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Projected growth in the international shipping industry is set to outstrip CO 2 reductions arising from incremental improvements to technology and operations currently being planned and implemented. Using original scenarios, this paper demonstrates for the first time that it is possible for a nation's shipping to make a fair contribution to meeting global climate change commitments, but that this requires transformation of the sector. The scale and nature of technology change varies depending on the level of demand and how this is satisfied. The scenarios show that to develop successful marine mitigation policy, it is essential to consider the interdependencies between ship speed, level and pattern of demand for services, and the extent and rate of innovation in propulsion technology. Across the scenarios, it is difficult to foresee how deep decarbonisation can be achieved without an immediate, fleet-wide speed reduction; and a land-based energy-system transition strongly influences shipping demand, which in turn, influences the extent of required low-carbon propulsion technology change. Setting the industry on a 2 °C heading requires multifaceted and near-term changes in the shipping sector, but these are unlikely to materialise without a major shift by stakeholders to realise new and innovative deep decarbonisation policies in the coming decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The key enabler of international trade, shipping is heavily reliant on fossil fuels and responsible for approximately 2% of global carbon emissions. For the sector to reduce its emissions in line with climate change objectives, a wholesale transition is required from the current carbon intensive shipping system to one with a lower climatic impact. Drawing on the multi-level perspective from the socio-technical transitions literature, this paper focuses on two technological developments which could reduce the emissions from shipping - slow steaming and wind propulsion. Outlining the landscape changes which may hinder or support the incorporation of each of these innovations into the broader shipping regime the paper shows how slow steaming has been accommodated within this regime, in response to high oil prices and the economic downturn. In the longer term it concludes that additional policy measures may be required to ensure slow steaming persists should landscape pressures reduce. Oil prices, and the environmental agenda, are driving the development of wind propulsion, but more needs to be done to support those companies which seek to demonstrate and commercialise modern incarnations of the original pioneers of the seas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Clusters approach can support industrial decarbonisation, essential for net zero. • Cluster activities mapped against seven pillars of social licence to operate (SLO). • Industrial decarbonisation needs social licence for different scales and systems. • Stakeholder narratives and networks support CCS SLO in industrial clusters. • Important to recognise local benefits, align priorities and develop partnerships. This paper explores the opportunities for, and progress in, establishing a social licence to operate (SLO) for CCS in industrial clusters in the UK, focusing on the perspectives of key stakeholders. The evolution of narratives and networks relating to geographical clusters as niches for CCS in industrial decarbonisation is evaluated in relation to seven pillars supporting SLO. Evidence is drawn from a combination of cluster mapping, documentary analysis and stakeholder interviews to identify the wider contexts underpinning industrial decarbonisation, stakeholder networks, interaction and communication, critical narratives, the conditions for establishing trust and confidence, different scales of social licence and maintaining a SLO. The delivery of a sustainable industrial decarbonisation strategy will depend on multiple layers of social licence involving discourses at different scales and, potentially, for different systems (heat, transport, different industrial processes). Despite setbacks as a result of funding cancellations and changes to government policy, the UK is positioned to be at the forefront of CCS deployment. While there is a high ambition and a strong narrative from government of the urgency to accelerate projects involving CCS, clear coordinated strategy and funding frameworks are necessary to build confidence that UK policy is both compatible with net zero and economically viable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To guide the adjustment of the electricity policies of the 13th Five-year Plan and the present market-oriented reforms, this paper performs a scenario analysis of the CO 2 emissions from China's electric power industry. By using a logarithmic linear equation to explain the relationship between CO 2 emissions and their influence factors, a hybrid model to forecast the “natural” development of the explanatory variables, and emission-relative data from 2001 to 2013 to estimate the equation parameters, five scenarios are designed, and the CO 2 emissions of each scenario are forecasted for the period of 2016–2030. On the basis of the modeling results, the sensitivity and contribution of each variable are also measured. Empirical analysis draws the following conclusions. (1) The electric power industry of China cannot easily reach its CO 2 emission peak before 2030. This will impose considerable pressure on the Chinese government to realize its emission mitigation target. (2) Compared with the non-fossil energy share in electricity generation, the CO 2 emissions from China's electric power industry are more sensitive to the changes in total electricity consumption and thermal power generation efficiency. (3) The increase in total electricity consumption is the single most important contributor to CO 2 emission growth from the electric power industry of China. (4) To mitigate future CO 2 emissions from the electric power industry, the Chinese government should optimize the industrial export structure and enhance its awareness of the increase in household electricity consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]