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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]

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]

The challenges posed by climate change, biodiversity loss, and land-use are deeply interconnected and integrated solutions are needed. This paper presents results from 11 contributions to a special issue covering topics of integrated modeling and spatial prioritization, mass-balance studies, Earth Observation techniques, research infrastructure developments, and evaluation of policy measures and economic compensation schemes. The spatial scale of the studies ranges from detailed site-specific to a European scale. This paper briefly summarizes the main findings of these studies, makes some general overall conclusions, and identifies topics for further research and methods developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve carbon neutrality, it is necessary to grasp the essence of carbon neutrality. This paper looks into a few fundamental issues of carbon neutrality, and provides an in-depth analysis from the perspectives of environmental sustainability, technological innovation, economic viability, energy security, and international cooperation. It is shown that efforts for carbon neutrality need to focus on the key carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel combustion. Fossil energy is considered to play a role as a short-term "ballast stone", but its attributes decide that it can hardly lead to a sustainable future, and its phasing-out is inevitable. Disruptive zero-carbon energy production and revolutionary technological innovation in its consumption are accelerating that phasing-out process; the zero-carbon-oriented carbon neutrality goal is growing more resilient to market headwinds and releasing momentum for high-quality development. Carbon capture and carbon sinks are indispensable, but they are unable to provide a satisfactory path to carbon neutrality. Carbon neutrality requires substantial capital investment, which can be provided by zero-carbon products with ever-increasing market competitiveness. Investment in high carbon fossil fuel industry can be risky. High carbon lock-in not only increases the difficulty of carbon neutrality, but also intensifies the risk of energy security, and it is difficult to avoid the risk of market crowding-out, resulting in huge amounts of capital waste. Consequently, decarbonization is the trend of the times, giving an edge on seeking international justice and a louder voice in the international community, and also the focus of market competitiveness. However, the target year for carbon neutrality in China is before 2060, indicating that carbon neutrality is not a short-term goal. Therefore, it is impossible and unnecessary to have it realized overnight. The opportunity of carbon neutrality should be well taken for quality growth of the economy and enhancement of people's well-being. Carbon neutrality is a long-term process which calls for thorough plans and step-by-step actions. It is also evident that along with energy revolution, carbon neutrality also brings revolutionary transformation of relations of production and development paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has made remarkable achievements in reducing carbon emissions in recent years. However, there is still much reduction room before achieving carbon neutrality. In Beijing, the capital of China, it is a strategic choice to respond to global climate change by promoting green and low-carbon development. This paper calculates the carbon dioxide emissions of key industries in Beijing and analyzes the temporal evolution trend of carbon emissions. Carbon dioxide emissions in Beijing before 2030 are predicted based on the grey prediction GM (1,1) and BP neural network model. The effects of factors of carbon dioxide emissions are discussed using the threshold regression model under different economic conditions. The results show that energy consumption intensity, GDP per capita, and the ownership of civil cars have a positive impact on carbon dioxide emissions, while the number of permanent residents and urban green space areas have a negative impact on carbon dioxide emissions. These findings of carbon emission prediction and influencing factors contribute to carbon reduction path design. Related policy implications on carbon emission reduction are put forward from the aspects of promoting industrial upgrading, accelerating the construction of advanced economic structures, optimizing transportation structures, and strengthening green building development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses existing trends and prospects for decarbonization in the Commonwealth of Independent States (the CIS), an international organization that regroups Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The CIS occupies a significant share of Eurasia, representing a large share of global energy consumption and production with a corresponding carbon footprint. These countries and their decarbonization prospects are rarely discussed in the English-language scientific literature. This paper fills in this gap by offering a comprehensive analysis based on statistical data, policy documents, and scenario-based future projections. The results underline that revisiting Nationally Determined Contributions, increasing energy efficiency, and decoupling GDP growth from greenhouse gas emissions are essential to the implementation of the Paris Agreement. The future energy mix should include larger shares of renewable energy, hydrogen, fossil fuels (highly efficient with carbon capture), and nuclear energy to achieve energy security and decarbonize the economy of the region in the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has become a major global challenge. At present, few studies have reviewed the application practices and theoretical research of carbon neutrality. This paper summarizes the practical progress of carbon neutrality, the realization path of carbon neutrality, and the carbon neutrality research in typical fields, and concludes that the previous research has made some progress in the carbon neutrality goal domestic and overseas, the pathways to carbon neutrality, and the carbon neutrality issues in various fields. However, this paper also points out existing problems. Firstly, more studies should be carried out on the quantitative evaluation of carbon neutrality by adopting empircal datas and tools in various fields; Secondly, the correlation between paths and industries should be taken more attention; Additionally, how to measure carbon neutral capability, d potential and costis of great significance in subsequent studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's declaration to the international community to peak CO2 emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060 is of great significance in advancing the objectives of the Paris Agreement, and has a positive and far-reaching impact on China's high-quality development. This paper expounds on responsibilities and ambitions in tackling climate change, analyzes the high-quality development opportunities brought about by CO2 emissions peak and carbon neutrality, and discusses the net zero carbon emissions transformation in the new era of ecological civilization. This paper is of the view that development towards net zero carbon emissions provides a new impetus for building a Beautiful China, and promoting ecological civilization and green development. The essence of carbon neutrality should be correctly understood so that the world will work together to improve climate resilience. China should also deepen the understanding of the principles and methodologies of climate change economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon neutrality is becoming an important development goal for regions and countries around the world. Land-use cover/change (LUCC), especially urban growth, as a major source of carbon emissions, has been extensively studied to support carbon-neutral planning. However, studies have typically used methods of small-scale urban growth simulation to model urban agglomeration growth to assist in carbon-neutral planning, ignoring the significant characteristics of the process to achieve carbon neutrality: large-scale and long-term. This paper proposes a framework to model large-scale and long-term urban growth, which couples a quantity module and a spatial module to model the quantity and spatial allocation of urban land, respectively. This framework integrates the inertia of historical land-use change, the driving effects of the urbanization law (S-curve), and the traction of the urban agglomeration network to model the long-term quantity change of urban land. Moreover, it couples a partitioned modeling framework, spatially heterogeneous rules derived by geographically weighted regression (GWR), and quantified land-use planning orientations to build a cellular automata (CA) model to accurately allocate the urbanized cells in a large-scale spatial domain. Taking the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GHMGBA) as an example, the proposed framework is calibrated by the urban growth from 2000 to 2010 and validated by that from 2010 to 2020. The figure of merit (FoM) of the results simulated by the framework is 0.2926, and the simulated results are also assessed by some evidence, which both confirm the good performance of the framework to model large-scale and long-term urban growth. Coupling with the coefficients proposed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), this framework is used to project the carbon emissions caused by urban growth in the GHMGBA from 2020 to 2050. The results indicate that Guangzhou, Foshan, Huizhou, and Jiangmen are under great pressure to achieve the carbon-neutral targets in the future, while Hong Kong, Macao, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai are relatively easy to bring up to the standard. This research contributes to the ability of land-use models to simulate large-scale and long-term urban growth to predict carbon emissions and to support the carbon-neutral planning of the GHMGBA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The atmospheric concentration of CO2 is steadily increasing and causing climate change. To achieve the Paris 1.5 or 2°C target, negative emission technologies must be deployed in addition to reducing carbon emissions. The ocean is a large carbon sink but the potential of marine primary producers to contribute to carbon neutrality remains unclear.Here we review the alterations to carbon capture and sequestration of marine primary producers (including traditional 'blue carbon' plants, microalgae and macroalgae) in the Anthropocene, and, for the first time, assess and compare the potential of various marine primary producers to carbon neutrality and climate change mitigation via biogeoengineering approaches.The contributions of marine primary producers to carbon sequestration have been decreasing in the Anthropocene due to the decrease in biomass driven by direct anthropogenic activities and climate change. The potential of blue carbon plants (mangroves, saltmarshes and seagrasses) is limited by the available areas for their revegetation. Microalgae appear to have a large potential due to their ubiquity but how to enhance their carbon sequestration efficiency is very complex and uncertain. On the other hand, macroalgae can play an essential role in mitigating climate change through extensive offshore cultivation due to higher carbon sequestration capacity and substantial available areas. This approach seems both technically and economically feasible due to the development of offshore aquaculture and a well‐established market for macroalgal products.Synthesis and applications. This paper provides new insights and suggests promising directions for utilizing marine primary producers to achieve the Paris temperature target. We propose that macroalgae cultivation can play an essential role in attaining carbon neutrality and climate change mitigation, although its ecological impacts need to be assessed further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To avoid the potential adverse impacts of climate change from global warming, it is suggested that the target of net zero emissions should be reached by this mid-century. Thailand is aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Since electricity generation is one of the largest producers of carbon dioxide emission, the associated emissions must be greatly reduced to achieve the targets mentioned above. Thus, new generation expansion plans must be well developed. This paper discusses the development of generation expansion plans considering Thailand's latest policies along with enhancement of the existing multi-period linear programming model, allowing new electricity generation technologies having low emissions, e.g., solar PV with battery and hydrogen blending in natural gas, to be integrated into generation expansion planning. Then, four generation expansion plans with different levels of hydrogen blending in natural gas are proposed and discussed. It is found that Thailand can achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 by promoting more use of renewable energy altogether with trade-off between land for solar PV installation and amount of hydrogen blended in natural gas. The lesson learned from this study provides crucial information about possible pathways to achieve carbon neutrality in the electricity sector for policy makers in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese government's use of fiscal policy, which includes fiscal income and spending, is crucial in its fight against environmental pollution and climate change. Innovation‐driven has arisen as a new alternative to reconcile economic success with environmental conservation in light of tighter resource restrictions and the suggestion of the Chinese High‐quality Development policy. The paper uses an econometric model to examine the connection between institutional resource consumption efficiency and carbon neutrality, using a data set consisting of Chinese inter‐provincial panel data from 2007 to 2020 as a research sample; fiscal decentralization is also discussed as a potential moderating factor. Collaborative innovation positively boosts ecological efficiency and produces geographical spillovers, and the findings suggest so long as the economic distance is considered. When it comes to increasing ecological efficiency, collaborative innovation plays a more important role than financial decentralization alone. Among these is the improvement of carbon neutrality, which is best achieved via the joint promotion of ecological efficiency and industrial organizations. By reducing the intensity of the positive effect of innovative cooperation on ecological efficiency, the moderating effect suggests that fiscal decentralization is a critical factor in this relationship. Promoting China's ecological efficiency necessitates a fair distribution of local budgetary spending. China should also actively encourage the degree of synergy between institutional resource consumption efficiency and associated institutions to improve eco‐efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States (U.S.) and China are key to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement and reaching carbon neutrality by around mid-century. Despite differences, carbon neutrality will be met more rapidly if the two countries coordinate and facilitate synergies in carbon-neutral technologies and policy development and implementation. Building on long-term pathway models in the U.S. and China, current emissions trends and sources, and a policy analysis, this paper puts forward a novel framework for U.S.-China coordination on carbon neutrality. The analysis reveals similar technology and policy pathways, policy gaps, and shared milestones for decarbonization in 2030, 2040, and 2050-2060. The main technological pathways focus on reductions in energy demand and non-energy-related CO2 emissions, decarbonization of electricity and fuels, and increases in electrification rates and CO2 sequestration. Given existing domestic policies and opportunities for further action, areas for coordination on carbon neutrality include common policy milestones; dialogue and technical exchange; research, development, and demonstration (RD&D); and international climate leadership. Despite escalated tensions between the U.S. and China, and challenges for climate cooperation, coordination between both countries on carbon neutrality is both possible and necessary. Carbon neutrality will be met more swiftly if the U.S. and China coordinate and facilitate synergies in carbon-neutral technologies and policy. Despite the rise in geo-political tensions between the U.S. and China, coordination on carbon neutrality is both possible and necessary. An analytical framework for U.S.-China coordination on carbon neutrality, includes technology and policy pathways, and common milestones of key sectors' decarbonization for 2030, 2040, and 2050-2050. The two countries could coordinate on common policy milestones, dialogue and technical exchange, research and development, and international climate leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon neutrality is an important policy in the current global response to climate change and has been widely recognized by various industries. In the process of promoting carbon neutrality, new energy plays a pivotal role. In this study, the definition and connotation of new energy and its role and specific operation in the energy transition of carbon neutrality are firstly explained. Promoting new energy development requires significant green and low-carbon investments. Taking China as an example, this paper analyzes the opportunities brought by the carbon neutral process to the field of green finance and analyzes the main features and development trends of green finance in China at present. Then this paper proposes policy recommendations to strengthen the development of green finance in China in terms of improving the green financial policy system, enhancing the supply capacity of green financial services, and optimizing the supporting environment for green financial development. Finally, this paper analyzes the measures and experiences of the United States in promoting low-carbon development and proposes countermeasures for China's low-carbon development on the basis of the five major relationships that need attention in China's carbon-neutral process. That is, strengthen the top-level design and improve the regulatory policy system; optimize the energy structure and increase the proportion of clean energy; optimize the industrial structure and reduce energy consumption in key industries; build a complete low-carbon technology system and promote low-carbon technology research and development and demonstration applications, and encourage local conditions to explore low-carbon development paths. The development of green finance can contribute to the advancement of new energy technologies, thus contributing to the achievement of carbon neutrality goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urgent need to address climate change has led to global efforts towards achieving carbon neutrality. However, it is crucial to recognize the existence of carbon inequity, where certain regions or communities bear a disproportionate burden of carbon emissions compared to others. This paper explores the concept of carbon inequity and highlights the importance of considering driving factors in the pursuit of just energy transition. By examining the socioeconomic, environmental, and policy-related factors that contribute to carbon emissions, a comprehensive understanding of the underlying causes of carbon inequity is gained. The study emphasizes the need to address systemic issues such as economic development patterns, industrial structures, energy consumption habits, and social inequalities that perpetuate carbon inequity. It further discusses the significance of collaborative and inclusive approaches to carbon reduction, focusing on bridging the gap between regions with high and low carbon emissions. Policy implications are derived to guide decision-makers in formulating effective strategies for achieving carbon neutrality while ensuring equity and fairness. By considering both the overarching goal of carbon neutrality and the distributional aspects of carbon emissions, a more holistic and equitable approach can be adopted to accelerate the transition to a sustainable and low-carbon future. • It is crucial to recognize the existence of carbon inequity to address climate change. • This paper explores the concept and importance of carbon inequity of just energy transition. • Policy implications are derived to guide decision-makers while ensuring equity and fairness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intensification of global climate change has led to a widespread consensus on carbon reduction, with the power industry being the principal contributor to carbon emissions necessitating an inevitable transition of its energy structure. Concomitantly, the escalating frequency of natural disasters caused by extreme weather presents formidable challenges to both secure power supply and the low-carbon transition of the power system. To fulfill the developmental requirements of a low-carbon power system and address the carbon emission risks imposed by natural disasters, this paper proposes a bi-level model for generation expansion planning (GEP) that incorporates constraints on the carbon emission trajectory and the influence of natural disasters. The planning-level model optimizes investment costs of various generation technologies and energy storage (ES), as well as the overall operational expenses over the planning period, with an objective to minimize them. It incorporates carbon emission trajectory constraints and policy constraints, such as carbon peaking, carbon neutrality and renewable energy (RE) penetration rates, in order to optimize the planning installed capacity of power sources. The operational-level model aims to minimize typical daily operating costs while also simulating power unit outputs in routine and disaster scenarios. A case study is conducted in a disaster-prone province in southern China to analyze the power generation expansion planning and the trajectory of carbon emissions from 2020 to 2060 under different scenarios. The simulation results show that compared to thermal power, the planning scheme mainly focused on RE with ES is better suited to achieve the goal of a low-carbon transition of the power grid. Moreover, after considering natural disasters, the cost and carbon emissions of power system planning are higher, and the risk of carbon emissions increases with the severity of disasters. • A multi-time scale bi-level low-carbon GEP model is proposed. • Natural disaster scenarios and low-carbon policy constraints are considered in the GEP model. • Carbon emission trajectory of the planned power system is estimated and introduced as a constraint into the GEP model. • Evaluation indicators that comprehensively consider low-carbon performance and economic feasibility are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A CGE model elaborately depicting six CCS technologies was developed. • Impacts of four CCS incentive scenarios on decarbonization pathways were simulated. • CCS can sequester 960 ∼ 1,604 MtCO 2 annually in China by 2060 with policy incentives. • CCS incentives can reduce China's future primary energy demand by 7.7 ∼ 17.4 %. • CCS incentives can increase GDP by 5.64 ∼ 6.59 % compared to no policy scenario. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, considered as a pivotal tool in mitigating climate change within the fossil energy system, particularly in China, has experienced slower development than expected. The exploration of direct incentive policies to facilitate its growth remains relatively underdeveloped. This study developed a hybrid dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to simulate the substantial impacts of CCS incentive policies on China within the context of carbon neutrality target. Two potential incentive policies, carbon emission trading system (ETS) and 45Q tax credit, were simulated, with different sectoral coverage. The results indicate that CCS technologies can reduce carbon emissions by 960 ∼ 1,604 MtCO 2 annually by 2060 through the strategic implementation of these incentive policies. The 45Q tax credit demonstrates its effectiveness in promoting early-stage research and development (R&D) and demonstration of CCS, while the ETS policy facilitates the commercial development of CCS in the later stage of development. By 2060, the implementation of CCS incentive policies could potentially result in 7.7 ∼ 17.4 % reduction in China's primary energy consumption, 71.2 ∼ 82.7 % decrease in the carbon price of ETS and 5.64 ∼ 6.59 % increase in the GDP compared with the no-policy scenario. In addition, the sectoral output in various sectors and the welfare of urban and rural households also increase. This paper provides an important reference for the realization of China's carbon neutrality goal and the model framework can be applied to other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We conduct a multidisciplinary systematic literature review on climate neutrality in the supply chain. While carbon neutrality has gained prominence, our study argues that achieving carbon neutrality alone is not enough to address climate change effectively, as non-CO2 greenhouse gases (GHG) are potent contributors to global warming. Design/methodology/approach: We used multiple databases, including EBSCO, ProQuest, Science Direct, Emerald and Google Scholar, to identify articles related to climate neutrality in the context of non-CO2 gases. A total of 71 articles in environmental science, climate change, energy systems, agriculture and logistics are reviewed to provide insights into the climate neutrality of supply chains. Findings: We find that, in addition to CO2, other GHG such as methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and fluorinated gases also significantly contribute to climate change. Our literature review identified several key pillars for achieving net-zero GHG emissions, including end-use efficiency and electrification, clean electricity supply, clean fuel supply, "GHG capture, storage and utilization," enhanced land sinks, reduced non-CO2 emissions and improved feed and manure management. Originality/value: We contribute to the literature on climate neutrality of supply chains by emphasizing the significance of non-CO2 GHG along with CO2 and highlighting the need for a comprehensive approach to climate neutrality in addressing climate change. This study advances the understanding of climate neutrality of supply chains and contributes to the discourse on effective climate change mitigation strategies. It provides clear future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Putting climate neutrality on the urban agenda inevitably requires a re-imagination and delineation of the boundaries of the city, both at the geographical level, with regard to its inscription in history and concerning the social groups it is composed of. Such an exercise of (re-)imagination or representation is a profoundly political act. It is on the level of this symbolic representation that the (de)politicised nature of sustainability projects must be assessed. Leuven Klimaatneutraal 2030 (LKN2030), a project which aims to make the city of Leuven (Belgium) carbon neutral by 2030, is a case in point. The way it delineates its spatial boundaries, inscribes itself in time and conceives of the main actors representing the city generates profound forms of depoliticisation. Our contention is that these can explain some of the obstacles the project currently faces, whereas it initially triggered a lot of enthusiasm. Though mechanisms of in- and exclusion and agenda-setting inevitably take place in every sustainability project, in LKN2030 these choices tend to be neutralised behind a technical, managerial and scientific discourse. As a result, the project risks to translate potentially interesting dynamics into a consensual project for urban renewal and city marketing, whereby sustainability goals are reframed into marketing objectives and economic opportunities. Drawing on post-foundational political theory, this paper assesses this evolution, but also explores the potential forms of repoliticisation that are emerging in its wake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Carbon neutrality has become a key strategy to combat global climate change. However, current methods for predicting carbon emissions are limited and require the development of more effective strategies to meet this challenge. This is especially true in the field of sports and competitions, where the energy intensity of major events and activities means that time series data is crucial for predicting related carbon emissions, as it can detail the emission patterns over a period of time. Method: In this study, we introduce an artificial intelligence-based method aimed at improving the accuracy and reliability of carbon emission predictions. Specifically, our model integrates an Improved Mahjong Search Algorithm (ISSA) and GRU-Transformer technology, designed to efficiently process and analyze the complex time series data generated by sporting events. These technological components help to capture and parse carbon emission data more accurately. Results: Experimental results have demonstrated the efficiency of our model, which underwent a comprehensive evaluation involving multiple datasets and was benchmarked against competing models. Our model outperformed others across various performance metrics, including lower RMSE and MAE values and higher R2 scores. This underscores the significant potential of our model in enhancing the accuracy of carbon emission predictions. Discussion: By introducing this new AI-based method for predicting carbon emissions, this study not only provides more accurate data support for optimizing and implementing carbon neutrality measures in the sports fi eld but also improves the accuracy of time series data predictions. This enables a deeper understanding of carbon emission trends associated with sports activities. It contributes to the development of more effective mitigation strategies, making a significant contribution to global efforts to reduce carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has committed to achieve net carbon neutrality by 2060 to combat global climate change, which will require unprecedented deployment of negative emissions technologies, renewable energies (RE), and complementary infrastructure. At terawatt-scale deployment, land use limitations interact with operational and economic features of power systems. To address this, we developed a spatially resolved resource assessment and power systems planning optimization that models a full year of power system operations, sub-provincial RE siting criteria, and transmission connections. Our modeling results show that wind and solar must be expanded to 2,000 to 3,900 GW each, with one plausible pathway leading to 300 GW/yr combined annual additions in 2046 to 2060, a three-fold increase from today. Over 80% of solar and 55% of wind is constructed within 100 km of major load centers when accounting for current policies regarding land use. Large-scale low-carbon systems must balance key trade-offs in land use, RE resource quality, grid integration, and costs. Under more restrictive RE siting policies, at least 740 GW of distributed solar would become economically feasible in regions with high demand, where utility-scale deployment is limited by competition with agricultural land. Effective planning and policy formulation are necessary to achieve China's climate goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change is increasingly recognized as a critical factor influencing economic performance, thereby making the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance of businesses a vital indicator of sustainability. In the context of China's "dual-carbon" objective, this study examines the relationship between climate transition risk and the ESG performance of listed Chinese companies. Utilizing text analysis techniques, this research quantifies the Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) sections of annual reports from 2014 to 2019 to extract information on climate transition risks. A multiple regression analysis is then applied to assess the impact of these risks on companies' ESG performance. The findings indicate that climate transition risk has a measurable effect on the ESG performance of enterprises, suggesting its role as an incentive for achieving carbon neutrality. Specifically, the analysis shows that climate transition risk is associated with improvements in certain aspects of ESG performance, including environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and governance quality. Additionally, the study reveals that non-state-owned enterprises, those with diversified business strategies, decentralized management structures, and audits conducted by Big 4 firms, tend to exhibit better ESG performance in the face of climate transition risks. These results demonstrate the nuanced impact of climate transition risk on ESG performance, particularly within the framework of China's carbon reduction goals, and highlight the importance of firm characteristics in moderating this relationship. This evidence provides a foundation for stakeholders, including enterprises, policymakers, and investors, to consider climate transition risks in their efforts to enhance ESG performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is one of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and has been actively promoting the multilateral global climate governance process. China has advanced its eco-civilization construction and the agenda for combating climate change in a coordinated manner, and delivered positive results. By studying and interpreting the guiding principles of President Xi Jinping's important speeches at the Leaders Summit on Climate and the video summit between China, France and Germany, this paper goes over the basic thinking of China's participation in international climate governance and the Chinese approach to tackling global climate change, and sums up China's achievements in the fields such as transition to green and low-carbon development, energy structure adjustment, greenhouse gases control, the construction of national carbon market, as well as its contribution to tackling global climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With global climate change becoming increasingly serious, carbon neutrality, a key strategy to mitigate climate change, has attracted widespread attention. However, due to the multidisciplinary and complexity of carbon neutrality studies, as well as the diversification of research content, a comprehensive review and systematic synthesis of which is quite limited. In this paper, a bibliometric analysis on the topic of carbon neutrality is conducted to reveal the research progress from a quantitative and visual perspective and describe the evolution of research hotspots. The results show that carbon neutrality research is abundant at both the macro and micro levels. Low carbon development is the premise of carbon neutrality, and emission reduction and carbon sinks are the basis of carbon neutrality. The degree of research varies significantly in different countries, with China dominating in the number of publications, followed by the USA and the UK. The realization of carbon neutrality cannot be fully achieved by one single perspective and requires a comprehensive and systematic analysis of technology, economy, and society. Carbon neutrality is a technology-driven process guided by policy. Economically, carbon taxes and carbon markets are two important market mechanisms for reducing carbon emissions. Technically, researches of negative carbon technologies and renewable energy are growing rapidly. Carbon market, carbon negative technology, circular economy, and green energy will become the focus of future research. This paper helps scholars to understand the overall state of carbon neutrality research and provides a historical reference for future research. • The evolution of carbon neutrality research is identified by a bibliometric method. • Visualizes research status and outlines research foci, frontiers and prospects. • Retrieve 5271 articles published over 25 years in SCIE and SSCI databases. • Carbon neutrality is a technology-driven process guided by policy. • Circular economy and carbon markets are new areas of carbon neutrality research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Petrochemical producers both rely upon and generate some of the most problematic substances in the current age of socioecological crisis: fossil fuels and plastics. With mounting calls to cap fossil fuel extraction as well as plastics production, the industry appears to be caught between a rock and a hard place. Nonetheless, betting on continuously increasing global plastic demand, petrochemical production is expanding significantly. This predicament raises the question of how the industry attempts to square increasing petrochemical production with the need to address environmental issues. In recent years, leading actors in and around the industry have promoted notions of carbon circularity as a desirable mitigation strategy. In this paper, we examine this strategy, using discourse analysis to uncover what we refer to as the imaginary of circular carbon. We highlight how the circular carbon imaginary risks delaying climate mitigation by rendering alternative mitigation pathways undesirable. It does so by reconciling increased production, carbon neutrality, and circular economy in a vision of a circular carbon economy, framing the climate crisis as an issue of carbon management. In the circular carbon economy, carbon dioxide, petrochemicals, and plastics all fit as mere flows of carbon. The circular carbon imaginary thereby helps future-proof the petrochemical industry in legitimizing its carbon-intensive practises essential to the fossil world order and the plastic crisis. • We explore the circular carbon imaginary as promoted by the petrochemical industry. • It is a mitigation strategy centred around circular and diversified carbon flows. • That relies on largely unproven technologies and frames out short-term mitigation pathways. • By doing so, it risks delaying climate mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to achieve the "double carbon" goal in energy systems has been the concern of governments. Integrated energy system (IES) is affected by climate change during his operation, in order to study the impact of climate change on IES and achieve the "double carbon" goal in energy systems, this paper proposes an integrated machine learning(IML) to forecast the long-term load, then investigates IES costs and carbon emissions in relation to climate, followed by the establishment of carbon peak energy system(CPES) and carbon neutral energy system(CNES), finally the honey badger algorithm is used to optimize the configuration of CPES and CNES. The results show that: IML can accurately make load forecasts. Under climate change, changes in load reduce the cost and carbon emissions of IES, and changes in equipment efficiency increase the cost and carbon emissions of IES. When both are considered, the cost and carbon emissions of IES increase by 1.18% and 0.92% per decade respectively. The costs of CPES and CNES increase by 0.93% and 1% respectively for every 10 years earlier than the year of achievement. To meet China's "double carbon" goal, CPES and CNES need to increase their costs by 1.97% and 2% respectively. • Integrated machine learning proposed for long-term load forecasting. • Studied the impact of system equipment efficiency and load with climate change. • Proposing carbon peaking energy system to achieve the carbon peak goal. • Proposed carbon-neutral energy system to achieve carbon neutrality goal. • The increased costs of achieving carbon peak and carbon neutral were studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global shift toward carbon neutrality, driven by growing concerns about climate change, requires collaborative efforts. While cleaner energy and carbon capture are crucial, addressing some high-carbon-emission industrial processes that significantly and disproportionally contribute to our carbon footprint is more important than ever. Analysis reveals that over 90% of total carbon emissions from human activities are attributed to a few super-emitting thermochemical processes. We urgently need breakthrough technologies and transformative alternatives to combat this excess of carbon dioxide emissions effectively. Engineering Thermochemistry is the scientific discipline that offers both scientifically sound and practical solutions to the pressing carbon neutrality challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction industry is a key contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, with buildings alone accounting for 39% of the global energy-related carbon emissions. Global carbon emissions from building operations increased by 5% in 2021 compared to 2020. However, the United Nations signed the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 with global leaders, setting a limit to temperature increases below 2.0 °C or 1.5 °C. To achieve this goal, countries have established net-zero targets to reach carbon neutrality by mid-century. However, while some countries are making significant progress, others lag behind. Therefore, this study focuses on evaluating the actions taken by countries toward carbon neutrality, and on developing a policy roadmap for the construction industry to meet the net-zero-carbon commitments. This research adopted a systematic document review, including document analysis. The evaluation of countries' practices towards achieving net-zero targets reveals both similarities and differences. The policy maps developed can be customised for decarbonising a country's overall construction industry and building sector. This study provides insights for research, practice, and society, emphasising the importance of achieving net-zero targets through the implementation of policies, roadmaps, plans, and strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's wide-ranging circular economy (CE) efforts have been studied multiple times from a range of perspectives. Synthesizing the relevant literature, this paper provides a critical reflection on the transition to a CE in China. Key factors for China's success in shifting towards a CE are seen in multi-level indicators and upscaling niches. This paper makes a novel contribution on limitations to progress, based on emerging evidence on CE projects that fail to sustain. Enriched by experts feedback, this paper critically addresses future challenges to a deep transition resulting from implementation gaps between early majorities and mass markets and coordination challenges arising through regional and sectoral differences. In light of China's commitments to climate neutrality by 2060, such challenges are considered serious. Based on feasible policy learning, the paper however proposes synergies between the CE and decarbonisation driven by efficiency improvements, comprehensive core indicators, upscaling and urban policies as trigger for deeper transformations. Finally the paper undertakes broader reflections and an outlook on evidence-orientated policy learning for a CE and decarbonisation in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent times have witnessed an increasing number of countries and private firms pledging carbon neutrality by mid-century. Whilst representing a significant improvement in intentions to tackle climate change, such pledges lack substance and structure. For instance, individual pledges lack coordination and aggregation among peers, while strategies and measures to achieve ambitious targets are largely absent. Moreover, current disagreements obstructing progress in international climate change negotiations further undermine the reliability of carbon neutrality objectives. Effective international policies are needed to foster aggregate mitigation ambitions and the creation of adequate supporting mechanisms. This theoretical paper describes a governance innovation aimed at overcoming such shortfalls and disagreements through a unifying yet customizable pathway towards carbon neutrality. It does so by first outlining a political governance framework based on a climate club interpretation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Secondly, it proposes carbon emission mitigation effort sharing on a per capita basis to ensure efficiency, equity and political feasibility. Thirdly, this paper describes how the supply of certified mitigations of carbon emissions required to satisfy effort sharing-based demand can be assetized as carbon credits by operationalizing Article 6 as a joint certification mechanism. The resulting governance architecture for managing demand and supply of mitigations shifts efforts to tackle climate change from a 'problem-driven' cost approach to 'opportunity-driven' value creation pathways towards carbon neutrality. • Climate clubs enable operationalisation of article 6 of the Paris Agreement. • Effort-sharing on a per capita basis ensures a fair target distribution. • A joint certification mechanism mirrors effort-sharing in a climate club. • The resulting architecture provides a pathway towards carbon neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Korea is a signatory of the Paris Agreement and has announced its aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. However, South Korea's current policy trajectory is not compatible with maintaining a global temperature rise below 2 °C. Climate change has not been a dominant electoral issue in South Korea, with national concerns being prioritized. A Paris-Agreement-compatible development pathway could synergistically improve ambient air quality in South Korea. This research examines the gains of a climate action pathway that would achieve 2050 carbon neutrality, compared to a business-as-usual (BAU) pathway, in South Korea. The work aims to add further evidence to the potential national gains from strong climate action across all sectors in South Korea. The paper argues that by focusing on and estimating national gains, the momentum for enhanced climate policy action can be intensified by framing robust climate action as an opportunity rather than a cost. Through a climate action pathway, South Korea could avoid 835 years of life lost (YLL) in 2030, 2237 YLL in 2040 and 3389 YLL in 2050. Through this pathway, South Korea could also cumulatively abate 5539 million tons of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2e) in greenhouse gas emissions over the 2022–2050 period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper analyzes China's challenges toward carbon neutrality (CN) by 2060. • Currently, up to 85% of China's energy consumption relies on fossil fuels. • China's zero-carbon technologies and economy are not yet sufficient for CN. • Thus, we propose a three-stage/four-step strategy for China to achieve CN. • This paper also presents seven suggestions to foster China's green transition. In response to climate change, the Chinese government has set a clear goal to reach its carbon peak by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, endeavoring to gradually realize net-zero carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions. This paper explores the concept of carbon neutrality and makes a comparative analysis of the gap between China, the European Union, and the United States vis-à-vis carbon neutrality based on international data. The main challenges China faces in its progress toward carbon neutrality are the following: first, China's energy consumption and CO 2 emissions continue to increase, while its carbon peak has not yet been reached; second, carbon emission reduction in China is an arduous process, as the transition period allowed for the country to transition from its carbon peak to carbon neutrality is shorter than that of developed countries; third, China remains reliant on high-carbon fossil energy, with high energy consumption and low energy utilization efficiency; fourth, China's low level of economic development, compared with those of the EU, the US, or other developed countries, makes it relatively weak to withstand economic risks; and fifth, China's low-carbon and zero-carbon technologies are not mature. Therefore, this paper posits a three-stage/four-step strategy as well as seven specific suggestions that could benefit China's progress toward carbon neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues for research into the effectiveness of government strategies for a 'carbon neutral public sector'. We review initiatives in three OECD countries: New Zealand, Australia and the UK. In all jurisdictions, government agencies have consistently stressed 'leading by example' as a rationale for adoption. 'Direct mandate' by the Prime Minister (NZ); 'organic development' from wider central government sustainability initiatives (UK); and a more 'laissez faire' approach by Australian Federal and State Governments, were identified as the general pathways leading to implementation. Our assessment indicates: a lack of understanding of the implementation process for carbon neutrality; a need to identify and critically examine the 'offset threshold' at which mitigation efforts cease and offsetting is adopted; an absence of any evaluation of the 'leading by example' rationale; a lack of inter-country comparisons; a gap in understanding the relationship with economic and social aspects of sustainability; and a need to evaluate the utility of core government departments as the focus of carbon accounting. We urge colleagues to consider research in this area with a view to contributing to the interdisciplinary solutions which we believe are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times, the green transition, by promoting carbon neutrality, has become highly imperative to meet environmental challenges. The present literature review study seeks to explore the intersecting role of greener innovations in facilitating financial inclusion for a sustainable future. Within the global agenda is the goal of carbon neutrality, with the aim of reducing environmental impact and mitigating climate change. Aim: The present study aims to investigate the role that technological innovations play in the financial inclusion of achieving climate neutrality. Method: Through a systematic literature review, we investigate how new innovations generate new investment opportunities and promote sustainable development. However, fair, accessible, and inclusive financing is crucial. Findings: the analyzed documents in this study shows that technological innovations can play an important role in financial inclusion for carbon neutrality and provide some important policy implications. Indeed, a favorable regulatory environment could generate positive effects already in the short term, with important environmental, economic, and social repercussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bhutan is a rapidly growing economy currently undergoing swift and extensive rural-to-urban migration. Its commitment to carbon neutrality, as well as its unique Gross National Happiness (GNH) objectives, make Bhutan a fascinating laboratory for studying sustainable development strategies and how they can be specifically tailored to align with local contexts and values. This paper uses the framing of the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) from the global climate change mitigation literature to develop a vision for a locally appropriate SSP for a sustainable Bhutan, encompassing energy supply, energy demand, and urban and regional planning. The approach outlined here demonstrates how research-based recommendations from the academic literature can be combined with knowledge of local considerations to develop place-based visions for sustainable societies. The proposed sustainable pathway for Bhutan (SSP1) outlines a future in which the nation continues to sequester more carbon than it emits while maintaining traditional cultural values, a strong sense of community, and a burgeoning economy. Outcomes of alternative scenarios are described according to the nine domains of GNH. Focusing on Bhutan as a real case study, this paper thus demonstrates how mitigation measures can be selected and implemented to align with unique cultural values and national aspirations. • Identify the place-based sustainable transitions • Develop an extended Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) for Bhutan • Develop assumptions of regionally balanced development scenario as SSP1 (Sustainability) • Analyze mitigation measures and options based on Bhutan's sustainability pathway • Raise key factors to achieve a sustainable Bhutan based on developed scenarios [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Visualization and quantitative analysis of the global ecological carbon sinks and sources. • Enhance the prediction of carbon sequestration dynamics under climate change. • Climate change potentially affecting the carbon-climate feedback. • Research content is becoming clearer and more systematic. • Keyword clustering the classification of the research into six relatively independent subtopics. Climate change is extensively affecting the global ecosystem, especially the ecosystem carbon sequestration and sequestration potential, which are issues of global concern. The proposed concept of "carbon neutrality" in 2020 has brought ecological carbon sequestration to the forefront. Therefore, the research on climate change and ecosystem carbon sequestration need to be systematically reviewed, summarized, and examined. Based on the Web of Science database, this paper analyzed 4005 articles (1992–2022 year) after rigorous screening via a bibliometrics analysis and then presented the research trends and future research focus of ecological carbon sequestration. The following conclusions are drawn: (1) the research over the last 30 years has steadily improved, and the annual number of publications has increased in a cubic polynomial fashion (R 2 = 0.9937), with 87.57 % of the total publications appearing after 2009. Global Change Biology and Science of the Total Environment are the most influential journals in the field; (2) participation in such research is becoming increasingly common with expanding research areas covering Eurasia, America, Oceania, and Africa. The United States and China are the most productive and influential countries; (3) the diversity of this research is increasing, and the research content is becoming more explicit and systematic. Most research focuses on climate change, carbon sequestration, management, land-use changes, and nitrogen and soil organic carbon; (4) although traditional ecological evaluation techniques were essential early on, remote sensing and modeling have become the primary methods for assessment; (5) keyword clustering allows the classification of the research into six relatively independent subtopics: climate change and terrestrial ecosystems, sequestration and organic-carbon, ecosystem services, nitrogen and carbon cycling, biomass and forest, and blue carbon, which provides a reference for further research on ecological carbon sequestration and carbon neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the climate is warming up and climate disasters occur more frequently, China's carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets are gaining attention, with provinces starting to set carbon peak targets and constantly exploring low carbon economic development opportunities. However, the existing evaluation index system mainly focuses on low carbon cities and green cities, and there is no evaluation index system for carbon peak and carbon neutrality. This study adopts a combination of theoretical and empirical research and draws on domestic and international research results to construct the first index system for evaluating China's provincial carbon peak and carbon neutrality. The evaluation index system includes 18 indicators from three dimensions: climate ambition, low carbon status, and emissions trends. Using this index system, we calculated the carbon peak and carbon neutrality indices of 30 Chinese provinces. Further, the 30 provinces were classified into six categories, and corresponding policy recommendations for achieving the "Dual carbon" targets were put forward. The evaluation index system constructed in this paper can provide a reference for future carbon peak and carbon neutrality assessments. By disclosing the integrated index of each province, we hope to effectively curb the increasing local carbon emissions; avert inaction in areas with good natural endowments; and motivate the advancement of the latter, to boost the implementation of the "Dual carbon" targets coherently for the whole country. [Display omitted] • An integrated evaluation system on China's Provincial "Dual carbon" was proposed. • 30 provinces in mainland China were ranked based on the integrated index. • 6 groups were classified to show provincial differences on dual carbon performance. • Policy recommendations to fulfill China's climate commitment were put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change and ecological environment destruction have become global problems that cannot be ignored. As the largest developing country, China faces the reality of emission reduction from the international community and the pressure of domestic environmental protection. Based on the policy process of carbon peak and carbon neutrality in China, the allocation and use of carbon peak policy tools in China are analyzed by using the Multiple-Streams Approach, and some insights are proposed, hoping to provide some thinking for related research. The initiation of China's carbon peak and carbon neutrality policy agenda is inseparable from concerns about Problem Streams, discussions on policy streams, and the promotion of Political Streams, as well as the help of policy entrepreneurs. In the future, in the process of continuously promoting carbon peaking and carbon neutrality policies, China should be problem-oriented, continuously optimize policy guidelines, continue to deepen the political environment and promote comprehensive green transformation and sustainable economic and social development with "Double carbon" policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many countries have taken stringent climate policies to minimize the risks by climate change. But these policies could burden households and the poor with the extra costs and threaten their wellbeing. However, the consequences of climate policies on poverty and welfare loss are seldom presented in stringent long-term climate change mitigation projections. Carbon pricing is a cost-effective approach; how it affects households varies among countries. This study investigated the distributional effects and poverty implications of carbon pricing in China during the transition towards carbon neutrality and the Paris Agreement's long-term goals. We assessed multiple poverty and equity standards in future scenarios with a newly developed integrated assessment model. It was found that climate change mitigation efforts would not greatly hinder poverty alleviation in China, with the poverty headcount under the $3.2/cap/day-threshold being less than 0.3 million people in 2050 in most scenarios. A carbon tax became a regressive factor mainly due to price increases in food and energy goods. This indicates that the distributional effects on carbon pricing should be considered. For example, supplementary policies that compensate for price changes, such as subsidies and early mitigation actions, that lead to modest price increases in the long term are worthy of consideration as valid instruments for the just transition towards the 2 °C or even 1.5 °C pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Constructing a new welfare function considering economy, equity and ecology. • Optimizing carbon emission pathways from multiple perspectives. • Focusing on the emission pathways in China achieving the ambitious targets. With the increasing climate warming, reducing carbon emissions has gradually become a consensus around the world. However, the process of carbon emission reduction will inevitably lead to the transformation of economic structure, industrial structure and energy structure, which will bring huge changes in economic output, employment and other aspects, thus affecting the overall social welfare and equity. Therefore, it is particularly important for each country to determine a scientific and effective carbon emission pathway which take into account both social development and climate targets. As the largest carbon emitter, China has put forward the targets of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. In this regard, the corresponding carbon emission reduction scenarios are designed according to the new situation of China's emission reduction in this paper, firstly. Furthermore, under the premise of maximizing social welfare, an optimization model which integrating economic growth-equity-environment is developed to determine China's emission pathways under different scenarios from 2020 to 2050. Besides quantitatively showing the future total amount and peak value of carbon emissions under different scenarios, the results can also identify its evolution pathway over time. Therein, the peak under most scenarios will concentrate in 2025–2030, which is about 10.7 to 11.8 billion tons. With the increasingly stringent constraints on carbon emission reduction, the cost of emission reduction will increase correspondingly, but the overall social welfare will increase slightly. Finally, our findings provide practical guidance on achieving carbon emission reduction and enlightenments on policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The future energy policy, long-term energy supply plan, and necessity of power system interconnection are discussed considering the climate change agreement and national carbon neutrality policy. Although several studies have been conducted on power system interconnection related projects, a few reviews have been performed related to the Greenhouse Gas Convention in North-East Asian (NEA) regions. Therefore, the future directions and possible scenarios on power system interconnection are studied by combining the issues by comprehensively considering carbon neutrality policy according to the perspective of Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous development of industry, the massive emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) has become a global challenge that cannot be ignored due to its nature as the primary driver of global climate change and environmental crisis. Carbon neutrality is proposed as a global initiative to mitigate climate change. As a developing industrial country, China provides about one-third of global carbon emissions and has set a carbon-neutral goal by 2060. To achieve this goal, continuous efforts across the country are required. In this review, Zhejiang Province, one of the most developed regions in China, is set as a model for analysis. We first summarize the current situation of carbon emission in Zhejiang Province. Then, corresponding sustainable approaches such as ecological and industrial solutions for the reduction of future carbon emissions are introduced for Zhejiang Province. We also provide a direction for the realization of carbon neutrality, focusing on the most promising solutions for Zhejiang Province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon emissions trading is a major innovation in the practice of using market mechanism to control and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and promote green and low-carbon development. It is an important way to achieve China's carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals (the "dual carbon" goals) at a relatively low cost. Starting late and having gone through three development stages, China's national carbon market has entered a new stage. However, given the problems such as incomplete institutional, regulatory and carbon emissions verification systems, less balanced and vibrant market, limited transaction entities and trading products, and lack of voice due to insufficient participation in relevant international affairs, continuous efforts are still required to further improve this market by deepening reform, strengthening capacity building and increasing international cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's newly announced carbon neutrality goal manifests its determination to advance green and low-carbon development. The country aims to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Consequently, guidelines and action plans have been actively deployed and issued. The carbon neutrality commitment (vision) and its detailed deployment (action) would contribute to climate change mitigation and corporate market value. Therefore, we categorize the carbon neutrality-related events and analyze their impacts on the stock market from July 2020 to March 2021. The main findings are as follows: (1) The action event have increased the carbon neutrality-related stocks by 0.04%, while that of the vision event is – 0.003%, indicating that investors' confidence increases when the carbon neutrality commitment is accompanied by specific and detailed guidelines. (2) The impact of carbon neutrality announcement becomes more positive and significant after related events occur repeatedly. (3) Carbon neutrality-related power industry and state-owned enterprises are potential beneficiaries of this decarbonization goal. Our study supplements the literature on climate policy and its economic value, potentially contributing to the next stage of global decarbonization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The climate mitigation target of limiting the temperature increase below 2 °C above the pre-industrial levels requires the efforts from all countries. Tracking the trajectory of the land carbon sink efficiency is thus crucial to evaluate the nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Here, we define the instantaneous land sink efficiency as the ratio of natural land carbon sinks to emissions from fossil fuel and land-use and land-cover change with a value of 1 indicating carbon neutrality to track its temporal dynamics in the past decades. Results: Land sink efficiency has been decreasing during 1957–1990 because of the increased emissions from fossil fuel. After the effect of the Mt. Pinatubo eruption diminished (after 1994), the land sink efficiency firstly increased before 2009 and then began to decrease again after 2009. This reversal around 2009 is mostly attributed to changes in land sinks in tropical regions in response to climate variations. Conclusions: The decreasing trend of land sink efficiency in recent years reveals greater challenges in climate change mitigation, and that climate impacts on land carbon sinks must be accurately quantified to assess the effectiveness of regional scale climate mitigation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyzed the effects of management on the economic profitability of forest biomass production and carbon neutrality of bioenergy use in Norway spruce ( Picea abies L. Karst) stands under the changing climate. We employed a forest ecosystem model and life cycle assessment tool. In particular, we studied the effects of thinning, nitrogen fertilization, and rotation length on: (1) the production of timber and energy biomass, and its economic profitability (net present value), (2) carbon stock in the forest ecosystem and carbon balance in forestry, and (3) carbon dioxide (CO) emissions from the use of biomass in energy production. Results showed that the current Finnish baseline management with and without nitrogen fertilization resulted in the highest mean annual timber production and net present value (NPV) for long rotations (60 to 80 years), regardless of climate scenario. Mean annual production of energy biomass was enhanced by increasing stocking by 20-30 % compared to the baseline management, and/or use of nitrogen fertilization. Such management gave lower CO emissions per unit of energy compared to the baseline management, as the carbon stock in the forest ecosystem and the carbon balance in forestry increased. Overall, the carbon neutrality and net present value were, on average, the highest in the baseline management or with a 20 % increase in stocking, with nitrogen fertilization and 60- to 80-year rotation lengths, regardless of the climate applied. However, it was not possible to simultaneously maximize the NPV of forest biomass production and the carbon neutrality of bioenergy use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most discussed topics in the 21st century at the global level include climate change, carbon neutrality, digitization and globalization. They have impact on the lives of all people, the quality of the environment in which we live, the health of the whole population, the development of cities and urban areas, the development and direction of industry and its new technologies, and last but not least, they shape humanity to which they are giving direction. Regional self-governments, as elementary elements of the state, therefore play a key role in achieving the EU's environmental and climate change goals and objectives. The issue of digitization is changing human approaches to address global challenges, including the call for a proper assessment of the impacts of climate change on urban and suburban areas as a tool for identifying and subsequently integrating early actions. Digital technologies and their potential can make a huge contribution to sustainable development, and to re-addressing global challenges. According to the OECD, in an era of digitization, climate change and ageing, it is important to see cities as engines for economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]