scholarly journals Exploring effective short-lived climate pollutant mitigation scenarios by considering synergies and trade-offs of combinations of air pollutant measures and low carbon measures towards the level of the 2 °C target in Asia

2020 ◽  
Vol 261 ◽  
pp. 113650 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatsuya Hanaoka ◽  
Toshihiko Masui
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Mitigation Scenarios ◽  
Trade Offs

Understanding Indicator Choice for the Assessment of RD&D Financing of Low-Carbon Energy Technologies

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Sonnenschein
Keyword(s):  
Nordic Countries ◽  
Additional Research ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Research Development ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Standard Set ◽  
Low Carbon Energy

Rapid decarbonization requires additional research, development, and demonstration of low-carbon energy technologies. Various financing instruments are in place to support this development. They are frequently assessed through indicator-based evaluations. There is no standard set of indicators for this purpose. This study looks at the Nordic countries, which are leading countries with respect to eco-innovation. Different indicators to assess financing instruments are analysed with respect to their acceptance, the ease of monitoring, and their robustness. None of the indicators emerges as clearly superior from the analysis. Indicator choice is subject to trade-offs and leaves room for steering evaluation results in a desired direction. The study concludes by discussing potential policy implications of biases in indicator-based evaluation.

scholarly journals Achieve a low carbon supply chain through product mix

2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (10) ◽  
pp. 2468-2484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xu Chen ◽  
Xiaojun Wang
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Trade Policy ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Channel Structure ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Cap And Trade ◽  
Product Mix ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Carbon Supply ◽  
Trade Offs

Purpose In the era of climate change, industrial organizations are under increasing pressure from consumers and regulators to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of product mix as a strategy to deliver the low carbon supply chain under the cap-and-trade policy. Design/methodology/approach The authors incorporate the cap-and-trade policy into the green product mix decision models by using game-theoretic approach and compare these decisions in a decentralized model and a centralized model, respectively. The research explores potential behavioral changes under the cap-and-trade in the context of a two-echelon supply chain. Findings The analysis results show that the channel structure has significant impact on both economic and environmental performances. An integrated supply chain generates more profits. In contrast, a decentralized supply chain has lower carbon emissions. The cap-and-trade policy makes a different impact on the economic and environmental performances of the supply chain. Balancing the trade-offs is critical to ensure the long-term sustainability. Originality/value The research offers many interesting observations with respect to the effect of product mix strategy on operational decisions and the trade-offs between costs and carbon emissions under the cap-and-trade policy. The insights derived from the analysis not only help firms to make important operational and strategic decisions to reduce carbon emissions while maintaining their economic competitiveness, but also make meaningful contribution to governments’ policy making for carbon emissions control.

scholarly journals A Sectoral Eco-Efficiency Analysis on Urban-Industrial Symbiosis

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 3650 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuli Bian ◽  
Liang Dong ◽  
Zhaowen Liu ◽  
Lezhu Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Development ◽  
Moderate Increase ◽  
Industrial Symbiosis ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Economic Data ◽  
Inventory Analysis ◽  
Ecological Civilization ◽  
Output Analysis ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Low Carbon City

Urban-industrial symbiosis (UIS) is an important system innovation via sectors integration, and has been widely recognized as a novel pathway for achieving regional eco-industrial development. Eco-efficiency, as a mature approach and indicator, offers an effective tool to uncover both the status and trends of such a transformation. However, most studies have focused on the whole industry or city as a whole, which has meant that a view from the sectoral level focusing on UIS was missing. To fill this research gap, this paper applied a modified eco-efficiency approach using integrating input–output analysis (IOA) and carbon footprint (CFP) to identify the eco-efficiency benefits of UIS from a sectoral level. Specifically, sector-level economic data (as economic outputs) and CFP (as environmental impacts) are used to calculate the sectoral eco-efficiency. IOA helps to offer sectoral economic data, and, with integrating process-based inventory analysis, to conduct a CFP calculation at the sectoral level. To test the feasibility of the developed approach, urban industrial symbiosis scenarios in one typical industrial city of China were analyzed. This city is held up as the national pilot of the circular economy, low-carbon city, and ecological civilization in China. Scenarios analysis on a business as usual (no UIS) and with UIS implementation in 2012 were undertaken and compared with the change of sectoral CFP and eco-efficiency. The results highlighted a moderate increase in eco-efficiency and trade-offs in certain sectors, indicating that UIS was moderately effective in increasing the urban resource efficiency from a sectoral level, but a refined design was required. Policy recommendations are made based on the analytical results, to inform decision makers and urban and industrial managers seeking to improve the implementation of UIS as a means of achieving greater urban sustainability.

scholarly journals Climate Change Policy and Power Sector Reform in Mexico under the Golden Age of Gas

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
José María Valenzuela ◽  
Isabel Studer
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
The Political ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Political Commitment ◽  
Change Policy ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Term Energy ◽  
The One

Mexico’s low-carbon technology perspectives show lack of coherence with the rising ambition in climate change commitments, for which Mexico is internationally praised. The comparison of two recent energy reforms, corresponding to two administrations, explains this lack of coherence by, on the one hand, the permanence of a strong climate institutional framework devised as a means to increase energy security and, on the other hand, the political commitment to reduce electricity tariffs through the access to low-priced gas in North America. The chapter underscores the political economy trade-offs between the need for a strong climate commitment that provides a stable long-term energy transition pathway and the political and economic short-term benefits derived from low electricity tariffs.

scholarly journals The Costs and Trade-Offs of Green Central Banking: A Framework for Analysis

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (16) ◽  
pp. 5168
Author(s):  
Radu Șimandan ◽  
Cristian Păun
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Financial Stability ◽  
Central Banks ◽  
Central Banking ◽  
Smooth Transition ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Low Carbon Economy ◽  
Macroprudential Policies ◽  
Trade Offs

The participation of central banks in the fight against climate change has recently been advanced in several academic articles and policy papers. Since the emerging consensus is that climate change poses financial risks, the envisaged green central banking has a responsibility to address environmental sustainability as a means of promoting financial stability—an increasingly accepted goal of central banks in the post-financial crisis world. Thus far, the pro side of the argument is well represented in the literature, though often the benefits remain implicit: with the help of central banks via monetary and macroprudential policies, a smooth transition to a low-carbon economy would be somehow beneficial to all of us. With this article, we aim to add to this literature by looking at the costs and trade-offs of this course of action in light of the observation that the con side of the proposal has been only marginally addressed. We put forward a framework for the analysis of the costs and trade-offs of green central banking and exemplify the applicability of this framework by studying three cases of central banks for which the transition to green operation has been advanced. We find evidence that if costs and trade-offs are taken into account, the case in favor of greening central banks becomes less straightforward than is currently conveyed in the literature.

scholarly journals Exploring Low-Carbon Bus Options for Urban BRT Systems: The Case of Amman

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rana Imam ◽  
Seong-Cheol Kang ◽  
Diana Quezada
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Transport Systems ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Electric Bus ◽  
Diesel Buses

Being able to provide high-quality, metro-like transit service at a fraction of the cost of other options, bus rapid transit (BRT) has been viewed as one of the most cost-effective public mass transport systems suitable for urban areas. Considering significant amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) and air pollutant emissions are attributed to the transport sector, deploying low carbon buses for BRT systems should be of high priority. With a view to promoting low carbon buses instead of diesel buses for a BRT system currently being planned in Amman, Jordan, this paper evaluates several low carbon bus options – hybrid, plug-in hybrid, opportunity charging, trolleybus, and battery electric bus options – against the baseline case of diesel buses. While low carbon buses reduce GHG and air pollutant emissions often considerably, they usually require higher upfront capital costs and additional infrastructure investments. On the other hand, they tend to incur lower energy and maintenance costs and have a longer lifetime particularly for battery electric buses. All these advantages and disadvantages are included in the assessment of low carbon bus options relative to diesel buses. For the trunk routes of the Amman BRT, the analysis shows that the opportunity charging bus can be the most appealing option having a positive internal rate of return (IRR) for the incremental investment costs. For the feeder routes, both low carbon bus options considered, hybrid and battery electric, do not result in a positive IRR. Nevertheless, the battery electric bus is found to be a comparatively better option than the hybrid bus. In consideration of variability in several parameters used in the analysis such as capital expenditures, electricity price, and diesel price, a sensitivity analysis is conducted for both trunk and feeder routes. The results show that IRR could increase favorably under certain conditions.

scholarly journals Towards a Low-Carbon Economy: A Nexus-Oriented Policy Coherence Analysis in Greece

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chrysaida-Aliki Papadopoulou ◽  
Maria Papadopoulou ◽  
Chrysi Laspidou ◽  
Stefania Munaretto ◽  
Floor Brouwer
Keyword(s):  
Low Carbon ◽  
Agricultural Policies ◽  
Policy Coherence ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Low Carbon Economy ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Policy Objectives ◽  
The Many ◽  
Systematic Identification ◽  
Land Policies

The sustainable management of natural resources under climate change conditions is a critical research issue. Among the many approaches emerged in recent times, the so-called ‘nexus approach’ is gaining traction in academic and policy circles. The nexus approach presupposes the analysis of bio-physical, socio-economic and policy interlinkages among sectors (e.g., water, energy, food) for the identification of integrated solutions and the support of policy decisions. Ultimately, the nexus approach aims to identify synergies and trade-offs among the nexus dimensions. Concerning policy, the nexus approach focuses on policy coherence, i.e., the systematic identification and management of trade-offs and synergies between policies across sectors. This paper investigates the coherence between policies on the water-land-energy-food-climate nexus in Greece. The systematic analysis of policy documents led to the elicitation of nexus-related policy objectives and instruments. Then, the coherence among objectives and between objectives and instruments was assessed using the methodology proposed by Nilsson et al. A stakeholder (trans-disciplinary) orientation was adopted and the need to incorporate stakeholders’ recommendations as to policy coherence assessment was highlighted. Overall, the findings revealed that climate and food/agricultural policies represent critical future priorities in Greece by stimulating progress in other nexus-related policies (energy, water, land policies) and being positively influenced by them.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document