This study evaluates the environmental sustainability of brackish water desalination using photo-electrodialysis (photo-ED). A cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted for a small-scale theoretical photo-ED desalination plant in Qatar. The system employs a Pt/Ir-coated titanium photo-anode that harnesses sunlight to drive ion transport. The assessment covers brackish water extraction, pre-treatment, photo-ED cell operation, and post-treatment. Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) results indicate a global warming potential (GWP) of 2.65 kg CO₂ eq/m³ of freshwater produced, with operational electricity contributing 94% of this impact. Additional environmental impact categories assessed include acidification potential (AP), eutrophication potential (EP), freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity (FAE), abiotic depletion potential (ADP), and terrestrial ecotoxicity (TE). Operational electricity was the dominant contributor to all categories except ADP. Moreover, the use of platinum, ruthenium, and iridium in the electrode coating process significantly increased FAE and TE impacts. A sensitivity analysis of electricity sources reveals that replacing conventional electricity with renewable wind energy can reduce the GWP to 0.325 kg CO₂ eq/m³. These findings highlight the potential of green energy in mitigating environmental impacts.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with a 100-year global warming potential of 27.9 and has become a major focus in global climate governance. As a major emitter, China faces substantial challenges in managing methane emissions from its waste sector. This study examines the patterns of methane generation and the potential for mitigation across different waste disposal systems in China. We established a comprehensive methane accounting model and quantified emissions from four waste sectors: municipal solid waste, urban sewage, agricultural cropping, and livestock and poultry farming. Using data from 2018 to 2022, we found that total methane emissions from waste in China were 10.2 million tons in 2022, representing a 27.8% decline, mainly due to substantial reductions in municipal solid waste emissions. In contrast, emissions from agricultural sources, particularly livestock and poultry farming, have increased, underscoring the need for targeted mitigation strategies. To assess future pathways, three policy scenarios were designed: Business as Usual (BAU), Urban Waste Recycling (UWR), and Agricultural Carbon Reduction and Sequestration (ACRS). The projections for 2025-2030 indicate that the ACRS scenario yields the greatest reduction in methane emissions, driven primarily by straw-to-fuel utilization and improved livestock manure management. This study provides valuable insights into the sources, drivers, and future trajectories of methane emissions from waste in China, and offers policy recommendations to maximize methane mitigation benefits while minimizing greenhouse gas abatement costs.

The steady increase in global methane (CH₄) emissions has recently drawn international attention. However, CH₄ emissions in countries along the Belt and Road (B&R) remain underexamined. This study applies a multi-regional input-output analysis to quantify production-based emissions (PBEs) and consumption-based emissions (CBEs) across China and 138 countries and economies within the B&R region. It further employs the Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient to assess inequality in CH₄ emissions across income groups in these countries and examines the degree of decoupling between CH₄ emissions and economic variations. CH₄ emissions from B&R countries contributed significantly to the global total, with major contributions from energy- and resource-intensive sectors such as agriculture, petroleum, chemical and non-metallic mineral products, construction, financial intermediation, and commercial activities. Across the region, CBEs were consistently lower than PBEs but showed a stronger upward trend. Significant inequality in CH₄ emissions was observed, particularly in PBEs within high-income (H-H) countries and CBEs within low-income (L-L) countries. Over time, the gap between PBEs and CBEs in H-H countries narrowed, suggesting positive changes in economic structures or consumption patterns. By analyzing the spatial and temporal evolution of CH₄ emissions, this study provides insights and policy recommendations for reducing CH₄ emission inequality and developing effective mitigation strategies within the B&R region.

Dematerialization of the economy is crucial for reducing the global carbon footprint. However, empirical evidence on how different paths of dematerialization can be achieved remains limited. This paper examines historical trends (1970-2015) in material consumption, accounting for a broad range of materials, including biomass, metal ores, non-metallic minerals, and fossil fuels, across 176 countries grouped by income level. Using regression and statistical analyses, we find that material consumption generally increases with economic growth across all income groups in linear models, reflecting a strong coupling between material use and earlier stages of development. In contrast, second- and third-order polynomial analyses provide robust evidence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between income and material use, especially in upper-middle- and high-income countries. This pattern suggests a turning point in material consumption as economies mature. A disaggregated analysis further shows that forms of dematerialization vary across income groups and material types. Based on the data, we identify four main theoretical mechanisms that help explain the inverted U-shaped relationship between economic growth and material use: the scale effect, the composition effect, the technique effect, and the policy effect. These differences highlight distinct pathways of material consumption as countries advance economically, indicating that more sustainable trajectories are achievable.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a comprehensive set of targets aimed at improving global conditions, including a focus on reducing carbon footprints. Adopting Digital Twin (DT) technology will aid the achievement of the SDGs. However, there is an inconsistent procurement and policy environment around the development of DTs that can be problematic for those striving to achieve the SDGs. There exists a paucity of research around the interconnections of national policy, DTs, and SDG achievement. This paper addresses this gap by ascertaining how procurement and policy environments impact DT adoption, and in turn how DT adoption can serve to help or hinder SDG achievement. Adopting an interpretivist ontological methodology, this inductive research explores the perceptions of DTs and SDGs as independent concepts (stage one and two), before further interviews are conducted (stage three) which focusses on how DTs and SDGs interact with one another. In total, twenty-five semi-structured interviews with leading professionals are conducted, with narrative analysis utilised as a means of interview structure and analysis. Analysis of the results found there is an inconsistent global policy and procurement environment. In the UK this is hindering DT adoption. Whilst numerous SDG strategies exist, these strategies are often undermined by wider government policy limitations and contractor practices. This original paper calls for an immediate re-think of national policies on DT development, without which, SDG achievement strategies will ultimately be doomed to fail.

Urban ecosystems exhibit complex metabolic dynamics in regional carbon cycles, yet high-resolution quantification of urban carbon metabolism remains challenging in rapidly urbanizing regions. This study addresses this limitation by developing an unprecedented 250 m resolution modeling framework that combines the ecological CASA model with a soil respiration model, applied to the Pearl River Delta region of China. Using remote sensing data and ERA5-Land meteorological inputs, we quantified monthly net ecosystem productivity (NEP) for 2021-2022 across all cities, revealing significant spatiotemporal heterogeneity (-40 to 638 gC·m^-2·a^-1). Our findings indicate that forest ecosystems contribute 55.1% of regional net carbon absorption, while core cities like Dongguan and Zhongshan become net carbon sources when soil respiration exceeds vegetation productivity. The model outperforms traditional MODIS products in terms of resolution and spatial variability details (R² = 0.79) and provides valuable insights for urban carbon neutrality strategies. The findings highlight the importance of maintaining green infrastructure and implementing targeted carbon management policies in megacity regions.

Green certificates (GCs), such as guarantees of origin (GOs), support renewable electricity tracking and corporate greenhouse gas reporting, but methodological inconsistencies, particularly in life cycle assessment (LCA) applications, undermine their credibility, transparency, and environmental benefits. This review critically evaluates current GC practices and their integration into LCA frameworks, identifying key challenges including double counting, insufficient geographic and temporal matching, and emission reallocation effects in residual electricity mixes. The review first examines global GC trading systems and associated policies, highlighting structural differences across regions such as the European Union, the United States, and China. It then explores how GCs are treated in market- and location-based accounting approaches for Scope 2 emissions. A multi-stage standardization framework is proposed, encompassing GC generation, trade, allocation, and application in LCA. Particular emphasis is placed on the need for harmonized certificate types, data traceability, and temporal alignment between energy use and certificate validity. Finally, policy and regulatory recommendations are presented to strengthen oversight, improve the reliability of market mechanisms, and foster international collaboration. This includes a call for reform in key protocols and a shift toward more granular, transparent tracking systems. The findings support more accurate environmental claims and promote a credible, standardized use of GCs in LCA and sustainability reporting.

This study investigates the dynamics of environmental sustainability in India, one of the world's major polluters, by examining the validity of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and the Renewable Energy Kuznets Curve (RKC) hypotheses for the period 1990-2022. Utilizing an Augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lag (A-ARDL) model, supported by Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS) and Canonical Cointegration Regression (CCR) robustness estimators, the research uniquely determines which of the two Kuznets turning points occurs first. The findings provide strong evidence that the RKC turning point precedes the EKC turning point. This indicates that the shift toward renewable energy adoption begins before the peak of environmental degradation is reached. This result offers critical insights by shedding light on the relationship between economic development and environmental sustainability, suggesting that strategic prioritization of renewable energy can serve as a proactive mechanism to accelerate environmental improvement in a rapidly growing economy such as India.

Quantifying the dynamic evolution of grid carbon footprint factors (GCFFs) is crucial for evaluating electricity-related emissions and advancing China’s dual-carbon goals. This study develops a dynamic model for 30 provinces covering 2020-2060 under three renewable energy development scenarios. Results reveal substantial spatial heterogeneity: between 2020 and 2022, hydropower-rich provinces such as Sichuan and Yunnan maintained GCFF values more than 70% below the national average, whereas coal-dependent regions including Shanxi and Inner Mongolia remained over 40% higher. Under the “Ambitious renewable energy development” scenario (S2), the national average GCFF in 2060 declines by 4.53% relative to the “Business as usual” scenario (representing a 6.22% decrease relative to the “Conservative renewable energy development” (S1) scenario), with reductions exceeding 80% in Jilin and Hainan. Export-sector analysis shows that aluminum-related electricity emissions are highly sensitive to power decarbonization (62% reduction in Shandong under the S2 scenario), while cement emissions are primarily demand-driven. This study establishes the first long-term coupling framework of provincial GCFFs with export-sector emissions, incorporating both non-fossil electricity and upstream extraction. The findings provide a high-resolution evidence base for subnational carbon accounting and targeted low-carbon transition strategies.

Previous studies indicate that rapid electric vehicle (EV) adoption, together with synchronized expansion of renewable electricity (RE) in all power grid regions, could significantly reduce life cycle carbon emissions from China’s road transport sector. However, the varying pace of EV and RE development in different regions complicates this goal. There is a lack of research analyzing the impact of prioritizing vehicle electrification and RE expansion within specific power grid regions on national life cycle carbon emission reductions. This study employed a highly disaggregated engineering-based model to estimate the life cycle carbon emissions from China’s road transport from the base year 2020 up to 2050 under various EV and RE development scenarios with different regional priorities. The underlying reasons and key processes driving variations in carbon emission reductions at the power grid region level were also analyzed. Our results indicate that the Central and Northwest power grid regions contributed the most and least to life cycle carbon emissions in 2020, respectively. Implementing fast RE and EV development pathways in the North, Northeast, and Northwest power grid regions (where emissions are mainly from vehicle use and the energy supply chains) while maintaining baseline pathways in Central, East, and South could reduce national life cycle carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from 2,186 Mt in 2020 to 1,486 Mt in 2050. Conversely, focusing on fast RE and EV development in the Central, East, and South regions, where vehicle and battery production is mainly located, would only reduce emissions to 1,901 Mt by 2050. Our findings suggest that prioritizing synchronized fast RE and EV development at a power grid region level would be more effective than doing so at a national level in reducing the overall life cycle CO₂ emissions from China’s road transport by 2050. Light-duty passenger vehicles, heavy-duty trucks, and light-duty trucks are the main vehicle types contributing to CO₂ emissions in various regional prioritization in vehicle electrification and RE expansion.

This study explores low-carbon transition strategies for central business districts (CBDs) using Qingpu New Town in Shanghai, China, as a case study. Employing a dual-path approach - combining top-down scenario simulation with bottom-up technological decarbonization potential accounting - we model carbon emissions from 2022 to 2040 under four scenarios: Business-As-Usual, General Development, Balanced Development, and High-Quality Development. Under the High-Quality Development scenario, carbon emissions peak in 2028 and decline by 47.3% compared with the Business-As-Usual scenario by 2040. Building on these results, six sectoral source-sink integration technological pathways - covering buildings, energy, transportation, solid waste, water resources, and carbon sinks - are evaluated. Results show that energy-efficient building design plays a leading role in emission reduction, while energy storage and optimization of green travel structures become increasingly important. All scenario-specific technology packages meet their projected reduction targets. The study recommends integrating scenario planning into CBD development processes, incentivizing multi-sectoral technological synergies, and fostering collaborative governance. These insights provide a practical roadmap for the low-carbon transformation of CBDs, aligning with China’s carbon neutrality goals.

Mangroves, as typical blue carbon ecosystems, store massive amounts of soil organic carbon and serve as both sources and sinks of organic carbon. Under extreme rainstorm conditions, once mangrove ecosystems are damaged, they lead to significant release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, causing severe greenhouse effects and resulting in changes to carbon footprints. However, the effects of extreme rainstorms on the spatial distribution, optical properties, and molecular characteristics of soil organic carbon in mangrove sediments remain unclear. This study focused on a typical mangrove tidal flat in Shenzhen Bay, Southeast China, to quantify variations in sediment carbon fractions (total carbon (TC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC)), fluorescent composition, and biomolecular compounds of DOC, and identified their response mechanisms to extreme rainstorms. The results showed that the spatial distribution of sediment TC, DOC, and total nitrogen (TN) followed the order of tidal creek > mudflat > mangrove both before and after a rainstorm. The variation degree of DOC content (5.0%-48.5%) after extreme rainstorms followed the pattern of mangrove > mudflat > creek, while the result for DIC was completely opposite. In the vertical direction, tidal flat sediments exhibited decreasing TC, DOC, and TN concentrations with depth before the extreme rainstorm. After the rainstorm, DOC and TN increased across all sediment layers, whereas IC decreased at all depths. After the extreme rainstorm, TN and DOC in sediments increased significantly. Combined with analysis of the optical and molecular properties of DOC, the results indicated that lignin- and tannin-like compounds with high stability increased in mudflat sediments after the extreme rainstorm, while tryptophan-like compounds with high aromaticity and low humification increased in mangrove sediments, and protein-like organic compounds in tidal creek sediments decreased. Principal component analysis showed that extreme rainstorms mainly affected sediment DOC by influencing the transport of silt and clay. This study not only contributes to a better understanding of how extreme rainstorms regulate organic carbon behavior in mangrove sediments to improve sustainable management of mangrove wetlands under the pressure of extreme weather events but also provides new directions for carbon footprint research.

This paper empirically examines the existence and influence mechanisms of peer effects on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) performance under vertical and horizontal networks, using a sample of Chinese A-share listed resource-based enterprises from 2012 to 2023. The study finds that under the interactive effects of both vertical and horizontal networks, there is a significant peer effect in enterprises’ ESG outcomes. Moreover, this effect primarily influences a focal enterprise through “end-treatment” and “front-prevention”. Further research reveals that due to differences in improvement motivations, supply chain discourse power, and driving networks, the peer effect in ESG performance exhibits heterogeneity. This paper provides theoretical and empirical support for enterprises to enhance their ESG performance within complex supply chain networks, which is of great significance for promoting sustainable development of firms.

Livestock husbandry is a primary anthropogenic source of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), an important geography for animal husbandry in China, and is therefore a significant contributor to the global GHG budget. Therefore, this study employs the life cycle assessment method to comprehensively assess the effect of yak grazing on GHG balance and enhance our understanding and monitoring of GHG budgeting in the alpine ecosystem. The results show that yak grazing alters the GHG balance of alpine meadow ecosystems from sink to source (Critical value = 1.3 yak/ha). Sequestration of CO₂ in soil organic matter is the most significant contributor to the GHG balance in both grazed and ungrazed grassland. In grazed grassland, enteric fermentation and livestock manure and its management (dung and urine patches, manure heaps, night pens, and dry stored manure combustion) are important contributors to the total GHG balance, where implementing mitigation practices that target reductions of enteric fermentation and improve manure management can help to alleviate these emissions. Due to the unique geographical and biophysical environment of the QTP, solar and wind energy are viable emission-free alternatives to dry manure consumption, and livestock enclosure has the potential to restore soil organic carbon stocks by increasing sequestration of atmospheric CO₂. In conclusion, our findings suggest that successful implementation of targeted emission reduction measures is conducive to the sustainable development of animal husbandry, while also maintaining a balance with ecosystem functions under the multifaceted ecological landscape of QTP.

Carbon labels play an important role in guiding responsible consumption and production, yet consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for carbon-labelled products remains poorly understood in China. This study proposes a conceptual framework to measure the WTP for carbon-labelled drinks among Chinese college students. Using the contingent valuation method, we collect 1,787 questionnaires and find that college students are willing to pay a price premium of 17.5%, 13.5%, and 12.9% for carbon-labelled mineral water, milk, and wine, respectively. We show that environmental awareness, perception of carbon labels, attitudes towards carbon labels, and publicity positively influence consumers’ WTP in different pathways. Attitudes mediate the effects of environmental awareness and publicity on WTP, while perception influences WTP only indirectly via attitudes. These findings are expected to not only deepen the understanding of the mechanism behind WTP for carbon-labelled products, but also to provide valuable insights into the promotion of carbon labels in China and other emerging economies worldwide.