• Energy Research

Carbon emission inventories are the foundations of climate change mitigation and adaptation in cities. In this study, we estimated production-based CO 2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes in eleven cities in Hebei Province of China in 2012 and used input-output theory to measure their consumption-based CO 2 emissions. By comprehensively comparing production- and consumption-based emissions, we found that six developed cities were consumers with import-depended trade patterns, while the five other cities were producers, mostly medium in size, with the potential to transform into consumer cities with socioeconomic development. Emissions embodied in imports accounted for more than half of the consumption-based emissions in most cities, which shows the significance of interregional cooperation in tackling climate change. International cooperation is also important at the city level, as international imports also impact consumption-based emissions. From the perspective of final use, emissions caused by fixed capital formation predominated in most cities and were determined by their economic development models.

Abstract The nonferrous metals industry (NMI) consumes a great amount of energy, and is a typical high CO2 emission sector. The NMI is one of the eight most concerning industries in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report. In this study, we summarized policies that impact Chinese NMI's development and grouped them into three types: energy structure policies, energy efficiency improving policies and production-scale policies. Based on those quantitative policy goals, a bottom-up model has been developed to study the CO2 emissions of five NMI's major sub-sectors from 2010 to 2030. The results showed that if China's central government could stick to the CO2 reduction policy strength of 13th Five-Year Plan (2016–2020), then the copper, lead and zinc industries can reach their emissions peak before 2030. Furthermore, if the Chinese government restricts the production of primary aluminum of 46.2 million tons in 2025, then the CO2 emissions of China's non-ferrous industry could reach the peak in that year, when the CO2 emissions peak is 297 million tons. Having benefited from the effective CO2 reduction policies of NMI, China may reach its ambitious CO2 peaking goals more easily.

Reducing fossil fuel consumption is a top priority option for climate change mitigation, which requires collaborations of partners along the supply chain, such as energy suppliers, energy consumers and final consumers of goods and services. A comprehensive analysis of fossil fuel consumption is useful for policymakers to reduce demand but still absent. This study explores the national contribution to global energy consumption from different perspectives in the global supply chain and is designed to complement current energy reduction policies. For the developed countries, energy consumptions are stable from 2000 to 2014, while that of emerging countries almost doubled (e.g., China and India). Most of the developing countries are producers whose production-based and final production-based energy consumptions are higher than their consumption-based ones, except India after the global financial crisis. In contrast, the developed countries are consumers, whose consumption-based energy consumptions are higher. At the sectoral level, the service sector is the largest contributor to consumption- and income-based energy consumption. The analysis in this study can create opportunities for all the parties alongside the supply chain in reducing fossil fuel consumption.

Urban mobility planning must urgently confront the challenges attendant to the low carbon transition and green transformation. The necessary paradigm shift from the traditional approaches to embracing environmental sustainability requires maintaining a firm and stable balancing act between opposing forces. The policy-making process in the transition period is complex and requires a detailed analysis that the academic literature lacks. This study analyzes the decision-making process for urban mobility planning to contribute the academic literature on sustainable transitions. In order to illustrate the complexities in the decision-making process, we design an original case scenario. In the case, the planners are supposed to choose the best project from among four recent green strategies. In the process, they need to take the conflicting requirements on the social, economic, environmental and technical issues into account. Sixteen constraints reflect the available physical and financial conditions. Because the decision-making process includes complexities, a novel two-stages model is introduced in the method that is used to solve the problem. In the first stage, the fuzzy D PIvot Pairwise RElative Criteria Importance Assessment (PIPRECIA) algorithm is applied to determine the weights. In the second stage, the fuzzy D Dombi (fuzzy 2D) algorithm is proposed to evaluate the alternatives. The results show that societal dynamics are crucially important in choosing the best alternative. Among four alternatives, the one that is inclusive and makes the existing investments more efficient is highly prioritized. Our findings offer policy implications emphasizing the importance of green mobility projects that favors the social benefits as well as financial issues.

Les émissions de CO2 sont inégalement réparties à la fois au niveau mondial et régional au sein des États-nations. Compte tenu de l'entrée de la Chine dans la nouvelle étape du développement économique, une étude mise à jour sur la distribution des émissions nationales du plus grand émetteur de CO2 est nécessaire pour une planification mondiale efficace et coordonnée de l'atténuation du CO2. Nous avons découvert que les émissions domestiques de CO2 en Chine sont de plus en plus polarisées pour la période 2007-2017. Plus précisément, les émissions de CO2 exportées au niveau national de la région du nord-ouest moins développée et plus polluante vers le reste de la Chine ont considérablement augmenté, passant de 165 Mt en 2007 à 230 Mt en 2017. Nous attribuons la tendance polarisante à la mise à niveau industrielle simultanée de toutes les régions et à la disparité persistante dans le développement et le découplage des émissions des régions chinoises. Nous avons également noté que les émissions de CO2 exportées de Chine vers le reste du monde ont diminué de 41 % entre 2007 et 2017, d'autres pays en développement remplissant le poste vacant. Alors que cette tendance devrait s'intensifier, nous avons l'intention d'envoyer un message d'alarme aux décideurs politiques pour concevoir et lancer des actions et éviter la poursuite de la migration de la pollution. Las emisiones de CO2 se distribuyen de manera desigual tanto a nivel mundial como regional dentro de los estados-nación. Dada la entrada de China en la nueva etapa de desarrollo económico, se necesita un estudio actualizado sobre la distribución interna de emisiones del mayor emisor de CO2 para una planificación global eficaz y coordinada de la mitigación de CO2. Descubrimos que las emisiones internas de CO2 en China están cada vez más polarizadas para el período 2007-2017. Específicamente, las emisiones de CO2 exportadas internamente de la región noroeste menos desarrollada y más contaminante al resto de China han aumentado drásticamente de 165 Mt en 2007 a 230 Mt en 2017. Atribuimos la tendencia polarizadora a la mejora industrial simultánea de todas las regiones y a la disparidad persistente en el desarrollo y el desacoplamiento de las emisiones de las regiones de China. También notamos que las emisiones de CO2 exportadas desde China al resto del mundo han disminuido en un 41% de 2007 a 2017, y otros países en desarrollo han llenado la vacante. A medida que esta tendencia se intensifique, tenemos la intención de enviar un mensaje de alarma a los responsables políticos para que diseñen e inicien acciones y eviten la continuación de la migración de la contaminación. CO2 emissions are unevenly distributed both globally and regionally within nation-states. Given China's entrance into the new stage of economic development, an updated study on the largest CO2 emitter's domestic emission distribution is needed for effective and coordinated global CO2 mitigation planning. We discovered that domestic CO2 emissions in China are increasingly polarized for the 2007-2017 period. Specifically, the domestically exported CO2 emissions from the less developed and more polluting northwest region to the rest of China has drastically increased from 165 Mt in 2007 to 230 Mt in 2017. We attribute the polarizing trend to the simultaneous industrial upgrading of all regions and the persistent disparity in the development and emission decoupling of China's regions. We also noted that CO2 emissions exported from China to the rest of the world has decreased by 41% from 2007 to 2017, with other developing countries filling up the vacancy. As this trend is set to intensify, we intend to send an alarm message to policy makers to devise and initiate actions and avoid the continuation of pollution migration. يتم توزيع انبعاثات ثاني أكسيد الكربون بشكل غير متساوٍ عالميًا وإقليميًا داخل الدول القومية. نظرًا لدخول الصين إلى المرحلة الجديدة من التنمية الاقتصادية، هناك حاجة إلى دراسة محدثة حول أكبر توزيع محلي لانبعاثات ثاني أكسيد الكربون للتخطيط العالمي الفعال والمنسق للتخفيف من ثاني أكسيد الكربون. اكتشفنا أن انبعاثات ثاني أكسيد الكربون المحلية في الصين مستقطبة بشكل متزايد للفترة 2007-2017. على وجه التحديد، زادت انبعاثات ثاني أكسيد الكربون المصدرة محليًا من المنطقة الشمالية الغربية الأقل تطورًا والأكثر تلوثًا إلى بقية الصين بشكل كبير من 165 طن متري في عام 2007 إلى 230 طن متري في عام 2017. نعزو الاتجاه الاستقطابي إلى التطوير الصناعي المتزامن لجميع المناطق والتفاوت المستمر في التنمية وفصل الانبعاثات في مناطق الصين. كما لاحظنا أن انبعاثات ثاني أكسيد الكربون المصدرة من الصين إلى بقية العالم قد انخفضت بنسبة 41 ٪ من عام 2007 إلى عام 2017، مع قيام البلدان النامية الأخرى بملء الشاغر. ومع تزايد هذا الاتجاه، نعتزم إرسال رسالة إنذار إلى صانعي السياسات لوضع الإجراءات والشروع فيها وتجنب استمرار هجرة التلوث.

Summary Fine-particulate-matter pollution (PM2.5) is linked to millions of deaths annually. Consumption in one region can cause production and PM2.5 emissions in another, but the socioeconomic drivers of transboundary PM2.5 emissions are not fully understood. Here, we quantify the driving factors of primary-particle and oxidized-precursor emissions from 2004 to 2011 at global and regional scales. The results indicate that the growth rate of global PM2.5 emissions slowed from 2004 to 2011, mainly due to improvements in energy intensities and production efficiency. Improvements in the emission intensity of coal represent the main factor offsetting SO2 and NOx emissions, whereas emission controls implemented for industrial processes have largely contributed to reducing primary PM2.5 emissions. The net emissions embodied in East Asia's exports to developed countries declined, while that to developing countries increased rapidly. The analysis creates opportunities to involve both producers and consumers in co-mitigation of various pollutants.

Sharing activities are under wide debate regarding the environmental impacts. Here the authors reviewed their benefits and problems and suggested that a simultaneous improvement of both ecological and economic efficiency is necessary to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

AbstractChina has set Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and carbon neutrality targets without providing expected industry‐specific technological details. By focusing on the steel and cement industries in China, this study analyzes the energy consumption of different technology routes, decarbonization pathways of innovative technologies, and the synergistic impact of air pollutants. The study finds that the incumbent technology routes for steel and cement production have limited carbon reductions, and the deployment of innovative technologies (carbon capture, utilization, and storage [CCUS], electrolytic‐ and hydrogen‐based, and scrap‐based technologies) need to be accelerated to achieve carbon neutrality targets. We find that the net‐zero emissions pathway relying upon innovative technologies needs less investment than the NDCs scenario. Furthermore, electric arc furnace deployment will be mainly concentrated in Jiangsu, Guangdong, and Sichuan, while CCUS should be mainly in Hebei, Shandong, Liaoning, and Jiangsu provinces. The increased electrification of innovative technologies in steel and cement requires a shift in energy inputs from fossil energy to electricity. A combination of strict climate change mitigation and air pollution control will have higher synergistic effects.