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The pulp and paper industry accounts for approximately 5% of total industrial energy consumption and contributes 2% of direct carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from industries. World paper and paperboard demand and production are increasing significantly, leading to an increase in this sector's energy use and CO 2 emissions. Although current studies identify a wide range of energy-efficiency technologies that have already been commercialized for the pulp and paper industry, information is limited or scattered regarding new energy-efficiency technologies that are not yet fully commercialized. Development of emerging or advanced energy-efficiency technologies and their deployment in the market will be crucial for this industry's mid- and long-term energy saving and climate change mitigation strategies. This paper compiles available information on energy savings, environmental and other benefits, costs, and commercialization status for 25 emerging technologies to reduce the energy use and CO 2 emissions. The purpose is to provide a well-structured comprehensive review on these emerging energy-efficiency technologies for engineers, researchers, investors, policy makers, pulp and/or paper companies, and other interested parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on provincial panel data from 2000 to 2014, this paper measured the total factor energy efficiency by adopting the dynamic slacks-based measure model, and then employed the spatial econometric model to analyze the impact of regional mitigation of carbon dioxide on energy efficiency from both intra-regional and inter-regional perspectives in China. The results show the following: first, the average of total factor energy efficiency presents a rising trend from 2000 to 2014, and it shows a significant difference among regions. Second, the direct effect of carbon productivity on energy efficiency is positive, but the indirect effect is negative. The share ratio of direct and indirect effects is 1: −0.96; the total effect is positive but insignificant. Based on this conclusion, the paper provides some relevant policy suggestions and measures for regionally saving energy resources and relieving environmental constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

This paper demonstrates an influence of the anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emission trend on climate talks aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The influence of commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, undertaken by the largest emitter countries within the framework of international treaties (the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement), on the fossil energy consumption and CO2 emissions from the combustion of various types of fuel by these countries has been analyzed. Emissions from the European Union (EU), as well as consumption of renewable and alternative energy sources by countries are beyond the subject of this paper. The paper focuses on the obligations that the largest emitters of greenhouse gas emissions are ready to undertake in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The impact of the country's choice of the base year on its ambitious climate action to reduce emissions has been evaluated. Challenges that the countries may face in the implementation of the Net Zero by 2050: A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector, developed by the International Energy Agency (IEA), have been identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate changes which we are experiencing at the moment are affecting the entire globe. Serbia, as a developing country, is in the process of defining its own energy strategy and priorities when it comes to the problem of increased energy consumption in its building stock. Research shows that residential sector consumes the largest quantity of energy. The CO2 emissions present another big problem which is in a direct correlation with energy consumption. Green roofs have multiple positive effects on buildings and their surroundings which make them a desirable option for retrofitting roofs. The aim of this paper is to investigate thermal properties of chosen green roof system and its potential to positively influence energy consumption for heating buildings and therefore CO2 emissions trough refurbishing existing old flat roofs. The municipality of New Belgrade was chosen for this research for its unique urban characteristics - existence of large number of similar or identical buildings, which have same structural characteristics and similar surroundings. For the purpose of this paper, blocks 45 and 70 were chosen. Results of this research are applicable on all of the 132 buildings found at this location, which have total roof area of 90.990 m². By calculating energy quantity needed for heating the building with the existing roof and two hypothetical models, which have green roof, it was possible to quantify energy savings, which are in a direct correlation with CO2 emissions. A control roof was introduced in order to examine if the proposed green roof possesses better characteristics than a traditional solution, most commonly used in Serbia. Apart from energy savings, overall impact of the green roof on the CO2 reduction per building was calculated. By multiplying these results, we drew the conclusion that a project such as greening roofs of existing residential buildings in blocks 45 and 70 would have a noticeable effect on both the energy savings and CO2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transportation sector is the main energy consumer and carbon emitter in China. To accurately evaluate the dynamic changes in the energy-carbon performance of the sector and to propose alternatives for sustainable development, this paper proposes an approach incorporating the meta-frontier method, global benchmark technology, and non-radial directional distance function. Using this approach, the paper proposes a new definition, named the global meta-frontier non-radial Malmquist energy-carbon performance index (GMNMECPI). GMNMECPI can be decomposed into technical efficiency change (EC), best-practice gap change (BPC), and technology gap change (TGC). This new method was then used to estimate the dynamic changes of energy-carbon performance in China's transportation sector from 2006 to 2015. The paper also identifies the effect of current policies. The empirical results show that the energy-carbon performance of China's transportation sector decreased annually by 1.636% during the study period. This reduction was mainly caused by a significant technology lag in the central area while primarily influenced by deterioration in efficiency in both the east and west. There is a distinct heterogeneity in technology across China's three areas. Based on the findings, the paper closes with policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper explores China's strategies for addressing climate change on the industrial level. Focusing on six energy-intensive industries, this paper applies gray relational analysis theory to the affecting factors to CO emissions of each industry after calculating each industry's CO emissions during 2001-2010. Further research based on GM(1, 1) model is conducted to forecast the trend of the factors, the energy consumption and each industry's CO emissions during the 12th Five-Year Plan period. As a breakthrough in previous conclusions, energy consumption structure was divided into the respective proportion of coal, oil, natural gas and electricity in the primary energy consumption, with which industrial output and energy intensity are combined to analyze each of their impacts on the energy-intensive industries. It turns out that all the factors' impacts on emissions of the six major energy-intensive industries are significant, despite their differentiated extents. It is worth noting that, contrary to previous findings, industrial output is not the leading affecting factor to CO emissions of the energy-intensive industries compared with the proportion of coal and electricity in the primary energy consumption. The GM(1, 1) forecast results of energy consumption and CO emissions by the end of 2015 show that coal and electricity will remain a large proportion in primary energy consumption. This research may shed some light on China's adjustment of energy structure under the pressure of addressing climate change and hence provide decision support for the acceleration of renewable energy utilization in the industrial departments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Just prior to the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit, China pledged to cut its carbon intensity by 40-45% by 2020 relative to its 2005 levels. This raises the issue of whether such a pledge is ambitious or just represents business as usual. To put China's climate pledge into perspective, this paper examines whether this pledge is as challenging as the energy-saving goals set in the 11th 5-year economic blueprint, to what extent it drives China's emissions below its projected baseline levels, whether China will fulfill its part of a coordinated global commitment to stabilize the concentration of greenhouse gas emissions at the desirable level, and whether it is conservative and there is room for further increase. Our balanced analysis of China's climate pledge challenges the views of both some Western scholars and the Chinese government regarding its ambition. Given that China's pledge is in the form of carbon intensity, the paper shows that GDP figures are even more crucial to the impacts on the energy or carbon intensity than are energy consumption and emissions data. Finally, the paper emphasizes that China's proposed carbon intensity target not only needs to be seen as ambitious, but more importantly it needs to be credible, and suggests that international climate change negotiations need to focus on 2030 as the targeted date to cap the greenhouse gas emissions of the world's two largest emitters in a legally binding global agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dairy industry requires substantial energy resources at all stages of production and supply to meet consumer needs in terms of quantity, quality and food safety. The expected future climate change effects will cause serious uncertainty to the dairy industry. Adapting to these upcoming conditions is a challenge and one that is compounded by the continuous increase in food demand, as a result of global population growth. Predictably, under current conditions, this situation might lead to a significant increase in the energy requirements of the dairy industry. Therefore, there is a clear need to mitigate energy use through enhanced energy conservation, waste reduction and waste management. This review paper presents and discusses alternative dairy operations and mitigation strategies that have the potential to lead the dairy industry towards net-zero carbon emissions. Further, the focus of this work turns to supply chain energy modelling (SCEM) as means to mitigate energy use, while relevant work in the literature is reviewed. Supply chain energy models can provide a complete overview of the energy demand and the energy mix of a dairy supply chain. Additionally, they can highlight the most energy consuming processes and allow the evaluation of alternative energy-saving operations that can lead towards the net-zero carbon target. Overall, the development or use of computational tools for simulating the energy demand in the industry has strong potential for improving sustainability across the dairy supply chain. • Insight on climate change effects on the dairy supply chain and impact on energy demand. • Understanding the relevance and importance of the "net-zero" carbon emissions target in the dairy supply chain. • Identification of novel energy mitigation strategies across the dairy supply chain. • Importance of developing supply chain energy models (SCEM) to address energy mitigation in the dairy sector. • Evaluation of modelling techniques to develop or deliver supply chain energy models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A reduction in the CO2 emission intensity (ton per gross domestic product) from a base year to a target year with different rates of reduction in each individual year can yield different cumulative CO2 emissions over time, which could have different effects on the climate. In this paper, an indicator is proposed to measure the extent to which the cumulative CO2 emissions are generated by a specific reduction trajectory of CO2 emission intensity, especially for emerging economies with a relatively higher economic growth rate. The proposed indicator is important for less-developed countries and regions in which economic growth is heavily reliant on energy and in which significant potential exists for improvement of energy efficiency. The indicator is applied to evaluate the CO2 emission reduction performance in China's 12th Five-Year Plan period, and the result is not encouraging, especially when the likely gap between the energy conservation goals and temperature goals is further examined. Mitigation goals should be set by considering not only the performance in the final year, but also the reduction in cumulative emissions over the evaluation period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, a growing body of research has examined the role of cities in addressing climate change and the institutional and political challenges which they encounter. For the most part, in these accounts, the infrastructure networks, their material fabric, everyday practices and political economies, have remained unexamined. In this paper, it is argued that this is a critical omission and an approach is developed for understanding how urban responses to climate change both configure and are configured by infrastructure networks. Central to any such analysis is the conception of how and why (urban) infrastructure networks undergo change. Focusing on urban energy networks and on the case of London, the paper argues for an analysis of the ‘urban infrastructure regimes’ and ‘experiments’ through which climate change is governed. It is found that climate change experiments serve as a means through which dominant actors articulate and test new ‘low-carbon’ logics for urban infrastructure development. It is argued that experiments work by establishing new circuits, configuring actors in new sets of relations and through these means realising the potential for addressing climate change in the city. At the same time, experiments become sites of conflict, a means through which new forms of urban circulation can be confined and marginalised, leaving dominant energy regimes (relatively) intact. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The global steel industry is rapidly transitioning towards energy decarbonization to address the climate crisis. Sintering is one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions from steel mills. Traditional sintering processes use straight inclined chutes to feed raw materials into the sinter machine. However, this design suffers from insufficient horizontal momentum, resulting in poor segregation of the layered materials. This study proposes an improved charging chute design profile that uses a cycloid curve and rolls to enhance segregation, thus reducing coal consumption and increasing productivity. To achieve this, we first modeled a charging chute using the cycloid curve. Secondly, building upon the cycloid concept, we created a roll-type chute by strategically placing rollers along the cycloid trajectory. Finally, the cycloid roll-type charging chute, integrating the cycloid trajectory with the roll-shaped charging chute, was simulated. Pilot tests comparing the cycloid roll-type and straight chute models demonstrated a significant increase in dispersion for the cycloid roll-type design, with a 65% improvement in the Strand-ward segregation (Sw) index compared to the straight chute. Furthermore, actual filed implementation in a sintering process achieved a 2.9% increase in operational productivity and a 6% reduction in fuel consumption. This study is significant not only for proposing an optimal chute design, but also for successfully implementing it in a full-scale steel mill, contributing to a reduction in fuel consumption and carbon reduction in steel mills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing the adverse effects of global warming and climate change is a critical issue. For the past 15 years the University of East Anglia has been addressing these concerns through a multi-pronged approach using technical means of low-energy building design, installing renewable energy sources, good energy management and raising awareness. Through good energy management, the university has been able to reduce the energy consumption of already low-energy buildings by as much as 50%. A large-scale building-integrated photovoltaic (PV) array has been installed along with on-site generation of heating, cooling and electricity via a 3 MW combined heat and power (CHP) plant and, recently, an adsorption chiller. In this paper, potential improvements in a more effective utilisation of PV electricity will also be discussed, as will future plans to reduce carbon emissions by installing further sources of renewable energy. The last part of this paper focuses on the CRed (Community Carbon Reduction) Programme established in 2003 and based at the university. The CRed programme takes up this challenge through innovative and integrated ways in promoting a low carbon economy and, in particular, promoting awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the significance and importance of urban sustainability in China and China's history of rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, this paper aims to incorporate the investigation of climate change and air pollution in urban sustainability research in China through a driver-pressure-state-impact-response model. The model has 12 indices: population, enterprise, registered vehicles, energy consumption, emissions and concentrations of carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide, land use change, annual temperature, tropical nights and reforestation were selected. It was used in the analysis of 14 cities in the Liaoning Province. The results show that the model is an effective tool for urban sustainability research, allowing for the investigation of interactions of climate change and air pollution and contributing to the body of knowledge by aiding generation of realistic and practical measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental or economic policy does not yet recognise climate change as the key policy agendas in most of the developing countries. The available evidence shows that some of the most undesirable impacts of climate change will surface in developing countries, where people are most susceptible with low adaptation to impact the potential for progress in these countries. Global warming is acclaimed as one of the major threats. Ever increasing emissions indicate the immediate attention to act to shift from the current energy consumption path of economic development. EKC hypothesis proposes the "inverted-U" shaped association between per capita GDP and climate depletion. Several literatures have already put forth the positive linkage between the expanding economic activity and environment deterioration so far. But there is a gap of one amalgamated study in existing literature to establish the sustainable growth pairing with climate impact using the EKC graphical analysis and empirically by using OLS-GMM technique for BRIC and other developing nations. This study therefore examines the impact of economic development factors (Output, Energy usage, Direct Foreign Investment) on carbon emissions across BRIC economies and other developing nations, graphically using EKC hypotheses and empirically using GMM. Panel data over period 1991 to 2011 is used. The results validates that economic growth factors are elements of environmental quality in BRIC and developing economies. In addition, the robustness check through the graphical EKC trend doesn't alter our main findings. The paper indicates the relevance of making climate change policies as mainstream goal for global governance through increased carbon spacing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese government committed to reduce its national CO 2 emissions intensity by 40–45% until 2020 in response to climate change. This paper quantitatively evaluates the performance of CO 2 emissions reduction over the period 2005–2020 from the historical and prospective perspectives by using a combination of decomposition analysis and scenario analysis, aiming to provide suggestions about how to achieve the target in key emissions reduction fields. Unlike traditional index decomposition methods, this paper incorporates the total energy conversion efficiency effect into the model, and further decomposes it into a final energy mix effect and a final energy conversion efficiency effect by a multilevel decomposition procedure, allowing to measure the contributions of primary energy structure low-carbonization, the final energy mix electrification, and the energy conversion efficiency improvement. The results show that the carbon intensity could decline over the period 2005–2020 by 47.8%, 50.9%, 48.0%, 44.5% and 47.5% in the Business as Usual, S1, S2, S3 and S4 scenarios, respectively. This shows that the 40–45% target is very likely to be achieved. The final energy intensity effect is always the most important driving factor, causing carbon intensity to decrease by 24.0% and 22.1%, again respectively, from 2005–2012 to 2012–2020. Moreover, the energy conversion effect was another major driver during 2005–2012. The Chinese government needs to make more efforts to adjust the industrial structure, which could cause carbon intensity to decrease by 3.6% during 2012–2020, and to adjust the primary energy mix, which could cause carbon intensity to decrease by 7.1% during 2012–2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National security agencies of four major powers—the United States, Russia, China, and the United Kingdom—see their militaries taking on additional roles in domestic disaster relief because of the effects of global climate change. Otherwise, national security actors show drastically different responses to climate change. The US and Russian militaries are planning for a thawing of the Arctic; but outside the Arctic, Russia seems not to regard climate change as a serious national security issue. The United States, the United Kingdom, and China are studying the effect of rising sea levels on coastal military installations; Russia apparently is not. The United States and the United Kingdom have begun significant efforts to cut energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, but because of low domestic energy prices, the Russian military has few incentives to reduce energy consumption or increase alternative energy use. And out of deference to the government’s official position that climate change is a development rather than security issue, China’s military has largely limited its climate-related activities to mass tree planting and disaster relief. Regardless of their positions on climate change, national security entities in these four countries are not expressing much urgency or taking aggressive stands, in part due to the paucity of established knowledge about the connection between a warming climate and national security. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Many developing countries are acutely vulnerable to global climate changes. Pakistan ranks amongst the top of those nations where vulnerability index due to climate changes is very high. Though many of these are not major contributors to the Green House Gases (GHGs) emissions, yet they have adequate potential to mitigate GHGs in various sectors. The power sector, for instance, is one of the major contributors to GHGs in Pakistan and has prospects of abating GHGs by undertaking alternative and improving measures. The GHG contribution from grid connected power plants can be estimated through baseline emissions factor. This paper has calculated this baseline emission factor by determining annual fossil fuel consumption in the grid connected power plants, their net efficiencies, energy outputs and carbon emissions from each fuel source. The data in this regard has been collected from Pakistan Energy Year Book published in 2009, 2010 and 2011 and through related government agencies. The tools, procedures and methodologies of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are followed in this regard. The paper has calculated that the weighted average baseline emissions factor for power sector in Pakistan is 0.566tCO2/MWh (tons of carbon dioxide per megawatt hour) for wind and solar power projects and 0.478tCO2/MWh for hydro power projects excluding Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) grid and 0.606tCO2/MWh for wind and solar power projects and 0.505tCO2/MWh for hydro by including KESC grid. This baseline emissions factor is also a determinant of the amount of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) that can be accrued by implementing clean Alternative and Renewable Energy (ARE) projects. The amount of CERs generated by an ARE project also have the prospects to earn the carbon revenue streams. The paper has also suggested measures for mitigating grid emissions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

ABSTRACT The Chinese government has announced a national mitigation target towards sustainable development of reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per unit GDP (CO2/GDP) by 40-45% by 2020 compared with the 2005 level. This paper analyses China's CO2 strategic mitigation target and suggests possible ways to reduce CO2/GDP. The mitigation target of reducing CO2 intensity in terms of GDP is ambitious and would greatly reduce CO2 emissions compared with business as usual (BAU) in China. However, it would not prevent an increase in absolute CO2 emissions and therefore a more ambitious target, e.g. a larger reduction goal for CO2/GDP, is still needed. Promoting energy structure by more ambitious economic instruments to increase the proportion of renewable energy and replace coal consumption with oil and gas, and improving energy efficiency by applied advanced technologies, are both necessary measures. Special attention should be given to improving technologies in the manufacturing sector owing to its high energy consumption and low energy use efficiency. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a consensus among scientists that stark dangers await in a world where the global mean temperature rises by more than about 2 degrees Celsius. That threshold corresponds to a collective human carbon emissions "budget" of around a trillion tons, of which half has been spent. This paper uses a new simulation model to look at strategies to stay within that budget, specifically assessing the impact of improvements in energy efficiency, aggressive deployment of renewables, and energy technology innovation. The simulations examine the timing of investments, turnover of capital stock, and the effect of learning on costs, among other factors. The results indicate that efficiency, renewables, and technology innovation are all required to keep humanity within the trillion-ton budget. Even so, these measures are not by themselves sufficient: changes in land use and a price on carbon emissions are also needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This editorial discusses the impact of global industrial manufacturing on carbon emissions and the development of new energy and technologies to reduce carbon. It highlights the importance of reducing carbon emissions to address the challenges of climate change and rising global temperatures. The article presents data on carbon emission trends by country and emphasizes the need for international cooperation to achieve carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. It also includes studies on the correlation between greenhouse gas emissions and financial expenditures, as well as the factors influencing carbon emissions in various industries. The editorial concludes by discussing the contribution of the research topic in exploring the transition to low carbon and providing insights from different perspectives. [Extracted from the article]

The European greenhouse horticulture represents one of the most intensive energy sector in agriculture and strongly contributes to increase the energy and environmental vulnerability within regions having a large greenhouse farming systems. Specifically, the European greenhouse farming sector is facing a trend that responds to the changing consumer's demands in a society that, globally, is increasingly affluent but more aware about some negative consequences, such as high energy-demand processes, and CO2 emissions. About 200,000 hectares of greenhouses in Spain, Italy, The Netherlands and Greece is the estimated covered surface, with not less than 3.4 MTOE of energy consumption and 9.2 MtCO2eq, and an yearly economy value of 7 billions of Euros. The installed energy power load of greenhouses in Europe depends on local climate conditions, and varies from 50-150 W/m2 (Southern regions of Europe) to 200-280 W/m2 (Northern and Central regions), while complete conditioning could even reach an energy load of 400 W/m2 (heating, lighting, cooling). Nowadays, the proportion of renewable use in the total energy consumption of greenhouse farming in Europe is very low, and there are no clear priorities set in this area, yet. Comprehensive and complete studies that evaluate the opportunities of renewable options in greenhouse sector are still not completeted. This, strongly hinders the process of setting concrete goals and legislative targets to support a wider introduction of sustainable energy technology, and appropriate legislation in greenhouse regions of Europe. This paper deals with the proposal of supporting the organization of a sustainable greenhouse agriculture, based on renewable energy sources, i.e. geothermal energy at low temperature, photovoltaic solar energy and solid biomass, in tune with the specific local assets, the local geo-climatic conditions and the protection of landscapes rather than with a careless perspective for local environment and potential societal costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of biomass burning, i.e., firewood from forests, is the main source of cooking energy of the Sahariya community, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), from Kishanganjblock of Baran district in Rajasthan. The forests in the area have dwindled over the years, as per the Rajasthan state forest reports. The people's perception of the reasons for degradation of forest in the area, indicates the role of local people in deforestation, mainly for local construction and household cooking energy needs. The dwindling forests have aggravated the struggles of Sahariya women in fetching firewood from long distances. Emissions from traditional biomass burning for cooking energy, contributes to health issues and the issue of climate change. This paper presents the study of Sahariya tribal households from Baran, who were provided with a fuel efficient cookstove, and the benefits assessed in terms of emission levels of particulates - PM10 and PM25, methane (CH4) and Poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The results indicate that emission levels were reduced within the prescribed standards and households were able to significantly reduce their firewood requirement. This reduction in the household emissions and reduction in firewood requirement observed in Sahariya community, can be a pragmatic solution in the collective efforts of tackling the issue of deforestation and also a positive contribution towards reducing emissions of carbon particulates and GHGs from rural households. The co-benefits include reduced stress levels among women, as firewood requirement is reduced, and improvement in overall health of family members from improved indoor air quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pilot study described in this paper has investigated how UK Climate Change Agreements have affected the operations of British small and medium sized enterprises, using semi-structured interviews in a sample of companies. Results from the interviews show that the decision to sign a Climate Change Agreement was primarily economic, driven by the financial incentive of recouping up to 80 per cent of the Climate Change Levy. The procedures introduced to meet the Agreement's targets also assisted in coping with subsequent rising energy prices. Further discussions also revealed that trade associations played a positive role in providing information about opportunities provided by Climate Change Agreements and assistance in completion of the relevant documentation. The research also shows that the choice of relative, rather than absolute, targets has caused recent difficulties in view of lower production volumes during the economic downturn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increased demand for energy in China has generated concomitant increase of carbon emissions, which poses an unprecedented challenge to China's, and even global, sustainable development. In this paper, from the perspective of provincial carbon emissions, we analyze China's carbon emissions changes during 1997-2007 based on the index decomposition analysis method. We find that: (1) China's CO2 emissions from end-use energy consumption mainly originated from such major industrial provinces as Hebei, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Henan and Guangdong. (2) Economic growth and decline in energy intensity will have the greatest impact on CO2 emissions from end-use energy consumption. Economic growth is the key factor driving the increase of CO2 emissions. Change in energy intensity can more or less decrease CO2 emissions. In the future, China's carbon emissions mitigation policies should be developed to address these differences in provincial carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Coal is the abundant domestic energy resource in India and is projected to remain so in future under a business-as-usual scenario. Using domestic coal mitigates national energy security risks. However coal use exacerbates global climate change. Under a strict climate change regime, coal use is projected to decline in future. However this would increase imports of energy sources like natural gas (NG) and nuclear and consequent energy security risks for India. The paper shows that carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and storage (CCS) can mitigate CO2 emissions from coal-based large point source (LPS) clusters and therefore would play a key role in mitigating both energy security risks for India and global climate change risks. This paper estimates future CO2 emission projections from LPS in India, identifies the potential CO2 storage types at aggregate level and matches the two into the future using Asia-Pacific Integrated Model (AIM/Local model) with a Geographical Information System (GIS) interface. The paper argues that clustering LPS that are close to potential storage sites could provide reasonable economic opportunities for CCS in future if storage sites of different types are further explored and found to have adequate capacity. The paper also indicates possible LPS locations to utilize CCS opportunities economically in future, especially since India is projected to add over 220,000MW of thermal power generation capacity by 2030. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Meeting the Paris climate goals requires the global economy's urgent decarbonization. States and intergovernmental bodies insist that this should be pursued via a tremendous spike in private investment in renewable power – encouraged and coordinated by states. However, this renewable investment boom will have to swim against the current of the stagnation of the world economy since the 1970s, characterized by weak rates of investment and growth. Undertaking decarbonization in this context presents unique political economy dilemmas. Firstly, although slow growth helps to reduce carbon emissions by lowering energy use, it simultaneously impedes energy efficiency gains. Secondly, the stagnant state of global industry militates against its adoption of expensive decarbonized industrial processes. Thirdly, while most renewable power sources have failed to attract sufficient investment, those that have expanded rapidly – particularly solar photovoltaic – have tended to exhaust their growth potential due to falling prices and profitability. Finally, economic stagnation has destabilized political institutions, exerting pressures on governments to stimulate growth regardless of the environmental implications. States must navigate these intractable dilemmas as they strategize to decarbonize the downturn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to concerns related to climate change, and an attempt to encourage more sustainable behavior, individuals are often provided with information on greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) of consumer items, such as personal vehicles. Currently in the US, information on vehicle efficiency is provided as grams of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) per mile. Previous research presenting CO 2 as a mass and testing willingness-to-pay through Discrete Choice Experiment has found that such information can influence vehicle choice. However, other research has questioned whether how this information is presented might affect choice. That research argues that CO 2 emission information generally lacks contextualization that allows for interpretation. As well, it argues that the type of contextualization may affect choices. That research though did not test willingness-to-pay and the strength of its influence is not clear. In addition, research exists that argues that using pro-social, as opposed to financial, contextualization might be more influential on people’s choices. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to build on these previous findings on how CO 2 emissions are presented to determine whether changing how that information impacts vehicle choice with a Discrete Choice Experiment of vehicle choice analyzed using latent class modeling. No previous study has so robustly studied the influence that different framings might have on vehicle purchase. Five different methods of presenting CO 2 information are tested in this experiment: CO 2 emissions as grams per mile (current method), CO 2 emissions as pounds per year (consistent imperial units), CO 2 emissions as tons per year (yearly contextualization), an annual tax on CO 2 (yearly financial contextualization), and CO 2 as a percentage of the 2025 US EPA reduction target of 26% from 2005 levels (social goal contextualization). Results demonstrate that the current method results in lowest willingness to pay for CO 2 emission reductions, while the social goal contextualization results in the highest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change, environmental problems and consequent ecological damages due to excessive consumption of resources and to the continuing human population growth of more than 80,000,000 net increase per year, have damaged and continue to accelerate the devastation of numerous ecosystems. These changes have brought significant harm to humans and are imposing high costs on societal maintenance and development. In that context, low/no-fossil carbon transformations and improved material’s and energy efficiency are crucial elements for reconciling human activities with sustainable societal development, which is built upon vibrant and sustainable ecosystems. The urgently needed changes are bound to be difficult to make due to the perceived contradictions between low/no-fossil-carbon systems and sustainable and economically vibrant societies. This Special Volume (SV) is comprised of thirty-three articles, which mainly focus on investigations of low/no-fossil carbon transformations in countries, regions, industries and enterprises. Some authors provided insights of ways to proceed based upon new research and development (R&D), evaluations of specific low/no-fossil carbon technologies and lessons learned from policy simulations and analyses of potential post-fossil carbon societies. This SV introductory article contains an overview of the content of the articles divided into five topics: (a) low/no-fossil carbon transformations within industrial sectors, (b) regional planning and low/no-fossil carbon developments, (c) multi-regional, low/no-fossil carbon economies, (d) specific low-fossil carbon technologies, and (e) low/no-fossil carbon policy results. Given the extensive coverage of low/no-fossil carbon transformations, the papers on mechanisms and pathways are clearly the most important contributions of this SV. The researchers focused broadly on ways to address two objectives: (a) To characterize the main factors catalyzing high-fossil carbon development and (b) To accelerate the transition to low/no fossil carbon societies. Some authors focused upon new, low/no-fossil carbon development and planning in different countries and regions, while others focused upon ways to make changes within energy-intensive industries. Additionally, some authors reported on progress in the evaluation of the effectiveness of specific low/no-fossil-carbon technologies and in the design and implementation of low/no-fossil carbon policies. The findings and recommendations of the authors are positive and encouraging. However, it is clear, that there are many additional research, policy and educational challenges, which must be solved, to establish and support systems to guide and to monitor the transformations to sustainable, equitable, livable, low/post-fossil carbon societies. Much work remains but the wisdom in the articles in this SV will help societies make the needed transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the world's population grows, the energy demand continues to rise due to advancements in technology and the impact of globalization. The finite nature of traditional energy sources has accelerated the shift toward renewable energy, particularly in developing countries where environmental degradation and declining quality of life are significant concerns. This study delves into the interplay between urbanization, carbon dioxide emissions, economic growth, and renewable energy production in Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation member states, providing new insights into the energy market. By using annual data from 1995 to 2020 and advanced panel cointegration tests, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of the determinants of renewable energy for developing countries. The findings show a substantial and long-term relationship between urbanization, emissions, growth, and renewable energy production. These findings have important implications for policymakers and underscore the critical role of renewable energy in mitigating climate change in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy sectors of all the countries around the world are faced with a big challenge: the energy transition under the imperative of continuous reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. The energy transition and the sustainability constraints pose a significant challenge for engineers, researcher and scientists developing new and clean energy-efficient technologies. Energy production and transformations, along with its storage, distribution and consumption, are achieved by utilising new and clean energy technologies, with the goal of the continuous increase of energy efficiency, the growth of renewable energy sources utilisation, the uninterrupted switch from fossil fuels to alternative energy sources, and the continued reduction of CO2 emissions. This editorial paper addresses the latest progress and the findings in research and developments in the sustainable energy technologies, energy and environment systems from selected papers of the conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems held in 2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China, as the world's largest emitter, intends to achieve the peaking of carbon dioxide (CO) emissions around 2030 and to make best efforts to peak early to mitigate global change. Under this strategy, a dynamic, recursive computable general equilibrium (CGE) model is used to analyze the economy, energy, and environment impact of CO emission reduction policy based on 17 scenarios in China: carbon tax, emission trading scheme (ETS), and the mixed policy in different price level, in order to find out which kind of emission reduction strategy is more feasible. The results show that CO emission in 2030 will be reduced with the implementation of tax, ETS and mixed policy, by 10-13 %, 12-14 %, and 18-28 %, respectively. From 2016 to 2030, China can reduce 18,338-24,156 Mt CO through the implementation of mixed policy. Furthermore, relative to single policy, mixed policy has stronger effects on primary energy consumption cut, by 738-1124 Mtoe or 18-28 %, which will make CO emissions reach a peak before 2030 and the peak emission is not greater than 12 billion tons which is in line with the reduction demand in China. Thus, the mixed policy is the most effective strategy so that mixed policy is recommended to parties included in Annex I in United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Kyoto Protocol and other countries with large potential of emission reduction, while ETS is suggested to countries with low carbon emissions per capita which can balance economic development and CO mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately understanding the real situation of China’s carbon emissions at the provincial level is not only crucial for realizing carbon mitigation in China, but also of great importance for tackling climate change on a global scale. This paper uses detailed energy consumption data subdivided within each fuel type and sector-specific emission factors, to calculate both direct and indirect energy-related CO 2 emissions for China’s provinces, and offers provincially-targeted policy proposals on emission reductions. The results uncover large divergences in calculation of provincial CO 2 emissions between production-based and consumption-based accounting approaches. Considering the large amount of interprovincial CO 2 emission transfers embodied in secondary energy deployment, the consumption-based accounting performs better in reflecting the actual features and responsibilities of carbon emissions in the provinces of China. From the consumption perspective, Shandong, Hebei, Jiangsu, Inner Mongolia, Guangdong, Henan, Liaoning and Shanxi contributed to the majority of China’s carbon emission growth during the period of 1996–2013, while Xinjiang, Sichuan, Anhui, Tianjin and Hunan were playing an increasingly important role. These two groups of provinces should be regarded as the key regions for national emissions abatement. Meanwhile, the energy industry was the top sectoral contributor to CO 2 emissions growth in most provinces, while service and household sectors made increasingly significant impacts on driving up provincial emissions. Together with ongoing efforts in the energy sector, the mitigation of CO 2 emissions in service and household sectors deserves much more attention, especially in the transportation and urban household sectors. Furthermore, the temporal trends of carbon emissions in various provinces, as well as their factor and sectoral driving forces, varied greatly with each other. Therefore, each of the provinces should formulate emission reduction policies according to their own situation, and target the key driving factors and sectors of carbon emissions at the current stage or in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2009, Singapore has set about implementing mitigation and energy efficiency measures in key sectors to achieve unilaterally pledged reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 7–11% below business-as-usual (BAU) levels in 2020. Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants are a major focus for emissions abatement, with an expected reduction of 4 Mt CO 2 from the electricity generation sector in 2020. In this paper, we explore Singapore's various strategies in the electricity generation sector to fulfil this target and use an EnergyPLAN optimization model to assess the impact of these strategies on CO 2 emissions from Singapore's electricity generation sector through to 2020. A comparison of BAU scenario in 2020 (BAU 2020), 2020 target emissions reduction trajectory, and three emissions reduction alternative policy scenarios (denoted APS-I, APS-II, and APS-III) is carried out. The EnergyPLAN simulation results indicate that all three APS scenarios achieve the 2020 carbon emissions reduction target in Singapore's electricity generation sector. The results furthermore suggest that the 2020 electricity generation associated emissions reduction target can be met through measures that are already available. Vulnerabilities are identified in Singapore's electricity generation fuel mix, and emission reduction strategies beyond 2020 are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanization has exerted substantial pressure on China’s energy system and contributed to climate change. To find the key drivers of urban residential energy consumption and CO 2 emissions, this paper uses an extended Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence and Technology (STIRPAT) model that employs city-level data to examine the influences of population scale, income level, population compactness and price on house-based residential energy consumption, energy-related CO 2 emissions and private vehicle ownership. The empirical results indicate that factors such as population scale, affluence, and population compactness can lead to increases in residential energy consumption and CO 2 emissions. In terms of transportation, income and population scale positively drive the growth of private vehicle ownership, while the fuel price negatively influences private vehicle ownership. Moreover, population scale is the most important factor in residential energy consumption and CO 2 emissions. Finally, policy recommendations are suggested for China’s urban development strategy and urban design and to encourage technology innovations that reduce residential energy consumption and CO 2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change which is induced from energy consumption and CO 2 emissions has got people's attention; hence, many strategies and ways are being adopted to mitigate CO 2 emissions. Energy substitution is crucial to the promotion of energy conservation and CO 2 emissions reduction. The purpose of this paper is to estimate both inter-factor and inter-fuel substitution in China's iron & steel industry during the period 1985–2011. Empirical results show several conclusions for China's iron & steel industry: (1) own-price elasticity of energy is negative, so increase in energy price will reduce energy input; (2) energy and capital, and energy and labor are substitutes, and the substitution in energy/capital is relatively stronger; (3) though coal, oil and electricity are also substitutes, the substitution effect is not so obvious because of pricing distortions in China. The driving forces of energy efficiency change are further discussed and the results show that technology progress is the key factor determining energy intensity. Therefore, market-oriented reforms in terms of energy prices, improvement in energy substitution (including inter-factor and inter-fuel substation) and promotion of energy saving technologies are important means for ensuring future energy conservation and CO 2 emissions reduction practices in China's iron & steel sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing climate change requires the efforts of all countries with common but differentiated responsibilities. The mitigation responsibilities one country takes greatly depends on its national emission inventories. As a good complement to the production-based accounting (PBA) principle, consumption-based accounting (CBA) principle has been widely concerned. However, few studies focus on emissions equity issues temporally and spatially. In this paper, we explore the characteristics of production-based and consumption-based CO 2 emissions for 14 major economies through multiple-dimension comparisons to get insight into the emissions equity comparisons among major emitters. In particular, four categories of economies with different dynamic features are divided based on their percentage differences between PBA and CBA emissions. Demographical and economic variables are additionally taken into consideration. The results indicate that France and Russia hold extreme characteristic on evaluating the emission difference between two principles, while China and Chinese Taiwan reveal uniquely increasingly larger gaps between two principle emissions. Besides, the per capita CBA emissions grows more prominently and possesses a more obviously positive correlation with their own per capita GDP which confirms that CBA principle is potentially attractive for estimating national emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2015 Paris climate change negotiations represents the most ambitious worldwide effort to date to combat climate change. As the largest energy consumer and carbon emitter, China pledges 60–65% cut in carbon intensity below 2005 levels by 2030. To accelerate China's climate efforts, China has also committed to cap its primary energy use at 4.8 billion tons of coal equivalent in 2020. This paper proposes an equitable and efficient scheme to disaggregate this national goal among provinces. A three-step disaggregation procedure is proposed which takes into account the initial allocation, national redistribution and inter-provincial adjustment. First, this study allocates the incremental energy quota, taking 2010 as the base year. Second, part of the energy quota is set aside by the central government for redistribution purposes, while an incremental energy quota index comprising equity and efficiency criteria is used for initial allocation among provinces. Finally, historical efforts and inter-provincial energy flows are considered for inter-provincial adjustment. This disaggregation scheme is flexible and can be easily extended to allocation and management of other resource and environmental targets. The empirical findings can assist decision-makers in identifying which provinces are likely to over-consume the energy quota relative to the proposed allocation and which provinces are likely to perform better in energy conservation. Moreover, the results show that the energy cap set for 2020 is unachievable without further action. Market-based instruments, such as an energy allowance trading market, are strongly recommended to achieve the energy use target in an equitable and cost-effective manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a methodology to allocate carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions that result from fuel combusted to produce electricity and heat to the end-use sectors (industry, buildings, transport, and agriculture) where the electricity and heat are actually consumed. Attributing these indirect emissions to the appropriate sectors results in a very different picture of CO 2 emissions per sector than is seen when only direct emissions are characterized. With attribution to the demand side, the industrial and buildings sectors contribute the largest shares of CO 2 emissions globally. When indirect emissions are allocated to their respective end-use sectors, the buildings sector’s share of total emissions increases the most, from 9% (direct emissions only) to 31% (including indirect emissions), which reflects the large share of electricity and heat consumed in this sector. The share of CO 2 emissions attributable to the industrial sector also increases significantly, from 18% to 37%. These increased values include emissions from both electricity and heat used in end-use sectors, in contrast to the traditional accounting method, which allocates all electricity and heat emissions to the transformation and energy sector. Allocating these emissions to end-use sectors makes it possible to assess the full potential impact of demand reduction of electricity and heat use. This article is based on contributions to the Fifth Assessment Report of Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low carbon manufacturing is of growing importance due to the severity of energy shortage and increasing energy costs, as well as a series of environmental problems, i.e., climate change and global warming. This paper investigates the potential of process parameter optimization to minimize carbon emissions during machine processing. A process model of CNC machining is first presented to scope the system boundaries for energy footprint and process efficiency. A multi-objective optimization model is then proposed to explore the impact of cutting speed and feed rate on carbon emissions and processing time. The benefit of the approach is illustrated through a case study of a CNC cylindrical turning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct air capture (DAC) is critical for achieving stringent climate targets, yet the environmental implications of its large-scale deployment have not been evaluated in this context. Performing a prospective life cycle assessment for two promising technologies in a series of climate change mitigation scenarios, we find that electricity sector decarbonization and DAC technology improvements are both indispensable to avoid environmental problem-shifting. Decarbonizing the electricity sector improves the sequestration efficiency, but also increases the terrestrial ecotoxicity and metal depletion levels per tonne of CO2 sequestered via DAC. These increases can be reduced by improvements in DAC material and energy use efficiencies. DAC exhibits regional environmental impact variations, highlighting the importance of smart siting related to energy system planning and integration. DAC deployment aids the achievement of long-term climate targets, its environmental and climate performance however depend on sectoral mitigation actions, and thus should not suggest a relaxation of sectoral decarbonization targets. New study concludes that environmental tradeoffs of direct air capture and sequestration technologies are linked to the energy system in which they will operate, and their deployment should not equate to a relaxation of decarbonization or resource use efficiency targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Hydrogen production via water splitting using nuclear electricity is one of the most promising, mature and near‐term deployable low carbon routes to establishing the hydrogen economy in nuclear‐equipped nations. Hydrogen has enormous potential to decarbonize multiple industrial sectors, including the hard‐to‐abate industries, which release significant quantities of greenhouse gases every year. Both nuclear and renewables can be used as energy sources for green hydrogen production, but presently, the focus is on renewables, possibly because of the high upfront capital investment for nuclear power projects and the skewed perception of risk and safety issues surrounding nuclear energy. In this work, the rationale for supporting the deployment and growth of the nuclear‐driven hydrogen supply sector is established from the perspective of the power plant owner and the potential off‐take industries that will require large quantities of low carbon hydrogen for decarbonizing some or all of their operations. The status of the technology alternatives, their techno‐commercial features, the enabling mechanisms for project deployment, and the potential barriers along the way are analysed, and key recommendations for near‐term policy action are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The paper evaluates domestic energy consumption patterns in a hot and arid climate, using a multiple case study approach localised in Riyadh city (Saudi Arabia). Riyadh has a characteristically hot and dry climate, and is situated in a geographical region known for its high energy consumption and carbon emission rates. Six properties were selected: three typical houses and three typical flats. The objective is to analyse the average domestic energy consumption of each property using data collected from monthly electricity bills; this usage is then assessed with reference to user behaviour, as captured through interviews with the occupiers of the properties, so as to assist in creating a detailed energy use simulation model using IES-VE software. The results are discussed with reference to both the form and fabric of the selected properties and user behaviour, thereby identifying obvious design weaknesses, which then serve to highlight regionally replicable energy retrofitting solutions (i.e. shading devices, onsite renewable energy sources, and more efficient glazing). To explore these various solutions further, additional IES-VE simulations are conducted that suggest potential energy consumption reductions in the range of 15%–34%. In light of these findings, recommendations that have the potential to be replicable across the region are given. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Backcasting is not a new concept for scientists dealing with carbon mitigation or climate change mitigation issues around the world, but could be an innovative idea for public, local, and national policy planners as they are so far only familiar with forecast scenarios for different issues and sectors. Defining a roadmap to achieving low carbon targets and explaining these targets in quantitative form as much as possible is known as backcasting. Plenty of computer-based quantitative models and tools are used to outline low carbon society scenarios in the Asia-Pacific region and implementations of such models are underway. This paper spotlights these quantitative models and tools which are used to achieve backcasting benchmarks. These models are critically reviewed for their functioning and real possibilities on ground levels and suggestions have been made to improve practical implementation in developing Asia. The study found that all these models are highly acceptable and applicable in Asian countries but actual applications are rare, with Japan as the leading country in implementing such applications, followed by Malaysia. Estimation of CO2 sinks, open availability, and energy service demands (built-in option) are major weaknesses of the models. We also concluded that these computer-based quantitative models are helpful for almost all of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region facing such issues as data limitation, fewer resources, and lack of government participation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Cities occupy 2% of the earth's surface but their inhabitants consume 75% of the world's energy resources. Under certain conditions, the heat from solar radiation and different urban activities can make city temperatures rise in certain areas, simply because of the way in which a city is structured. This effect is known as the urban heat island (UHI). This article provides a review of recent research on the urban heat island as well as of the strategies that can be applied to mitigate its adverse effects. Such strategies can be applied in the project design phase of urban planning and thus directly affect city temperatures on a local scale. The elements analyzed in this paper include green spaces, trees, albedo, pavement surfaces, vegetation, as well as building types and materials. The discussion of this research clearly reflects the impact of urban morphology on local temperatures and how urban design can be modified to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. This study is useful for professionals who are responsible for decision-making during the design phase of urban planning. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Climate change has become the most globally concerned environmental issue. As the world's largest carbon dioxide emitter and primary energy consumer, China has strong incentives to change its coal-dominated electricity structure. Various renewable powers such as wind and solar are suitable and necessary options for carbon emission reduction. The 12th Five-Year (2011–2015) and the mid-term until 2020 are critical periods for the development of Chinese renewable powers. In this paper individual renewable electricity sources were introduced based on their characteristics. Based on the introduction, the targets as well as their effects in the medium and long-term were presented and explained; challenges China has to face in the periods were discussed in detail, and emphasis was put on hydro, solar and wind power, which is highlighted in the plans. Also solutions against these challenges were recommended. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]