The UN Sustainable Development Goal, SDG 7.3, is to double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency by 2030. To meet this and other energy targets, countries encourage the development and adoption of energy-efficient products. An extensively researched phenomenon in this context is the energy rebound effect, especially in transportation. However, the direct relationship between the energy rebound effect and car emission levels has barely been investigated. Understanding this relationship is important, because energy-related emissions are closely linked to mortality, morbidity, and climate change. We assess the emission consequences in the private car market in Israel of a rebound effect associated with a policy promoting energy-efficient cars. We find that the baseline rebound before introduction of the policy was 40%. In the following three periods marked by policy changes, it grew to 54%, 69%, and 88%. Using household data with specific car characteristics and usage, we calculate the added greenhouse gas (GHG) emission consequences of this rebound by the end of the studied period to be about 5% of the country's per-capita target. Notably, estimates for the emission consequences using “average car” values were almost twice as high. The reason for this gap derives from the co-dependance between car usage and car efficiency. We discuss the implications of this gap in meeting emission goals.

This study measures the energy rebound effects of Chinese energy and coal power use in Chinese energy-intensive industries by using latent class stochastic frontier models like LMDI, and other various econometric estimation approach for coal-supplying regions in China ranging between 1992 and 2018. The findings reveals that China’s coal sector’s average capacity consumption is 0.81%, with a pattern of first increasing and then decreasing, falling to 0.68% in 2016 specifically. The coal capacity operation rate concerning low as well as depleted regions is generally strong, with limited space for expansion. In 2015 and 2016, the utilization rate of coal production potential in moderate-producing areas fell about 42%. Economic development variables affect the capacity utilization levels of moderate, weak, and depleted generating regions. At the same time, the price volatility cannot induce a practical improvement in the ability utilization rate, which means that China’s coal industry is mainly un-marketized. China’s energy efficiency increased about 19.98% among 2000 and 2016, while the rapidest expansion pattern has been noted in the eastern province at 39.86%, next to central (11.71%) and western regions (9.59%). The take back impact via the renewable energy and renewable productivity channels is estimated as 12.34% and 25.40%, respectively. Therefore, the take back impact is of significant importance regarding energy preservation, as China’s cumulative renewable energy use is equal to China’s aggregate energy use. On such findings, recent research also contributed by presenting novel policy implications for key stakeholders.

Climate change is a major global concern closely related to the strategies aimed at reducing energy consumption and increasing energy efficiency. Over the last decades, the interest in the development of renewable energy (RE) has grown exponentially. In the case of the European Union (EU), the Renewable Energy Directive sets rules to achieve a 32% of total energy consumption to be covered through RE by 2030. In order to achieve this goal, it is important to know what are the main driving factors of RE consumption (REC). This study aims to analyze the impact of economic and social factors on the share of REC in total energy consumption in the EU over the period 2001–2015. For doing so, we estimate a Panel Corrected Standard Error (PCSE) model. The results obtained show that economic factors have a negative effect on REC. In contrast, social factors like education exert a positive effect. This suggests that it is necessary to adopt a holistic approach that includes not only economic but also social aspects in order to foster REC.

Low-carbon city (LCC) pilot is a strategic policy to deal with global climate change and energy poverty. Using the city-level data from 2006 to 2019, this paper applies a multiple difference-in-difference (DID) analysis to explore the impact of LCC policy on urban green total factor energy efficiency(GTFEE) and its potential mechanism. The results show that the LCC pilot policy can significantly improve urban GTFEE, and the finding remains robust with various tests. Secondly, we shed light on the mechanism of the LCC policy and explore the possible channels through green innovation and structural upgrading to improve the urban GTFEE. Third, the policy effect is affected by different levels of urban economic development, urban development scale, and urban development types. In cities with higher levels of economic development, super-large resource-based cities, the pilot policy has a more significant improvement effect on GTFEE. On the other hand, in the less developed regions, pilot policies will hinder the improvement of GTFEE.

Tunisia is among the developing countries that have taken initiatives to develop renewable energy and strengthen energy efficiency. Moreover, it has considerable potential, especially in the field of wind and solar energy. However, the country is still dependent on fossil fuel energy. In this context, the transition to renewable energy is considered one of the possible solutions to reduce energy dependence and strengthen the economy in general. Therefore, the aim of this research study is to evaluate the role of renewable energy in shaping the energy transition in Tunisia in order to qualify the possibilities of energy transition. Accordingly, we investigate the potential for substitution between the following factors and fuels: Capital, labor, renewable, and non-renewable energy in Tunisia using a translog production function approach. Due to the multicollinearity of the model, the ridge regression method is used to estimate the parameters of the function. The obtained results showed that the possibility of substitution between inputs, especially between renewable and non-renewable energy, can replace fossil fuels with clean energy consumption. Moreover, to maximize the potential of renewable energy in Tunisia, this study recommends that policy makers should take more reliable measures to reflect the exact price of energy through price regulation measures, encourage investment in research and development, and introduce carbon taxes that could accelerate this transition.

High gravity technology, as a process intensification technology, has demonstrated the great advantages in the field of gas purification on account of its excellent mass transfer efficiency and energy-efficient, but it is rarely applied in the field of nitrogen oxides (NOx) purification of marine diesel engine exhaust. In this paper, a high-gravity bowl-shaped-disk rotating bed (HBRB) without catalytic was designed for diesel exhaust after-treatment. A diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) was installed in the front of the HBRB to regenerate more nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) easily reduced by urea. A bench test of a 6-cylinder marine diesel engine with the HBRB was carried out. The effects of the HBRB speeds, urea concentrations, and engine operating conditions on NOx purification efficiency in engine exhaust were experimentally investigated. The experimental result indicates that the maximum NOx removal efficiency of the HBRB can reach 69.1%. The improvement of the NOx removal efficiency is not obvious at the HBRB speed of over 1500 r/min. The pre-oxidation degree of nitric oxide (NO) and urea concentration largely affect the NOx removal efficiency. The HBRB has great potential in marine diesel engine exhaust denitration.

The proposed research work presents the performance analysis of the vertically mounted bifacial module (VBFM) with and without tracking during the summer and winter seasons. Also, various parameters like energy efficiency, electrical efficiency, electrical exergy, thermal exergy, exergy efficiency, environmental analysis, economic analysis, exergoeconomic analysis, enviroeconomic analysis, and exergoenviroeconomic analysis of the VBFM were studied and presented. The comparative analysis was carried out between two bifacial solar modules installed in two different orientations (east–west and south-north). The experiments were conducted in the real climatic condition of Minjur, Tamil Nadu, India. Under the summer and winter climatic conditions, when the lifetime period of 10, 15, and 20 years are considered higher energy production factor and higher life cycle conversion efficiency was obtained from the vertically mounted bifacial module—east–west (VBFM-EW) with tracking during summer and vertically mounted bifacial module—north–south (VBFM-SN) module without tracking during the winter season. Exergetic cost was calculated by considering 15, 20, 25, and 30 years of the system with 2%, 5%, and 10% interest rates. The maximum exergetic cost was obtained from 30 years of the system under a 2% interest rate. The enviroeconomic and exergoenviroeconomic analysis provides the carbon credits earned from the E-W module was a maximum of Rs 11,036.18 during the summer season and Rs 12,413.48 from the VBFM-SN module during the winter season, considering the life of the system as 15 years.

Sustainability is a strategic choice for the transition to a green economy in China. Improving green total factor energy efficiency (GTFEE) is the key to realizing the dual targets of energy-saving and economic growth. This paper empirically tests the nonlinear effects of environmental regulation on technical innovation affecting GTFEE by using panel data of 271 prefecture-level cities in China from 2004 to 2019. Meanwhile, a system GMM approach is used to verify the channels through which technical innovation affects GTFEE. Finally, the spatial and temporal characteristics of technical innovation affecting GTFEE are analyzed from the perspective of environmental regulation. The empirical results are as follows: (1) Technical innovation can significantly improve GTFEE. However, this improvement effect is a threshold characteristic; when environmental regulation is above the threshold value, technical innovation has a greater improvement effect on GTFEE. (2) Besides directly influencing GTFEE, technical innovation can also indirectly influence GTFEE via channels such as economic growth effect, industrial structure upgrading effect, and foreign investment effect. Meanwhile, indirect influence channels also show environmental regulation heterogeneity. (3) The number of cities crossing the threshold of environmental regulation in China increases year by year, which helps technical innovation play a role in improving GTFEE. However, there are still a small number of cities that do not cross the threshold during the sample period, which should attract the attention of local governments.

Excessive carbon emissions from energy consumption seriously restrict China’s sustainable development and eco-environmental protection. Although the carbon emissions from the construction industry are less than that of the power, transportation, and manufacturing sectors, the carbon emissions released by the construction industry cannot be ignored due to its extensive development trend of high energy consumption and low efficiency. Based on this, this paper studies energy-related carbon emissions and emissions reduction of China’s construction industry from 2007 to 2017 by adopting the input–output analysis method, energy consumption method, and structural decomposition model. The results show that within the sample range: (1) The optimization of the construction industry energy consumption structure has a significant reduction effect on the growth of energy carbon emissions from the construction industry in China, and the reduction effect has shown an increasing trend over time. However, it should be noted that in this sample range, the optimization of energy consumption structure in the construction industry is mainly reflected in the decrease of the proportion of high-carbon energy consumption such as raw coal, while low-carbon energy such as natural gas has not played a significant role. Therefore, the future energy optimization space of China’s construction industry is still huge. (2) Energy intensity effect and input structure effect have a positive inhibitory effect on carbon emission growth of the construction industry, and the inhibitory effect of energy intensity effect is stronger than that of input structure effect. It shows that in the sample range, the generalized technological progress and energy efficiency of the construction industry have been better optimized and improved. (3) Except for 2015–2017, the final demand effect in other intervals has a positive effect on the growth of carbon emissions in the construction industry, and the secondary and tertiary industries play a major role in the final demand effect. It shows that the total demand for the construction industry in various industries still maintains a growth trend. This paper provides a theoretical analysis basis and practical guidance for China’s construction industry to carry out more accurate and efficient emission reduction from the supply-side energy varieties and demand-side industry level, and further enriches the existing research on carbon emissions of the construction industry from the perspective of input–output analysis.

China is the second-largest economy in the world after the USA and the largest contributor of CO₂ emissions in the globe followed by the USA. In this study, we have included two factors that could affect the CO₂ emissions in China i.e. financial inclusion and education. Five different proxies of financial inclusion have been estimated through the ARDL technique and four of them have confirmed the favorable impact of financial inclusion on the environmental quality in China. Similarly, the role of education proved to be beneficial in reducing CO₂ emissions in China. Among the control variables, GDP and population also exerted a negative impact on CO₂ emissions, whereas, the research and development activities encourage carbon emissions. Our findings suggest that financial inclusion and education can play an important role in the fight against global warming. Funds should be transferred to those firms, businesses, and individuals who are involved in eco-innovations. Government should try to educate people on the environment and the harmful effects of global warming. Knowledge helps to build up technology that is more energy-efficient; hence, innovation through knowledge should be promoted to fortify the positive impacts of education on the eco-system.