Abstract The need to formulate policies to mitigate global warming has necessitated the need to understand the drivers of carbon emissions. The current study utilises the system-generalised method of moments to investigate the direct and indirect effect of financial development on carbon emissions for 46 sub-Saharan Africa countries over the period 2000–2015. Using several indicators of financial development, the empirical results reveal that financial development measured using broad money, domestic credit to the private sector and domestic credit to private sector by banks increase carbon emissions while FDI, liquid liabilities and domestic credit to private sector by financial sector do not affect carbon emissions. The results show that none of the financial development indicators exerts a significant nonlinear effect on carbon emissions. The results further indicate that FDI moderates economic growth to reduce carbon emissions but does not moderate energy consumption to affect carbon emissions. Contrarily, financial development measured using broad money, domestic credit to private sector by banks, domestic credit to private sector by financial sector and domestic credit to private sector moderate energy consumption to increase carbon emissions while the first three indicators of financial development moderate economic growth to increase carbon emissions. The results do not confirm the existence of the EKC hypothesis but confirm that population size, energy consumption, trade openness, urbanisation and economic growth increase carbon emissions. There are some variations in these results across regional and income groupings. These findings do advance not only knowledge but also have several implications for sustainable development policy.
While China has enjoyed rapid economic growth, its environment is deteriorating. One critical solution is to shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Although carbon markets may provide some financial sources, other financial institutions are needed to raise green investment in order to achieve low carbon growth. This study examines the determinants of green investment in China from the perspective of public appeal by employing economic and econometric models with a panel dataset for 30 provinces over the period from 1998 to 2014. Our results demonstrate that public appeal tends to have a positive effect on increasing green investment in China's context. Other findings show that industry structure, population, and regional Gross Domestic Product have significantly positive impacts on green investment, while openness, energy mix, carbon markets, and Foreign Direct Investment have significantly negative effects on green investment. Importantly, the results of channel analysis suggest that public appeal promotes local governments’ enforcement of stricter environmental regulation, thereby encouraging firms to increase their green investment.
The global transition to renewable energy (RE) hinges on the design of effective and economically efficient policy portfolios. This study develops a Stackelberg game-theoretic model of a power supply chain—comprising a generation company, a retailer, and consumers—to dissect the intricate relationships between subsidy policies, market mechanisms, and consumer behavioral characteristics. We rigorously evaluate three policy scenarios: No Subsidy (N), Subsidized Consumers (C), and Subsidized Generation Companies (G). The model explicitly quantifies subsidy perception efficiency gap between consumers and producers, and it embeds this analysis within an integrated framework combining Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) trading and Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS). Our findings reveal that the effectiveness of a subsidy is determined not by its target (consumer vs. generation company) but by the recipient's perception efficiency. Subsidies enhance social welfare only when this efficiency surpasses a critical threshold. Furthermore, consumer environmental preferences emerge as a consistently positive driver of green power adoption and social welfare across all scenarios. We also identify a welfare-maximizing threshold for REC prices, whereas overly stringent RPS mandates are shown to be detrimental. These insights provide a robust theoretical foundation for designing coordinated, consumer-aware RE policies that can accelerate the energy transition while optimizing social welfare.
Abstract Since the EU Commission announced the introduction of a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) within the European Green Deal, debates intensified on its effectiveness for climate action, adhering to WTO regulations, and potential trade wars with China and the US. We argue that the implications of the EU CBAM for affected countries, especially in the Global South, have been underrepresented so far. We assess countries’ relative risk levels in two scenarios: i) CBAM addressing only emissions-intensive sectors and ii) CBAM targeting the whole economy. The paper maps relative risks in these two scenarios using a risk index encompassing the export structure of countries, their emissions intensity, emissions reduction targets, and institutional capacities to monitor and report product-based emissions. The quantitative analysis reveals that the impacts of CBAM are distributed unevenly across the globe. The spectrum of impacted nations varies between the two analysed scenarios, but in both cases most countries at relatively high risk are located in Africa. Three qualitative case studies covering Mozambique, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Morocco evaluate the countries’ trade relations, their carbon intensity, energy and climate policies, and institutional capacities, with a special focus on monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) of carbon emissions. The analysis sheds light on different patterns of vulnerability and policy options to increase resilience.
ABSTRACT Aviation constitutes about 2.5% of all energy-related CO2 emissions and in addition there are non-CO2 effects. In 2016, the ICAO decided to implement a Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) and in 2017 the EU decided on faster emission reductions in its Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), which since 2012 includes the aviation sector. The effects of these policies on the expected development of air travel emissions from 2017 to 2030 have been analyzed. For the sample country Sweden, the analysis shows that when emissions reductions in other sectors are attributed to the aviation sector as a result of the EU ETS and CORSIA, carbon emissions are expected to reduce by −0.8% per year (however if non-CO2 emissions are included in the analysis, then emissions will increase). This is much less than what is needed to achieve the 2°C target. Our analysis of potential national aviation policy instruments shows that there are legally feasible options that could mitigate emissions in addition to the EU ETS and CORSIA. Distance-based air passenger taxes are common among EU Member States and through increased ticket prices these taxes can reduce demand for air travel and thus reduce emissions. Tax on jet fuel is an option for domestic aviation and for international aviation if bilateral agreements are concluded. A quota obligation for biofuels is a third option. Key policy insights Existing international climate policies for aviation will not deliver any major emission reductions. Policymakers who want to significantly push the aviation sector to contribute to meeting the 2°C target need to work towards putting in place tougher international policy instruments in the long term, and simultaneously implement temporary national policy instruments in the near-term. Distance-based air passenger taxes, carbon taxes on jet fuel and quota obligations for biofuels are available national policy options; if they are gradually increased, and harmonized with other countries, they can help to significantly reduce emissions.
Pursued climate goals require reduced greenhouse gas emissions by substituting fossil fuels with energy from renewable sources in all energy‐consuming processes. On a large‐scale, this can mainly be achieved through electricity from wind and sun, which are subject to intermittency. To efficiently integrate this variable energy, a coupling of the power sector to the residential, transport, industry, and commercial/trade sector is often promoted, called sector coupling (SC). Nevertheless, our literature review indicates that SC is frequently misinterpreted and its scope varies among available research, from exclusively considering the use of excess renewable electricity to a rather holistic view of integrated energy systems, including excess heat or even biomass sources. The core objective of this article is to provide a thorough understanding of the SC concept through an analysis of its origin and its main purpose, as described in the current literature. We provide a structured categorization of SC, derived from our findings, and critically discuss its remaining challenges as well as its value for renewable energy systems. We find that SC is rooted in the increasing use of variable renewable energy sources, and its main assets are the flexibility it provides for renewable energy systems, decarbonization potential for fossil‐fuel‐based end‐consumption sectors, and consequently, reduced dependency on oil and gas extracting countries. However, the enabling technologies face great challenges in their economic feasibility because of the uncertain future development of competing solutions.
Abstract Taking climate actions is of increasing importance. The agricultural sector is exploring its carbon neutrality transition pathway. Current relevant studies paid limited attention to agricultural products such as table grapes. This study takes table grapes cultivation in Shanghai as a case study, employing the life cycle assessment (LCA) to account for the carbon emissions and environmental impacts of five different conditions, including open field, simple greenhouse, continuous greenhouse, continuous greenhouse with photovoltaic power, and improved continuous greenhouse with photovoltaic power. Utilizing both observation and simulation data, the SimaPro software is applied to analyze the LCA carbon and environmental footprints of table grapes cultivation. The results show that simple greenhouse grapes exhibit the lowest level of carbon emissions (452 kgCO2-eq/mu-year), and meanwhile the most economical. Moreover, improved greenhouse utilizing photovoltaic power (1.26 × 103kgCO2-eq/mu-year) exhibits higher carbon emissions, however with lower levels of environmental toxicity due to utilizing grapevines for organic fertilizers. Thus, simple greenhouse grapes would score best if considering carbon emissions only, while the improved greenhouse model holds greater potential as a form of modernized facility-based agriculture. Furthermore, this study suggests that for the broader facility agriculture, using low carbon structure materials would serve as the level to reduce carbon footprints.
Energy industries. Energy policy. Fuel trade, Renewable energy sources
Intan Shafinaz Abd Manaf, Nurul Hajar Embong, Siti Norhafiza Mohd Khazaai
et al.
The declaration of 2016, third year in a row, as the warmest year ever recorded, the rising of CO2 concentration, increasing of seawater acidity as well as sea surface temperature are among the worst scenarios of global warming. One of the ways to reduce the harmful emissions is to use renewable energy sources. Biodiesel, being one of the less environment-damaging options to fuel diesel engines, is making its way globally as a greener portion of diesel engines emissions. For countries where utilization of high technological energy sources is a real challenge, then vegetable oils and waste oils from local sources are the possible option. This greener fuel has been mandated of its usage in many countries across the continents in a blending range up to 20% with petro-diesel. The concept of biorefinery is a must as to make the biodiesel industry viable, and to gauge its practicability, Biorefinery Complexity Index (BCI) is a way to go. Production and the use of biodiesel are not without challenges; challenges in term of cost, cold performance, storage stability, engine warranty, post production issues, boundary setting in life cycle analysis and public perceptions. Without an overall assessment, the benefits of biodiesel are not guaranteed; as such, this review is aimed to discuss those challenges, in addition providing possible options as to make this greener fuel into reality in much wider scope.
In this recapitulation, China’s policies towards simultaneously achieving carbon neutrality and enhancing national energy security are reviewed. Without considering the vital energy safety, formulating climate policies toward carbon neutrality would be like a snow-covered Alp in a desolate desert. Because China's energy consumption has been greater than its domestic energy production in the recent decade, importing foreign energy safely and timely has become a top priority. Thereby, China has deepened its connection with Russian, Iran, Pakistan, Myanmar, and Central Asian countries for energy cooperation, thus reshaping its roadmap towards CO2 emission reductions. Meanwhile, adjusting to strategical necessities and understanding future trends, China has proactively participated in the Arctic affairs to explore new resource frontier and sphere of influence. Also, China has boosted the developments of renewable energy, inclusive of wind, solar, hydro, nuclear, geothermal, and wave/tidal to rationalize energy structure and increase the capacity of energy production. From 2009–2021, the cumulative installed electricity-generating capacity of renewable energy in China had increased from 874 to 2374 million kW and the yearly power generation from 3697 to 8537 billion kW·h. With the enforcement of constructions of energy infrastructure under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China has steadily promoted the internationalization of its currency, Renminbi (RMB).
Energy industries. Energy policy. Fuel trade, Renewable energy sources
[Introduction] Under the background of "carbon peak and neutrality" target and "ocean power" strategy, the integration of ocean renewable energy represented by offshore wind power and ocean resources represented by marine ranch is the new direction, new situation and new opportunity for the future development and utilization of ocean resources. The article reviews and analyzes the integrated development mode and key technical problems of offshore wind power and marine pasture, in order to provide technical references to the relevant research and engineering projects in China. [Method] Taking the integration of China's marine resources development needs as the guide, the global development trend of offshore wind power and marine ranch integration was analyzed, and the current situation and shortcomings of China's wind-fishery integration development were clarified. On this basis, the integration mode, equipment design, engineering cases and key technical problems of the integration development of offshore wind power and ocean ranch were analyzed in detail. Finally, a future outlook on the integration development of offshore wind power and ocean ranch in China was discussed. [Result] Through the analysis of the integrated development mode and key technical problems of the integration of offshore wind power and marine ranch development, the bottlenecks and technical challenges are clarified, and the key breakthrough directions are pointed out, providing scientific guidance and reference basis for the comprehensive development and utilization of offshore resources in China. [Conclusion] The article illustrates the necessity and feasibility of integrating the development of offshore wind power and marine ranch, and proposes a feasible way to integrate offshore wind power and marine ranch in China.
The performance of two underexploited ternary oxides – Ba3Fe2O6 and Ba5Fe2O8 are investigated for carbon dioxide capture and chemical looping oxygen uncoupling. The ternary compound Ba3Fe2O6 was found to have a structure characterised by space group Pa3¯. Experimental results have shown that both Ba3Fe2O6 and Ba5Fe2O8 are capable of cyclically capturing CO2 at temperatures above 800 °C. Ba5Fe2O8 demonstrated superior CO2 capture performance compared to Ba3Fe2O6, with consistent gravimetric CO2 uptake capacities of 4.35 wt% and 13.39 wt% at 900 °C and 1000 °C, respectively, over 20 cycles. In comparison, Ba3Fe2O6 demonstrated high initial CO2 uptake capacities which deteriorated cyclically, with 20 cycle average capacities of 7.73 wt% and 11.99 wt% at 900 °C and 1000 °C, respectively. Ba3Fe2O6 also exhibits excellent recyclability and satisfactory chemical looping oxygen uncoupling (CLOU) activity over temperature swing cycles between 550 °C and 950 °C. In contrast, the strong affinity with CO2 makes Ba5Fe2O8 unsuitable for application in chemical looping oxygen uncoupling or chemical looping air separation, especially in the presence of substantial partial pressures of CO2.
Fuel, Energy industries. Energy policy. Fuel trade
This paper presents an evaluation method for the entropy-weighting of wind power clusters that comprehensively evaluates the allocation problems of wind power clusters by considering the correlation between indicators and the dynamic performance of weight changes. A dynamic layered sorting allocation method is also proposed. The proposed evaluation method considers the power-limiting degree of the last cycle, the adjustment margin, and volatility. It uses the theory of weight variation to update the entropy weight coefficients of each indicator in real time, and then performs a fuzzy evaluation based on the membership function to obtain intuitive comprehensive evaluation results. A case study of a large-scale wind power base in Northwest China was conducted. The proposed evaluation method is compared with fixed-weight entropy and principal component analysis methods. The results show that the three scoring trends are the same, and that the proposed evaluation method is closer to the average level of the latter two, demonstrating higher accuracy. The proposed allocation method can reduce the number of adjustments made to wind farms, which is significant for the allocation and evaluation of wind power clusters.
Energy conservation, Energy industries. Energy policy. Fuel trade
Abstract Background There is a race to innovate, develop or create hydrogen production technologies to accelerate energy transition and create a hydrogen economy. Acceptance has been used in social science literature as a lens through which to anticipate possible challenges surrounding hydrogen technologies. However, very few studies problematize perceptions and focus on the production of hydrogen. Hence, this study aims to bridge these theoretical and empirical gaps using a mixed-method approach based on semi-structured interviews (n = 7) and a questionnaire survey (n = 73) to understand stakeholders’ perceptions of hydrogen production sources through a social construction of technology lens. Results The findings suggest a tendency to favor hydrogen produced from renewable sources and to reject hydrogen produced from non-renewable sources. All the examined groups conform to this pattern. Their perceptions are based on prior knowledge of hydrogen technologies, with participants seeking information from specialized sources or from activities promoted by their organizations. Participants anticipate that hydrogen will be generated primarily through renewable energy sources and utilized where direct electrification is unfeasible. In addition, they envisage that the hydrogen economy will enhance energy democracy through representative participation in decision-making. Nevertheless, it is acknowledged that the topic is limited to certain social groups and kept away from the public eye. Furthermore, unlike the benefits, the perception of risk appears to have no impact on perceptions’ construction. High confidence in science appears to minimize the recognition of potential risks and bolster the recognition of potential benefits. There is, however, a lot of uncertainty about the possible real impacts of the hydrogen economy. Conclusions There appears to be a collective perspective on hydrogen production sources, indicating the existence of social representations. Nevertheless, group attitudes and backing towards hydrogen vary. The participants identify hydrogen as a matter that remained unnoticed for over a decade, despite its prominent position in the policies and economic approaches of numerous countries. The topic has been relegated to third parties. This exclusion of civil society from decision-making may justify the NGO group's critical stance towards hydrogen. Moreover, it suggests that energy democracy, which is based on information dissemination and participation, is not being achieved.
Renewable energy sources, Energy industries. Energy policy. Fuel trade
Low carbon hydrogen can be an excellent source of clean energy, which can combat global climate change and poor air quality. Hydrogen based economy can be a great opportunity for a country like Qatar to decarbonize its multiple sectors including transportation, shipping, global energy markets, and industrial sectors. However, there are still some barriers to the realization of a hydrogen-based economy, which includes large scale hydrogen production cost, infrastructure investments, bulk storage, transport & distribution, safety consideration, and matching supply-demand uncertainties. This paper highlights how the aforementioned challenges can be handled strategically through a multi-sector industrial-urban symbiosis for the hydrogen supply chain implementation. Such symbiosis can enhance the mutual relationship between diverse industries and urban planning by exploring varied scopes of multi-purpose hydrogen usage (i.e., clean energy source as a safer carrier, industrial feedstock and intermittent products, vehicle and shipping fuel, and international energy trading, etc.) both in local and international markets. It enables individual entities and businesses to participate in the physical exchange of materials, by-products, energy, and water, with strategic advantages for all participants. Besides, waste/by-product exchanges, several different kinds of synergies are also possible, such as the sharing of resources and shared facilities. The diversified economic base, regional proximity and the facilitation of rules, strategies and policies may be the key drivers that support the creation of a multi-sector hydrogen supply chain in Qatar.
Abstract Power disturbances, defined as the waveform distortion of a power system under normal or abnormal conditions, contain considerable system and equipment state information. Obtaining equipment and system state information from power disturbance is very important to ensure the safety of power grids. To adapt to the development of power electronics, informatisation and digitisation of power systems, several applications with waveform‐recording devices have obtained large amounts of disturbance waveform data, laying an important foundation for the analysis and application of power disturbance waveform data. First, typical disturbance waveform monitoring devices and a disturbance trigger detection algorithm are introduced. Then, disturbances are classified as switching, fault, or abnormal operations, according to the cause. The characteristics of various typical disturbance waveform data were analysed by combining the simulation and measured data. This paper summarises the application analysis of power disturbance waveform data at both the system and equipment levels. Finally, the construction scheme of a power disturbance waveform data monitoring and analysis platform for two different application scenarios was proposed for commutation failure monitoring and medium‐voltage distribution network fault warning. The research conducted here is expected to support the construction of a power disturbance waveform analysis platform.
Energy industries. Energy policy. Fuel trade, Production of electric energy or power. Powerplants. Central stations
To meet the European Union's 2050 climate neutrality target, future electricity generation is expected to largely rely on variable renewable energy (VRE). VRE supply, being dependant on weather, is susceptible to changing climate conditions. Based on spatiotemporally explicit climate data under a Paris-proof climate scenario and a comprehensive energy conversion model, this study assesses the projected changes of European VRE supply from the perspective of average production, production variability, spatiotemporal complementarity, and risk of concurrent renewable energy droughts.For the period 2045–2055, we find a minor reduction in average wind and solar production for most of Europe compared to the period 1990–2010. At the country level, the impact of climate change on average VRE production is rather limited in magnitude (within ±3% for wind and ±2% for solar). The projected mid-term changes in other aspects of VRE supply are also relatively small. This suggests climate-related impacts on European VRE supply are less of a concern if the Paris-proof emission reduction pathway is strictly followed.Based on spectral analysis, we identify strong seasonal wind-solar complementarities (with an anticorrelation between -0.6 and -0.9) at the cross-regional level. This reduces the demand for seasonal storage but requires coordinated cross-border efforts to develop a pan-European transmission infrastructure.The risk of concurrent renewable energy droughts between a country and the rest of Europe remains non-negligible, even under the copperplate assumption. Central Western European countries and Poland are most vulnerable to such risk, suggesting the need for the planning of adequate flexibility resources.
Rastući broj istraživanja ukazuje na negativan uticaj suspendovanih (PM) čestica na zdravlje ljudi. Jedan od načina da se izbegnu njihove negativne posledice, jeste blagovremena predikcija koncentracije PM2.5 u vazduhu. Znajući časovnu koncentraciju, građani bi mogli organizovati svoje dnevne aktivnosti sa ciljem smanjenja njhovog izlaganja intezivnom zagađenju. U cilju formiranja optimalnog modela za časovnu predikciju koncentracije PM2.5 u vazduhu, analizirane su prediktivne performanse tri različita algoritma mašinskog učenja: “Random forest”, “XGBoost” i “Light gradient boosting machine”. Koristeći pomenute algoritme mašinskog učenja stvoreni su modeli koji koristeći meteorološke i hronološke podatke mogu izvršiti predikciju koncentracije PM2.5 na časovnom nivou sa zadovoljavajućom tačnošću. Podaci o koncentraciji PM2.5 su prikupljeni laserskim senzorom u gradu Kragujevcu, čija su očitavanja preuzeta sa sensor.community otvorene baze podataka. Evaluacija modela je izvršena koristeći koeficijent determinacije (R2), osrednjenu apsolutnu grešku (MAE) i koren srednje kvadratne greške (RMSE).
Energy industries. Energy policy. Fuel trade, Economics as a science
Abstract The COVID‐19 coronavirus pandemic has fuelled debate about domestic industry and manufacturing in light of shocks to global supply chains and shortages of medical and personal protective equipment (PPE). Nevertheless, debates have been poorly attuned to geography and history. Calls for reinvigorated domestic manufacturing conceal the degree to which industrial landscapes are already entwined in geometries of power. This is especially so at ports—increasingly privatised—that have become sites of policy focus and biosecurity panic. Crucial trading zones, ports are being refashioned as growth machines for commodity export, energy, and logistics, undergirding national manufacturing capacity via trade and material commodity flows. Yet ports have also always been vectors for disease transmission and are central places for COVID‐19 crises. Writing from Port Kembla, south of Sydney, Australia, we catalogue five themes warranting geographical analysis and global comparison in light of coronavirus: disruptions to supply chains (with implications for global production networks); domestic industrial capacity and the future of manufacturing; biosecuring industrial sites; precarious labour and work; and vernacular emergency response capacities within industrial communities. Amidst heightened geopolitical tensions, geographers reveal how industrial landscapes are contested. Logistical and biosecurity roles are enveloped by enduring infrastructural materialities, local histories, and regional legacies of skill and ingenuity.