scholarly journals Energy-Related Carbon Emissions of China’s Model Environmental Cities

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Kevin Lo
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Accounting System ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Garden Cities ◽  
Annual Carbon ◽  
Per Capita

This paper identifies three types of model environmental cities in China and examines their levels of energy-related carbon emissions using a bottom-up accounting system. Model environmental cities are identified as those that have been recently awarded official recognition from the central government for their efforts in environmental protection. The findings show that, on average, the Low-Carbon Cities have lower annual carbon emissions, carbon intensities, and per capita emissions than the Eco-Garden Cities and the Environmental Protection Cities. Compared internationally, the Eco-Garden Cities and the Environmental Protection Cities have per capita emissions that are similar to those of American cities whereas per capita emissions from the Low-Carbon Cities are similar to those of European cities. The result indicates that addressing climate change is not a priority for some model environmental cities. Policy changes are needed to prioritize climate mitigation in these cities, considering that climate change is a cross-cutting environmental issue with wide-ranging impact.

The Implementation Approach of LCCF Checklist in Development Control: Challenges for policymakers

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
T B A
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Local Authority ◽  
Survey Methods ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Control Process ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Development Control

Global warming, climate change is now affecting the world. The effort of the leaders to achieving the sustainable development is from New Urban Agenda (NUA), Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) and local level is local authorities.  SDG’s goal number 13 takes urgent action to combat climate change and its impact also SDG’s number 11 to sustainable cities and communities. The gap of this paper  Different cities face different challenges and issues. Local authorities will play a significant role in undertaking policy initiatives to combat carbon emissions of the city. Low Carbon Cities (LCC) is to reduce carbon emissions in all human activities in cities.  The objective of this paper is by applying the LCCF Checklist in planning permission for sustainable development. The methodology of this research is a mixed-method, namely quantitative and qualitative approach. The survey methods are by interview, questionnaire, and observation. Town planners are the subject matter expert in managing the planning permission submission for the development control of their areas. Descriptive statistical analysis will be used to show the willingness of the stakeholders, namely the developers and planning consultants in implementing of the LCCF. The contribution of this research will gauge readiness at the local authorities level. The findings of the LCCF checklist are identified as important in planning permission into the development control process. Surprisingly, that challenges and issues exist in multifaceted policy implementation the LCCF Checklist in a local authority. Finally based on Subang Jaya Municipal Councils, the existing approach in the application of the LCCF Checklist in the development control process will be useful for development control in a local authority towards sustainable development.  

scholarly journals ECONOMIC GROWTH, URBANISATION AND CARBON EMISSIONS: EVIDENCE FROM SELECTED ASEAN COUNTRIES

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 9-16
Author(s):  
Seng-Huat Tan ◽  
Meenchee Hong
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Economic Growth ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Urban Population ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Pollution Problem ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Asean Countries ◽  
The Government

Climate change is considered as the most severe and urgent environmental issue in this present era. There is a clear consensus that the climate change problem is much related to the rising level of carbon emissions in the atmosphere. The link between economic growth, urbanization and carbon emissions was examined extensively in the literature. Fast-paced economic growth will advance urbanization in a country and result in higher energy consumption to meet various needs in an urban economy. This conditions will trigger more carbon emissions and generate more pollution problem. This paper aims to discuss and compare the growth pattern of economic growth, urbanization and carbon emissions between five selected ASEAN countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam for the period 1990-2018. All these five countries have recorded at least 4% economic growth rate in the year 2018. In the same period, Indonesia has the largest in term of total value added in manufacturing. Similarly, Vietnam has the largest growth of value-added in the same industry. Among all, Indonesia has the largest urban population whilst Malaysia has the highest rate in urbanization and carbon emissions per capita. The upward trend of urban population and carbon emissions per capita in these countries exhibit certain pressures and challenges to the countries’ environmental quality. Therefore, the government in these countries should pay attention to environmental governance to achieve sustainable urbanization while prioritizing economic growth

scholarly journals Carbon Lock-In and Sustainable Growth Challenges : Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

2020 ◽  
pp. 01-25
Author(s):  
Aminatou Kemajou Pofoura ◽  
Huaping Sun ◽  
Maxwell Opuni Antwi ◽  
Charles Kwarteng Antwi
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Path Dependency ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Income Per Capita ◽  
Short Run ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Lock In

This research seeks to investigate the risks of carbon lock-in by examining the potential factors influencing carbon dioxide emissions levels in Sub-Saharan Africa. Given this, we employed a panel Sub-Saharan Africa comprised of 35 countries in the sub-region, from 2000 to 2014 with cross-sectional dependence among variables. We used the Two-step robust System Generalized Method of Moments to estimate the influencing factors of carbon emissions level that create path dependency. The main findings are: (1) income per capita, urbanization, and financial resources contribute to the increase of carbon emissions level in the Sub-Saharan Africa countries, in the short-run; (2) we noticed that in the short-run, the impacts of fossil fuels per capita, energy intensity and total energy consumption are insignificant; (3) in the long-run, income per capita, urbanization and financial resources increase carbon emissions level; (4) from various factors that increase carbon emissions level, these factors form a path dependency that slow the introduction of low-carbon systems, thus, creating carbon lock-in in the Sub-Saharan Africa countries. Considering this, policymakers and governments should ensure the strict compliance of environmental regulations by financial institutions and organizations, promote low-carbon cities during economic transformation, and encourage investments in low-carbon projects. The government should also educate and build awareness on the effects of environmental pollution on population health, provide incentives for energy conservation and promote the use of clean products to avoid future risks of lock-in in the sub-region.

scholarly journals More Timber in Construction: Unanswered Questions and Future Challenges

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 3473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Hart ◽  
Francesco Pomponi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Land Allocation ◽  
Built Environments ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Environmental Loads ◽  
Environmental Product Declarations ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
Life Options ◽  
Lower Carbon

The built environment is one of the greatest contributors to carbon emissions, climate change, and to the unsustainable pressure on the natural environment and its ecosystems. The use of more timber in construction is one possible response, and an authoritative contribution to this growing movement comes from the UK’s Committee on Climate Change, which identifies a “substantial increase in the use of wood in the construction of buildings” as a top priority. However, a global encouragement of such a strategy raises some difficult questions. Given the urgency of effective solutions for low-carbon built environments, and the likely continued growth in demand for timber in construction, this article reviews its sustainability and identifies future challenges and unanswered questions. Existing evidence points indeed towards timber as the lower carbon option when modelled through life cycle assessment without having to draw on arguments around carbon storage. Issues however remain on the timing of carbon emissions, land allocation, and the environmental loads and benefits associated with the end-of-life options: analysis of environmental product declarations for engineered timber suggests that landfill might either be the best or the worst option from a climate change perspective, depending on assumptions.

Wealth Inequality and Carbon Emissions in High-income Countries

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 403-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle W. Knight ◽  
Juliet B. Schor ◽  
Andrew K. Jorgenson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
High Income ◽  
Economic Power ◽  
Longitudinal Models ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
The Relationship

This study contributes to the emerging literature on connections between climate change and economic inequality by investigating the relationship between domestic wealth inequality and consumption-based carbon emissions for 26 high-income countries from 2000 to 2010. Results of the two-way fixed effects longitudinal models indicate that the effect of wealth inequality, measured as the wealth share of the top decile, on per capita emissions in high-income countries is consistently positive and relatively stable over the time period. This finding is consistent with political economy theories arguing that the concentration of political and economic power that accompanies the concentration of wealth plays an important role in increasing environmental degradation and preventing proenvironmental actions.

scholarly journals Cumulative carbon as a policy framework for achieving climate stabilization

2012 ◽  
Vol 370 (1974) ◽  
pp. 4365-4379 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Damon Matthews ◽  
Susan Solomon ◽  
Raymond Pierrehumbert
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Temperature Change ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Global Temperature ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
Global Temperature Change

The primary objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations at a level that will avoid dangerous climate impacts. However, greenhouse gas concentration stabilization is an awkward framework within which to assess dangerous climate change on account of the significant lag between a given concentration level and the eventual equilibrium temperature change. By contrast, recent research has shown that global temperature change can be well described by a given cumulative carbon emissions budget. Here, we propose that cumulative carbon emissions represent an alternative framework that is applicable both as a tool for climate mitigation as well as for the assessment of potential climate impacts. We show first that both atmospheric CO 2 concentration at a given year and the associated temperature change are generally associated with a unique cumulative carbon emissions budget that is largely independent of the emissions scenario. The rate of global temperature change can therefore be related to first order to the rate of increase of cumulative carbon emissions. However, transient warming over the next century will also be strongly affected by emissions of shorter lived forcing agents such as aerosols and methane. Non-CO 2 emissions therefore contribute to uncertainty in the cumulative carbon budget associated with near-term temperature targets, and may suggest the need for a mitigation approach that considers separately short- and long-lived gas emissions. By contrast, long-term temperature change remains primarily associated with total cumulative carbon emissions owing to the much longer atmospheric residence time of CO 2 relative to other major climate forcing agents.

scholarly journals ECONOMIC GROWTH, URBANISATION AND CARBON EMISSIONS: EVIDENCE FROM SELECTED ASEAN COUNTRIES

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 9-16
Author(s):  
Huat Tan Seng ◽  
Hong Meenchee ◽  
Tze-Haw Chan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Economic Growth ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Urban Population ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Pollution Problem ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Asean Countries ◽  
The Government

Climate change is considered as the most severe and urgent environmental issue in this present era. There is a clear consensus that the climate change problem is much related to the rising level of carbon emissions in the atmosphere. The link between economic growth, urbanization and carbon emissions was examined extensively in the literature. Fas-paced economic growth will advance urbanization in a country and result in higher energy consumption to meet various needs in an urban economy. This conditions will trigger more carbon emissions and generate more pollution problem. This paper aims to discuss and compare the growth pattern of economic growth, urbanization and carbon emissions between five selected ASEAN countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam for the period 1990-2018. All these five countries have recorded at least 4% economic growth rate in the year 2018. In the same period, Indonesia has the largest in term of total value added in manufacturing. Similarly, Vietnam has the largest growth of value-added in the same industry. Among all, Indonesia has the largest urban population whilst Malaysia has the highest rate in urbanization and carbon emissions per capita. The upward trend of urban population and carbon emissions per capita in these countries exhibit certain pressures and challenges to the countries’ environmental quality. Therefore, the government in these countries should pay attention to environmental governance to achieve sustainable urbanization while prioritizing economic growth.

scholarly journals Low Carbon Energy Transitions in the Nordic Countries: Evidence from the Environmental Kuznets Curve

Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frauke Urban ◽  
Johan Nordensvärd
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Co2 Emissions ◽  
Environmental Kuznets Curve ◽  
Nordic Countries ◽  
The Other ◽  
Kuznets Curve ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Energy Transitions ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Low Carbon Energy

Low carbon energy transitions are important to mitigate climate change, reduce air pollution, and reduce fossil fuel resource depletion. The Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) are seen as leaders in low carbon energy transitions. This paper provides a comparative data analysis of low carbon energy transitions in the Nordic countries from the 1960s to 2015, and assesses evidence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). The paper finds that the EKC has been observed in Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden in terms of total CO2 emissions, but not in Norway and Finland. For per capita CO2 emissions, there is evidence for the EKC in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Sweden, but not for Norway. For energy use per capita, the EKC is only observed for Denmark, while improvements are needed for the other countries. Norway is an outlier, in comparison with the other Nordic countries, hence the country should implement more stringent climate change mitigation policies to reduce its emissions. Overall, the research suggests that the Nordic countries, particularly Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden, can provide valuable lessons for national, regional, and global low carbon energy transitions.

Society and a low-carbon future: individual behaviour change or new social values and priorities?

2012 ◽  
Vol 103 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janette Webb
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Shared Understanding ◽  
Gradual Change ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Short Term

ABSTRACTAlthough Scottish and UK governments have ambitious targets for climate change mitigation, and there is increased understanding of the risks to future prosperity of fossil fuel energy dependence, limited practical progress has been made by the advanced economies in reducing carbon emissions, especially when embedded emissions in imported consumer goods are taken into account. Significant contributory factors are the social and cultural values, beliefs and practices, which result in risks of climate change being regarded as secondary to short-term pressures for economic growth and increased consumer spending. The result is that climate change and transition to a low-carbon society become ‘back of the mind’ issues. Current policy designed to lower carbon emissions from household consumption treats society as a series of individuals, each responding rationally to market incentives to maximise short-term personal gain. ‘Greener choices’ are incentivised and encouraged by social marketing, but, at best, this approach will achieve only very gradual change. An alternative model treats society as comprising historically evolving, dynamic social systems and cultures that are capable of dealing with transformational change, when there is a shared understanding of the reasons for acting. From this perspective, society can implement step changes in behaviour through collaborative action in the interests of the longer-term common good. Political momentum can be gathered for new legislative and/or taxation measures, as for example in the case of the strong programme for tobacco control legislation in Scotland and the UK. By focusing on social and technical infrastructures, the built environment, and the regeneration of local economies, rather than on individual behaviours, government investment can have far greater impact. A distinctively Scottish narrative for a low-carbon society can create momentum for transition through shared understanding of the risks of climate change, and its meanings for social life, cultures, economic relationships and values.

scholarly journals A Dynamic Benchmark System for Per Capita Carbon Emissions in Low-Carbon Counties of China

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 599
Author(s):  
Lijie Gao ◽  
Xiaoqi Shang ◽  
Fengmei Yang ◽  
Longyu Shi
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Emission Reduction ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Indicator System ◽  
Kuznets Curve ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Development Stages ◽  
Benchmark System ◽  
Per Capita

As the most basic unit of the national economy and administrative management, the low-carbon transformation of the vast counties is of great significance to China’s overall greenhouse gas emission reduction. Although the low-carbon evaluation (LCE) indicator system and benchmarks have been extensively studied, most benchmarks ignore the needs of the evaluated object at the development stage. When the local economy develops to a certain level, it may be restricted by static low-carbon target constraints. This study reviews the relevant research on LCE indicator system and benchmarks based on convergence. The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), a dynamic benchmark system for per capita carbon emissions (PCCEs), is proposed for low-carbon counties. Taking Changxing County, Zhejiang Province, China as an example, a dynamic benchmark for PCCEs was established by benchmarking the Carbon Kuznets Curve (CKC) of best practices. Based on the principles of best practice, comparability, data completeness, and the CKC hypothesis acceptance, the best practice database is screened, and Singapore is selected as a potential benchmark. By constructing an econometric model to conduct an empirical study on Singapore’s CKC hypothesis, the regression results of the least squares method support the CKC hypothesis and its rationality as a benchmark. The result of the PCCE benchmarks of Changxing County show that when the per capita income of Changxing County in 2025, 2030, and 2035 reaches USD 19,172.92, USD 24,483.01, and USD 29,366.11, respectively, the corresponding benchmarks should be 14.95 tons CO2/person, 14.70 tons CO2/person, and 13.55 tons CO2/person. For every 1% increase in the county’s per capita income, the PCCE allowable room for growth is 17.6453%. The turning point is when the per capita gross domestic product (PCGDP) is USD 20,843.23 and the PCCE is 15.03 tons of CO2/person, which will occur between 2025 and 2030. Prior to this, the PCCE benchmark increases with the increase of PCGDP. After that, the PCCE benchmark decreases with the increase of PCGDP. The system is economically sensitive, adaptable to different development stages, and enriches the methodology of low-carbon indicator evaluation and benchmark setting at the county scale. It can provide scientific basis for Chinese county decision makers to formulate reasonable targets under the management idea driven by evaluation indicators and emission reduction targets and help counties explore the coordinated paths of economic development and emission reduction in different development stages. It has certain reference significance for other developing regions facing similar challenges of economic development and low-carbon transformation to Changxing County to formulate scientific and reasonable low-carbon emission reduction targets.

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