Three-Tier carbon accounting model for cities

Taiwan has shifted to being a net CO2 exporter since the mid-1990s

With the integration of the global economy and increased international trade, CO₂ emissions embodied in trade have attracted broad attention. In this study, we examined Taiwan's CO₂ emissions embodied in its imports and exports with its 167 trade partners from 1970 to 2015 using the emissions embodied in bilateral trade (EEBT) method. The results show that since the mid-1990s, Taiwan has shifted to being a net CO₂ emissions exporter. The share of Taiwan's CO₂ emissions exported to developed countries has decreased. However, the share exported to Mainland China, Hong Kong special administrative region and many developing countries in Southeast Asia has increased. The results of a structural decomposition analysis show that emissions intensity changes were the main driving force for Taiwan's exported CO₂ emissions during 1970-1996, while increased export volumes were the largest driving force for Taiwan's exported CO₂ emissions during 1996-2015. Emissions intensity changes and population growth are the main driving factors for Taiwan's CO₂ emissions produced and consumed by itself increases. Based on the SDA results, environmentally friendly policies, such as energy efficiency and industrial structure optimization, are suggested to help Taiwan shift towards a sustainable economy.

CO2 emission characteristics and reduction responsibility of industrial subsectors in China

Industrial subsectors have an important role in reducing China's carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. The present study analyzes the CO₂ emission characteristics of selected subsectors. Results show that the electric and heat power sector is the major industrial CO₂ emitter, and CO₂ emissions of most sectors present huge inter-provincial and inter-regional differences. Then, the CO₂ emission reduction responsibility of provincial-level industrial subsectors is confirmed by the decoupling model. Results show that the development of a low-carbon economy in the nonmetal sector is ideal, and the economic growth in Shanxi and Guizhou is moving toward a low-carbon and energy-saving mode. Moreover, the subsectors that each province should focus on are identified. Finally, constructive suggestions for policymakers to promote low-carbon economy and sustainable development are provided.

Supply-side carbon accounting and mitigation analysis for Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration in China

Cities play an important role in controlling climate change. Previous 'city-scale studies' have investigated consumption-based emission accounting for demand-side mitigation analysis. However, to date very few studies have presented income-based emissions accounting for supply-side mitigation strategies at the level of an urban agglomeration. To fill this gap, this research begins by accounting for the income-based carbon footprint of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) urban agglomeration. The 14 cities that make up the BTH region were grouped into 4 types in order to analyse the emission patterns of each and to identify both labour-intensive and carbon-efficient sectors. The results from this analysis are presented in a number of heatmaps, which show emission patterns, labour-capital ratios and carbon efficiencies. The industry relocation among the 14 cities is then discussed with regards to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Coordinated Development Strategy. The results indicate that the service sector of Beijing, several mining sectors of resource-oriented cities and the electricity production for all of the cities are the most carbon-intensive sectors from an income-based perspective; the labour-intensive sectors are typically carbon-efficient, and the combination of supply-side carbon emissions, carbon efficiency and labour-to-capital ratio helps identify the key sectors for providing policy-makers the direction of industrial adjustment and relocation.

A Novel Collaborative Optimization Model for Job Shop Production–Delivery Considering Time Window and Carbon Emission

The manufacturing industry is undergoing transformation and upgrading from traditional manufacturing to intelligent manufacturing, in which Internet of Things (IoT) technology plays a central role in promoting the development of intelligent manufacturing. In order to solve the problem that low production efficiency and machine utilization lead to serious pollution emissions in the workshop caused by untimely transmission of information in all links of the production and manufacturing process to whole supply chains, this study establishes an intelligent production scheduling and logistics delivery model with IoT technology to promote green and sustainable development of intelligent manufacturing. Firstly, an application framework of IoT technology in production–delivery supply chain systems was established to improve efficiency and achieve the integration of production and delivery. Secondly, an integrated production–delivery model was constructed, which takes into account time and low carbon constraints. Finally, a two-layer optimization algorithm was proposed to solve this integration problem. Through a case study, the results show this integration production–delivery model can reduce the cost of supply chains and improve customer satisfaction. Moreover, it proves that carbon emission cost is a major factor affecting total cost, and it could help enterprises to realize the profit and sustainable development of the environment. The production–delivery model could also support the last kilometer distribution problem and extension under E-commerce applications.