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Magnetotelluric (MT) and audio-magnetotelluric (AMT) studies are sensitive to the geothermal fluids filling the faults and/or fracture zones of the geothermal system. In India, MT/AMT studies have been carried out in NW Himalayas, central, eastern, and western India. In other areas, detailed MT/AMT studies need to be expedited. This review paper presents the art of geothermal exploration in India by using MT/AMT techniques and identifies potential zones that can be exploited for power generation and direct application. Reservoir characteristics, carbon emissions reduction methods, and levelised cost factor are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technical progress has a tremendous potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by reducing energy consumption, a major concern across production units. However, the existing empirical literature concerning technical efficiency and carbon intensity is scanty. Thus, this paper examines the relationship between technical efficiency and carbon intensity for the organized manufacturing sector of two states, Maharashtra and Odisha, and the all-India level from 2001 to 2018. The paper uses data envelopment analysis to estimate technical efficiency scores. It applies the 2006 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Tier 1 methodology for estimating carbon intensity for each 3-digit manufacturing industry in all three sample cases. The study has used static panel regression and fractional logit regression techniques to examine the deterministic relationship between technical efficiency and carbon intensity. The result shows that technical efficiency is highly sensitive to carbon intensity in the Indian manufacturing industries. The findings also addressed that the size of the industries also reduces the technical performance of manufacturing units. This paper also confirmed that increased profit could boost the Indian manufacturing industries' technical efficiency. Thus, this study addresses that carbon intensity as a proxy for the manufacturing sector's potential to affect climate change plays a crucial role in explaining the technical efficiency variations across industries. Thus, it calls for better policies aimed at reducing the emissions of industries specifically to achieve sustainable growth for the Indian manufacturing sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In spite of the surge in solar and wind energy in the recent years, the IC engines, particularly the diesel engines may be expected to stay on for the next 30 years at least. In this context, it is imperative to find alternative fuel sources for petro diesel, at least in part. Inedible oil based biodiesels are one good option for India. There is a slight decrease in performance of a diesel engine when run with biodiesel blends. It is also feared by some that pollution from exhaust gas by using biodiesel blends may be higher. This paper summarizes the results of experiments carried out on biodiesel blends with diesel to determine the amounts and particle sizes of carbon particulate matter emissions in engine exhaust. Blends of two esterified oils, viz., Honge (Pongamia Pinnata) and Jatropha, with petro diesel were used to operate a single-cylinder, four-stroke diesel engine. Blend ratios used were 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%. The carbon particles in exhaust were collected on an INDICA filter paper for 5 minutes. The carbon content was ascertained by the standard procedure, and the size of particles was found by microscopic examination. Further ANOVA of the data was carried out separately for the Honge and Jatropha blends. The results from the experiments are clear and interesting. Both Honge and Jatropha blends increase the amount of carbon particulates in engine exhaust when compared with diesel. Carbon particulates increase with increase in load on the engine. Increase of blend ratio generally increases the carbon in exhaust in case of Jatropha blends. The behaviour with Honge blends is different. While blend H5 has highest carbon in exhaust at low loads, at high loads, H10 has the maximum carbon in exhaust. Blending with Honge or Jatropha biodiesel increases the carbon particle size in exhaust. While the size of carbon particles with diesel is < 20 µm, it is > 20 µm with all blends, increasing with load or blend ratio. In all cases, lower loads result in finer carbon particles in exhaust. The study helps in concluding that both Honge and Jatropha blends could be used in diesel engines, Honge being superior. Though the PM level in the exhaust will be higher with blending, the particle sizes will be much larger and hence causing less health hazard. Further, idling (no load), or low loads should be avoided since these result in smaller carbon particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews and assesses India's energy policy in the context of its commitment to achieve the target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. It emphasizes the central role of green electrification, particularly through the expansion of solar power capacity. It discusses policies outside the energy sector that need to be part of a strategy of achieving this target, including the use of information technology, infrastructure development, and transportation. Furthermore, it examines possible policy options for accelerating the target date to 2050, especially with the use of carbon capture to manage the transition from the current heavy use of coal. The paper also discusses the possible financial and growth implications of various strategy options, arguing that feasible external financing commitments can allow India to achieve net-zero goals without sacrificing economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green hydrogen is gaining popularity as a clean fuel, and India is one of the countries that is exploring its potential. The paper analyzes the factors contributing to the adoption of green hydrogen in India. The government's policies to encourage usage of clean energy and cut down carbon dioxide emissions are a key factor driving the adoption of green hydrogen in India. Additionally, with the accessibility of renewable energy resources, the growing demand for hydrogen in various industrial applications, and the development of supportive infrastructure and policies are also contributing to the expansion of the green hydrogen sector. The study did a comprehensive literature survey to determine 21 variables that contribute to the green hydrogen development in India, which have been categorized under 4 blocks, namely, varied incentives, government support measures, R&D landscape, and green mandate. These blocks can be utilized to articulate and upgrade the green hydrogen policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's world, a situational awareness of sustainability is becoming increasingly important. Leaving a better world for future generations is becoming the main interest of many studies. It also puts pressure on managers to change production methods in most industries. Reducing carbon emissions in industry today is crucial to saving our planet. Theoretical research and practical industry requirements diverge, even though numerous researchers have tackled various strategies to handle carbon emission problems. Therefore, this work considers the carbon emission problem of the furniture manufacturing industry in Hosur, Tamilnadu, India. The case study company has a manufacturing system that resembles a hybrid flow shop (HFS) environment. As the HFS scheduling problems are NP-hard in nature, exact solution techniques could not be used to solve the problems. Hence, a sequential hybrid optimization algorithm (SHOA) has been developed in this paper to minimize the carbon footprint. In the SHOA, the pigeon-inspired optimization algorithm (PIOA) is hybridized sequentially with the firefly algorithm (FA). A computational experimental design is proposed to analyze the efficiency of the introduced strategy, and the solutions indicate that the developed approach could reduce the carbon footprint by up to 9.82%. The results motivate us to implement the proposed algorithm in the manufacturing industry to reduce the carbon footprint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To become the fastest-growing large economy in the world, India has set a target growth rate of 9%, reaching an economy of $5 trillion by 2024-25. It is an immense challenge to meet the growth target and keep the CO2 emissions under control. The present paper aims to discover the determinants for explaining CO2 emissions in India by conducting a complete decomposition analysis, where the residuals are fully distributed to the determinants for the country from 1990-2018. The analysis reveals that the biggest contributor to the rise in CO2 emissions in India is the expansion of the economy (scale effect). The intensity of CO2 and the change in the composition of the economy, which nearly move in tandem, also contribute to the rise in CO2 emissions, although more slowly. A declining energy intensity of the Indian economy is responsible for a considerable reduction in CO2 emissions. As a typical result for an upcoming economy, this paper did not find evidence for an environmental Kuznets curve. This implies that continued economic growth will lead to increased CO2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cement industry's carbon emissions present a major global challenge, particularly the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels. The concrete industry is responsible for a significant portion of these emissions, accounting for approximately 5-9% of the total emissions. This underscores the urgent need for effective strategies to curb carbon emissions. In this work, we propose to use artificial intelligence (AI) to predict future emission trends by performing a detailed analysis of cement industry's CO2 emissions data. The AI predictive model shows a significant increase in overall carbon emissions from the cement sector which is attributed to population growth and increased demand for housing and infrastructure. To address this issue, we propose a framework that emphasizes on implementing carbon sequestration through reuse of construction and demolition (C&D) waste by using recycled aggregates. The paper proposes a framework addressing carbon sequestration through use of C&D waste. The framework is applied specifically to Maharashtra State in India to calculate the potential reduction in carbon emissions by construction industry resulting from recycled aggregates. The study reveals a projected saving of 24% in carbon emissions by adopting the suggested framework. The process and outcomes of the study aim to address the concerns of climate change through reduced carbon emissions in the construction industry promoting recycle and reuse of construction waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

World has been shifting towards cleaner and safer sources of energy. Reducing the carbon footprint is the need of the hour. Industries all over the globe are researching on reducing the pollution causing emissions and trying to improve in terms of using sustainable sources of energy and saving the environment. This paper would analyse the low carbon energy assessors (LCEA) in the construction industry. A detailed study has been conducted using primary and secondary research to determine the carbon emissions at different stages of construction. The study would help us in identifying the main phases and activities and components, contributing the majority of the carbon footprints. The need of this age is to work on this area and minimise the pollution and harm to the environment. The construction sites chosen are diverse and consist of all types of building in the southern part of India. The highest carbon emission component in building construction is the cement as a large amount of CO2 emission takes place during the manufacturing process of the cement. The minimum carbon emission that takes place due to the components from the building are labour, sand, MS steel and stainless steel. The study would give a high level idea about the impact of low carbon energy assessors (LCEA) in the construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slow tourism is looked upon as a means of achieving green & sustainable tourism and is seen as an alternative to mass tourism. It is becoming popular amongst tourists, destination managers and tourism service providers. Slow tourism is an integrative concept that promotes sustainability in all aspects of a travelling journey. Advertisers and tourism service providers are marketing different features of slow tourism. Local Government bodies and state tourism development corporations are also promoting slow tourism through various social media and promotional campaign. The present research tries to explore the perception and preferences of Indian travellers regarding the concept of slow tourism. Methodology: This an exploratory research intending to study the perception and preferences of Indian travellers towards slow tourism. Semi structured interviews of tourists, destination managers and tourism service providers from India will be used to collect the data. Thematic apperception test will be used to evaluate the respondents' patterns of thoughts, emotional responses & attitudes towards slow tourism. Principal of saturation will be used to determine the sample size. Findings/Outcomes/Results: As an outcome of this paper the researchers propose to develop a model framework through which slow tourism can be embedded in the existing tourism practices of tourists, destination managers and tourism service providers. Implication: Through this research the researchers intend to create awareness about slow tourism and help to reduce the increasing environmental threats of fast tourism. It is also proposed to understand the perceived challenges in adapting slow tourism and to provide probable solutions to overcome this perception of the tourist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper mainly dealt with the technical and economic feasibility of an off-grid hybrid power generation system for a remote rural Turtuk village of Ladakh, located in the northern part of India. The study showed that the proposed configured renewable integrated hybrid system, using Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) software, efficiently met the energy demand, exhibiting optimum performance with low investment. The proposed PV(115 kW)/Wind(1 kW)/Battery(164 strings of 6 V each)/DG(50 kW) hybrid system was a highly commendable, feasible solution preferred from a total of 133,156 available solutions resulting from HOMER simulations. The net present cost and energy cost of the proposed configuration were $278,176 and $0.29/kWh, respectively. The proposed hybrid configuration fulfilled local load, with 95.97% reduced dominant harmful carbon dioxide emission, as compared to the sole us of a diesel generator power supply system. The technical performance of the hybrid system was ensured, with advantages including the highest renewable penetration and least unmet load. Furthermore, the analysis exclusively evaluated the impact of the system's economic parameters (namely, its expected inflation rate, nominal discount rate, and project lifetime) on the net present cost and cost of energy of the system using a noble single fix duo vary approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction sector is responsible for the 40% of consumed resources, 40% of CO2 emissions, and approximately 40% of construction and demolition waste. For the assessment of the building, there exists a standardized method, life cycle assessment (LCA), however, the process requires time, cost, and most importantly expertise. In this paper, a method is proposed and analyzed for the life cycle assessment of the building for the embodied carbon in the three stages, construction, operation, and demolition. Moreover, the result of the analysis is considered as the base result, and de-carbonization strategies identified through literature study for the three stages of construction, operation, and demolition are assessed with the same method to know how much each strategy will be effective in minimizing the embodied carbon. For the base case, a high-rise residential building in an urban region of India is analyzed, based on existing conditions through the building information modeling (BIM) method. The carbon emission of the selected building comes out to be 414 kg CO2e/m2/year, and assessing different decarbonization strategies, considering the first analysis as the baseline, it can be minimized to 135 kg CO2e/m2/year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper re-examines the relationships between night-time light (NTL) and gross domestic product (GDP), population, road networks, and carbon emissions in China and India. Two treatments are carried out to those factors and NTL, which include simple summation in each administrative region (total data), and summation normalized by region area (density data). A series of univariate regression and multiple regression experiments are conducted in different countries and at different scales, in order to find the changes in the relationship between NTL and every parameter in different situations. Several statistical metrics, such as R2, Mean Relative Error (MRE), multiple regression weight coefficient, and Pearson's correlation coefficient are given special attention. We found that GDP, as a comprehensive indicator, is more representative of NTL when the administrative region is relatively comprehensive or highly developed. However, when these regions are unbalanced or undeveloped, the representation of GDP becomes weak and other factors can have a more important influence on the multiple regression. Differences in the relationship between NTL and GDP in China and India can also be reflected in some other factors. In many cases, regression after normalization with the administrative area has a higher R2 value than the total regression. But it is highly influenced by a few highly developed regions like Beijing in China or Chandigarh in India. After the scale of the administrative region becomes fragmented, it is necessary to adjust the model to make the regression more meaningful. The relationship between NTL and carbon emissions shows obvious difference between China and India, and among provinces and counties in China, which may be caused by the different electric power generation and transmission in China and India. From these results, we can know how the NTL is reflected by GDP and other factors in different situations, and then we can make some adjustments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India is the third-largest contributor to global energy-use and anthropogenic carbon emissions. India's urban energy transitions are critical to meet its climate goals due to the country's rapid urbanization. However, no baseline urban energy-use dataset covers all Indian urban districts in ways that align with national totals and integrate social-economic-infrastructural attributes to inform such transitions. This paper develops a novel bottom-up plus top-down approach, comprehensively integrating multiple field surveys and utilizing machine learning, to model All Urban areas' Energy-use (AllUrE) across all 640 districts in India, merged with social-economic-infrastructural data. Energy use estimates in this AllUrE-India dataset are evaluated by comparing with reported energy-use at three scales: nation-wide, state-wide, and city-level. Spatially granular AllUrE data aggregated nationally show good agreement with national totals (<2% difference). The goodness-of-fit ranged from 0.78–0.95 for comparison with state-level totals, and 0.90–0.99 with city-level data for different sectors. The relatively strong alignment at all three spatial scales demonstrates the value of AllUrE-India data for modelling urban energy transitions consistent with national energy and climate goals. Measurement(s) electrical energy • fossil fuel • energy use Technology Type(s) machine learning • statistical method Factor Type(s) end-use energy by activity sectors in cities Sample Characteristic - Environment city Sample Characteristic - Location India Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.13516925 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper quantifies the carbon emissions embodied in the bilateral trade between India from the non-Annex-I country list under the Kyoto Protocol (1997) with two of its biggest trade partners from the Annex-II country list, the USA and the UK, by applying the input–output modelling during the years of 2011 to 2014, to evaluate and analyse the conjecture around the carbon leakage. After the calculation of the embodied carbon in these bilateral exports and imports, the study further inspects the roles of important drivers those are influencing the calculated emission imbalances in trade. This study addresses a high emission-intensive energy consumption pattern of India relative to both the USA and the UK which is confirming the possibility of carbon leakage from Indian commodity production sectors and inducing a huge contribution from these bilateral trades into the global emissions. Finally, this study provides evidence from a spatial decomposition analysis that the differences among the emission-intensity of output between India and its major developed country trade partners create the maximum impact on the implied emission imbalances in the bilateral trades. With the anticipation of increased India–USA and the India–UK bilateral trade, this study proposes suggestion to reduce India's emission intensity of output through fuel switching to the less emission-intensive energy options and relieve the pressure on the global environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Physical, Regulatory and Brand value risks due to climate change challenges are foreseen by businesses globally. This paper is oriented towards these challenges and prepared a comprehensive Greenhouse gases (GHG) footprint plan and identification of mitigation opportunities for ONGC, a fortune 500 and national oil company of India. Internationally recognized standards and guidelines like Greenhouse Gas Protocol, ISO-14064, and American Petroleum Institute compendium have been referred for quantifying carbon emissions in nearly real 400 + operation control facilities. The GHG inventory is based on Operational Control approach to identify the boundary for which emissions are to be quantified and two significant scopes of emissions viz Direct Emissions and Indirect Emissions are identified and quantified. The quantification concluded that GHG emission footprint for the year 2016–17 is in the range of 9 million tons of CO 2 equivalent. GHG emissions mainly account due to stationary combustion, fugitive emissions and wastewater treatment, which share the around 56% of total emissions. Another 24–26% of emissions are contributed due to flaring, processes by glycol dehydrator, acid gas removal units, and by electricity purchased from the grid. As a result, it has been found that ONGC emits 187 kg CO 2 e emissions per tonne throughput and also compared with its global peer organizations. At the organization level, "Key Industrial Sites" have been identified as contributing higher GHG emissions and accordingly key "hot-spots," a list of 15 GHG mitigation opportunities have been proposed in the paper. Two GHG mitigation initiatives based on solar energy and bioenergy application undertaken at ONGC has also been briefed on case studies. Highlights • Comprehensive carbon footprint plan and identification of mitigation opportunities for Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), a fortune 500 and national oil company of India. • Guidelines like Greenhouse Gas Protocol, ISO-4064 and American Petroleum Institute compendium are referred for quantifying carbon emissions from direct and indirect sources. • Green policy, incentives and mandatory compliance. • CO2e emissions per tonne throughput and also compared with its peer global organisations. • Key hot-spots, with a list of 15 GHG mitigation opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The procurement of food grains from farmers is one of the biggest challenges under the COVID-19 outbreak due to country-wise lockdowns. The present study aims to reconfigure the existing food grain supply chain network. The study advances the extant literature by proposing a novel mathematical model that considers the government guidelines issued to procure food grains from farmers under the COVID-19 situation. The model includes personal distancing, a key parameter relevant in the COVID-19 crisis, and has remained unaddressed in the existing literature. The proposed model is tested in India. The effect of different parameters like personal distancing cost, carbon emission cost, fixed cost, and transportation cost is also investigated under a given set of procurement centers. Finally, the procurement schedule for each procurement center is generated, which is especially useful for managing its activities and is also helpful to farmers to streamline the process. Results indicate that the proposed model is highly effective under pandemic emergencies like the current COVID-19 crisis. Policymakers and the government will find this model helpful in drafting relevant policies regarding food grain procurement under emergencies such as the COVID-19 outbreak. The distribution segment of the supply chain network is not part of the present research work. In future studies, this part could be then added to the whole of the procurement process, and both procurement and distribution can be assessed together again. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the nexus between CO2 emissions (CO2E), GDP, energy use (ENU), and population growth (PG) in India from 1980–2018 by comparing the "vector error correction" model (VECM) and "auto regressive distributed lag" (ARDL). We applied the unit root test, Johansen multi-variate cointegration, and performed a Variance decomposition analysis using the Cholesky approach. The VECM and ARDL-bound testing approaches to cointegration suggest a long-term equilibrium nexus between GDP, energy use, population growth and CO2E. The empirical outcomes show the existence of a long-term equilibrium nexus between the variables. The Granger causality results show that short-term bi-directional causality exists between GDP and ENU, while a uni-directional causality between CO2E and GDP, CO2E and ENU, CO2E and PG, and PG and ENU. Evidence from variance decomposition indicates that 58.4% of the future fluctuations in CO2E are due to changes in ENU, 2.8% of the future fluctuations are due to changes in GDP, and 0.43% of the future fluctuations are due to changes in PG. Finally, the ARDL test results indicate that a 1% increase in PG will lead to a 1.4% increase in CO2E. Our paper addresses some important policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy efficiency gains are advocated to be a plausible strategy to mitigate rising carbon emissions in the Indian transportation sector. This study, thus, estimates the energy efficiency across transportation modes in India for 2000–2014, employing the panel stochastic frontier approach. Further, the long-run effect of energy efficiency gains on carbon emissions is also examined by employing the panel fully modified least square (FMOLS) and panel dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) estimators. The empirical findings indicate an inverted U-shaped trend in energy efficiency for land transportation and a substantial rise for air transportation with higher volatility. However, the trend in energy efficiency for water transportation only shows a minor uptick with nearly stable movement. The long-run effect reveals that a 1% increase in energy efficiency will reduce carbon emissions in the transportation sector by more than 1%, between 1.343 (FMOLS) and 1.665% (DOLS). Based on such findings, a few implications are discussed to achieve a low-carbon energy system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The agroforestry system is the best option to achieve the net zero carbon emissions target for India. Keeping this view, carbon sequestration and credit potential of gamhar based agroforestry system has been assessed. The experiment was carried out in randomized block design in seven different treatments with five replications. Gamhar tree biomass accumulation was higher in gamhar based agroforestry system compared to sole gamhar. Among different tree components, stem contributed a maximum to total gamhar tree biomass followed by roots, leaves and branches. The average contributions of stems, roots, leaves and branches in total tree biomass in two annual cycles (2016–17 and 2017–18) varied between 50 and 60, 19.8 and 20, 19.2 and 20, and 10.7 and 12.7 percent, respectively. In case of crops, above ground, below ground and total biomass was significantly higher in sole intercrops than gamhar based agroforestry system. Total (Tree + interrops + Soil) carbon stock, carbon sequestration, carbon credit and carbon price were significantly affected by treatments, and was maximum in Sole Greengram-Mustard. Net carbon emission was also recorded lowest in Sole Greengram-Mustard for which the values were 811.55% and 725.24% and 760.69% lower than Sole Gamhar in 2016–17, 2017–18 and in pooled data, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: Tea, derived from the Camellia sinensis plant, holds the position of being the most widely consumed manufactured beverage globally. Its cultivation necessitates specific agro-climatic conditions, leading to its production being confined to select regions, notably including India. India contributes about 20.81% to the world's tea output. The production and processing of tea leaves to final product consume energy in terms of machinery, fertilizer, irrigation etc. The energy consumption involved in tea production is a pressing concern, given the associated high costs and CO2 emissions resulting from fossil fuel usage. To achieve a net-zero carbon balance, there is need to pay attention towards promoting renewable energy technologies as a means to mitigate the CO2 emissions stemming from fossil fuels in India's tea sector. Objectives: Aligned with the objective of sustainability through the integration of renewable energy sources, a pilot study was conducted in the primary teagrowing regions of northeastern India during 2021-22. The primary aims of this study were twofold: to gauge the quantity of CO2 emissions originating from conventional energy sources and to explore the feasibility of incorporating renewable energy sources as viable substitutes. Data and methods: Data on various inputs used in tea production were collected from Assam and West Bengal states of India by using a stratified random sampling method with equal probability and without replacement. Results: The findings of this investigation underscore a noteworthy potential for the adoption of renewable energy, particularly solar energy, within the tea estates situated in the north eastern region of India. Such a transition would yield benefits for both the tea estates themselves and the overall environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in India's carbon emissions and the decline in its environmental quality are a threat to the realization of the global sustainable development goals (SDGs). Minimizing the negative environmental impacts from fossil fuels through analysis of the determinants of India's ecological quality is an important research topic. The objective of this study is to examine the impact of information and communication technologies (ICT), renewable energy, and structural changes on environmental quality in India. In this context, the study uses the novel Fourier quantile causality test for the period 1995m1-2021m12. The results of the study show that structural changes have no impact on carbon footprint and load capacity factor, while renewable energy and ICT contribute to the improvement of environmental quality. Based on the findings of the study, the Indian government is recommended to rise investment in ICT and renewable energy to pursue a growth strategy in line with the SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions from combustion sources are uncertain in many places across the globe. Satellites have the ability to detect and quantify emissions from large CO 2 point sources, including coal-fired power plants. In this study, we routinely made observations with the PRecursore IperSpettrale della Missione Applicativa (PRISMA) satellite imaging spectrometer and the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 (OCO-3) instrument aboard the International Space Station at over 30 coal-fired power plants between 2021 and 2022. CO 2 plumes were detected in 50 % of the acquired PRISMA scenes, which is consistent with the combined influence of viewing parameters on detection (solar illumination and surface reflectance) and unknown factors (e.g., daily operational status). We compare satellite-derived emission rates to in situ stack emission observations and find average agreement to within 27 % for PRISMA and 30 % for OCO-3, although more observations are needed to robustly characterize the error. We highlight two examples of fusing PRISMA with OCO-2 and OCO-3 observations in South Africa and India. For India, we acquired PRISMA and OCO-3 observations on the same day and used the high-spatial-resolution capability of PRISMA (30 m spatial/pixel resolution) to partition relative contributions of two distinct emitting power plants to the net emission. Although an encouraging start, 2 years of observations from these satellites did not produce sufficient observations to estimate annual average emission rates within low (<15%) uncertainties. However, as the constellation of CO 2 -observing satellites is poised to significantly improve in the coming decade, this study offers an approach to leverage multiple observation platforms to better quantify and characterize uncertainty for large anthropogenic emission sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper assesses the potential impact of the national electric vehicle (EV) subsidy scheme and the cost-effectiveness of the allocation of the subsidy for different vehicular segments in reducing carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. The results show that even though the impacts are positive, most of the allocated subsidy is spent on switching the most-efficient mode into electric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • India's emissions and intensity are driven by private consumption, followed by investment and exports. • India's emission increase comes from final demand and production structure changes. • India's increase of household indirect emissions mainly comes from per capita income increase. • India's aggregate embodied intensity by final demand category all increased. • India's aggregate embodied intensity changes mainly determine by production structure changes. Abstract India is the second largest developing country and fourth largest carbon emitter in the world. It has registered the rapid economic growth (7–9%) in the last decade. However, both its total carbon emissions and emission intensity (CO 2 emissions per GDP) kept increasing during period 2007–2013. There are few studies using input-output (I-O) analysis for India's energy/emissions in the literature. This paper tries to fill in the gap by using I-O framework to study India's total emissions and intensity changes and its driving forces with the latest data available and newly proposed techniques. The results show that India's carbon emission were mainly driven by private consumption (50–55%), followed by investment (25–26%) and exports (14–19%). During period 2007/08–2013/14, India's total emissions increased by 56.6%, where total final demand change resulted in emissions increasing and the shift of demand from raw material industry to high-value added manufacturing industry helped to reduce the emissions. When measuring India's relative emission efficiency, its aggregate embodied intensity (AEI) indicator in aggregate was mainly determined by private consumption (47–49%), followed by investment (23–24%) and exports (15–18%). From 2007/08 to 2013/14, the AEI values in aggregate and by final demand category all increased except the AEI of inventory change, mainly caused by production structure change. The emission efficiency improvements helped to reduce India's total emissions and carbon intensity, but the contributions were small. The policy implications of our findings are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines India's sustainable development with respect to economic and environment development. India is among the largest emerging countries with good economic development prospects. Nevertheless, its environmental development is poor coupled with its position as third in global carbon emission ranking. This peculiarity of Indian economy with increasing emissions has prompted the need for this research into the country's sustainability. Considering the leading role of government in curbing the environmental problems, this study aims to ascertain the India's sustainable development by investigating the role of institutional quality in mitigating its carbon emissions. India's data of 1996Q1 2018Q4 are utilized to investigate the country's sustainable development. Short-run and long-run autoregressive distribution lag (ARDL) dynamic and bound test for cointegration with Granger causality are adopted in this study for better insight on India's sustainable development. Findings from ARDL revealed positive impact of Institutions on environment quality through reduction in carbon emission; however, effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) and fossil fuels shows negative effect on India's environment through increase in carbon emissions. Findings from Granger causality exposed direction of impacts among the variables; hence, nexus is formed among the variables in determining the cause of carbon emissions and environmental damage. The findings from Granger causality give support to the findings from the ARDL analysis pointing towards the need to frame policies capable of mitigating carbon emission and enhances energy transition through institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aim to investigate the impact of environmental entrepreneurship and green innovations on CO2 emissions in highly polluting Asian economies. For empirical estimation, we have applied ARDL and NARDL models. In the short run, the linear estimates of environmental entrepreneurship are significant in China and India. The short-run non-linear estimates of environmental entrepreneurship are significant in the case of China, India, and Japan. Similarly, the short-run linear estimates of green innovations are significant in China, India, and Japan, whereas the non-linear estimated coefficients of green innovation appeared to be significant in India, Japan, and Russia. In the long run, the linear estimates of environmental entrepreneurship are negative and significant in three countries, namely China, Japan, and Russia. Similarly, the estimates of green innovations are negative and significant in China, India, Japan, and Russia. In the non-linear model, the estimated coefficients of positive shock in environmental entrepreneurship are significant and negative in the case of China, India, and Japan; while, the estimates of negative shock in environmental entrepreneurship are negative and significant in India only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The liberalization of economies is aimed at boosting domestic growth through foreign investment and trade. The proponents of liberalization argue that opening up markets in developing economies provides access to capital to enhance production. However, proponents of the pollution haven hypothesis (PHH) argue that liberalization and trade agreements have led to the export of carbon-intensive production from wealthier countries to developing economies. The difference between the two outcomes lies in the nature of fixed assets built by developing countries. In this study, we examine the role of fixed capital formation on carbon emissions during two distinct periods of India's economic development. India liberalized its economy with trade reforms in 1991, thereby providing two distinct time periods of closed and open trade policies. The economic data during 1971–2021 is divided into two parts—before (1971–1990) and after (1991–2021) liberalization. Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) is used as a measure of capital formation while carbon emissions are used to represent environmental impact. Auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) model is used for analysis. Results indicate that GFCF had no significant relationship with carbon emission before liberalization, whereas, there was a significant, positive impact post-liberalization. The study is of significance to policymakers in developing countries as it suggests a change in the capital formation towards low carbon-intensive products and services. It also strengthens the argument for investing capital in cleaner energy and technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International trade affects CO2 emissions by redistributing production activities to places where the emission intensities are different from the place of consumption. This study focuses on the net emission change as the result of the narrowing gap in emission intensities between the exporter and importer. Here we show that the relocation of production activities from the global North (developed countries) to the global South (developing countries) in the early 2000s leads to an increase in global emissions due to the higher emission intensities in China and India. The related net emissions are about one-third of the total emissions embodied in the South-North trade. However, the narrowing emission intensities between South-North and the changing trade patterns results in declining net emissions in trade in the past decade. The convergence of emission intensities in the global South alleviates concerns that increasing South-South trade would lead to increased carbon leakage and carbon emissions. The mitigation opportunity to green the supply chain lies in sectors such as electricity, mineral products and chemical products, but calls for a universal assessment of emission intensities and concerted effort. International trade redistributes production activities to regions with varying emission intensities. This study finds that the convergence of emission intensities between the global South - North and changes in trade patterns have resulted in declining net emissions in trade in the past decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India is a major contributor to the global warming of the world, but there persists a prevalent lack of understanding of carbon trading (carbon credit derivative) as a commodity tradable on the stock exchange. The study brings into light the predominant drivers that can lead to the sustainable enhancement of efficacy and efficiency of carbon credit trading in India. The key drivers responsible for the sustainable implementation of the carbon credit derivative trading in India are identified and critically examined. The Analytic Hierarchy Process and Best–Worst Method have been used to rank the factors and sub-factors based on the priority (or weights) provided by the industry experts. The results indicate that the risk factors in the carbon credit derivative market are extremely crucial for enhancing sustainable trading of carbon credit derivatives closely followed by the reward and opportunity factors. The study is the first study which analyses the factors that can lead to the sustainable implementation of carbon credit trading in India. The study also contributes to the organizational strategy that carbon securitization would contribute significantly towards their financial as well as ecological sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India, with a population of 1.2 billion people, is one of the world's fastest growing economies. India has committed itself to the rapid growth that is essential for economic and social development and poverty alleviation. While India's energy consumption and carbon emissions are only a small fraction of the world's total energy consumption and carbon emissions (less than 5 %), both are likely to grow rapidly due to structural changes in the Indian economy. India has revealed that electricity, cement and waste emissions have more than doubled since 1994, making India the fifth largest emitter in the world after 1994. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is anxiety that has been rising vis-à-vis the climate changes in the entire world. Notwithstanding this, the primary purpose of this paper is to examine the board characteristics and carbon emission performance. This study applied the fixed effect model, 2SLS, and multiple regression analyses data from 220 non-financial listed companies on the BSE index and covering a period of 7 years from FY 2014-15 to FY 2020-21. The estimated results confirmed that board size, board meetings, board gender diversity, CEO duality, and ownership concentration have a negative association with carbon emission performance. In addition, board independence and the environmental committee are found to be positively associated with carbon emission performance based on 2 SLS and multiple regression analyses, and these results imply that they improve carbon performance. Overall, this study's shreds of evidence suggest that governing boards tend to pay attention to company's carbon performance and without mitigating original carbon performance is not likely to reduced GHGs emissions. This study's outcomes have significant implications for policymakers, corporate bodies, creditors, and regulators regarding the efficiency of corporate governance mechanisms in communicating climate change risks. However, corporate boards can use these results to find positive aspects of companies and formulate possible corporate governance modifications in relation to carbon policies. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The propulsion systems and characteristics of electric vehicles (EV) are different from that of conventional internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEV) and are considered to be environmentally friendly. It is relevant to access their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on a life cycle perspective for a specific location. In this study, the life cycle GHG emissions of electric vehicles in terms of equivalent carbon emission (kgCO2eq) are compared with conventional vehicles for a life cycle inventory in Indian conditions. It has been concluded that there is a reduction of about 40% embodied equivalent carbon in an ICEV in comparison with an EV in Indian conditions. Vehicle emission factor has been introduced to normalize the emission value with respect to the vehicle life in km. It varies as 0.27 kgCO2eq/km and 0.24 kgCO2eq/km for an ICEV, with high value for the petrol variant. Similar values for EVs are 0.37 kgCO2eq/km, 0.34 kgCO2eq/km and 0.32 kgCO2eq/km, with highest value for LFP and the least for LMO variants. The study concludes that the high value of emission parameters for EVs in comparison with ICEVs is due to the high rated battery component, emission factor due to the Indian generation mix and energy intensive manufacturing techniques. The emission footprint of EVs can be reduced by improved material production and manufacturing techniques of the vehicle components, increased penetration of renewable in the generation sector and enhanced usage of recycled components in vehicle industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The improper disposal of flower waste from cultural activities is one of the main challenges in certain countries such as India. If the flower waste is not managed properly, it causes a number of environmental issues. Therefore, various technologies have been developed to transform flower waste into value-added products. To integrate multiple technologies holistically to maximise the energy and material recovery, an integrated flower-waste biorefinery is required. Since there are a wide range of technologies available that can convert the waste into multiple products, there is a need to develop a systematic approach to evaluate all the technologies. This research proposes a systematic approach to synthesise an integrated flower-waste biorefinery based on different optimisation objectives, e.g., maximum economic performance and minimum environmental impact. Due to the conflicting nature between the two objectives, a fuzzy optimisation approach has been adapted to synthesise a sustainable integrated flower-waste biorefinery that satisfies both objectives at once. The efficacy of the proposed approach is demonstrated through a case study in India based on the optimised results with fuzzy optimisation—a synthesised flower-waste integrated biorefinery with economy performance of $400,932 and carbon emission of 46,209 kg CO2/h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The past three decades have witnessed the dramatic expansion of global biomass‐ and fossil fuel‐fired power plants, but the tremendously diverse power infrastructure shapes different spatial and temporal CO2 emission characteristics. Here, by combining Global Power plant Emissions Database (GPED v1.1) constructed in this study and the previously developed China coal‐fired power Plant Emissions Database (CPED), we analyzed multi‐scale changes and underlying drivers from the globe to the unit in generating capacities, age structure, and CO2 emissions over the past 30 yr. Our estimates show global CO2 emissions from the power sector increased from 7.5 Gt in 1990 to 13.9 Gt in 2019, and the growth of power demand meeting by large and young units mainly drives this increase for all stages. However, regional drivers were broadly different from those affecting global trends. For example, the critical roles of thermal efficiency improvement (accounting for 20% of the decrease in CO2 emissions) by eliminating small and low‐efficient coal‐fired units and fossil fuel mix (61%) by developing natural‐gas‐ and oil‐fired units were identified in preventing CO2 emission increases in the developed regions. By contrast, the decrease of fossil fuel share by speeding up the expansion of renewable power gradually demonstrates its importance in curbing emissions in the most of regions, especially including the developing economies (i.e., China and India) after 2010. Our multi‐scale results of 30 yr emission variations indicate the structure optimization and transformations of power plants is paramount importance to further curb or reduce CO2 emissions from the power sector. Plain Language Summary: The power sector is the top CO2 emitter and accounts for 37% of global anthropogenic emissions, which has great significance for climate change. Our combined database shows that the capacity of global fossil‐fuel‐ and biomass‐fired power plants experienced a substantial increase, mainly driven by the growing demand of power generation during the past three decades. In contrast to 133.3% increase of power capacity, global CO2 emissions of power plants increased by 85.3% during the period 1990–2019, and the disproportionately low increase of emissions benefited from the upgrade of coal‐fired power units and the large‐scale expansion of non‐coal‐fired ones with low/zero carbon intensity. Specifically, global power plant fleet turnover improved the power generation efficiency and optimized the fuel mix by constructing large and technologically advanced power units, slowing the growth rate of global CO2 emissions in 1990–2019. Moreover, changes in the critical role of fossil fuel power were associated with regional economic growth, environmental policy and technological advances, indicating that the expansion of non‐fossil‐fuels will likely represent an increasing factor in driving future CO2 emission reductions from the power sector. Key Points: Global CO2 emissions from the power sector increased from 7.5 Gt in 1990 to 13.9 Gt in 2019, mainly driven by the growth of demandThe efficiency improvements and the non‐coal power development carry positive effects on decreasing CO2 emissions in the developed regionsThe power shift from fossil fuels to non‐fossil fuels plays an increasingly critical role on curbing CO2 emissions in developing regions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India has a large poor population in spite of having a steady economic growth. Supply of centralized grid power to remote villages of India is not feasible due to adverse topography and poor economic condition of the villagers. To supply the reliable power at a minimum cost including penalty due to carbon dioxide emission, a suitable decentralized energy combination using locally available resources may be a better sustainable solution. The economy of such a hybrid energy supply system significantly depends on storage devices and dispatch strategies. Therefore, selection of appropriate storage devices and dispatch strategy need to be optimized based on available local resources. In this study, the comparative analysis of techno-economic factors for five different storage devices (lead acid battery, lithium-ion battery, vanadium redox battery, zinc bromide battery and pumped hydro energy storage) are studied under two different dispatch strategies, i.e., Load Following and Cycle Charging. The estimated cost of energy and net present cost of the recommended optimum combined energy system are in the range of US$0.197/kWh–US$0.453/kWh and US$3,62,384–US$5,76,369, respectively. The cost of energy, net present cost and carbon dioxide emission for the selected energy generators combination with the zinc bromide battery is 48.964–56.512%, 24.149–32.147% and 43.419–55.865% lower than other storage-based energy systems, respectively. The abovementioned economic and environmental factors are lower by 34.113, 10.489 and 31.094%, respectively, under Load Following dispatch strategy with respect to the Cycle Charging dispatch strategy for the optimum energy combination with zinc bromide battery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction industry adds more than 35 percent of global emissions through the entire lifecycle procedure of the structure. Every stage of construction process from raw material extraction to demolition is responsible for carbon emissions in the form of either embodied or operational carbon. Carbon emissions be reduced by implementing modernization and sustainability in building design typically with greater use of material resources such as recycled steel, recycled concrete using the circular economy concepts and automation tools. This study focuses on a case of a two-storey commercial structure located in Hyderabad, Telangana State in India to ascertain specifically the embodied carbon released during different stages of construction using standard empirical formulae. Enormous amounts of embodied carbon emissions were observed and an alternative approach of using sustainable materials such as Ferrock, recycled steel, etc. was proposed to mitigate the same. It is evident from the study that eco-friendly materials are the effective alternatives to promote carbon neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to bridge the gaps to produce sustainable energy cost-effectively and technically efficient. The paper explores the techno-economic-environmental viability of photovoltaic (PV)/biomass energy potential for a rural village, Sidhwanbet, Punjab, India. The data investigation was performed by HOMER Pro v3.14 software. A hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) was designed, simulated and modelled to ensure the continuous energy supply for 770 households. The proposed optimal HRES consists of a PV module, biomass generator, converter and battery with the static specification and further improved by optimization. The optimal HRES out of the best five configurations was elected with Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) based on net present cost (NPC), cost of energy generation (COE), operating cost (ƠƇ), initial capital cost (ƗƇƇ), energy generation (ĖƓ), and a renewable fraction (Ȓϯ). The selected optimal HRES has been analyzed for economic, renewable energy and environmental aspects. The sensitivity study had performed while considering the discount and inflation rate. A simulation was performed for a 10-kW biomass generator, 1.1 kW solar array, five lithium-ion batteries, and a 3.96 kW converter. Results revealed that the PV's payback period (PBP) was 1.58 years, less than the useful life of optimal HRES. The cost of constructing an HRES for 25 years was equivalent to $21087, including initial cost, operating, replacement, and project costs. Thus, 35.6% of the necessary electricity is generated with PV and 64.4% biomass under optimal conditions for a 100% renewable energy integration. The CO 2 /year emission performance of optimal HRES is much better than Grid-only and PV-diesel generators. This technique may be used in rural regions in every other developing nation. [Display omitted] • Study of hybrid PV/Biomass/Battery energy for India rural area. • Design and optimization for off-grid electricity generation system using HOMER. • Technically and financially viable optimal configuration costs 0.0362 $/kWh. • System performance economically and environmentally analyzed by sensitivity analysis. • HRES reduced GHG compared to conventional grid and PV-biogas generator only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermal power of the total power demand accounts for the total of 60% in India, with the penetration of the nonconventional energy sources the grid management becomes a tedious job in maintaining the grid stability, and adding to the woes the environmental norms become stricter as it is a tough job to maintain to lesser CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. Hence this article aims with the integration of the grid management with the renewable energy sources and reduction of CO2 and also strives for the grid stability with the smart grid. And the thermal scheduling optimization is done with the novel bat algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A plethora of studies reveals that tourism development and structural change contribute to the socioeconomic progress of the countries. However, the effects of tourism development and structural change on environmental quality are yet to be explored in detail. Hence, the present work evaluates the dynamics of tourism development and structural change on emissions of CO2 as an environmental quality, representative by endogenizing economic progress, consumption of energy, and structural break in India. Toward the empirical front, this study relies on quarterly time series data for 1995Q1–2016Q4 within an approach of bounds testing for cointegration due to its simulation capacity for integration order of the study variables. The emanated outcomes reveal the long-term association between the variables of interest. After validating the long-term correspondence among the variables, the ARDL-based long-run results show that tourism development worsens the quality of the environment, whereas transition in the structure of the economy cause for improving the quality of the environment and structural break in the series shows an insignificant role in carbon emissions. Moreover, it is revealed that economic growth improves the quality of the environment, and consumption of energy exhibits a deleterious association with environmental quality. These findings' robustness is confirmed using fully modified/dynamic OLS and canonical cointegrating regression. Therefore, the study suggests that policymakers must ensure a sustainable tourism practice to reap environmental sustainability. Similarly, the government should promote investment in the service sector to maintain a desirable environmental quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's per capita contribution of carbon emissions is well below the world average, yet it suffers disproportionately from rising temperatures. Thus, many Indians share the sense of urgency that Greta Thunberg exhibits when she demands that nations make stronger commitments to limit carbon emissions. India's monsoon‐dependent agriculture is highly vulnerable to any change in weather patterns, but the land irrigated by groundwater is also threatened. The projected rise in annual peak temperatures, similar to those now experienced only in the earth's hottest micro‐climates, could make it nearly impossible for humans to engage in agriculture in India and several other parts of the world. Climate change affects yields of crops, livestock, dairy, and fisheries. Rising temperatures, increased frequency of flooding, and other hazards associated with climate change will reduce food production. Even a slight drop in food output can have a dramatic effect on food prices, both locally and globally. Rice farming, particularly in the rain‐fed regions, faces multiple risks from uncertain climate, degraded soil, water deficits, and underdeveloped markets. Loss of biodiversity is also a threat to agriculture in India, and it is also affected by climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, all countries have producing different levels of carbon emissions and also facing both the problems of climate change and global warming due high carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Therefore, it is important to cutting carbon emissions in the atmosphere. This is only possible by switching to cleaner fuels, use of innovation technologies and development of carbon capture storages. These can substantially help the nations to reaching carbon neutrality. Given this background, t his paper examines the effect of disaggregated energy consumption, technological innovations, capital on economic output and CO 2 emissions in India for the period of 1990–2018. Based on empirical analysis, our long-run elasticities indicate that disaggregated energy consumption and technological innovations have a positive impact on economic growth, while renewable energy consumption and technological innovations have a positive impact on CO 2 emissions. It implies that more use of energy consumption producing significant amount of CO 2 emissions and by using renewable energy consumption and technological innovations (i.e. carbon capture storages) can significantly lowering CO 2 emissions, which is clearly indicating that India has moving towards carbon neutrality. The causality analysis further indicates a unidirectional causal relationship running from disaggregated energy usage to economic growth and carbon emissions. These empirical findings suggest that the increased consumption of renewable power does not lead to rise carbon emissions, which, in turn, ensures sustainable economic growth. • Examines the disaggregated energy consumption, technological innovations, capital on economic output and CO 2 emissions. • Time series data from 1990 to 2018 was used to analyze the empirical results. • Disaggregated energy consumption and technological innovations have a positive impact on economic growth. • Renewable energy consumption and technological innovations have a positive impact on CO 2 emissions. • Suggest that increased in consumption of renewable power does not lead to rise carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the features of accounting for the national carbon emission inventory under four different system boundaries, including the presently operational territorial production-based accounting (PBA) practised by the UNFCCC. Using a recently published input-output table with the base year for 2013–2014, the study calculates India's 'Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)' to the mitigation of carbon emissions using production-based, consumption-based, sharing-based and equity-based accounting. The study finds India as a net importer of carbon emissions, especially for its high emission-intensive capital and energy goods import such that the country is bearing the minimum burden of emission reduction responsibility. However, the study intends to analyse this burden of responsibility in terms of the criteria of justice and effectiveness and addresses the future policy priorities for India to become a net exporter of industrial goods. We recommend India for supporting and implementing an alternative system boundary of emission inventory accounting which would be more consistent with the provisions of 'equity' subscribed under the UNFCCC while at the same time, helpful for achieving the climate goals by appropriately trace and track the sources of 'carbon leakage'. • We explore accounting features of the national carbon emission inventory in India. • India is a net importer of C O 2 emissions with less burden of emission responsibility. • Besides accounting of the emission inventory, the concept of 'emission responsibility' accommodates the criterion of 'justice' and 'effectiveness'. • The existing system boundary of emission inventory accounting could be an obstacle to achieve carbon-neutrality for India. • India must implement alternative system boundary of emission inventory accounting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to examine the CO2 emissions by considering the implication of COVID-19 under strict lockdown in India. The nonlinear (asymmetric) relationship is investigated between CO2 emission and COVID-19 with its specific determinants. The positive and negative asymmetries of COVID-19 determinants are also captured by using econometric techniques. The daily data series of CO2 emission, new confirmed cases, confirmed deaths, and lockdown as dummy variables from January 30, 2020, to December 1, 2020, for India is analyzed by employing the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model. This research revealed a significant nonlinear relationship between CO2 emission and COVID-19. The bound test and asymmetric coefficients are confirmed by the variables' long- and short-run relationships. The dynamic multiplier graphs present that India's strict lockdown due to the rapid increase in COVID-19 patients significantly reduces toxic gas emissions, especially CO2 emissions. This asymmetric relationship has been proficiently declared that unhealthy public routine, extra traffic, and unhygienic gases released in the air become the reason for environmental destruction. The lockdown is practically imposed for specific periods and reasons, contributing to reducing toxic emissions, but it is not a permanent solution for environmental sustainability. The government of India, policymakers, and environmentalists should make people aware of unhealthy and environmentally envying activities and policies and long-term applicable strategies should be designed to upgrade the environment's quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scenarios avoiding global warming greater than 1.5 or 2 ∘ C, as stipulated in the Paris Agreement, may require the combined mitigation of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions alongside enhancing negative emissions through approaches such as afforestation–reforestation (AR) and biomass energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). We use the JULES land surface model coupled to an inverted form of the IMOGEN climate emulator to investigate mitigation scenarios that achieve the 1.5 or 2 ∘ C warming targets of the Paris Agreement. Specifically, within this IMOGEN-JULES framework, we focus on and characterise the global and regional effectiveness of land-based (BECCS and/or AR) and anthropogenic methane (CH4) emission mitigation, separately and in combination, on the anthropogenic fossil fuel carbon dioxide (CO2) emission budgets (AFFEBs) to 2100. We use consistent data and socio-economic assumptions from the IMAGE integrated assessment model for the second Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP2). The analysis includes the effects of the methane and carbon–climate feedbacks from wetlands and permafrost thaw, which we have shown previously to be significant constraints on the AFFEBs. Globally, mitigation of anthropogenic CH4 emissions has large impacts on the anthropogenic fossil fuel emission budgets, potentially offsetting (i.e. allowing extra) carbon dioxide emissions of 188–212 Gt C. This is because of (a) the reduction in the direct and indirect radiative forcing of methane in response to the lower emissions and hence atmospheric concentration of methane and (b) carbon-cycle changes leading to increased uptake by the land and ocean by CO2 -based fertilisation. Methane mitigation is beneficial everywhere, particularly for the major CH4 -emitting regions of India, the USA, and China. Land-based mitigation has the potential to offset 51–100 Gt C globally, the large range reflecting assumptions and uncertainties associated with BECCS. The ranges for CH4 reduction and BECCS implementation are valid for both the 1.5 and 2 ∘ C warming targets. That is the mitigation potential of the CH4 and of the land-based scenarios is similar for regardless of which of the final stabilised warming levels society aims for. Further, both the effectiveness and the preferred land management strategy (i.e. AR or BECCS) have strong regional dependencies. Additional analysis shows extensive BECCS could adversely affect water security for several regions. Although the primary requirement remains mitigation of fossil fuel emissions, our results highlight the potential for the mitigation of CH4 emissions to make the Paris climate targets more achievable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The defense and peace literature have focused mainly on the military-growth nexus, with little attention paid to the environmental sustainability agenda, which is impacted by increased global arms transfers. The supply of lead-containing ammunition generates complex gas mixtures (including CO2 emissions) and particulates that harm the healthcare sustainability agenda. Based on the significance of the subject matter, the study uses the Indian economy as a case study, with a significant rate of arms transfers associated with higher carbon emissions. The study analyzed data from more than four decades, from 1975 to 2020. Data on arms imports, military personnel, and military expenditures are used to evaluate the 'ammunition emissions function'. It corresponds to the three research hypotheses, namely, the 'emissions-defense burden hypothesis' (arms transfers increase carbon emissions), the 'emissions-cleaner hypothesis' (arms transfers reduce carbon emissions), and the 'emissions-asymmetric hypothesis' (positive and negative shocks of arms transfers either support the 'defense burden hypothesis' or 'cleaner hypothesis'). The non-linear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) results confirmed the 'emissions-defense burden hypothesis' in the long run, as positive and negative shocks from arms imports increase carbon emissions. However, in the short run, positive arms imports increase carbon emissions while negative arms imports decrease carbon emissions. Furthermore, the findings supported the 'emissions-cleaner hypothesis' in the relationship between armed forces personnel and carbon emissions. The findings imply that the positive and negative shocks experienced by armed forces personnel reduce carbon emissions in the short and long run. Positive shocks to military spending support the 'emissions-defense burden hypothesis' in the short run; however, the results vanished when negative shocks to military spending supported the 'emissions-spillover hypothesis' (lowering military spending reduces carbon emissions and increases economic productivity) in the short and long run. The country's unsustainable economic activities are viewed as a negative factor contributing to long-term carbon emissions increases. The negative shocks of armed forces personnel and positive arms imports would almost certainly have a significant long-term impact on carbon emissions. As a result, the 'treadmill theory of destruction' has been confirmed in a country. The study concludes that lead-free ammunition and managing ammunition safety are beneficial to a country's environmental sustainability agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years Asian Nations showed concern over the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of their civil infrastructure. This study presents a contextual investigation of a residential apartment complex in the territory of the southern part of India. The LCA is performed through Building Information Modelling (BIM) software embedded with Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) of materials utilized in construction, transportation of materials and operational energy use throughout the building lifecycle. The results of the study illustrate that cement is the material that most contributes to carbon emissions among the other materials looked at in this study. The operational stage contributed the highest amount of carbon emissions. This study emphasizes variation in the LCA results based on the selection of a combination of definite software-database combinations and manual-database computations used. For this, three LCA databases were adopted (GaBi database and ecoinvent databases through One Click LCA software), and the ICE database was used for manual calculations. The ICE database showed realistic value comparing the GaBi and ecoinvent databases. The findings of this study are valuable for the policymakers and practitioners to accomplish optimization of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions over the building life cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grassland is a highly dynamic land use system and it provides vital ecosystem services, mainly consisting of carbon storage in the tropics and subtropics. The objective of this study was to delineate grassland in India according to soil characteristics and carbon pools in comparison to native forestland, and to discuss management strategies for improving soil carbon (SC) storage in grassland. A total of 675 paired datasets from studies on grassland and forestland in India generated during the period of 1990–2019 were used for meta-analysis study. The analysis shows that soil pH and bulk density (BD) in grasslands were greater by 1.1% and 1.0% compared to forestlands while soil organic carbon (SOC) declined by 36.3% (p < 0.05). Among carbon pools, labile carbon (LC), non-labile carbon (NLC), and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) were 35.5%, 35.3% and 29.5% lower, respectively, in the grassland compared to the forestland. Total carbon (TC) was 35.0% lower in the grassland than the forestland (p < 0.05). Soil carbon stocks (SCS) were 32.8% lower in the grassland compared to the forestland. In the grassland, MBC/SOC (%) from the surface layer and subsurface layer were lower by 2.4% and 8.5%, respectively compared to forestland. The percentage effect size was found to have decreased from surface soil to subsurface soil. Relative SCS loss and carbon dioxide equivalent emission from the grassland compared to forestland were 15.2% and 33.3 Mg ha−1, respectively (p < 0.05). Proper management strategies like agroforestry, legume introduction, silvipastoral system, fertilization, irrigation, and quality grass species could improve SC storage and reduce SCS loss in grassland. Overall, this study gives an idea that conversion of native forestland into grassland in India has declined the SC content and hence it is necessary to adapt proper strategies to manage the soil-atmosphere carbon balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]