scholarly journals Can Environmental Regulations Promote Greenhouse Gas Abatement in OECD Countries? Command-and-Control vs. Market-Based Policies

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6913
Author(s):  
Xu Guo ◽  
Lin Fu ◽  
Xiaohua Sun

In response to global warming, greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement has been one of the top priorities of governments, and a large variety of environmental regulation policies have been implemented in past decades. Using panel data from 27 OECD countries over the period of 2005–2012, this study measures and compares the stringency level of command-and-control and market-based environmental regulations. The differentiated impacts and indirect effects of environmental regulations on GHG emissions are tested empirically. The results show that: (1) Both command-and-control and market-based environmental regulations have effects on GHG abatement in OECD countries, and there is a non-linear relationship between environmental regulations and GHG discharge, in which stringent command-and-control environmental regulations and mild market-based regulation policies are preferred; (2) Command-and-control environmental regulations reduce GHG emissions by improving the technological level, rather than the energy consumption structure. In contrast, market-based environmental regulations can promote GHG abatement through the intermediary effects of both technological progress and the energy consumption structure. The findings provide implications for OECD countries to further reduce GHG emissions.

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 5664
Author(s):  
Wenjing Wei ◽  
Peter B. Samuelsson ◽  
Anders Tilliander ◽  
Rutger Gyllenram ◽  
Pär G. Jönsson

The primary energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from nickel smelting products have been assessed through case studies using a process model based on mass and energy balance. The required primary energy for producing nickel metal, nickel oxide, ferronickel, and nickel pig iron is 174 GJ/t alloy (174 GJ/t contained Ni), 369 GJ/t alloy (485 GJ/t contained Ni), 110 GJ/t alloy (309 GJ/t contained Ni), and 60 GJ/t alloy (598 GJ/t contained Ni), respectively. Furthermore, the associated GHG emissions are 14 tCO2-eq/t alloy (14 tCO2-eq/t contained Ni), 30 t CO2-eq/t alloy (40 t CO2-eq/t contained Ni), 6 t CO2-eq/t alloy (18 t CO2-eq/t contained Ni), and 7 t CO2-eq/t alloy (69 t CO2-eq/t contained Ni). A possible carbon emission reduction can be observed by comparing ore type, ore grade, and electricity source, as well as allocation strategy. The suggested process model overcomes the limitation of a conventional life cycle assessment study which considers the process as a ‘black box’ and allows for an identification of further possibilities to implement sustainable nickel production.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 965 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacek Brożyna ◽  
Wadim Strielkowski ◽  
Alena Fomina ◽  
Natalya Nikitina

Our paper focuses on the renewable energy and EU 2020 target for energy efficiency in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. We study the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in these two EU Member States through the prism of the Europe 2020 strategy and the 3 × 20 climate and energy package and economic growth (represented by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) that allows to measure the national dynamics and provide cross-country comparisons) without attributing specific attention to issues such as the electrification of transport or heating, and thence leaving them outside the scope of this paper. Both Czech Republic and Slovakia are two post-Communist countries that still face the consequences of economic transformation and struggle with the optimal management of natural resources. Both countries encountered profound system transformation after 1989 that are apparent in all three measures of sustainable development used in our study. We show that it is unlikely that the planned increase in renewable energy in the Czech Republic and Slovakia will reach its targets, but they might succeed in reducing their energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Our findings show that the energy intensity of Czech and Slovak economies increased in the early 2000s and then stabilized at a level about twice of the EU average. It appears that this value is likely to remain the same in the forthcoming years. However, implementation of GHG emissions in the Czech Republic and Slovakia may be at risk in case the proper energy policy is not maintained. Moreover, our results show how the increase in the share of renewable energy and improvement in energy efficiency go hand-in-hand with mining and exploiting the energy sources that is notorious for the transition economies. We also demonstrate that a proper energy policy is required for effectively reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. There is a need for commitments made by relevant stakeholders and policymakers targeted at achieving sustainable economic growth and energy efficiency. In addition, we demonstrate that there is a need for maintaining a proper balance between economic development and environmental protection, which is a must for the EU sustainable energy development agenda and all its accompanying targets for all its Member States.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 5514
Author(s):  
Seo-Hoon Kim ◽  
SungJin Lee ◽  
Seol-Yee Han ◽  
Jong-Hun Kim

A new government report on climate change shows that global emissions of greenhouse gases have increased to very high levels despite various policies to reduce climate change. Building energy accounts for 40% of the world’s energy consumption and accounts for 33% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. This study applied the LEAP (Long-range energy alternatives planning) model and Bass diffusion method for predicting the total energy consumption and GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions from the residential and commercial building sector of Sejong City in South Korea. Then, using the Bass diffusion model, three scenarios were analyzed (REST: Renewable energy supply target, BES: Building energy saving, BEP: Building energy policy) for GHG reduction. The GHG emissions for Sejong City for 2015–2030 were analyzed, and the past and future GHG emissions of the city were predicted in a Business-as-Usual (BAU) scenario. In the REST scenario, the GHG emissions would attain a 24.5% reduction and, in the BES scenario, the GHG emissions would attain 12.81% reduction by 2030. Finally, the BEP scenario shows the potential for a 19.81% GHG reduction. These results could be used to guide the planning and development of the new city.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olimpia Neagu ◽  
Mircea Teodoru

The aim of the paper is to examine the long-term relationship between economic complexity, energy consumption structure, and greenhouse gas emission, within a panel of European Union countries and two subpanels: (i) European economies with higher economic complexity and (ii) European economies with a lower level of economic complexity. Taking into consideration the heterogeneity among European countries, the heterogeneous panel technique is used, including panel estimation through fully modified least squares (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS). The empirical findings indicate a long-term equilibrium relationship between economic complexity, energy consumption structure and greenhouse gas emission within all three panels. Economic complexity and energy consumption structure have a statistically significant impact on greenhouse gas emission within all panels, but the influence is higher within the subpanel of countries with a lower level of economic complexity, suggesting a higher risk of pollution as the economic complexity grows and as the energy balance inclines in favor of non-renewable energy consumption. Our paper suggests that the economic complexity is a variable that must be taken into consideration when national economic and energy policies are shaped. Finally, policy implications for each panel of countries are discussed.


2012 ◽  
Vol 616-618 ◽  
pp. 1148-1153
Author(s):  
Dong Sun ◽  
Chu Xia Tong

This paper attempts to discuss the embodied energy consumption and embodied greenhouse gas emissions in manufacturing industry. Based the on input-output theory, this paper establishes the calculation model, which gives the calculation of embodied energy consumption and embodied greenhouse gas emissions of 2002 and 2007 respectively. By comparison, it draws the conclusion that the total direct energy consumption of 2007 is much more than the year of 2002, while the total embodied energy consumption is less than the year of 2002. However, Non-metallic mineral products, Metal smelting and pressing and Electric equipment and machinery perform otherwise. The reason accounting for the calculation results is that the embodied energy intensity is greatly decreased.


2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Prabang Setyono ◽  
Widhi Himawan ◽  
Cynthia Permata Sari ◽  
Totok Gunawan ◽  
Sigit Heru Murti

Considered as a trigger of climate change, greenhouse gas (GHG) is a global environmental issue. The City of Surakarta in Indonesia consists mainly of urban areas with high intensities of anthropogenic fossil energy consumption and, potentially, GHG emission. It is topographically a basin area and most likely prompts a Thermal Inversion, creating a risk of accumulation and entrapment of air pollutants or GHGs at low altitudes. Vegetation has been reported to mitigate the rate of increase in emissions because it acts as a natural carbon sink. This study aimed to mitigate the GHG emissions from energy consumption in Surakarta and formulate recommendations for control. It commenced with calculating the emission factors based on the IPCC formula and determining the key categories using the Level Assessment approach. It also involved computing the vegetation density according to the NDVI values of the interpretation of Sentinel 2A imagery. The estimation results showed that in 2018, the emission loads from the energy consumption in Surakarta reached 1,217,385.05 (tons of CO2e). The key categories of these emissions were electricity consumption, transportation on highways, and the domestic sector, with transportation on highways being the top priority. These loads have exceeded the local carrying capacity because they create an imbalance between emission and natural GHG sequestration by vegetations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Hui Li ◽  
Chuandang Zhao ◽  
Xiaoying Tang ◽  
Jiawei Cheng ◽  
Guanyang Lu ◽  
...  

Environmental regulation policies are being continuously enriched today. To effectively improve green innovation efficiency through environmental regulations, it is urgent to better understand the impact of different environmental regulations on green innovation efficiency (GIE). However, due to the defects of previous methods for measuring GIE, existing studies may have deviations when analysing the effect of environmental regulations on GIE. To fill this gap, using Shaanxi, China, as a case study, the present study proposes a network data envelopment analysis (DEA) model based on neutral cross-efficiency evaluation to accurately measure the GIE of Shaanxi during the period of 2001–2017. On this basis, this study further analysed the impact of different types of environmental regulations on GIE from three aspects: causality, evolutionary relationships, and effect paths. The results indicate that (1) the GIE of Shaanxi Province showed a “fluctuation-slow growth-steady growth” trend during 2001–2017, and after 2014, the problem of an uncoordinated relationship between technology research and design (R&D) and technology transformation began to appear; (2) there was a linear evolutionary relationship between command-and-control environmental regulation and GIE and a “U”-shaped evolutionary relationship between market-based/voluntary environmental regulation and GIE; and (3) command-and-control environmental regulation and voluntary environmental regulation affected GIE mainly at the technology R&D stage, while market-based environmental regulation ran through the entire process of green innovation activities. This study improves the evaluation methods and theoretical systems of GIE and provides the scientific basis for government decision-makers to formulate environmental regulation policies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Astley Hastings ◽  
Pete Smith

The challenge facing society in the 21st century is to improve the quality of life for all citizens in an egalitarian way, providing sufficient food, shelter, energy, and other resources for a healthy meaningful life, while at the same time decarbonizing anthropogenic activity to provide a safe global climate, limiting temperature rise to well-below 2°C with the aim of limiting the temperature increase to no more than 1.5°C. To do this, the world must achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. Currently spreading wealth and health across the globe is dependent on growing the GDP of all countries, driven by the use of energy, which until recently has mostly been derived from fossil fuel. Recently, some countries have decoupled their GDP growth and greenhouse gas emissions through a rapid increase in low carbon energy generation. Considering the current level of energy consumption and projected implementation rates of low carbon energy production, a considerable quantity of fossil fuels is projected to be used to fill the gap, and to avoid emissions of GHG and close the gap between the 1.5°C carbon budget and projected emissions, carbon capture and storage (CCS) on an industrial scale will be required. In addition, the IPCC estimate that large-scale GHG removal from the atmosphere is required to limit warming to below 2°C using technologies such as Bioenergy CCS and direct carbon capture with CCS to achieve climate safety. In this paper, we estimate the amount of carbon dioxide that will have to be captured and stored, the storage volume, technology, and infrastructure required to achieve the energy consumption projections with net zero GHG emissions by 2050. We conclude that the oil and gas production industry alone has the geological and engineering expertise and global reach to find the geological storage structures and build the facilities, pipelines, and wells required. Here, we consider why and how oil and gas companies will need to morph from hydrocarbon production enterprises into net zero emission energy and carbon dioxide storage enterprises, decommission facilities only after CCS, and thus be economically sustainable businesses in the long term, by diversifying in and developing this new industry.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-112
Author(s):  
Wenjing Wei ◽  
Peter B. Samuelsson ◽  
Anders Tilliander ◽  
Rutger Gyllenram ◽  
Pär G. Jönsson

AbstractMolybdenum is mainly used as an alloy material in the iron and steel industry and typically in the form of ferromolybdenum (FeMo). The current study aims to evaluate the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) of four ferromolybdenum production cases using inventory inputs from a process model based on mass and energy conservations. The total energy required for producing 1 tonne of FeMo can vary between 29.1 GJ/t FeMo and 188.6 GJ/t FeMo. Furthermore, the corresponding GHG emissions differ from 3.16 tCO2-eq/t FeMo to 14.79 tCO2-eq/t FeMo. The main variances are from the mining and beneficiation stages. The differences in these stages come from the beneficiation degree (ore grade) and the mine type (i.e., co-product from copper mining). Furthermore, the mine type has a larger impact on the total energy consumption and GHG emissions than the beneficiation degree. More specifically, FeMo produced as co-product from copper mining has a lower environmental impact measured as the energy consumption and GHG emission among all the four cases. The inventory, consumed energy or associated GHG emission is independent on the initial ore grade and mine type in the downstream production stages such as roasting and smelting. Also, transport has the least impact on the energy consumption and GHG emission among all production stages.


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