A review of research on China’s carbon emission peak and its forcing mechanism

In order to make further steps in dealing with climate change, China proposed to peak carbon dioxide emissions by about 2030 and to make best efforts for the peaking early. The carbon emission peak target (CEPT) must result in a forcing mechanism on China’s economic transition. This paper, by following the logical order from “research on carbon emission history” to “carbon emission trend prediction,” from “research on paths of realizing peak” to “peak restraint research,” provides a general review of current status and development trend of researches on China’s carbon emission and its peak value. Furthermore, this paper also reviews the basic theories and specific cases of the forcing mechanism. Based on the existing achievements and development trends in this field, the following research directions that can be further expanded are put forward. First, from the perspective of long-term strategy of sustainable development, we should analyze and construct the forcing mechanism of CEPT in a reverse thinking way. Second, economic transition paths under the forcing mechanism should be systematically studied. Third, by constructing a large-scale policy evaluation model, the emission reduction performance and economic impact of a series of policy measures adopted during the transition process should be quantitatively evaluated.     

Prepared for climate change? A method for the ex-ante assessment of formal responsibilities for climate adaptation in specific sectors

Climate change-related risks encompass an intensification of extreme weather events, such as fluvial and pluvial flooding, droughts, storms, and heat stress. A transparent and comprehensive division of responsibilities is a necessary—but not the only—precondition for being prepared for climate change. In this paper, we present, and preliminarily test, a method for the ex-ante assessment of the division of public and private responsibilities for climate adaptation in terms of comprehensiveness, transparency, legitimacy, and effectiveness. This method proofs particularly suited for the assessment of adaptation responsibilities in combination with a sectoral approach. It helps identifying a number of shortcomings in divisions of responsibilities for climate adaptation. We conclude that this method is useful as a diagnostic tool for identifying the expected climate change preparedness level, and recommend to combine this with ex-post analyses of real-life cases of extreme events in order to assess the actual preparedness for climate change. Besides the scientific purpose of providing a generally applicable assessment method, with this method, we also intend to assist policy-makers in developing and implementing adaptation plans at various levels.     

Estimation of emission reduction potential in China’s industrial sector

The industrial sector is usually the largest economy sector for carbon emissions in many countries, which made it the sector with greatest potential for carbon reduction although the process duration might be very long. Studying the potential of industrial emission reduction has great significance in estimating the carbon emission peak of China on the one hand, and adjusting its strategy in international climate change negotiations. By employing the economic accounting method, this article estimates the emission reduction potential of China’s Industrial sector for the period of 2010–2050. It reveals that, taking 2030 as the year when the emission reaches the peak, the total reduction can be 8.38 billion tons (bts) for the period of 2010–2030, with 3.12 bts from structural reduction while 5.26 bts from intensity reduction. Afterwards, reduction will continue with a total amount of 6.59 bts for the period of 2030–2050, where the structural reduction accounts for 2.47 bts, and intensity reduction 4.115 bts. If both industrial and energy consumption structures are improved during the above period, the reduction potential can be even greater, e.g. the emission peak can arrive five years earlier (in the year of 2025) and the peak value can decline by about 8% as compared to the original estimation. Reviewing the trajectory of emission changes in developed countries indicates that the industry sector can contribute to the overall reduction targets through the dual wheels of structural reduction and intensity reduction, even beyond the emission peak. This article concludes with the following policy suggestions. (1) Our estimation on the emission peak of the industrial sector suggests that China should avoid any commitment earlier than 2030 on the timeline of the overall emission peak; (2) the great potential of industrial emission reduction can improve the situation of China in climate change negotiation, where the intensity reduction can serve as an important policy option. (3) Reduction potential can be further enhanced through technology advancement, which requires furthering of market oriented reforms and improvement of institutional design. (4) To secure the reduction effects of the industrial structure adjustment, the balanced development among different regions should be encouraged in order to avoid the reverse adjustment caused by industrial transferring. (5) International cooperation promoting the application and development of industrial emission reduction technologies, including carbon capture, utilization and storage, should be encouraged.     

Japan’s experience of energy saving and business model for low-carbon economy

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the questions concerning stimulation of the innovation and the diffusion of energy saving or low-carbon.To do so,this paper explains using two cases of Japan-energy saving innovation after the Oil Shock and the eco points system.For the case after the oil shock,we explain the energy saving trend after the Oil Shock and the factors statistically.Then we put forward the business model for the low-carbon economy.Furthermore,we analyze the case of the eco points system from 2009-2011 in Japan and explain the significance of the business model for diffusion of the low-carbon products.     

Impacts of Suburbanization on Urban Eco-environment of Xi’an in China

Abstract

Suburbanization in large cities is an important phenomenon in the process of urbanization development in China in recent decades, which plays a very important role in promoting city development, whereas some side effects on the eco-environment appeared at the same time. This paper, taking Xi’an City in China as a case study site, analyzed the features of population suburbanization and industry suburbanization and pointed out the impacts of suburbanization on urban eco-environment. Based on the research, suggestions of countermeasures for urban planning and municipal management of Xi’an City in protecting urban eco-environment and conserving natural ecology were put forward in the end.     

Impacts of Suburbanization on Urban Eco-environment of Xi’an in China

Suburbanization in large cities is an important phenomenon in the process of urbanization development in China in recent decades,which plays a very important role in promoting city development,whereas some side effects on the eco-environment appeared at the same time.This paper,taking Xi’an City in China as a case study site,analyzed the features of population suburbanization and industry suburbanization and pointed out the impacts of suburbanization on urban eco-environment.Based on the research,suggestions of countermeasures for urban planning and municipal management of Xi’an City in protecting urban eco-environment and conserving natural ecology were put forward in the end.     

Has EU ETS caused carbon leakage in the EU carbon-intensive industries?A study from the perspective of bilateral trade

Reducing carbon leakage is one of the important reasons that was put forward by the EU for their border adjustment tax proposal.However,there are not many empirical evidences supporting significant carbon leakage in the EU carbonintensive industries.This paper applied the structural breakpoint test for the time series of import and export of cement,aluminum,and steel between EU and China.No significant structural changes were detected in the import and export of cement and aluminum.However,there proved to be two breakpoints,i.e.,2003 and 2008,in the import and export of steel,in which at the second point the overall level of steel import increased.Furthermore,Granger causality test was applied to the carbon price from European Climate Exchange and the import and export of steel.It was found that the carbon price was the Granger cause for the changes of steel import,but not the Granger cause for the export.The results of the study showed that the impacts of EU ETS on the EU carbon-intensive industries were limited.Among the three industries,partial evidence of carbon leakage was only found in the steel industry.Therefore,reducing carbon leakage could not serve as a convincing justification for border adjustment tax.     

Decoupling and decomposition analysis of carbon emissions in Beijing’s tourism traffic

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Using the calculation method of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), this paper measured the carbon emissions of tourism traffic and...     

Brominated flame retardants in the indoor environment — Comparative study of indoor contamination from three countries

Concentrations of more than 20 brominated flame retardants (FRs), including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and emerging FRs, were measured in air, dust and window wipes from 63 homes in Canada, the Czech Republic and the United States in the spring and summer of 2013. Among the PBDEs, the highest concentrations were generally BDE-209 in all three matrices, followed by Penta-BDEs. Among alternative FRs, EHTBB and BEHTBP were detected at the highest concentrations. DBDPE was also a major alternative FR detected in dust and air. Bromobenzenes were detected at lower levels than PBDEs and other alternative FRs; among the bromobenzenes, HBB and PBEB were the most abundant compounds. In general, FR levels were highest in the US and lowest in the Czech Republic — a geographic trend that reflects the flame retardants' market. No statistically significant differences were detected between bedroom and living room FR concentrations in the same house (n = 10), suggesting that sources of FRs are widespread indoors and mixing between rooms. The concentrations of FRs in air, dust, and window film were significantly correlated, especially for PBDEs. We found a significant relationship between the concentrations in dust and window film and in the gas phase for FRs with log K_OA values < 14, suggesting that equilibrium was reached for these but not compounds with log K_OA values > 14. This hypothesis was confirmed by a large discrepancy between values predicted using a partitioning model and the measured values for FRs with log K_OA values > 14.     

Motives of ethical consumption: a study of ethical products’ consumption in Tunisia

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Consuming ethical products has become a fundamental behavior for the protection of people’s lives and the environment, discussions on ethical...     

Managing Alaska’s National Parks in an era of uncertainty: an evaluation of scenario planning workshops

Regional Environmental Change - Scenario planning is a flexible tool used to assess a broad range of plausible, relevant, divergent, and challenging futures, for short-term responses and long-term...     

A Structural Equation Model of Residents’ Support for Mega Event

Abstract

The aim of this article is to develop a structural equation model to assess key factors of residents’ support for hosting mega event based on previous literature. The model consisted of five latent constructs and eight path hypotheses. A survey was conducted in Shanghai before 2010 World Expo. It was found that the support for mega events is affected directly and/or indirectly by four determinants factors: perceived benefits, perceived costs, personal benefits and community attachment, and support relies heavily on perceived benefits rather than costs. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge in an attempt to understand local residents’ support for a mega event in different economic and cultural settings.     

Do forest birds take the risk of feeding in an open area in winter? Experiment with extra food gradually moved away from the edge of the forest into the open area

This paper attempts to determine whether and to what extent forest birds take the risk of feeding in an open area in winter. In each of three plots the extra food (lard) was initially placed on the border of the forest and open area and then moved into the open area and located within 15, 30 and 45 m from the edge of the forest. Only in one plot the total number of all the birds feeding on lard significantly decreased along with the food being moved away from the edge of the forest. In other plot the number of the most numerous Great Tit Parus major and Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus significantly increased along with the food source being moved away into open area. The numbers of the other 7 species of birds fell or did not have directional nature. Only in one plot the aggregation (the number of individuals of a given species feeding simultaneously) increased significantly along with moving the food into open area. In other plots differences in aggregation did not have the directional nature and, in most cases, were not significant.     

Chinese hydropower companies and environmental norms in countries of the global South: the involvement of Sinohydro in Ghana’s Bui Dam

The paper examines the role of environmental norms in Chinese overseas investment in hydropower dams, exemplified by Sinohydro’s involvement in the Bui Dam in Ghana. While the investment of Western companies in hydropower dams in the global South is decreasing owing to changing notions of sustainability in the West, the investment of Chinese companies in hydro dams in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America is accelerating at great speed. The emergence of Chinese companies in international markets in the context of China’s Going Abroad strategy has sparked a debate on whether China can be considered a norm-changer in international development. The paper considers this question in the context of the status of environmental norms in Sinohydro’s investment in Ghana’s Bui Dam. The paper argues that the role of international norms in Chinese investment is dependent on two factors: the contractual arrangements under which Chinese companies operate abroad and the political institutions of host countries.     

Contributions for the use of qualitative indicators: an analysis of Itaipu Power Plant’s Sustainability Program

An integrated approach based on multiple indicators and individual and combinational evaluation methods is proposed to evaluate water scarcity. Four evaluation methods are employed, and their results are joined through three combination methods in order to obtain a consistent evaluation. This iterative-correction approach has been applied to Yunnan Province in China for water scarcity evaluation. The results demonstrate the capability of the iterative-correction framework to provide insightful analyses of water scarcity. Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (Diqing) and Nujiang Li Autonomous Prefecture (Nujiang) ranked 1st and 2nd, indicating the best situation for water scarcity evaluation, while Yuxi and Zhaotong ranked 15th and 16th, indicating the worst situation. Two types of major water scarcities were observed in Yunnan Province. One was a typical representative of lack of water quality in the central part of Yunnan, and the other was a typical engineering type in the western part of Yunnan. The water scarcity has been found to arise from non-judicious water use, rapid urbanization and lack of protective measures for water resources. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct more water conservancy projects in future to alleviate the water scarcity issue.     

A study on marine industry and environment of China: regarding Japan’s experience

China is facing the challenge of many marine environment problems with rapid economic growth. Japan had experienced similar marine environmental pressure during its industrialization and had been facing the problem through successful environment policy step by step. The paper reviews the lessons and experiences of Japan’s marine environment protection and analyzes the marine environment pollution in China and its causes, taking Shandong province as a case, such as GDP-oriented economic growth, heavy coal assumption, etc. The paper also analyzes the marine industry with focuses on coastal tourism and its relationship with marine environment. Suggestions on polices are provided based on the analysis on China’ marine environment and Japan’s experience.     

Perfluoroalkyl substances in polar bear mother–cub pairs: A comparative study based on plasma levels from 1998 and 2008

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are protein-binding blood-accumulating contaminants that may have detrimental toxicological effects on the early phases of mammalian development. To enable an evaluation of the potential health risks of PFAS exposure for polar bears (Ursus maritimus), an exposure assessment was made by examining plasma levels of PFASs in polar bear mothers in relation to their suckling cubs-of-the-year (~ 4 months old). Samples were collected at Svalbard in 1998 and 2008, and we investigated the between-year differences in levels of PFASs. Seven perfluorinated carboxylic acids (∑₇PFCAs: PFHpA, PFOA, PFNA, PFDA, PFUnDA, PFDoDA, and PFTrDA) and two perfluorinated sulfonic acids (∑₂PFSAs: PFHxS and PFOS) were detected in the majority of the mothers and cubs from both years. In mothers and cubs, most PFCAs were detected in higher concentrations in 2008 than in 1998. On the contrary, levels of PFOS were lower in 2008 than in 1998, while levels of PFHxS did not differ between the two sampling years. PFOS was the dominating compound in mothers and cubs both in 1998 and in 2008. Concentration of PFHpA did not differ between mothers and cubs, while concentrations of PFOA, PFNA, PFDA, PFUnDA, PFDoDA, PFTrDA, PFHxS, and PFOS were higher in mothers than in their cubs. Except from PFHpA, all compounds correlated significantly between mothers and their cubs. The mean cub to mother ratios ranged from 0.15 for PFNA to 1.69 for PFHpA. On average (mean ± standard error of mean), the levels of ∑₇PFCAs and ∑₂PFSAs in cubs were 0.24 ± 0.01 and 0.22 ± 0.01 times the levels in their mothers, respectively. Although maternal transfer appears to be a substantial source of exposure for the cubs, the low cub to mother ratios indicate that maternal transfer of PFASs in polar bears is relatively low in comparison with hydrophobic contaminants (e.g. PCBs). Because the level of several PFASs in mothers and cubs from both sampling years exceeded the levels associated with health effects in humans, our findings raise concern on the potential health effects of PFASs in polar bears from Svalbard. Effort should be made to examine the potential health effects of PFASs in polar bears.     

Uptake of dry-deposited radionuclides in Fucus—A field study after the Chernobyl accident

The dry deposition of various radionuclides emanating from the plume from the Chernobyl reactor accident was measured at two locations in southern Sweden at the beginning of May, 1986. Samples of Fucus, taken at or near these locations, were also analysed. No precipitation had fallen during the time between the accident and the time of sampling. The ratios between activity concentrations in Fucus and dry depositions on the water surface have been calculated. For any specific radionuclide, this ratio was found to be the same at the two locations, after differences in salinity and in uptake between F. vesiculosus and F. serratus had been taken into account.     

Correlates of women’s environmental behaviors: a study in Pawe Woreda,Northwest Ethiopia

Available cross-country, macro-level evidence regarding gender differences in environmental behaviors shows women are more environmentally concerned and responsive than men. However, while such macro-level evidence helps understand patterns of women’s environmental behaviors at a much broader level, it does not allow deeper insights into particular patterns at a single location or in much smaller areas. Tailor-made interventions needed to address livelihood and environmental strategies of poor rural women become meaningful if studies aim at revealing context specific, local variations in women’s environmental behaviors. In this context, there is only little research for Ethiopia regarding what influences women’s response to environmental problems. The objective of this research was to describe women’s response to environmental problems in Pawe Woreda and examine the demographic, socioeconomic, and institutional correlates of this response, with particular emphasis to forest resources. Data were primarily obtained from a sample of 363 households in a multi-stage sample survey and were analyzed mainly using a multivariate logistic regression model. We found that all except one of the demographic and socioeconomic variables included in the model were found to be statistically significant correlates of woman’s environmental response, but the institutional variable was not significantly associated with a woman’s environmental response. However, the qualitative result for additional institutional issues revealed the importance of land tenure. Many of the results are in line with the existing literature.     

Distributional dynamic and trend evolution of China’s agricultural carbon emissions – an analysis on panel data of 31 provinces from 2002 to 2011

Researching the dynamic distribution characteristics and trend evolution of agricultural carbon emissions is of considerable significance in formulating an effective agricultural carbon reduction policy. Based on measurement of agricultural carbon emissions of 31 provinces over the period 2002–2011, the study observed regional differences and the dynamic evolution of distribution of agricultural carbon emissions using agricultural carbon intensity as the indicator, accompanied by Gini coefficients and the kernel density estimation method. The results demonstrate first that agricultural carbon emissions for China show an obvious nonequilibrium nature in regard to spatial distribution. According to the differences in agricultural carbon emissions dynamic trends, we divided the 31 regions into four types – continuous decline, fluctuating decline, continuous increase, and fluctuating increase. Further, agricultural carbon emissions intensity showed a downward trend with significant differences in the research areas. Second, the gap in spatial distribution of national agricultural carbon emissions is gradually expanding based on the results calculated by Gini coefficient. From the perception of regional differences in agricultural carbon emissions, the eastern region showed an average level, the gap was more obvious in the central region, while western region showed a trend of fluctuating downward. Third, according to estimation by kernel density, the regional disparity in agricultural carbon emissions had a downward, but limited, trend. In regard to agricultural carbon emissions over the three areas, the regional gap not only tended to decrease but also showed a “four way” differentiation phenomenon in the eastern region. The difference in the central region difference was narrower. On the whole, the gap for the western region reduced steadily over a small range.