A decomposition analysis of CO2 emissions: evidence from Malaysia’s tourism industry

The most important question raised from issues of environmental degradation is how economic activities bring about changes that will result in pollution. In the pursuit of tourism economy, contrary to popular interest, the travel and tourism (T&T) industry may cause environmental damages through the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from energy consumption in areas such as transportation and delivery of amenities. Given this major concern, this paper attempts to investigate the linkage between tourism and CO₂ emissions in Malaysia between 1981 and 2011. In particular, this study fills the knowledge gap by taking a closer look at the impact of international tourist arrivals on CO₂ emissions by sector – electricity and heat generation and transport. Results from the bound test method suggest that there exists a long-run relationship among the variables under consideration when CO₂ emissions become the dependent variable. The original result is similarly robust to alternatives, which are CO₂ emissions from sectors of electricity and heat generation and transport. Furthermore, the vector error correction model causality analysis indicates a causal relationship between tourism and CO₂ emissions by transport and electricity and heat generation. Subsequently, several tourism-related policies are drawn from these findings.     

Long-run dynamics of renewable energy consumption on carbon emissions and economic growth in the European union

This paper examines long-run and short-run dynamics of renewable energy consumption on carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and economic growth in the European Union. This study employs cointegration tests, Granger causality tests and vector error correction estimates to examine the direction of Granger causality, the long-run dynamics of economic growth and energy variables on carbon emissions. This study analyses time series data from the World Development Indicators over the period from1961 to 2012. The results of this study support a link between renewable energy consumption, economic growth, industrialization, exports and CO₂ emissions in the long-run and short-run. The results support that the sign of the long-run dynamics from the endogenous variables to the CO₂ emissions variable is negative and significant, which implies that the energy and environmental policies of the European Union aimed at curbing CO₂ emissions must have been effective in the long-term. Furthermore, renewable energy consumption and exports have significant negative impact on CO₂ emissions in the short-run. However, industrialization and economic growth have positive impact on CO₂ emissions in the short-run. The results suggest that both economic growth and industrialization must have been achieved at the cost of harming the environment. The finding suggests that the increasing consumption of renewable energy tends to play an important role in curbing carbon emissions in the region.     

Tourism effects on the environment and economic sustainability of sub-Saharan Africa

This paper integrates tourism, economic growth, and environmental issues in a multivariate format. Unlike recent research on this topic, a panel data of selected sample nations of sub-Saharan Africa is adopted by using cointegration and panel regression models. The current research discovers both long-run equilibrium and short-run dynamics between economic growth, tourism, energy use, and carbon emissions in sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, tourism and energy use show a highly significant direct impact on economic growth. In addition, tourism, energy use, and economic growth yield a highly significant positive effect on carbon emissions. Dissecting the region into oil producers and non-oil producers further suggests that the economic growth of sub-Saharan Africa has been accomplished by strong growth in tourism and energy use. However, there is highly significant evidence that in oil producing countries, CO₂ emissions are directly affected by energy use and economic growth and not by tourism. For non-oil producing countries, tourism and energy use but not economic growth incur a highly significant positive impact on carbon emissions.     

Evaluation of greenhouse gas emissions from wetland and agriculture ecosystems in Sanjiang Plain

Carbon dioxide (CO₂), nitrous oxide (N₂O) and methane (CH₄) are important greenhouse gases (GHGs). The objective of this study is to quantify the aggregate GHG (CH₄, N₂O and CO₂) emissions and estimate economic losses of three ecosystems (marsh, paddy field and upland) in the Sanjiang Plain, excluding the Muling-Xiangkai Plain, south of Wanda Mountain. The results indicate the economic losses from GHG emissions of marshes were from 6.40 to 7.75?×?10⁹ CNY (Chinese Yuan), those of paddy fields were from 1.41 to 3.20?×?10⁹ CNY; and from uplands were from 0.26 to 0.49?×?10⁹ CNY. Using linear trend analysis, the economic losses through GHG emissions of marshes fell between 1982 and 2005, but those from paddy fields and uplands increased. In our study, the sequence in magnitude of the economic losses from GHG emissions was: marshes > paddy fields > uplands. In fact, the economic value of GHG emissions was negative because of these adverse impacts on the environment. This article could provide a reference for calculation of GHG exchange. The results suggest that improvement of fertiliser use efficiency for more precise agricultural management and returning straw to cropland could mitigate GHG emissions and would help to achieve sustainable development.     

Challenge of global climate change: Prospects for a new energy paradigm

Perspectives on the challenge posed by potential future climate change are presented including a discussion of prospects for carbon capture followed either by sequestration or reuse including opportunities for alternatives to the use of oil in the transportation sector. The potential for wind energy as an alternative to fossil fuel energy as a source of electricity is outlined including the related opportunities for cost effective curtailment of future growth in emissions of CO₂.     

Economic and environmental performance of electricity production in Finland: A multicriteria assessment framework

Meeting environmental, economic, and societal targets in energy policy is complex and requires a multicriteria assessment framework capable of exploring trade-offs among alternative energy options. In this study, we integrated economic analysis and biophysical accounting methods to investigate the performance of electricity production in Finland at plant and national level. Economic and environmental costs of electricity generation technologies were assessed by evaluating economic features (direct monetary production cost), direct and indirect use of fossil fuels (GER cost), environmental impact (CO₂ emissions), and global environmental support (emergy cost). Three scenarios for Finland's energy future in 2025 and 2050 were also drawn and compared with the reference year 2008. Accounting for an emission permit of 25 €/t CO₂, the production costs calculated for CHP, gas, coal, and peat power plants resulted in 42, 67, 68, and 74 €/MWh, respectively. For wind and nuclear power a production cost of 63 and 35 €/MWh were calculated. The sensitivity analysis confirmed wind power's competitiveness when the price of emission permits overcomes 20 €/t CO₂. Hydro, wind, and nuclear power were characterized by a minor dependence on fossil fuels, showing a GER cost of 0.04, 0.13, and 0.26 J/J_e, and a value of direct and indirect CO₂ emissions of 0.01, 0.04, and 0.07 t CO₂/MWh. Instead, peat, coal, gas, and CHP plants showed a GER cost of 4.18, 4.00, 2.78, and 2.33 J/J_e. At national level, a major economic and environmental load was given by CHP and nuclear power while hydro power showed a minor load in spite of its large production. The scenario analysis raised technological and environmental concerns due to the massive increase of nuclear power and wood biomass exploitation. In conclusion, we addressed the need to further develop an energy policy for Finland's energy future based on a diversified energy mix oriented to the sustainable exploitation of local, renewable, and environmentally friendly energy sources.     

Emissionen und Minderungspotential von HFKW, FKW und SF6 in Deutschland

The greenhouse gases subject to emission reduction commitments under the UN Climate Convention include the fluorinated compounds sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The present study projects the emissions of these gases in Germany over the 1995–2010 period, with and without additional emission abatement efforts In the business-as-usual scenario, total emissions of the three fluorinated gases rise over the 1995–2010 period from 11,1 to 27.4 million tonnes CO₂ equivalent. This rise is attributable to 72% to HFCs, used above all for refrigeration and stationary air-conditioning, for mobile air-conditioning, for blowing extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam and for one-component polyurethane (PU) foam. Soundproof glazing is the largest SF₆ emission sector. Most PFC emissions come from semiconductor manufacturing and aluminium smelting. The reduction scenario does not achieve a stabilisation of fluorinated gas emissions either. The rate of growth is only slowed, with 11.1 million tonnes CO₂ equivalent in 1995 growing to 14.9 million in 2010. The measures proposed to attenuate emissions growth are: mandatory equipment maintenance in refrigeration and stationary air-conditioning, refrigerant substitution of HFCs by CO₂ in mobile air-conditioning, partial HFC substitution by CO₂ in XPS foam blowing, 95% HFC substitution by flammable hydrocarbons in one-component PU foam. Complete SF₆ phase-out is considered to be feasible in soundproof glazing. The PFC emissions of the semiconductor industry can be cut by 85% by new chamber cleaning technologies.     

Cointegration and causality: considering Iberian economic activity sectors to test the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis

Few studies have attempted to study the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis at the individual sector level using more than one sector at once. This paper investigates the existence of the EKC hypothesis in the Iberian countries (Portugal and Spain) using thirteen economic activity sectors for each, analyzing each individual sector’s cointegration and causality relationships considering carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, sector gross value added and energy consumption. The findings of this paper using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach only validate cointegration in six Portuguese sectors and in five of the Spanish sectors. Results confirm both short- and long-run bi-directional and unidirectional causality between economic growth, energy consumption and CO2 emissions, using the error correction model (ECM) and Toda and Yamamoto’s causality approaches. Moreover, results for Portuguese and Spanish sectors indicate an inverted U-shaped relationship only for one sector each. In some sectors there was evidence of a U-shaped relationship and in others the EKC hypothesis could be verified but no statistical significance was obtained. The study has significant contributions for sector policy, including implications to curtail energy pollutants by implementing environmental friendly regulations to sustain economic development at the sector level in the Iberian market. It also allows inferences to be made about the existence of different behaviors in comparative terms for the same economic activity sectors of the individual countries.     

Effects of boreal forest management practices on the climate impact of CO2 emissions from bioenergy

In Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from biomass combustion are traditionally assumed climate neutral if the bioenergy system is CO₂ flux neutral, i.e. the quantity of CO₂ released approximately equals the amount of CO₂ sequestered in biomass. This convention is a plausible assumption for fast growing biomass species, but is inappropriate for slower growing biomass, like forests. In this case, the climate impact from biomass combustion can be potentially underestimated if CO₂ emissions are ignored, or overestimated, if biogenic CO₂ is considered equal to anthropogenic CO₂. The estimation of the effective climate impact should take into account how the CO₂ fluxes are distributed over time: the emission of CO₂ from bioenergy approximately occurs at a single point in time, while the absorption by the new trees is spread over several decades. Our research target is to include this dynamic time dimension in unit-based impact analysis, using a boreal forest stand as case study. The boreal forest growth is modelled with an appropriate function, and is investigated under different forestry regimes (affecting the growth rate and the year of harvest). Specific atmospheric decay functions for biomass-derived CO₂ are then elaborated for selected combinations of forest management options. The contribution to global warming is finally quantified using the GWP_bio index as climate metric. Results estimates the effects of these practices on the characterization factor used for the global warming potential of CO₂ from bioenergy, and point out the key role played by the selected time horizon.     

Integrierte Treibhausgasbewertung der Prozessketten von Erdgas und industriellem Biomethan in Deutschland

Background The use of natural gas has increased in the last years. In the future, its import supply and transport structure will diversify (longer distances, higher share of LNG (liquefied natural gas), new pipelines). Thus the process chain and GHG emissions of the production, processing, transport and distribution might change. Simultaneously, the injection of bio methane into the natural gas grid is becoming more important. Although its combustion is regarded as climate neutral, during the production processes of bio methane GHG emissions are caused. The GHG emissions occurring during the process chain of energy fuels are relevant for the discussion on climate policy and decision making processes. They are becoming even more important, considering the new Fuel Quality Directive of the EU (Dec. 2008), which aims at controlling emissions of the fuel process chains. Aim In the context of the aspects outlined above the aim is to determine the future development of gas supply for Germany and the resulting changes in GHG emissions of the whole process chain of natural gas and bio methane. With the help of two gas consumption scenarios and an LCA of bio methane, the amount of future emissions and emission paths until 2030 can be assessed and used to guide decision processes in energy policy. Results and discussion The process chain of bio methane and its future technical development are outlined and the related emissions calculated. The analysis is based on an accompanying research study on the injection of bio methane to the German gas grid. Two types of biogas plants have been considered whereof the “optimised technology” is assumed to dominate the future market. This is the one which widely exploits the potential of process optimisation of the current “state of the art” plant. The specific GHG emissions of the process chain can thus be nearly halved from currently 27.8?t CO₂-eq./TJ to 14.8?t CO₂-eq./TJ in 2030. GHG emissions of the natural gas process chain have been analysed in detail in a previous article. Significant modifications and a decrease of specific emissions is possible, depending on the level of investment in the modernisation of the gas infrastructure and the process improvements. These mitigation options might neutralise the emission increase resulting from longer distances and energy intensive processes. In the last section two scenarios (low and high consumption) illustrate the possible development of the German gas supply until 2030, given an overall share of 8–12?% of bio methane. Considering the dynamic emission factors calculated in the former sections, the overall gas emissions and average specific emissions of German gas supply can be given. The current emissions of 215.4 million t CO₂-eq. are reduced by 25?% in the low-consumption scenario (162 million t CO₂-eq.), where consumption is reduced by 17?%. Assuming a consumption which is increased by 17?% in 2030, emissions are around 7?% higher (230.9 million t CO₂-eq.) than today. Conclusions Gaseous fuels will still play a significant role for the German energy supply in the next two decades. The GHG emissions mainly depend on the amount of gas used. Thus, energy efficiency will be a key issue in the climate and energy related policy discussion. A higher share of bio methane and high investments in mitigation and best available technologies can significantly reduce the emissions of the process chain. The combustion of bio methane is climate neutral compared to 56?t CO₂/TJ caused by the direct combustion of natural gas (or 111?t CO₂/TJ emitted by lignite). The advantage of gaseous energy carriers with the lowest levels of GHG emissions compared to other fossil fuels still remains. This holds true for fossil natural gas alone as well as for the expected future blend with bio-methane.     

Embodied energy and emergy evaluation of a typical biodiesel production chain in China

Biodiesel from non-grain feedstock has been considered as one of the proper substitutes for fossil fuels associated with a series of activities emerging in China in order to meet the resource shortage and develop the energy crops. This paper presents an ecological accounting framework based on embodied energy, emergy, and CO₂ emission for the whole production chain of biodiesel made from Jatropha curcas L. (JCL) oil. The energy and materials invested in and CO₂ emission from the whole process, including cropping, transportation, extraction, and production, are accounted and calculated. Also, E_mCO₂, the ratio of real CO₂ released to the emergy-based sustainability indicator per joule biodiesel, is proposed in this paper to present a new goal function for low-carbon system optimization. Finally, the results are compared with those of the bioethanol (wheat) production in Henan Province, China, and bioethanol (corn) production in Italy in view of the indices of embodied energy, emergy and CO₂ emissions and E_mCO₂.     

Modeling a sustainable Saudi Arabian economy: the real issues

This paper develops a macroeconomic framework for creating a competitive and sustainable Saudi Arabian economy, taking into account the interrelationships among social, environmental, and economic factors. The objective of the research is to build a model that will allow for evaluating the effects of a wide range of emissions abatement policies on economic growth and development. The research methodology is grounded in econometric modeling of the Saudi economy over the period 1980–2010. The estimated parameters of the model were used to project long-term gross domestic product (GDP) growth paths based on three environmental degradation abatement scenarios. The results suggest that the sustainability of economic growth in Saudi Arabia critically depends on aggressive emissions-reduction policies since policy scenarios corresponding to higher pollution cuts yielded higher, sustained long-term GDP. The results also broadly reject the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, implying that a turning point in the relationship between CO₂ emissions and per capita GDP is yet to be attained.     

Taking CO2 emissions into a country's productivity change: The Asian growth experience

A country's macroeconomic policies have two basic objectives: to provide its citizens with a means to make a better living and a preferable environment. For the past decades, accompanying its fantastic economic growth, fast-developing Asia has become one of the major contributors to the increase of global carbon dioxide emissions. This paper analyzes productivity growth of ten Asian countries, namely, China, Japan, the NIEs and the ASEAN-4, by examining their outputs from economic performance and environmental impact standpoints. Productivity growth and its components are calculated using the Malmquist index. There appears to be a widening gap between the productivity growth trends without/with CO₂ emissions of the ten Asian economies. This implies that the factor of productivity could be over-emphasized at great cost to the environment. A cross-country comparison analysis, considering CO₂ emissions, shows that the productivity of China and ASEAN-4 deteriorated while the productivity growth of Japan and NIEs performed much better.     

Analysis of household energy consumption and related CO2 emissions in the disregarded villages of Lijiang City,China

Energy is one of the most important elements required for poverty alleviation and socioeconomic development, and it has a particularly strong impact on households in rural areas. An extensive survey on household energy consumption patterns that interrelates socioeconomic and demographic factors was conducted in the disregarded villages of Lijiang City by using the stratified random sampling technique for 120 households. This study focuses on household energy consumption and the related carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in the study area. Firewood, biogas, and electricity were identified as the main energy sources of the rural households. This study demonstrates that 100% of the households use firewood, 52% use biogas, and 95% use electricity as fuel types. On average, each household consumed 1752 kg of firewood, 280 m³ of biogas, and 392 kWh of electricity annually. All households generated an annual average amount of CO₂ emissions of 3851 kg, of which 85.08% come from firewood, 7.66% from biogas, and 7.26% from electricity. Family size, income, and educational level were found to be the major factors that influence CO₂ emissions. The results of this study may be useful in explaining the energy consumption characteristics in the rural areas of Lijiang City and are expected to be useful in policy formulation for energy consumption and environmental protection.     

Decomposition analysis of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in the iron and steel industry in China

This work aims to identify the main factors influencing the energy-related carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from the iron and steel industry in China during the period of 1995–2007. The logarithmic mean divisia index (LMDI) technique was applied with period-wise analysis and time-series analysis. Changes in energyrelated CO₂ emissions were decomposed into four factors: emission factor effect, energy structure effect, energy consumption effect, and the steel production effect. The results show that steel production is the major factor responsible for the rise in CO₂ emissions during the sampling period; on the other hand the energy consumption is the largest contributor to the decrease in CO₂ emissions. To a lesser extent, the emission factor and energy structure effects have both negative and positive contributions to CO₂ emissions, respectively. Policy implications are provided regarding the reduction of CO₂ emissions from the iron and steel industry in China, such as controlling the overgrowth of steel production, improving energy-saving technologies, and introducing low-carbon energy sources into the iron and steel industry.     

A causal investigation on the determinants of CO2 in China

ABSTRACT

This article examines the causal relationship among carbon dioxide emissions, energy consumption, per capita economic growth, and international trade using temporal econometric models with serial data for the period 1980–2017 in China. In the Armax model all regressors are significant in having influenced the dependent CO2 variable. Subsequently, unidirectional causalities are identified from energy consumption and from commercial opening to carbon dioxide emissions, from commercial opening to energy consumption, from carbon dioxide emissions to per capita economic growth and from economic growth to commercial opening. These results show that, over time, more energy consumption in China results in more carbon dioxide emissions so there will be more environment pollution.     

Quantitative analysis of CO2 embodiment in international trade: An overview of emerging literatures

The increasing volume of CO₂ embodiment in international trade adds a layer of complexity to environmental policies and has raised arguments on the traditional production based responsibility for CO₂ emissions. In order to help understand the quantity of CO₂ embodiment in trade and its policy implications, this paper gives observations to recently emerging literatures that quantitatively discuss CO₂ embodiment in trade. The analytical approaches share the principle of using input and output modeling but vary dramatically in study boundary and estimation accuracy. The calculations can be roughly categorized into three types: direct quantification of CO₂ embodiments in multiregional trade, direct quantification of CO₂ embodiment in bilateral trade, and indirect analysis by comparing the scenarios with or without trade. The practical estimations strongly rely on trade partner selection and data availability. An obvious imbalance of net CO₂ embodiment in the commodity trade between major developed countries and developing economies as a whole was confirmed by these literatures. Carbon taxes and other possible limitations on CO₂ emissions have been addressed. The consistency across the calculations could be enhanced by systematic analyses in more detail to convince the international community to take binding commitments for the reduction of global CO₂ emissions.     

Carbon sequestration in Taiwan harvested wood products

This study, with FAOSTAT and Taiwan data sources, estimates Taiwan carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in harvested wood products (HWP) by applying the three accounting methods suggested by the 2006 IPCC Guidelines. The investigation also explores impulse responses of CO₂ emissions to economic factors. Results from FAOSTAT and Taiwan data demonstrate an inconsistent production approach (PA) in the signs of the estimated CO₂ emissions. Average contributions of HWP from 1990 to 2008 for the stock change approach (SCA), PA and atmospheric flow approach (AFA) in Taiwan are ?3.195 Tg, 0.412 Tg and 10.632 Tg CO₂ emissions, respectively. SCA has determined the Taiwan HWP as a carbon reservoir; in contrast, PA and AFA have determined Taiwan HWP as a CO₂ emission. The net forest products imports into Taiwan induce the inconsistent signs of HWP carbon sequestration among SCA, PA and AFA. The vector autoregressive model (VAR) results also indicate that real GDP per capita is crucial for SCA CO₂ emissions, followed by exchange rate.     

地质封存CO_2泄漏对蚯蚓的毒性效应

二氧化碳捕集与封存技术(CO_2 capture and storage, CCS)是当前国际上公认的CO_2减排的有效措施,但封存在地下的CO_2仍然因为各种不稳定因素存在泄漏风险,对土壤环境及土壤生态系统产生威胁。选择赤子爱胜蚓为研究对象,通过模拟高浓度CO_2对蚯蚓形态与生理变化的影响,探究CCS泄漏所产生的土壤高浓度CO_2对蚯蚓的毒性效应。研究表明,土壤高浓度CO_2使蚯蚓出现生殖环带肿大、尾部串珠以及断尾等外部形态变化,皮肤和刚毛受到损伤并且表皮发生褶皱等现象;随着CO_2浓度的增加以及暴露时间的延长,蚯蚓的死亡率不断增加,土壤高浓度CO_2对蚯蚓的7 d和14 d半致死浓度分别为26.39%和17.78%;蚯蚓体腔细胞溶酶体中性红保留时间(NRRT)减少。因此,蚯蚓有望作为监测CO_2泄漏的指示生物,NRRT可作为识别CO_2泄漏的敏感指标。     

Modeling the vegetation-atmosphere carbon dioxide and water vapor interactions along a controlled CO2 gradient

Ecosystem functioning is intimately linked to its physical environment by complex two-way interactions. These two-way interactions arise because vegetation both responds to the external environment and actively regulates its micro-environment. By altering stomatal aperture, and therefore the transpiration rate, plants modify soil moisture and atmospheric humidity and these same physical variables, in return, modify stomatal conductance. Relationships between biotic and abiotic components are particularly strong in closed, managed environments such as greenhouses and growth chambers, which are used extensively to investigate ecosystem responses to climatic drivers. Model-assisted designs that account for the physiological dynamics governing two-way interactions between biotic and abiotic components are absent from many ecological studies. Here, a general model of the vegetation-atmosphere system in closed environments is proposed. The model accounts for the linked carbon-water physiology, the turbulent transport processes, and the energy and radiative transfer within the vegetation. Leaf gas exchange is modeled using a carbon gain optimization approach that is coupled to leaf energy balance. The turbulent transport within the canopy is modeled in two-dimensions using first-order closure principles. The model is applied to the Lysimeter CO₂ Gradient (LYCOG) facility, wherein a continuous gradient of atmospheric CO₂ is maintained on grassland assemblages using an elongated chamber where the micro-climate is regulated by variation in air flow rates. The model is employed to investigate how species composition, climatic conditions, and the imposed air flow rate affect the CO₂ concentration gradient within the LYCOG and the canopy micro-climate. The sensitivity of the model to key physiological and climatic parameters allows it to be used not only to manage current experiments, but also to formulate novel ecological hypotheses (e.g., by modeling climatic regimes not currently employed in LYCOG) and suggest alternative experimental designs and operational strategies for such facilities.