How do China’s lockdown and post-COVID-19 stimuli impact carbon emissions and economic output? Retrospective estimates and prospective trajectories

This paper develops a multi-sector and multi-factor structural gravity model that allows an analytical and quantitative decomposition of the emission and output changes into composition and technique effects. We find that the negative production shock of China's containment policy propagates globally via supply chains, with the carbon-intensive sectors experiencing the greatest carbon emission shocks. We further reveal that China's current stimulus package in 2021-2025 is consistent with China's emission intensity-reduction goals for 2025, but further efforts are required to meet China's carbon emissions-peaking target in 2030 and Cancun 2°C goal. Short-term changes in carbon emissions resulting from lockdowns and initial fiscal stimuli in "economic rescue" period have minor long-term effects, whereas the transitional direction of future fiscal stimulus exerts more predominant impact on long-term carbon emissions. The efficiency improvement effects are more important than the sectoral structure effects of the fiscal stimulus in achieving greener economic growth. [Abstract copyright: © 2022 The Author(s).

Re-investigating the shared responsibility for trade-embodied carbon emissions

The distribution of trade-embodied carbon emissions has frequently been a contestation in international climate negotiations. The proposed shared responsibility approach developed by Jakob et al. (2021) is based on economic benefits derived from generating emissions without paying for associated social costs, which are represented by the carbon price. The impacts of the real tariffs on economic benefits were not considered. Here, we improve the proposed approach by introducing the real import and export tariffs and using tariff and elasticity data specified at both country- and sector-level. We re-investigate the responsibility for trade-embodied carbon emissions sharing between 141 economies for 2017. Results show that the improved shared responsibility approach leads to a less extreme distribution of responsibility among countries. The top three emitters, China, the EU27, and the USA, were allocated 939, 761, and 702 million tons of trade-embodied carbon emissions that are 32% below, 39% above, and 50% above production-based emissions and 62% above, 17% below, and 33% below consumption-based emissions, respectively. Furthermore, we investigate the impacts of introducing tariffs and raising carbon prices on responsibility distribution and find that both will increase import-embodied responsibility and decrease export-embodied responsibility and thus favor net exporters of carbon emissions.</p

Enlarging Regional Disparities in Energy Intensity within China

As energy saving and emission reduction become a global action, the disparity in energy intensity between different regions is a new rising problem that stems a country's or region's energy-saving potential. Here we collect China's provincial panel data (1995–2017) of primary and final energy consumption to evaluate China's unequal and polarized regional pattern in energy intensity, decompose the inequality index into contributing components, and investigate possible driving factors behind the unequal pattern both regionally and structurally, for the first time. The results show that China's interprovince disparities in energy intensity increase and are exacerbated by the enlarging disparities in energy intensity between the least developed and most developed regions of China. The causes for this phenomenon are as follows: (i) rather loose regulatory measures on mitigating coal consumption; (ii) inferior energy processing technology in areas specializing in energy-intensive industries; (iii) increasing interregional energy fluxes embodied in trade; and (iv) separate jurisdictions at provincial administrative levels. These factors can synthetically result in unintended spillover to areas with inferior green technologies, suggesting an increasingly uneven distribution of energy-intensive and carbon-intensive industries and usage of clean energy. The results reveal the necessities of regional coordination and cooperation to achieve a green economy

Full Counting Statistics of Non-Commuting Variables: the Case of Spin Counts

We discuss the Full Counting Statistics of non-commuting variables with the measurement of successive spin counts in non-collinear directions taken as an example. We show that owing to an irreducible detector back-action, the FCS in this case may be sensitive to the dynamics of the detectors, and may differ from the predictions obtained with using a naive version of the Projection Postulate. We present here a general model of detector dynamics and path-integral approach to the evaluation of FCS. We concentrate further on a simple "diffusive" model of the detector dynamics where the FCS can be evaluated with transfer-matrix method. The resulting probability distribution of spin counts is characterized by anomalously large higher cumulants and substantially deviates from Gaussian Statistics.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

Nonequilibrium probe of paired electron pockets in the underdoped cuprates

We propose an experimental method that can be used generally to test whether the cuprate pseudogap involves precursor pairing that acts to gap out the Fermi surface. The proposal involves angular-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) performed in the presence of a transport current driven through the sample. We illustrate this proposal with a specific model of the pseudogap that contains a phase-incoherent paired electron and unpaired hole Fermi surfaces. We show that even a weak current tilts the paired band and reveals parts of the previously gapped electron Fermi surface in ARPES if the binding energy is smaller but close to the pseudogap. Stronger currents can also reveal the Fermi surface through direct suppression of pairing. The proposed experiment is sufficiently general such that it can be used to reveal putative Fermi surfaces that have been reconstructed from other types of periodic order and are gapped out due to pairing. The observation of the predicted phenomena should help resolve the central question about the existence of pairs in the enigmatic pseudogap regime.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures (published version

People with disabilities, Durham City, North Carolina : an action-oriented community diagnosis ; findings and next steps of action

An action-oriented community diagnosis (AOCD) is a process that brings together secondary data (such as newspaper articles, websites, and research studies), team observations, and community member and service provider interviews. This information is gathered and analyzed in order to create a comprehensive reference of the community’s strengths and challenges in order to celebrate the positives of the community while addressing the community’s concerns. During the 2006-2007 academic year, a team of six graduate students from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health (UNC) conducted an AOCD with people with disabilities in Durham, North Carolina. The information gathered by the student team was presented at a community forum in order for community members, service providers, and key stakeholders to work together to discuss the strengths and needs of the community. The community forum was held on April 14, 2007 at Durham’s Center for Senior Life. Over 60 community members and service providers attended the event. At the forum, participants had the opportunity to participate in small group discussions on the major themes identified through the process. During these discussions, the groups worked together to create and take responsibility for specific action steps. The themes discussed at the forum and their actions steps are as follows: Accessibility: There are many private and public entities in Durham which are not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Often physical barriers, such as unsafe sidewalks, prevent people with disabilities from adequately accessing the services they need. Action steps: 1. Speak to Services for the Blind about Braille menus. 2. Direct restaurants to Alliance of Disability Advocates for Braille printing. 3. Organize an Awareness Training through the Mayor’s Committee. 4. Provide input in the trainings required by the Department of Justice lawsuit. 5. Contact the Durham ADA coordinator, regarding the trainings. 6. Talk to the Mayor regarding businesses that are not up to code. 7. Invite an ADA liaison or a police official to attend a Mayor’s Committee meeting. 8. File individual complaints regarding accessibility issues if calls to law enforcement are unsuccessful. Attitudes: People with disabilities want to live independent lives and have the same opportunities as everyone else. Action steps: 1. Be involved in the community. Participate like everyone else. 2. Create an email listserv or publicity forum for people with disabilities to advertise events in the community. 3. Attend the Asheville Disabilities Cultural Fest on 6/2/2007. 4. Have more social parties for people with disabilities and the community at large. 5. Influence schools to offer courses that address issues and attitudes towards people with disabilities. 6. Plan a disability pride event or parade that would highlight the arts and educate people about issues facing people with disabilities. 7. Have people with disabilities represented at the Women's Empowerment Conference in Durham. 8. Attend the Self-Advocacy Convention in Winston Salem 3/14 -3/16/2008. 9. Attend the dance sponsored by the Arc of Durham at Edison Johnson 4/21/2007. Housing: There is not enough affordable, accessible housing for people with disabilities to live in. People with disabilities then have to live in homes that make life harder for them or spend a lot of money to modify their homes. Action steps: 1. Work to pass Money Follows the Person. 2. Sign the Money Follows the Person petition. 3. Encourage friends and family to sign the petition by bringing it to events, churches, etc. 4. Invite friends over to discuss housing. 5. Encourage churches to discuss housing issues. 6. Contact city government officials to learn who is accountable for housing. 7. Contact the Mayor’s Committee and Alliance of Disability Advocates / Centers for Independent Living regarding housing and advocacy training. Recreation: Recreational opportunities and activities for people with disabilities exist in Durham; however, opportunities and activities are limited in number and variety, and are not known about. This prevents people from being socially engaged with other people with disabilities and the community at large. Action steps: 1. Write a petition to the Director of Parks and Recreation asking for more recreational activities for people with disabilities. 2. Advocate for people with disabilities at city council meetings. 3. Contact TeleMed about creating a recorded recreation calendar. 4. Discuss the need for more activities for people with disabilities with the director of Durham’s Center for Senior Life. 5. Ask Durham’s Center for Senior Life to put an activity calendar on their phone. 6. Write a letter to the editor highlighting the need for funding for activities for people with disabilities. 7. Contact churches, civic clubs, and local community groups about volunteering to provide transportation for people with disabilities to and from activities. Transportation: DATA buses are accessible and are a great asset to the community. Unfortunately, bus stops are frequently not accessible, which can cause safety concerns. ACCESS is a useful service but requires planning ahead and is often too expensive for people on fixed incomes to afford. Without being able to get to a bus stop or use ACCESS services, people have struggled to get to and from work and participate in social activities. Action steps: 1. Lobby to improve collaboration and secure funding. 2. Lobby to establish an organization that provides resources for regional transit. Following the forum, the team reflected on the AOCD process and their experiences with the community. Summarized below are the team’s final recommendations for the community as they continue working on the action steps: Make the forum an annual event hosted by either a service agency or a governmental organization, such as the Mayor’s Committee for Persons with Disabilities. Make the Mayor’s Committee for Persons with Disabilities the clearinghouse for resources and information for people with disabilities. Coordinate the efforts of organizations for people with cognitive disabilities with organizations for people with physical disabilities. Expand the paratransit service to include more drivers and vans or offer a second paratransit service option. Increase community members' impact on decisions made in Durham by having a person with a disability sit in on all applicable city meetings, such as city council, transportation, and parks and recreation meetings. This document is a follow up to the community forum and the AOCD process, including detailed descriptions of each step of the process, information about each theme, and the nature of the small group discussions at the community forum. The team hopes that community members and service providers will use this report, the action steps, and the shared desire to improve the community to continue the work that was started during the AOCD. Ultimately, the team hopes that the initiatives started during this process will lead not only to future improvements in the quality of life for people with disabilities in Durham but in the lives of all residents of Durham.Master of Public Healt

Acceptability of school requirements for human papillomavirus vaccine

We characterized parental attitudes regarding school HPV vaccination requirements for adolescent girls. Study participants were 866 parents of 10–18 y-old girls in areas of North Carolina with elevated cervical cancer incidence. We calculated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) by logistic regression. Approximately half (47%) of parents agreed that laws requiring HPV immunization for school attendance “are a good idea” when opt-out provisions were not mentioned. Far more agreed that “these laws are okay only if parents can opt out if they want to” (84%). Predictors of supporting requirements included believing HPV vaccine is highly effective against cervical cancer (OR = 2.5, 95% CI:1.7–5.0) or is more beneficial if provided at an earlier age (OR = 16.1, 95% CI:8.4–31.0). Parents were less likely to agree with vaccine requirements being a good idea if they expressed concerns related to HPV vaccine safety (OR = 0.3, 95% CI:0.1–0.5), its recent introduction (OR = 0.3, 95% CI:0.2–0.6). Parental acceptance of school requirements appears to depend on perceived HPV vaccine safety and efficacy, understanding of the optimal age for vaccine administration, and inclusion of opt-out provisions

Consumption-based emission accounting for Chinese cities

Most of China’s CO2 emissions are related to energy consumption in its cities. Thus, cities are critical for implementing China’s carbon emissions mitigation policies. In this study, we employ an input-output model to calculate consumption-based CO2 emissions for thirteen Chinese cities and find substantial differences between production- and consumption-based accounting in terms of both overall and per capita carbon emissions. Urban consumption not only leads to carbon emissions within a city’s own boundaries but also induces emissions in other regions via interregional trade. In megacities such as Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin, approximately 70% of consumption-based emissions are imported from other regions. Annual per capita consumption-based emissions in the three megacities are 14, 12 and 10 tonnes of CO2 per person, respectively. Some medium-sized cities, such as Shenyang, Dalian and Ningbo, exhibit per capita emissions that resemble those in Tianjin. From the perspective of final use, capital formation is the largest contributor to consumption-based emissions at 32–65%. All thirteen cities are categorized by their trading patterns: five are production-based cities in which production-based emissions exceed consumption-based emissions, whereas eight are consumption-based cities, with the opposite emissions pattern. Moreover, production-based cities tend to become consumption-based as they undergo socioeconomic development

New provincial CO2 emission inventories in China based on apparent energy consumption data and updated emission factors

This study employs “apparent energy consumption” approach and updated emissions factors to re-calculate Chinese provincial CO2 emissions during 2000–2012 to reduce the uncertainty in Chinese CO2 emission estimates for the first time. The study presents the changing emission-socioeconomic features of each provinces as well. The results indicate that Chinese provincial aggregated CO2 emissions calculated by the apparent energy consumption and updated emissions factors are coincident with the national emissions estimated by the same approach, which are 12.69% smaller than the one calculated by the traditional approach and IPCC default emission factors. The provincial aggregated CO2 emissions increased from 3160 million tonnes in 2000 to 8583 million tonnes in 2012. During the period, Shandong province contributed most to national emissions accumulatively (with an average percentage of 10.35%), followed by Liaoning (6.69%), Hebei (6.69%) and Shanxi provinces (6.25%). Most of the CO2 emissions were from raw coal, which is primarily burned in the thermal power sector. The analyses of per capita emissions and emission intensity in 2012 indicates that provinces located in the northwest and north had higher per capita CO2 emissions and emission intensities than the central and southeast coastal regions. Understanding the emissions and emission-socioeconomic characteristics of different provinces is critical for developing mitigation strategies

Climate change : strategies for mitigation and adaptation

The sustainability of life on Earth is under increasing threat due to humaninduced climate change. This perilous change in the Earth's climate is caused by increases in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, primarily due to emissions associated with burning fossil fuels. Over the next two to three decades, the effects of climate change, such as heatwaves, wildfires, droughts, storms, and floods, are expected to worsen, posing greater risks to human health and global stability. These trends call for the implementation of mitigation and adaptation strategies. Pollution and environmental degradation exacerbate existing problems and make people and nature more susceptible to the effects of climate change. In this review, we examine the current state of global climate change from different perspectives. We summarize evidence of climate change in Earth’s spheres, discuss emission pathways and drivers of climate change, and analyze the impact of climate change on environmental and human health. We also explore strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation and highlight key challenges for reversing and adapting to global climate change