Decarbonization and electricity price vulnerability
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Management practices and manufacturing firm responses to a randomized energy audit
Increasing the efficiency of industrial energy use is widely considered important for mitigating climate change. We randomize assignment of an energy audit intervention aimed at improving energy efficiency and reducing energy expenditures of small- and medium-sized metal processing firms in Shandong Province, China, and examine impacts on energy outcomes and interactions with firms’ management practices. We find that the intervention reduced firms’ unit cost of electricity by 8% on average. Firms with more developed structured management practices showed higher rates of recommendation adoption. However, the post-intervention electricity unit cost reduction is larger in firms with less developed practices, primarily driven by a single recommendation that corrected managers’ inaccurate reporting of transformer usage at baseline, lowering their electricity costs. By closing management-associated gaps in awareness of energy expenditures, energy audit programmes may reduce a firm’s unit cost of energy but have an ambiguous impact on energy use and climate change.
Spatiotemporal changes and driving factors of ecological vulnerability in karst World Heritage sites based on SRP and geodetector: a case study of Shibing and Libo-Huanjiang karst
Ecological vulnerability is crucial in assessing the ecosystems of Karst World Heritage Sites(WHSs), providing vital insights for ecological evaluation, protection, and resilience enhancement. This study develops an indicator system based on the Sensitivity-Recovery-Pressure (SRP) conceptual model, selecting 11 indicators across four dimensions: climate, topography, vegetation, and human disturbance. Using Shibing and Libo-Huanjiang Karst WHSs as study areas, we analyzed data from 2014, 2018, and 2022. By integrating the entropy weight method with the Geodetector, we investigated the spatiotemporal changes in ecological vulnerability and identified the primary driving factors. The findings reveal: (1) Temporally, the comprehensive ecological vulnerability index of Shibing WHS initially decreased and then increased from 2014 to 2022, but overall trending positively. In contrast, the vulnerability index of Libo-Huanjiang WHS showed a slight increase. (2) Spatially, core areas of the WHSs exhibited relatively low ecological vulnerability, while buffer zones and tourist concentration areas showed higher vulnerability. (3) Regarding driving factors, all indicators significantly influenced ecological vulnerability, with multi-factor interactions offering stronger explanatory power than single factors. These results provide essential scientific evidence for assessing the ecological environment of Karst WHSs, promoting sustainable tourism development, and enhancing environmental change resilience.
The multidimensional relationship between renewable energy deployment and carbon dioxide emissions in high-income nations
Cross-national research has found that the decarbonization effect of renewable energy development is relatively weak in high-income nations. It is crucial to identify effective points of intervention to enhance renewables’ decarbonization effect. Using a multidimensional analytical framework, this study examines whether certain structural components of high-income nations’ CO2 emissions are particularly susceptible to barriers to decarbonization and therefore are less effectively mitigated by renewable energy development. Analyzing a panel dataset covering 33 high-income nations from 1996 to 2019, I identify a pattern of uneven decarbonization. Renewable energy development has mitigated production-based emissions with increasing effectiveness over time; however, the mitigation effect has been largely confined to emissions from domestic-oriented supply chain activities. Meanwhile, renewables’ inability to mitigate emissions embodied in exports and direct end-user emissions has largely persisted over time. Additionally, developing renewable energy has not spurred growth in emissions in imports, indicating that it has not intensified carbon leakage.
Socially vulnerable communities face disproportionate exposure and susceptibility to U.S. wildfire and prescribed burn smoke
While air pollution from most U.S. sources has decreased, emissions from wildland fires have risen. Here, we use an integrated assessment model to estimate that wildfire and prescribed burn smoke caused $200 billion in health damages in 2017, associated with 20,000 premature deaths. Nearly half of this damage came from wildfires, predominantly in the West, with the remainder from prescribed burns, mostly in the Southeast. Our analysis reveals positive correlations between smoke exposure and various social vulnerability measures; however, when also considering smoke susceptibility, these disparities are systematically influenced by age. Senior citizens, who are disproportionately White, represented 16% of the population but incurred 75% of the damages. Nonetheless, within most age groups, Native American and Black communities experienced the greatest damages per capita. Our work highlights the extraordinary and disproportionate effects of the growing threat of fire smoke and calls for targeted, equitable policy solutions for a healthier future.
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