Search

Limiting CO2 emissions is crucial for sustainable development, environmental protection, and climate change mitigation, ensuring a more resilient and cleaner future. Prioritizing sustainable urbanization renewable energy, and energy efficiency is vital for achieving this prosperous and sustainable future. As a result, we adopt the Fourier testing approach for stationary, cointegration, estimator, and causality, to scrutinize the role of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and urbanization on CO2 emissions in Finland over the period between 1990 and 2020, controlling economic growth and trade openness. The empirical analysis of the Fourier ARDL estimator establishes that energy efficiency measures such as gas and oil efficiency exhibit an adverse effect on CO2 emissions, so energy efficiency mitigates CO2 emissions. Similarly, the study also found that urbanization and renewable energy reduce CO2 emissions. Conversely, economic growth and trade openness induce CO2 emissions. Additionally, the Fourier-Toda-Yamamoto method provides robust evidence regarding the long-term implications of the examined factors. Based on this result, the study emphasizes that implementing a regulatory framework to enhance energy efficiency, promote renewable energy adoption, and support sustainable urban development will be an essential strategy in the global effort to attain the net-zero emissions target, which offers valuable insights to other countries seeking to transition towards cleaner and more sustainable energy sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this case study, the fuel consumption of a laden (i.e., the laden portion of the transport cycle) 92-tonne (92 t) high-capacity transport (HCT) timber truck combination was measured, modeled and compared to that of a normal 76 t timber truck combination in Finland. Fuel and CO2 emission savings, as well as potential resulting cost savings were also calculated for a future scenario where HCT (92 t) timber trucks are commonly utilized instead of normal (76 t) timber trucks for industrial roundwood hauling from wood terminals to mill yards. The data were collected during a long-term follow-up study in 2019 and 2020. The results revealed that the average payload weight was 27% higher for the HCT 92 t timber truck combination than the 76 t truck combination. Fuel consumption (using all two indicators, L 100 km−1 and mL tkm−1) for timber hauling with both laden vehicle combinations was higher in wintertime than summertime. The laden HCT 92 t timber truck combination had 8–11% lower fuel consumption (in mL tkm−1) than the 76 t truck combination over transport distances of 100–300 km. The calculations showed that there is a significant potential to achieve fuel, CO2 emission and cost savings using HCT vehicle combinations. On the basis of the study, it can be recommended to increase the number of energy-efficient HCT vehicle combinations in timber hauling. Consequently, lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions and higher environmental performance of industrial roundwood transport can be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, timber trucks of gross vehicle weight (GVW) up to 76 tonnes are allowed to operate on Finnish roads from roadside landings to mills. Reducing trucking costs and exhaust gas emissions have been the dominant reasons for the increased GVWs of timber trucks. A discrete-event simulation (DES) method was used to compare the impact of the truck and payload size, trucking distance, and timber assortment lengths on trucking performance indicators (e.g., productivity, energy efficiency, and costs of trucking) in the procurement area of a case logistic company operating in Central Finland. The studied truck sizes were 68, 76 and 84 t, of which the 76-t trucks dominate timber trucking in Finland. Over a transport distance of approx. 105 km with an average assortment length of 4.2 m, 76-t trucks had 9% higher and 12% lower productivity (m3/100 km), 1% lower and 4% higher fuel consumption (l/m3) and 4% lower and 6% higher trucking cost (€/m3) compared to 68- and 84-tonner options, respectively. The improvement in regards to previous indicators was clearly bigger for the 76-tonner than the 68-tonner if the trucked wood assortments were lengthened to 5.0 m. The differences in cost and fuel efficiency as well as annual trucking volumes were increased as a function of the trucking distance, when comparing the truck configurations with different GVWs and payloads. To conclude, the tendency of the size increase in GVWs in timber trucking in Finland can be justified in light of the study results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]