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Abstract Even though renewable energy development has gained momentum in China, thermal power generation still accounts for approximately 70% of the county's total power generation serving as the major source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in China. Facing the challenges of meeting 2030 peak target of CO2 emission and realizing the coordinated development of thermal power generation in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, this paper applies generalized Divisia Index Method (GDIM) to decompose the dynamics in the relevant CO2 emission. The effects of five factors including electricity demand, energy consumption, technology, energy efficiency and energy-mix are considered. The decomposition suggests that electricity demand is the primary factor driving the CO2 emission up, whereas technology effect decreases CO2 emission the most. Given the significant roles of technology, energy-mix and energy efficiency in CO2 emissions reduction, seven scenarios are designed to identify the optimal coordinated development pathway for thermal power generation in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Through upgrading energy structure and/or enhancing energy efficiency, the thermal power generation in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region can achieve coordinated development and realize the 2030 peak target under four scenarios. The detailed development pathways for CO2 emissions and specific policy implications for Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei are provided to further govern CO2 emissions and maintain sustainable development.

EU Integration raises new requirements to energy sector, including municipal energy sector and improvement of local planning. Important role is assigned to development of energy infrastructure, use of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency. In order to use financial support from EU Structural funds for regional energy development, qualified applications will have to be developed in adequacy with the requirements for the use and control of EU Structural funds. The latter should be developed in the context of regional development programs (including energy sector development), which should be based on info systems. The Laboratory of Regional Energy Development at LEI is developing integrated info system "TAUSA" for this purpose. This info system is formed as server of data bases with respective bases and additional analysis modules. Information for the consumers of info systems could be available at Internet website. Besides indicators on district heating, "TAUSA" will accumulate data on distribution and end use of renewable energy sources at regional level, which permits to assess main macroeconomic indicators in the development of this economic activity. Matrix model for economic activity of preparing local fuel will enable to evaluate inter-branch links for district heating sector and the role of local fuel production in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) creating process. The macroeconomic model under development will help to assess economic benefit from the use of renewable energy sources in the region, including the facts that it improves employment, increases the flow of taxes to municipal budget, paid by the companies employed in this sector, give new business development opportunities.

To maintain high production and growing rates of plants, synthetically obtained fertilizers are commonly used. Excessive amounts of fertilizers damage the natural ecosystem and cause various environmental problems. In relation to the environment and its sustainability, another great environmental, economic, and social issue is food loss and waste. This paper aims to evaluate the impact of spent coffee grounds (SCG) on soil properties, rye growth, and their possibilities to be used as the biodegradable and organic material in the production of organic bulk fertilizer. This study demonstrated that spent coffee grounds contain primary nutrients; moreover, SCG could increase the content of soil organic matter. The addition of 4 wt% to 8 wt% SCG increased the number of spore-forming bacteria from <103 colony forming units/g soil (CFU/g soil) to 3 × 104 CFU/g soil, along with nitrogen assimilating bacteria (plain soil resulted in 5.0 × 105 CFU/g, and addition of SCG increased the value to 5.0 × 107 CFU/g). Since spent coffee grounds have a relatively high porosity and absorbance (25.3 ± 3.4 wt% in a water vapor environment and 4.0 ± 0.6 wt% in the environment of saturated sodium nitrate solution), they could be used to reduce the amount of water required for irrigation. To fully exploit their nutritional value for plants, spent coffee grounds were mixed with green algae biomass along with urea, and, during the research, higher value products (organic bulk fertilizer) were obtained.

In this work, the influence of various hydroxide and salt additives on the removal of F− ions from silica gel waste, which is obtained during the production of AlF3, was examined. The leaching of the mentioned ions from silica gel waste to the liquid medium was achieved by the application of different techniques: (1) leaching under static conditions; (2) leaching under dynamic conditions by the use of continuous liquid medium flow; and (3) leaching in cycles under dynamic conditions. It was determined that the efficiency of the fluoride removal from this waste depends on the w/s ratio, the leaching conditions, and the additives used. It was proven that it is possible to reduce the concentration of fluorine ions from 10% to <5% by changing the treatment conditions and by adding alkaline compounds. The silica gel obtained after the leaching is a promising silicon dioxide source.

Introduction—I begin by considering two competing definitions of sustainability (utilitybased versus throughput-based), and offer reasons for rejecting the former and accepting the latter. Next I consider the concept of development as currently understood (GDP growth led by global economic integration), and why it conflicts with sustainability, as well as with the premises of comparative advantage. Then I turn to the more general necessity of introducing the concept of throughput into economic theory, noting the awkward consequences to both micro and macro economics of having ignored the concept. Finally I consider some policy implications for sustainable development that come from a more adequate economic theory. These policies (ecological tax reform and/or cap and trade limits on throughput) are based on the principle of frugality first, rather than efficiency first. As a concluding addendum I comment on the World Bank’s 2003 World Development Report, dedicated this year to the topic of sustainable development, and note points of agreement and difference with the ideas presented here.

Žemės energija naudojama labai įvairiai, nes šis „nepriklausomas“ energijos šaltinis yra neišsenkantis, nekenkia aplinkai, jam nebūtina kuro saugojimo aikštelė, įrenginiai nereikalauja didelės priežiūros. Pastaruoju metu vis plačiau diskutuojant apie poreikį skatinti vietinių, atsinaujinančių ir atliekų energijos išteklių, tarp jų ir geoterminių, naudojimą, sukurta palanki politinė terpė šiai sričiai plėtoti, didėja gyventojų ir verslininkų susidomėjimas alternatyviaisiais energijos tiekimo būdais, tačiau konkrečių veiksmų šiose srityje pasigendama iki šiol.

Disertaciniame darbe analizuojama maisto pramonės problematika, kuri susidarė dėl augančios maisto paklausos bei didėjančio tiekimo grandinės kompleksiškumo. Pagrindinis dėmesys disertacijoje yra skiriamas šviežių maisto produktų pristatymui tiesiogiai galutiniam vartotojui į namus. Darbo metu buvo nustatyta, kad didžiausios problemos su neefektyviu maisto tiekimo grandinės valdymu yra susijusios su paskutinės mylios pristatymu, netiksliu paklausos prognozavimu bei neefektyviu bendradarbiavimu. Problemos sprendimui rekomenduotina sudaryti logistikos klasterį, kuris užtikrintų informacijos dalinimąsi tarp tiekimo grandinės narių. Surinkta papildoma informacija gali būti pritaikoma gerinant pertekliaus ir lankstumo tiekimo grandinės atsparumo prieigas, kurios padeda pasiekti aukštesnį darnumo lygį. Įprastomis sąlygomis padidintas informacijos dalinimosi lygis padidintų valdymo kompleksiškumą, tačiau kibernetinių-fizinių sistemų integracija leidžia pagerinti valdymo efektyvumą. Darbe buvo sudarytis dvi kompiuterinės simuliacijos pritaikant agentų-pagrįstą modeliavimą. Vienoje simuliacijoje realizuota pertekliaus prieigą, kuri įvertino bendradarbiaujančios paklausos prognozavimo efektyvumą. Antra simuliacija parodė, kaip autonominiai sunkvežimiai gali tinkamiau prisitaikyti ir prognozuoti eismo trikdžius ir pagerinti krovinių pristatymą. Disertacijos rezultate pateiktas galutinis valdymo modelis leidžiantis darniai ir atspariai valdyti tiekimo grandinę. In the dissertation the food industry singularities are being analyzed, which consist of growing food demand and high complexity of the supply chain. The focus of the thesis is on organic food product delivery to end-consumer. During the research it was identified that the most problematic areas of the food supply chain management are related with last-mile deliveries, inaccurate demand forecasting and ineffective collaboration. To solve the problem, it is recommended to form a logistic cluster, which would guarantee information sharing between the supply chain members. The additional information can be used together with supply chain resilience approaches such as redundancy and flexibility, which would improve sustainability. Higher level of information sharing might increase the management complexity, however integration of cyber-physical systems allows to increase management efficiency. Two computer simulations based on agent-based modelling were developed in the thesis. One simulation focused on redundancy approach, which analyzed the effectiveness of collaborative demand forecasting. The second simulation focused on application of autonomous vehicles, which can adapt to the disruptions of traffic and improve delivery on time. The main result of the thesis is a management framework, which allows achieving sustainable and resilient supply chain management.

В сучасних умовах розвитку зростає актуальність енергоефективного розвитку країн та інтеграційних об’єднань. Це дозволяє забезпечити економічне зростання, підвищувати добробут населення, а також запобігти глобальним змінам клімату. Країни ЄС розробили особливий підхід до реалізації спільної енергетичної політики, що спрямований на загальне зростання енергоефективності, розвиток відновлювальної енергетики, формування внутрішнього енергетичного ринку, а також дотримання принципів сталого розвитку. Польща активно долучається до реалізації спільної енергетичної політики ЄС, а також розробляє та реалізовує власну енергетичну політику, що спрямована на вирішення національних енергетичних проблем.