Energy and climate change最新文献

This paper examines the nexus between stock market development and carbon emissions for Nigeria based on annual data from 1981 to 2020. The study employs a multi-methodological approach, including the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag approach, vector-error correction modeling, and Granger causality test. The nonlinear ARDL bounds test supports a long-run relationship between carbon emissions, energy intensity, population density, and gross domestic product per capita. Asides, the results show that perturbations in stock market development measured as stock traded have an asymmetric effect on carbon emissions in the short and long run. The results suggest that positive shocks in stock traded have an increasing insignificant effect on carbon emissions. In contrast, negative shocks in stock market development have a significant reducing impact on carbon emissions. Moreover, the results show that causality runs only from decreased stock traded to carbon emissions. Therefore, policy maker must strictly enforce all environmental regulations designed to control carbon emissions that might arise from increased manufacturing activities occasioned by improved stock market developments.

The efficiency analysis of incentive regulations on utilities is an important issue to investigate the impact of the market-oriented reform. This paper analyzes the influence of the 2015 reform on 30 provincial power grid firms in China during 2011–2018. We employ a data envelopment analysis (DEA) model combined with bootstrap estimation to measure the efficiency through statistical inference, from both static and total factor productivity (TFP) perspectives. The results show that most provincial grid firms are difficult to achieve efficiency improvement by putting forward the reform in the short-term. However, the positive correlation between market transactions and efficiency indicates that the market-oriented reform improves efficiency significantly. Nevertheless, the gap between the studied DMUs and the efficient ones is the result of regional differences and the significant influence of weather heterogeneity.

India is a rapidly developing economy with interrelated air quality, sustainable development, and climate change mitigation goals. There are unique challenges to achieving each of these goals as well as potential tradeoffs among them. This study examines the implications of possible future energy, climate, and air pollution control policies and measures in India through 2050. We take a scenario approach using the GCAM global energy-climate-land model combined with the Hector simple climate model and the TM5-FASST air quality source-receptor model to examine energy, climate and air quality outcomes. Reducing use of traditional biomass in buildings can reduce primary carbonaceous particulate emissions well below 2015 levels. However, policies that are more ambitious than current plans would likely be required to reduce SO₂ and NO_x emissions well below 2015 levels. Among single policy cases considered, pricing of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and expansion of natural gas infrastructure have the largest impacts on overall energy system changes relative to the reference scenario. Ambitious air pollution control and GHG policies lead to the largest reductions in air pollution concentrations and radiative forcing, respectively. However, ambitious air pollution control and GHG policies differ in the extent to which they support or impede other policy objectives. Forcing increases due to reduced aerosols from ambitious air pollution policies can be mitigated, at least in part, by applying air pollution control and GHG policies together.

Mainstream energy policy emphasizes the exploitation of domestic sources to secure energy. Since readily available, many nations focus on fossil fuels, so they lack investment in the alternatives. The result is increasing atmospheric partial pressure of carbon dioxide, and energy security is still an issue. This study analyzes the impact of different variables on securing energy and reducing carbon emissions and attains this aim by econometrics. Energy-related data for 47 countries have been compiled from the IEA webpage, WDI, and BP databases, covering the period between 1990 and 2017. The results indicate that electricity generation by solar and wind globally helps both securing energy and climate change mitigation as anticipated. The dataset confirms that coal- and gas-based power generation does not contribute to global energy security. The dataset does not cast any distinct role on energy efficiency in terms of energy intensity. Increasing energy intensity, i.e., decreasing energy efficiency releases more carbon as anticipated. However, increasing energy intensity, i.e., decreasing energy efficiency, contributes to the energy security of the countries with wind power in the energy mix. One interesting result is that having a large population promotes energy security, but increasing urban population brings risks.

This integrated assessment modeling research analyzes what Korea's 2050 carbon neutrality would require for the national energy system and the role of the power sector concerning the availability of critical mitigation technologies. Our scenario-based assessment shows that Korea's current policy falls short of what the nation's carbon-neutrality ambition would require. Across all technology scenarios examined in this study, an extensive and rapid energy system transition is imperative, requiring the large-scale deployment of renewables and carbon capture & storage (CCS) early on and negative emission technologies (NETs) by the mid-century. Importantly, the rapid decarbonization of the power sector, along with the rapid electrification of end-uses, seems to be a robust national decarbonization strategy. Furthermore, we contextualize our net-zero scenario results using policy costs, requirements for natural resources, and the expansion rate of zero-carbon technologies. We find that the availability of nuclear power lowers the required expansion rate of renewables and CCS, alleviating any stress on terrestrial and geological systems. By contrast, the limited availability of CCS without nuclear power necessarily demands a very high penetration of renewables and significantly high policy compliance costs, which would decrease the feasibility of achieving the carbon neutrality target.

Several quests for solutions have emerged around the world concerning the climate change the severe effects of which have been observed especially since 2000. To that end, European Union (EU) signed the European Green Deal in 2019. The documentation brings together the targeted sustainable economy and sustainable environment. This study mainly focuses on such issue. The principles put forward by the European Green Deal have been examined. The extent to which the Turkish legislation covers the said principles has been investigated. Because, a strong legal basis is needed for the principles stipulated by the Deal to be implemented. The extent of compliance to the principles and legislation has been presented as well as the areas of weakness which must be improved. European Green Deal is important for Turkey in terms of both the significant commercial agreements it has with the European Union, and its European Union membership process. Moreover, European Green Deal stands out as a document that will shape the sustainable environment and sustainable economy not only in Europe but also around the world, with its principles.

The need to reduce CO₂ emissions to zero by 2050 has meant an increasing focus on high emitting industrial sectors such as steel. However, significant uncertainties remain as to the rate of technology diffusion across steel production pathways in different regions, and how this might impact on climate ambition. Informed by empirical analysis of historical transitions, this paper presents modelling on the regional deployment of Direction Reduction Iron using hydrogen (DRI-H2). We find that DRI-H2 can play a leading role in the decarbonisation of the sector, leading to near-zero emissions by 2070. Regional spillovers from early to late adopting regions can speed up the rate of deployment of DRI-H2, leading to lower cumulative emissions and system costs. Without such effects, cumulative emissions are 13% higher than if spillovers are assumed and approximately 15% and 20% higher in China and India respectively. Given the estimates of DRI-H2 cost-effectiveness relative to other primary production technologies, we also find that costs increase in the absence of regional spillovers. However, other factors can also have impacts on deployment, emission reductions, and costs, including the composition of the early adopter group, material efficiency improvements and scrap recycling rates. For the sector to achieve decarbonisation, key regions will need to continue to invest in low carbon steel projects, recognising their broader global benefit, and look to develop and strengthen policy coordination on technologies such as DRI-H2.

The transportation sector is presently among the most deciding sectors in fossil fuel use and CO₂ emissions. More than 30% of the fuel energy content is released to the environment in the form of exhaust heat and recuperating part of this heat has the potential of achieving reductions in the adverse effects of CO₂ emissions on our environment in tandem with efficiency improvement of the internal combustion engine (ICE). This study assesses the feasibility of incorporating a proposed organic Rankine cycle (ORC)-based exhaust heat recovery (EHR) system in a highway truck for recovering exhaust heat from the 206-kW diesel engine and further quantifies the energy-related CO₂ reduction potential of the proposed module. A simple ORC system layout with recuperating is considered due to additional weight concerns that could negate the recovery goal of the study. The model uses R245fa as a working fluid because of its application in ICEs for EHR. A preliminary result of the proposed model achieved electrical power outputs of 0.42–3.48 kW, thermal efficiencies of 1.96–6.36%, and up to 4% reduction in fuel consumption, all measured as the primary performance indicators of the system when running at truck speeds of 66–119 km/hr. The model further achieved up to 4,767kgCO₂ reduction in carbon emissions, representing a 4% reduction in the CO₂ emission of a typical highway truck engine. The exergo-economic analysis experienced up to 17.28 kW of exergy destruction in the evaporator and 0.89 kW as the minimum exergy destruction realized in the condenser. The highest cost rate of exergy destruction of 142 £/yr observed in the evaporator.

Environment-friendly rice and wheat straw management in the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana have been a significant challenge. Farmers have adopted in-situ burning of crop residues as it is almost out of no pocket expense. However, this practice amounts to releasing 42.32 MT hazardous pollutants and GHGs into the atmosphere, which has an estimated 58.62 MT CO₂e GWP. The present study considered biochar conversion of surplus rice and wheat straw through slow pyrolysis to investigate biochar compatibility for cofiring with coal in power plants. Rice straw derived biochar produced at 400 °C, and wheat straw derived biochar produced at 500 °C were found most suitable for cofiring and electricity generation. It was estimated that about 10.53 MT high quality coal grade biochar could be produced from 28.35 MT of surplus rice and wheat straw in Punjab and Haryana, which has an estimated 19.80 TWh electricity generation potential. Also, electricity generation from biochar would reduce pollutant emissions imparting 30.25 MT CO₂e GWP. The results of this study could provide baseline data for fuel replacement in power plants.