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Carbon Emission Mitigation: Drivers and Barriers

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Resources and Sustainable Utilization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2023) | Viewed by 6432

Special Issue Editors

Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York YO10 5NG, UK
Interests: environmental economics; applied microeconometrics; efficiency and productivity analysis; decomposition analysis; ICT for development
School of Economics and Management, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
Interests: low-carbon operation management; climate and energy policy; energy transition; renewable energy; innovation in energy systems

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to launch a new Special Issue focusing on new insights into the drivers and barriers towards carbon emission mitigation.

Carbon emission mitigation is central to achieving sustainable development and countering climate change. Albeit the past few decades have seen some positive developments and global efforts in cutting greenhouse gas emissions, the potential for further mitigation is in doubt after “the low-hanging fruit has been picked”. The next phase of carbon emission mitigation will entail close attention to hard-to-decarbonize sectors and carbon-intensive economies. Sectors, such as heavy industries, power generation, and road transport are significant contributors to carbon emissions and, for different reasons, are difficult to decarbonize. Economies, such as China, the United States, and India, are the biggest greenhouse gas emitters and their low-carbon transitions are of key significance in combatting climate change.

The tremendous challenges call for studies that identify and evaluate drivers and barriers towards further carbon emission mitigation at different levels, from households to firms, sectors, economies, and regions. In particular, we invite high-quality papers that address one or more of the following topics:

  • Identification of driving forces behind decarbonization at the sectoral or regional levels
  • Impact(s) of climate and environmental policies on carbon emission mitigation
  • Contribution of consumer behavior to decarbonizing hard-to-decarbonize sectors (e.g., transport, electricity, etc.)
  • Cost and benefit analysis of emerging low-carbon technologies (e.g., hydrogen power, smart grid, etc.)
  • Effect(s) of innovative business models on low-carbon technology diffusions
  • Motivations, drivers, and barriers for corporate carbon-mitigating actions
  • Practices and collaborations for achieving low-carbon supply chains
  • Measurement and decomposition of green total-factor productivity growth
  • Evaluation of carbon efficiency and its development and influencing factors

Dr. Xun Zhou
Dr. Wen Wen
Guest Editors

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. Sustainability 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 2400 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

  • carbon emission mitigation
  • carbon efficiency
  • corporate carbon management
  • decomposition analysis
  • environmental policy evaluation
  • green TFP
  • hard-to-decarbonize sectors
  • household low-carbon consumption
  • low-carbon behavior
  • low-carbon supply chain
  • low-carbon technologies
  • sustainable transportation

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 622 KiB  
Article
Does New Infrastructure Affect Regional Carbon Intensity? Empirical Evidence from China
by Bingquan Liu, Boyang Nie, Yakun Wang, Xuemin Han and Yongqing Li
Sustainability 2023, 15(24), 16842; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152416842 - 14 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 684
Abstract
After the proposal of the carbon neutrality target, the reduction carbon emissions in China has become increasingly critical. The rapid advancement of new infrastructures, such as 5G infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and the industrial Internet, is a key factor influencing the change in carbon [...] Read more.
After the proposal of the carbon neutrality target, the reduction carbon emissions in China has become increasingly critical. The rapid advancement of new infrastructures, such as 5G infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and the industrial Internet, is a key factor influencing the change in carbon intensity through complex mechanisms, which necessitates a comprehensive understanding of their impact on regional carbon emission intensity. We employ the “structure-technology” effect as the transmission pathway and construct a model based on the STIRPAT model to compare and analyze the disparities in the influence of new infrastructures on the entire country and various regions. Moreover, spatial effects are also taken into consideration to investigate the pivotal areas for carbon emission reduction. The main results are as follows: (1) The carbon emission intensity in China demonstrates a consistent annual decline from 2011 to 2020. Regional disparities exist in both carbon emission intensity and the development of new infrastructure, with the western region exhibiting higher carbon emission intensity and lower investment in new infrastructure. (2) New infrastructure has the potential to positively impact the reduction of regional carbon intensity. However, the presence of an inverted U-shaped relationship suggests that China should avoid the indiscriminate expansion of new infrastructure. Instead, such projects can facilitate industrial structure optimization and technological advancements. (3) When considering regional nuances, the effect of industrial optimization is partially mediating in eastern and central China but obscuring in the western region. On the other hand, technological progress exhibits complete mediation in the central region. In conclusion, this study recommends specific measures for carbon emission reduction at both national and regional levels, accounting for the unique circumstances surrounding China’s ongoing development of new infrastructure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Mitigation: Drivers and Barriers)
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19 pages, 4480 KiB  
Article
Evolution Characteristics and Main Influencing Factors of Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Chinese Cities from 2005 to 2020
by Xiaodong Zhang, Yongjun Tang, Haoying Han and Zhilu Chen
Sustainability 2023, 15(20), 14849; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152014849 - 13 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 759
Abstract
Based on the carbon emission database of the China Urban Greenhouse Gas Working Group, this paper analyzed the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and main influencing factors of urban carbon dioxide emissions in China using ArcGIS spatial analysis and SPSS statistical analysis methods, in order [...] Read more.
Based on the carbon emission database of the China Urban Greenhouse Gas Working Group, this paper analyzed the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and main influencing factors of urban carbon dioxide emissions in China using ArcGIS spatial analysis and SPSS statistical analysis methods, in order to provide a reference for the formulation of the national “double-carbon” strategy and the construction of low-carbon urbanization. The results showed that (1) the urban carbon dioxide emissions in China exhibit a “point-line-area” spreading spatial grid. Carbon dioxide emissions form a planar emission pattern surrounded by the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei urban agglomeration, Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, and Central Plains urban agglomeration. A high per capita and high-intensity emission belt from Xinjiang to Inner Mongolia has been formed. (2) The proportion of industrial emissions continues to decrease, and the range of high industrial emissions has gradually crossed the “Hu Huan-yong Line”, spreading from eastern China to the whole country. The emissions from transportation, the service industry, and households have become new growth points, and high-value emissions from households have also shown a nationwide spreading trend. (3) The main factors influencing the spatial distribution of carbon dioxide emissions are urbanization, the economy, industry, investment, and household energy consumption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Mitigation: Drivers and Barriers)
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23 pages, 3377 KiB  
Article
Life Cycle Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Sensitivity Analysis of Elevators
by Yanfang Dong, Caihang Liang, Lili Guo, Xiaoliang Cai and Weipeng Hu
Sustainability 2023, 15(17), 13133; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151713133 - 31 Aug 2023
Viewed by 1049
Abstract
With the intensification of climate warming, the carbon dioxide emissions from high-energy-consuming elevators have attracted increasing societal attention. The assessment of carbon dioxide emissions, particularly the boundaries and strategies of carbon dioxide emissions accounting, lacks systematic research. However, an efficient evaluation of elevator [...] Read more.
With the intensification of climate warming, the carbon dioxide emissions from high-energy-consuming elevators have attracted increasing societal attention. The assessment of carbon dioxide emissions, particularly the boundaries and strategies of carbon dioxide emissions accounting, lacks systematic research. However, an efficient evaluation of elevator carbon dioxide emissions is beneficial for improving elevator energy utilization. A carbon dioxide emissions accounting method and inventory analysis of a life cycle for an elevator is proposed to measure the carbon dioxide emissions from production to disposal. In addition, a new assessment indicator, namely, annual carbon dioxide emissions per ton·kilometer, is proposed to evaluate the carbon dioxide emissions for different types of elevators. The lifetime carbon dioxide emissions of the elevator and its sensitivity to influencing factors were assessed. The results indicate that the carbon dioxide emissions in the four stages of manufacturing, installation, operation and maintenance, and demolition and scraping contributed 41.31%, 0.92%, 57.32% and 0.44%, respectively. The annual carbon dioxide emissions of the elevator were about 27.18 kgCO2/t·km. The four primary factors affecting CO2 emissions were electricity consumption, printed circuit boards, low-alloy steel and chrome steel in descending order. Their probability distribution characteristics all obeyed triangular or uniform distributions. The median of their 95% confidence intervals was about 73,800. Their coefficients of variation were all below 2.1%. The effective strategies for energy conservation and carbon reduction were suggested by the life cycle impactor assessment. They also provide guidance for sustainable elevators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Mitigation: Drivers and Barriers)
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26 pages, 3264 KiB  
Article
Spatial Correlation Network Structure of Carbon Emission Efficiency of Railway Transportation in China and Its Influencing Factors
by Ningxin Zhang, Yu Zhang and Hanli Chen
Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9393; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129393 - 11 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 939
Abstract
Railway carbon emissions reduction is of great significance. In this study, carbon emission efficiency in railway transportation in China’s 31 provinces is measured for 2006–2019 based on an unexpected output slack-based measure (SBM) model. A gravity matrix of the spatial correlation network for [...] Read more.
Railway carbon emissions reduction is of great significance. In this study, carbon emission efficiency in railway transportation in China’s 31 provinces is measured for 2006–2019 based on an unexpected output slack-based measure (SBM) model. A gravity matrix of the spatial correlation network for carbon emission efficiency is constructed using the modified gravity model, the spatial network structure is explored using social network analysis, and the factors influencing the spatial network are analyzed using the quadratic assignment procedure (QAP) model. Based on the results, several conclusions can be drawn: (1) the carbon emissions efficiency of railway transportation in China increased periodically during the study period, but there are still great differences between regions. (2) The carbon emission efficiency in railway transportation shows significant characteristics of spatial correlation networks. (3) The inter-provincial associations gradually increased, while there are still large regional differences in the spatial correlation network. (4) Differences in spatial adjacency, economic development and scientific and technological advancement have significant positive impacts on the spatial correlation network. This research will help policy makers formulate relevant policies to promote the regional coordinated development of low-carbon railway transportation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Mitigation: Drivers and Barriers)
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19 pages, 3736 KiB  
Article
Study on the Spatial Differences, Dynamic Evolution and Convergence of Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions
by Lipeng Huang, Xiangyan Geng and Jianxu Liu
Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5329; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065329 - 17 Mar 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1082
Abstract
Reducing carbon emissions is essential for global sustainable development and has become a key concern around the world. In this study, we analyzed the spatial differences, dynamic evolution and convergence characteristics of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 92 countries from [...] Read more.
Reducing carbon emissions is essential for global sustainable development and has become a key concern around the world. In this study, we analyzed the spatial differences, dynamic evolution and convergence characteristics of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 92 countries from 1990 to 2021. The Dagum Gini coefficient, Kernel density analysis, Markov chain analysis and fixed effect model were used in this study. The results showed that, from the perspective of overall differences, the overall differences in global CO2 emissions during the study period showed a gradually increasing trend, and the inequality trend became more and more obvious. Based on the perspective of distribution dynamics, there is an obvious spatial disequilibrium of global CO2 emissions. In terms of the evolution law, its distribution dynamic law is relatively stable, the relative position of CO2 emissions is relatively stable, and different groups transfer to themselves with a greater probability. There is no obvious σ convergence in global CO2 emissions, but there is absolute β convergence. This study innovatively analyzed the differential characteristics of carbon dioxide emissions from a global perspective. The research results can provide a reference for clarifying countries’ carbon emission reduction responsibilities and promoting the green transformation of the global economy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Mitigation: Drivers and Barriers)
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25 pages, 1715 KiB  
Article
Influence of Clean Energy and Financial Structure on China’s Provincial Carbon Emission Efficiency—Empirical Analysis Based on Spatial Spillover Effects
by Ying Xie and Minglong Zhang
Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3339; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043339 - 11 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1132
Abstract
Clean energy is an essential means to limiting carbon emissions and improving economic transformation, and a market-oriented financial structure is the inevitable result of the deepening of supply-side financial reforms. Exploring whether clean energy enhances carbon emission efficiency (CEE) through financial structural adjustment [...] Read more.
Clean energy is an essential means to limiting carbon emissions and improving economic transformation, and a market-oriented financial structure is the inevitable result of the deepening of supply-side financial reforms. Exploring whether clean energy enhances carbon emission efficiency (CEE) through financial structural adjustment is essential in formulating policies intended to achieve the dual goals of “carbon peaking” and “carbon neutrality”. As part of the evaluation of China’s provincial CEE using panel data of 30 provinces from 2000 to 2019, this paper adopts an improved nonradial directional distance function (NDDF), while empirically analyzing the influence of clean energy and a market-oriented financial structure on CEE using a spatial econometric model. The results indicate the following findings: (1) The provincial CEE in China is characterized by significant spatial autocorrelation. (2) A 1% increase in the integration of clean energy and a market-oriented financial structure leads to a 0.0032% increase in the local CEE and a 0.0076% increase in neighboring regions’ CEE through the spatial spillover effect. Clean energy can efficiently enhance CEE through the stock market, while it has a passive impact through bank credit. (3) The interactive effect between clean energy and a market-oriented financial structure varies according to the provincial CEE. From the 25th to the 90th quantiles, the role of clean energy in promoting CEE through the capital market is very significant, while clean energy inhibits CEE through bank credit in most provinces. Therefore, China’s clean energy development will bolster its competitiveness in the global market through a market-oriented financial structure that will bring economic development and environmental pollution into balance and provide a theoretical foundation for China’s double carbon reduction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Emission Mitigation: Drivers and Barriers)
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