• Energy Research
• 2021-2025close
• 8. Economic growth close
• 11. Sustainability close
• Chinese Academy of Sciences close

Abstract In order to assess the feasibility of utilizing renewable hydrogen as transport fuel for fuel cell vehicles, four possible low-carbon hydrogen supply routes for a hydrogen refueling station located in Shanghai are studied. Route Ⅰ and II are onsite hydrogen supply routes powered by a stand-alone or grid-connected photovoltaic (PV)-wind generation system separately. Route Ⅲ and IV are offsite hydrogen supply routes, in which hydrogen is produced by a stand-alone or grid-connected PV-wind generation system located in Qinghai Province respectively and delivered via liquid hydrogen truck to Shanghai. The microgrid system for hydrogen production is designed and optimized with the aid of HOMER Pro® software. The results show that in hydrogen production stage, Route Ⅳ shows the best economic performance, both in the total net present cost (NPC) cost and levelized cost of energy (LCOE) cost. As for the whole hydrogen supply chain, Route IV is also the most economic hydrogen supply way, the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) of which is slightly lower than that of Route II. The sensitivity results show that the total LCOH cost of Route Ⅳ is feasible based on the current shorter electrolyzer's lifetime. Therefore, it indicates that nowadays, producing hydrogen from a grid connected PV-wind hybrid power system in renewable energy rich area (Qinghai Province) and delivering it via liquid hydrogen truck to a refueling station in east coast area (Shanghai) of China may be a feasible solution.

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is the essence of excellent traditional culture and the treasure of human civilization. At present, major countries pay more and more attention to the study of ICH. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the spatial distribution characteristics of ICH and to understand the factors affecting the development of ICH. Systematically studying the spatial distribution patterns, influencing factors, differentiation characteristics, and formation mechanisms of ICH is essential for effectively promoting its protection and development, guiding the planning of cultural tourism, and implementing cultural power strategies. There are clear differences between municipal and county-level ICH in Xinjiang. The overall distribution trend shows a spatial aggregation structure with more ICH in the north and fewer in the south. ICH resources are concentrated mainly in Kashgar, Yili, Tacheng, Bazhou, and Urumqi, where the Urumqi-Turpan-Korla region is the high-density core area for all types of ICH. Meanwhile, the Yining and Kashgar areas have a large number of non-relics. Ethnic distributions, cultural environments, policy supports, and other social and cultural factors have greater impacts on the spatial distribution of ICH in Xinjiang, while natural geographical environment factors such as runoff water systems and average precipitation have less influence. Interaction studies revealed that the synergistic effects of natural, economic, and social and cultural factors had a more profound influence on the spatial distribution of ICH. Lastly, to promote sustainable development, suggestions were made to optimize the spatial layout, protection, and development of Xinjiang ICH.

Improving energy efficiency is regarded as a key path to tackling global warming and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In 2020, the energy consumption of the world's ten major energy-consuming countries accounted for 66.8% of the global total. This paper applied data envelopment analysis (DEA) to calculate these ten major energy-consuming countries' total-factor energy efficiency (TFEE) at national and sectoral levels from 2001-2020, and explored the influencing factors of total-factor energy efficiency with the Tobit regression model. The results showed significant difference in the ten countries' energy efficiency. The United States and Germany topped the list for total-factor energy efficiency, while China and India were at the bottom. Meanwhile, the energy efficiency of the industrial subsector has increased significantly over the past two decades, while that of the other subsectors has been relatively flat. The industrial structure upgrading, per capita GDP, energy consumption structure, and foreign direct investment had significant impacts on energy efficiency with national heterogeneity. Energy consumption structure and GDP per capita were determinative factors of energy efficiency.

Correction for ‘Scalable manufacturing of a durable, tailorable, and recyclable multifunctional woven thermoelectric textile system’ by Yuanyuan Jing et al., Energy Environ. Sci., 2023, https://doi.org/10.1039/d3ee01031g.

The study of natural resources and ecosystem service value assessments is crucial for understanding the direct economic benefits and potential ecological, environmental, and social benefits of these resources. Existing research lacks a comprehensive information management framework design and application exploration for the practice process, and a unified and standardized technical framework has not been established, which makes it difficult to expand the functions in the future. This study uses data from various aspects such as statistical yearbooks, remote sensing satellites, and field studies, and adopts the market value method and alternative cost method to construct a natural resources and ecosystem service value indicator system and a comprehensive evaluation information system, taking Shaanxi Province as an example. The total value of natural resources and ecosystem services in Shaanxi Province is CNY 107.67 trillion, of which the value of natural resources is CNY 105.11 trillion and the value of ecosystem services is CNY 2.56 trillion. This study makes up for the deficiencies in the realization path of the existing natural resources and ecosystem service value accounting studies, solves the problems of a large number of data collection sources, integration of accession criteria, integrated assessment methods, and synchronized assessment updates in natural resources management in Shaanxi Province, and realizes the visualization and information management of natural resources and ecosystem service value accounting.

In recent years, the conflicts of the human–land coupling system (HLS) in the cross-border transportation corridor areas have become increasingly severe, especially in the China–Mongolia–Russia Cross-Border Transportation Corridor (CMRTC). The vulnerability assessment of the HLS-CMRTC is the key scientific issue for regional sustainable development. Based on the nearly 20 years of a scientific expedition, we set the CMRTC as the study area, constructed the vulnerability assessment index system and quantitative model, assessed the vulnerability of the HLS-CMRTC, revealed the key influencing factors, divided vulnerability risk prevention zones, and proposed the targeted optimization countermeasures. This study found that: (1) The overall vulnerability pattern of the HLS-CMRTC showed a vulnerability level gradually increasing from south to north. (2) Permafrost instability risk, land desertification, temperature increase, and backward social development were key influences. (3) Vulnerability risk prevention zones were divided into four priority and two general zones. The targeted optimization countermeasures were proposed, such as establishing an ecological security barrier, carrying out collaborative ecological risk monitoring, and early warning. The conclusions could provide a decision-making basis for the study area to reduce the vulnerability of the HLS. They could also provide reference and scientific support for achieving sustainable development of the economy and environment in similar regions of the world.

Abstract The optimized green-grey infrastructures are promising solutions to combat the urban flood and water quality problems which have been severe owe to the increasing urbanization and climate change. However, the focusses in existing researches have been either on finding the best strategy by scenario analysis method or optimal design of LID practices under the hypothesis of unchanged grey infrastructures. Little is known regarding the synergistic effect of synchronous optimization design of both green and grey infrastructures. In the study, we conduct green-grey infrastructures synchronous optimization by modifying the decision variables of traditional simulation-optimization frameworks and investigate how external uncertainties will affect their performance. The methodology was applied to a case study in Suzhou, China. The results showed that although the cost of green-grey synchronous optimized scenarios is lower than that of green optimized only scenarios by 1.69–4.19 thousand USD per km2, the runoff/pollutants reductions of green-grey synchronous optimized scenarios are 0.11%–5.24% higher than that of green optimized only scenarios. In the green-grey synchronous optimized scenarios, green infrastructures can contribute to runoff/pollutants control by 50%–63%/62%–70%, while grey infrastructures can contribute to the remaining part by 37%–50%/30%–38%.

Abstract The primary problem in achieving carbon emission reduction and carbon peak is to identify the key driving factors and emission reduction potential of the industrial sector, especially in resource-cursed regions like Xinjiang. This study aimed to explore the key driving factors and abatement potential of carbon emissions based on the "energy-environment-economy" hybrid input-output model of Xinjiang during 1997-2017. The result showed that: (1)Industrial carbon emissions have experienced three stages: slow growth-rapid growth-stable growth. (2)Demand change effect and energy intensity effect were the determinants of industrial carbon emission change; Capital formation and domestic trade were the biggest drivers of carbon emissions growth, and the driving force of imports in international trade increased gradually over time. (3) The coal-based energy structure was both the biggest obstacle and the best entry point in carbon emission reduction. (4) Of the 28 key industry sectors, heavy industry including the production and supply of electricity and heat (S22), petroleum processing, coking and nuclear fuel processing (S11), chemical industry (S12), metal smelting and rolling (S14), and energy industries had the greatest potential for carbon reduction. The research findings provide scientific decision-making reference for Xinjiang to accurately grasp the carbon emission reduction potential of the industry and formulate a targeted carbon peak action plan.

Nighttime light data is a mainstay method in confirming and supporting other traditional economic data indicators, which in turn influence business and policy-making decisions. Accuracy in and clear definition of economic data and its related indicators are thus of great importance not only for analysis of urban development and related policies seeking sustainable development, but also plays a key role in whether or not these policies are successful. Discovering and recognizing the applications and limitations of nighttime light and other peripheral data could prove helpful in future data analysis and sustainable development policy. One possible limitation could exist in GDP decrease, and whether or not nighttime light would decrease accordingly, as most studies show nighttime light increase confirms economic growth, thus affecting the reliability of the data’s correlation with economic data. This study utilizes nighttime light data in a cross-reference with GDP data during instances of global GDP shrinkage over the years of 2007–2017, split between 2007–2012 for the DMSP dataset and 2013–2017 for the VIIRs dataset. It seeks to establish through linear regression whether or not yearly average nighttime light data products show a positive correlation even during periods of economic decline, thereby providing a clearer understanding of the strengths and limitations of NTL as an economic validation indicator. Analysis shows that both years of global GDP decrease in turn also displayed global nighttime light decrease, in addition to linear regression giving satisfactory results pointing to a positive correlation over the timespan. The VIIRS data series resulted in higher regression coefficients, which is in line with the results of previous literature.