmental threats. Considering the substantial CO2 emissions throughout the plastic lifecycle from material production to its disposal, photocatalysis is considered a promising strategy for effective plastic recycling and upcycling. It can upgrade plastics into value-added products under mild conditions using solar energy, realizing zero carbon emissions. In this paper, we explain the basics of photocatalytic plastic reformation and underscores plastic feedstock reformation pathways into high-value-added products, including both degradation into CO2 followed by reformation and direct reformation into high-value-added products. Finally, the current applications of transforming plastic waste into fuels, chemicals, and carbon materials and the outlook on upcycling plastic waste by photocatalysis are presented, facilitating the realization of carbon neutrality and zero plastic waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The escalation in carbon dioxide concentration has precipitated global climate warming, accentuating ecological and environmental concerns. Notably, China stands as the world's largest carbon emitter, with the Taihu Lake basin emerging as a carbon-intensive region within the country. This paper undertakes a comprehensive analysis spanning 2005 to 2020, calculating the economic contribution coefficient of carbon emissions and the ecological carrying coefficient of carbon absorption in the Taihu Lake basin. The study includes a delineation of carbon balance zones and an exploration of the geographical and spatial influences of both ecosystem and economic factors. The overarching trend in carbon emissions within the Taihu Lake Basin initially exhibited rapid growth, followed by a fluctuating decline, with the pivotal year being 2012, recording the apex of emissions at 575.8293 million tons. Concurrently, total carbon absorption demonstrated a fluctuating growth trajectory, ascending from 82.3503 million tons in 2005 to 85.6488 million tons in 2020. The carbon emission intensity in the basin manifested a pattern of high concentration in the northeast and low concentration in the southwest, while the carbon absorption intensity displayed the inverse pattern. The carbon balance across the Taihu Lake Basin revealed a spatial incongruity, characterized by a suboptimal pattern in the northeast and a favorable pattern in the southwest. Zhejiang Province emerged as an ecological stronghold within the basin, acting as the primary carbon sink functional area. Urban built-up areas and forested regions emerged as principal influencers of carbon balance in the Taihu Lake basin. Urban construction land, population density, and arable land area were identified as primary contributors to carbon emissions, whereas per capita GDP, forests, grasslands, and water bodies were identified as main contributors to carbon absorption in the watershed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial development (FD) is pioneered to solve the problem of vital capital supporting for carbon neutrality. Detecting the effect of FD on carbon emissions (CE) plays an important role in accurately planning FD, and guiding carbon neutrality in China. To clarify the influence of FD on CE and the underlying pathways concerning scale effect, structural effect, and technological effect, this paper use China’s 285 city-level data spanning 2003–2016 and fixed effect (FE) models and instrumental variable (IV) methods to test the effect of FD on carbon neutrality in China. The findings show that (1) the development of financial deepening, financial interrelation ratio, and financial intermediary all prompt carbon emissions at the national level. (2) Regional heterogeneity indicates that FD benefits carbon neutrality in mid-Western cities but fails in eastern cities. (3) FD increases carbon emissions by boosting electricity consumption but decreases carbon emissions by promoting structural optimization and technological progress. (4) Environmental regulations partially curb the carbon emissions effect of FD. This paper proposes some suggestions to reduce CE and gain carbon neutrality in China by greening FD, optimizing industrial structure, promoting technologi)cal innovation and strengthening environmental regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a viability study is conducted for a bioremediation intervention in a cultivated area contaminated by a pipeline oil spill. In this context, green technologies such as bioremediation and phytoremediation could represent an optimal solution for reducing pollution without deteriorating soil quality. The phytoremediation test was conducted at the microcosm scale using three plant species (Zea mays, Lupinus albus and Medicago sativa) and at the mesocosm scale (Zea mays), also evaluating the application of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB). The results showed that the selected plants, being able to grow satisfactorily, are able to lessen the presence of hydrocarbons in the soil. An increase of 15–18% in the degradation of the C > 12 fractions in vegetated soils was observed, confirming the effect of plants on the biodegradation of hydrocarbons in the soil. Moreover, a further improvement was recorded after adding PGPB, resulting in fresh biomass production being up to 50% higher than the controls and the degradation of the C > 12 fraction increasing by up to an additional 10%. Particular attention was also paid to pyrene, considered an indicator of PAH contamination. At the end of the experimentation in vegetated soils, pyrene removal reached values above 50%. By favoring plant growth, the addition of PGPB resulted in a further up to 20% reduction in the content of the contaminant in the soil. The primary role of the plants in soil contaminated by petroleum derivatives was to accelerate the degradation of contaminants through the stimulation of microbial activity. Therefore, the cooperation between plants and microorganisms can be concretely used as a nature-based solution in a sustainable and economical way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar photovoltaic (PV) generation will play a crucial role in the global clean energy transition toward carbon neutrality. While the development of solar PV generation has been explored in depth, the development of high-proportion solar PV generation has yet to be discussed. Considering the back force of the constraint of achieving carbon neutrality within the specified timeframe, this paper establishes a unified, multi-dimensional, and achievable framework through which to perform a system analysis for exploring the potential risks and challenges involved in the development process of high-proportion solar PV generation and investigating possible pathways to fostering the development of high-proportion solar PV generation. The results show that the critical risks and challenges include a low conversion efficiency, poorer resource endowment, more limited land resources, a low use of rooftop resources, an increasing complexity of power system scheduling, and low public awareness. These challenges have emerged with the development of solar PV generation in China and the aim of developing high-proportion solar PV generation. Based on our findings, possible pathways toward developing high-proportion solar PV generation have been determined, including promoting the research and development of higher PV efficiency, determining the optimal development sequence of solar resources, tapping the potential of land resources, increasing the use of rooftop resources, improving the resilience of the power system, and enhancing the public awareness of deploying solar PV generation. Finally, recommendations are proposed to optimize policy formulation for stimulating the high-quality development of high-proportion solar PV generation for carbon neutrality in countries including China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Finnish government has set a target of reaching carbon neutrality by 2035 and renewable energy is playing an increasingly important role in the Finnish energy sector. Bioenergy from forest biomass is currently the most utilized renewable energy resource. European Union regulations are imposing limitations on the use of forest biomass for environmental reasons, however, and the energy sector is having to look for alternative renewable energy options to reach carbon neutrality. This paper reviews the latest changes in the energy industry in Finland and evaluates prospective renewable energy development and fossil fuel replacement in the future Finnish energy system. The study shows that only a combination of all available renewable energy forms can enable the carbon neutrality target to be achieved by 2035. There is a good possibility that Finland can replace fossil fuels fully in the energy sector; wind energy will increase its share of electricity production, and biomass will continue to play a crucial role in the heating sector. Industry and the transport sector, however, face greater challenges and should be studied in more detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the increasingly severe climate crisis, it is of great significance to carry out research on carbon budget calculation and multi-scenario prediction under the "double carbon" target for realizing regional low-carbon and high-quality development. Taking the Yellow River Basin (YRB) of China as the research area, this paper firstly calculates the carbon budget of the YRB from 2000 to 2020 and analyzes its spatiotemporal change. Then, we simulated carbon emissions, carbon sequestration, and net carbon budget during 2030-2100 under the SSP1-5 scenario. Finally, the regulation strategies of carbon balance of the YRB were proposed from four aspects: strengthening ecological governance, improving land use mode, optimizing industrial structure and advocating low-carbon life. Our results showed: (1) The overall carbon sequestration and carbon emission show a trend of fluctuating increase during 2000 to 2020, but the increase rate of carbon emission is far greater than carbon storage. The net carbon emission during 2000-2020 is negative, which is manifested as a carbon sink area. (2) The order of carbon sequestration of the provinces in the YRB during 2030-2100 is the same under the SSP1-5 scenario, and the descending order is the following: Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Gansu, Shanxi, Henan, Ningxia, and Shandong. (3) The STIRPAT model can be used to predict the carbon emissions of the YRB in the future with high precision. (4) In terms of net carbon emissions, under the SSP1-5 scenario, the YRB will be a carbon sink area from 2030 to 2080, and a carbon source area from 2080 to 2100. (5) Different provinces have different paths to low-carbon development, Inner Mongolia and Qinghai maintain a good low-carbon development path under SSP1, SSP2 and SSP4 scenarios, Ningxia and Shandong maintain a good low-carbon development path under SSP1 and SSP2 scenarios, Shanxi maintains a good low-carbon development path under SSP1 and SSP3 scenarios, and Gansu, Shaanxi and Henan maintain a good low-carbon development path under the SSP3 scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maritime industry faces intense scrutiny to address climate change amidst strict environmental regulations and societal expectations. The paper mainly focuses on understanding and evaluating the key factors driving the transition toward decarbonization in shipping. The study utilized qualitative analysis, focusing on reviewing current environmental targets set by major regulatory bodies, notably the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the European Union (EU). The study concludes that a clear strategy for reducing emissions is essential, and a holistic approach must be adopted. Thus, the investigation identified several critical factors that can facilitate the creation of an effective strategy to achieve net zero emissions, comply with regulatory goals, and reduce current emissions. They are decarbonization levels (solutions), ecosystem (value chain), and drivers (enablers), collectively referred to as the decarbonization LED model. The study emphasizes the importance of stakeholder engagement and policy advocacy to support zero-emission transition. For instance, the paper explores the sector’s decarbonization potential through a value chain perspective (Scope 3): employing the life-cycle approach to assess the complete environmental footprint of ship – “Cradle-to-Grave” frameworks (from raw material extraction, production, and product use, until the end of its life) and “Well-to-Wake” methodology to evaluate greenhouse gas emissions from fuel production to end-use by a ship. Additionally, the paper assesses the potential impacts of environmental regulations in the maritime sector, predicting significant transformations in the industry’s operational, technological, and collaborative practices. AcknowledgmentThis study was partially supported by the SEUS project – Horizon Europe Framework Programme (HORIZON), under grant agreement No 101096224. This article reflects only the authors’ views, and the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.

This paper focuses on the crucial role of solar power generation in addressing global warming. It examines South Korea's solar technology, which demonstrates high proficiency at approximately 90% (EU standard) and outperforms the EU in system operation and maintenance. Despite China's lower technological score (87.5%), its competitive pricing has led to an increase in the market share of Chinese products, eroding South Korea's competitiveness. The research identifies cost issues compared to coal and explores avenues for improvement, particularly in direct and indirect cost aspects. In the direct cost domain, proposals include establishing solar cell production facilities in countries with low labor costs and favorable tax incentives to reduce equipment costs. In the indirect cost domain, suggestions involve leveraging building-integrated solar and unused land to cut permit and financial expenses. The paper highlights reasons for the inadequate adoption of building-integrated solar in South Korea, such as mortgage issues, pricing constraints due to the System Marginal Price (SMP) system, and the limited deployment of microgrids. Emphasis is placed on the activation of microgrids, introducing new transaction methods and promoting efficient power transactions through infrastructure. These efforts are expected to lead to the sustained growth of the solar power generation industry in the future.

In the mid-21st century, natural gas will enter its golden age, and the era of natural gas is arriving. This paper reviews the development stages of global natural gas industry and the enlightenment of American shale gas revolution, summarizes the development history and achievements of the natural gas industry in China, analyzes the status and challenges of natural gas in the green and low-carbon energy transition, and puts forward the natural gas industry development strategies under carbon neutral target in China. The natural gas industry in China has experienced three periods: start, growth, and leap forward. At present, China has become the fourth largest natural gas producer and third largest natural gas consumer in the world, and has made great achievements in natural gas exploration and development theory and technology, providing important support for the growth of production and reserves. China has set its goal of carbon neutrality to promote green and sustainable development, which brings opportunities and challenges for natural gas industry. Natural gas has significant low-carbon advantages, and gas-electric peak shaving boosts new energy development; the difficulty and cost of development are more prominent. For the national energy security and harmonious development between economy and ecology under the carbon neutral goal, based on the principle of "comprehensive planning, technological innovation, multi-energy complementarity, diversified integration, flexibility and efficiency, optimization and upgrading", the construction of the production-supplystorage-marketing system has to be improved so as to boost the development of the natural gas industry. First, it is necessary to strengthen efforts in the exploration and development of natural gas, making projects and arrangement in key exploration and development areas, meanwhile, it is urgent to make breakthroughs in key science theories and technologies, so as to increase reserve and production. Second, it should promote green and innovative development of the natural gas by developing new techniques, expanding new fields and integrating with new energy. Third, there is a demand to realize transformation and upgrading of the supply and demand structure of natural gas by strengthening the layout of pipeline gas, liquefied natural gas and the construction of underground gas storage, establishing reserve system for improving abilities of emergency response and adjustment, raising the proportion of natural gas in the primary energy consumption and contributing to the transformation of energy consumption structure, realizing low-carbon resources utilization and clean energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon sink is the process of absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere, through forests, wetlands, grasslands, and oceans. Through this process, greenhouse gases can be absorbed from the atmosphere. In order to analyze the contribution of carbon sinks to carbon neutrality, three parts of works were carried out on carbon sinks in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei. Firstly, the regional carbon sinks were calculated based on actual data. Secondly, the macro-factors were selected related to carbon sinks, on which the econometric analysis was carried out. Finally, a carbon sink prediction model was constructed based on partial least squares regression. After that, three carbon sink development scenarios with different intensities were set up. Under these three scenarios, the carbon sink potential of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region was forecasted from 2020 to 2030. The results show that under the strong carbon sink scenario, the carbon sink in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei can neutralize 388.6901 million tons/a of carbon emissions by 2030, whose contribution rate to China's carbon emission reduction can reach 10.48%. Compared with the baseline scenario and weak carbon sink scenario, the strong carbon sink scenario can achieve greater carbon sink potential and contribute more to China's carbon neutrality. As a conclusion, the target of carbon neutrality of China can be easier to achieve under the strong carbon sink scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to global climate change, China has committed to peaking carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, commonly known as the "30–60 Dual Carbon". Under the background of "30–60 Dual Carbon", this article takes the electric power industry, which is the main industry contributing to China's carbon emission, as the research object, explores the time and peak value of the carbon peak of the electric power industry, and analyzes whether carbon neutrality can be realized under the peak method, so as to get the carbon neutrality path of the electric power industry and serve as the theoretical basis for the formulation of relevant policies. The Environmental Kuznets Curve inspection and the relationship analysis are carried out, then the system dynamics model is constructed, the carbon emissions from 2020 to 2040 are simulated, and the peak time is predicted. Three different scenarios are set to explore the path of electricity carbon neutralization under the premise of a fixed peak. It is shown that Gross Domestic Product per capita index factors have the largest positive contribution, and thermal power share index factors have the largest negative contribution to electricity carbon emissions. Based on the current efforts of the new policy, carbon emissions can achieve the peak carbon emissions' target before 2030, and it is expected to peak in 2029, with a peak range of about 4.95 billion tons. After the power industry peaks in 2029, i.e., Scenario 3, from coal 44%, gas 9% (2029) to coal 15%, gas 7% (2060), where the CCUS technology is widely used, this scenario can achieve carbon neutrality in electricity by 2060. Adjusting the power supply structure, strictly controlling the proportion of thermal power, optimizing the industrial structure, and popularization of carbon capture, utilization, and storage technology will all contribute to the "dual carbon" target of the power sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A scientific, comprehensive and integrated assessment of urban energy development is of great significance for the establishment of a clean, low-carbon and efficient urban modern energy system. From the perspective of carbon neutrality, this paper sets 25 evaluation indicators in seven dimensions: energy supply, energy consumption, energy efficiency improvement, clean and low-carbon, safety and reliability, low-carbon transport, and scientific and technological innovation, and constructs a secondary indicator system for evaluating the strategic development of urban energy. The system adopts the hierarchical analysis method to determine the weights of the indicators, the double-baseline progression method to standardize the indicator scores, and finally the weighted composite index method to calculate the level of urban energy strategy development. This paper applies the index system to evaluate the current energy development status of Wenzhou city in 2020 and 2022, and to predict the energy strategy development in 2025 and 2030. The scores of Wenzhou city's urban energy strategy development level in the corresponding four periods are 63.56, 70.59, 77.87 and 85.06, indicating that by 2023, Wenzhou city's urban energy development level will go from medium development to high development. Wenzhou City should accelerate the proportion of renewable energy in the future. It is necessary to complement multiple energy sources and improve the integration of heat, electricity, gas and cold. In terms of end consumption, it is necessary to improve the efficiency of energy use, reduce energy intensity, implement electric energy substitution and form an energy consumption pattern centered on electricity.

[Display omitted] • Carbon neutrality feasibility of buildings was reviewed. • Carbon neutrality of buildings is feasible, but complexity varies. • Multi-building carbon neutrality case studies are limited. • Climate type affects neutrality; high-rise research is deficient. • Long-term lifecycle impacts of carbon measures remain unclear. Achieving carbon–neutral building stock by 2050 contributes to coping with the detrimental impacts of global warming since buildings account for almost 37% of final energy-related CO 2 emissions. This paper reviews the publications on carbon neutrality (CN) feasibility at both single and multi-building complex scales. Publications are retrieved from the Scopus database, and the snowball method is used to find the most relevant studies. The paper addresses the primary question: "Is it possible to reach the life cycle carbon neutrality of buildings?". Various information such as building life cycle carbon assessment, building characteristics (usage type and number of stories), climate type, mitigation measures, and simulation results are extracted, classified, and analyzed. Technically, reaching CN is feasible, but it is challenging given the need to implement multiple mitigation measures simultaneously, especially in the regions with low emissions intensity of the electricity grid, and may not always be economically feasible. A lack of successful case studies for large multi-building complexes, such as cities, is evident in the literature. It can be attributed to the limited availability of input data for carbon assessments as well as the complexity of simulations. Knowledge gaps in the literature and suggestions for future works are also discussed in detail. Due to the small number of studies on the topic, conclusive paths to reach the CN of buildings, specific to different climates and types of buildings, remain unclear, and thus, further research is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental pollution is a growing concern, particularly the impact of sewage treatment gas on the atmosphere's greenhouse effect. Efficient sewage resource recycling is crucial to achieving carbon neutrality. The bacteria-algae symbiotic sewage treatment system combines wastewater treatment, carbon dioxide fixation, and biomass energy recovery to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality, environmental protection, and the transformation of high-value added products. This paper presents the construction of a sequencing batch photobiological reaction system that utilizes a microbial-algae symbiotic relationship. The system was used to analyze the degradation effects of sCOD, TN, AN, and TP in anaerobic digestion wastewater by varying the microbial-algae ratios. Additionally, changes in the microbial community were analyzed to explore the system's potential for reducing carbon emissions. The study's findings indicate that: 1)When the ratio of bacteria to algae was 2:3, the removal rates of TN, AN, sCOD, and TP were 81.38%, 94.28%, 75.33%, and 96.56%. 2)Changing the ratio of bacteria to algae would affect the bacterial concentration in the mixed system, but not the bacterial community structure. The results indicate that a ratio of 2:3 enhances the removal of pollutants by bacteria and algae symbionts.3) Under the context of carbon neutralization, this paper investigates the reduction of carbon emissions in ADE treated by bacteria-algae symbiosis at the optimal bacteria to algae ratio. The experimental process can reduce 177.03 mg CO 2 compared to complete nutrient consumption treatment, which is equivalent to a reduction of 355.08 g CO 2 per 1 m3 of ADE. For full anaerobic treatment, this experimental process can reduce 228.35 mg of CO 2 equivalent CH 4 , which translates to a reduction of 456.71 g of CO 2 equivalent CH 4 per 1 m3 of ADE. • Optimize the symbiotic system of bacteria and algae in anaerobic digestion wastewater treatment. • Determine the best ratio of bacteria to algae. • Low carbon emissions during the symbiotic treatment of bacteria and algae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study delves into the strategies employed by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to embed digital technology into their business models, aiming to reach carbon neutrality. We offer a comprehensive analysis of five high technology SMEs, unveiling an evolutionary process model that highlights their journey toward integrating technology. The integration process is delineated into three progressive stages. Initially, digital technology is seen as an 'enabler' that promotes the birth of an innovative business model, essentially transforming the mechanisms of value creation, delivery, and capture. As SMEs evolve to an intermediate stage, digital technology becomes a 'disruptor', reshaping and reinventing the business model in terms of how value is created, delivered, and captured. Entering the maturity stage, digital technology is elevated to the role of 'expertise', leading to a sophisticated business model that refines and optimizes these aspects of value. The influence of these business model innovations on carbon neutrality is complex and varies distinctly with each stage, reflecting the dynamic interplay between digital technology and business model evolution. • This study explores the unique strategies SMEs implement to weave DT into their business model innovation (BMI) with an aim to achieve carbon neutrality. • The paper presents an evolutionary process model that sheds light on this integration journey, using an in-depth analysis of five high-tech SMEs. • The paper elaborates the relationship between DT and BMI, delving into the integration of DTs and the roles they perform - as enablers, disruptors, and areas of expertise. • The paper provides insights for businesses seeking to leverage digital technologies to drive innovation and growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The core of the energy transformation under the carbon-neutral vision is the gradual replacement of high-carbon energy by zero-carbon and low-carbon energy. However, the large-scale deployment of clean energy technology in turn relies on key minerals such as copper, aluminum, zinc, and nickel. Based on this, this paper conducts research on the demand for key minerals in clean energy transition and the role of key minerals in clean energy transition. In particular, this paper calculated the demand for mineral supply for China's carbon neutrality target, and the impact of some mineral resource constraints on the carbon neutrality path. Relevant results can provide a decision-making basis for the future development and utilization of key mineral resources, as well as the implementation of future carbon-neutral goals. • We evaluate the impact of crucial mineral resource on the carbon neutrality path. • Copper's availability greatly affects the adoption of new energy technologies. • Limited resources hinder early carbon capture and storage development. • Negative emission technologies are necessary for China's carbon neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• There is a U-shaped relationship between the performance of carbon neutrality and firm value. • The U-shaped relationship is weaker in state-owned firms and firms operating in B2C industries. • The U-shaped relationship is stronger when information uncertainty is higher. Carbon neutrality is critical in addressing the climate crisis. Using the data of Chinese listed firms from 2018 to 2022, this paper shows a significant U-shaped association between the performance of carbon neutrality and firm value. Our key findings hold after a battery of robustness tests and endogeneity concerns. The U-shaped relationship is weaker in state-owned firms and those operating in B2C industries, and stronger when information uncertainty is higher. This paper has implications for the promotion of carbon-neutral practices in enterprises and the realization of sustainable development. [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.

China has committed to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2060. Hebei, as a major energy province in China, has more challenging carbon peaking and carbon neutrality targets. Based on the extended STIRPAT model, this paper evaluates the time to peak carbon and post-peak carbon trend changes in Hebei province under different scenarios from 2020 to 2060. Based on the support vector machine model with particle swarm optimization, this paper evaluates the carbon neutral pathways under different scenarios in Hebei province from 2020 to 2060 in terms of forests, croplands, wetlands, grasslands and Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS). The results show that a monotonically flat trend without inflection point, a single-inflection-point plateau-period trend and a multi-inflection-point inverted U-wave trend occur after carbon peaks. Hebei Province can achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 under the policy scenario and the enhanced scenario, and the enhanced scenario is better. Comparing with existing studies, the innovation of this paper is to design different trends of changes after carbon peak, combining carbon absorption and carbon emission, and providing more diversified development paths for carbon neutral strategies through a more integrated perspective and multi-scenario comprehensive analysis. Therefore, In the future, Hebei Province should establish a platform for carbon emissions monitoring and carbon footprint assessment, and set up an early warning and assessment mechanism for carbon peaking, so as to prevent a rebound trend in carbon emissions after peaking. At the same time, it should introduce and develop carbon capture and conversion technologies and promote the low-carbon transformation of the industrial and energy sectors, thereby forcing the early realization of peak carbon. Pay attention to the role of forestry resources in carbon neutrality, increase carbon sink resources such as forests and wetlands, promote the development of CCUS, and enhance the implementation of the policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of China's environmental regulations, with a focus on the green credit policy, on green innovation in pursuit of the "carbon peak and carbon neutrality" goal. Given the implementation of the 2012 Green Credit Guidelines, this paper employs the Difference-in-Difference Method (DID) and conducts a quasi-natural experiment to empirically examine the interactions among the central government, local governments, and high-pollution and high-emission enterprises by exploring the impact of green credit policies on green innovation of these enterprises. Relying on 4503 samples of 237 high-pollution and high-emission enterprises listed in the main board in China from 2003 to 2021, this study reveals that the green credit policy can improve green innovation of these enterprises. Specifically, this study explores the detailed mechanism through which the green credit policy enables these enterprises to increase their market concentration and then the monopoly profits, which in turn promotes their green innovative productivity. In addition, this paper also reveals how local governments' political and financial incentives may serve as positive and negative moderating factors, respectively, within the impact mechanism. This study has valuable implications for how to effectively formulate and implement environmental regulations by balancing the interests of the central government, local governments and enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education institutes (HEIs) are important drivers for the development and implementation of best practices for environmental sustainability. However, reliable indicators are needed to objectively evaluate the environmental performance of HEIs and their policies. The present paper aims at identifying suitable indicators for unbiased comparisons among different HEIs and for the identification of temporal trends in terms of environmental sustainability performance. At this aim, sustainability reports made publicly available by 24 Italian HEIs over a 10-year period were considered. Normalization of sustainability variables such as the annual electrical and thermal energy consumptions, related greenhouse gas emissions, and water consumption, against context-specific factors such as the number of users of each university, latitude, illuminance, heating degree days (HDDs) and cooling degree days allowed identifying the actual possible disturbance of the same variables. HDDs were found to positively affect the thermal energy consumption and the related CO 2 emissions. Based on this, a novel indicator was formulated where the actual value of thermal energy consumption and the related CO 2 emissions are divided not only by the number of users but also by the HDDs of the HEIs' locations. Indeed, this is a remarkable finding that, prior to confirmation with data from world HEIs, could be implemented in world university green ranking systems for improved and less biased sustainability assessments. [Display omitted] • Context-independent indicators allow unbiased sustainability comparison among HEIs. • Context-independent indicators were identified through coefficients of variation. • Per capita thermal energy consumption needs to be divided by heating degree days. • Per capita CO 2 due to thermal energy needs to be divided by heating degree days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]