Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.5
3.2
Journals
Energies
Special Issues
Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset
energies-logo
Submit to Energies Review for Energies Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "B: Energy and Environment".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2020) | Viewed by 86081

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Wen-Hsien Tsai

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Business Administration, National Central University, Jhongli, Taoyuan 32001, Taiwan
Interests: sustainability; green production decision model; industry 4.0; corporate social responsibility (CSR); activity-based costing (ABC); enterprise resource planning (ERP); carbon emission cost; energy saving and carbon emission reduction; international financial reporting standards (IFRS)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Paris Agreement was signed by 195 nations in December 2015 to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, following the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) and the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. In Article 2 of the Paris Agreement, the increase in the global average temperature is anticipated to be held to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels, and efforts are being employed to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C. It is estimated that about 72% of the totally emitted greenhouse gases is carbon dioxide (CO2), 18% methane, and 9% nitrous oxide. Therefore, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (or carbon emissions) are the most important cause of global warming. The United Nations has made efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or mitigate their effect. In Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, three cooperative approaches that countries can take in attaining the goal of their carbon emission reduction are described, including direct bilateral cooperation, new sustainable development mechanisms, and non-market-based approaches.

The World Bank stated that there are some incentives which have been created to encourage carbon emission reduction, such as the removal of fossil fuels subsidies, the introduction of carbon pricing, the increase of energy efficiency standards, and the implementation of auctions for the lowest-cost renewable energy. Among these, carbon pricing refers to charges those who emit carbon dioxide (CO2) for their emissions, including carbon taxes, emissions trading systems (ETSs), offset mechanisms, results-based climate finance (RBCF), and so on. In view of the urgent need for carbon emission reduction, this Special Issue will focus the on the discussion of carbon tax, carbon trading, and carbon offset.

Carbon tax is a tax on energy sources which emit carbon dioxide. It is a pollution tax and a form of carbon pricing. The objective of a carbon tax is to reduce the harmful and unfavorable levels of carbon dioxide emissions, thereby decelerating climate change and its negative effects on the environment and human health. Carbon tax also can prompt companies to find more efficient ways to manufacture their products or deliver their services. Generally, carbon tax is determined by the carbon tax rate and the quantity of carbon emissions of a company in its manufacturing processes, and it is represented as the amount paid for every ton of greenhouse gas released into the atmosphere. However, carbon tax also will have some disadvantages, such as imposing expensive administration costs for businesses, prompting them to move their operations to “pollution havens”, and so on.

Carbon trading is another form of carbon pricing under cap-and-trade systems. Cap-and-trade is one method for regulating and ultimately reducing the amount of carbon emissions. The government sets a cap on carbon emissions for the whole country, then limits the amount of carbon dioxide that companies are allowed to release. A company that can more efficiently reduce carbon emissions can sell any extra permits in the emission market to companies that cannot easily afford to reduce carbon emission. Thus, carbon trading markets are set up. The number of emissions trading systems around the world is increasing. In addition to the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS), national or subnational systems are already in operation or under development in Canada, China, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Switzerland, and the United States.

A carbon offset is a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for or to offset an emission made elsewhere. One ton of carbon offset represents the reduction of one ton of carbon dioxide or its equivalent in other greenhouse gases. There are two markets for carbon offsets: (1) The larger compliance market, where companies, governments, or other entities buy carbon offsets in order to comply with caps on the total amount of carbon dioxide they are allowed to emit; and (2) the smaller voluntary market, where individuals, companies, or governments purchase carbon offsets to mitigate their own greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, electricity use, and other sources. Carbon offset usually supports projects that reduce the emission of greenhouse gases in the short- or long-term. A common project type is renewable energy, such as wind farms, biomass energy, or hydroelectric dams. Others include energy efficiency projects, the destruction of industrial pollutants or agricultural byproducts, the destruction of landfill methane, LULUCF (land use, land-use change, and forestry), REDD (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation), and so on.

In view of the urgent need for carbon emission reduction, we would like to invite researchers and professionals from universities, enterprises, and governmental units to share new ideas, innovations, trends, and experiences concerning the related issues of carbon tax, carbon trading, carbon offset, and other related methods of carbon emission reduction. Both original research articles as well as review articles are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Wen-Hsien Tsai
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • climate change
  • global warming
  • carbon emission
  • direct carbon emission
  • indirect carbon emission
  • carbon footprint
  • greenhouse gas (GHG)
  • carbon emission reduction
  • greenhouse gas reduction
  • carbon emission cost analysis
  • quota decline scheme
  • computable general equilibrium (CGE)
  • certified emission reductions (CERs)
  • emission reduction units (ERUs)
  • carbon pricing
  • internal carbon pricing
  • carbon tax
  • energy tax
  • gasoline tax
  • decarbonization
  • cap-and-trade
  • emission permit
  • emission allowances
  • allowance allocation mechanism
  • carbon (emission) trading
  • carbon trading market
  • international emission trading (IET)
  • personal carbon trading
  • carbon credit
  • tradable renewable credit
  • emission trading schemes (ETS)
  • European Union emission trading schemes (EU ETS)
  • carbon offset
  • renewable energy project
  • energy efficiency project
  • low-carbon energy
  • zero carbon energy
  • zero emission vehicle
  • vehicle electrification
  • zero emission building
  • methane collection and combustion
  • forestry project
  • land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF)
  • reforestation
  • afforestation
  • reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD)
  • REDD+
  • carbon retirement
  • carbon capture and storage
  • forest carbon sinks
  • CO2 recycling
  • carbon leakage
  • enterprise carbon accounting

Published Papers (20 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review, Other

7 pages, 184 KiB  
Editorial
Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset
by Wen-Hsien Tsai
Energies 2020, 13(22), 6128; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13226128 - 23 Nov 2020
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 8635
Abstract
The Paris Agreement was signed by 195 nations in December 2015 to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change following the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) and the 1997 Kyoto Protocol [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset)

Research

Jump to: Editorial, Review, Other

23 pages, 1330 KiB  
Article
Green Activity-Based Costing Production Decision Model for Recycled Paper
by Chu-Lun Hsieh, Wen-Hsien Tsai and Yao-Chung Chang
Energies 2020, 13(10), 2413; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13102413 - 12 May 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2825
Abstract
Using mathematical programming with activity-based costing (ABC) and based on the theory of constraints (TOC), this study proposed a green production model for the traditional paper industry to achieve the purpose of energy saving and carbon emission reduction. The mathematical programming model presented [...] Read more.
Using mathematical programming with activity-based costing (ABC) and based on the theory of constraints (TOC), this study proposed a green production model for the traditional paper industry to achieve the purpose of energy saving and carbon emission reduction. The mathematical programming model presented in this paper considers (1) revenue of main products and byproducts, (2) unit-level, batch-level, and product-level activity costs in ABC, (3) labor cost with overtime available, (4) machine cost with capacity expansion, (5) saved electric power and steam costs by using the coal as the main fuel in conjunction with Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF). This model also considers the constraint of the quantity of carbon equivalent of various gases that are allowed to be emitted from the mill paper-making process to conform to the environmental protection policy. A numerical example is used to demonstrate how to apply the model presented in this paper. In addition, sensitivity analysis on the key parameters of the model are used to provide further insights for this research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 2424 KiB  
Article
Analysis of the Influencing Factors of Regional Carbon Emissions in the Chinese Transportation Industry
by Changzheng Zhu, Meng Wang and Yarong Yang
Energies 2020, 13(5), 1100; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13051100 - 02 Mar 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2232
Abstract
Global warming caused by excessive emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases is one of the greatest challenges for mankind in the 21st century. China is the world’s largest carbon emitter and its transportation industry is one of the fastest growing sectors [...] Read more.
Global warming caused by excessive emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases is one of the greatest challenges for mankind in the 21st century. China is the world’s largest carbon emitter and its transportation industry is one of the fastest growing sectors for carbon emissions. However, China is a vast country with different levels of carbon emissions in the transportation industry. Therefore, it is helpful for the Chinese government to formulate a reasonable policy of regional carbon emissions control by studying the factors influencing the carbon emissions of the Chinese transportation industry at the regional level. Based on data from 1997 to 2017, this paper adopts the logarithmic mean divisia index (LMDI) decomposition method to analyze the influencing degree of several major factors on the carbon emissions of transportation industry in different regions, puts forward some suggestions according to local conditions, and provides references for the carbon reduction of Chinese transportation industry. The results show that (1) in 2017, the total carbon emissions of the Chinese transportation industry were 714.58 million tons, being 5.59 times of those in 1997, with an average annual growth rate of 9.89%. Among them, the carbon emissions on the Eastern Coast were rising linearly and higher than those in other regions. The carbon emissions in the Great Northwest were always lower than those in other regions, with only 38.75 million tons in 2017. (2) Economic output effect is the most important factor to promote the carbon emissions of transportation industry in various regions. Among them, the contribution values of economic output effect to carbon emissions on the Eastern Coast, the Southern Coast and the Great Northwest continued to rise, while the contribution values of economic output effect to carbon emissions in the other five regions decreased in the fourth stage. (3) The population size effect promoted the carbon emissions of the transportation industry in various regions, but the population size effect of the Northeast had a significant inhibitory influence on the carbon emissions in the fourth stage. (4) The regional energy intensity effect in most stages inhibited carbon emissions of the transportation industry. Among them, the energy intensity effects of the North Coast and the Southern Coast in the two stages had obvious inhibitory influences on carbon emissions of the transportation industry, but the contribution values of the energy intensity effect in the Great Northwest and the Northeast were positive in the fourth stage. (5) Except for the Great Southwest, the industry-scale effects of other regions had inhibited the carbon emissions of transportation industry in all regions. (6) The influences of the carbon emissions coefficient effect on carbon emissions in different regions were not significant and their inhibitory effects were relatively small. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

23 pages, 2410 KiB  
Article
The Relationship between Carbon Dioxide Emissions, Economic Growth and Agricultural Production in Pakistan: An Autoregressive Distributed Lag Analysis
by Sajjad Ali, Li Gucheng, Liu Ying, Muhammad Ishaq and Tariq Shah
Energies 2019, 12(24), 4644; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12244644 - 06 Dec 2019
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3476
Abstract
This study aims to explore the casual relationship between agricultural production, economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions in Pakistan. An autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model is applied to examine the relationship between agricultural production, economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions using time series [...] Read more.
This study aims to explore the casual relationship between agricultural production, economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions in Pakistan. An autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model is applied to examine the relationship between agricultural production, economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions using time series data from 1960 to 2014. The Augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF), Phillips–Perron (PP) and Kwiatkowski–Phillips–Schmidt–Shin (KPSS) tests are used to check the stationarity of variables. The results show both short-run and long-run relationships between agricultural production, gross domestic product (GDP) and carbon dioxide emissions in Pakistan. From the short-run estimates, it is found that a 1% increase in barley and sorghum production will decrease carbon dioxide emissions by 3% and 4%, respectively. The pairwise Granger causality test shows unidirectional causality of cotton, milled rice, and sorghum production with carbon dioxide emissions. Due to the aforementioned cause, it is essential to manage the effects of carbon dioxide emissions on agricultural production. Appropriate steps are needed to develop agricultural adaptation policies, improve irrigation facilities and introduce high-yielding and disease-resistant varieties of crops to ensure food security in the country. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 3348 KiB  
Article
Analysis of the Nexus of CO2 Emissions, Economic Growth, Land under Cereal Crops and Agriculture Value-Added in Pakistan Using an ARDL Approach
by Sajjad Ali, Liu Ying, Tariq Shah, Azam Tariq, Abbas Ali Chandio and Ihsan Ali
Energies 2019, 12(23), 4590; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12234590 - 02 Dec 2019
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 4874
Abstract
The present study attempts to explore the correlation between carbon dioxide emissions (CO2 e), gross domestic product (GDP), land under cereal crops (LCC) and agriculture value-added (AVA) in Pakistan. The study exploits time-series data from 1961 to 2014 and further applies descriptive [...] Read more.
The present study attempts to explore the correlation between carbon dioxide emissions (CO2 e), gross domestic product (GDP), land under cereal crops (LCC) and agriculture value-added (AVA) in Pakistan. The study exploits time-series data from 1961 to 2014 and further applies descriptive statistical analysis, unit root test, Johansen co-integration test, autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model and pairwise Granger causality test. The study employes augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF) and Phillips–Perron (PP) tests to check the stationarity of the variables. The results of the analysis reveal that there is both short- and long-run association between agricultural production, economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions in the country. The long-run results estimate that there is a positive and insignificant association between carbon dioxide emissions, land under cereal crops, and agriculture value-added. The results of the short-run analysis point out that there is a negative and statistically insignificant association between carbon dioxide emissions and gross domestic product. It is very important for the Government of Pakistan’s policymakers to build up agricultural policies, strategies and planning in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Consequently, the country should promote environmentally friendly agricultural practices in order to strengthen its efforts to achieve sustainable agriculture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 1649 KiB  
Article
A Research on Driving Factors of Carbon Emissions of Road Transportation Industry in Six Asia-Pacific Countries Based on the LMDI Decomposition Method
by Changzheng Zhu and Wenbo Du
Energies 2019, 12(21), 4152; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12214152 - 31 Oct 2019
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 3219
Abstract
The transportation industry is the second largest industry of carbon emissions in the world, and the road transportation industry accounts for a large proportion of this in the global transportation industry. The carbon emissions of the road transportation industry in six Asia-Pacific countries [...] Read more.
The transportation industry is the second largest industry of carbon emissions in the world, and the road transportation industry accounts for a large proportion of this in the global transportation industry. The carbon emissions of the road transportation industry in six Asia-Pacific countries (Australia, Canada, China, India, Russia, and the United States) accounts for more than 50% of this in the global transportation industry. Therefore, it is of great significance to study driving factors of carbon emissions of the road transportation industry in six Asia-Pacific countries for controlling global carbon emissions. In this paper, the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) decomposition method is adopted to analyze driving factors on carbon emissions of the road transportation industry in six Asia-Pacific countries from 1990 to 2016. The results show that carbon emissions of the road transportation industry in these six Asia-Pacific countries was 2961.37 million tons in 2016, with an increase of 84.43% compared with those in 1990. The economic output effect and the population size effect have positive driving influences on carbon emissions of the road transportation industry, in which the economic output effect is still the most important driving factor. The energy intensity effect and the transportation intensity effect have different influences on driving carbon emissions of the road transportation industry for these six Asia-Pacific Countries. Furthermore, the carbon emissions coefficient effect has a relatively small influence. Hence, in order to effectively control carbon emissions of the road transportation industry in these six Asia-Pacific countries, it is necessary to control the impact of economic developments on the environment, to reduce energy intensity by promoting the conversion of road transportation to rail and water transportation, and to lower the carbon emissions coefficient by continuously improving vehicle emission standards and fuel quality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 944 KiB  
Article
CO2 Efficiency Break Points for Processes Associated to Wood and Coal Transport and Heating
by Robert Baťa, Jan Fuka, Petra Lešáková and Jana Heckenbergerová
Energies 2019, 12(20), 3864; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12203864 - 12 Oct 2019
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2353
Abstract
This paper aims to deal with CO2 emissions in energy production process in an original way, based on calculations of total specific CO2 emissions, depending on the type of fuel and the transport distance. This paper has ambition to set a [...] Read more.
This paper aims to deal with CO2 emissions in energy production process in an original way, based on calculations of total specific CO2 emissions, depending on the type of fuel and the transport distance. This paper has ambition to set a break point from where it is not worthwhile to use wood as an energy carrier as the alternative to coal. The reason for our study is the social urgency of selected problem. For example, in the area of public sector decision-making, wood heating is promoted regardless of the availability within the reasonable distance. From the current state of the research, it is also clear that none of the studies compare coal and biomass fuel transportation from the point of view of CO2 production. For this purpose, an original methodology has been proposed. It is based on a modified life cycle assessment (LCA), supplemented with a system of equations. The proposed methodology has a generalizable nature, and therefore, it can be applied to different regions. However, calculation inputs and modelling are based on specific site data. Based on the presented numerical analysis, the key finding is the break point for associated processes at a distance of 1779.64 km, since when that it is better to burn brown coal than wood in terms of total CO2 emissions. We can conclude that, in some cases, it is more efficient to use coal instead of wood as fuel in terms of CO2 emissions, particularly in regard to transport distance and type of transport. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 3923 KiB  
Article
Flexible Options for Greenhouse Gas-Emitting Energy Producer
by Andrey Krasovskii, Nikolay Khabarov, Ruben Lubowski and Michael Obersteiner
Energies 2019, 12(19), 3792; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12193792 - 07 Oct 2019
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2684
Abstract
The reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) constitutes part of the international climate agreements and contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals. This research is motivated by the risks associated with the future CO2 price uncertainty in the context of [...] Read more.
The reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) constitutes part of the international climate agreements and contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals. This research is motivated by the risks associated with the future CO2 price uncertainty in the context of the offsetting of carbon emissions by regulated entities. The research asked whether it is possible to reduce these financial risks. In this study, we consider the bilateral interaction of a REDD supplier and a greenhouse gas (GHG)-emitting energy producer in an incomplete emission offsets market. Within this setting, we explore an innovative financial instrument—flobsion—a flexible option with benefit-sharing. For the quantitative assessment, we used a research method based on a two-stage stochastic technological portfolio optimization model established in earlier studies. First, we obtain an important result that the availability of REDD offsets does not increase the optimal emissions of the electricity producer under any future CO2 price realization. Moreover, addressing concerns about a possible “crowding–out” effect of REDD-based offsets, we demonstrate that the emissions and offsetting cost will decrease and increase, respectively. Second, we demonstrate the flexibility of the proposed instrument by analyzing flobsion contracts with respect to the benefit-sharing ratio and strike price within the risk-adjusted supply and demand framework. Finally, we perform a sensitivity analysis with respect to CO2 price distributions and the opportunity costs of the forest owner supplying REDD offsets. Our results show that flobsion’s flexibility has advantages compared to a standard option, which can help GHG-emitting energy producers with managing their compliance risks, while at the same time facilitating the development of REDD programs. In this study we limited our analysis to the case of the same CO2 price distributions foreseen by both parties; the flobsion pricing under asymmetric information could be considered in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 997 KiB  
Article
A Cradle-to-Grave Multi-Pronged Methodology to Obtain the Carbon Footprint of Electro-Intensive Power Electronic Products
by Giovanni Andrés Quintana-Pedraza, Sara Cristina Vieira-Agudelo and Nicolás Muñoz-Galeano
Energies 2019, 12(17), 3347; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12173347 - 30 Aug 2019
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2872
Abstract
This paper proposes the application of a cradle-to-grave multi-pronged methodology to obtain a more realistic carbon footprint (CF) estimation of electro-intensive power electronic (EIPE) products. The literature review shows that methodologies for establishing CF have limitations in calculation or are not applied from [...] Read more.
This paper proposes the application of a cradle-to-grave multi-pronged methodology to obtain a more realistic carbon footprint (CF) estimation of electro-intensive power electronic (EIPE) products. The literature review shows that methodologies for establishing CF have limitations in calculation or are not applied from the conception (cradle) to death (grave) of the product; therefore, this paper provides an extended methodology to overcome some limitations that can be applied in each stage during the life cycle assessment (LCA). The proposed methodology is applied in a cradle-to-grave scenario, being composed of two approaches of LCA: (1) an integrated hybrid approach based on an economic balance and (2) a standard approach based on ISO 14067 and PAS 2050 standards. The methodology is based on a multi-pronged assessment to combine conventional with hybrid techniques. The methodology was applied to a D-STATCOM prototype which contributes to the improvement of the efficiency. Results show that D-STATCOM considerably decreases CF and saves emissions taken place during the usage stage. A comparison was made between Sweden and China to establish the environmental impact of D-STATCOM in electrical networks, showing that saved emissions in the life cycle of D-STATCOM were 5.88 and 391.04 ton CO2eq in Sweden and China, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

23 pages, 2301 KiB  
Article
Spatial-Temporal Characteristics of the Driving Factors of Agricultural Carbon Emissions: Empirical Evidence from Fujian, China
by Yihui Chen, Minjie Li, Kai Su and Xiaoyong Li
Energies 2019, 12(16), 3102; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12163102 - 13 Aug 2019
Cited by 50 | Viewed by 3422
Abstract
With the development of agricultural modernization, the carbon emissions caused by the agricultural sector have attracted academic and practitioners’ circles’ attention. This research selected the typical agricultural development province in China, Fujian, as the research object. Based on the carbon emission sources of [...] Read more.
With the development of agricultural modernization, the carbon emissions caused by the agricultural sector have attracted academic and practitioners’ circles’ attention. This research selected the typical agricultural development province in China, Fujian, as the research object. Based on the carbon emission sources of five main aspects in agricultural production, this paper applied the latest carbon emission coefficients released by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the UN (IPCC) and World Resources Institute (WRI), then used the ordered weighted aggregation (OWA) operator to remeasure agricultural carbon emissions in Fujian from 2008–2017. The results showed that the amount of agricultural carbon emissions in Fujian was 5541.95 × 103 tonnes by 2017, which means the average amount of agricultural carbon emissions in 2017 was 615.78 × 103 tonnes, with a decrease of 13.13% compared with that in 2008. In terms of spatial distribution, agricultural carbon emissions in the eastern coastal areas were less than those in the inland regions. Among them, the highest agricultural carbon emissions were in Zhangzhou, Nanping, and Sanming, while the lowest were in Xiamen, Putian, and Ningde. In addition, this paper selected six influencing variables, the research and development intensity, the proportion of agricultural labor force, the added value of agriculture, the agricultural industrial structure, the per capita disposable income of rural residents, and per capita arable land area, to clarify further the impacts on agricultural carbon emissions. Finally, geographically- and temporally-weighted regression (GTWR) was used to measure the direction and degree of the influences of factors on agricultural carbon emission. The conclusion showed that the regression coefficients of each selected factor in cities were positive or negative, which indicated that the impacts on agricultural carbon emission had the characteristics of geospatial nonstationarity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 1208 KiB  
Article
The Efficiency of the Sustainable Development Policy for Energy Consumption under Environmental Law in Thailand: Adapting the SEM-VARIMAX Model
by Pruethsan Sutthichaimethee and Sthianrapab Naluang
Energies 2019, 12(16), 3092; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12163092 - 12 Aug 2019
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2948
Abstract
This research aims to predict the efficiency of the Sustainable Development Policy for Energy Consumption under Environmental Law in Thailand for the next 17 years (2020–2036) and analyze the relationships among causal factors by applying a structural equation modeling/vector autoregressive model with exogenous [...] Read more.
This research aims to predict the efficiency of the Sustainable Development Policy for Energy Consumption under Environmental Law in Thailand for the next 17 years (2020–2036) and analyze the relationships among causal factors by applying a structural equation modeling/vector autoregressive model with exogenous variables (SEM-VARIMAX Model). This model is effective for analyzing relationships among causal factors and optimizing future forecasting. It can be applied to contexts in different sectors, which distinguishes it from other previous models. Furthermore, this model ensures the absence of heteroskedasticity, multicollinearity, and autocorrelation. In fact, it meets all the standards of goodness of fit. Therefore, it is suitable for use as a tool for decision-making and planning long-term national strategies. With the implementation of the Sustainable Development Policy for Energy Consumption under Environmental Law ( S . D . E L ) , the forecast results derived from the SEM-VARIMAX Model indicate a continuously high change in energy consumption from 2020 to 2036the change exceeds the rate determined by the government. In addition, energy consumption is predicted to have an increased growth rate of up to 185.66% (2036/2020), which is about 397.08 ktoe (2036). The change is primarily influenced by a causal relationship that contains latent variables, namely, the economic factor ( E C O N ) , social factor ( S O C I ) , and environmental factor ( E N V I ) . The performance of the SEM-VARIMAX Model was tested, and the model produced a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 1.06% and a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 1.19%. A comparison of these results with those of other models, including the multiple linear regression model (MLR), back-propagation neural network (BP model), grey model, artificial neural natural model (ANN model), and the autoregressive integrated moving average model (ARIMA model), indicates that the SEM-VARIMAX model fits and is appropriate for long-term national policy formulation in various contexts in Thailand. This study’s results further indicate the low efficiency of Sustainable Development Policy for Energy Consumption under Environmental Law in Thailand. The predicted result for energy consumption in 2036 is greater than the government-established goal for consumption of no greater than 251.05 ktoe. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 1670 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Influencing Factors and Trend Forecast of Carbon Emission from Energy Consumption in China Based on Expanded STIRPAT Model
by Zhen Li, Yanbin Li and Shuangshuang Shao
Energies 2019, 12(16), 3054; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12163054 - 08 Aug 2019
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 3165
Abstract
With the convening of the annual global climate conference, the issue of global climate change has gradually become the focus of attention of the international community. As the largest carbon emitter in the world, China is facing a serious situation of carbon emission [...] Read more.
With the convening of the annual global climate conference, the issue of global climate change has gradually become the focus of attention of the international community. As the largest carbon emitter in the world, China is facing a serious situation of carbon emission reduction. This paper uses the IPCC (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) method to calculate the carbon emissions of energy consumption in China from 1996 to 2016, and uses it as a dependent variable to analyze the influencing factors. In this paper, five factors, total population, per capita GDP (Gross Domestic Product), urbanization level, primary energy consumption structure, technology level, and industrial structure are selected as the influencing factors of carbon emissions. Based on the expanded STIRPAT (Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology) model, the influencing degree of different factors on carbon emissions of energy consumption is analyzed. The results show that the order of impact on carbon emissions from high to low is total population, per capita GDP, technology level, industrial structure, primary energy consumption structure, and urbanization level. On the basis of the above research, the carbon emissions of China′s energy consumption in the future are predicted under eight different scenarios. The results show that, when the population and economy keep a low growth rate, while improving the technology level can effectively control carbon emissions from energy consumption, China′s carbon emissions from energy consumption will reach 302.82 million tons in 2020. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 1397 KiB  
Article
A Research on the Factors Influencing Carbon Emission of Transportation Industry in “the Belt and Road Initiative” Countries Based on Panel Data
by Changzheng Zhu and Dawei Gao
Energies 2019, 12(12), 2405; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12122405 - 22 Jun 2019
Cited by 58 | Viewed by 6232
Abstract
Carbon emissions in countries in the “Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)” account for more than half of the world’s total volume. According to the international energy agency report, the world transportation industry carbon emissions in 2015 came second on the list for the [...] Read more.
Carbon emissions in countries in the “Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)” account for more than half of the world’s total volume. According to the international energy agency report, the world transportation industry carbon emissions in 2015 came second on the list for the proportion of global carbon emissions across all industries, accounting for 23.96% of the total. Along with the advancement of the BRI construction, transportation industry carbon emissions will continue their rapid growth. Therefore, studying the factors affecting the carbon emissions of the transportation industry in countries in the BRI is conducive to the formulation of policies to control carbon emissions. In this paper, the CO2 emissions of the transportation industry in countries in the BRI line from 2005 to 2015 were measured, and then the influencing factors of 57 countries in the BRI were analyzed by using the panel data model. The results show that per capita GDP, urbanization level, and energy consumption structure have positive effects on the carbon emissions of transportation industry, while technology level and trade openness have negative effects on carbon emissions of the transportation industry. Therefore, in order to effectively control the carbon emissions of the transportation industry in the BRI countries, it is necessary to reasonably control the transportation industry carbon emissions caused by urbanization, optimize the energy consumption structure of the transportation industry, optimize the structure of the transportation industry, and improve the openness of trade and the technical level of the BRI countries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 3477 KiB  
Article
Optimization in the Stripping Process of CO2 Gas Using Mixed Amines
by Pao Chi Chen and Yan-Lin Lai
Energies 2019, 12(11), 2202; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12112202 - 10 Jun 2019
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 7230
Abstract
The aim of this work was to explore the effects of variables on the heat of regeneration, the stripping efficiency, the stripping rate, the steam generation rate, and the stripping factor. The Taguchi method was used for the experimental design. The process variables [...] Read more.
The aim of this work was to explore the effects of variables on the heat of regeneration, the stripping efficiency, the stripping rate, the steam generation rate, and the stripping factor. The Taguchi method was used for the experimental design. The process variables were the CO2 loading (A), the reboiler temperature (B), the solvent flow rate (C), and the concentration of the solvent (monoethanolamine (MEA) + 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP)) (D), which each had three levels. The stripping efficiency (E), stripping rate ( m ˙ CO 2 ), stripping factor (β), and heat of regeneration (Q) were determined by the mass and energy balances under a steady-state condition. Using signal/noise (S/N) analysis, the sequence of importance of the parameters and the optimum conditions were obtained, and the optimum operating conditions were further validated. The results showed that E was in the range of 20.98–55.69%; m ˙ CO 2 was in the range of 5.57 × 10−5–4.03 × 10−4 kg/s, and Q was in the range of 5.52–18.94 GJ/t. In addition, the S/N ratio analysis showed that the parameter sequence of importance as a whole was A > B > D > C, while the optimum conditions were A3B3C1D1, A3B3C3D2, and A3B2C2D2, for E, m ˙ CO 2 , and Q, respectively. Verifications were also performed and were found to satisfy the optimum conditions. Finally, the correlation equations that were obtained were discussed and an operating policy was discovered. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 2830 KiB  
Article
An Empirical Study on Low Emission Taxiing Path Optimization of Aircrafts on Airport Surfaces from the Perspective of Reducing Carbon Emissions
by Nan Li, Yu Sun, Jian Yu, Jian-Cheng Li, Hong-fei Zhang and Sangbing Tsai
Energies 2019, 12(9), 1649; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12091649 - 30 Apr 2019
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3413
Abstract
Aircraft emissions are the main cause of airport air pollution. One of the keys to achieving airport energy conservation and emission reduction is to optimize aircraft taxiing paths. The traditional optimization method based on the shortest taxi time is to model the aircraft [...] Read more.
Aircraft emissions are the main cause of airport air pollution. One of the keys to achieving airport energy conservation and emission reduction is to optimize aircraft taxiing paths. The traditional optimization method based on the shortest taxi time is to model the aircraft under the assumption of uniform speed taxiing. Although it is easy to solve, it does not take into account the change of the velocity profile when the aircraft turns. In view of this, this paper comprehensively considered the aircraft’s taxiing distance, the number of large steering times and collision avoidance in the taxi, and established a path optimization model for aircraft taxiing at airport surface with the shortest total taxi time as the target. The genetic algorithm was used to solve the model. The experimental results show that the total fuel consumption and emissions of the aircraft are reduced by 35% and 46%, respectively, before optimization, and the taxi time is greatly reduced, which effectively avoids the taxiing conflict and reduces the pollutant emissions during the taxiing phase. Compared with traditional optimization methods that do not consider turning factors, energy saving and emission reduction effects are more significant. The proposed method is faster than other complex algorithms considering multiple factors, and has higher practical application value. It is expected to be applied in the more accurate airport surface real-time running trajectory optimization in the future. Future research will increase the actual interference factors of the airport, comprehensively analyze the actual situation of the airport’s inbound and outbound flights, dynamically adjust the taxiing path of the aircraft and maintain the real-time performance of the system, and further optimize the algorithm to improve the performance of the algorithm. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

26 pages, 3329 KiB  
Article
Research on the Impact of Various Emission Reduction Policies on China’s Iron and Steel Industry Production and Economic Level under the Carbon Trading Mechanism
by Ye Duan, Zenglin Han, Hailin Mu, Jun Yang and Yonghua Li
Energies 2019, 12(9), 1624; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12091624 - 29 Apr 2019
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2854
Abstract
To study the emission reduction policies’ impact on the production and economic level of the steel industry, this paper constructs a two-stage dynamic game model and analyzes various emission reduction policies’ impact on the steel industry and enterprises. New results are observed in [...] Read more.
To study the emission reduction policies’ impact on the production and economic level of the steel industry, this paper constructs a two-stage dynamic game model and analyzes various emission reduction policies’ impact on the steel industry and enterprises. New results are observed in the study: (1) With the increasing emission reduction target (15%–30%) and carbon quota trading price (12.65–137.59 Yuan), social welfare and producer surplus show an increasing trend and emission macro losses show a decreasing trend. (2) Enterprises’ reduction ranges in northwestern and southwestern regions are much higher than that of the other regions; the northeastern enterprise has the smallest reductions range. (3) When the market is balanced (0.8543–0.9320 billion tons), the steel output has decreased and the polarization in various regions has been alleviated to some extent. The model is the abstraction and assumption of reality, which makes the results have some deviations. However, these will provide references to formulate reasonable emissions reduction and production targets. In addition, the government needs to consider the whole and regional balance and carbon trading benchmark value when deciding the implementation of a single or mixed policy. Future research will be more closely linked to national policies and gradually extended to other high-energy industries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 689 KiB  
Article
Trade Openness and Carbon Leakage: Empirical Evidence from China’s Industrial Sector
by Bin Fan, Yun Zhang, Xiuzhen Li and Xiao Miao
Energies 2019, 12(6), 1101; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12061101 - 21 Mar 2019
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 2841
Abstract
China is a large import and export economy in global terms, and the carbon dioxide emissions and carbon leakage arising from trade have great significance for China’s foreign trade and its economy. On the basis of trade data for China’s 20 industrial sectors, [...] Read more.
China is a large import and export economy in global terms, and the carbon dioxide emissions and carbon leakage arising from trade have great significance for China’s foreign trade and its economy. On the basis of trade data for China’s 20 industrial sectors, we first built a panel data model to test the effect of trade on carbon dioxide emissions and the presence of carbon leakage for all industrial sectors. Second, we derived a single-region input–output model for open economies based on the industrial sectors’ diversity and carbon dioxide emissions, and performed an empirical test. We estimated the net carbon intensity embodied in export, which is 0.237tCO2/ten thousand RMB, to divide all sectors (ACSs) into high-carbon sectors (HCSs) and low-carbon sectors (LCSs). The results show that higher trade openness leads to a reduction in the intensity of CO2 emissions and gross emissions and that there are obvious structural differences in different sectors with different carbon emission intensity. The coefficient of trade openness for LCSs is −0.073 and is statistically significant at the 1% level, so higher trade openness for LCSs leads to a reduction in the CO2 emissions intensity. However, the coefficient for HCSs is 0.117 and is statistically significant at the 10% level, indicating that higher trade openness increases the CO2 emissions’ intensity for HCSs. The difference is that higher trade openness in LCSs can help reduce the CO2 emissions’ intensity without the problem of carbon leakage and with the existence of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), whereas there is no EKC for HCSs and carbon leakage may happen. We introduced dummy variables and found that a “pollution haven” effect exists in HCSs. The test results in HCSs and LCSs are exactly the opposite of each other, which shows that the carbon leakage of ACSs cannot be determined. The message that can be drawn for policy makers is that China does not need to worry about the adverse impact on the environment of trade opening up and should, in fact, increase the opening up of trade, while becoming acclimatized to environmental regulation of a new trade mode and new standards. This will help amplify the favorable impact of trade opening up on the environment and improve China’s international reputation. The policies related to trade should encourage structural adjustment between the sectors via the formulation of differential policies and impose a restraint on sectors that have high levels of CO2 emissions embodied in export. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 2080 KiB  
Article
Emission-Intensity-Based Carbon Tax and Its Impact on Generation Self-Scheduling
by Ping Che, Yanyan Zhang and Jin Lang
Energies 2019, 12(5), 777; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12050777 - 26 Feb 2019
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2371
Abstract
We propose an emission-intensity-based carbon-tax policy for the electric-power industry and investigate the impact of the policy on thermal generation self-scheduling in a deregulated electricity market. The carbon-tax policy is designed to take a variable tax rate that increases stepwise with the increase [...] Read more.
We propose an emission-intensity-based carbon-tax policy for the electric-power industry and investigate the impact of the policy on thermal generation self-scheduling in a deregulated electricity market. The carbon-tax policy is designed to take a variable tax rate that increases stepwise with the increase of generation emission intensity. By introducing a step function to express the variable tax rate, we formulate the generation self-scheduling problem under the proposed carbon-tax policy as a mixed integer nonlinear programming model. The objective function is to maximize total generation profits, which are determined by generation revenue and the levied carbon tax over the scheduling horizon. To solve the problem, a decomposition algorithm is developed where the variable tax rate is transformed into a pure integer linear formulation and the resulting problem is decomposed into multiple generation self-scheduling problems with a constant tax rate and emission-intensity constraints. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed decomposition algorithm can solve the considered problem in a reasonable time and indicate that the proposed carbon-tax policy can enhance the incentive for generation companies to invest in low-carbon generation capacity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Editorial, Research, Other

45 pages, 7329 KiB  
Review
A Review of CO2 Storage in View of Safety and Cost-Effectiveness
by Cheng Cao, Hejuan Liu, Zhengmeng Hou, Faisal Mehmood, Jianxing Liao and Wentao Feng
Energies 2020, 13(3), 600; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13030600 - 29 Jan 2020
Cited by 89 | Viewed by 11547
Abstract
The emissions of greenhouse gases, especially CO2, have been identified as the main contributor for global warming and climate change. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is considered to be the most promising strategy to mitigate the anthropogenic CO2 emissions. This [...] Read more.
The emissions of greenhouse gases, especially CO2, have been identified as the main contributor for global warming and climate change. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is considered to be the most promising strategy to mitigate the anthropogenic CO2 emissions. This review aims to provide the latest developments of CO2 storage from the perspective of improving safety and economics. The mechanisms and strategies of CO2 storage, focusing on their characteristics and current status, are discussed firstly. In the second section, the strategies for assessing and ensuring the security of CO2 storage operations, including the risks assessment approach and monitoring technology associated with CO2 storage, are outlined. In addition, the engineering methods to accelerate CO2 dissolution and mineral carbonation for fixing the mobile CO2 are also compared within the second section. The third part focuses on the strategies for improving economics of CO2 storage operations, namely enhanced industrial production with CO2 storage to generate additional profit, and co-injection of CO2 with impurities to reduce the cost. Moreover, the role of multiple CCS technologies and their distribution on the mitigation of CO2 emissions in the future are summarized. This review demonstrates that CO2 storage in depleted oil and gas reservoirs could play an important role in reducing CO2 emission in the near future and CO2 storage in saline aquifers may make the biggest contribution due to its huge storage capacity. Comparing the various available strategies, CO2-enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) operations are supposed to play the most important role for CO2 mitigation in the next few years, followed by CO2-enhanced gas recovery (CO2-EGR). The direct mineralization of flue gas by coal fly ash and the pH swing mineralization would be the most promising technology for the mineral sequestration of CO2. Furthermore, by accelerating the deployment of CCS projects on large scale, the government can also play its role in reducing the CO2 emissions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Other

17 pages, 1874 KiB  
Concept Paper
A Common Risk Classification Concept for Safety Related Gas Leaks and Fugitive Emissions?
by Torgrim Log and Wegar Bjerkeli Pedersen
Energies 2019, 12(21), 4063; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12214063 - 24 Oct 2019
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4179
Abstract
Gas leaks in the oil and gas industry represent a safety risk as they, if ignited, may result in severe fires and/or explosions. Unignited, they have environmental impacts. This is particularly the case for methane leaks due to a significant Global Warming Potential [...] Read more.
Gas leaks in the oil and gas industry represent a safety risk as they, if ignited, may result in severe fires and/or explosions. Unignited, they have environmental impacts. This is particularly the case for methane leaks due to a significant Global Warming Potential (GWP). Since gas leak rates may span several orders of magnitude, that is, from leaks associated with potential major accidents to fugitive emissions on the order of 10−6 kg/s, it has been difficult to organize the leaks in an all-inclusive leak categorization model. The motivation for the present study was to develop a simple logarithmic table based on an existing consequence matrix for safety related incidents extended to include non-safety related fugitive emissions. An evaluation sheet was also developed as a guide for immediate risk evaluations when new leaks are identified. The leak rate table and evaluation guide were tested in the field at five land-based oil and gas facilities during Optical Gas Inspection (OGI) campaigns. It is demonstrated how the suggested concept can be used for presenting and analysing detected leaks to assist in Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) programs. The novel categorization table was proven valuable in prioritizing repair of “super-emitter” components rather than the numerous minor fugitive emissions detected by OGI cameras, which contribute little to the accumulated emissions. The study was limited to five land based oil and gas facilities in Norway. However, as the results regarding leak rate distribution and “super-emitter” contributions mirror studies from other regions, the methodology should be generally applicable. To emphasize environmental impact, it is suggested to include leaking gas GWP in future research on the categorization model, that is, not base prioritization solely on leak rates. Research on OGI campaign frequency is recommended since frequent coarse campaigns may give an improved cost benefit ratio. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Reduction—Carbon Tax, Carbon Trading, and Carbon Offset)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-20
Back to TopTop