As a part of a larger study concerning the carbon sequestration capability by hazelnut orchards in Italy, we analyzed the total amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) removed over the year from the atmosphere through the net assimilation rates in two hazelnut orchards in Piedmont (i.e., the second region in Italy for surface and production). In particular, considering the key role played by the structural traits in affecting carbon sequestration potential, we assessed the impact of two different training systems widely diffused in the region: single trunk in orchard_A and bush-like in orchard_B. The results showed that plants in orchard_A and orchard_B sequestered 10.6 ± 1.8 and 25.7 ± 4.2 kg (CO₂) plant⁻¹ month⁻¹, respectively. Higher CO₂ sequestration in the plants in orchard_B was due to their higher leaf area index relative to plants in orchard_A. The mean CO₂ sequestration from orchard_A and orchard_B per area was 4.25 ± 1.72 and 8.57 ± 3.41 Mg (CO₂) ha⁻¹ month⁻¹, respectively. We also estimated the total amount of CO₂ emission by the management over the entire production season in 157.335 kg CO_2eq ha⁻¹ by summing the contribution of diesel fuel, machinery and fertilization practices and considering that the total amount of CO₂ sequestered by the two hazelnut orchards over the entire study period was estimated in 26 Mg (CO₂) ha⁻¹ in orchard_A, and in 51 Mg (CO₂) ha⁻¹ in orchard_B, they had an effective positive role as carbon sink at this local level.

The South Asian region is the largest producer of tea in the entire world. Forming a core part of this industry, the state of Assam, located in India, is known to be the largest contiguous tea-growing area in the world. With respect to tea production in this state, the small tea grower (STG) community in Assam contributes nearly half to the total production, making them a significant stakeholder in the burgeoning tea industry. Notably, diesel pumps have been long-favored for water pumping in tea plantations. Nonetheless, a complex mix-match of factors such as global warming, unreliability of monsoon rains and unavailability of adequate infrastructure has made them vulnerable to universal winds of change. This study makes an effort to identify the prospects of using solar pumps for irrigation, assess the constraints faced by STGs with regard to irrigation facilities and discuss the cost-effectiveness of using solar water pumps. The methodology involves both primary and secondary data interpreted by means of a descriptive research technique and a statistical cost–benefit analysis. Analysis shows that the breakeven period between both types of pumps occurs at the third year of usage. This emphasises that although solar pumps are cost-intensive in the short run, their installation has significant benefits such as, zero power costs and environmental costs, for STGs in the long run. With large economies moving towards low carbon strategies these days, installation of solar water pumps presents an optimum policy prescription that combines both cost-effectiveness and environmental sustainability, while bearing immense possibility in nourishing the tea industry of not only Assam, but the entire South Asian region.

Gasoline emits volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that contribute to ground-level ozone formation with adverse health effects. Gasoline evaporation also results in economic losses. Hence, there is a need to understand the extent of avoidable economic losses and environmental damage. Furthermore, it becomes pertinent to investigate effective channels for reducing the emission of VOCs by preventing leakage during trucking and improving the regulation of gasoline evaporative quality (such as vapour pressure). This study focused on emissions during the truck loading of gasoline at petroleum depots in Nigeria. Gasoline evaporative emissions depend on ambient temperature, gasoline volatility, control of leakage and recovery systems. This study determined the VOC emission factor and the equivalent gasoline losses under different conditions. The results from the analyses showed that the higher the evaporative quality of the gasoline, the greater the VOCs emitted into the environment—with adverse health implications. Specifically, as much as 8510 tonnes of VOCs are issued annually from the truck loading of gasoline in Nigeria. Consequently, the country loses approximately 0.058% of total truck-out gasoline to evaporation and leakages during truck loading alone. This study provides evidence that a reduction in vapour quality with efficient recovery and control regulations would reduce VOC emissions and equivalent gasoline loss by 97.67%.

The Saharan regions of Algeria, which represent almost 90% of the total area of the country, have severe energy problems due to insufficient or lack of energy access. The sustainable development of those areas must aim at securing and increasing primary production, especially in the agricultural and pastoral sectors. The production itself depends on the supply of water available at great depths. However, the potential volumes of water pumped by photovoltaic water pumping systems are generally greater than the annual requirements for crop irrigation. In this study, we optimized the photovoltaic array, the storage tank and efficient use of the water produced by the pumping system for the irrigation of one hectare palm grove. This excess water produced was reduced by a judicious association by planting other crops (tomato, wheat and sweet pepper). The utilization rate has been improved from 56% to 86%, on the one hand. On the other hand, the impact of the yield and the prices on the economic viability was studied. The project is economically viable for a price per kg of date of 500.00 DA and a yield varying from 20 to 50 kg/tree, and the payback period varies from 3.34 to 1.22 years. The project is not economically viable for a price per kg of date of 100.00 DA/kg for a yield less than or equal to 30 kg/tree. A sensitivity analysis has shown that the photovoltaic water pumping system becomes more competitive than conventional diesel water pumping systems for diesel price beyond 53.98 DA/l (0.38 €). The results are very encouraging for the wide use of photovoltaic water pumping systems for multiple-crop irrigation in the Saharan regions.

In searching for sustainable solutions for humans’ necessities, clean and safe energy possibilities have been pursued. The objective of this research is to develop a procedure that improves the integration of renewable technologies into local planning processes. The methodology should be suitable for different contexts. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the potential of energy production through agricultural waste, ensuring the sustainability and development of clean technologies, the ideal allocation of the energy production unit, and the costs involved in the enterprise. The research hypothesis is that the potential for sustainable use of biomass can be identified and evaluated, thus showing the way for an improved energy plan for Brazil. The study area is within the Doce River Basin in Brazil. The methods developed in the study could be relevant for municipalities to record their potentials for energy production and pursue investments and local arrangements, promoting sustainable biomass energy generation. The results show that with proper investment, the energy generation through biomass residues could be viable and pay itself in a short amount of time, moreover in a scenario where the agricultural area is increased, growing the power generation capacity of a biomass power plant. The current agricultural production would cover 20% of the local energy demand.

Economic growth without accounting for the simultaneous environmental deterioration that accompanies the achievements is doubtful to be sustained over time. Thus, global economies in the contemporary era have reached a consensus in aligning their respective growth policies with the environmental welfare aspects. Thus, economic and environmental welfares are envisioned to take place in tandem. However, as per the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis, economic growth in the initial stages can trigger a trade-off between economic and environmental well-beings which, beyond a certain growth threshold, can be expected to be diminished. Hence, it is pertinent to identify the key factors that can attribute to lower environmental hardships alongside economic growth in the long run. Against this milieu, this paper investigates the authenticity of the EKC hypothesis for aggregate and disaggregated greenhouse emissions in the context of six South Asian economies namely Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan. Annual data from 1980 to 2016 is employed to conduct panel data estimation exercises that are robust to handling cross-sectional dependency and structural break issues. Besides, the impacts of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) use on the economic growth–greenhouse emissions nexus are also explored. The findings from the econometric analyses validate the existence of the EKC hypothesis for both aggregate and disaggregated greenhouse emission figures. Moreover, the country-specific EKC analysis reveals heterogeneity of the EKC findings across the concerned South Asian countries. However, LPG consumption is found to homogenously reduce the greenhouse emissions within all the economies. Finally, the heterogeneous panel causality test results reveal unidirectional causation stemming from economic growth to aggregate greenhouse emissions. Furthermore, statistical evidence regarding bidirectional causality between LPG consumption and aggregate greenhouse emissions and unidirectional causalities running from LPG consumption to carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide emissions are also ascertained. These findings collectively imply that LPG can potentially act as a transitional fuel for the South Asian countries prior to undergoing renewable energy transition. Thus, it is recommended to promote the use of LPG for bridging the existent energy crises and simultaneously mitigating environmental pollution in South Asia.

In this paper, a study has been undertaken with the objective to delineate the potential CO₂ pipeline corridors through the north-central region of the USA including North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado to enable the implementation of carbon capture storage and utilization projects. A combination of GIS along with analytical hierarchy process is used to identify regions with high potential for pipeline development. A total of 19 thematic information layers have been utilized to map the study area which reflect the effect of ecology, environment and existent infrastructure towards laying new CO₂ pipeline networks. Weights are assigned to each class in the thematic maps based on their characteristics, capacity of building and maintaining pipelines and the potential environmental risk of CO₂ pipelines from the literature. A tract suitability index is developed which identified Western North Dakota, central Wyoming and Western Montana as regions highly suitable for development of CO₂ pipelines. The study reveals that 54.5% of the region of interest is suitable for pipeline construction while 15.39% of land is classified as either poor or infeasible candidate for locating CO₂ pipelines. It is also revealed that pipeline right-of-way, water bodies and population centres have the most significant impact on future pipeline development. The results of the study are also varied to show the effect different factors could have on the potential CO₂ corridors and are then correlated with existent pipeline in study area to check the validity of the resulting analysis.