Article
Environmental Sciences
Jefim Vogel, Jason Hickel
Summary: Although high-income countries have reduced their CO2 emissions through absolute decoupling, these achievements fall far short of the requirements of the Paris Agreement. To meet the emission reduction targets of the agreement while continuing economic growth, decoupling rates would need to increase by a factor of ten by 2025.
LANCET PLANETARY HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Thermodynamics
Rosa Maria Regueiro-Ferreira, Pablo Alonso-Fernandez
Summary: This paper investigates the effect of renewable energy consumption on material consumption by considering the relationship between Material Footprint and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and testing the assumptions of the Environmental Kuznets Curve. The model estimation shows an inverted N-shaped relationship between GDP and Material Footprint, and that renewable energy favors the reduction of material consumption for fossil fuels. However, there is a positive effect between renewable energy consumption and the Material Footprint of other categories. These results need to be interpreted cautiously due to the potential distortion caused by the 2008 crisis.
Article
Business
Joao Leitao, Joaquim Ferreira, Ernesto Santibanez-Gonzalez
Summary: The study strongly validates the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis and the decoupling of the economy regarding energy intensity and raw materials, while also identifying new drivers and factors influencing CO2 emissions. The findings provide new insights and guidance for managers and policy-makers.
TECHNOLOGICAL FORECASTING AND SOCIAL CHANGE
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Xutong Wu, Bojie Fu, Shuai Wang, Shuang Song, Yingjie Li, Zhenci Xu, Yongping Wei, Jianguo Liu
Summary: This study used a correlational network approach and a global SDG database to analyze the evolution of SDG interactions. The research found that as the level of sustainable development increases, the interactions among SDGs show nonlinear changes. At low and high levels of sustainable development, SDGs are both more positively and more negatively connected, while at middle levels, they cluster into more isolated positive connection groups.
NATURE SUSTAINABILITY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Studies
Carmen Valentina Radulescu, Florina Bran, Alexandru Liviu Ciuvat, Dumitru Alexandru Bodislav, Ovidiu Cristian Buzoianu, Mihaela Stefanescu, Sorin Burlacu
Summary: This paper provides an analysis of the relationship between economic development and resource consumption in Romania's forested areas. The findings suggest a relative decoupling process between economic development and social inequality, as Romania strives to transition to a circular economy. The study highlights the challenges of assessing the impacts of decoupling economic development from natural resource consumption and recommends further research to connect forest areas with other policy actions for sustainable development.
Article
Ecology
Gregor Semieniuk
Summary: Efforts to decouple economic growth from resource use and negative environmental impacts have yielded inconclusive results, partially due to the uncertainties in historical measurement arising from definitional changes to GDP. This study examines the impact of GDP vintages on decoupling results and finds that a significant number of countries switch between relative decoupling and recoupling, and that GDP vintages also affect environmental Kuznets curve results and the decline in global energy intensity. The inconsistencies in economic measurement introduce ambiguity into historical decoupling evidence and model projections into the future.
ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mihaela Simionescu
Summary: This paper examines GHG emissions in Central and Eastern European countries from 1990 to 2019 and proposes economic policies to reduce pollution, finding an inverse N-shaped relationship between GDP and GHG emissions, and an N-shaped relationship between value added in agriculture and pollution. The study confirms a U-shaped renewable energy Kuznets Curve for overall economy and agriculture, suggesting that reducing pollution can promote sustainable development in these countries.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Wasi Ul Hassan Shah, Xuhui Zhang, Rizwana Yasmeen, Ihtsham Ul Haq Padda
Summary: Green transitioning through renewable energy sources is the most effective strategy for any economy. This study aimed to examine the progress of G20 countries in achieving a green economy compared to economic growth. Data analysis on income and energy sources showed that wind, solar, and biomass energies have an inverted N-shaped relationship with income, while hydroelectricity showed a steady positive trend. Nonrenewable energy consumption followed an N-shaped curve. The impact of foreign direct investment on solar and wind sectors was found to be positive.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Rikard Hjorth Warlenius
Summary: This paper assesses the debate between proponents of "green growth" and "degrowth", focusing on the possibility of decoupling carbon emissions and resource use from GDP growth at a sufficient rate to achieve policy goals. The claims made by degrowth scholars on the limits of decoupling are examined, and it is argued that their pessimistic view is not well-supported. Based on assumptions by leading degrowth scholars, it is suggested that reaching the desired policy targets would require drastic reductions in GDP for global north economies, making it highly unlikely. However, the paper discusses potential alternatives and outlines a realist and dynamic theory of decoupling.
ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yu Sun, Mingxing Li, Mengjuan Zhang, Hira Salah Ud Din Khan, Jiaqiu Li, Zeyu Li, Hongzheng Sun, Yue Zhu, Oswin Aganda Anaba
Summary: This study investigates the relationship between economic growth, solar energy technology, and carbon emissions, revealing a long-run cointegration relationship and an inverted U curve. Economic factors and solar technology innovation can negatively impact carbon emissions, while enhancing solar technology innovation has a positive effect on reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Yuli Shan, Shuai Fang, Bofeng Cai, Ya Zhou, Dong Li, Kuishuang Feng, Klaus Hubacek
Summary: The study found that from 2005 to 2015, only 11% of Chinese cities achieved strong decoupling of economic growth and emissions, while 65.6% showed weak decoupling, and 23.4% showed no decoupling. The level of economic-emission decoupling in cities is related to factors such as economic structure, emission intensity, and population size. Improving production and carbon efficiency is crucial for reducing emission intensity.
Article
Economics
George Ekonomou, George Halkos
Summary: The present study investigates the causality relationships between environmental quality, energy efficiency, and economy through panel data analysis of Eurozone member states. The study confirms the validity of the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis and explores the impact of tourism on environmental degradation. The findings highlight the importance of establishing sustainable energy consumption and tourism spending patterns.
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS AND POLICY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Jing Lan, Yiming Wei, Jie Guo, Qiuming Li, Zhen Liu
Summary: China is currently undergoing a transition from high-speed growth to high-quality development, and environmental protection is highly emphasized. This research examines the relationship between pollution and green finance by using data from 30 provinces in China from 2001 to 2020. The study calculates the provincial green finance index and explores the non-linear influence of green finance on industrial pollution emissions based on the Kuznets Curve. The results show that there is regional heterogeneity in the relationship between green finance and industrial pollution emissions, which can be attributed to regional differences in industrial structures. Therefore, upgrading industrial structure is a win-win solution for the development of green finance and the reduction of industrial pollution emissions.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sobia Naseem, Muhammad Mohsin, Muhammad Zia-UR-Rehman, Sajjad Ahmad Baig, Muddassar Sarfraz
Summary: This study finds a long-term relationship between economic expansion and environmental degradation, which can be alleviated through continuous economic growth, energy demand and crisis management, implementation of environmentally sustainable policies, application of green technologies for natural resource utilization, and control of urban population growth.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yiping Wang, Wendong Wei, Zhujie Bi, Ruijie Cao, Jiyang Li, Di Shu, Ziyang Lou
Summary: Plastic recycling is crucial for the dematerialization of plastics, and China's ban has significantly impacted global plastic consumption and recycling rates. Improving the quality of waste plastics has a greater contribution to decoupling, while the recycling rate has a certain influence on decoupling effects.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Franz Schug, David Frantz, Dominik Wiedenhofer, Helmut Haberl, Doris Virag, Sebastian van der Linden, Patrick Hostert
Summary: This study assessed the dynamics of material stock and its relation to population in Germany using Landsat imagery and a spatial resolution of 30 m. The results showed that material stock and population in Germany grew by 13% and 4% respectively, with highly variable spatial patterns. The reunification of East and West Germany in 1990 led to a rapid growth of material stock per capita in East Germany, despite a decline in population. Possible over- or underestimations of stock growth due to methodological assumptions require further research.
JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Sina Leipold, Anna Petit-Boix, Anran Luo, Hanna Helander, Machteld Simoens, Weslynne S. Ashton, Callie W. Babbitt, Alba Bala, Catharina R. Bening, Morten Birkved, Fenna Blomsma, Casper Boks, Alessio Boldrin, Pauline Deutz, Teresa Domenech, Navarro Ferronato, Alejandro Gallego-Schmid, Damien Giurco, Kersty Hobson, Roope Husgafvel, Cynthia Isenhour, Mait Kriipsalu, Donato Masi, Joan Manuel F. Mendoza, Leonidas Milios, Monia Niero, Deepak Pant, Keshav Parajuly, Stefan Pauliuk, Marina P. P. Pieroni, Jessika Luth Richter, Michael Saidani, Marzena Smol, Laura Talens Peiro, Stijn van Ewijk, Walter J. V. Vermeulen, Dominik Wiedenhofer, Bing Xue
Summary: The current enthusiasm for the circular economy offers an opportunity for research on sustainability transitions. However, diverse interpretations and assessments of its potential benefits hinder progress. This study synthesizes policy-relevant lessons and research directions for a sustainable circular economy and identifies three narratives that underpin the ambiguity in assessments.
JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Jan Streeck, Stefan Pauliuk, Hanspeter Wieland, Dominik Wiedenhofer
Summary: Dynamic Material Flow Analysis (dMFA) is a commonly used method for modeling stock-flow dynamics. To accurately represent material lifetimes, recycling potentials, and service provision, dMFA requires data on the allocation of material consumption to different end-use products or sectors. Previous estimates of this allocation have been limited in terms of time, geography, and product groups. Recently, several methods for estimating end-use product allocation in dMFA have been proposed, but a systematic comparison is lacking. In this study, we review and systematize five methods for tracing material consumption into end-use products and discuss their strengths and limitations. We find that Monetary Input-Output Tables (MIOTs) can provide valuable data for approximating material end-uses, and we compare and evaluate four distinct MIOT-based methods.
JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Li-Jing Liu, Hong-Dian Jiang, Qiao-Mei Liang, Felix Creutzig, Hua Liao, Yun-Fei Yao, Xiang-Yan Qian, Zhong-Yuan Ren, Jing Qing, Qi-Ran Cai, Ottmar Edenhofer, Yi-Ming Wei
Summary: The Russia-Ukraine conflict exposes the EU's reliance on fossil fuel imports from Russia. Using a global computable general equilibrium model, this study examines the impact of embargoing Russian fossil fuels on CO2 emissions and GDP. The findings show that embargoes would result in a more than 10% reduction in CO2 emissions in the EU and slight increases in Russia, but both regions would experience GDP losses. Implementing demand-side response within the EU could increase CO2 emission savings and mitigate GDP losses.
NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Ivan Savin, Felix Creutzig, Tatiana Filatova, Joel Foramitti, Theo Konc, Leila Niamir, Karolina Safarzynska, Jeroen van den Bergh
Summary: Ambitious climate mitigation policies face resistance due to social and political factors, partly because they fail to incorporate diverse insights from the social sciences regarding potential policy outcomes. Agent-based models can serve as a powerful tool for integrating elements from different disciplines, enabling a more comprehensive assessment of climate policies.
WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-CLIMATE CHANGE
(2023)
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Jan Streeck, Hanspeter Wieland, Stefan Pauliuk, Barbara Plank, Kenichi Nakajima, Dominik Wiedenhofer
Summary: Modeling pathways toward sustainable production and consumption requires improving coverage of end-use product stocks in terms of space, time, and materials. Current studies on inflow-driven, dynamic material flow analysis (dMFA) extrapolate limited information on material end-use shares across longer time periods and global regions. In this work, we reviewed five methods to derive material end-use shares using industry shipment data and monetary input-output tables (MIOTs), and applied these methods to the United States and the multi-regional input-output model EXIOBASE3. We proposed the end-use transfer method to better align MIOT and dMFA definitions. Despite mixed results, combining MIOT-based end-use shares with industry shipments and country-level data could improve temporal, geographical, and end-use resolution. However, data scarcity, documentation, and quality are key limitations for more accurate and detailed end-use shares. This article met the requirements for a gold-gold data openness badge.
JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Charlotte Liotta, Vincent Viguie, Felix Creutzig
Summary: This study uses a spatially explicit monocentric urban economic model to analyze the impact of four representative policies on reducing transport greenhouse gas emissions in 120 cities worldwide. The results show that implementing these policies in all cities can reduce transportation greenhouse gas emissions by 31% in 15 years. However, the consequences of the same policies vary widely between cities, depending on factors such as the policy considered, income level, population growth rate, spatial organization, and existing public transport supply. Applying welfare-increasing policy portfolios can reduce emissions by 22% in 15 years.
NATURE SUSTAINABILITY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Franz Schug, Dominik Wiedenhofer, Helmut Haberl, David Frantz, Doris Virag, Sebastian van der Linden, Patrick Hostert
Summary: This study provides high-resolution maps of material stocks in buildings and infrastructures in Austria, showing a 33-year time series. These data are important for studies on societal resource use, transport studies, and land system science.
Article
Environmental Studies
Erik Haites, Paolo Bertoldi, Michael Koenig, Christopher Bataille, Felix Creutzig, Dipak Dasgupta, Stephane de la Rue du Can, Smail Khennas, Yong-Gun Kim, Lars J. Nilsson, Joyashree Roy, Agus Sari
Summary: This paper highlights the challenge of reducing emissions in emissions-intensive, trade-exposed sectors and proposes policy packages to achieve emission reduction targets while minimizing the risk of leakage.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Felix Creutzig, Frank Goetzke, Anjali Ramakrishnan, Marina Andrijevic, Patricia Perkins
Summary: Climate change mitigation is often evaluated based on technologies and policy instruments, but the role of governance and social capital in complex social systems should not be overlooked. This study explores the importance of quality of governance, social capital, and equality as prerequisites for effective climate policies. By analyzing national-level indicators of social systems with Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and Structural Equation Models (SEM), we find that impartiality in governance is crucial for fostering social capital, interpersonal trust, equality, and effective climate policies such as carbon pricing. Socio-economic inequalities can undermine trust and political engagement, posing challenges to achieving the overarching goal of climate change mitigation. However, evidence suggests that fairly implemented climate policies can contribute to a virtuous cycle by improving the quality of governance and strengthening the capacity to implement strong climate policies. Our findings highlight the significance of impartial governance and social capital in driving effective climate policies.
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS
(2023)
Correction
Energy & Fuels
Kavya Madhu, Stefan Pauliuk, Sumukha Dhathri, Felix Creutzig
Article
Environmental Studies
Christina Plank, Christoph Goerg, Gerald Kalt, Lisa Kaufmann, Stefan Dullinger, Fridolin Krausmann
Summary: Vienna's large biomass demand relies heavily on regional and global production. This raises concerns about the impact of urban consumption on socioecological conditions worldwide and the need for mitigation measures by urban actors. The focus of this study is on the city's biodiversity footprint and the spatial mismatch between the ecological impacts of biomass production and consumption and available governance instruments at the city level. The findings highlight the need for higher-scale regulation, mandatory measures, and reduced consumption and production to effectively address the spatial mismatch and biodiversity loss.
Article
Economics
Mengyu Li, Lorenz Keysser, Jarmo S. Kikstra, Jason Hickel, Paul E. Brockway, Nicolas Dai, Arunima Malik, Manfred Lenzen
Summary: Empirical evidence suggests that high-income economies may need to adopt degrowth policies along with renewable energy deployment to achieve rapid decarbonisation. However, existing energy-economy-emission models have not included degrowth scenarios due to their growth-oriented framework. In this study, the IAM MESSAGEix is modified to be compatible with degrowth scenarios, resulting in reduced production and emissions in a simulated high-income economy.
ECONOMIC SYSTEMS RESEARCH
(2023)
Meeting Abstract
Biophysics
Ana M. Melo, Tania Sousa, Goncalo Damas, Ana Coutinho, Nuno Bernardes, Ana Azevedo, Manuel Prieto
EUROPEAN BIOPHYSICS JOURNAL WITH BIOPHYSICS LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Helmut Haberl, Markus Loew, Alejandro Perez-Laborda, Sarah Matej, Barbara Plank, Dominik Wiedenhofer, Felix Creutzig, Karl-Heinz Erb, Juan Antonio Duro
Summary: The extent and spatial patterns of settlements and infrastructures have a significant impact on the resource demand of national economies worldwide, almost as much as GDP. While built structures at the urban level are known to influence energy demand and CO2 emissions, their role at the national level is often overlooked due to limited data availability. Instead, factors such as GDP are more commonly assessed. In this study, we present national-level indicators to characterize patterns of built structures and find that they are almost equally important as GDP for predicting energy demand and CO2 emissions.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)