Search

Clues of climate change on the Alashan Plateau since the last glacial period (40 ka) are important for revealing the mechanism of desertification of middle-latitude deserts in the Northern Hemisphere (NH). Studies are still rare for the understanding of the specific relationship of climate changes between the Alashan Plateau and the global. Based on a systematic and comparative analysis of the existing research in China and the international academic community, this paper reviews the environmental evolution history of the Alashan Plateau since the last glacial period from the records of paleo-environment and geomorphological characteristics in different deserts of the plateau (e.g., Badanjilin, Tenggeli, and Wulanbuhe). From about 40 ka to the end of the last glacial maximum, the climate on the plateau was wetter than it is today, and to the end of the Pleistocene, the climate was generally dry and the aeolian activities were enhanced. However, the climate was arid during the whole last glacial period in the Wulanbuhe Desert, evidently different from the overall pattern of the plateau. The Tenggeli Desert was characterized by an arid climate in the early Holocene. The most controversial events for the Alashan Plateau are the drought events in the middle Holocene in the Badanjilin Desert. The role and impact of the westerlies and the East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) systems on the climate change of the desert and even the whole plateau is a vexed question that brings different views in different periods. There is still a lack of definite evidence representing the events of global environmental change that occurred on the plateau during the discussed period. The distinctive morphology of dune mountains and the distribution of sand dunes are mutually indicative of the direction and energy of wind systems on the plateau. It is suggested that appropriate wind energy is the significant key to the desertification in these middle-latitude deserts on the plateau. From a global-scale review of climate change, the desertification of the modern-scale sandy desert landscapes on the Alashan Plateau is generally related to the global glacial period and the cold and dry climate during the past 40 ka. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, the world is moving rapidly toward carbon neutrality, and renewable energy technology is very important in carbon neutrality. Among various renewable energy technologies, wind power is attracting much attention due to its sustainability, resource abundance, and high applicability. This study analyzed wind power patents from 2010 to 2021 to derive current global originality and convergence information. For IP5 countries, the growth stages of technology and the patent convergence networks were inferred by time series analysis and an association rule mining algorithm, respectively. The results showed that, during the analysis period, about 5000 patents were applied on annual average, and it was analyzed that China held the most patents at 48%, followed by the US, Europe, Korea, and Japan. According to the technology convergence network of patent codes from all the IP5 countries, patents related to 'wind turbines with rotation axes in the wind direction' occupied a very central position, and 'power conversion electric or electronic aspects' and 'integration of patents related to renewable energy sources in buildings with wind power' were found to show high connection strength. By country, it was analyzed that the US and China showed high patent competitiveness onshore and possessed many 'independent power conversion cluster' technologies. The research hypothesis was that technology development trends can be analyzed and the characteristics of each country can be understood through patent analysis in the wind power field. This hypothesis was analyzed through various patent analysis techniques, and this paper has novelty in that it presents the global megatrend in the wind power field through patent analysis and quantitatively presents the current status of technology development in five major countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green bonds have increasingly been utilized around the world as a source of financing for renewable energy development, designed with compliance requirements and measurable economic returns to investors, while mitigating climate change. However, the efficacy of green bond arranged in the emerging economies for financing renewable energy assets and how the underlying risks are managed have remained to be explored. The paper aims to examine the evolving green financial system sponsored by both public and private institutions in managing such risks within China's emerging economy. A case study of green financing for a bundle of wind power assets led by a state-owned enterprise (SOE) reveals an alternative approach by structuring public–private collaboration while stipulating market-based financial incentives to institutional stakeholders under a political economy. This institutional consortium is composed of a state development bank, a commercial bank, credit rating agencies, institutional and private investors, regional power purchasers, and carbon trading entities. Financial stakeholders' risk in such emerging sustainable investment is moderated by these participating institutions and structured "upsides" from carbon trading aligned with the framework of green finance and standards for green bond development. The results reveal the potentials of scaling up the development of renewable energy by adequately managing and sharing key risks, while allocating substantial funding into renewable energy projects under such a green financial system that is to be complementary with a scalable post COVID-19 economic recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]