• Energy Research
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The present study investigates the long-run impact of financial development, energy consumption and economic growth on greenhouse gas emissions for India, in the presence of endogenous structural breaks, over the period 1971–2013. The autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing procedure (ARDL) and Hatemi-J threshold cointegration technique were used to test the variables for cointegration. ARDL bounds test did not confirm any cointegrating relationship between the variables. The threshold cointegration test establishes the presence of long-run impact of financial development, energy use and economic growth on greenhouse gas emissions in India. The results reveal that the long-run relationship between the variables has witnessed two regime shifts, in 1978 and 2002. The empirical evidence shows that financial sector development and energy consumption in India degrade the environment. Unlike previous studies, this paper finds no statistical evidence of a long-run relationship between economic growth and environmental deterioration. The study also challenges the existence of an environmental Kuznets curve in India.

AbstractPeatlands are a globally important carbon store, but peatland ecosystems from high latitudes to the tropics are highly degraded due to increasingly intensive anthropogenic activity, making them significant greenhouse gas (GHG) sources. Peatland restoration and conservation have been proposed as a nature-based solution to climate change, by restoring the function of peatlands as a net carbon sink, but this may have implications for many local communities who rely on income from activities associated with transformed peatlands, particularly those drained for agriculture. However, without changing the way that humans interact with and exploit peatlands in most regions, peatlands will continue to degrade and be lost. We propose that there are ultimately three potential trajectories for peatland management: business as usual, whereby peatland carbon sink capacity continues to be eroded, responsible agricultural management (with the potential to mitigate emissions, but unlikely to restore peatlands as a net carbon sink), and restoration and conservation. We term this the three-peat challenge, and propose it as a means to view the benefits of restoring peatlands for the environment, as well as the implications of such transitions for communities who rely on ecosystem services (particularly provisioning) from degraded peatlands, and the consequences arising from a lack of action. Ultimately, decisions regarding which trajectories peatlands in given localities will follow torequire principles of equitable decision-making, and support to ensure just transitions, particularly for communities who rely on peatland ecosystems to support their livelihoods.

This study explores the design of a cost-effective climate policy mix for transition toward net-zero emissions in the mid-term (by 2035). Its novelty lies in the methodological advancements through the development of a soft-linking procedure that integrates a top-down computable general equilibrium model with a bottom-up energy system model. The integrated assessment focuses on the climate policy mix under the framework of Taiwan’s Climate Change Response Act passed in 2023. The analysis shows that a policy mix combining investments in energy transition with user-pay hybrid pricing measures can facilitate cost-effective mitigation and enhance public acceptance. The proposed hybrid pricing includes cost-based electricity pricing and a two-step carbon pricing strategy that encourages early action (before 2030) for larger emitters. Finally, we demonstrate that accelerating the transition is crucial, as it reduces the economic costs of meeting emission targets by inducing further investments in energy efficiency improvement and lowering the carbon pricing levels required to close the abatement gap.

Comparing forest and harvested wood product carbon (C) stocks and accumulation among forest management treatments commonly applied in managed forests is needed to inform planning and policy decisions for C objectives. Therefore, pre- and post-harvest C stocks were quantified and C accumulation was projected over a 31-year period (to ∼2050) among forest management treatments that were applied on a subset (n = 3) of the Maine Adaptive Silviculture Network installations in northern Maine, USA. These installations included mature, second-growth forests composed of northern hardwood and hardwood-dominated mixedwood stands. Before treatments were initiated, average aboveground live tree C stocks ranged from 67.1 to 99.7 Mg ha−1. For the aboveground portions of live trees, dead wood and harvested wood products, the projected average annual net change in C (AAC) was 0.232 ± 1.164 Mg ha−1 year−1 (mean ± standard deviation). Models of projected AAC indicated that less biomass removal during harvests and greater representation of tree species with low tolerance of shade were associated with positive AAC values. The results emphasize the importance of leveraging multiple harvesting strategies to achieve C objectives, including consideration of forest reserves and using targeted yet operationally feasible silvicultural treatments that promote forest resilience relative to climate change.

The current study looks at the causes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by considering the implications of financial development in the presence of economic growth and use of energy in the case of China over the period 1980–2014. This study first uses the nonlinear autoregressive distributive lag (NARDL) model to capture the asymmetry that arises from positive or negative components of financial development following use of the ARDL technique. The findings confirm a symmetrical relationship of both positive and negative effects of financial development on carbon emissions in the model, which allows the use of the ARDL approach. Results of the ARDL bound test confirm a long-term and positive relationship among CO2 emissions, financial development, economic growth and energy use. Further, the error correction model (ECM) confirms a short-run relationship among CO2 emissions, financial development, economic growth and energy use. Moreover, a dynamic multiplier graph indicates that the positive component of financial development has more influence on carbon emissions in the long run as compared to negative financial development shocks. The findings suggest that there is no asymmetry between CO2 emissions and financial development, lending support to the symmetric impact of both positive and negative components of financial development.

The Marmara is the most highly trafficked region in Turkey in terms of seaway and highway transport congestion. The transport mode-based CO2 emissions budget for the region needs to take more environmentally friendly measures. In this study, 13 ro-ro and ferry lines (RFLs) are evaluated in the Sea of Marmara to compare ship-generated CO2 emissions with road transport as if the carried vehicles had used the highway instead of transport by RFL. Additionally, this study revealed the management strategies for CO2 emissions reduction for both transport modes under current conditions. The total CO2 emissions budget of 13 RFLs in the Sea of Marmara is higher than the potential CO2 emissions of their carried vehicles. Using the methods of Entec UK Ltd and Trozzi and Vaccaro, the amount of CO2 emissions generated by the RFLs is 204,470.99 and 170,459.85 t/year, respectively. The potential CO2 emissions of road vehicles carried in 2017, 2018 and 2019 are computed by applying Tier 1 methods as 121,690.54, 106,844.89, and 100,921.95 t/year, respectively. It is observed that shifting trucks from the highway to the seaway contributes to a reduction of the yearly CO2 emissions budget generated from the transport sector to provide sustainable transportation management in the region.

Cultivated organic soils can be a major source of GHG emissions in countries with high coverage of peat soils. Targeting mitigation measures based on mapping of cultivated organic soils would reduce these emissions and increase sustainability of agriculture. Different georeferenced datasets were combined to study the area trend and describe current agricultural use of organic soils. The area was also mapped regionally into classes based on intensity of cultivation and organic layer depth, and an example allocation of potential mitigation measures was made at the country scale. The area and proportion of cultivated organic soils have increased in Finland since 1990 but the clearance rate has decreased in recent years. More than half of the area retains a peat layer deeper than 0.6 m indicating long-lasting mitigation potential with measures capable of slowing peat decomposition. Sixty-five percent of the cultivated organic soil area was not considered a priority area for radical management changes, for various reasons, but there are 85,000 ha of field with more realistic potential for GHG mitigation. The mapping method was found to be a practical tool for depicting the GHG mitigation potential of cultivated organic soils. Significant reductions in agricultural GHG emissions can be expected with implementation of the suggested mitigation measures.