REA: Resource Exergy Analysis - A basic guideline for application focusing on energy systems evaluation

This publication provides a basic guideline to the application of Resource Exergy Analysis (REA) with a focus on energy systems evaluation. REA is a proven application of exergy analysis to the field of technology comparison.REA aims to help decision makers to obtain an indicator in addition to GHG emissions, that is grounded in science, namely Resource Consumption.Even if an energy system uses GHG-free energy increased Resource Consumption likely increases the need for fossil fuels and thus GHG emissions of the global economy. Resource Consumption can replace the less comprehensive Primary Energy Consumption as an indictor and reduce the risk of suboptimal decisions.Evaluating energy systems using REA is key to ensure that climate targets are reached in time.

China will maintain commitment to climate action

Significance The China-US joint declaration to enhance climate cooperation, made on the final day of the summit, gives cause for optimism, despite bilateral relations worsening overall. China’s low profile at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow last November should not be taken as indicating that the country is wavering on its commitment to climate action. Impacts There will be strong political pressure within China to meet climate targets ahead of time. China’s announcement that it will no longer finance overseas coal projects is a clear signal of support for the greening of BRI investments. Beijing will continue pushing for developed countries to meet climate finance commitments to developing countries.

Quo Vadis? Carbon Peak and Emission Network for China in the Post-Pandemic Era

China’s carbon peak greatly impacts global climate targets. Limited studies have comprehensively analyzed the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, changing emission network, and recent carbon intensity (CI) reduction on the carbon peak and the corresponding mitigation implications. Using a unique dataset at different levels, we project China’s CO2 emission by 2035 and analyze the time, volume, driver patterns, complex emission network, and policy implications of China’s carbon peak in the post- pandemic era. We develop an ensemble time-series model with machine learning approaches as the projection benchmark, and show that China’s carbon peak will be achieved by 2021–2026 with > 80% probability. Most Chinese cities and counties have not achieved carbon peaks response to the priority-peak policy and the current implementation of CI reduction should thus be strengthened. While there is a "trade off" between the application of carbon emission reduction technology and economic recovery in the post-pandemic era, a close cooperation of interprovincial CO2 emission is also warranted.

REA: Resource Exergy Analysis - A basic guidline for application

This publication provides a basic guideline to the application of Resource Exergy Analysis (REA). REA is a proven application of exergy analysis to the field of technology comparison. REA aims to help decision makers to obtain an indicator in addition to GHG emissions, that is grounded in science. Resource exergy consumption can replace the less comprehensive primary energy consumption as an indictor and reduce the risk of suboptimal decisions. Evaluating energy systems using REA is key to ensure that climate targets are reached in time.

Delaying carbon dioxide removal in the European Union puts climate targets at risk

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) will be essential to meet the climate targets, so enabling its deployment at the right time will be decisive. Here, we investigate the still poorly understood implications of delaying CDR actions, focusing on integrating direct air capture and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (DACCS and BECCS) into the European Union power mix. Under an indicative target of −50 Gt of net CO2 by 2100, delayed CDR would cost an extra of 0.12−0.19 trillion EUR per year of inaction. Moreover, postponing CDR beyond mid-century would substantially reduce the removal potential to almost half (−35.60 Gt CO2) due to the underused biomass and land resources and the maximum technology diffusion speed. The effective design of BECCS and DACCS systems calls for long-term planning starting from now and aligned with the evolving power systems. Our quantitative analysis of the consequences of inaction on CDR—with climate targets at risk and fair CDR contributions at stake—should help to break the current impasse and incentivize early actions worldwide.

Green Hydrogen in Europe: Do Strategies Meet Expectations?

Against the backdrop of the EU’s more ambitious climate targets, the technology of green hydrogen production has gained increasing importance in national plans to implement the energy transition.

Near and long-term perspectives on strategies to decarbonize China’s heavy-duty trucks through 2050

China needs to drastically reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from heavy-duty trucks (HDTs), a key emitter in the growing transport sector, in order to address energy security concerns and meet its climate targets. We address existing research gaps by modeling feasibility, applicability, and energy and emissions impacts of multiple decarbonization strategies at different points in time. China still relies heavily on coal power, so impacts of new HDT technologies depend on the timing of their introduction relative to progress toward non-fossil power. We use a bottom-up model to simulate HDT energy consumption and CO2 emissions through 2050. Results show that beginning to deploy battery electric and fuel-cell HDTs as early as 2020 and 2035, respectively, could achieve significant and the largest CO2 emissions reduction by 2050 with a decarbonized power sector. However, viable near-term strategies—improving efficiency and logistics, switching to liquefied natural gas—could halve HDTs’ current diesel consumption and CO2 emissions by 2050. Our results underscore the need for a mix of near- and long-term policy and technology options to decarbonize China’s HDTs.