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This paper uses the exogenous shock of China's formal implementation of the environmental information disclosure system in 2008 to construct a quasi-natural experiment. Based on the panel data of prefecture-level cities from 2003 to 2019, the propensity score matching and difference in difference (PSM-DID) approach was used to systematically evaluate the impact of environmental information disclosure on energy efficiency. Overcoming the difficulties in measuring environmental information disclosure and the endogenous problem, this paper investigates the energy-saving effect of environmental information disclosure and illustrates its mechanism for the first time. The results show that environmental information disclosure significantly improved energy efficiency, and public participation played an important role in energy conservation, a conclusion that remained true after a series of robustness tests. The test of the impact mechanism shows that environmental information disclosure can achieve the goal of improving energy efficiency by promoting industrial structure upgrading and technological innovation. This paper enriches the discussion on the relationship between environmental information disclosure and energy efficiency, and provides useful policy inspiration for improving the level of energy efficiency and achieving sustainable economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The transition to energy-sustainable systems is a globally accepted concept, but it is implemented with various degrees of success around the world. The aim of this paper is to determine the status of green transition in five Central Asian countries (Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and the Kyrgyz Republic) that are among the highest energy consumers globally and the most vulnerable to climate change. Despite a notable improvement in living conditions across all countries over the past two decades, the region remains underdeveloped. Economic growth is based on the export of natural resources and remittance inflows, but the structure of the economy is monolithic. Main findings: Upon analysing transition indicators for the period 2000–2020, no evidence of significant changes towards a sustainable energy transition is found. All countries in the region (except Uzbekistan) have recorded an increase in carbon emissions, while the carbon intensity of the energy mix is almost the same. While there has been visible progress in reducing energy intensity, the countries in the region remain among the most energy-intensive economies. Despite the region's substantial potential for renewable energy production, it remains underutilized. Conclusions: A multitude of varied problems accompanies the green transition in Central Asian countries. The energy market that has not yet been liberalised, along with significant subsidies and low energy tariffs, discourages investments in renewable energy sources and energy efficiency initiatives. A high level of corruption, rigid legislative and institutional infrastructure, and insufficient capital are additional factors that determine the speed, scope, and effectiveness of the green transition. Thus far, the primary focus in these countries has been on ensuring energy security. However, there has been a discernible surge in investments (particularly from China) in renewable energy projects. Although energy efficiency and climate change issues are formally defined, the energy transition goals are often declarative without an action plan that provides concrete steps in transition process. Strategic planing of economic development that includes all related sectors (not only the energy sector) and paying attention to socio-economic and environmental indicators of sustainable development are prerequisites for successfully implementating the energy transition in these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the nature of the economic activity–energy use nexus for 82 countries and the period from 1971 to 2014. Compared to all other papers, the current study is based on a significantly larger number of observations and was carried out by using new and advanced non-stationary panel data econometric techniques that overcame most of the existing methodical failures. The findings of the Granger non-causality test quite robustly lead to the conclusion that there is bi-directional causality both in the short and the long run. Finally, the obtained estimation results suggest that the increase of energy consumption by 1% results in an increase of GDP per capita between 0.54 and 0.56%. Also, the increase of GDP by 1% results in an increase in energy consumption between 0.47 and 0.48%. Governments cannot simply apply energy conservation policy by reducing total consumption of fossil fuels without negatively affecting economic activity and generating of spiral of mutual effects with positive ecological and very negative economic consequences. It is therefore necessary to make significant efforts to modernize the energy sector and to stimulate companies to invest in new energy-efficient production technologies relying on alternative environmentally friendly energy sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Republic of Serbia (RS) is strategically oriented towards sustainable development, but the implementation thereof faces different limitations and problems. RS emits substantial pollution caused by fossil fuels, and pollution from agricultural sector characterized by inefficient use of energy and intensive use of fertilizers. Bearing in mind the significant agricultural capacities and the orientation towards rural development, a special green transformation must be implemented in this domain. Taking into account the specificities and tradition, the introduction of the circularity concept can be considered the most acceptable. Research on readiness for transition to circularity in RS rural areas has not been conducted; therefore, the goal of the paper is to develop a concept for assessing the capacity of rural areas for circularity. This study is the first scientific proposal that aims to provide input for policymakers, thus contributing to the creation of a new identity of RS, whose development is based on the principles of sustainability. Methods: The study was conducted as conceptual research, with the objective of examining an undiscovered phenomenon without empirical evidence and incorporating the targeted phenomenon into a conceptual framework, while providing a proposal for a solution model based on an interdisciplinary approach—the application of qualitative and quantitative methods (aggregation of composite indicators and Delphi method). Results: Paper results can be summarized as follows: (a) qualitative analysis of policy framework related to RS transition towards circularity (which shows that regulation is insufficient or non-existent, so conceptual research at this stage is necessary and only possible); (b) research questionnaire; (c) original set of indicators for measuring capacity for circularity (derived from the questionnaire); (d) concept of index of capacity of agriculture and rural areas for circularity (based on a set of indicators); and (e) concept of the monitoring of circularity implementation. Conclusions: The main research findings presented in this paper could be beneficial for countries at early stages of introducing circularity, having both low and high agricultural potential. With slight modifications, they can also be applied to other economic activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comparative "cradle to grave" Life Cycle Analysis between the production processes of ceramic stoneware products and geopolymeric materials obtained by valorizing ceramic wastes is reported. This study presents an effective eco-design approach to obtain sustainable materials through a low energy consumption manufacturing process, a feature that is essential in a historical period of high geopolitical instability which makes the supplying of fossil fuels difficult and particularly expensive. In particular, the possibility of lowering production costs (saving on the cost of waste disposal, using a raw-second material, and a low-temperature production process) could represent a strong contribution to the environmental and economic sustainability of the Italian ceramic industry, which is going through a time of severe financial crisis which due to the unprecedent high cost of raw materials and energy. Finally, the new geopolymeric systems proposed in this paper could be profitably used in the field of green building, art, eco-design, and technical-artistic value-added applications, such as restoration, conservation, and/or rehabilitation of historic monuments, or simply as materials for building revetments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy and environmental policies are important methods for the government to restrain carbon emissions growth. Identifying the potential dynamic trends of China's carbon emissions under different scenarios has important reference significance for the government's policy implementation. This paper firstly predicted China's carbon emissions from 2017 to 2040 based on three energy transition scenarios at the industrial level. Then, Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index decomposition model was applied to evaluate the driving forces of emissions changes during 1997–2040. Finally, the Spatial–Temporal Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index model was used to explore the emissions reduction potential and the potential reduction path at provincial level. The results showed that (1) as the reduction in energy intensity cannot offset the growth of industrial scale, the carbon emissions of all industries have shown an increasing trend from 1997 to 2017; (2) In the current policies scenario, China's carbon emissions cannot reach the peak before 2040. And only in the sustainable development scenario, the carbon emissions of the three industries will all reach the peaks before 2030. And the development of non-fossil energy will reduce carbon emissions by more than 30%; (3) Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, and Heilongjiang are key provinces and improving energy efficiency of the secondary industry is a potential way to promote carbon emissions reduction. The framework and main content of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this paper is to reconsider the necessity for the green transition and the key preconditions for the implementation of a circular economy in Western Balkan countries. With the objective of the research in mind, the method of analysis and synthesis was applied to determine (1) regulatory and institutional prerequisites for the green transition; (2) the need for the Western Balkan countries to redefine the model of sustainable economic growth towards the green transition; (3) the development opportunities for recovery defined in the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans; and (4) the possibility of implementing the circular economy in the Western Balkans. Main text: The main findings of the research indicate that: (1) the countries of the Western Balkan region, following the example of the EU, should define a national strategic approach to the green transition with an accompanying action plan and regulatory framework; (2) the biggest challenge of the green transition is the reform of the energy sector and the restructuring of the energy-intensive economy; (3) the countries have untapped potential in renewable energy sources and report the improvement of energy efficiency; (4) the circular economy can boost the green transition, because the countries of the region have a five-time lower value of resource productivity than the average of the EU, while the generation of waste (excluding major mineral wastes) per GDP unit is lower compared to the EU; (5) cross-sectoral governance should be more coordinated. Conclusions: The green transition might be a development opportunity for the Western Balkans, which should enable sustainable economic growth as well as energy security and environmental protection. However, the implementation of the Green Agenda is not easy, because the region faces the problem of underdeveloped regulatory and institutional capacities that might provide not only the base for long-term planning but also financial resources for the efficient implementation of projects. In addition, it is essential to understand the principles of the Green Agenda and the interaction of all activities that should enable the achievement of defined goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significant energy consumption within data centers is an essential contributor to global energy consumption and carbon emissions. Therefore, reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions in data centers plays a crucial role in sustainable development. Traditional cloud computing has reached a bottleneck, primarily due to high energy consumption. The emerging federated cloud approach can reduce the energy consumption and carbon emissions of cloud data centers by leveraging the geographical differences of multiple cloud data centers in a federated cloud. In this paper, we propose Eco-friendly Reinforcement Learning in Federated Cloud (ERLFC), a framework that uses reinforcement learning for task scheduling in a federated cloud environment. ERLFC aims to intelligently consider the state of each data center and effectively harness the variations in energy and carbon emission ratios across geographically distributed cloud data centers in the federated cloud. We build ERLFC using Actor-Critic algorithm, which select the appropriate data center to assign a task based on various factors such as energy consumption, cooling method, waiting time of the task, energy type, emission ratio, and total energy consumption of the current cloud data center and the details of the next task. To demonstrate the effectiveness of ERLFC, we conducted simulations based on real-world task execution data, and the results show that ERLFC can effectively reduce energy consumption and emissions during task execution. In comparison to Round Robin, Random, SO, and GJO algorithms, ERLFC achieves respective reductions of 1.09, 1.08, 1.21, and 1.26 times in terms of energy saving and emission reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current period of rapid industrialization has not only brought about rapid economic growth but also caused serious energy shortages and environmental pollution, which have affected the sustainable development of the economy. Therefore, it is of great significance to analyse the changes in regional economic, energy, and environmental carrying capacity (3ECC); analyse the interaction among them; and propose corresponding optimization strategies for promoting regional sustainable development. In this study, a 3ECC simulation system is constructed from the pressure and support levels of load-bearing capacity. A system dynamics model is used to simulate the evolution path and action relationship of the 3ECC system, and an empirical test is completed in the Yangtze River Economic Belt region in China. A coupling coordination model and Bayesian vector autoregressive model are used to further explore the degree and action mode of the 3ECC system support and pressure indices. The results show that the model can truly reflect the characteristics of regional development and is suitable for prediction in this study. From 2015 to 2035, driven by technological progress, China's economic aggregate will grow by 223%, oil consumption by 33%, coal consumption by 23%, soil pollution by 197%, water pollution by 134%, and air pollution by 80.9%. Moreover, the coordination degree of the 3ECC supporting indicators gradually increases, while that of the pressure indicators gradually decreases, indicating that economic growth has a synergistic effect on environmental protection and energy conservation, thus further expanding the differences between environmental pollution and energy consumption. Finally, the supporting index of the economic carrying capacity and supporting index of the environmental carrying capacity have the widest influence range, and the optimization of economic and environmental development status is beneficial to the overall improvement of the 3ECC system. The influence range of the energy carrying capacity support index is small, indicating that coal and oil are being gradually replaced by other energy sources. Therefore, the research results of this paper can provide a reference for the sustainable development of other regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts such as the Glasgow United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties 26, the Paris Agreement (Paris agreement, United Nations, Paris, 2015) and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are supporting the drive to protect the planet from global warming by ensuring sustainable development. The oil and gas industry, as key contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, must transition to more sustainable energy solutions and play their part in reducing these emissions. Currently, oil and gas companies are implementing technical solutions to achieve net zero carbon emissions. The energy transition from fossil fuel reliance has also happened by exploiting alternative renewable energy sources to meet global energy demand such as wind, solar, biogas and bioderived feedstocks. This net zero energy transition will require a fair and just transition for all in society, and to implement this, it is crucial for those working in the oil and gas industry to understand the technologies needed, the importance of carbon policies and their roles. This research presents a modified Delphi study of employees in Malaysia's national oil and gas company to understand their perceptions towards a net-zero carbon future. The paper briefly reviews Malaysia's low-carbon policy plans, its current carbon dioxide accounting balance, and identifies potential technologies for decarbonisation to set the scene for the modified Delphi study. The results indicated that the national oil and gas company has both the capabilities and the financial resources to significantly contribute towards Malaysia transitioning to a carbon neutral nation. This can be achieved by implementing advanced technologies complementing with nature-based solutions to realise net zero carbon emissions. This study also portrays the confidence that the portfolio of solutions should be executed through a coordinated effort to maximise the outcome and minimise the financial impact in terms of economical sustainability. Implementation of activities towards this energy transition will require significant social commitment, and hence, gauging their perception towards this journey is key objective of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of green campus is related to the global sustainable development. Under the guidance of campus energy-saving policy, China's green campus mainly focuses on campus' energy saving. In contrast, the green campus in the USA pays more attention to environmental problems. This study focuses on the impact of "energy saving" on the sustainable development of green campus. On the one hand, it puts forward targeted optimization suggestions for the Chinese universities. On the other hand, it provides the experience reference and new development ideas for the global campus sustainability. Based on the characteristics of the development mode of green campus in China and the USA, this paper studies the motivation of "energy saving" to "sustainability" in the construction of green campus in China. In terms of research methods, this paper selects Zhejiang University a typical representative of China's green campus that combined with the comparative group of four American universities and conducts a quantitative analysis of G-value and S-value that represented energy consumption and sustainability, respectively. Zhejiang University's G-value (0.019) in 2016 is one-sixth of that of the comparative group in the same period, indicating that the implementation effect of the energy-saving monitoring platform is remarkable. From 2014 to 2017, the G-values are basically stable at 0.02, indicating that its future development potential is insufficient. Zhejiang University's scores in the four categories of S-value are significantly lower than those in the comparative group, showing that there are great differences in the construction achievements of the five universities. According to the score rate of 17 sub-items of S-value, the five universities have different advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, the green campus construction of China's case university is too one-sided and only stays at the level of energy conservation. The diversification of construction and the balanced development of all aspects should be paid more attention in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy–environment–growth nexus has been examined for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region, mainly using time series data. However, the important role of renewable energy and population has largely been ignored in previous studies. As such, this study is conducted to investigate a causal link between renewable energy usage, population, carbon dioxide emissions, and economic growth. In addition, a relatively new and advanced panel vector autoregressive model and the Granger non-causality test for heterogeneous panels are utilized with a sample of seven ASEAN countries for almost three decades since 1990. Key findings from this paper are as follows. First, renewable energy usage responds to population growth and leads to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Second, economic growth and renewable energy usage explain a substantial proportion of the change in energy consumption. Third, a bidirectional Granger causality does exist in each pair among energy consumption, economic growth and CO2 emissions. We argue that moderating population growth and extending renewable energy usage are vital to achieving sustainable economic growth in the ASEAN region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We are the first to empirically analyze the nexus of digital transformation and energy security (ES). This paper utilizes six indicators to reflect three aspects of ES, including acceptability, develop-ability, and sustainability. Applying the panel-corrected standard errors (PCSEs) and the feasible generalized least square estimates (FGLS) model to the international sample of 27 European countries over 2015 to 2019, this research reveals exciting findings. First, a promotion in digital transformation causes a significantly positive effect on the acceptability and sustainability of ES but a negative impact on develop-ability of ES. Second, the ES positively affects the digital transformation, especially the digital transformation in the business and public sectors. Third, results obtained from the dynamic fixed effects (DFEs) estimator for the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method suggest that setting ES goals toward reducing energy consumption and pollution emission promotes the digital transformation process in the business sector of countries in the short run, while the promotion of renewable energy consumption helps countries enhance the digitalization process in the long run. Notably, digitalization is beneficial for sustainable economic development, reflected by a rise in non-fossil and renewable energy consumption and a diminish in CO2 emission, especially in the long run. Fourth, there is a nonlinear effect of the online transaction and digital public services on the acceptability, develop-ability, and sustainability of ES. In a similar spirit, the digital transformation is also accelerated more quickly if the efficiency of the energy system reaches a certain point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's economic growth has reached a new plateau. It is no longer appropriate to use the old economic growth model, which relied on labor, land resources, mineral resources, and other economic considerations. Under the background of artificial intelligence, high-quality economic development is an inevitable trend. A new financial paradigm called "digital finance" integrates financial services with information technologies. Digital financial technology is thought to be a crucial foundation for fostering high-quality and sustainable economic and social development since it may offer more economic entities reduced cost of capital and more realistic financial service skills than in traditional financial models. In the era of artificial intelligence, how to reasonably release the momentum of digital finance for China's sustained economic growth has become a hot topic of discussion at this stage. This paper studies the impact of digital finance on the economic efficiency of the energy industry in the context of artificial intelligence. Relevant metrics were also calculated. The findings revealed that: The benchmark regression result of digital finance on the efficiency of the green economy was 0.4685 before adding the main restrictions; the benchmark regression result of digital finance on the efficiency of the green economy was 0.2243 after adding the main constraints. As a result, data finance had a favorable impact on the effectiveness of the green economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid advancement of the deep integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and traditional industries, industrial intelligence has a greater influence on the economy and the environment, which is of great significance in promoting green development. However, the impact of industrial intelligence on green development and the mechanism of its impact are not yet clear. In light of this, this paper uses 284 Chinese cities as samples to examine the influence of industrial intelligence on green development, explores the impact path of industrial intelligence on green development through intra- and inter-industry linkage effects, and addresses the moderating role of environmental regulation intensity on the relationship between them. It is discovered that there is a U-shaped feature between industrial intelligence and green development, and environmental regulation intensity can smooth the curve relationship between them. Heterogeneity analysis found that regional characteristics, industry type, and city size will make the U-shaped impact different. Further mechanism testing reveals that the low level of industrial intelligence inhibits energy utilization efficiency and causes a low-end service industry structure, which is not conducive to green development. When the level of industrial intelligence is high, it promotes energy utilization efficiency and a high-end service industry structure, which is conducive to green development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, sustainable development has obtained increasing attentions from governments, industry, and academia owing to the limited natural resources. In the area of energy consumption, manufacturing accounts for a major portion of the total energy usage in industry. There is a clear necessity for energy-efficient manufacturing by optimizing manufacturing activities. Condition monitoring is the technology that provides runtime information for optimization. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of past achievements and future trends of condition monitoring towards energy-efficient manufacturing. Since there are a variety of sensors and technologies that can be used for condition monitoring towards energy-efficient manufacturing, this paper divides manufacturing activities into three levels, namely unit process level, shop-floor level, and supply chain level, and summarizes and discusses the sensors and technologies required to enable energy-efficient manufacturing on each level. With the advancement of technology, condition monitoring shows the characteristic of intelligence. Intelligent sensors that can be applied to condition monitoring in energy-efficient manufacturing are also reviewed. This paper can be helpful to manufacturers who are willing to improve energy efficiency in own manufacturing practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzed the current situation and development trends of energy consumption and carbon emissions, and the current situation and development trend of coal consumption in China. In the context of recently established carbon peak and carbon neutralization targets, this paper put forward the main problems associated with the green and low-carbon development and utilization of coal. Five key technological innovation directions in mining were proposed, including green coal development, intelligent and efficient mining, low-carbon utilization and conversion of coal, energy conservation and emission reduction, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS). Focusing on the above technological innovation directions, it is suggested to carry out three basic theories, including the theory of green efficient intelligent mining, clean and low-carbon utilization and transformation of coal, and CCUS. Meanwhile, it is proposed to develop 12 key technologies, including green coal mining and ecological environment protection, efficient coal mining and intelligent mine construction, key technologies and equipment for efficient coal processing, underground coal gasification and mining, ultra-high parameter and ultra-supercritical power generation technology, intelligent and flexible coal-fired power generation technology, new power cycle coal-fired power generation technology, the development of coal-based special fuels, coal-based bulk and specialty chemicals, energy conservation and consumption reduction, large-scale and low-cost carbon capture, CO2 utilization and storage. Finally, necessary measures from the governmental perspective were also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of low efficient cookstoves has several severe negative impacts. Burning solid fuels kills about 4 million people every year, a number which is higher than the combined impact of HIV-AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Moreover, most of the people affected are located in rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa and other developing countries, where over 80% of the population still relies on biomass as their primary source of energy, being the electricity access only 43%. Low-efficiency cooking systems are also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions since solid fuel cooking in Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 1.2 and 6% of global CO2 and black carbon emissions, respectively. Furthermore, widespread biomass collection by an increasing population in Sub-Saharan Africa is unsustainable, contributing to deforestation. Therefore, the impact of using traditional cooking systems is a challenge for the achievement of sustainable development targets in Sub-Saharan Africa and as a whole globally. There are several cooking technologies used in those rural locations, but there are no clear frameworks or polices to support sustainable cooking options, as well as a guide for users. This paper assesses several cooking technologies with its associated fuels and evaluated each technology in terms of energy consumption, CO2 emissions, health impacts and costs. It was concluded that compared with traditional wood fuel cookstoves, electric cookstoves can reduce the energy consumption by 95.7%, CO2 emissions by 100% (assuming renewable carbon-free electricity) and the life cycle cost by 94%, also avoiding over 180 mg/m3 PM2.5 concentrations per/household per year. Also, this paper indicates that a strong and collective effort is necessary from key stakeholders to switch from traditional and unsustainable cooking technologies and fuels to cleaner and sustainable cooking systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electricity substitution refers to replacing fossil fuels by electricity in the consumption side. To figure out the actual ways of energy usage, we conduct field survey to obtain energy consumption data in Fujian, as well as potentials for electricity substitution. Based on these data, this paper provides a theoretical analysis for electricity substitution policy. We use the input–output model to estimate the effects of electricity substitution in Fujian during the period of 2016–2020. The results show electricity substitution can significantly increase total output of the power sector and reduce oil demand. Moreover, the electricity substitution policy can also help to control greenhouse gases and pollutants effectively. Replacing fossil fuels with clean electricity will be conducive to sustainable economic development. These findings will shed some light on the future policy of electricity substitution and energy structure change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the development of sustainable supply chain models is highly active nowadays. Merging the concept of supply chain management with sustainable development goals, leads to simultaneous consideration of all economic, environmental and social factors. This paper addresses the design of a sustainable closed-loop supply chain including suppliers, manufacturers, distribution centers, customer zones, and disposal centers considering the consumption of energy. In addition, the distribution centers play the roles of warehouse and collection centers. The problem involves three choices of remanufacturing, recycling, and disposing the returned items. The objectives are including the total profit, energy consumption and the number of created job opportunities. As far as we know, these objectives are rarely considered in a sustainable closed-loop supply chain model. The proposed model also responds to the customer demand and also addresses the real-life constraints for location, allocation and inventory decisions in a closed-loop supply chain framework. Another novelty of this research is to develop a set of efficient Lagrangian relaxation reformulations and fast heuristics for solving a real-world numerical example. The results have revealed that the obtained solution is feasible and the developed solution algorithm is highly efficient for solving supply chain models. Finally, a comprehensive discussion is provided to highlight our findings and managerial insights from our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen energy is a promising renewable resource for the sustainable development of society. As a key member of the fuel cell (FC) family, the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) has attracted a lot of attention because of characteristics such as having various sources as fuel and high energy conversion efficiency, and being pollution-free. SOFC is a highly coupled, nonlinear, and multivariable complex system, and thus it is very important to design an appropriate control strategy for an SOFC system to ensure its safe, reliable, and efficient operation. This paper undertakes a comprehensive review and detailed summary of the state-of-the-art control approaches of SOFC. These approaches are divided into eight categories of control: proportional integral differential (PID), adaptive (APC), robust, model predictive (MPC), fuzzy logic (FLC), fault-tolerant (FTC), intelligent and observer-based. The SOFC control approaches are carefully evaluated in terms of objective, design, application/scenario, robustness, complexity, and accuracy. Finally, five perspectives are proposed for future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the manufacturing industries with high energy consumption and high pollution, sand casting is facing major challenges in green manufacturing. In order to balance production and green sustainable development, this paper puts forward man–machine dual resource constraint mechanism. In addition, a multi-objective flexible job shop scheduling problem model constrained by job transportation time and learning effect is constructed, and the goal is to minimize processing time energy consumption and noise. Subsequently, a hybrid discrete multi-objective imperial competition algorithm (HDMICA) is developed to solve the model. The global search mechanism based on the HDMICA improves two aspects: a new initialization method to improve the quality of the initial population, and the empire selection method based on Pareto non-dominated solution to balance the empire forces. Then, the improved simulated annealing algorithm is embedded in imperial competition algorithm (ICA), which overcomes the premature convergence problem of ICA. Therefore, four neighborhood structures are designed to help the algorithm jump out of the local optimal solution. Finally, an example is used to verify the feasibility of the proposed algorithm. By comparing with the original ICA and other four algorithms, the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm in the quality of the first frontier solution is verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper empirically examines whether and how political institutions shape the nexus between finance and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In a sample of developing and developed countries, it finds that financial development impedes green technology development and thus raises energy use and CO2 emissions, the effects that moderate with improvements in institutional quality. Despite so, there are differences between banks and stock markets, banking competition and concentration, and household and firm credit. Specifically, a more concentrated, less competitive bank-based financial system that lends more to households hinders green technology development and exaggerates energy use and CO2 emissions, and the impacts diminish when institutional quality enhances. Conversely, a more market-oriented financial system with a more competitive and less concentrated banking sector that lends more to private non-financial enterprises promotes green technology development and decreases energy use and CO2 emissions, the effects that weaken when the quality of political institutions betters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been widely contended that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an ambiguous concept that fails to strike the right balance between corporate economic interests and social demands. The present article argues that energy efficient principles can be used as a CSR tool to fulfill the sustainable development goals in the UN's agenda 2030, so responding to the demands of a range of stakeholders while strengthening profitability. To advance the argument that energy efficiency principles can help to operationalize CSR, an extensive literature analysis was conducted to assess the state of the art in relation to CSR and energy efficiency. The findings confirm the effectiveness of energy efficiency initiatives in responding to the social demands of The Sustainable Development Goals, specifically goal 7, while increasing profitability and/or saving cost. The paper also highlights how energy efficiency can be reported quantitatively in environmental and economic terms beyond narrative reports, so addressing an implied critique of CSR initiatives. The paper concludes that energy efficiency initiatives create competitive advantages informed by the highest ethical principles, with benefits for corporations and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainable development and intelligent transformation of the manufacturing industry have become inevitable trends. As a typical example of the intelligent transformation, the networked manufacturing mode has been widely applied through sharing and utilizing manufacturing resources all over the world. Existing research on energy-saving use of manufacturing equipment mainly focuses on internal workshop of enterprises. However, it is also important to consider how to improve the energy efficiency in a networked manufacturing environment. Compared to traditional manufacturing mode, the networked manufacturing mode faces energy-saving challenges such as machining devices are numerous and scattered, manufacturing services are driven by customer orders, and significant random uncertainty occurs in manufacturing processes. This paper proposes a framework to select and schedule equipment resources for energy-saving in a networked manufacturing environment for different stages of manufacturing. First, to increase energy efficiency in the customer orders demand stage, a fuzzy multi-objective decision-making model is developed. This model considers economy, energy consumption, technology, and inter-enterprise collaboration. Second, to balance the competitive interests between customer orders, and to reduce manufacturing energy consumption, costs, and delivery dates in the manufacturing tasks implementation stage, an energy-saving scheduling model for equipment resources based on non-cooperative game theory is established. Then, to deal with random disturbance in a networked manufacturing, a scheduling model based on random chance constraint programming is built to optimize energy, economy, and production efficiency at the active preventive stage. Finally, a cloud platform implementation method of the proposed framework is summarized. The proposed framework helps provide theoretical analysis that is significant to energy-saving allocation of the equipment resources in the networked manufacturing mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around the globe, all developing and developed economies focus on renewable energy sources for clean and sustainable economic growth and aim to decrease carbon emission to improve the climatic condition. This study aims to evaluate the feasible renewable energy source in Pakistan and study the criteria based on the investigation of wind energy, biomass energy, geothermal and solar energy, and their effects on Pakistan's climate. As renewable energy, clean and sustainable production is only produced from renewable energy sources; the current paper bears the viability of five primary renewable energy sources in Pakistan. This article established an advanced fuzzy (AHP) with a multi-perspective approach based on the expert assessment to select the efficient renewable energy in Pakistan. Further in this study, we utilized the DEA model to investigate the relative efficacy of renewable energy. This study indicated that wind energy is the efficient renewable energy source in Pakistan, which showed an efficiency score of 0. 1000. Our results further suggested that wind energy's next option for renewable energy solar best for renewable production in Pakistan. The results further exposed that the solar is the second-highest energy source with an efficiency score of 0. 777. Moreover, geothermal gets a less efficient score, that of 0.198. Further, our study showed that the economic benefits (EBs) and environmental implication criteria are significant in this research. This article gives a strong recommendation for a future wind energy source in Pakistan. Our results suggest that the best renewable energy source in the future is wind energy for the sustainable and economic development of Pakistan and other developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability is a growing interest in basic industry. The ultimate goal for manufacturing industry is environmental releases, and sustainable development. By reducing energy consumption, economic and environmental performance can be significantly improved for the manufacturing systems. In this paper, the cutting force and specific cutting energy (SCE) consumption are evaluated based on the calculated material removal volume. Three different cutting tool geometries, including the C-, D-, and T-shaped turning indexable tools, are examined to investigate how cutting tool geometry affects the cutting force and SCE. Experimental research and theoretical modeling analysis have been conducted. Statistical analysis for theoretical and experimental SCE has been conducted to extract the effect of each factor on variation. Results of this research show that the more volume of cutting tool involved into the workpiece, the smaller the SCE produced. Optimal setting for sustainability target in terms of minimum cutting energy being consumed could be obtained through the established model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper shows the process of the development of the sustainable energy action plan (SEAP) for the city of Zagreb and analysis of the interaction between measures, which are used for the reduction in energy consumption and CO2 emissions. The energy savings and CO2 reduction potential of measures are compared in a scenario and individual approach. Sectors of energy consumption listed in SEAP are buildings, transport and public lighting. The buildings sector is divided into public buildings, residential and commercial buildings. The transport sector is subdivided on public transport, public vehicles and private and commercial transport. Measures for CO2 emission reduction are selected by a discussion with relevant stakeholders and most effective measures from the previous SEAP. Mutual interaction between measures, which influences the total result of energy consumption and CO2 emissions reduction, is done through simulation in LEAP. In this way, it can be shown that measures have either synergetic, negative or neutral interaction between them. The analysis showed the negative interaction is prevailing and scenario approach resulted in 16.23% lower CO2 reduction potential than the individual assessment of each measure. It is recommended to use a scenario approach in the development of SEAP for the assessment of measures CO2 reduction potential. This will provide more efficient planning of measures for the reduction in CO2 emissions on a local level and avoid overestimating of the CO2 reduction potential when developing SEAPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, the nine islands of the Autonomous Region of the Azores have fossil fuel-fired power stations as the main source of electric power. Each island has an independent electrical system classified as an isolated micro-system, given its size and location. The aim of this paper is to analyse the best set of technologies to have nine sustainable hybrid systems. For this purpose, some factors will be considered, such as actual data production of the island, economic scenarios, growth perspectives of consumption and reliability of supply. The results of these studies will allow us to conclude on the applicability of these systems and to quantify the consequent socio-economic, environmental and fossil energy-saving benefits. A system is projected to the archipelago, in order to reduce the energy production due to non-renewable energies, budgeted on 783.28 million euros, which intend to instal wind farms and photovoltaic parks (using polycrystalline and cadmium telluride technologies). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compare the performance of photovoltaic (PV), flat-plate and evacuated-tube solar-thermal (ST), and hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PV-T) collectors to meet the energy demands of multi-effect distillation (MED) desalination plants across four locations. We consider three scales: 1700 m3day−1, 120 m3day−1 and 3 m3day−1. We find a strong dependence of the capacity and configuration of the solar collectors on both the cost of sourcing electricity from the grid and the specific collector employed. We find specific costs as low as 7.8, 3.4 and 3.7 USDm−3 for the three plant capacities. We find that solar-driven systems optimised for the lowest specific cost result in CO2eq emissions equal to, or higher than, those from grid-driven reverse osmosis (RO) and in line with PV-RO. This highlights the need to consider the environmental footprint of these systems to ensure that desalination is in line with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of China's economy has been accompanied by high levels of energy consumption and pollution. This development mode poses great challenges to the sustainable development of China's economy and environment, and it also creates contradictions in regional environmental governance. To realize healthy, harmonious and sustainable economic development, improving technology, enhancing energy efficiency and reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions have become choices that China has to make for intensive economic growth. In this study, we first estimate energy efficiency at the provincial level in China with the super-efficiency data envelopment analysis (SE-DEA) model; we then analyze the current status of carbon emissions and estimate the reverse technology spillover effect of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI). Second, Tobit regression and fixed effects models are used to test the impact of the reverse technology spillovers of OFDI and energy efficiency on carbon emissions, and the instrumental variable method is used to test for endogeneity. The regression results of various methods prove that our conclusion is robust. Finally, the mediating effect of energy efficiency is estimated, confirming that the reverse technology spillovers of OFDI not only directly affect carbon emissions but also indirectly affect carbon emissions through energy efficiency. Based on the research above, we propose policy recommendations for using the reverse technology spillovers of OFDI to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many developing countries, particularly in Africa and Asia, still widely use traditional cooking methods that rely on solid fuels such as wood and charcoal. These inefficient and polluting cooking practices have severe health impacts due to household air pollution, and they contribute to environmental degradation through deforestation and black carbon emissions. This has driven growing interest in cleaner and more sustainable cooking alternatives such as electric cooking (e-cooking), improved biomass cookstoves, biogas systems, and modern fuel stoves that can reduce emissions and fuel consumption while providing a safer cooking experience. E-cooking has emerged as a promising option to traditional cooking methods due to sustainability, health benefits, energy efficiency, convenience, safety, and potential for grid integration, making it a promising alternative to traditional cooking methods. This study followed the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews to assess the existing literature on e-cooking from 1993 to 2023. In addition, the biblioshiny package in R software was used to perform bibliometric analysis to identify key trends and evolutions. The results indicate that the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, Australia, and China are the top five countries leading in e-cooking research. The study identified promising areas for future research, such as optimising solar e-cookers using artificial intelligence techniques, integrating internet of things and automation technologies in e-cookers, integrating e-cooking appliances into smart grid systems, examining effective behavioural change interventions, and exploring innovative business models. The study findings highlight the need for interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers, engineers, social scientists, and policymakers to address the technical, economic, socio-cultural, and environmental factors influencing the transition to e-cooking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of biomass energy consumption on CO2 emissions and the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in G-7 countries. We also incorporate capitalization, financial development, and globalization measures (economic, social, and political) as additional determinants of CO2 emissions. This study covers the period of 1980–2014. We apply the generalized method of moments (GMM) for empirical analysis. The empirical results reveal that biomass energy consumption contributes to CO2 emissions. The EKC hypothesis is valid in G-7 countries. Capitalization is inversely linked with CO2 emissions. Financial development deteriorates environmental quality. Foreign direct investment (FDI) and trade openness improve environmental quality. Globalization increases CO2 emissions. Institutional quality improves environmental quality through effective economic and environmental policies. Urbanization impedes environmental quality. These results provide new insights for policy makers in designing comprehensive environmental policy by considering biomass energy as an economic tool for sustainable economic development and to improve environmental quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A growing population and the impact of climate change represent clear challenges for the agricultural sector. Adapting agricultural machinery, e.g., raising the use of electric vehicles (EVs), is one way of meeting such challenges. Although interest in EVs and sustainable farming is becoming ever stronger, in practice the usage of EVs still remains at a relatively low level. As EV experience is key in deciding for or against e-mobility, the present paper focuses on the differences in perceptions between experienced and non-experienced electric vehicle users. The present study was conducted in the course of a pilot project on e-mobility in rural Austrian regions. Three hundred and thirty-four farmers were asked to assess the performance of 13 attributes regarding e-cars and agricultural EVs. While none of the selected attributes were deemed unimportant, there were clear differences in perceptions between those with and without EV experience. For example, farmers with experience were more satisfied with the performance of current EVs than those without experience. Availability of a private charging station for agricultural EVs is seen as important by both groups, but experienced farmers rate the respective importance, and also satisfaction with private charging stations significantly higher than farmers without experience. The results show that specific policy adaptations have to be made in order to increase the acceptance of EVs in the agriculture sector.Graphical abstract: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable consumption and production policies have been developed by the EU as part of the United Nations 10-year framework programme on sustainable consumption and production. In this context, the study of energy consumption and production patterns might be especially relevant as the importance of energy input. This paper develops the Sustainable Energy Market Aggregated Index in the EU-28 that provides information about the achieved effects of sustainable consumption and production policies on energy efficiency, energy dependence, generation mix based on clean production technologies and competitive market structure. The results suggest that Denmark, Sweden, UK, Italy, the Netherlands have the better scores. Reinforcing measures are proposed for member states with the lowest results (Slovakia, Luxembourg, Estonia, Czech Republic and Belgium) in order to move towards more competitive energy markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: Energy landscapes; Germany's "Energiewende"; Renewable energy sources (RES); Sustainable development; Transition of energy systems EN Energy landscapes Germany's "Energiewende" Renewable energy sources (RES) Sustainable development Transition of energy systems 1 3 3 12/24/20 20201222 NES 201222 The transition of energy systems toward renewable energy sources (RES) is a key issue for sustainable development. Thus, new energy landscapes will emerge changing energy provision from "energy for space" to "energy from space". Energy landscapes, Germany's "Energiewende", Renewable energy sources (RES), Sustainable development, Transition of energy systems. [Extracted from the article]

Empirical research has determined that information systems (IS) can abate far more emissions than they produce. By using its transformative power, Green IS can build energy efficiency along the entire business value chain and thus contribute to sustainable development that goes well beyond that of Green Information Technology (Green IT). However, from a business perspective there is still prevailing uncertainty with regard to the economic viability and optimal extent of Green IS investments. In this paper, we conceptualize a decision model for an IS investment that increases a company’s energy efficiency. We analyze and compare the costs associated with the investment and the realized energy cost savings. Furthermore, we examine the influence of fluctuating energy prices on investment decisions. By integrating risk and return into one decision calculus, we determine an optimal degree of investment, which avoids over-investment while promoting energy efficiency, and therefore establishes the long-term coherence of economic and environmental sustainability. Finally, we demonstrate that reduced exposure to risky energy prices results in comparatively larger investments, thereby implying a higher optimal investment degree, assuming the involvement of risk-averse decision-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy consumption is central to both a number of pressing environmental issues and to people's attempts to improve their well-being. Although typically understood as essential for people to thrive, this paper sketches a theoretical foundation for the possibility that the form and amount of energy consumption in modern society may inhibit rather than enable human flourishing. It achieves this goal by connecting and critically assessing the writings of Ivan Illich and Albert Borgmann, which offer a number of concepts that enable a qualitative discussion on energy practices. For different reasons, both authors are highly critical of the societal tendency to command ever-increasing amounts of energy. Illich focuses on negative effects of high energy consumption at the societal level, whereas in my particular re-reading of Borgmann, one finds reasons why high energy consumption fails to realize intended positive effects. It is argued that therefore, energy transition should involve a re-appreciation of the function of energy consumption: to support, rather than to be central to life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1000-fold capacity increase envisioned by dense 5G networks results also in a tremendous increase in the energy consumption of the whole network. Utilizing relays in combination with physical-layer network coding (PNC) has been proposed as an energy-efficient solution to this problem by creating several short-distance low-power transmissions and by reducing the transmission time. However, deploying relay nodes can be very costly for dense networks. On the other hand, the proximity of transmitting nodes in dense networks allows the transmitting nodes to serve as relays and retransmit the signals overheard from other transmitting nodes using PNC. This approach has been shown to increase the spectral efficiency, but the impact on energy efficiency has not been studied yet. Therefore, in this paper, we analyze two approaches that exploit the overhearing capabilities of the transmitting nodes in terms of spectral efficiency, energy efficiency, and success rate. We then provide a low-complexity power control strategy that achieves a performance close to the optimal for each approach. We show that when at least one indirect link is stronger than the direct links, exploiting the overhearing capabilities of the transmitting nodes provides the highest performance in both the transmit power-dominated and circuit power-dominated regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world has acknowledged the importance of natural resources to compensate for energy requirements for sustainable development. Green Energy (GE) and Eco-innovations have the potential to improve air quality by reducing CO2 emissions and ensuring sustainable development, which the available literature has neglected. Therefore, we investigate the dynamic impact of green energy and environmental innovations on the USA's economic growth and CO2 emissions. We applied the quantile-on-quantile (QARDL) approach from 1990 to 2019. Our findings indicate that GE consumption mitigates CO2 emissions by increasing economic growth in different quantiles in the USA. Furthermore, Eco-innovations also contribute to economic growth by reducing CO2 emissions in different quantiles. Additionally, Bi-directional quantile causality was found between green energy consumption, economic growth, and CO2 emissions. Thus, the empirical results of the current study provide acumens for policymakers of the USA to consume green energy and use green technology and environmental innovations to counterbalance the environmental issues induced by CO2 emissions without halting economic growth and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of a city's green infrastructure is increasingly being driven by low-carbon innovation (LCI). However, knowledge of how LCI affects green economic efficiency (GEE) in China is largely unknown. This study investigates the spatial effects of LCI on GEE in 285 Chinese prefecture-level cities. The empirical findings show that LCI exerts significant beneficial effects on its GEE but negative effects on its neighbors. The positive direct effects on GEE are offset by negative indirect effects due to the lack of spatial linkage effect and the existence of the siphon and crowding-out effects among cities. Using a mediating effect model, we have identified three channels of LCI that affect GEE: industrial structure, energy consumption structure, and human capital. A further heterogeneity analysis indicates that the impacts of LCI on GEE differ by region and city development level. Furthermore, LCI in the building, greenhouse gas treatment, transportation, and sewage and pollutant treatment categories could greatly enhance local GEE. The findings herein provide an empirical experience for accurately accessing the spatial effect of LCI on GEE, and offer a critical decision-making reference for implementing a cross-city green linkage development mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deficient water and energy management for manufacturing products negatively affect the environment, hence a customized and integrated management system is critical as part of the business sustainable development framework. In this work, the experimental results related to the CO2 emission factor of a manufacturing company are presented through the application of an energy- and water-integrated management system based on the ISO 50001 and ISO 46001 standards as part of the global supporting trend to the transition to a low-carbon economy. Regarding the methodology, the deming cycle and the high-level structure characteristic of the aforementioned standards were used to establish concurrent organizational and technological actions to achieve the efficiency objectives. In particular, data curation, analysis, and translation were used as arguments for countermeasures to improve energy and water efficiency. As a result, energy and water use reduction was achieved, ≈ 12.66% and ≈ 15.23%, respectively, implying that the CO2 emission factor by manufacturing items during 2021 decreased by ≈ 19.88% compared with 2020. In addition, relevant findings, challenges, and opportunities were also determined that can serve as recommendations to improve the overall CO2 emission factor through the use of various renewable energy systems, actions related to bioclimatic architecture, and optimization methods for the energy-water nexus. The aforementioned has important managerial implications based on the Deming cycle which are mentioned in the conclusion section, such as the more detailed analysis of the technological and organizational options and methods that allow for improving efficiency for later years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Realizing a sustainable development of our planet requires a reduction of waste production, harmful emissions, and higher energy efficiency as well as utilization of renewable energy sources. One pathway to this end is the design of sustainable biorefinery concepts. Utilizing waste streams as raw material is gaining great importance in this respect. This reduces environmental burden and may at the same time contribute to economic performance of biorefineries. This paper investigates the utilization of slaughtering waste to produce biodegradable polyesters, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), via bioconversion. PHA are the target product while production of high quality biodiesel along with meat and bone meal (MBM) as by-products improves the economic performance of the process. The paper focuses on ecological comparison of different production scenarios and the effect of geographical location of production plants taking different energy production technologies and resources into account; ecological footprint evaluation using Sustainable Process Index methodology was applied. Keeping in mind that the carbon source for PHA production is produced from waste by energy intensive rendering process, the effect of available energy mixes in different countries becomes significant. Ecological footprint results from the current study show a bandwidth from 372,950 to 956,060 m/t PHA production, depending on the energy mix used in the process which is compared to 2,508,409 m/t for low density polyethylene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a reflection of an innovative project that complements existing higher education for sustainable development (HESD) approaches within universities by providing an alternative path to embed sustainable lifestyles within the student population. It presents the SLEUTH project; an initiative born out of the need to reduce energy consumption of students at university but that, due to its systemic design, transforms and goes beyond purely energy reduction and brings Happiness as an approach to build sustainable lifestyles. This is the distinct feature of this initiative, proposing it as adding value to existing HESD approaches. The paper describes and discusses the collaborative building process, implementation and results in detail. The experiences gathered during the project are used and analysed through 'participant observation', 'documents', 'questionnaires' and 'theme-ing coding' techniques as a means to understand the richness and diversity of the data resulting from a combination of formal and informal learning settings. Through empirical evidence, this analysis presents 'real life' evidence to suggest, firstly the initiative's design success, its impact on energy consumption and contribution to happiness and sustainable lifestyles. Secondly, a successful example for the contribution to existing HESD frameworks that move away from indoctrination and instead leans towards pro-activeness, self-organisation and voluntary collective action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, Turkey has experienced rapid economic and population growth coupled with both an equally rapid increase in energy consumption and a vast disparity in welfare between socioeconomic groups and regions. In turn, these pressures have accelerated the destruction of productive, assimilative, and regenerative capacities of the ecosystems, which are essential for the well-being of the people and the economy. This paper describes the structure and function of major ecosystem types in Turkey and discusses the underlying causes of environmental degradation in the framework of economy, energy, environment, and ethics. From a national perspective, this paper suggests three sustainability-based policies necessary for Turkey's long-term interests that balance economic, environmental, and energy goals: (1) decoupling economic growth from energy consumption growth through the development of energy-efficient and renewable energy technologies; (2) linking economic efficiency and distributive justice of wealth and power through distributive and participatory public policies; and (3) integrating the economic and ecological systems through the internalization of externalities and ecosystem rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discussion on the new strategies related to the sustainable product development process has required a new perception of strategies in the design process. In this context, this paper proposes a method for integrated product development process oriented to sustainability. The method presents a logical sequence to promote the interaction between the definitions of product category, and the selection of design for environmental strategies for the product design. The proposed method consists of three steps: (i) definition of product category and phases most impacted by the strategies; (ii) definition of design for environment strategies for the product; and (iii) definition of recommendations for design. Its logical sequence promotes the interaction between the involved areas and its adoption does not depend on the integrated product development process model selected and does not generate any additional costs. Four case studies were developed to evaluate the method and the results showed that it is a comprehensive and practicable method that promotes significant reduction on resources and energy consumption in the product manufacturing processes. The method has great potential to support decision-making in the design process of a sustainable product since it guides the design towards the development of more efficient products and anticipates the visualization of critical points and the improvements that need to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainable reclaiming of historical neighbourhoods can be achieved only by projects able to allow to all the public and private involved subjects to receive benefits (not necessarily only the economic ones) larger than the related (financial, but also social and cultural) costs. In the case (really very common) of significantly deteriorate urban areas, such projects can be developed if it's possible to overcome a minimum 'critical' dimension, in order to register a real estate enhancement that offers values of the restored buildings greater than the project's cost. The paper presents two management tools instrumental in reaching the critical dimension and in guarantying an adequate project quality: Public Private Partnership, via Project financing, can be an effective instrument to collect private financial resources for the reclaiming of public owned buildings; while the Neighbourhood laboratory is a strategic tool to support the single private owners (often families with only a flat in an apartment building) to reclaim their estate respecting all the necessary architectural and technical obligations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, sustainable manufacturing (SM) attracts more and more attentions due to the increasing environmental pollution and energy shortage threat. Energy consumption is a fundamental element of SM for its valuable effect in the environmental impacts and business opportunities. Analyzing the relationship between process parameters and energy consumption is helpful to reduce production costs, eliminate negative environmental impacts, and increase business opportunities. Since energy consumption is impacted by the inherent uncertainties in the machining process, how to model energy consumption presents a significant challenge. Gene Expression Programming (GEP) combines the advantages of the Genetic Algorithm and Genetic Programming, and has been successfully applied in formula finding. In this paper, a Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure (GRASP)-based Gene Expression Programming, named GGEP, is proposed to predict the face milling energy consumption. In this proposed GGEP approach, a GRASP-based learning mechanism and an iterative re-start mechanism have been introduced into the basic GEP. At the basis of defining a GGEP environment for the energy consumption prediction, an explicit model has been constructed. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach, a case study has been conducted. The analysis of experiment results reveals that the proposed approach models and predicts the energy consumption with high accuracy and high-speed convergence. Moreover, in order to better study the mechanism of machining, the influence and contribution of different impact factors on energy consumption in face milling are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the spatial and temporal distribution of CO2 emissions intensity and energy intensity in China by using spatial measuring method from 2000 to 2013 and estimates the potential for CO2 emissions reduction. The results obtained in this study include: (1) Both CO2 emissions intensity and energy intensity are declining; (2) the spatial distribution of carbon emission intensity and energy intensity in China shows the characteristics of lower from north to south; (3) China's total growth of energy consumption and carbon emissions is clearly slowing, which will peak before 2030; the carbon emission reduction potential in China is great with 167,316.91 million tons, and Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Hebei have the greatest potential to reduce CO2 emissions with 29,885.8 Mt, 32,704.49 Mt and 34,222.1 Mt, respectively; (4) the differences of CO2 emissions intensity and energy intensity among provinces are distinctive. This study can provide a reference for the sustainable development of China's energy and environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainable development of urban agglomerations plays a pivotal role in national and global efforts to reduce emissions. By focusing on the efficient exchange and optimization of energy consumption across various sectors, the sustainable development of energy systems within urban agglomerations can be achieved. However, the overall impact of the cross-sector energy optimization and complementarity has not been quantitatively analyzed. Here, we focused on the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) urban agglomeration in China and proposed an optimization framework for energy, environment, and economy. The framework considered four sectors: transportation sector, power sector, industry sector, and building sector, in order to determine the most sustainable development pathway for the urban agglomeration. The optimization model considers total costs and greenhouse gas emissions reduction as the objectives and utilizes technologies as constraints to optimize the pathway. We found that this optimization strategy resulted in a 53.1 billion tons increase in CO2 emissions reduction in the region. The results of emission reduction varied across sectors, ranging from 4.5 to 22.2 billion tons CO2 equivalent, and across cities, ranging from 7.1 to 4688.1 Mt. The results suggest that the core cities in the urban agglomeration can take on a leadership role. By promoting cross-sector collaboration and implementing energy recycling, the energy efficiency of surrounding cities can be greatly improved, leading to the sustainable development of the urban agglomeration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]