scholarly journals A Study and Assessment of the Carbon Footprint of Tianjin University’s Weijin Road and Peiyangyuan Campuses, China

Author(s):  
abduxukur zayit ◽  
Kun Song ◽  
Antariksh Bhagwan Ghengare ◽  
Feng Gao

Abstract BackgroundA living University campus is like a model city; its energy and carbon auditing can also model how energy and carbon can be studied and analyzed in a city. China’s colleges and universities face grave problems, now and in the future - from declining quality of campus environments to deteriorating building performance, antiquated facilities, and inefficient energy and resources consumption. While research and discussion exists on improving existing university buildings’ energy performance and evaluation standards - much of that research focuses on energy savings, rather than on greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Calculation of campus carbon emissions is the first step for transforming and planning each existing university to carbon neutral campus. Some researchers of campus carbon emissions in China have made calculations, which, although as yet unpublished, create an initial framework for carbon-neutral campus plan targets. The present research gives an overview of universities’ drive towards sustainability in China and in other countries. The paper then details carbon footprint accounting steps, quantifying major carbon emission sources and carbon sequestration by vegetation inside the Tianjin University’s Weijin Road and Peiyangyuan Campuses. Results from China’s universities are compared with international results in the scientific literature. In this paper, based on this data, we suggest strategies and show preliminary target settings for how to transform Weijin Road into a carbon-neutral campus. ResultsAnnual carbon emissions for 2019 of the Weijin Road campus were 58,172.68 tonnes, (2.60 tonnes per person), and Peiyangyuan campus, 55,213.75 tonnes (2.46 tonnes per person). The largest sources of the two campuses’ greenhouse gas emissions were electricity and gas; Weijin Road campus; electricity = 61.42%, gas = 20.73%, and Peiyangyuan campus electricity = 69.32%, gas = 11.60%. Carbon sequestered in the two campuses by vegetation are 11,257.34 tonnes and 27,856.51 tonnes respectively. The renewable energy contribution to carbon reduction in Peiyangyuan campus is 50.85 tonnes.ConclusionPer person carbon emissions of Tianjin University’s two campuses are below the average for some US campuses, but are also greater than some in European countries. Research may investigate methods used by successful campuses towards becoming carbon neutral.

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Asim Hasan ◽  
Rahil Akhtar Usmani

Rising greenhouse gas emissions is an important issue of the current time. India’s massive greenhouse gas emissions is ranked third globally. The escalating energy demand in the country has opened the gateway for further increase in emissions. Recent studies suggest strong nexus between energy consumption, economic growth, and carbon emissions. This study has the objective to empirically test the aforementioned interdependencies. The co-integration test and multivariate vector error correction model (VECM) are used for the analysis and the Granger Causality test is used to establish the direction of causality. The time-series data for the period of 1971–2011 is used for the analysis. The results of the study confirm strong co-integration between variables. The causality results show that economic growth exerts a causal influence on carbon emissions, energy consumption exerts a causal influence on economic growth, and carbon emissions exert a causal influence on economic growth. Based on the results, the study suggests a policy that focuses on energy conservation and gradual replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy sources, which would be beneficial for the environment and the society.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 7-13
Author(s):  
Radik Safin ◽  
Ayrat Valiev ◽  
Valeriya Kolesar

Global climatic changes have a negative impact on the development of all sectors of the economy, including agriculture. However, the very production of agricultural products is one of the most important sources of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere. Taking into account the need to reduce the “carbon footprint” in food production, a special place is occupied by the analysis of the volume of greenhouse gas emissions and the development of measures for their sequestration in agriculture. One of the main directions for reducing emissions and immobilizing greenhouse gases is the development of special techniques for their sequestration in the soil, including those used in agriculture. Adaptation of existing farming systems for this task will significantly reduce the “carbon footprint” from agricultural production, including animal husbandry. The development of carbon farming allows not only to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also to significantly increase the level of soil fertility, primarily by increasing the content of organic matter in them. As a result, it becomes possible, along with the production of crop production, to produce “carbon units” that are sold on local and international markets. The paper analyzes possible greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and the potential for their sequestration in agricultural soils. The role of various elements of the farming system in solving the problem of reducing the “carbon footprint” is considered and ways of developing carbon farming in the Republic of Tatarstan are proposed


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 01030
Author(s):  
E. Adoir ◽  
S. Penavayre ◽  
T. Petitjean ◽  
L. De Rességuier

Viticulture faces two challenges regarding climate change: adapting and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Are these two challenges compatible? This is one of the questions to which Adviclim project (Life project, 2014–2019) provided tools and answers. The assessment of greenhouse gas emissions was implemented at the scale of the plot using a life cycle approach: calculating the carbon footprint. This approach makes it possible to take into account the emissions generated during each stage of the life cycle of a product or a service: in this case, the cultivation of one hectare of vine for one year. Carbon footprint was assessed for the 5 pilot sites of the Adviclim project: Saint-Emilion (France), Coteaux du Layon/Samur (France), Geisenheim (Germany), Cotnari (Romania) and Plompton (United Kingdom). An important work for primary data collection regarding observed practices was carried out with a sample of reresentative farms for these 5 sites, and for one to three vintages depending on the site. Beyond the question asked in the project, the calculation of these carbon footprints made it possible to (i) make winegrowers aware of the life cycle approach and the share of direct emissions generated by viticulture, (ii) acquire new references on the technical itineraries and their associated emissions, (iii) improve the adaptation of the methodology for calculating the carbon footprint to viticulture.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2753
Author(s):  
Rok Gomilšek ◽  
Lidija Čuček ◽  
Marko Homšak ◽  
Raymond R. Tan ◽  
Zdravko Kravanja

The production of primary aluminum is an energy-intensive industry which produces large amounts of direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions, especially from electricity consumption. Carbon Emissions Constrained Energy Planning proved to be an efficient tool for reducing energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. This study focuses on energy planning constrained by CO2 emissions and determines the required amount of CO2 emissions from electricity sources in order to meet specified CO2 emission benchmark. The study is demonstrated on and applied to specific aluminum products, aluminum slugs and aluminum evaporator panels. Three different approaches of energy planning are considered: (i) an insight-based, graphical targeting approach, (ii) an algebraic targeting approach of cascade analysis, and (iii) an optimization-based approach, using a transportation model. The results of the three approaches show that approximately 2.15 MWh of fossil energy source should be replaced with a zero-carbon or 2.22 MWh with a low-carbon energy source to satisfy the benchmark of CO2 emissions to produce 1 t of aluminum slug; however, this substitution results in higher costs. This study is the first of its kind demonstrated on and applied to specific aluminum products, and represents a step forward in the development of more sustainable practices in this field.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Rose ◽  
Amelia Willits-Smith ◽  
Martin Heller

Abstract Objectives The climate impacts of human food systems have been well documented. Guidance to individuals to reduce their dietary carbon footprint would benefit from simple advice, but little is known about the impact of simple changes on self-selected diets. Here we examine a random sample of high-impact diets from the U.S. to test the effects of a single change in each diet on greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) and nutritional quality. Methods Based on an extensive review of lifecycle assessment studies in the environmental sciences literature, we created a database of Food Impacts on the Environment for Linking to Diets (dataFIELD). We matched impact data from dataFIELD to the 24-hour recall dietary data in the 2005–2010 waves of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). For all adults with reliable diets (N = 16,800), we calculated their dietary carbon dioxide equivalents per 1000 kcal (kg CO2-eq 1000 kcal−1), a density measure of GHGE. A 10% random sample (N = 330) of all diets in the top quintile of this variable was selected. The single food item with the highest GHGE was identified in each of these high-impact diets and was substituted for an equal-calorie amount of a similar, but lower impact food (e.g., chicken for beef). Each of the 330 diets were then re-evaluated on total GHGE/1000 kcal and on the Healthy Eating Index, a summary measure of nutritional quality developed for the U.S. population. Results The food with the highest impact in each of the randomly chosen diets was most often a type of beef (52%), a mixed dish with beef (33%), or a shellfish/shellfish mixed dish (10%). After single-item substitutions were made for these foods with equivalent poultry-based items, the mean impact from this sample of diets dropped (p < .001) from 4.35 ± 0.1 to 1.95 ± 0.8 kg CO2-eq 1000 kcal−1. This represents a 54% reduction in average dietary greenhouse gas emissions from diets. Healthy Eating Index values for the revised diets showed slight improvements. Conclusions Simple substitutions can be made in individuals' diets to reduce their carbon footprints, without sacrificing dietary quality. If promoted on a wide-scale basis, such a strategy could substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S. diet. Funding Sources Wellcome Trust.


Buildings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Udara Willhelm Abeydeera ◽  
Karunasena

The need to mitigate climate change has become a major global concern, and greenhouse gas emissions are a major cause of global climate change. Therefore, the need to curb greenhouse gas emissions has been well recognized by global researchers, policymakers and academics. Carbon emissions of hotel operations have seized the attention of global researchers. However, carbon emissions of the hotels in developing countries remain to be a less explored domain. Therefore, carbon emissions of Sri Lankan hotels were explored using a case study approach. Five hotels in the Colombo suburb were explored, which revealed that each hotel released more than 7000 tons of carbon annually. Results further indicated the use of purchased electricity as the dominant source of carbon emissions. Emissions caused by transport activities were not included in the calculations due to the unavailability of data. Recommendations were made to overcome the issues identified during data collection as well as to reduce the carbon emissions from hotel operations. Wider adoption of the methodology used in this research will benefit the hotels to keep track of the carbon emissions using a systematic approach.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 5027 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shen ◽  
Shen ◽  
Yang

The increase in carbon emissions is considered one of the major causes of global warming and climate change. To reduce the potential environmental and economic threat from such greenhouse gas emissions, governments must formulate policies related to carbon emissions. Most economists favor the carbon tax as an approach to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This market-based approach is expected to inevitably affect enterprises’ operating activities such as production, inventory, and equipment investment. Therefore, in this study, we investigate a production inventory model for deteriorating items under a carbon tax policy and collaborative preservation technology investment from the perspective of supply chain integration. Our main purpose is to determine the optimal production, delivery, ordering, and investment policies for the buyer and vendor that maximize the joint total profit per unit time in consideration of the carbon tax policy. We present several numerical examples to demonstrate the solution procedures, and we conduct sensitivity analyses of the optimal solutions with respect to major parameters for identifying several managerial implications that provide a useful decision tool for the relevant managers. We hope that the study results assist government organizations in selecting a more appropriate carbon emissions policy for the carbon reduction trend.


2009 ◽  
Vol 11 (03) ◽  
pp. 291-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
MICHAEL STEIN ◽  
ANSHUMAN KHARE

Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is one of the key requirements for sustainable production and consumption, but while the Canadian chemical industry has been very successful in reducing emissions to water and air, and while non- CO2 greenhouse gas emissions have been minimised as well, reduction of CO2 emissions has been less successful. The industry itself forecasts that further reduction of CO2 emissions will be minimal. On the other hand concerns about global warming are increasing, while at the same time the chemical industry increases its commitment to sustainability. Determining the carbon footprint of a chemical plant and of its products will help to identify more emissions reduction possibilities and is a necessary step for the further reduction of the chemical industry's environmental impact. Carbon footprint determination is a corporate goal for AkzoNobel, an international coatings and specialty chemicals company, but the carbon footprint is not yet established for many products, and the information available from the chemical industry is scarce. This paper presents a case study of AkzoNobel's Saskatoon Plant and its attempt to calculate and analyse the carbon footprint of the plant and its main products which are used in the potash industry.


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