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Promoting energy efficiency in iron and steel production provides opportunities for mitigating environmental impacts from this energy-intensive industry. Energy efficiency technologies differ in investment costs, fuel-saving potentials, and environmental performance. Hence the decision-making of the adoption strategy needs to prioritize technological combinations concerning these multi-dimensional objectives. To address this problem, this study proposes a hybrid multi-criteria decision-support model for adopting energy efficiency technologies in the iron and steel industry. The modeling framework integrates a linear programming model that determines the optimal technology adoption rates based on the techno-economic, energy, and environmental performance details and an interactive multi-criteria model analysis tool for diverse modeling environments. A real case study was performed in which a total number of 56 energy efficiency technologies were investigated against various criteria concerning economics, energy, and environmental performances. The results examine the tradeoffs and synergies were examined with regard to seven criteria. A balanced solution shows that a total investment of 13.4 billion USD could save 2.51 Exajoule fuel consumption, cut 67.4 million tons (Mton) CO2 emissions, and reduce air pollution of 1.5 Mton SO2, 1.41 Mton NOx, and 0.86 Mton PM, respectively. The case study demonstrates the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed multi-criteria decision-making support framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrialization process in China has resulted in the fast growth of the country's energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Examining the effects of industrial structural change on the emissions pathways in the mid-term future would help advance understanding of how industrial policy choices affect the fulfillment of the strategic climate targets of emissions peaking and carbon neutrality. This study couples index decomposition analysis (IDA) with an additive nonparametric regression model to project the possible emissions pathways with different industrial structures. It develops a set of scenarios following the storylines of shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) to examine these effects in an uncertain environment towards 2040. The results show that structural change has played an increasing role in curbing carbon emissions of China's industrial sectors since 2000. The CO2 emissions reductions attributable to this effect were 686 million tons (Mton CO2) between 2000 and 2013, and these contributions to emission mitigation rose to 798 Mton between 2014 and 2019. The scenario results suggest that the aggregated effect of energy efficiency and structure upgrades will decrease emissions by 43% in 2040 relative to the level in 2019 in the ideal case. Regardless of the uncertainties in scenario settings, heavy industry will continue to dominate China's industrial emissions through 2040. Nevertheless, a significant structural change with an increased share of high-tech industries, such as information and communication technology, could lead to more than a 30% reduction in emissions compared to cases with more minor changes in this sub-sector. Key Policy Insights A rapid expansion of heavy industry is the primary factor driving the rapid growth of China's industrial CO2 emissions since 2000. Industrial structural change is the second most significant factor curbing emissions growth, and the influence of this factor is increasing. Keeping up the momentum of structural change and technological upgrades in the industrial sector would make it possible for industry emissions to decrease in the medium-term future, therefore contributing substantially to China's goal of peaking its CO2 emissions by 2030. Realizing carbon neutrality in the longer term necessitates not only structural change in industry, but also a fundamental transformation of the energy supply system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The variation of and the interrelation between different energy markets significantly affect the competitiveness of various energy technologies, therefore complicate the decision-making problem for a complex energy system consisting of multiple competing technologies, especially in a long-term time frame. The interrelations between these markets have not been accounted for in the existing energy system modelling efforts, leading to a distortion of understanding of the market impact on the technological choices and operations in the real world. This study investigates the strategic and operational decision-making problem for such an energy system characterized by three competing technologies from crude oil, natural gas, and coal. A stochastic programming model is constructed by incorporating multiple volatile energy prices interrelated with each other. Oil price is modelled by the mean-reverting Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process and serves as the exogenous variable in the ARIMAX models for natural gas and downstream plastic prices. The K-means clustering method is employed to extract a handful of distinctive patterns from a large number of simulated price projections to enhance the computing efficiency without losing retaining critical information and insights from the price co-movement. The model results suggest that the high volatility of the energy market weakens the possibility of selecting the corresponding technology. The oil-based route, for example, gradually loses its market share to the coal approach, attributed to a higher volatile oil market. The proposed method is applicable to other problems of the same kind with high-dimensional stochastic variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beijing has implemented air pollution control policies and transitioned its energy system with lower carbon emissions to tackle severe air pollution. However, further advancing to a carbon–neutral future necessitates comprehensive measures far beyond the air-quality-oriented policies. This study aims to explore and compare different transition strategies of the Beijing energy system to achieve carbon neutrality and assess the associated air pollution reduction co-benefits by using an integrated modelling framework consisting of an energy system model MESSAGEix-Beijing and an air quality assessment model GAINS. Three scenarios are developed, namely, baseline (BS), indigenous (IND), and imported electricity-dependent (EIMP). The two distinct low-carbon pathways differ in cost-optimal technological solutions and the associated impacts of air pollution reduction. Compared to the BS scenario, the IND and EIMP scenarios could reduce the carbon dioxide emissions in Beijing by 94 to 96% in 2050 and achieve substantial air pollution co-benefits. In the IND scenario, the NOx, SO2, and PM2.5 emissions would decrease by 50%, 84%, and 30% in 2050, respectively. Importing full electricity from other provinces, as indicated by the EIMP scenario, would achieve even higher emissions reduction for air pollutants. The results highlight the necessity for concerted regional development of adjacent provinces to avoid the spillover of carbon emissions and air pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emissions trading schemes have been widely implemented by many countries to enforce the "cap and trade" concept for mitigating CO2 emissions. Thus, the carbon price influences the manufacturing costs in all stages of production, recycling, and disposal. Consideration of the carbon price is especially important for the economic efficiency of the downstream manufacturing sectors, such as in plastic product manufacturing, to substantially reduce their costs through the design and management of networked supply chains, which results in purchasing feedstocks from different technological routes, as well as choosing plants, warehouses and various transportation modes with diverse CO2 emission intensities. Supporting the decision-making in such situations requires the integration of life cycle analysis and networked supply chain management methodologies with an analysis of the carbon-market uncertainties. Such approaches have not been sufficiently quantified in the existing literature. This study presents a stochastic mixed-integer linear programming model developed for polyvinyl chloride pipe manufacturing in China, which is used to evaluate the effects of the life cycle emissions of procurement on the whole supply chain under carbon market uncertainty. Our results illustrate that the carbon market uncertainty would not only significantly influence the carbon-intensive production sectors but also the downstream manufacturing sectors. The five scenarios with carbon price variation exhibit distinctively different choices in procurement and supply chain configurations, as well as in their performances regarding total emissions and associated costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring potential future pathways for developing Asia's energy consumption, CO2 emissions and infrastructure investment needs is essential to understanding how the countries of this rapidly growing region may contribute to the global climate targets set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement. To this end, this study employs the state-of-the-art global integrated assessment model MESSAGEix-GLOBIOM to investigate mid-century decarbonization strategies for developing Asia to 2050. Our results indicate that a radical change in the energy portfolio is required to reach the target of 'well below' 2°C. Specifically, our scenarios point to a rapid reduction of fossil fuel utilization, enhancement of low-carbon energy supply, and boosting of energy efficiency efforts. Such a transformation leads to a deep cut in CO2 emissions by 78% and 93% by 2050 in scenarios consistent with the 2°C and 1.5°C targets, respectively. Electricity generation and final energy consumption become dominated by low-carbon energy by 2050 in these scenarios. In terms of investment needs beyond a baseline scenario, the 2°C and 1.5°C pathways imply that the scale of low-carbon investment may need to double and triple, respectively. These increases would be partially offset by disinvestment in coal, oil and natural gas extraction and conversion infrastructure. Decarbonizing the energy system also impacts the capital needed for making progress on other sustainable development goals (SDGs), such as air pollution, clean water and food security. Key policy insights Governments will need to employ a variety of policy mechanisms, including mandates and subsidies for renewables and electric vehicles, efficiency standards for end-use technologies, and bans on free-emitting fossil fuel plants, among others. Relative to the baseline scenario for developing Asia, the scale of investment into low-carbon energy to 2050 may need to double for a 2°C scenario, and to triple for 1.5°C. Policy instruments such as green finance are essential for this region to mobilize a broadened channel of investment, particularly from the private sector. Low-carbon investment would significantly reduce the capital investment needed to achieve the SDG target for air quality, but increase the requirements for meeting targets on clean water and food security, though only to a small extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China’s civil aviation industry has undergone a rapid expansion since the early 1980s, which has resulted in drastic increases in aviation fuel consumption and CO 2 emissions. The rapid increase in air transport is expected to continue, which poses critical challenges to this industry in terms of carbon emissions reduction. Despite its importance, an analysis of CO 2 emissions with the future development of this industry and the impacts of crucial factors is missing from the literature. To bridge this gap, this study conducts scenario analysis of CO 2 emissions from this sector through 2030 and assesses the influences from the key influential factors, including the adoption of low carbon jet fuel, the improvement of fuel intensity due to technological advancements of aircraft, and the increase of air traffic demand. The results show that the air traffic demand has the most significant influence on emissions. The technological improvements in fuel intensity and the adoption of biomass-based fuel appear unlikely to reach the ambitious targets for this industry without a disruptive technological breakthrough. A more comprehensive policy framework, including a carbon tax on jet fuel, R&D support to promote fuel efficiency and a carbon offset scheme etc., is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CCS (carbon capture and storage) plays an indispensable role in the technology roadmap of CO 2 emissions control for China as a coal-dependent country. China is the world's largest cement producer, and capturing CO 2 from China's cement production should be a critical component of the overall strategy for reducing carbon emissions. In this study, we investigate the roles of the three carbon abatement technologies, i.e., energy efficiency, alternative energy, and CCS, in China's CO 2 reduction strategy. We examine the potential contribution of implementing CCS in China's cement production facilities by establishing three emission scenarios, and assess the capture cost of three capture schemes. The results show that CCS could reduce 57% of emissions from this industry by 2030, and the cost of capturing CO 2 from cement production is 5–20% lower relative to that of coal-fired power generation depending on the different capture technologies implemented. Here is still an urgent need to accelerate the implementation of an industrial pilot and demonstration in China. To facilitate the practical implementation application process and increase the impetus for investment, related climate regulations and market designs must be completed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether chronic exposure to environmental doses of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can lead to neurotoxic effects is still unclear. Hence, the neurotoxic effects of perinatal and juvenile exposure to 16 priority-controlled PAHs were investigated. The mice were treated with 0, 0.5, 18.75, 50, 1875 μg/kg/day of PAHs corresponding to various population exposure concentrations from gestation to postnatal day 60. Urinary 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and hippocampal and cortical neurotransmitter levels were determined using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Typical indicators or outcome of neurotoxicity, including, spatial learning and memory ability, hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) and dendritic spine density were evaluated via Morris water maze tests, electrophysiological experiments and Golgi-Cox assays, respectively. The results showed that exposure to different levels of PAH could not increase oxidative DNA damage level. Mice exposed to 0.5, 50 and 1875 μg/kg/day PAHs had significantly longer escape latency than the control group only on the 1st day (p < 0.05). The number of platform crossings and the time spent in target quadrant were similar between the control and the PAHs-exposed mice. Compared with the control mice, only those exposed to 50 μg/kg/day PAHs had significantly lower LTP in hippocampal CA1 region and dendritic spine density in hippocampal DG region (p < 0.05). Except for serotonin, no significant difference in hippocampal and cortical neurotransmitter concentrations was observed between the control and PAHs-exposed groups. Taken together, perinatal and juvenile exposure to environmental doses of PAHs had no profound effect on spatial learning and memory abilities, hippocampal LTP, dendritic spines density, and neurotransmitter levels. These unexpected findings were quite different from previous in vivo studies which commonly used 2–3 orders of magnitude higher PAHs doses to treat animals. Thus, the environmental dose is a crucial reference for future toxicological research to reveal the actual toxic mechanisms and human health effects of PAHs exposure. [Display omitted] • The impact of PAHs on neurodevelopment and signal transduction were evaluated. • Environmental doses of PAHs exposure cannot induce profound neurotoxicity. • The environmental dose is a crucial reference for future toxicological research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Norway enjoys an electricity-dominant clean energy system with a high share of hydropower. The power and heating sectors are characterized by high penetration of renewables. But the transportation and offshore industries remain challenging to be decarbonized; therefore, it needs more exploration on cost-effective energy transition strategies. This study develops a long-term energy planning model, TIMES-Hinnøya, for the Hinnøya island in Norway and couples it with a detailed electricity system model with hourly time resolution, EnergyPLAN, to overcome the low temporal resolution limitation of the long-term energy planning model. The two models run iteratively. Using the model, five scenarios are designed to investigate the effects of key policy instruments on the energy transition. These scenarios assume the continuation of current climate policies, such as carbon tax on fossil fuels, preferential policies towards purchasing and owning electric vehicles, ban on new internal combustion engine (ICT) cars as of 2025, and the potential incremental carbon tax rate. The results illustrate that although absolute reduction occurs in all the scenarios, the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 can only be achieved by forbidding the sales of new ICE cars, highlighting the importance of zero-emission vehicles in the future transportation system. • A hybrid energy system modelling framework is developed for the Hinnøya island, Norway. • The framework connects a long-term energy model TIMES-Hinnøya with EnergyPlan. • A variety of renewable energy supply and low-carbon transportation technologies are included in the model. • Five scenarios are designed to examine the effects of different low-carbon policies. • Net zero emissions can be achieved only in the most stringent policy scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An improved understanding of investment decisions on low-carbon technology will greatly facilitate assessing the effectiveness of carbon emissions mitigation policies. We use the example of implementing CCS (carbon capture and storage) within ICL (indirect coal liquefaction), a controversial technology in China, by constructing a RO (real options) model for the investment decision-making process to assess how different climate policies affect low-carbon technology investors under highly uncertain circumstances. We find that a carbon tax provides the strongest signal for investment and that a market-based measure provides firms with flexibility. Moreover, different types of carbon markets generate substantially different effects on firm behavior, and the CO2 price level exerts a more powerful influence on investors than market volatility or the policy's implementation date. Considering the regional disparities among the coal-abundant but less-developed provinces and the affluent coastal regions in China, we suggest that a sub-national CDM (clean development mechanism) would complete the current domestic policy framework to balance the development requirement and CO2 abatement, whereas extraordinary administrative efforts are necessary to raise the current price of CO2 credits to an effective level, to broaden the carbon market coverage and consolidate the carbon market foundation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization has transformed daily lives and industrial production in China. We investigate the effects of this process on Chinese energy consumption patterns. Three energy-consuming sectors intricately associated with urbanization are identified and analyzed: residential households, transportation, and the building materials industry. Urbanization has profoundly affected each; moreover, the latter two are high energy consumption and potentially high carbon producing. We estimate energy consumption attributable to each sector to quantitatively evaluate their impacts on societal transition. Transportation and the production of building materials are identified as the most significant linkages from urbanization to energy consumption. Strikingly, despite the large increase in the proportion of the population that is urban, the share of urban energy consumption, as estimated here, in total energy consumption has remained stable. This suggests that economic growth, in the form of the production of goods for export and domestic consumption, is the most important driver of energy demand in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: ICL (Indirect coal liquefaction), an alternative fuel-supplying technology, has drawn much attention and caused considerable debate in China’s energy sector. The hurdles to its development include the high risk of investment into large-scale installations, the high CO2 emissions and water resource consumption. A comprehensive assessment of ICL is urgently needed. This study provides an economic assessment and a technical analysis based on process simulations. To address the future challenge of curbing CO2 emissions, three absorption methods are compared for capturing the CO2 released from the ICL process: DMC (a novel absorbent), MEA and Rectisol. The comparative results suggest that physical absorbents, represented by Rectisol and DMC, have a remarkable advantage over chemical absorption processes, represented by MEA. The Rectisol process costs the least, while the DMC process is close to the same level. As a novel absorbent, DMC has the potential to be widely used in the future. The economic analysis of ICL predicted a high capital cost of over 35 billion yuan and an overall product cost of approximately 3800 yuan/ton for the baseline. In addition, via a sensitivity analysis, coal price, electricity price and capacity factor were identified as the three most influential factors affecting the overall product cost. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: GHG (Increasing greenhouse gas) emissions in China imposes enormous pressure on China’s government and society. The increasing GHG trend is primarily driven by the fast expansion of high energy-intensive sectors including the chemical industry. This study investigates energy consumption and CO2 emissions in the processes of chemical production in China through calculating the amounts of CO2 emissions and estimating the reduction potential in the near future. The research is based on a two-level perspective which treats the entire industry as Level one and six key sub-sectors as Level two, including coal-based ammonia, calcium carbide, caustic soda, coal-based methanol, sodium carbonate, and yellow phosphorus. These two levels are used in order to address the complexity caused by the fact that there are more than 40 thousand chemical products in this industry and the performance levels of the technologies employed are extremely uneven. Three scenarios with different technological improvements are defined to estimate the emissions of the six sub-sectors and analyze the implied reduction potential in the near future. The results highlight the pivotal role that regulation and policy administration could play in controlling the CO2 emissions by promoting average technology performances in this industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The increasing pressure resulting from the need for CO2 mitigation is in conflict with the predominance of coal in China’s energy structure. A possible solution to this tension between climate change and fossil fuel consumption fact could be the introduction of the carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. However, high cost and other problems give rise to great uncertainty in R&D and popularization of carbon capture technology. This paper presents a real options model incorporating policy uncertainty described by carbon price scenarios (including stochasticity), allowing for possible technological change. This model is further used to determine the best strategy for investing in CCS technology in an uncertain environment in China and the effect of climate policy on the decision-making process of investment into carbon-saving technologies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The most challenging aspect of developing a green hydrogen economy is long-distance oceanic transportation. Hydrogen liquefaction is a transportation alternative. However, the cost and energy consumption for liquefaction is currently prohibitively high, creating a major barrier to hydrogen supply chains. This paper proposes using solid nitrogen or oxygen as a medium for recycling cold energy across the hydrogen liquefaction supply chain. When a liquid hydrogen (LH2) carrier reaches its destination, the regasification process of the hydrogen produces solid nitrogen or oxygen. The solid nitrogen or oxygen is then transported in the LH2 carrier back to the hydrogen liquefaction facility and used to reduce the energy consumption cooling gaseous hydrogen. As a result, the energy required to liquefy hydrogen can be reduced by 25.4% using N 2 and 27.3% using O 2. Solid air hydrogen liquefaction (SAHL) can be the missing link for implementing a global hydrogen economy. • The energy required to liquefy hydrogen reduces by 25.4% with N 2 and 27.3% with O 2. • Solid O 2 is a better hydrogen liquefaction energy carrier than solid N 2. • Solid N 2 is selected as the energy carrier due to the risk explosion using O 2. • The solid N 2 occupies 44.5% of the liquid H 2 tank volume. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Structural decomposition analysis (SDA) is a very commonly used method for exploring the driving forces of environmental pressure (EP). Enhanced with attribution analysis, SDA can further decompose the driving forces of EP into economic sectors or sub-regions and provide more detailed evidence-based policymaking. However, current studies of SDA with attribution analysis have not been sufficiently developed and are only one-tiered, i.e., they decompose the driving forces of EP into either a sub-regional or an economic sectoral level. In this study, we introduce a method of SDA with a two-tiered attribution analysis, which is capable of 1) exploring the driving force of environmental pressure at a multi-regional level and 2) further decomposing the driving forces of EP into both sub-regions and economic sectors. Based on this method, we explore the driving forces for the change of energy consumption in the Jing-Jin-Ji region during the period of 2007–2012. Results of this case study indicate that technological change, final demand structure, and final demand composition respectively contributed −129%, 12%, and −3% while affluence, production structure, total population, and population structure respectively contributed 129%, 77%, 38%, and 2% to energy consumption change in the region. In terms of sub-regional and economic sectoral level contributions, Hebei province and the chemical and smelting and rolling of metals industries were the most prominent contributors. Through this case study, we situate the strengths and limitations of the two-tiered attribution SDA method and propose key policy suggestions and future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is the world's largest cement producer, contributing to 60% of the global total. Jiangsu province takes the lead of cement production among China's provinces, contributing to 8.4% of the national total cement output. In this study, a geo-graphical information system-based energy model is developed to assess the potential of energy savings and associated mitigation of CO 2 and air pollutant emissions in Jiangsu's cement industry during 2015–2030. Results show that 1) compared to 2015, energy consumption in the baseline scenario will decrease by 54% at the provincial level. Economical energy saving potential for 2030 is around 50 PJ, which equals to 35% of energy use in the baseline in 2030. 2) At the city level, Changzhou, Wuxi, and Xuzhou are top three cities in terms of energy saving potential. 3) The economical CO 2 emission reductions will decrease by 4.4 Mt in 2030, while the emissions of PM and NOx would decline by 30% and 56%, respectively. This study will help policy makers develop integrated policies to support the coordinated development of Jiangsu and can also enhance the effectiveness of the implementation of joint prevention and control of atmospheric pollution to improve regional air quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As cities represent the microcosms of global environmental change, it is very important for the global sustainable development by decoupling environmental pressure from economic growth on city level. In this paper, the municipality of Chongqing in China is employed as a case to show whether the decoupling of environmental pressures from economic growth has occurred in cities undergoing rapid economic growth; what is the level of decoupling; and what causes the observed degree of decoupling. Results show the following. (1) During the period of 1999–2010, decoupling from economic growth has been absolute for the emissions of SO 2 , soot, and waste water, while it has been relative for total energy consumption, emissions of CO 2 and solid waste. (2) Compared with the period 2000–2005, decoupling level improved for all the six environmental pressures in the period 2005–2010. (3) Compared with China and other three municipalities of China, the overall decoupling level of Chongqing is above China’s average while below those of Beijing and Shanghai. (4) During the period 1999–2000, technological change was the dominate factor for decoupling Chongqing’s environmental pressure from economic growth, as it contributed 131.4%, 134.6%, 99.9%, 97.7%, 104.5% and 54.9% to the decoupling of total energy consumption, emissions of CO 2 , SO 2 , soot, waste water and solid waste, respectively; while economic structural change had very tiny effect to the decoupling of emissions of soot and SO 2 , and it even had negative effect to that of total energy consumption, and emissions of CO 2 and waste water. Based on the above observations, we explain the difference in decoupling levels for different environmental pressures and suggest approaches for policy-makers on further promoting decoupling environmental pressure from economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Material productivity (MP), measured as economic output (such as Gross Domestic Product, GDP) per corresponding material input, is gained significant interest of becoming a widespread environmental sustainability indicator. The study of MP's dynamics is very important for policy-making on how to improve MP. This paper applies the auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) model to investigate the dynamic impacts of energy intensity for secondary industry (SEI), tertiary industry value added per GDP (TVA), trade openness (TO) and domestic extraction per capita (DEC) on MP in the case of China during the period from 1980 to 2010. The validated and robust results of the model confirm the existence of cointegration among the variables both in the long and short run. The impacts of selected socioeconomic factors can be summarized as follows: 1) In the long run, an SEI decrease driven by technology improvement is found to be the main driver of MP, and a 1% decrease in SEI results in a 0.432% increase in MP; 2) The magnitude of the impact of TVA on MP is higher over the short run than over the long run; 3) TO can reluctantly promote MP both in the long and short run; 4) DEC exhibits fundamentally different behaviors in the long and short run. DEC is not a strongly significant factor for MP, and the magnitude of the impact is very weak in the long run. However, it has the greatest negative impact on MP in the short run, as a 1% increase in DEC results in a 0.519% decrease in MP, which demonstrates that the marginal revenue of resource input has already dramatically declined. These insights from the study could be considerably helpful for sustainable resource management and material productivity enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To evaluate the effects of different delivery modes on pelvic floor function in parturients 6–8 weeks after delivery using transperineal four-dimensional ultrasound. Methods. Pelvic floor function 6–8 weeks after delivery in 40 vaginal delivery parturients between November 2018 and December 2020 was assessed by four-dimensional ultrasound, with 40 selective cesarean section delivery parturients as a control group. The imaging results of the two groups were compared. Results. The levels of clinical indexes such as UVJ-M, A r , A v , θ, D r , D v , and ARJ-VDv in the selective cesarean section group were significantly lower than those in the vaginal delivery group 6–8 weeks after delivery (P < 0.05). However, no significant difference in CV-VD was observed under Valsalva action and at rest between the two groups (P > 0.05). No significant difference in ARJ-VD was found at rest between the two groups (P > 0.05). The incidence of pelvic organ prolapse in the selective cesarean section group (40.0%) was significantly lower than that in the vaginal delivery group (62.5%) (P < 0.05). No significant difference in the parameters of pelvic diaphragm hiatus at rest was observed between the two groups (P > 0.05). The parameters of pelvic diaphragm hiatus under maximum Valsalva action in the vaginal delivery group were significantly higher than those in the selective cesarean section group (P < 0.05). Whether the patient was complicated with diabetes had no significant effect on the functional injury of pelvic floor muscle (P > 0.05). Conclusion. The pelvic floor function 6–8 weeks after delivery was significantly more affected in vaginal delivery than in selective cesarean section. Selective cesarean section had certain but limited protective effect on maternal pelvic floor tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid deployment of wind energy plays an important role in China's proposed energy transition to carbon neutrality before 2060. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are, however, unavoidable during the entire life cycle of wind energy from manufacturing to disposal. It is important to estimate these GHG emissions and the emission intensity for programs of energy transition. In this study, simplified LCA models and engineering-based models were developed to provide a comprehensive estimate of the GHG emission intensity from onshore wind energy in China at provincial and national scales. Results showed that in 2019, the GHG emission intensity per unit power generation was 19.88 g CO 2 eq/kWh (provincial intensity ranges from 13.59 to 34.50 g CO 2 eq/kWh). The results indicated that onshore wind energy in China has an emission intensity more than 98% lower than traditional fossil fuels and the mitigation effect can reach 84%–98% compared to the energy mix in 2020. The effects on emission intensity of shifting the turbine mix towards larger sizes, reducing wind curtailment and using advanced designs to improve efficiency were further investigated. Advanced design of turbines can further decrease GHG emission intensity by 21.6%, more than the scenario of reducing curtailment (5.4%), while the emission intensity could be reduced by 2.1% under the scenario of shifting the turbine mix towards larger sizes. The results will aid future energy-mix scenario design and policy formulation. • We reviewed the LCA studies of wind energy in China. • Simplified LCA models were developed to estimate the GHG emissions of China's wind energy. • GHG emission intensity of China's wind industry was 19.88 g CO 2 eq/kWh in 2019. • Wind energy in China has an emission intensity over 98% lower than fossil fuels. • Mitigation potential through deploying large and design-efficient turbines and reducing wind curtailment were quantified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) may be a risk factor for pulmonary diseases. To investigate the correlations among B[a]P exposure level, DNA strand breaks and pulmonary inflammation, we recruited 83 children diagnosed with pulmonary diseases and 63 healthy children from Guangzhou, China. Results showed that the levels of Benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide (BPDE) DNA adduct in blood and IL-8 in serum in case group were significantly higher than those in control group (p < 0.01). Moreover, levels of atmospheric B[a]P in case group was about twice of those in control group, which was consistent with the levels of BPDE-DNA adduct in blood. Significant positive correlations were observed among the levels of BPDE-DNA adduct, IL-8 and DNA strand breaks (p < 0.05). Our findings indicate that environmental air is an important exposure source of B[a]P and higher B[a]P exposure may contribute to the occurrence of pulmonary inflammation and lead to high health risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Integrated assessment models are extensively used in the analysis of climate change mitigation and are informing national decision makers as well as contribute to international scientific assessments. This paper conducts a comprehensive review of techno-economic assumptions in the electricity sector among fifteen different global and national integrated assessment models. Particular focus is given to six major economies in the world: Brazil, China, the EU, India, Japan and the US. The comparison reveals that techno-economic characteristics are quite different across integrated assessment models, both for the base year and future years. It is, however, important to recognize that techno-economic assessments from the literature exhibit an equally large range of parameters as the integrated assessment models reviewed. Beyond numerical differences, the representation of technologies also differs among models, which needs to be taken into account when comparing numerical parameters. While desirable, it seems difficult to fully harmonize techno-economic parameters across a broader range of models due to structural differences in the representation of technology. Therefore, making techno-economic parameters available in the future, together with of the technology representation as well as the exact definitions of the parameters should become the standard approach as it allows an open discussion of appropriate assumptions. Highlights • Comparison of technology representation and techno-economic parameters of 15 IAMs. • Structural differences in representing technology in IAMs are identified. • Methods of projecting techno-economic parameters differ across IAMs. • Strict harmonization of techno-economic parameters across models is difficult. • Recommendation to publish techno-economic parameters and technology representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remanufacturing and direct reuse are considered important measures for promoting the circular economy and improving resource efficiency. Automotive production is a typical resource- and energy-intensive industrial sector, and is a prime market for remanufacturing and direct reuse. Assessing the effect of remanufacturing and direct reuse on the automotive production industry from the perspective of resource efficiency will provide an important reference for improving understandings of remanufacturing and guiding relevant policies in a broader context. A literature review reveals few studies focusing on the resource efficiency of remanufacturing and direct reuse, and the relative lack of a generally accepted indicator to assess the resource efficiency of industrial processes. This paper promotes a new indicator, resource productivity of industrial process , and constructs a material flow model to calculate the resource productivity of China’s automotive industry. Results suggest that the indicator and its analytical model are effective tools to assess resource efficiency. Results also suggest that compared to a case where remanufacturing and direct reuse are not employed, adding these processes in China’s automotive supply chain would increase resource productivity of industrial process by 7.1% in a high efficiency scenario. Based on these findings, policy recommendations for applying the indicator at industry level and encouraging remanufacturing and direct reuse are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cement and cement-based materials industry is one of the key industries for China's pollution control and resource management. Based on the Material Flow Analysis (MFA) framework, the status and potential improvement level of eco-efficiency indicators for this industry were assessed by the construction of a systematic material flow model that integrated the production, usage and waste management of cement and concrete on a national level in China. This model was also developed as a tool for monitoring and predicting the resource consumption and emissions of this industry based on the framework of material flow analysis. China's cement and concrete material cycle for 2010 was constructed on a quantitative basis by using this model. The results demonstrated that in 2010, the whole industry consumed over 15 billion tons of material to produce 1.88 billion tons of cement, 3.38 billion cubic meters of mortar and 3.59 billion cubic meters of concrete. The industry released 2.5 million tons of air pollutants and 1.0 billion tons of CO 2 , which accounted for approximately 5% and 12.5% of China's total amounts, respectively. The eco-efficiency indicators of this industry showed bright outlook though these indicators are still at a low level now. The resource productivity was 11 USD per ton of raw material (1 USD = 6.8 RMB in 2010), and the total emission efficiency was 164 USD per ton of CO 2 and air pollutants emission. The implications for further policymaking based on the assessment of this study suggested that the promotion of end-of-pipe treatment technology, more reasonable emission standards, sustainable resource management policies and government encouragement of non-resource material utilization are in urgent need for improving the eco-efficiency of this industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: As a major contributor to productivity and employment in China, the petroleum refining industry consumes approximately 15% of industrial fuel oil and 10% of industrial coal. Given this energy-intensive characteristic, cost-effective investments for energy-efficient technologies may be a useful strategy to improve the competitiveness of China's refining industry. More importantly, this approach may alleviate the environmental problems China faces. This paper addresses the challenges posed by a highly complex refining system, incomplete industrial information, and the absence of a widely accepted evaluation method. This study models and analyzes the energy-savings potential for refining and conversion processes in the context of technological change. The results indicate that upgrading process heaters have been a priority during recent years, but heat recovery and advanced process control systems will gradually begin to dominate the technological marketplace in the long term. Current technology policies will result in approximately 2.7 × 108 GJ of energy savings by 2020, keeping the average energy consumption of refineries within 57 kg oil equivalent (kgoe)/t-feed. If a cap-and-trade scheme is introduced in the future, a further reduction of up to 10% can be achieved. Various specific barriers that impede the realization of potential goals are also addressed in this study. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

As the world's largest inland shipping channel, the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) is strategic to China's sustainable development where policymakers are increasingly emphasizing not only this region's economic development but also its CO 2 emission reduction targets. To achieve emission targets in the YREB region, it is essential to identify the driving forces of its CO 2 emissions. However, existing studies are not very refined and only examine the overall effects of drivers on CO 2 emission changes, while neglecting the sub-regional and sectoral level effects across China. More refined research, therefore, will provide better-targeted policies for emission reduction relevant to regional levels such as the YREB region. Towards this end, this paper integrates the methods of structural decomposition analysis and attribution analysis to demonstrate the driving forces, at both sub-regional and sectoral levels, for YREB's emission changes from 2002 to 2012. Our results reveal the following: (1) Jiangsu Province has always been the main regional source of increasing CO 2 emissions in the YREB, accounting for more than 20% of total CO 2 emission growth. (2) The Electricity and Heat Production and Supply sector is responsible for most of the increases in CO 2 emissions, both in 2002–2007 (609.8 Mt, 54.8%) and 2007–2012 (287.6 Mt, 34%). (3) During the period of 2007–2012, changes in per capita final demand were the primary driving force for the increases in CO 2 emissions, while changes in CO 2 emission intensity were the largest driving force for decreasing CO 2 emissions, respectively accounting for 179.9% and −119.4% of total emission changes in the YREB region. (4) Moreover, the effect of emission intensity mainly exists in the Electricity and Heat Production and Supply sector in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, accounting for respectively, 10% and 10.4% of the total effects across all economic sectors. Considering the diverse impacts of driving forces in different sub-regions and economic sectors, policymakers should apply more refined measures to utilize varying driving forces in different sub-regions and economic sectors towards sustainable development. • We analyze drivers of CO 2 emissions in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB). • Drivers of CO 2 emissions are decomposed into both sub-regions and sectors. • Jiangsu province and three main sectors dominated CO 2 emissions in the YREB. • Intensity changes in Jiangsu's three sectors largely reduced YREB's emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]