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The article reviews international acts in the field of combating climate change (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement), identifies the main trends in the field of carbon regulation: emissions quoting; implementation of climate projects; introduction of greenhouse gas reporting and expansion of the legislative framework. A comparative analysis of the national legislation in force in the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation is carried out, its conditional classification is considered with the allocation of carbon regulation instruments being applied, viz. the market ones, the restrictive ones, the supporting ones and the auxiliary ones. The regulation of greenhouse gas emissions should include a wide range of activities and cannot be reduced solely to restrictive instruments. Market instruments include the national emissions trading system, international voluntary markets and instruments of international cooperation, while restrictive instruments include the introduction of carbon taxes, quotas, and mandatory carbon reporting. Among the examples of supporting instruments subsidies, targeted financing and tax preferences, as well as information policy may be noted. Auxiliary instruments include methodologies for quantitative assessment of greenhouse gas emissions and uptake, carbon reporting standards and tools for verification of reporting on greenhouse gas emissions, legislated possibility of implementing climate projects. The normative national regulation regarding the accounting of greenhouse gas emissions is considered, the categories of emission sources and greenhouse gases whose emissions are subject to accounting are identified. It is important to note that the legislation on greenhouse gases in the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation, as well as around the world, has not been finalized and is in the process of formation.

The net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions concept is emerging as a fundamental principle for initiatives to address climate change ranging from global to corporate scale. Offsetting emissions using carbon credits features in many sub-global net-zero and carbon-neutrality claims and pledges. Assertions that the use of emission reduction credits (ERCs) is insufficient in the context of offsetting emissions for such claims at sub-global scales are gaining acceptance. Conversely, we show that regardless of whether offsetting is based on the use of ERCs or carbon removal credits (CRCs), the impact on the net transfer of GHG to the atmosphere is the same. Therefore, both ERCs and CRCs are adequate for offsetting with the purpose of achieving net-zero emissions or carbon neutrality. We show that assertions that the use of ERCs is insufficient for offsetting for these purposes are based on an incorrect setting of assessment boundaries and related misconceptions. The results presented in this paper have fundamental implications for what kind of GHG mitigation action beyond entities’ own value chains may be considered adequate in relation to entities’ claims concerning making no contribution to the net accumulation of GHG in the atmosphere, i.e. net-zero and carbon-neutrality claims.

This study investigates the effects of significant activity changes on air pollutant concentrations across the three European cities Hamburg, Liège, and Marseille and focuses on the effects of COVID-19 lockdown measures as a case study for such significant activity changes. To identify such effects, this study utilizes urban-scale chemistry transport modeling, embedded in regional-scale Chemistry Transport simulations. The outcomes underscore the significance of considering local conditions and emissions sources, as variations between urban and regional simulations demonstrate. Notably, lockdown regulations yield the most substantial impact in Marseille due to its dense road traffic and port area, with Liège following suit, primarily influenced by regional air quality alterations. Conversely, Hamburg exhibits lower mean changes, attributed to its widespread urban structure. Analysis of modeled exceedances of limit values reveals significant reductions, particularly in areas of urban and road land use. These findings contribute valuable insights into the efficacy of significant activity changes, such as lockdown measures, in mitigating air pollution, underlining the importance of tailored strategies for emission reduction in urban environments.

The deployment of energy storage systems can play a role in peak and frequency regulation, solve the issue of limited flexibility in cleaner power systems in China, and ensure the stability and safety of the power grid. This paper presents a comprehensive environmental impact analysis of a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery system for the storage and delivery of 1 kW-hour of electricity. Quantities of copper, graphite, aluminum, lithium iron phosphate, and electricity consumption are set as uncertainty and sensitivity parameters with a variation of [90%, 110%]. The results show that global warming potential is 9.08E+01 kg CO2 eq. and fossil resource use is 1.21E+03 MJ, with uncertainty ranges of [8.54E+01, 9.23E+01] and [1.15E+03, 1.23E+03], respectively. Electricity consumption during the manufacture and installation process is the greatest contributor to climate change (CO2 eq. emissions), accounting for 39.71% and largely owing to non-renewable sources, followed by cathode materials at 27.85% and anode materials at 18.36%. The disposal and recycling process offers emission reductions but requires an additional 1.17% use of fossil resources. Sobol T indices for the quantity of electricity are the highest for acidification, climate change, fossil resource use, and ionizing radiation. By considering the pathway of China’s electricity mix from 2020 to 2050 under the Paris Agreement’s 2° target, the potential for environmental emission reduction in the system is evaluated. The results show that the greener electricity mix could lead to a 24.59% reduction in acidification impact, a 35.74% reduction in climate change impact, a 33.24% reduction in fossil resource use, and a 44.13% reduction in ionizing radiation impact. This study offers a comprehensive view of the environmental impact reductions associated with the lithium iron phosphate battery and its industry.

This study is focused on a pivotal objective: enhancing air quality and attaining pollutant concentrations in accordance with WHO guidelines. The study extensively evaluates the feasibility of reducing emissions, specifically targeting an 80% decrease in SOX, NOX, PM, NH3, and NMVOC emissions within a limited timeframe. Despite notable emission curtailments of 50% and 80%, the research reveals that recommended pollutant levels are unlikely to be met across most areas of the Po Valley region. Even when implementing the finest available technologies across various sectors, particularly within the Lombardia region, this goal remains unattainable without simultaneous reductions in activity levels. This involves diminishing factors like vehicle miles traveled, energy consumption for heating, and industrial, agricultural, and livestock production. Overall, achieving improved conforming to the new AQG limits is a multifaceted endeavor involving numerous stakeholders and diverse strategies. Successful adherence to Air Quality limits mandates the implementation of Source-Specific emissions standards at the EU level, alignment of the National Emission Reduction Directive with limits specified in the Air Quality Directive, and the formulation of comprehensive Air Quality Plans at national, regional, and local tiers.

Data centres, though a necessary part of modern society, are being stigmatised for consuming vast amounts of electricity for their operational and cooling needs. Due to Ireland’s reliance on fossil fuels to meet the increased energy demand of data centres, the data centres are contributing significantly to Ireland’s total carbon emissions. As much of this energy is expelled from data centres as waste heat energy, the potential for recycling some of this wasted heat energy was explored using environmentally friendly systems from recent publications. The recovered waste heat energy was applied in a vertical farming system, and the benefits of this waste heat to the vertical farm were analysed and quantified in two scenarios. Using conservative estimates, it was predicted that each vertical farm could be between 5–23% the size of the data centre and produce enough food to feed between 14–61 adults their daily calorie needs, and between 13–58 people their daily fresh produce requirements, depending on the scenario applied. For a more accurate prediction, each vertical farm would have to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, as there is no current research in this area. However, there was not enough data available on Irish data centres to perform these calculations.

In 2018, 4.1 billion tonnes of freight and 437 million passengers passed through the 1200 European ports. This dimension of geographically concentrated activities is the rationale that ports are characterised by a high-energy demand and a high share of emissions. Driven by a growing awareness for a cleaner environment, a stronger focus on sustainability and intensified environmental regulations, ports are forced to take responsibility when it comes to environmental issues. As a response, in recent studies, the concept of ‘green ports’ emerged. Simultaneously, in the context of digitalisation, the term ‘smart ports’ has received growing attention in the latest scientific discussions, too. Since an important driver towards greener maritime operations is linked to digitalisation, we argue that digital efforts in ports should next to the automation of inherent logistics processes also contribute to reducing the emissions and energy demands. Previous studies have primarily concentrated on the automation of container handling operations. Hence, there exists a research gap concerning the automation of bulk cargo handling operations in ports. Thus, this study addresses the question of how to automate the dry bulk cargo loading operations in the frame of a green and smart port development. The developed case study refers to the seaport of Wismar, whereby the results show that the digitalisation and greener port operations can be successfully aligned. Overall, this study extends the discussion on green and smart port development, while it contributes to the scientific literature by proving that both conceptual ideas can be achieved in the operating business.

In the next ten years, the Baltic countries ― Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania ― are planning large investments in renewable power generation and transfer capacity, substantial phase-out of fossil-based power generation, and desynchronization from the Russian electricity grid. In this article, the operational impacts of these changes on the Baltic energy system from 2017 to 2030 are studied with an open-source Backbone energy system model. The operation of Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian power and heat, transport, and building sectors are optimized simultaneously on an hourly level, and results are analysed with operational, environmental, economic, and security indicators. Results suggest that the planned transition would support Baltic targets in renewable generation (from 45% to 92%) and self-reliance (2.3 TWh increase in domestic power generation and 5.5 TWh decrease in natural gas imports) with a moderate impact on system costs. However, an increase in transport CO2 emissions could risk national non-ETS targets. The hourly operation of the system, with a high share of wind and solar, is based on active use of storages and interconnectors. Model results raise concerns about the amount of Estonian dispatchable capacity, the commercial feasibility of Latvian natural gas CHP’s, and the high ramping rates of Lithuanian interconnectors.

This article presents results of research concerning the possibility of reducing the level of toxic nitric oxides (NOx) emission to the atmosphere. The research has been conducted on DKVR 20-13, PTVM-50 and DE 25-14 gas boilers. The complex character of this issue requires individual consideration regarding each boiler configuration. Each case requires consideration of characteristics and details of all elements constituting the boiler-furnace unit. The main problem was to establish the reference level to which the reduction of nitric oxides occurs. The actual maximum emission of nitric oxides was assumed as this level. It was verified with the maximum allowable emission of nitric oxides for each boiler. Three levels of the potential influence of emission on the atmosphere have been taken into account. This experimental research allowed for proposing an effective method, which led to reducing nitric oxides emission by around 30%.

Following the International Maritime Organization (IMO), in order to safeguard the realization of the Paris Agreement on climate protection, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have to be reduced by 50% by the year 2050. This objective shall be reached by decarbonization of maritime traffic, which is why ship operators currently increasingly search for alternative fuels. Moreover, since the start of the Ukrainian war in February 2022, this issue of alternative fuels has gained central importance in political agendas. A promising candidate for clean shipping that meets the IMO goals is ammonia since it is a carbon-free fuel. Ammonia (NH3) shows good advantages in handling and storage, and it ensures long sea voyages without any significant loss in cargo space for a reasonable price. Hence, ammonia has the potential to improve the environmental footprint of global shipping enormously. Induced by the introduction of stricter regulations in the so-called emission control areas (ECAs) in Northern Europe in 2015 as well as the renewed global sulfur cap, which entered into force in 2020, ship operators had to decide between different compliance methods, among which the most popular solutions are related to the use of expensive low-sulfur fuel oils, newbuilds and retrofits for the usage of liquefied natural gas (LNG) or the installation of scrubber technology. A change to ammonia as a marine alternative fuel represents an additional novel future option, but the successful implementation depends on the availability of NH3 in the ports, i.e., on the installation of the maritime NH3 infrastructure. Currently, the single German NH3 terminal with maritime access is located in Brunsbüttel, the western entrance to Kiel Canal. The distribution of NH3 from the existing NH3 hub to other German ports can be analyzed by the mathematical model of an inventory routing problem (IRP) that is usually solved by combinatorial optimization methods. This paper investigates the interrelated research questions, how the distribution of marine NH3 fuel can be modeled as an IRP, which distribution mode is the most economic one for the German ports and which modal mix for the NH3 supply leads to the greenest distribution. The results of this paper are empirically validated by data that were collected in several EU projects on sustainable supply chain management and green logistics. The paper includes a special section that is dedicated to the discussion of the economic turbulences related to the Ukrainian war together with their implications on maritime shipping.

Emerging large battery energy storage systems (BESSs) are key enablers in the electrification of the shipping sector. With huge government investments in BESSs, there are large gaps between the government supported BESS initiatives and actual BESS integration results on vessels. This study aims to close these gaps, allowing BESSs to become the preferred solution for ship owners without needing government support. Firstly, this industry-driven study reviews both the industrial approaches to achieve CO2 emission reductions and the fuel savings and emission reductions from 500 BESS installations on various vessels. Secondly, a 630 kWh BESS retrofitted onto a hybrid-electric vessel is used to quantitively identify the improvement requirements for installations and operations. The installations required many custom designs that were expensive and have high failure risks. The standardization of interfaces’ between BESSs and vessels is thus urgently required. The BESS was intended for spinning reserve capacity and peak shaving but in practice was under-used in terms of energy throughput (shallow cycles and low equivalent full cycles of 80 versus the design specification of 480 yearly). Thirdly, this study develops new, integrated BESS operational models by learning from large operational data, balancing BESS degradation against fuel saving and utilizing onshore/offshore green power supply/charging. The R&D of BESS is required to deal with the increasing safety requirements and further CO2 emission reductions. Finally, four BESS acceleration scenarios were established to facilitate the technical and operational transferability through utilizing digitalization.

Little study was done to understand the role of high-altitude oak forests in climate change mitigation. Here, we analyzed data from 30 sample plots collected along the four altitudinal gradients to assess species distribution and carbon stocks in the Panchase Conservation Area in Nepal. Three carbon pools were considered, namely aboveground carbon (AGC), belowground carbon (BGC), and carbon in litters (leaf litters, grass, and herb biomass, CiL). Seven species were found, of which two are oak tree species (Quercus semecarpifolia and Quercus lamellosa). Quercus semecarpifolia is the most dominant species in terms of stem density and carbon stocks, followed by Quercus lamellose. Average tree diameter, height, and total carbon stocks were 27.7 cm, 8.4 m, and 127.6 MgC ha−1, respectively. Our study found higher carbon stocks at the higher altitudinal gradient. Pearson’s correlation analysis shows a strong effect of altitudinal gradients on carbon stocks (r = 0.7124), moderate effect on tree height (r = 0.5263), and less effects on diameter (r = 0.1733). A stepwise multiple regression analysis shows strong relationship between carbon stocks with height (P = 0.0059) and carbon stocks with tree diameter (P = 0.0148). Our ground observations and random interviews indicate that the low carbon stocks at the low altitude were due to human disturbance. Oak forests at lower altitudes are sparse forest stands with poor regeneration capacity, overgrazing, and extensive lopping. If such disturbance is prevented, oak forest can increase carbon stocks to 361.7 MgC ha−1 as found at the higher altitude. Conservation of oak forests in the Panchase Conservation Area could result in emission reductions of 633.0 MgCO2 ha−1. These reductions could be eligible for financial incentives under the REDD + scheme.

For centuries Europe's transport has been a catalyst for economic development. At present, it facilitates exchange among European Union (EU) Member States and much of the rest of the world. Maritime transport forms the main axis of international exchange, carrying ~90% of total traded tonnage. In doing so, it bears responsibility for 2.5% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. The efforts to reduce negative environmental impact of transport activity is centered on better modal integration of the common transport system, sustainability, green technologies in the transport sector, resource efficiency, and carbon emissions reduction. The International Maritime Organization has tasked its members to achieve a 70% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050 or, if possible, to eliminate them altogether. From a business end, it is possible to apply a variety of technologies to ensure zero-emissions or, at the least, a dramatic reduction of emissions in the shipping sector. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the strategic approach to the decarbonization process based on EU strategic documents and low-emission and zero-emission technologies, used and developed, in maritime transport. An estimation of external costs incurred by maritime transport will allow for the assessment of benefits resulting from the application of technologies and alternative fuels proposed in the solutions. On the basis of the obtained results from the external cost valuation it will be possible to estimate the potential for decarbonization in maritime transport.

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) aims to maintain forest carbon stocks above benchmark reference levels through financial compensation. However, countries with high forest cover and low deforestation (HFLD) are unlikely to be compensated fairly if REDD+ initiatives fail to conserve existing forests and to incentivize low deforestation rates. Here we analyze the submissions of forest reference levels (FRLs) of five HFLD countries [Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Republic of the Congo (Congo), Guyana, Papua New Guinea, Suriname] to the REDD+ platform of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. We assessed if the FRLs are likely to yield compensation payments that maintain carbon stocks above the business-as-usual scenario and compared the FRLs with quantitative emission data. Our results show that only Guyana submitted an FRL that yielded sufficient monetary incentives for low deforestation rates. Compensation payments will likely be insufficient in Suriname, Papua New Guinea, and the Congo. The FRL of the DRC would generate the highest compensation payment (on average US$ 1.3 billion annually). Overall, our results suggest that payments from REDD+ will fail to provide adequate incentives for most HFLD countries. We suggest that the FRL should allow for post hoc adaptation to changes in the drivers of deforestation. This implies that REDD+ schemes need sufficient flexibility to reflect changes in the opportunity costs of alternative land uses, which is particularly acute for HFLD countries where pressure on forests can accumulate rapidly. More adaptive REDD+ likely better rewards HFLD countries in ways that preserve their valuable forest ecosystems.

Temperature and water vapor have been considered as important factors affecting ozone concentrations, however, their synergistic effect on ozone, as well as its response to a warming climate remains unclear. Here, numerical experiments with different combinations of climate and emissions highlighted opposite changes of annual ozone over the contiguous U.S. under scenarios with high vs. low ozone precursor emissions in the future with warming. Comparing the occurrence of heat waves on higher vs. lower ozone days, we found significant suppression of the heat wave exacerbation of ozone by anthropogenic emissions reductions. Variations of ozone with temperature ( T ) and water vapor ( Q ) over the western U.S. and southeastern U.S. in the simulations are clearly revealed through the construction of an O _3 - T-Q diagram. Based on the diagram, we further identified a T -dominant regime at higher temperatures where ozone increases with temperature increase, and a Q -dominant regime at lower temperatures where ozone decreases with temperature increase due to the negative effect of water vapor. With larger anthropogenic emission reductions, ozone may increase at a lower rate with temperature in the T -dominant regime, or even decrease with temperature in the Q -dominant regime. Our results show that with large emission reductions, substantial ozone pollution due to warming and increasing heat waves may be counteracted by water vapor, partly turning the ‘climate penalty’ on ozone into ‘climate benefit’. Hence controlling anthropogenic emissions may be an increasingly important strategy in a warmer and wetter climate to improve air quality and public health.

As urban populations grow, cities need new strategies to maintain a good standard of living while enhancing services and infrastructure development. A key area for improving city operations and spatial layout is the transportation of people and goods. While conventional transportation systems (i.e., fossil fuel based) are struggling to serve mobility needs for growing populations, they also represent serious environmental threats. Alternative-fuel vehicles can reduce emissions that contribute to local air pollution and greenhouse gases as mobility needs grow. However, even if alternative-powered vehicles were widely employed, road congestion would still increase. This paper investigates ridesharing as a mobility option to reduce emissions (carbon, particulates and ozone) while accommodating growing transportation needs and reducing overall congestion. The potential of ridesharing to reduce carbon emissions from personal vehicles in Changsha, China, is examined by reviewing mobility patterns of approximately 8,900 privately-owned vehicles over two months. Big data analytics identify ridesharing potential among these drivers by grouping vehicles by their trajectory similarity. The approach includes five steps: data preprocessing, trip recognition, feature vector creation, similarity measurement and clustering. Potential reductions in vehicle emissions through ridesharing among a specific group of drivers are calculated and discussed. While the quantitative results of this analysis are specific to the population of Changsha, they provide useful insights for the potential of ridesharing to reduce vehicle emissions and the congestion expected to grow with mobility needs. Within the study area, ridesharing has the potential to reduce total kilometers driven by about 24% assuming a maximum distance between trips less than 10 kilometers, and schedule time less than 60 minutes. For a more conservative maximum trip distance of 2 kilometers and passenger schedule time of less than 40 minutes, the reductions in traveled kilometers could translate to the equivalent of approximately 4.0 tons CO2 emission reductions daily.

Decision makers increasingly recognise the importance of lifestyle changes in reaching low emission targets. How the mitigation potential of changes in mobility, dietary, housing or consumption behaviour compare to those of ambitious technological changes in terms of decarbonisation remains a key question. To evaluate the interplay of behaviour and technological changes, we make use of the European Calculator model and show that changes in behaviour may contribute more than 20% of the overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions required for net-zero by 2050. Behaviour and technology-oriented scenarios are tested individually and in combination for the EU plus the UK and Switzerland. The impacts of behavioural change vary across sectors, with significant GHG emission reduction potential and broader benefits. Changes in travel behaviour limit the rising demand for electricity, natural resources and infrastructure costs from the electrification of passenger transport. Adopting a healthy diet reduces emissions substantially compared to intensifying agricultural practices, while at the same time making cropland available for conservation or bioenergy crops. The trade-offs between energy and food may be substantially alleviated when deploying technological and behavioural changes simultaneously. The results suggest that without behavioural change, the dependency of Europe on carbon removal technologies for its net-zero ambitions increases. Structural changes will be necessary to achieve full decarbonisation by 2050, yet changes in lifestyles are crucial, contributing to achieving climate targets sooner.

Abstract Background The focus of REDD+ is sensu stricto on maintaining forest carbon stocks. We extend the scope of sustainable management of forest from forests to timber utilization, and study carbon offsets resulting from the utilization of harvested timber for bio energy or harvested wood products (HWPs). The emission budget of harvesting operations depends on the loss of standing biomass by timber extracted from the forest site and logging losses on the one side, and on the other on the wood end use and the utilization of processing residues. We develop two scenarios to quantify the magnitude of CO2 emissions by (1) energetic utilization, and (2) energetic and material utilization of harvested timber and compare the substitution effects for different fossil energy sources. Results The direct energetic use of harvested timber does not compensate for the losses of forest carbon stock. Logging residuals and displacement factors reflecting different wood use constitute by far the most important factor in potential emission reductions. Substitution effects resulting from energetic use of mill residuals and from HWPs have only a subordinated contribution to the total emissions as well as the type of fossil fuel utilized to quantify substitution effects. Material substitution effects associated with harvested wood products show a high potential to increase the climate change benefits. Conclusions The observation and perception of REDD+ should not be restricted to sustainable management and reduced impact logging practices in the forest domain but should be extended to the utilization of extracted timber. Substitution effects from material and energetic utilization of harvested timber result in considerable emission reductions, which can compensate for the loss of forest carbon, and eventually contribute to the overall climate change mitigation benefits from forestry sector.

Digital and scalable technologies are increasingly important for rapid and large-scale assessment and monitoring of land cover change. Until recently, little research has existed on how these technologies can be specifically applied to the monitoring of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) activities. Using the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud computing platform, we applied the recently developed phenology-based threshold classification method (PBTC) for detecting and mapping forest cover and carbon stock changes in Siem Reap province, Cambodia, between 1990 and 2018. The obtained PBTC maps were validated using Google Earth high resolution historical imagery and reference land cover maps by creating 3771 systematic 5 × 5 km spatial accuracy points. The overall cumulative accuracy of this study was 92.1% and its cumulative Kappa was 0.9, which are sufficiently high to apply the PBTC method to detect forest land cover change. Accordingly, we estimated the carbon stock changes over a 28-year period in accordance with the Good Practice Guidelines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. We found that 322,694 ha of forest cover was lost in Siem Reap, representing an annual deforestation rate of 1.3% between 1990 and 2018. This loss of forest cover was responsible for carbon emissions of 143,729,440 MgCO2 over the same period. If REDD+ activities are implemented during the implementation period of the Paris Climate Agreement between 2020 and 2030, about 8,256,746 MgCO2 of carbon emissions could be reduced, equivalent to about USD 6-115 million annually depending on chosen carbon prices. Our case study demonstrates that the GEE and PBTC method can be used to detect and monitor forest cover change and carbon stock changes in the tropics with high accuracy.

Corn stover is an abundant raw material that can be used to produce ethanol and reduce air pollution. This paper studied the potential reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions across China if corn stover was used for ethanol production. Field surveys in nine provincial regions were conducted. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) was used to assess the GHG and PM2.5 emissions from a corn stover based ethanol system. The LCA system boundaries included several process stages from corn planting to ethanol fuel used in vehicles. Corn stover geographical distributions and emission reduction factors were combined. Results showed that the total surplus quantity of corn stover in China was 86.2 million metric tons (Mt) in 2015. It was sufficient to reach the ethanol production target set by the Chinese government. In the scenario that 38.5 Mt or 44.6% of corn stover surplus were used for ethanol production, the total potential emission reductions were 36.5 Mt CO2-eq GHG and 450.9 kt PM2.5. Among the 31 provincial regions in China, the reduction potentials varied from 0.001 to 8.9 Mt CO2-eq for GHG and from 0.013 to 109.7 kt for PM2.5. This study provided useful information to policy makers, researchers and industry managers who work on environmental control and corn stover management.