• Energy Research
• 2021-2025close
• DE close
• EU close
• Sustainability close

Floods are among the most devastating disasters in terms of socio-economics and casualties. However, these natural disasters can be managed and their effects can be minimized by flood modeling performed before the occurrence of a flood. In this study, flood modeling was developed for the Göksu River Basin, Mersin, Türkiye. Flood hazard and risk maps were prepared by using GIS, HEC-RAS, and HEC-HMS. In hydraulic modeling, Manning’s n values were obtained from 2018 CORINE data, return period flow rates (Q25, Q50, Q100, Q500) were obtained from HEC-HMS, and the application was carried out on a 5 m resolution digital surface model. In the study area, the water depths could reach up to 10 m, and water speeds were approximately 0.7 m/s. Considering these values and the fact that the study area is an urban area, hazard maps were obtained according to the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) method. The results indicated that possible flood flow rates from Q25 to Q500, from 1191.7 m3/s to 1888.3 m3/s, were detected in the study area with HEC-HMS. Flooding also occurred under conditions of the Q25 flow rate (from 4288 km2 to 5767 km2), and the impacted areas were classified as extremely risky by the DEFRA method.

How can urban policies and planning approaches help in achieving a safer mobility and carbon reduction in the transport sector? The attention of planners and policy makers towards the promotion of sustainability and reduction of environmental impacts has grown in recent years. This paper investigates the role that Urban Planning plays in the long term towards a safer and climate friendlier mobility, highlighting the need for integrated approaches gathering spatial planning and mobility management. After a review of several urban policies and planning strategies, initiatives, and approaches, mainly based on the urban scale, the paper presents an urban regeneration case study leading to an increase of pedestrian accessibility at the neighborhood level. This can be seen as a support tool to foster sustainable, safe, and climate friendly mobility in cities. The results of the performed analysis show a dependency of accessibility from two different factors: the distribution of services and the capillarity of the soft mobility network, which can contribute to creating a more walkable space.

Due to climate change and current efforts to reduce emissions in the construction sector, this study evaluates and discusses the results of a comparative cradle-to-grave Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), with a main focus on Global Warming Potential for functionally equivalent carbon-reinforced concrete (CRC) and steel-reinforced concrete (SRC) façade panels for the first time. The novelty of this study is the focus on construction waste and, in particular, the worst-case application of non-recycled construction waste. The use of CRC requires a lower concrete thickness than SRC because the carbon fiber reinforcement does not corrode, in contrast to steel reinforcement. Façade panels of the same geometrical dimensions and structural performance were defined as functional units (FU). Assuming an End-of-Life (EoL) scenario of 50% landfill and 50% recycling, the Global Warming Potential (GWP, given in CO2 equivalent (CO2e)) of the CRC façade (411–496 kg CO2e) is shown to perform better than or equal to the SRC façade (492 kg CO2e). Changing the assumption of CRC to a worst-case scenario, going fully to landfill and not being recycled (single life cycle), turns the GWP results in favor of the SRC façade. Assuming a 50-year service life for the SRC façade panel and relativizing the emissions to the years, the more durable CRC façade performs much better. Finally, depending on the system boundary, the assumed EoL and lifetime, CRC can represent a lower-emission alternative to a functionally equivalent component made of SRC. The most important and “novel” result in this study, which also leads to future research opportunities, is that delicate adjustments (especially concerning EoL scenarios and expected service life) can lead to completely different recommendations for decision-makers. Only by combining the knowledge of LCA experts, structural engineers, and builders optimal decisions can be made regarding sustainable materials and building components.

This study uniquely employs a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) technique to account for complex relationships in consumption. The fsQCA technique assumes that relationships are based on a set–subset relationship. This assumption is fundamental when decision-makers are affected by information asymmetry and are, thus, required to jointly evaluate the credibility and reliability of a range of external signals. This issue also affects consumers in markets for cultural goods, where the quality of products is not known with certainty in advance of the purchase decision. Our study uses fsQCA to establish the effect of different quality signals on consumption in the US market for video game software. Our results show that reviews from professional critics alongside brand extension and multi-platform release strategies act as signals of product quality and, therefore, lead to high sales performance.

The promotion of electric vehicles (EVs) is an important measure for dealing with climate change and reducing carbon emissions, which are widely agreed goals worldwide. Being an important operating mode for electric vehicle charging stations in the future, the integrated photovoltaic and energy storage charging station (PES-CS) is receiving a fair amount of attention and discussion. However, how to optimally configure photovoltaic and energy storage capacity to achieve the best economy is essential and a huge challenge to overcome. In this paper, based on the historical data-driven search algorithm, the photovoltaic and energy storage capacity allocation method for PES-CS is proposed, which determines the capacity ratio of photovoltaic and energy storage by analyzing the actual operation data, which is performed while considering the target of maximizing economic benefits. In order to achieve the proposed capacity allocation, the method is as follows: First, the economic benefit model of the charging stations is established, taking the net present value and investment payback period as evaluation indicators; then, by analyzing the operation data of the existing charging station with the target of maximizing economic benefits, the initial configuration capacity is obtained; finally, the capacity configuration is verified through a comprehensive case analysis for the actual operation data. The results show that the capacity configuration obtained through the data analysis features an optimized economic efficiency and photovoltaic utilization. The proposed method can provide a theoretical and practical basis for newly planned or improved large-scale charging stations.

Setting up strategies for a sound management of plastic packaging waste (PPW) is becoming increasingly crucial at many levels of the value chain in Europe. After the very first implementation of an extended producer responsibility scheme in Germany in 1991, many EU Countries followed. This resulted in a complex network of schemes that differ from one member state to another. This paper brings together the three latest studies describing the current flows of PPW across the waste value chain from Austria (reference year 2013), Germany and the Netherlands (reference year 2017). With this aim, the models of the three single studies have been adapted to fit into a common model, allowing to perform a comparative analysis. Although with a relatively comparable product market, the three countries have different management systems (e.g., separate collection systems, target sorting products and treatment of residual waste), reflecting different national strategies to achieve the circular economy targets. Recycling rates (in terms of washed milled goods at the output of the recycling process) for the three countries resulted in 23%, 43% and 30% of the total mass of PPW generated in, respectively, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands. The fraction of mixed recycled plastics, relevant for Germany and the Netherlands only, was determined to be one of the major determinants of the differences in recycling rates. Furthermore, the discussion revolves around new political targets that have the potential to contribute to addressing the issue of tradeoff between quantity and quality of recycled plastics placed on the market, with measures such as design-for-recycling and eco-modulation of EPR fees playing a critical role, while also pointing out the aspects that inevitably hinder closed-loop recycling.

Technological change has altered labor market demands within well-developed societies implying global competition for skilled labor and, as a consequence, new forms of labor migration. So far, patterns of this labor migration have been underexplored. Thus, the article analyzes characteristics, geographies and possible underlying drivers of workers migrating from Germany as an exemplary case for a well-developed country. Relying on probability-based and unique data, our findings reveal that, besides demand for people with higher levels of education, performing specific occupational tasks is also in demand in the global competition for talent. Hence, Germans in jobs with a high proportion of analytical non-routine tasks are more likely to emigrate than those with predominantly manual routine tasks. Moreover, the results show that global discrepancies concerning the technological development between the country of origin and the country to which they emigrate are a crucial contextual driver attracting this specifically demanded work force. Workers mainly performing analytical non-routine tasks within their job tend to move to countries which are technologically more developed than Germany while individuals performing jobs with a high share of non-routine manual or interactive tasks tend to emigrate to countries that are less technologically developed than Germany.