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What are the consequences of a local carbon levy applied to (1) all estimated residential consumption emissions and (2) all residential gas and grid electricity-related emissions? Housing stock simulations in the City of Southampton, UK, are used to explore whether a local carbon levy could pay for retrofits at a local level. The value of the levy is estimated for the whole city and for neighbourhoods at the census lower layer super output area (LSOA) level (about 1500 households) using recently published ‘official’ carbon values under two scenarios. The levy is then set against an estimate of the cost of retrofitting energy-efficient dwellings in each LSOA. The models show that highly emitting LSOAs (generally those with least deprivation) would raise sufficient levy to retrofit their dwellings within three to five years if an ‘all emissions’ levy were applied. This is not the case in low-emissions LSOAs which tend to be those with the highest deprivation. Here it could take up to 60 years to meet the retrofit costs if the levy were only applied to energy emissions. Redistribution of the levy from the least deprived but highly emitting neighbourhoods to the more deprived but least emitting would therefore be needed. Practice relevance This paper shows that a local area carbon levy on residential emissions would not self-fund energy efficiency upgrades in the City of Southampton’s dwelling stock ‘to a reasonable standard’ within an acceptable time frame. It would only be effective in high-emissions areas, and the levy would need to be redistributed to lower emissions (and thus lower levy-generating) areas, which also tend to be those with the highest energy poverty and worst housing. The paper is therefore evidence of the need for public investment to ensure energy efficiency upgrades occur within a reasonable time frame for those in greatest need. It also shows that innovation in financial models is required to ensure that the rate of upgrade, and thus decrease in energy use, emissions and energy insecurity is accelerated across middle to high emitters who are unlikely to receive direct government support, where their own capital is insufficient and their incentives to invest are relatively low.

What are the consequences of a local carbon levy applied to (1) all estimated residential consumption emissions and (2) all residential gas and grid electricity-related emissions? Housing stock simulations in the City of Southampton, UK, are used to explore whether a local carbon levy could pay for retrofits at a local level. The value of the levy is estimated for the whole city and for neighbourhoods at the census lower layer super output area (LSOA) level (about 1500 households) using recently published 'official' carbon values under two scenarios. The levy is then set against an estimate of the cost of retrofitting energy-efficient dwellings in each LSOA. The models show that highly emitting LSOAs (generally those with least deprivation) would raise sufficient levy to retrofit their dwellings within three to five years if an 'all emissions' levy were applied. This is not the case in lowemissions LSOAs which tend to be those with the highest deprivation. Here it could take up to 60 years to meet the retrofit costs if the levy were only applied to energy emissions. Redistribution of the levy from the least deprived but highly emitting neighbourhoods to the more deprived but least emitting would therefore be needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a gas generated by both natural and man-made sources, such as the burning of fossil fuels for power generation and from agriculture. Currently, it is seen as the main contributor to the increase in the greenhouse effect, leading to global warming. Therefore, the development of technologies for the capture and use of this gas are of great importance for the mitigation of greenhouse gases (GHG) and the reduction of their negative environmental effects. The objective of this review is to survey the main carbon dioxide capture technologies under development for the energy sectors, especially for thermoelectric and bioenergy (ethanol plant). Pre-combustion, oxy-fuel and post-combustion technologies were depicted, among them: adsorption, absorption, membrane separation and chemical capture. By means the compiled information, it was possible to identify the main advances as well as the main difficulties of carbon dioxide capture & use technologies. Moreover, aspects of the carbon market were discussed also.

Reduced electricity demand through the implementation of an energy efficiency policy is a central pillar of the Malaysian government's energy strategy. Energy efficiency first emerged as part of Malaysia's energy policy agenda in 1979 but only came into force during the 2000s. Initially, it was seen from global fears about the shortage of fossil fuels, then as a way of combating climate change. This paper offers a comprehensive review of Malaysia's energy policies with a focus on adopting policies to improve energy efficiency. Starting with Malaysia's preliminary policy in response to the OPEC-driven global oil crisis in 1973, the paper discusses how policymakers are considering energy efficiency from Malaysia's sustainable development perspective and what relevant government efforts have been made to improve it. The review evaluates the progress that has been made over the past 25 years to address energy efficiency in the economy and highlights the achievements and remaining difficulties. Findings show that the level of energy efficiency while having shown improvement during 1990–2015 was lower than expected. In terms of electricity intensity of GDP, Malaysia has a relatively large position among the ASEAN countries and the world's largest electricity consumers. Researchers, scientists, and practitioners will benefit from the extensive review material of this study, which will help them better understand energy efficiency and the sustainability strategy implemented in Malaysia to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global environmental pressure dictates that South Africa reduces its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while national objectives focus on economic development. South Africa is faced with the dilemma of simultaneously alleviating poverty, reducing unemployment, growing the economy and responding to international pressure to reduce GHG emissions. As a result, policies that promote energy emissions reduction without being harmful to economic growth and national developmental priorities are needed. Environmental fiscal reform presents one such option. The impact of this is still unclear for South Africa, and this paper explores this issue. Energy balance data on energy consumption, energy emissions and input-output data for South Africa are used to assess the economic and environmental effects of environmental reform in the energy sector. Despite the high reduction in energy emissions, a tax on coal is not selected as the best alternative given the high negative impact on the economy. A tax on oil results in a low reduction in energy emissions, which limits its use as an environmental policy. The scenario using a petroleum products tax results in small decreases in economic growth but it has low energy emissions reduction, hence, this alternative is not selected as an option. Energy subsidy reform offers the second highest reduction in real energy emissions and a low decrease in economic growth, and this scenario is therefore recognised as the best option for carbon dioxide reduction in South Africa. The electricity tax offers moderate reductions in real energy emissions and a moderate decrease in economic growth, and therefore, it is deduced that the electricity tax option could be another option for carbon dioxide emissions reduction in South Africa.

Electric, autonomous vehicles promise to address technical consumption inefficiencies associated with gasoline use and reduce emissions. Potential realization of this prospect has prompted considerable interest and investment in the technology. Using publicly available data from a select market, we examine the magnitude of the envisioned benefits and the determinants of the financial payoff of investing in a tripartite innovation in motor vehicle transportation: vehicle electrification, vehicle automation, and vehicle sharing. In contrast to previous work, we document that (a) the technology’s envisioned cost effectiveness may be impeded by previously unconsidered parameters, (b) the inability to achieve cost parity with the status quo does not necessarily preclude net increases in energy consumption and emissions, (c) these increases are driven primarily by induced demand and mode switches away from pooled personal vehicles, and (d) the aforementioned externalities may be mitigated by leveraging a specific set of technological, behavioral and logistical pathways. We quantify—for the first time—the thresholds required for each of these pathways to be effective and demonstrate that pathway stringency is largely influenced by heterogeneity in trip timing behavior. We conclude that enacting these pathways is crucial to fostering environmental stewardship absent impediments in economic mobility.

Policy strategies to foster climate-change resilient ecosystems require broad-based identification of the mechanisms underlying the nexus. Prior investigations, maybe, inadvertently left so many factors unverified. Failing to verify, specifically, how climate change is influenced by public-funded research and development (R&D) on energy efficiencies, renewables, nuclear energy, and power storage technologies concealed vital policy insights. We have analyzed a panel series of the aforementioned factors stretching from 1985 to 2021 in the context of G10 countries. Several innovative panel techniques robust to cross-national exigencies were implemented. This includes two recently introduced third-generation panel unit-root procedures, the Banerjee and Carrion-i-Silvestre cointegration process, the fully-generalized least square, panel-corrected standard error, Driscoll-Kray standard errors, and the dynamic common correlated effects estimator. Long-run elasticities informed that total R&D expenditure on green-technologies is more effective in mitigating energy-induced emissions than the overall surface temperature. R&D expenditure on energy efficiencies, renewables, and nuclear energies performed better in minifying both metrics than power storage. Fossil fuel technologies remained inimical to environmental sustainability. Energy-tax promoted environmental quality significantly by reducing both energy emissions and climate temperature. It is commendable to invest more in energy-enhancing technologies but other factors that have a direct bearing on climate-change deserve consideration. • Climate change effects of public-funded R&D on categorical energy efficient technologies were verified. • The effects of these technologies on climate change varied considerably. • R&D expenditure on energy efficiencies minified both metrics more than power storage. • Fossil fuel technologies remained inimical to environmental sustainability. • Energy tax reduced both metrics of environmental quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restrictions on human and industrial activities due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have resulted in an unprecedented reduction in energy consumption and air pollution around the world. Quantifying these changes in environmental conditions due to government-enforced containment measures provides a unique opportunity to understand the patterns, origins and impacts of air pollutants. During the lockdown in Pakistan, a significant reduction in energy demands and a decline of ∼1786 GWh (gigawatt hours) in electricity generation is reported. We used satellite observational data for nitrogen dioxide (NO 2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur dioxide (SO 2), aerosol optical depth (AOD) and land surface temperature (LST) to explore the associated environmental impacts of shifts in energy demands and emissions across Pakistan. During the strict lockdown period (March 23 to April 15, 2020), we observed a reduction in NO 2 emissions by 40% from coal-based power plants followed by 30% in major urban areas compared to the same period in 2019. Also, around 25% decrease in AOD (at 550 nm) thickness in industrial and energy sectors was observed although no major decrease was evident in urban areas. Most of the industrial regions resumed emissions during the 3rd quarter of April 2020 while the urban regions maintained reduced emissions for a longer period. Nonetheless, a gradual increase has been observed since April 16 due to relaxations in lockdown implementations. Restrictions on transportation in the cities resulted in an evident drop in the surface urban heat island (SUHI) effect, particularly in megacities. The changes reported as well as the analytical framework provides a baseline benchmark to assess the sectoral pollution contributions to air quality, especially in the scarcity of ground-based monitoring systems across the country. Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]