The zero-carbon transition of the coal power industry comes with substantial economic costs, both in terms of the cost of stranded assets and the innovation and application of carbon reduction, zero-carbon, and decarbonization technologies. Mobilizing social capital through transition finance is crucial to support companies in their efforts to reduce carbon emissions. The lack of high-quality data and consistent, comparable disclosure frameworks hinders proper due diligence and strategic planning, presenting a major obstacle to financing the transition. To identify the mismatches between existing disclosure frameworks for transition plans and the needs of transition finance, we conducted a systematic review of various transition disclosure frameworks, such as TCFD (Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures), CA100+ (Climate Action 100+) and TPT (Transition Plan Taskforce), and compared them with the information requirements of financial institutions for assessing coal phase-out plans of production entities. The results indicate that the ex-ante assessment of transition finance requires disclosure frameworks to be further expanded and aligned in areas such as technological distinctions and data quality to meet the demands of pricing, risk management, new product innovation, and disclosure of financial institutions’ carbon footprints in their asset portfolios. Moreover, the implementation of the current disclosure standards by coal power enterprises may encounter dual constraints from soft regulatory practices and the external business environment, resulting in the emergence of the “green silence” phenomenon. The inconsistency between disclosure frameworks may also give rise to regulatory arbitrage, leading to a distorted evaluation of the transition process of coal power enterprises by the capital market, resulting in potential price distortions and credit risks.

Vehicle electrification stands as a pivotal catalyst for effecting a low-carbon transition within the transportation sector. End-of-life (EoL) battery treatment, which is mainly aimed at facilitating material recycling, provides considerable co-benefit in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study assesses the life-cycle GHG emissions from battery production, and examines the impact of three EoL battery treatment strategies: second use, regeneration, and recycling. Prospective scenarios of GHG emissions from electric vehicle battery production in China are further provided. The results show that under the Business as Usual (BAU) scenario, GHG emissions peak at 36 million tons in 2030, with 18 million tons for LFP and 18 million tons for NCM, and decrease to 11 million tons in 2060, with 4 million tons for LFP and 7 million tons for NCM. GHG emissions have more reduction potential as the collection rate increases and the proportion of different strategies applied changes. In a scenario with improved collection rates, GHG emissions would be reduced by 21% in 2060 compared to BAU. In a prioritized regeneration scenario, GHG emissions can be reduced by 32% in 2060, with 64% of lithium resources being supplied by regenerated batteries. In a prioritized second use scenario, GHG emissions can be reduced by 104% in 2060, which involves replacing 27 kilotons of lithium input and mitigating 13 million tons of GHG emissions related to the energy storage system. In light of these findings, we advocate for policy recommendations aimed at fostering the advancement of EoL battery treatment technologies and expediting the transformation of battery manufacturing processes towards carbon neutrality.

With the global concern over climate change, many countries around the world have pledged to achieve carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. Carbon footprint (CF) analysis, as an important research method to evaluate carbon emissions, has gained significant traction in the academic community. This study aims to offer a comprehensive overview of this research domain, addressing existing gaps by conducting a bibliometrics analysis. Moreover, social network analysis (SNA) is conducted to uncover the relationships among different countries, authors, and institutions. Co-occurrence analysis of keywords and citation analysis of publications and corresponding references are also conducted to explore the core research topics in this field, including popular CF accounting methods. Results show that there has been growing interest in CF-related research from 2007 to 2022, with increasing amounts of publications, references, authors, and published countries. The most productive journals, countries, authors, and institutions are identified, and the collaboration networks among different academic groups are also analyzed. In addition, sustainability assessment, consumption-based CF accounting, and emission mitigation potential assessment are identified as research hotspots. Specific research topics include CF accounting at national and household scales, as well as for agricultural systems and universities. Life cycle assessment (LCA), input-output analysis (IOA), and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) accounting method are the most commonly applied methods in this field. Therefore, the advantages and disadvantages of these methods are specifically summarized and compared. In general, this study can provide comprehensive information for stakeholders interested in the CF-related field.

Vehicle automation and smartphone app-based ride-splitting are commonly discussed topics in the transportation literature. While these technologies have been examined for their role in transportation decarbonization through simulation study, the motivation for such work is rarely made explicit. In this commentary, we provide a motivation for research in this area based on our own simulation research, as well as land use and vehicle operational factors. Specifically, land use factors such as density and the speed of its adjustment make traditional transit operations using large vehicles cost-prohibitive in most U.S. communities (and many other communities around the world). Automation and ride-splitting technologies may offer digitized transportation solutions that can match vehicle size to local land development density and passenger demand. In addition, we highlight a difference in the supply-demand relationship for freight transportation that causes additional challenges for decarbonizing that sector. Finally, we emphasize that fleet ownership is key to ensuring timely vehicle fleet turnover as safer and more efficient technologies enter the market.

The demand for resources and energy increases as the global population grows, leading to increased ecological and carbon footprints. This study aims to contribute to the global sustainability agenda by assessing the impact of green energy projects, green energy finance, and green governance on reducing ecological and carbon footprints in G7 countries from 1990 to 2020. The findings reveal that there is a noteworthy negative association between ecological footprint, green governance, geothermal energy consumption, hydro-power consumption, and green energy finance. However, a significant positive correlation exists between ecological footprint and biofuels. Additionally, the outcomes lend support to the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) theory in G7 nations. Carbon footprints are evaluated in this study as an alternate measure, and the results are similarly robust. These insights hold the potential to guide policy decisions and investment strategies, and promote the shift to a low-carbon economy by highlighting the connections between the adoption of green energies, green energy finance, green governance, and carbon and ecological footprint reduction, thus paving the way for a more equitable and sustainable future for all.