Validating environmental reporting of carbon emissions

Does urbanization lead to more direct and indirect household carbon dioxide emissions? Evidence from China during 1996–2012

This study uncovered the direct and indirect energy-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 213 Chinese national-level industrial parks, providing 11% of China's gross domestic product, from a life-cycle perspective. Direct emissions are sourced from fuel combustion, and indirect emissions are embodied in energy production. The results indicated that in 2015, the direct and indirect GHG emissions of the parks were 1042 and 181 million tonne CO2 equiv, respectively, totally accounting for 11% of national GHG emissions. The total energy consumption of the parks accounted for 10% of national energy consumption. Coal constituted 74% of total energy consumption in these parks. Baseline and low-carbon scenarios are established for 2030, and five GHG mitigation measures targeting energy consumption are modeled. The GHG mitigation potential for these parks in 2030 is quantified as 111 million tonne, equivalent to 9.1% of the parks' total emission in 2015. The measures that increase the share of natural gas consumption, reduce the GHG emission factor of electricity grid, and improve the average efficiency of industrial coal-fired boilers, will totally contribute 94% and 98% in direct and indirect GHG emissions reductions, respectively. These findings will provide a solid foundation for the low carbon development of Chinese industrial parks.

Urban household consumption contributes substantially to global greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions. Urban household emissions encompass both direct and indirect emissions, with the former associated with the direct use of fossil fuels and the latter with the emissions embodied in the consumed goods and services. However, there is a lack of consistent and comprehensive datasets outlining in great detail emissions from urban household consumption. To bridge this data gap, we construct an emission inventory of urban household emissions for 52 major cities in Japan that covers around 500 emission categories. The dataset spans from January 2011 to December 2015 and contains 12,384 data records for direct emissions and 1,543,128 records for indirect emissions. Direct emission intensity is provided in g-CO2/JPY to facilitate both future studies of household emission in Japan, as well as act as a reference for the development of detailed household emission inventories in other countries.

The circular economy and carbon footprint: A systematic accounting for typical coal-fuelled power industrial parks

Regulatory agencies are planning to implement policies targeted at mitigating greenhouse gas emissions (GHG)—e.g., low carbon fuel standards and carbon trading. Biofuels are viewed as a path to achieve these goals. Biofuels, however, pose challenges to regulators because their GHG emissions are site-specific (there are regional differences, as well as technical differences) and uncertain. In this article, we propose methodological improvements to existing methods that yield better estimates for biofuel GHG emissions, and reduce uncertainty. We propose to break the net emissions caused by a regulated site, such as an oil refinery, into two parts: direct and indirect emissions. Direct emissions arise both at and away from the final regulated site, but are directly attributable to the final output. Indirect emissions, on the other hand, are comprised of emissions not traceable to a single entity, but which can be computed from aggregate supply and demand, e.g., indirect land use change (ILUC) emissions due to agricultural expansion. The sum of the site-specific direct emissions and the average indirect emissions is, then, compared to the standard, which is constructed given uncertainty. Such a framework can be implemented in practice given existing data and yet allows flexibility given heterogeneity and uncertainty.

Relationship between urbanization, direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions, and expenditures: A multivariate analysis

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is the third most important long-lived greenhouse gas (GHG) and an important stratospheric ozone-depleting substance. We present the first version of a new high-resolution European emission inventory of anthropogenic direct and indirect N2O emissions. This inventory is developed to achieve one of the special objectives of the AVENGERS project, namely to advance the provision of high-resolution prior emissions by use of innovative activity data. AVENGERS is a Research and Innovation project funded under the Horizon Europe program of the European Union whose objective is to reconcile reported GHG emissions with independent information from atmospheric observations using top-down methods and process-based models, and thereby reduce the most important uncertainties of national emission inventories. To be able to compare national reported emission data against observations and model estimates, these reported emissions need to be available in a gridded form including essential emission characteristics such as emission timing and emission height. Our emission inventory starts from the reporting by European countries in their National Inventory Reports (NIR) to UNFCCC. Emissions are collected at the highest sectoral level. Each (sub)sector is connected to a specific spatial proxy, whereafter a consistent spatial distribution is applied for Europe at a resolution of 0.05∘ × 0.1∘ grid resolution (~6x6km). To support inverse modelling over a longer period where measurements are available, the inventory covers the period 2010-2021. Differences in country-specific choices in emission reporting to UNFCCC, e.g., in the waste sector, may lead to inconsistent emission estimates; we provide options for harmonization of these discrepancies. We pay special attention to understanding the role of indirect N2O emissions that may be equivalent to 15-20% of the total anthropogenic N2O emissions. Indirect emissions involve nitrogen that is emitted by anthropogenic activities and/or removed from agricultural soils and animal waste management systems via volatilization, leaching, runoff, or harvest of crop biomass, leading to N2O formation elsewhere. The reported indirect emissions, emitted from natural ecosystems and/or waterbodies are compared against process-model based emission estimates. The ultimate objective of this research is to reduce uncertainties in the key sources of N2O and support the implementation of top-down methods in support of the UNFCCC’s NIR preparation in collaboration between inverse modellers and inventory compilers.

The study shows how positive and negative information on corporate social and environmental responsibility influences purchase, employment, and investment intentions of various stakeholders. We manipulated the information on corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities of a hypothetical firm in a between‐subjects experimental design. The design had two treatments. In the ‘positive CSR’ treatment, the company's social and environmental performance was described in a positive perspective (depicting a strong social performance), whereas in the ‘negative CSR’ treatment it was described in a negative perspective (depicting a weak social performance). In both treatments, information about other key characteristics of the focal company were kept constant. Respondents' intentions to purchase products from, seek employment with, and invest in the company were evaluated by multi‐item scales. The results demonstrate that positive CSR information about a firm enhances consumers' intentions to purchase products from, potential employees' intentions to seek employment with, and potential investors' intentions to invest in the company. Theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

The assessment of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions in China's chemical industry

How realistic is green growth? Sectoral-level carbon intensity versus productivity

Indirect carbon emissions of urban households in China: Patterns, determinants and inequality

Options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during wastewater treatment for agricultural use

Editorial and News

Primary operating data were collected from forty-six wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located across three states within Australia. The size range of plants was indicatively from 500 to 900,000 person equivalents. Direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions were calculated using a mass balance approach and default emission factors, based on Australia's National Greenhouse Energy Reporting (NGER) scheme and IPCC guidelines. A Monte Carlo-type combined uncertainty analysis was applied to the some of the key emission factors in order to study sensitivity. The results suggest that Scope 2 (indirect emissions due to electrical power purchased from the grid) dominate the emissions profile for most of the plants (indicatively half to three quarters of the average estimated total emissions). This is only offset for the relatively small number of plants (in this study) that have significant on-site power generation from biogas, or where the water utility purchases grid electricity generated from renewable sources. For plants with anaerobic digestion, inventory data issues around theoretical biogas generation, capture and measurement were sometimes encountered that can skew reportable emissions using the NGER methodology. Typically, nitrous oxide (N(2)O) emissions dominated the Scope 1 (direct) emissions. However, N(2)O still only accounted for approximately 10 to 37% of total emissions. This conservative estimate is based on the 'default' NGER steady-state emission factor, which amounts to 1% of nitrogen removed through biological nitrification-denitrification processing in the plant (or indicatively 0.7 to 0.8% of plant influent total nitrogen). Current research suggests that true N(2)O emissions may be much lower and certainly not steady-state. The results of this study help to place in context research work that is focused on direct emissions from WWTPs (including N(2)O, methane and carbon dioxide of non-biogenic origin). For example, whereas non-biogenic CO(2) contributions are relatively minor, it appears that opportunities to reduce indirect emissions as a result of modest savings in power consumption are at least in the same order as those from reducing N(2)O emissions. To avoid potentially high reportable emissions under NGER guidelines, particularly for methane, the onus is placed on WWTP managers to ensure that accurate plant monitoring operating records are kept.

The increasing insistence of climate change has made carbon emissions a decisive factor in business strategy, affecting financial performance and business competitiveness. This study explores the relationship between business strategies and carbon emissions, focusing on mediating the roles of direct and indirect carbon emissions. This study is based on Miles and Snow’s (1978) classification of business strategies, which is Defend and Prospect which affects carbon emissions. The study employs structural equation modeling (SEM) regression to examine the influence of firm size, profitability, and cash flow stability and leverage their relation with carbon emissions. Prospect takes a value of 1 if the business’s strategy score is between 24 and 30; otherwise, it is 0. Whereas the Defend variable equals 1 when the strategy score is between 6 and 19; otherwise, 0. As larger businesses release more carbon emissions hence, firm size is incorporated into the regression. The role of CO2 emissions work as a mediator in strategies of businesses, which remains an important and central area of research. By successfully reducing direct emissions; firms may frequently gain efficiency and cost advantages, whereas addressing indirect emissions improve sustainability across the value chain. The study uses the main dependent variable, the natural logarithm of total CO₂ equivalent emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2), to determine the direct and indirect discharges. As major operations are the main characteristic of the prospector hence, the findings suggest that they release more carbon emissions, contrary to defenders. Low CO2 emissions are positively linked to profitability and stable cash flows as businesses with strong monetary positions engage in more sustainability initiatives. Though, leverage has a negative connection with carbon exposure, highly leveraged firms prioritize financial commitments over environmental concerns (Yasin et al., 2023). Besides this, firm size plays a crucial role, as huge firms generate more emissions due to high operational systems. Reducing carbon emissions could be essential for businesses aiming to adopt a more aggressive (prospect) From a policy and stakeholder perspective, these insights hold significant implications. Policymakers must establish regulatory frameworks that encourage carbon reduction initiatives while maintaining financial viability for firms.