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With ever-increasing demands for energy and gradual climate changes, development and advancements of renewable energy have become a major priority of every country. The applications of renewable energy increase many folds when coupled with wireless power transfer (WPT) technology. About a century ago the advents of Tesla provided us with the principles of WPT. Since then a lot of research has been done in this field. Many efforts have been put to transmit power of renewable energy wirelessly. In this paper, the basic principles and various methods of WPT are reviewed and also discuss the recent developments in wireless transmission of renewable energy. An update for application and limitations of WPT has been presented. The possible systems produced with the coupling of WPT are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For Small Island Developing States (SIDS) that import oil, energy security is very important and dealt with seriously. This paper attempts to fill a gap in the literature by identifying the dimensions that shape a secure and sustainable supply of energy in SIDS. Seven dimensions were identified and incorporated into a framework for conceptualising and assessing SIDS energy security which are: import dependency; energy prices; climate change and resilience; governance; infrastructure; equity; and energy efficiency. This study also recommends selected strategies and actions to improve energy security in SIDS. [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]

Emissions from aviation will continue to increase in the future, in contradiction of global climate policy objectives. Yet, airlines and airline organisations suggest that aviation will become climatically sustainable. This paper investigates this paradox by reviewing fuel-efficiency gains since the 1960s in comparison to aviation growth, and by linking these results to technology discourses, based on a two-tiered approach tracing technology-focused discourses over 20 years (1994–2013). Findings indicate that a wide range of solutions to growing emissions from aviation have been presented by industry, hyped in global media, and subsequently vanished to be replaced by new technology discourses. Redundant discourses often linger in the public domain, where they continue to be associated with industry aspirations of ‘sustainable aviation’ and ‘zero-emission flight’. The paper highlights and discusses a number of technology discourses that constitute ‘technology myths’, and the role these ‘myths’ may be playing in the enduring but flawed promise of sustainable aviation. We conclude that technology myths require policy-makers to interpret and take into account technical uncertainty, which may result in inaction that continues to delay much needed progress in climate policy for aviation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper provides an overview of a part of research related to the analysis of information technologies and measures for improving the energy efficiency in urban planning that can contribute to mitigating the impact of climate change. The first part of the paper deals with problems supported by the numerous data on negative effects of climate change on the cities, such as urban heat islands, energy and ecological crisis. The second part of the paper proposes solutions that rely on information technologies which facilitate process of urban planning. Two projects related to the implementation of measures for improving the energy efficiency in urban planning were conducted within this research. The first one is considering the design of a spa centre in an undeveloped mountain landscape and the second one is dealing with reconstruction of a residential block in urban built environment. In the first case study, the proposed solutions rely on the information technologies, while in the second case study they rely on the implementation of measures for improving the energy efficiency in urban planning. The results show that the application of different measures in urban planning depends on the level of the built environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the challenge of climate change, personal carbon trading was put forward as a policy instrument to promote low carbon behavior in the household sector. To evaluate the effectiveness of this scheme, it is important to gain insight into the allowance trading and energy consumption behavior in a long emission commitment period. This paper proposes a dynamic programming model to investigate allowance trading and energy consumption. A main feature of the model is its consideration of allowance banking and borrowing activities. Ten simulated scenarios with different allowance prices, price volatility and carbon emission rates are discussed. The findings show that consumers would trade more actively when allowance price is volatile. It is also found that energy consumption and allowance trading will decrease when the carbon emission rate increases. Overall the analysis in this paper implies that personal carbon trading scheme would be an effective policy measure to change consumers' behavior. Therefore it would be valuable for decision-makers to consider the introduction and implementation of this scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction of renewable energy sources (RES) in insular areas is growing on different islands of various regions in the world and the large-scale deployment of renewables in island power systems is appealing to local attention of grid operators as a method to decrease fossil fuel consumption. Planning a grid based on renewable power plants (RPP) presents serious challenges to the normal operation of a power system, precisely on voltage and frequency stability. Despite of its inherent problems, there is a consensus that in near future the RES could supply most of local needs without depending exclusively on fossil fuels. In previous grid code compliance, wind turbines did not required services to support grid operation. Thus, in order to shift to large-scale integration of renewables, the insular grid code ought to incorporate a new set of requirements with the intention of regulating the inclusion of these services. Hence, this paper discusses grid code requirements for large-scale integration of renewables in an island context, as a new contribution to earlier studies. The current trends on grid code formulation, towards an improved integration of distributed renewable resources in island power systems, are addressed. The paper also discusses advanced grid code requirement concepts such as virtual wind inertia and synthetic inertia for improving regulation capability of wind farms and the application of energy storage systems (EES) for enhancing renewable generation integration. Finally, a comparative analysis of insular grid code compliance to these requirements is presented in the European context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is about the research into the effect of building envelopes on energy consumption and thermal performance of high-rise buildings in the Malaysian Tropical climate. A suitable indoor thermal condition in buildings is important because of the building occupants comfort. In addition, it is indicating building energy consumption, staff productivity, less absenteeism, health and well-being effects. Energy consumption can be significantly reduced by adopting energy efficiency strategies in such buildings. Due to environmental concerns and expensive energy costs in recent years, energy efficiency in buildings has garnered renewed interests. A research recently conducted in Malaysia specifies that residential buildings do about 19% of the overall energy consumed in Malaysian sectors. One of the most potential strategies applied on building envelope in hot–humid tropical regions is the passive design method and is done to the building envelope in hot–humid tropical regions. This paper reviews the results of the other studies that establish to the selecting of proper parameters of building envelope to the high-rise residential. The building design criteria has been scrutinized through a set of defined parameters such as climatic conditions, form, width, length and height, external walls, roofs, glazing area, natural ventilation and occupants thermal comfort, as well as external shading devices on energy consumption of high-rise buildings in Malaysia. The thermal comfort zone was investigated by researchers for Malaysian residential buildings, discovering that the comfort ranged between 25 °C and 31 °C. Recommendations are given based on the significant findings as resources to help designers in laying out the design plan for high-rise buildings in hot and humid climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The building sector is considered as the biggest single contributor to world energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, a good understanding of the nature and structure of energy use in buildings is crucial for establishing the adequate future energy and climate change policies. Availability of the updated data is becoming increasingly important in order to allow a rigorous analysis. In this paper, recent data on the world energy consumption in both residential and commercial buildings are reported. Past situation, current status and future trends are discussed and analyzed for selected countries. A breakdown of buildings energy consumption is realized in order to determine the influencing key parameters. A whole section of this paper is dedicated to give an overview of measures and policies adopted by different countries, allowing the monitoring, management and reduction of the energy consumption in buildings. Critical aspects of these policies are discussed based on the feedback of the early adopters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming, climate change, and resource depletion have forced us to reconsider energy usage and efficiencies over the last few decades. Residential and commercial buildings are both large energy consumers, so improving energy and material usage efficiency in this sector is a common research topic. According to a recent study, the Building Sector (BS) accounts for 40% of greenhouse gas emissions. The primary objective of this paper is to examine and assess the potential of Renewable Energy Systems (RES) and their combinations for enhancing energy efficiency in the BS. Specifically, the focus will be on converting low energy-efficient buildings into highly efficient ones. The potential of the RES and their combinations for the BS is evaluated based on payback durations, energy generation, and reduction of CO 2 emissions. The optimization flow charts for the RES, feasibility studies, commercialization road maps of energy storage systems and the necessity of control mechanisms for enhancing RES efficiency were discussed. Additionally, the technology drawbacks are discussed, along with various innovative techniques recommended to direct future study in this area. Finally, this article assists the audience clear idea in the selection of the right combination of potential RES based on different conditions to achieve deep decarbonization in BSs. • Buildings sector (BS) responsible for 40% of GHG emissions. • Study assesses potential of Renewable Energy System (RES) in BS. • RES evaluated on payback, energy generation, and CO 2 reduction. • Optimization, feasibility and commercialization studies were discussed. • Article recommends right RES combinations for deep decarbonization in BS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Investigated climate change impacts on office building performance in Brussels. • Applied a long-term climate change sensitive system sizing and design approach. • Time-integrated discomfort analysis showed a major surge in overheating by 2100. • Long-term climate change resistivity is ensured in reference building until 2100. • Primary energy use and GHG emission findings are useful in mixed humid climates. As climate change continues, it is expected that the risk of overheating will rise in both new and existing buildings in mixed humid climate zones in Europe. This study introduced a novel climate change sensitive sizing and design approach for cooling and heating systems in nearly zero-energy office buildings in Brussels, Belgium, for different weather scenarios. This approach considered the long-term effects of climate change on building performance. The climate change effects were assessed using current and future climate data from the regional atmospheric model, MAR. To demonstrate the approach, a case study of a nearly zero-energy office building in Brussels was conducted. The reference building model was first calibrated using monthly energy use data from the year 2019 using ASHRAE Guideline 14. Then, the building was evaluated with different HVAC strategies and their performances were quantified. The results indicated an increase in overheating as high as 1.2 °C and cooling energy use as high as 13.5 kWh/m2 and a decrease in overcooling as low as 0.3 °C and heating energy use as low as 10.9 kWh/m2 in the reference building by the end of the century. In addition, due to climate change sensitive sizing and design approach coupled with optimal sizing, the reference building was climate change resistant towards the worst-case scenario by end of the century with up to 3.7 for climate change overheating resistivity and 20.2 for climate change overcooling resistivity. Finally, the paper provided recommendations for future practice and research based on the study findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policies on bioeconomy are some of the key emerging ones around the world to support sustainability in terms of using renewable resources. However, these may lead to significant demand for biomass feedstock which relies on limited resources, viz., water, land, and energy. The impact of climate change on water availability makes it more challenging. This paper demonstrates the analysis of the water, energy, and food resource nexus of a bioeconomy-based industrial complex and future climate change impact. The model structure consists of cultivation, crop processing, and urban sectors. Sugarcane is the major crop in the case study area and is the main bioeconomy crop. The results indicate that the average sugarcane yield will be lower than the minimum industrial goal for the 2020s and 2030s decades. Consequently, sugarcane feedstock shortage may often occur. The drought situation tends to be increased, so groundwater resources can be the main reserve source of water. In all improvement scenarios on water supply management, nexus energy used for water acquisition was mainly for groundwater acquisition. Direct energy use in the cultivation process is high and fossil fuels based, while most of the energy used in processing came from biomass waste. This implies that technologies for water acquisition will be more important in the future and should be developed in terms of energy efficiency and the aspect of promoting the usage of renewable energy to reduce greenhouse gases and fossil fuels use. The impact of climate change will cause significant fluctuations in the annual rainfall characteristics of the study area. An additional irrigation water supply of about 250 mm and expansion to cover more than 90% of the cultivation area should be considered to secure the minimum supply of sugarcane for the local biorefinery complex in the following decades. [Display omitted] • Integrate climate change impact to Water-Food-Energy nexus model for bioeconomy. • The water–crop yield response model was set up to analyze interventions for improving yield. • In all scenarios, nexus energy used for water acquisition was mainly for groundwater acquisition. • The area will face a water supply shortage in the 2020s, and groundwater is the primary reserve source. • The irrigation expansion to cover 90% of the cultivation area can secure the supply of sugarcane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water and energy are substantial mediums which allow to gain comfort and civilization development. Recently, humanity is facing a water scarcity problem as well as an energy crisis. Those factors forced to looking for alternative water sources and low energy solutions. In this paper water treatment technologies methods were described. Energy demand and cost of particular methods were analyzed. It was shown that conventional methods like coagulation and sedimentation are characterized by quite low energy demand. Whereas more advanced membrane techniques consumed much more energy. On the other hand they were able to obtain high removal efficiencies. It was noted that the most energy-intensive stage during water treatment was pumping. Whereas energy for performing purification stated only about a few percent of total energy demand. One of the newest approaches in water treatment is using renewable energy sources like wind, solar radiation or geothermal energy. It allows to decrease water treatment costs as well as reduces greenhouse gasses emission (expressed as carbon footprint). During designing water treatment plants water increase in water and energy demand supposed to be considered. • Observed climate changes lead to problems with access to fresh water. • Energy crisis forces searching for low-emission water treatment processes. • In future water treatment costs should consider costs of adaptation to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the need to rein in the rise in the global average temperature, decarbonizing the electricity sector, which accounts for nearly 50% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, is crucial. The suitability of nuclear power as a base-load technology and its relatively negligible GHG emissions raised expectations of a nuclear renaissance, until the Fukushima disaster brought discussions about nuclear power’s potential to a standstill. However, completely ruling out nuclear may not be sustainable owing to the realities of rising energy demand, climate change considerations, and the need for reliable base-load supply technology, especially in the case of fast growing economies in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). The Fukushima disaster was a wake-up call for both governments and the nuclear industry. Led by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the more advanced economies conducted stringent reviews of safety standards and emergency response procedures in the event of a catastrophe. Meanwhile the industry responded with strong commitments towards “Fukushima proof” designs, alongside other advancements towards “safer” fission power. In the ASEAN context, we argue in this paper that in addition to the economic advantage, nuclear power can help address the twin objectives of energy security and mitigating climate change effects. In ASEAN, there is still a strong momentum towards nuclear power development due to strategic considerations. In this paper, we reviewed in a holistic approach the various factors influencing decision making on nuclear power. Using ASEAN as a case study, we argue that nuclear power remains an important option and should be taken up rapidly if decarbonizing electricity generation is a grave concern. We also provide some recommendations towards the “safer nuclear” for ASEAN at the end of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Household fuel-use (HFU) patterns are strongly associated with multiple effects, including air quality, human health, and regional climate change. This paper presents the results from the first Chinese Environmental Exposure-Related Human Activity Patterns Survey (CEERHAPS), carried out among 91,121 households located in 9108 villages, 636 towns, and 159 counties in 31 provinces. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with each participant to obtain information about the type of fuels used for cooking and heating. The main objectives of this paper were to investigate HFU for cooking and heating in China, to validate the World Health Organization (WHO) model, and to help inform local evaluation models. In China, gas and biomass fuels, the dominant energy fuels for cooking, are used by 44.8% and 32.1% of households, respectively. Approximately 34.1% of families have no household heating during the cold season, and 16.7%, 15.6% and 12.8% of households rely on coal, electricity, and biomass, respectively, for household heating when no central heating was available. The proportion of households using solid fuels has generally decreased during the last two decades. Considerable spatial variation was evident in the HFU patterns for both cooking and heating. The data revealed that the predominant fuel for cooking was biomass (47.6%) in rural populations, whereas urban households were more likely to cook with gas (65.8%). In terms of heating, coal (21.4%) and biomass (19.0%) were the main fuels used in rural households, while electricity (23.6%) and coal (10.5%) were more commonly used in urban areas. The overall HFU results for cooking from this study were comparable to those predicted using the WHO model. We also developed models at the provincial level to estimate HFU for cooking and heating in China; it is expected that the model, if confirmed by future studies, could be used for future research on household air pollution, domestic human exposure and burden of disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermography is becoming more widely used amongst construction professionals for energy related defect detection in buildings. Until quite recently, most of the research and practical use of building thermography has centred on employing a building walk-around or walk-through methodology to detect sources of unacceptable energy use. However, thermographers are now creating new building thermography methodologies that seek to address some of the known limitations, such as camera spatial resolution, transient climatic conditions and differences in material properties. Often such limitations are misunderstood and sometimes ignored. This study presents a review of the existing literature, covering both well-established and emerging building thermography methodologies. By critically appraising techniques and observing methodology applications for specific energy related defects, a much clearer picture has been formed that will help thermographic researchers and thermographers to decide upon the best methodology for performing building thermography investigations and for the invention of new approaches. Whilst this paper shows that many of the different passive building thermography methodologies seek to address particular building issues such as defects and energy use, it has also demonstrated a lack of correlation between the different methodology types, where one methodology is often chosen over another for a particular reason, rather than making use of several methodologies to better understand building performance. Therefore this paper has identified the potential for using several passive building thermography methodologies together in a phased approach to building surveying using thermography. For example, a less costly and faster survey could be conducted to quickly identify certain defects before enabling more time consuming and expensive surveys to hone in on these with greater detail and spatial resolution if deemed necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deployment of nuclear energy systems (NESs) is expanding around the world. Nations are investing in NESs as a means to establish energy independence, grow national economies, and address climate change. Transitioning to the advanced nuclear fuel cycle can meet growing energy demands and ensure resource sustainability. However, nuclear facilities in all phases of the advanced fuel cycle must be ‘safeguardable,’ where safety, safeguards, and security are integrated into a practical design strategy. To this end, the High Reliability Safeguards (HRS) approach is a continually developing safeguardability methodology that applies intrinsic design features and employs a risk-informed approach for systems assessment that is safeguards-motivated. Currently, a commercial pyroprocessing facility is used as the example system. This paper presents a modeling study that investigates the neutron flux associated with processed materials. The intent of these studies is to determine if the neutron flux will affect facility design, and subsequently, safeguardability. The results presented in this paper are for the head-end subsystems in a pyroprocessing facility. The collective results from these studies will then be used to further develop the HRS methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In a world constantly shaped by climate change, the search for decarbonising pathways will deliver many innovative technological solutions as well as trigger changes in the way people behave. This however will take time and will require negotiations and new business models. There is increasing evidence that arresting climate change at 2°C is unlikely to be attained in a world where carbon is essential for development. Achieving agreement and commitments between developed and developing countries have proven difficult but is there something that those most responsible for the current levels of CO2e emissions in the atmosphere can do? The paper examines food consumption and argues that there is a lot of potential for decarbonisation if people reduce their meat consumption. The highest levels of meat consumption are observed in the developed world and the livestock sector has been shown to be the largest single contributor for greenhouse gas emissions globally. Estimates indicate that a low-meat diet can reduce the cost of abating climate change. The paper presents an argument as to how flexitarianism – reduced meat consumption to the recommended healthy levels, can help in arresting climate change. Flexitarianism offers an easy way to achieve fast decarbonisation and has the added benefits of contributing towards improving not only the biophysical health of the planet but also that of its human habitants. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Cities are mainly responsible for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the atmosphere and thus for climate change. The European Union (EU) set up a series of strategies and policies to facilitate the elaboration of climate change mitigation and adaptation of urban plans. To do this, it is necessary to measure the city's GHG emission level. The Urban Carbon Footprint (UCF) and its derivation, the Relative Carbon Footprint (RCF), represent the most appropriate tools for obtaining this important information. The present paper applies these indicators to a small city (150 000 inhabitants) located in Southern Italy, a novelty for academic studies, which usually concentrate on megacities. The study focuses only on CO 2 emissions, as these represent 90% of the total GHGs released in urban areas. The findings showed that in 2015 the total UCF was equal to 288 ktCO 2 , specifically deriving from electricity and natural gas consumption. Moreover, Residential, Industry and Tertiary are the most carbon-intensive economic sectors. The RCF was equal to 0.30; the city emission levels were lower than the national average. Therefore, the municipality represents a typical “net-consumer” community, dominated by homes with territorial emissions due to consumption and characterized by a low number of industries and an average income per capita that is 50% lower than the national one. Starting from these results, the study proposed an urban action plan according to the EU mitigation and adaptation policies. This plan could help the local government improve its environmental sustainability, even if more public city-level data is required for a more comprehensive analysis. Finally, it would be more appropriate for all actions to be aligned under a unique policy process to seize the opportunity to link the various local intervention policies from different fields, taking into account their existing funding, tools, processes, and resources. Capitalizing on the adaptation/mitigation connection will allow municipalities to leverage their climate change action efforts and accelerate progress toward their climate and energy goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study predicts the probabilities of achieving the carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emission targets set by the Paris Agreement and the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) of the top ten CO 2 emitters (TTCE). The TTCE are China, USA, India, Russia, Japan, Germany, South Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia based on their emission trends over 1991–2015 period. The methods of trend extrapolation and back propagation (BP) neural networks are used in this paper to overcome the weakness of multiple linear regression (MLR) and the assumptions of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). The results show that the model performs well and has high predictive accuracy. The volume of the CO 2 emissions by the TTCE in 2030 is predicted to increase by 26.5–36.5%, compared with 2005. According to different trends of economic growth, energy consumption, and changes in share of renewable energy, the results show that China, India and Russia will achieve their INDC targets in some scenarios, whereas there will be a shortfall in achieving targets by USA, Japan, Germany, and South Korea. In particular, the carbon reduction situations of Saudi Arabia, Iran and Indonesia are quite severe. Moreover, the results show that there is no common trend that can be used as a suitable benchmark for every country for the implementation of carbon reductions targets of the Paris Agreement and their INDC goals. Finally, there are signs of improvement of the equality of carbon emissions based on the analysis of the Gini coefficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than 130 million microwaves are affected by European Union (EU) legislation which is aimed at reducing the consumption of electricity in the standby mode (‘Standby Regulation’) and at more sustainable management of end-of-life electrical and electronic waste (‘WEEE Directive’). While legislation focuses on these two life cycle stages, there is little information on the environmental impacts of the entire life cycle of microwaves. To address this gap, this paper presents a comprehensive life cycle assessment of microwaves and assesses the environmental implications of the Standby Regulation and the WEEE Directive at the EU level. The impacts are first considered at the level of individual appliances and then at the EU level, with the aim of evaluating the potential environmental implications of the full implementation of the above two EU regulations by 2020. The effects of the electricity decarbonisation and the expected increase in the number of microwaves in use have also been considered. The results suggest that implementation of the EU regulation by 2020 will reduce the environmental impacts considered by 4%–9% compared to the current situation. The majority of these reductions is due to the Standby Regulation, with the contribution of the WEEE Directive being small (~ 0.3%). However, the expected decarbonisation of electricity will result in much higher reductions (6%–24%) for most impact categories. The results also show that the materials used to manufacture the microwaves, the manufacturing process and end-of-life disposal are environmental hot-spots for several impacts, including depletion of abiotic elements. Therefore, efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of a future electricity mix should be combined with the development of specific eco-design regulations for microwaves that stipulate optimisation of resource consumption. Possible future trends, such as shorter lifetimes and limited availability of some resources, make the development of such product regulations more critical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to achieve the targets underlined in the European Strategy for climate change and energy efficiency, the so called 20-20-20 package, the European Commission launched the Covenant of Mayors to endorse and support the efforts deployed by local authorities in the implementation of sustainable energy plans, and at the same time contribute to greenhouse gases emissions mitigation. This paper explores how the Covenant of Mayors (CoM) has been adopted in Portugal, and which type of measures are being defined and implemented by the municipalities. For that, all Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) submitted by Portuguese municipalities (124) have been examined, for which a detailed analysis was performed, including the Baseline Emission Inventory (70, i.e., around 50%). The municipalities that submitted SEAP cover 60% of the total population of the country because the main urban centres are a part of the 30% that have signed the CoM. Most common measures are related with changes on behaviour and infrastructure related to energy (such as renewable energies, energy efficiency in buildings, public lighting, etc.), waste and transport (for example optimization of: transport infrastructures, used vehicles and road operations). Public lighting is one of the energy measures present in all submitted SEAP, which plays a key role in energy consumption, reaching values of upwards of 12%, particularly in coastal areas due to higher population density and urban residential areas. Besides all efforts there is still a long way to go in terms of energy consumption reduction at local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition towards low-carbon economy requires a number of specific actions by a multiplicity of actors in order to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, entailing energy efficiency, production of energy from renewable resources as well as the diffusion of more sustainable production and consumption patterns. Among the actors, local authorities can play a leading role for climate action. However, properly accounting for GHG emissions at local scale and identifying actions for GHG reduction are still an open challenge in many contexts. In this paper, we propose a method for GHG emissions accounting to support the identification of proper actions to achieve GHG reduction targets. The method widens the classical production-based approach to accounting, by proposing an extension of the accounting to three main areas: waste management and recycling, consumption patterns, and local land management. Life cycle thinking is applied as methodological basis for such extension. To illustrate the benefit of the proposed approach, the method has been applied to 16 municipalities (in Northern Italy), which were signatories of the Covenant of Mayors (CoM) initiative. CoM is a European initiative by which local authorities voluntarily commit to reduce their GHG emissions through the implementation of Sustainable Energy Action Plans. A comparison of the emission profile of the different municipalities helps identifying common patterns and local peculiarities to be addressed to achieve the reduction target. For the analysed case studies, the biggest contribution to GHG emissions comes from the consumption of the natural gas and electricity by the household sector. Emissions from waste generation play a minor role in the selected case studies. However, the inclusion of avoided emissions coming from waste recycling highlights the reduction potential if an appropriate waste management system is in place. Consumption patterns, as well, may play a relevant role. For example, assessing GHG emissions related to food consumption on top of those due to other drivers, the total municipal emissions change by increasing for an average of 22.6% for the selected case studies. Moreover, local land use planning and management should be included in the assessment, being crucial not only for the emissions uptake but also for climate mitigation and adaptation. The proposed approach to GHG accounting, including consumption-based aspects, may help identifying a wider set of climate actions to be implemented by local authorities to reduce environmental burdens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union launched a set of policies as part of its 2020 climate and energy package aimed at meeting its 20/20/20 headline targets for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. This paper evaluates how successful new-to-the-market climate change mitigation technologies (CCMT) are in helping EU member states (MS) reach these goals and, furthermore, whether there are differences between sectors subject to EU-wide polices. To do so, we relate CCMT patent counts to two specific headline targets: (1) achieving 20% of gross final energy consumption from renewables, and (2) achieving a 20% increase in energy efficiency. Our results provide the first ex-post evaluation of the effectiveness of these technologies for combating climate change. Moreover, our sectoral impact assessment points to significant differences in the way in which these technologies contribute to policy goals across the sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops an Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare for Spain from 1970 to 2012 and seeks to update valuation approaches to a number of items. Two approaches have proven particularly controversial over recent decades; the costs of energy depletion and of climate change. The valuation implications in measuring present welfare have proven problematic, as both include future sustainability consequences arising from resource depletion and environmental impacts. This study includes a ‘ transition cost ’ approach to energy depletion, a modified approach to costs of climate change and water pollution, and removes the cost of ozone depletion. The results illustrate that while GDP per capita increased significantly, the ISEW per capita shows a widening gap. Household labour contributes strongly, but income distribution, energy depletion and costs of climate change limit improvement. Sensitivity analysis shows that accumulating climate change costs and escalating energy depletion costs have significant effects. Nevertheless, the new valuation approaches do not alter conclusions that welfare has shown little improvement. The ISEW provides a useful alternative to current indicators such as GDP subject to awareness of limitations. It is a measure of welfare that uses sustainability accounting methods when estimating costs, but is not an indicator of whether welfare is actually sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about municipal planning for energy reduction and climate change in conservative areas of the United States, where opposition to environmentalism is often vocal and persistent. This paper analyzes the experience of 31 municipalities in the Dallas-Fort Worth region of Texas implementing the federal energy efficiency and conservation block grant. A qualitative case study approach and extensive interviews with municipal staff yield a detailed description of the political discourse of energy issues and climate change planning. Many municipalities used the grant funds for necessary maintenance projects and had little impact on long-term energy independence or climate change leadership. A subset of municipalities expressed fear of citizen disapproval and some experienced significant opposition that changed or halted their efforts. Based on effective initiatives and common challenges, recommendations are made to foster energy and climate planning in conservative regions and improve implementation of national policies on the local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the recent decades, there has been an increasing focus on energy-efficient operation of vessels. It has become part of the political agenda, where regulation is the main driver, but the maritime industry itself has also been driven towards more energy-efficient operation of the vessels, due to increasing fuel costs. Improving the energy efficiency on board vessels is not only a technical issue - factors such as awareness of the problem, knowledge skills and motivation are also important parameters that must be considered. The paper shows how training in energy-efficient operation and awareness can affect the energy consumption of vessels. The study is based on navigational, full-mission simulator tests conducted at the International Maritime Academy SIMAC. A full-mission simulator is an image of the world allowing the students to obtain skills through learning-by-doing in a safe environment. Human factors and technical issues were included and the test sessions consisted of a combination of practical simulator exercises and reflection workshops. The result of the simulator tests showed that a combination of installing technical equipment and raising awareness - making room for reflections-on and in-action - has a positive effect on energy consumption. The participants, on average, saved approximately 10% in fuel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two mega-trends are rapidly emerging to reshape the European energy system: decarbonisation and digitalisation. Based on strong public policies, decarbonisation is already transforming the European energy mix, while industry-driven technological innovation is progressively opening-up new and potentially disruptive opportunities for evolving energy systems. These trends will transform the European energy system from a static, unidirectional and centralised model into a dynamic, multidimensional and more decentralised one. In this framework, the governance of the European energy system will also need to change. Traditional top-down energy and climate policy dynamics will need to be complemented by more bottom-up dynamics, and increasing interaction between local, national and EU policies will be essential. This paper provides an insight on these future developments, and suggests key policy coordinates to navigate these uncharted waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent climate change agreement in Paris highlights the imperative to aggressively decarbonize the energy economy and develop new technologies, especially for the generation of electrical energy that are environmentally clean. This challenge can only be addressed by a multi-pronged approach to research and education of the next generation of scientists and engineers as well as informed public discourse. Consequently this requires the introduction of new and comprehensive education programs on sustainable energy technologies for universities and, possibly, high schools. Among others, the new programs should provide in-depth knowledge in the development of new materials for more efficient energy conversion systems and devices. The enhanced level of education is also needed for properly assessing the competing technologies in terms of their economic and social benefits. The increasing recognition of the significance of clean and efficient energy conversion indicates the need for a comprehensive education program to be developed. The purpose of the present work is to consider the structure of both an education program and the related textbook where the energy-related fundamental and applied subjects are presented in a concentrated and uniform manner. Such a textbook could be an education aid for students of energy-related courses as well as the teachers involved in the formulation of the education programs. The textbook, which should be dedicated mainly for students at the undergraduate levels at universities, and possibly high schools, should include in-depth interdisciplinary sections dedicated to energy experts and graduate students. This paper considers the present international efforts in reducing the impact of climate change and the need to develop new technologies for clean energy generation. It is argued that progress in this area requires recognition of hydrogen as the main energy carrier of the future. This work also delineates the goals of the Sustainable Energy Network, SEN, involved in the UN program of Future Earth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ever-growing scarcity of land resources around the world brands the waste to energy (WtE) strategy as a promising option for municipal solid waste (MSW) management. WtE conversion not only reduce the land pressure problem in urban areas, but also generate electricity and heat to supply to the surrounding urban areas. Moreover it also warrants climate benefits by avoiding fossil fuel based energy. The goal of this paper is to evaluate the MSW renewable energy potential and climate benefits through carbon reduction in Bangladesh using WtE strategies for urban area waste management. The study is conducted based on the waste generation of 7 major city corporation, 308 municipalities and 208 other urban areas in Bangladesh. Energy potential of different WtE strategy is assessed using standard energy conversion model and subsequent greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions models. GHG emission avoidance is also estimated based on coal based electricity displacement and avoidance from existing MSW management practices. Six different WtE scenarios are evaluated consisting of mixed MSW incineration and landfill gas (LFG) recovery systems. The total projected GHG emission observed within the range of 3.45–4.68 million MT CO 2eq and 5.45–9.59 million MT CO 2eq by 2030 and 2050, respectively under BAU scenario. The projected highest total renewable electricity generation potential from MSW in Bangladesh observed within the range of 4173.90–5645.30 GWh by 2030, and 6582.48- 11579.12 GWh by 2050. Renewable electricity potential in Dhaka is highest (1399.56-712.86 GWh) followed by Chittagong (762.74–900.24 GWh) by 2030, with associated GHG avoidance of 1.18–1.44 and 0.64–0.76 million t CO 2eq, respectively. Scenario A 1 provides the highest economic gain with energy potential and net negative GHG emissions. The study proposes mixed MSW incineration as a potential source of renewable electricity to ensure climate friendly urban area management in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently the expansion of urban-rural income inequality and the rapid growth of fossil-energy consumption have become two significant challenges China should address to achieve its ambitious goals. For the first time, this study uses the Chinese provincial panel data during the period of 1996–2013 to perform a quantitative analysis on the relationship between the urban-rural income gap and the per capita electricity consumption. Fully considering the potential endogeneity problem, this paper uses the orthogonal-difference Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) as the benchmark estimation method. To ensure the robustness of the estimations, the Theil index and per capita urban-rural income are utilized to measure the urban-rural income gap. The estimation results indicate that the influences of urban-rural income inequality on electricity depend on the income level. At the current stage of economic development, the income disparity has significantly negative impacts on provincial per capita electricity consumption. Moreover, there is also strong evidence for the existence of the inverted U-shaped relationship between per capita electricity consumption and GDP per capita. Furthermore, other economic and social factors, including the enhancement of urbanization and industrialization levels, the adjustment of the population structure, and the development of import-export trade may also promote electricity consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2005, a dramatic decline of the Arctic sea-ice extent is observed which results in an increase of shipping activities. Even though this provides commercial and social development opportunities, the resulting environmental impacts need to be investigated and monitored. In order to understand the impact of shipping in arctic areas, the method described in this paper determines the travel time, fuel consumption and resulting exhaust emissions of ships navigating in arctic waters. The investigated case studies are considering ship particulars as well as environmental conditions with special focus on ice scenarios. Travel time, fuel consumption and exhaust gas emission were investigated for three different vessels, using different passages of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) in different seasons of years 1960, 2000 and 2040. The presented results show the sensitivity of vessel performance and amount of exhaust emissions to optimize arctic traffic with respect to efficiency, safety and environmental impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following article conducts a meta-analysis to systematically investigate why Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) in the Fifth IPCC Assessment are illustrated with energy system reference cases dominated by coal. These scenarios of 21st-century climate change span many decades, requiring a consideration of potential developments in future society, technology, and energy systems. To understand possibilities for energy resources in this context, the research community draws from Rogner (1997) which proposes a theory of learning-by-extracting (LBE). The LBE hypothesis conceptualizes total geologic occurrences of oil, gas, and coal with a learning model of productivity that has yet to be empirically assessed. This paper finds climate change scenarios anticipate a transition toward coal because of systematic errors in fossil production outlooks based on total geologic assessments like the LBE model. Such blind spots have distorted uncertainty ranges for long-run primary energy since the 1970s and continue to influence the levels of future climate change selected for the SSP-RCP scenario framework. Accounting for this bias indicates RCP8.5 and other ‘business- as -usual scenarios’ consistent with high CO 2 forcing from vast future coal combustion are exceptionally unlikely. Therefore, SSP5-RCP8.5 should not be a priority for future scientific research or a benchmark for policy studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Refrigeration systems are crucial in retail food stores to ensure appropriate merchandising of food products. This paper compares four different CO 2 refrigeration system configurations in terms of cooling performance, environmental impact, power consumption and annual running costs. The systems studied were the conventional booster refrigeration system with gas bypass (reference system), the all CO 2 cascade system with gas bypass, a booster system with a gas bypass compressor, and integrated cascade all CO 2 system with gas bypass compressor. The weather conditions of London, UK, and Athens, Greece, were used for the modelling of energy consumption and environmental impacts to represent moderate and warm climatic conditions respectively. The control strategies for the refrigeration systems were derived from experimental tests in the laboratory on a conventional booster refrigeration system. The results from the analysis showed that the CO 2 booster system with gas bypass compressor can provide best performance with 5.0% energy savings for the warm climate and 3.65% for the moderate climate, followed by the integrated cascade all CO 2 system with gas bypass compressor, with 3.6% and 2.1% savings over the reference system for the warm and moderate climates respectively. [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]

Local and global climate change increases the ambient temperature of cities by several degrees with important consequences on energy consumption, health and the economy. Advanced urban mitigation technologies contribute to decrease the ambient temperature and counterbalance the impact of urban heat islands. The present paper analyses and presents in a comparative way the mitigation potential of the known mitigation technologies using performance data from about 220 real scale urban rehabilitation projects. The average and peak temperature drop of reflective technologies, greenery, evaporative systems, earth to air heat exchangers and their combinations is calculated and presented. The mitigation potential of the main systems like cool roofs, cool pavements, green roofs, urban trees, pools and ponds, sprinklers, fountains, and evaporative towers, is analysed. It is found that the potential of the main mitigation technologies is considerable and can counterbalance UHI effects partly or fully. The average peak temperature drop calculated for all projects is close to 2 K, while the corresponding decrease of the average ambient temperature is close to 0.74 K. Almost 31% of the analysed projects resulted in a peak temperature drop below 1 K, 62% below 2 K, 82% below 3 K and 90% below 4 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The critical impacts of climate change have imposed an imperative for accelerated global actions to curb the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. The “historic Paris agreement” on climate change as well as the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative are among the well-known foundations to restrict GHG emission by promoting renewable energy (RE) across the globe. In Yemen, a country with abundant RE resources, feasibility studies to explore RE potentiality are scarce. This paper first reviews the historical development of RE technologies as well as the RE prospects in Yemen. This is followed by a comprehensive feasibility study of an off-grid renewable-based power system for rural electrification in Yemen. Shafar, a key district in Hajjah province, is considered as a case study. Five different cases (various combination of energy resources) of power system have been investigated with a key objective to find out the most suitable hybrid system that yields the minimal system cost as well as environmental impact. In this work, the hybrid optimization model for electric renewables (HOMER) is employed to perform the optimization and sensitivity analysis. The simulation results indicate that combination of photovoltaic and wind energy system achieves potential reduction of 100% in the CO 2 emission, along with 30% decrement in the cost of energy (COE). Comparatively, the photovoltaic/wind/diesel energy system could only achieve 70% reduction in the CO 2 emission but 45% decrement in the COE. Furthermore, the latter case exhibits a superior system robustness to RE variability in comparison with the former case. Finally, the study recommends the deployment of the proposed hybrid system (photovoltaic/wind/diesel) as the means for Yemen (and other similar context countries) to sustainably achieve Paris agreement targets and the SE4All initiatives, simultaneously. [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]

Greenhouse gas emissions related to energy production is the main cause of climate change. Transportation accounts for 30% of the total energy consumption, and a reduction in the energy used for mobility is necessary. The 2000-watt society is an environmental concept that fixes a sustainable limit to the energy consumption in different sectors, including mobility. This paper evaluates the energy consumption in several mobility scenarios, and it assesses whether the goal suggested by the 2000-watt society is achievable. We investigate the social characteristics and travel habits of the population living in a case study area. Then, we calculate the modal shift induced by transportation policies such as car-sharing, car-pooling and car-free district. We evaluate the resulting energy consumption, and we compare it with the 2000-watt society limit. We conclude that only a set of measures combining car usage reduction, increase in walking and cycling, and reduction in the total travel distance can achieve the needed energy reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1990s, electricity distribution networks in many countries have been subject to incentive regulation. The sector regulators aim to identify the best performing utilities as frontier firms to determine the relative efficiency of firms. This paper develops a nested latent class (NLC) model approach where unobserved differences in firm performance are modelled using two 'zero inefficiency stochastic frontier' (ZISF) models nested in a 'latent class stochastic frontier' (LCSF) model. This captures the unobserved differences due to technology or environmental conditions. A Monte Carlo simulation suggests that the proposed model does not suffer from identification problems. We illustrate the proposed model with an application to Norwegian distribution network utilities for the period 2004-2011. We find that the efficiency scores in both LCSF and ZISF models are biased, and some firms in the ZISF model are wrongly labelled as inefficient. Conversely, inefficient firms may be wrongly labelled as being fully efficient by the ZISF model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to propose a method of reconfiguring the train timetable, taking into account minimising the globally consumed energy for traction purposes. This is a very important issue in the context of rising electricity prices, alarming climate changes and the "Fit for 55" policy introduced in Europe. Each unit of energy saved contributes to improving the state of the planet and reducing the negative human impact on it. In this paper, the authors propose a model that, when applied, will reconfigure the timetable in terms of energy intensity and, as a result, reduce the impact of railways on the burden on the environment. It is proposed to introduce an interdependence between trajectories of electrical train movement. This interdependence is to take place so that it is possible to efficiently transfer the energy recovered during the braking of one train to another train, moving on the same section of the railway line and at the same time (i.e., without using energy storage devices). The paper provides a physical background to the considerations—discussing the movement of electric trains in the context of their energy intensity and the possibility of energy recovery; presenting the possibility of interconnecting trains in such a way that the energy from a train that is being braked can be efficiently used by a train that is being accelerated; presenting a method for making the linkages between trains (in the form of an original algorithm resulting from the application of the Delphi method) and implementing them in the timetable. The timetable for the application of the method is real and was obtained from the railway operator in Poland, as a mathematical–physical model describing the trajectory and energy consumption of the original, after which the proposed timetable was verified by running simulations and comparing the energy consumption of the original and the proposed timetable. It turned out that it is possible to achieve a global total energy demand reduction of up to 398 MWh/year. This proves the validity of using the proposed algorithm at the timetabling stage and extending its implementation to the entire network. Furthermore the authors also recognise the tendency of the algorithm to return repeatable solutions, which has the side effect of creating a cyclic timetable. Its implementation in Poland has proved impossible for many years. The application of the proposed method could change this unfavourable situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the climate policy discussion by focusing on the challenges and opportunities of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 in Italy. To support Italian energy planning, we developed energy roadmaps towards national climate neutrality, consistent with the Paris Agreement objectives and the IPCC goal of limiting the increase in global surface temperature to 1.5 °C. Starting from the Italian framework, these scenarios identify the correlations among the main pillars for the change of the energy paradigm towards net emissions by 2050. The energy scenarios were developed using TIMES-RSE, a partial equilibrium and technology-rich optimization model of the entire Italian energy system. Subsequently, an in-depth analysis was developed with the sMTISIM, a long-term simulator of power system and electricity markets. The results show that, to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, the Italian energy system will have to experience profound transformations on multiple and strongly related dimensions. A predominantly renewable-based energy mix (at least 80–90% by 2050) is essential to decarbonize most of the final energy consumption. However, the strong increase of non-programmable renewable sources requires particular attention to new flexibility resources needed for the power system, such as Power-to-X. The green fuels produced from renewables via Power-to-X will be a vital energy source for those sectors where electrification faces technical and economic barriers. The paper's findings also confirm that the European "energy efficiency first" principle represents the very first step on the road to climate neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limiting global warming well below 2 °C requires substantial increase in the installation of low-carbon electricity generation technologies (EGTs). EGTs however require several critical materials and materials associated with considerable energy, water and CO 2 emissions. This paper assesses the implications of materials and energy efficiencies for climate change mitigation potential of global energy transition scenarios (GETS). The analysis is carried out using a dynamic material flow-stock model for 21 materials and 15 scenarios combining GETS developed by international organizations including International Energy Agency (IEA) and Greenpeace (GP), materials scenarios, and energy, water, and emissions intensities scenarios. Materials related CO 2 emissions are expected to constitute between 4% and 14% the emissions reported in the IEA Sustainable Development scenario, while expected to be between 10% and 28% in GP Advanced Revolution scenario. Increasing material efficiency and reducing emissions intensities (driven by increasing energy efficiency, renewable technologies in energy supply mix, and recycling) reduce cumulative emissions by 73.2% and 26.3% respectively, while both reduce emissions by 79.5%. Increasing materials efficiency in EGT, energy and water efficiency in mining activities mainly for iron, aluminium, and nickel, and recycling, combined with careful selection of EGTs are significant to realize the full potential of GETS in climate change mitigation. • Materials and energy efficiencies implications for climate change mitigation potential of energy scenarios are assessed. • Dynamic material flow-stock model for 21 materials and 15 combined materials and energy scenarios are used. • Materials related CO 2 emissions constitute between 4% and 14% of emissions reported in IEA Sustainable Development scenario. • Increasing material efficiency and reducing emission intensities reduce cumulative emissions by 79.5%. • Increasing materials efficiency and recycling, and careful selection of EGT are significant for climate change mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massive energy demand and source of energy usages is the key root of global emission and climate change. Solar photovoltaic (PV) is low carbon energy technology currently 3.2% share of global electricity supply. The rapid progress of solar PV is vastly related to increase energy efficiency and lessening of active materials usage. This paper solar PV present significance and most prospective PV materials technical challenges are reviewed for its future advancement. Among the challenges solar energy absorption-related dynamic photo-thermal effect on cells or modules is vital. Transparent passivation contact materials with lower temperature coefficient (TC) and thin active layer resulted in lowering both dynamic photo-thermal outcome and optical to electrical energy gap. Thin active layer minor bulk recombination and sub-band parasitic absorption lessening purpose transparent conductive materials (TCM) based proper band barrier heterointerface is impending. It can optimize desired band absorption and photo-coupling with selective carrier induces greater efficiency. Earlier research though explains it on carrier selectivity prejudice, but how it can lessen the near infrared band optical and associated thermal influence is essential to illustrated. Passivation and TC interrelations hence, field related drift is control over diffusion process loss in advanced bifacial and thin active layer PV technology. Loss lessening pathways thin wafer-based Si, thin film CdTe, organic and perovskite photo coupling with advanced TCM, thus, Si/CdTe and Si/perovskite tandem cells along with OSC building integrated transparent photovoltaic technologies advancement pathways are reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]