The effect of building retrofit measures on CO2 emissions reduction – A case study with U.S. Medium office buildings

Building retrofit has great potential to reduce CO2 emissions since buildings are responsible for 36% of emissions in the United States. Several existing studies have examined the effect of building retrofit measures on CO2 emission reduction. However, these studies oversimplified emission factors of electricity by adopting constant annual emission factors. This study uses hourly emission factors of electricity to analyze the effect of building retrofit measures on emission reduction using U.S. medium office buildings as an example. We analyzed CO2 emission reduction effects of eight building retrofit measures that related to envelop and mechanical system in five locations: Tampa, San Diego, Denver, Great Falls, and International Falls. The main findings are: (1) estimating CO2 emission reduction with constant emission factors overestimates the emission reduction for most measures in San Diego, while it underestimates the emission reduction for most measures in Denver and International Falls; (2) The same retrofit measure may have different effects in CO2 emission reduction depending on the climates. For instance, improving lighting efficiency and improving equipment efficiency have less impacts in emission reduction in cold climates than hot climates; and (3) The most energy efficient measure may not be the most emission efficient measure. For example, in Great Falls, the most energy efficient measure is improving equipment efficiency, but the most emission efficient measure is improving heating efficiency.

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Pulp and Paper Industry: Decarbonisation Technology Assessment to Reach CO2 Neutral Emissions—An Austrian Case Study

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14041161 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 1161

Author(s):

Maedeh Rahnama Mobarakeh ◽

Miguel Santos Silva ◽

Thomas Kienberger

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Co2 Emissions ◽

Emission Reduction ◽

Co2 Emission ◽

Manufacturing Industry ◽

Paper Industry ◽

Heat Pumps ◽

Pulp And Paper ◽

Low Carbon ◽

Co2 Emission Reduction

The pulp and paper (P&P) sector is a dynamic manufacturing industry and plays an essential role in the Austrian economy. However, the sector, which consumes about 20 TWh of final energy, is responsible for 7% of Austria’s industrial CO2 emissions. This study, intending to assess the potential for improving energy efficiency and reducing emissions in the Austrian context in the P&P sector, uses a bottom-up approach model. The model is applied to analyze the energy consumption (heat and electricity) and CO2 emissions in the main processes, related to the P&P production from virgin or recycled fibers. Afterward, technological options to reduce energy consumption and fossil CO2 emissions for P&P production are investigated, and various low-carbon technologies are applied to the model. For each of the selected technologies, the potential of emission reduction and energy savings up to 2050 is estimated. Finally, a series of low-carbon technology-based scenarios are developed and evaluated. These scenarios’ content is based on the improvement potential associated with the various processes of different paper grades. The results reveal that the investigated technologies applied in the production process (chemical pulping and paper drying) have a minor impact on CO2 emission reduction (maximum 10% due to applying an impulse dryer). In contrast, steam supply electrification, by replacing fossil fuel boilers with direct heat supply (such as commercial electric boilers or heat pumps), enables reducing emissions by up to 75%. This means that the goal of 100% CO2 emission reduction by 2050 cannot be reached with one method alone. Consequently, a combination of technologies, particularly with the electrification of the steam supply, along with the use of carbon-free electricity generated by renewable energy, appears to be essential.

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The Regional Inequity of CO2 Emissions per Capita in China

International Journal of Economics and Finance ◽

10.5539/ijef.v9n7p228 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 9 (7) ◽

pp. 228 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ting Liu ◽

Wenqing Pan

Keyword(s):

Co2 Emissions ◽

Emission Reduction ◽

Co2 Emission ◽

Energy Intensity ◽

Industrial Structure ◽

Theil Index ◽

Energy Structure ◽

Co2 Emission Reduction ◽

Index Method ◽

Per Capita

This paper combines Theil index method with factor decomposition technique to analyze China eight regions’ inequality of CO2 emissions per capita, and discuss energy structure, energy intensity, industrial structure, and per capita output’s impacts on inequality. This research shows that: (1) The trend of China regional carbon inequality is in the opposite direction to the per capita CO2 emission level. Namely, as the per capita CO2 emission levels rise, regional carbon inequality decreases, and vice versa. (2) Per capita output factor reduces regional carbon inequality, whereas energy structure factor and energy intensity factor increase the inequality. (3) More developed areas can reduce the carbon inequality by improving the energy structure, whereas the divergence of energy intensity in less developed areas has increased to expand the carbon inequity. Thus, when designing CO2 emission reduction targets, policy makers should consider regional differences in economic development level and energy efficiency, and refer to the main influencing factors. At the same time, upgrading industrial structure and upgrading energy technologies should be combined to meet the targets of economic growth and CO2 emission reduction.

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Input–Output Analysis of China’s CO2 Emissions in 2017 Based on Data of 149 Sectors

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13084172 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 4172

Author(s):

Fan He ◽

Yang Yang ◽

Xin Liu ◽

Dong Wang ◽

Junping Ji ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Co2 Emissions ◽

High Precision ◽

Emission Reduction ◽

Co2 Emission ◽

Assessment Model ◽

Raw Material ◽

Input Output ◽

Output Analysis ◽

Co2 Emission Reduction ◽

Emission Data

High-precision CO2 emission data by sector are of great significance for formulating CO2 emission reduction plans. This study decomposes low-precision energy consumption data from China into 149 sectors according to the high-precision input–output (I–O) table for 2017. An economic I–O life cycle assessment model, incorporating sensitivity analysis, is constructed to analyze the distribution characteristics of CO2 emissions among sectors. Considering production, the electricity/heat production and supply sector contributed the most (51.20%) to the total direct CO2 emissions. The top 10 sectors with the highest direct CO2 emissions accounted for > 80% of the total CO2 emissions. From a demand-based perspective, the top 13 sectors with the highest CO2 emissions emitted 5171.14 Mt CO2 (59.78% of the total), primarily as indirect emissions; in particular, the housing construction sector contributed 23.97% of the total. Based on these results, promoting decarbonization of the power industry and improving energy and raw material utilization efficiencies of other production sectors are the primary emission reduction measures. Compared with low-precision models, our model can improve the precision and accuracy of analysis results and more effectively guide the formulation of emission reduction policies.

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Social and Economic Factors of Industrial Carbon Dioxide in China: From the Perspective of Spatiotemporal Transition

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13084268 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 4268

Author(s):

Jingyuan Li ◽

Jinhua Cheng ◽

Beidi Diao ◽

Yaqi Wu ◽

Peiqi Hu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Dioxide ◽

Co2 Emissions ◽

Spatial Data ◽

Emission Reduction ◽

Co2 Emission ◽

Carbon Dioxide Emission ◽

Spatial Data Analysis ◽

Co2 Emission Reduction ◽

Intensity Effect ◽

Industrial Carbon

The reduction of CO2 emission has become one of the significant tasks to control climate change in China. This study employs Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) to identify the provinces in China with different types of spatiotemporal transition, and applies the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) to analyze the influencing factors of industrial CO2 emissions. Spatial autocorrelation of provincial industrial CO2 emissions from 2003 to 2017 has been demonstrated. The results are as follows: (1) 30 provinces in China are categorized into 8 types of spatiotemporal transition, among which 24 provinces are characterized by stable spatial structure and 6 provinces show significant spatiotemporal transition; (2) For all types of spatiotemporal transition, economic scale effect is mostly contributed to industrial CO2 emission, while energy intensity effect is the most crucial driving force to reduce industrial carbon dioxide emission; (3) provinces of type HH-HH, HL-HL and HL-HH are most vital for CO2 emission reduction, while the potential CO2 emission increase of developing provinces in LL-LL, LH-LH and LL-LH should also be taken into account. Specific measures for CO2 emission reduction are suggested accordingly.

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Green Scenarios for Power Generation in Vietnam by 2030

Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research ◽

10.48084/etasr.2658 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 4019-4026

Author(s):

V. H. M. Nguyen ◽

L. D. L. Nguyen ◽

C. V. Vo ◽

B. T. T. Phan

Keyword(s):

Power Generation ◽

Economic Development ◽

Co2 Emissions ◽

Cost Reduction ◽

Emission Reduction ◽

Co2 Emission ◽

Co2 Emission Reduction ◽

Renewable Sources ◽

Load Demand ◽

Generation Cost

Energy for future sustainable economic development is considered one crucial issue in Vietnam. This article aims to investigate green scenarios for power generation in Vietnam by 2030. Four scenarios named as business as usual (BAU), low green (LG), high green (HG) and crisis have been proposed for power generation in Vietnam with projection to 2030. Three key factors have been selected for these scenarios, namely: (1) future fuel prices, (2) reduction of load demand caused by the penetration of LED technology and rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems, and (3) the introduction of power generation from renewable sources. The least costly structure of power generation system has been found. CO2 emission reduction of HG in comparison to the BAU scenario and its effect on generation cost reduction are computed. Results show that BAU is the worst scenario in terms of CO2 emissions because of the higher proportion of power generation from coal and fossil fuels. LG and HG scenarios show their positive impacts both on CO2 emissions and cost reduction. HG is defined as the greenest scenario by its maximum potential on CO2 emission reduction (~146.92Mt CO2) in 2030. Additionally, selling mitigated CO2can make green scenarios more competitive to BAU and Crisis in terms of cost. Two ranges of generation cost (4.3-5.5 and 6.0-7.7US$cent/kWh) have been calculated and released in correspondence with low and high fuel price scenarios in the future. Using LED lamps and increasing the installed capacity of rooftop PVs may help reduce electric load demand. Along with the high contribution of renewable sources will make the HG scenario become more attractive both in environmental and economic aspects when the Crisis scenario comes. Generation costs of all scenarios shall become cheap enough for promoting economic development in Vietnam by 2030.

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Energy Consumption and CO2 Emissions of Coach Stations in China

Energies ◽

10.3390/en13143600 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (14) ◽

pp. 3600

Author(s):

Xuejing Zheng ◽

Boxiao Xu ◽

Shijun You ◽

Huan Zhang ◽

Yaran Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Thermal Comfort ◽

Energy Saving ◽

Co2 Emissions ◽

Emission Reduction ◽

Co2 Emission ◽

High Energy ◽

Hvac System ◽

Co2 Emission Reduction ◽

Annual Total

As a critical transportation infrastructure, with a high flow of people and high-energy consumption in China, coach stations have great potential in energy saving and CO2 emission reduction. In this paper, the building information and energy consumption data of 29 coach stations in five climate regions of China were obtained by field investigations. The annual total comprehensive building energy consumption was 31.37–128.08 kWh/(m2·a). The annual total CO2 emissions from building operation in the coach stations was 17.01–134.77 kgCO2/(m2·a). The heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system was the largest energy using and CO2 emissions sector: 30.42–72.47% of the energy consumption and 30.42–83.93% of the CO2 emissions were generated by HVAC system. The energy consumption and CO2 emission level of coach stations and that of other kinds of public buildings were compared. Results showed that the energy consumption and CO2 emission levels of coach stations investigated were relatively low, mainly because the passenger thermal comfort was scarified. Based on the investigation data, energy consumption analysis models of coach stations in five regions were established by simulation when the passenger thermal comfort was met. The potentials of energy saving and CO2 emission reduction were studied from forms of the HVAC system, heat recovery and natural illumination.

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Forecast and Analysis on Reducing China’s CO2 Emissions from Lime Industrial Process

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16030500 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (3) ◽

pp. 500

Author(s):

Qing Tong ◽

Sheng Zhou ◽

Yuefeng Guo ◽

Yang Zhang ◽

Xinyang Wei

Keyword(s):

Co2 Emissions ◽

Emission Intensity ◽

Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽

Emission Reduction ◽

Co2 Emission ◽

Prediction Method ◽

Industrial Process ◽

Co2 Emission Reduction ◽

Activity Data ◽

Greenhouse Gas Inventories

China greenhouse gas inventories show that CO2 emissions from the lime industrial process are large scales and closely related to the development of its downstream industries. Therefore, there is high importance to analyze and forecast on reducing China’s CO2 emissions from lime industrial process. The aims of this paper are to make up the research gaps in China and provide a quantitative reference for related authorities to formulate relevant policies. The prediction method in this paper is consistent with the published national inventory, which is an activity data based method to predict carbon dioxide emissions from the industrial process of four categories of lime products. Three future scenarios are assumed. The business as usual scenario (BAU) is a frozen scenario. There are two emission reduction scenarios (ERS and SRS) assumed under different emission reduction strength considering combined industrial process CO2 emission reduction approaches from both the production side and the consumption side. The results show that between 2020 and 2050, China’s lime industrial process has an increasingly significant CO2 emission reduction potential, enabling both emission intensity reductions and total emission reductions to be achieved simultaneously. Based on the simulation results from emission reduction scenarios, compared with 2012 level, in 2050, the emission intensity can be reduced by 13–27%, the total lime production can be reduced by 49–78%, and the CO2 emissions in the lime industrial process can be reduced by 57–85%.

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