Charting the path toward a greener world: A review of facilitating and inhibiting factors for carbon neutrality

The carbon neutrality (CN) literature has witnessed a mushrooming growth but also limited attempts to systematize the mass of evidence running in multiple directions. The consequent accumulation of fragmented insights can confuse concerned stakeholders, causing them to neglect or miss crucial discussions. Our study addresses this concern by undertaking a systematic literature review (SLR) of congruent studies to delineate the facilitating and inhibiting factors that support or impede the efficacious achievement of CN targets. Given the vastness of the extant literature, we limited our review to five sectors: manufacturing, energy, transportation, agriculture, and construction (METAC), since these are known to be among the highest contributors to emissions. Using a rigorous search and filtration protocol, we shortlisted 149 studies for inclusion in the review. Going beyond the curation of insights and identifying research gaps to suggest potential research questions for future investigations, our SLR contributes significantly by synthesizing facilitators and inhibitors from the reported evidence. At the same time, identifying stimulating forces and impeding hurdles helped us highlight areas requiring policy attention and managerial action to support the achievement of CN targets.publishedVersio

Sustainability report

Altres títols : Corporate responsibility report and sustainability report ; Corporate responsibility report

Can the U.S. Get There from Here?

Climate change impacts in the United States are increasingly evident and come with steep economic and social costs. The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events has increased in recent years, bringing record-breaking heat, heavy precipitation, coastal flooding, severe droughts, and damaging wildfires.According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), weather-related damages in the United States were $60 billion in 2011, and are expected to be significantly greater in 2012.The mounting costs convey an unmistakable urgency to address climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). This report examines pathways for GHG reductions in the United States through actions taken at the federal and state levels without the need for new legislation from the U.S. Congress

Life cycle optimization of sustainable energy systems within planetary boundaries

Curbing carbon emissions in the power sector has become a priority to mitigate climate change, yet the sustainability implications of power generation decarbonization remain unclear. To shed light on whether current plans to decarbonize the electricity system would be enough to deliver sustainable energy, modeling frameworks able to achieve multi-criteria environmental analysis need to be developed. Firstly, this thesis combines multi-objective optimization, life cycle impact assessment and multivariate regression based on elasticities to quantify the occurrence and severity of burden-shifting in energy systems due to carbon policies. Secondly, it integrates thousands of life cycle inventories into the optimization of energy systems using monetization. Thirdly, it downscales and integrates planetary boundaries into the optimization of energy systems. Finally, it evaluates and optimizes the planetary boundaries performance of the global power sector in 2100 using data obtained from Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs). Results classify life cycle indicators into three categories: no burden-shifting, total burden-shifting and partial burden-shifting. Depending on the severity of the carbon target, burden-shifting to some life cycle indicators could take place. While meeting the Paris Agreement could generate indirect environmental savings, concurrently optimizing the direct and indirect costs of electricity generation would yield the highest environmental benefits. Few pathways developed via IAMs would operate within the planetary boundaries that all anthropogenic activities should share jointly in 2100, while all of them would exceed the share of budget allocated to the global power sector. Energy mixes in line with some carbon policies could transgress critical planetary boundaries, including those on climate change. Deploying bio-energy with carbon capture and storage hand-in-hand with renewables and nuclear plants is critical to minimizing the transgression of planetary boundaries while maintaining the grid’s reliability. This thesis, therefore, highlights the need to depart from carbon policies to multi-criteria environmental policies to power our development sustainably.Open Acces

Improved Electric Vehicle Powertrain Incorporating a Lithium-Ion Battery and a Range Extender Zinc-Air Battery, plus Associated Health and Economic Benefits

As the world confronts the serious challenge posed by anthropogenic climate change, electric vehicles have emerged as a serious candidate to displace gasoline-burning vehicles. In spite of the environmental and operational advantages of electric vehicles, however, and in spite of billions in investment, electric vehicles have not attained meaningful market share in the main national vehicle markets. This is a serious problem not only for climate change mitigation but also for air pollution mitigation, given the substantial air pollution generated by vehicles. The inability of electric vehicles to attain market share may be due to the inadequacies of the lithium-ion batteries which power electric vehicles, and which are heavy and expensive. In this work an electric vehicle with a novel powertrain is designed, optimized and modelled. The novel powertrain uses a lithium-ion battery as the primary energy storage system and a lighter and cheaper zinc-air battery as a range extender. The first objective of this work is to compare this novel powertrain to a conventional electric vehicle powertrain and quantify the benefits. The optimized two-battery electric vehicle achieves 400 km of range, over 12 years of zinc-air battery life and an MSRP of $26,300 – over$5000 lower than that of the conventional electric vehicle. As part of this work, it is necessary to create a zinc-air cell model based on academic literature, since there are no commercially available rechargeable zinc-air cells that are suitable for use in vehicles. The cell model achieved 10% greater specific energy to the lithium-ion cell at a much lower price. An improved cell model achieved even greater specific energy – 65% greater than the lithium-ion cell. The second objective of this work is to analyze the air pollution impacts of electric vehicles in a local context. Specifically, the air pollution impact of increasing levels of electric vehicles on Highway 401 is simulated. Using Ontario Ministry of Transportation data for traffic flows on Highway 401, pollution modelling software and Transport Canada guidance it is estimated that pollution from Highway 401 costs $18.5M per year, and that replacing all the light passenger vehicles with electric vehicles could reduce these costs by 45.6%. The modelling demonstrates that NOx and PM2.5 are the costliest pollutants, and that PM2.5 experiences the least relative reduction in emissions with increased electric vehicle penetration

日本の電力部門における炭素・水・エネルギー・ネクサスと交通部門のエネルギー転換のシナリオ分析

Tohoku University博士（環境科学）thesi

Towards the implementation of the Green Building concept in agricultural buildings: a literature review

The “Green Building” is an interdisciplinary theme, where the green building concept includes a multitude of elements, components and procedures which diverge to several subtopics that intertwined to form the green building concept.  Generally, the green building is considered to be an environmental component, as the green building materials are manufactured from local eco-sources, i.e. environmentally friendly materials, which are then used to make an eco-construction subject to an eco-design that provides a healthy habitat built on the cultural and architectural heritage in construction while ensuring conservation of natural resources.  This ensures disassembling the building components and materials, after a determined building lifetime, to environmentally friendly materials that can be either re-used or recycled.  During their lifecycle, the green buildings minimize the use of resources (energy and water); reduce the harmful impact on the ecology, and provide better indoor environment.    Green buildings afford a high level of environmental, economic, and engineering performance.  These include energy efficiency and conservation, improved indoor air quality, resource and material efficiency, and occupant's health and productivity.  This study focuses on defining green buildings and elaborating their interaction with the environment, energy, and indoor air quality and ventilation.  Furthermore, the present study investigates the green building materials (e.g. biocement, eco-cement and green concrete), green designs, green roofs, and green technologies.  Additionally, the present study highlights the green buildings rating systems, the economics of green buildings, and the challenges that face the implementation. Eventually, the interdependency between the green buildings and agriculture has been discussed.   Keywords: green building, agricultural buildings, biocement, eco-cement, green concrete, green roofs, low-energy building, zero-carbon building, eco-constructio

Recent Advances in Low-Carbon and Sustainable, Efficient Technology: Strategies and Applications

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the supply chains of traditional fossil fuels. According to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) from 2020, oil-refining activity fell by more than the IEA had anticipated. It was also assumed that the demand in 2021 would likely be 2.6 million bpd below the 2019 levels. However, renewable markets have shown strong resilience during the crisis. It was determined that renewables are on track to meet 80% of the growth in electricity demand over the next 10 years and that sustainable energy will act as the primary source of electricity production instead of coal. On the other hand, the report also emphasized that measures for reducing environmental pollution and CO2 emissions are still insufficient and that significant current investments should be further expanded. The Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) conference series is dedicated to the advancement and dissemination of knowledge on methods, policies and technologies for improving the sustainability of development by decoupling growth from the use of natural resources. The 15th SDEWES conference was held online from 1–5 September 2020; more than 300 reports with 7 special sections were organized on the virtual conference platform. This paper presents the major achievements of the recommended papers in the Special Issue of Energies. Additionally, related studies connected to the above papers published in the SDEWES series are also introduced, including the four main research fields of energy saving and emission reduction, renewable energy applications, the development of district heating systems, and the economic assessment of sustainable energy

Exploring sustainable pathways for urban traffic decarbonization: vehicle technologies, management strategies, and driving behaviour

The global fight against climate change and air pollution prioritizes the transition to sustainable transportation options. Understanding the impacts of various sustainable pathways on emissions, travel time, and costs is crucial for researchers and policymakers. This research conducts a comprehensive microsimulation of traffic and emissions in downtown Toronto, Canada, to examine decarbonization scenarios. The resulting 140 scenarios involve different fuel types, Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAV) penetration rates, and routing strategies combined with driving style. To achieve this, transformers-based prediction models accurately forecast Greenhouse Gas (GHG) and Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) emissions and average speed for eco-routing. The study finds that 100% battery electric vehicles have the lowest GHG emissions, showing their potential as a sustainable transportation solution. However, challenges related to cost and availability persist. Hybrid Electric Vehicles and e-fuels demonstrate considerable emission reductions, emerging as promising alternatives. Integrating CAVs with anticipatory routing strategies significantly reduces GHG emissions. Additionally, eco-driving practices and eco-routing strategies have a notable impact on NOx emissions and travel time. Comprehensive cost analysis provides valuable insights into the economic implications of various strategies and technologies. These findings offer guidance to various stakeholders in formulating effective strategies, behaviour changes, and policies for emission reduction and sustainable transportation development

The Economics of Climate Policy

Economics has played an increasingly important role in shaping policy, in the United States and elsewhere. This paper reviews some of the dimensions of the economic approach to analyzing, understanding, and developing solutions to the problem of climate change. We then turn to the issue of designing regulatory instruments to control the problem. The paper concludes with a discussion of the political economy of greenhouse gas control in an international context.climate change, climate policy design, integrated assessment, environmental policy coordination