Japan prefectural emission accounts and socioeconomic data 2007 to 2015

In the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan largely moved away from nuclear power generation and turned back towards an energy sector dominated by fossil fuels. As a result, the pace towards reaching emission reduction targets has largely slowed down. This situation indicates that higher emissions will continue to be generated if there is no appropriate and efficient measurement implemented to bridge the energy demand gap. To contribute adequate mitigation policies, a detailed inventory of both CO2 emissions and socioeconomic factors, both at the national and regional level, should be issued. Thereby, this work contributes to a time-series emission with a record of 47 prefectures in Japan as well as their associated socioeconomic features. The compiled emission inventory is based on three major fossil fuels and 26 sectors with careful emission allocations for regional electricity generation. This dataset is uniformly formatted and can be expected to provide vital information to set regional reduction allowances and sectoral reduction priorities

Are Consumers Abandoning Diesel Automobiles because of Contrasting Diesel Policies? Evidence from the Korean Automobile Market

We investigate whether the contrasting set of transportation policies in Korea---reductions in fuel taxes and increases in diesel automobile prices---has decreased emissions. Using a random-coefficient discrete choice model and hypothetical policy sets, we estimate the automobile demand of consumers, the market share of cars by fuel type, and total emissions, assuming that consumer preferences for driving costs change over time. Then, we separately analyze the effect of each policy set on automobile sales and emissions, particularly carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter. Our analyses reveal that Korean consumers have become more sensitive toward fuel costs over time and that the emission consequences of Korean policies depend on consumer preferences

Japanese carbon emissions patterns shifted following the 2008 financial crisis and the 2011 Tohoku earthquake

Unexpected events such as economic crises and natural disasters can have profound implications for energy systems and climate change mitigation efforts at different levels. Here we explore the national and regional carbon emission patterns (and their drivers) for the main economic sectors in Japan between 2007 and 2015, a period shaped by the 2008 financial crisis and the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake. Following the 2011 earthquake the previously decreasing regional emissions patterns started increasing in practically all regions except Hokkaido. This was mainly due to growing coal use particularly in the Kyushu, Chugoku and Kansai regions. Furthermore, most regions experienced shifts in the dominance of different drivers of emissions over time, with a stronger initial impact from economic effects after the 2008 financial crisis, followed by energy structure after the 2011 earthquake, and then by economic effects and energy intensity. These results offer a more nuanced understanding of how individual events can affect emissions at different periods and levels (national vs. regional) to inform the design of climate change mitigation strategies

Fasciation in Strawberry Floral Organs and Possible Implications for Floral Transition

Fasciation in strawberry is characterized by an enlarged and flattened receptacle, clustering of flowers, and altered inflorescence architecture. However, the developmental process of fasciated flowers remains obscure. In this study, the fasciation incidence and developmental process in the primary fruit and inflorescence architecture were evaluated and compared for the non-susceptible cultivars, ‘Nyoho’ and ‘Sagahonoka’ and one of the most susceptible cultivars, ‘Ai-Berry’. The severity and frequency of flower and inflorescence fasciation was clearly greater in the vigorously growing large plants of ‘Ai-Berry’ compared to small plants and large plants of the other two cultivars. In ‘Ai-Berry’, the deformation of the large shoot apical meristem (SAM) into an oval shape was the initial symptom observed before and during floral transition. Such oval-shaped SAMs often differentiated two or more leaf primordia almost at the same time, which then developed into divided multiple vegetative SAMs before floral transition and linearly-fasciated SAMs during floral transition, respectively. The development of fasciation symptoms was observed after downregulation of FaTFL1. Although inflorescence or receptacle fasciation could be controlled when early and rapid floral induction was achieved by intermittent low-temperature treatment, severe fasciation was observed in late-flowered plants which were either not responsive or not subjected to this treatment. These results indicate that fasciation of floral organs may be triggered and develop during floral transition and that temperature fluctuations around boundary values between floral inhibition to induction may cause a half-finished or slowly processed floral transition and finally result in severe fasciation in vigorously growing ‘Ai-Berry’ plants

Carbon footprint and embodied nutrition evaluation of 388 recipes

Food consumption, which delivers fundamental energy and essential nutrients to human beings, is crucial for achieving a series of sustainable goals. Alongside rising population growth and living standards, there has been a significant increase in food cultivation demands, supply chain complexities, and waste management. Therefore, to protect human health and the environment, promoting sustainable food systems and the uptake of sustainable dietary habits are vital. Yet, information on the environmental and health impact of dietary choices remains inconsistent across multiple evaluation methods, which fail to deliver essential ideas to consumers. In this study, we formulate an integrated approach using Environmentally Extended Input-Output analysis, covering the food supply chain from production to the distribution phase, complemented with a hybrid Life Cycle Assessment for cooking and disposal processes, to quantify the carbon footprint of specific recipes. Our dataset also includes the distinct nutritional values of each recipe. This dataset not only informs the food industry and recipe platforms, enabling more sustainable choices, but also helps individuals balance nutritional value with environmental impact, leading to more informed and sustainable dietary decisions

Unequal age-based household emission and its monthly variation embodied in energy consumption – A cases study of Tokyo, Japan

City is the main place to consume goods and services throughout the world. Among the various consumption terminals, household-level consumption is highly behavior driven, which can be affected by various factors such as household income level, age, living environment etc. However, city-level household emissions characteristics are still not fully understood due to the complexity of consumption behaviors and the lack of the supply chain's data. To include the environmental responsibility embodied in residential consumption and reveal how it varies among household type and season, this study investigates city-level household consumption as it relates to energy demand using a city-scale input-output model and urban residential consumption inventories. Importantly, age- and month-based emission are analyzed from different aspects such as emission type, source, fuel types and consumption items. Findings indicate that (1) household emissions differ substantially among the various household age groups; older households generally produce higher emissions levels on a per capita basis; (2) decreases in temperature are the main reason for the increased emissions in older households, while this is not a significant factor in younger households; (3) the high per capita household emissions in older households indicate inefficient energy usage among elder citizens, which strongly suggests that aging societies will face long-term emissions increases if appropriate measures are not taken

Process System Modelling of Production Technology Alternatives using Input- Output Tables with Sector Specific Units

Input-output analysis is usually based on tables of accounts expressed in uniform monetary or physical units. However, from a process system modelling perspective, tables of accounts in sector specific units may be more useful for evaluating the effectiveness of new production technologies on reducing pollutant emissions. Using the sector specific unit conceptualization of an IO table, one can consider the effect of changes in direct input coefficients for a particular sector on the complete set of total input coefficients independently from the other direct input coefficients. A process system modelling based method for calculating the total industrial outputs from a new technology matrix together with the new relative prices for each sector output is presented. The method is then used to study the effect of technology changes in the steel making industry in Liaoning Province, China on prices and pollutant emissions.Process system modelling, price model, technology changes, Chinese steel industry,