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This research examines the role of poverty and logistical operations under the circumstance of environmental deterioration with panel data of ASEAN states from 2007 to 2017. The system-generalized method of moments (GMM) was adopted due to the presence of endogeneity. The results indicate that poverty and logistical operations have significant and positive relationship with greater environmental degradation. Because poor people are not skilled, they have to consume natural resources in original and unsustainable way for their survival and profits, which results in greater level of deforestation. On another hand, lacking fuel-efficient/green vehicles and green practices in logistical operations of ASEAN countries, logistics activities mainly depend on fossil fuel consumption, which generates greater carbon emission, methane, and greenhouse emissions that can directly damage the environment and become a primary source of climate change. Therefore, reduction in environmental degradation can be achieved through reduction in poverty and encouraging renewable energy and green practices in logistical operations. In addition, this study also provides detailed policy implications to regulatory bodies and corporate sector in order to improve environmental sustainability through adoption of green practices and reduction in poverty.

Changes in climate patterns not only affect precipitation and precipitation patterns, but also cause the spatiotemporal redistribution of precipitation and runoff, affecting hydrogeneration in turn. Based on the coupling relationship between the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 (CMIP5) climate change model and surface runoff in China, a database of China’s major hydropower stations was constructed in this study and the Water Evaluation and Planning model was applied to analyze the impacts of climate change on hydropower generation in China by region and basin under the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP)4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios. During the forecast period, national power generation compared with base year first decreased in the 2030s and then increased in the 2070s, while a risk of excessive hydropower generation was concentrated in the southwestern provinces, Yangtze River Basin, and giant hydropower stations. During the 2030s, hydropower generation may face a risk of electricity generation decrease which will limit its contribution to the Nationally Determined Contribution target.

Energy storage has great potential in grid congestion relief. By making large-scale energy storage portable through trucking, its capability to address grid congestion can be greatly enhanced. This paper explores a business model of large-scale portable energy storage for spatiotemporal arbitrage over nodes with congestion. We propose a spatiotemporal arbitrage model to determine the optimal operation and transportation schedules of portable storage. To validate the business model, we simulate the schedules of a Tesla Semi full of Tesla Powerpack doing arbitrage over two nodes in California with local transmission congestion. The results indicate that the contributions of portable storage to congestion relief are much greater than that of stationary storage, and that trucking storage can bring net profit in energy arbitrage applications. Submitted to IEEE PES GM 2019; 5 pages,4 figures

Abstract In this study, batch tests were performed to evaluate the effects of different thermal pretreatment temperatures (55–160 °C) and durations (15–120 min) on the anaerobic digestion of kitchen waste (KW). Two commonly used approaches, namely the modified Gompertz model and the approach developed by Koch and Drewes, were applied to assess the effects of the different pretreatment parameters on the biomethane yield, lag time and hydrolysis rate constant via data fitting. The subsequent anaerobic digestion of KW pretreated at 55–120 °C presented greater efficiency, and longer treatment durations resulted in increased methane production and higher hydrolysis rate constants. These findings were obtained due to the lower nutrient loss observed in KW treated at lower temperature treatments compared with that found with higher temperature treatments. In general, the effects of thermal pretreatment on the lag phase and hydrolysis rate differed depending on the treatment parameters leading to the variations in the KW compositions. The soundness of the two model results was evaluated, and higher statistical indicators (R2) were found with the modified Gompertz model than with the approach developed by Koch and Drewes.

The direct hydrolysis of municipal sludge for the production of oil and gas has become a key research focus, despite the application of hydrolysis residues presenting a challenge. In this study, municipal sludge was directly hydrolyzed in a high-pressure reaction kettle and the hydrolysis residue byproduct was used as a carrier to prepare a composite phase change heat storage material (CPCM), utilizing vacuum impregnation for sodium acetate trihydrate (SAT) loading. The results of Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and particle size analyses showed that the residue obtained by the hydrolysis of sludge and sawdust with a dry basis ratio of 4:1 had a higher pore volume and a uniform particle size. The adsorption capacity of the hydrolysis residue to SAT reached 600 wt %; the phase change temperature of the CPCM was 56.9 °C, and its latent heat reached 217.9 kJ/kg. The CPCM remained stable during 150 cycles of the melting-solidification process in a water bath and maintained excellent phase change characteristics. The hydrolysis residue can effectively improve the undercooling and phase separation of SAT without other additives.

From 2006 to 2009, the aggregate energy intensity of China fell by 14.38%,1) which means that China has made substantial progress towards its goal of achieving approximately a 20% reduction in energy intensity during the period of the 11th FYP (Five-Year Plan). This paper describes some new properties of the mechanism for the decrease in China’s energy intensity since the beginning of the 11th FYP. First, compared with the period of the 10th FYP, technical, structural, and residential energy-savings have been improved to a certain extent. Secondly, unlike the dynamic mechanism before 2000, technical energy savings have been the main driver of momentum since the beginning of the 11th FYP. Next, although structural energy savings are not the main factor, they are still a key factor for the decrease in energy intensity. Finally, residential energy savings are still a stable driver of momentum for the decline in China’s energy intensity.

Abstract Climate change promotes the energy system reform. To achieve the INDC, The state as well as provinces and municipalities needs further reform and establish a favorable system and a mechanism for low-carbon development. This study firstly disaggregated energy consumption of Shanxi in 2010 by sector and process, which pointed out 60% of coal was transported to other provinces and industrial sector took up 74% of final energy consumption. Then this paper downscaled the population and GDP using the regression downscaling algorithm and projected the energy service demand of process and sector based on the methodology of China TIMES model. The energy service demand of building and transport would keep increasing and the industrial sector would reach a peak value and then decreasing. With the hypothesis about energy structure, we projected the emissions of Shanxi. This case study is a simplified method to analyze the provincial energy consumption and project energy service demand and emission which can be applied to all the provinces in China.

The Abbay River Basin, which originates in Ethiopia, is a major tributary and main source of the Nile River Basin. Land cover and vegetation in the Abbay River Basin is highly susceptible to climate change. This study was conducted to investigate the trends of climate change for a period of thirty-six years (1980–2016) within selected stations of the basin by using the innovative trend analysis method, Mann–Kendall test, and Sen’s slope estimator test to investigate the mean annual precipitation and temperature variables. Changes in land cover and vegetation in the Abbay River Basin were studied for a period of thirteen years (2001–2013) by using remote sensing, GIS analysis, land cover classification, and vegetation detection methods to assess the land cover and vegetation in the basin. In addition, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), and Transformation Matrix were employed to analyze the spatial and temporal patterns of land cover and vegetation impacted by changes in climate. The result reflects that the trend of average annual temperature was remarkably increased (Φ = 0.12, Z = 0.75) in the 36-year period, and the temperature was increased by 0.5°C, although precipitation had slightly decreased during the same period. In the thirteen years’ period, forest land and water resource decreased by 3429.62 km2 and 81.45 km2, respectively. In contrast, an increment was observed in grassland (2779.33 km2), cultivated land (535.34 km2), bare land (43.08 km2), urban land (0.65 km2), and wetland (152.66 km2) in the same period. In the study, it was also observed a decrease of an NDVI value by 0.1 was observed in 2013 in the southern part of the basin. The findings of the present study illustrate a significant change in eco-hydrological conditions in the ARB with an adverse impact on the environment. Hydroclimatic changes caused the increase in temperature and decreasing trend in precipitation which significantly impacted the land cover and vegetation in the basin. The changes in land cover were mostly caused by global and local climate influence which mainly affects the hydroclimate and eco-hydrology systems of the basin. The result is consistent with that of the previous studies conducted elsewhere. The findings of this paper could help researchers to understand the eco-hydrological condition of the study basin and become a foundation for further studies.