Optimal scenario balance of reduction in costs and greenhouse gas emissions for municipal solid waste management

To reduce carbon intensity, an improved management method balancing the reduction in costs and greenhouse gas(GHG)emissions is required for Tianjin's waste management system. Firstly, six objective functions, namely, cost minimization, GHG minimization, eco-efficiency minimization, cost maximization, GHG maximization and eco-efficiency maximization, are built and subjected to the same constraints with each objective function corresponding to one scenario. Secondly, GHG emissions and costs are derived from the waste flow of each scenario. Thirdly, the range of GHG emissions and costs of other potential scenarios are obtained and plotted through adjusting waste flow with infinitely possible step sizes according to the correlation among the above six scenarios. And the optimal scenario is determined based on this range. The results suggest the following conclusions. 1) The scenarios located on the border between scenario cost minimization and GHG minimization create an optimum curve, and scenario GHG minimization has the smallest eco-efficiency on the curve; 2) Simple pursuit of eco-efficiency minimization using fractional programming may be unreasonable; 3) Balancing GHG emissions from incineration and landfills benefits Tianjin's waste management system as it reduces GHG emissions and costs.

The environmental prospects of cultured meat in China

To deal with concerns in China about environmental degradation and a growth in population accompanied by increased consumption of livestock products, a meat alternative is required. This study compared the environmental impacts of producing different protein sources for nutrition, including crops, livestock products, and cultured meat. The results showed that cultured meat has the lowest land use per unit of protein and unit of human digestible energy. China＇s crops have the lowest energy use and greenhouse gas（GHG） emissions per unit of energy and protein. The energy use in cultured meat production is slightly higher than that of current pork production in China, whereas GHG emissions are lower. It is concluded that the overall impact of replacing livestock products with cultured meat would be beneficial for China＇s environment and would potentially improve food security because less land is needed to produce the same amount of protein and energy.

Abating transport GHG emissions by hydrogen fuel cell vehicles： Chances for the developing world

Fuel cell vehicles, as the most promising clean vehicle technology for the future, represent the major chances for the developing world to avoid high-carbon lock-in in the transportation sector. In this paper, by taking China as an example, the unique advantages for China to deploy fuel cell vehicles are reviewed. Subsequently, this paper analyzes the greenhouse gas （GHG） emissions from 19 fuel cell vehicle utilization pathways by using the life cycle assessment approach. The results show that with the current grid mix in China, hydrogen from water electro- lysis has the highest GHG emissions, at 3.10 kgCO2/km, while by-product hydrogen from the chlor-alkali industry has the lowest level, at 0.08 kgCO2/krn. Regarding hydrogen storage and transportation, a combination of gas-hydrogen road transportation and single compression in the refueling station has the lowest GHG emissions. Regarding vehicle operation, GHG emissions from indirect methanol fuel cell are proved to be lower than those from direct hydrogen fuel cells. It is recommended that although fuel cell vehicles are promising for the developing world in reducing GHG emissions, the vehicle technology and hydrogen production issues should be well addressed to ensure the life-cycle low-carbon performance.

Development of a stationary ca,-bon emission inventory for Shanghai using pollution source census data

This study utilizes 521,631 activity data points from the 2007 Shanghai Pollution Source Census to compile a stationary carbon emission inventory for Shanghai. The inventory generated from our dataset shows that a large portion of Shanghai＇s total energy use consists of coal-oriented energy consumption. The elec- tricity and heat production industries, iron and steel mills, and the petroleum refining industry are the main carbon emitters. In addition, most of these industries are located in Baoshan District, which is Shanghai＇s largest contributor of carbon emissions. Policy makers can use the enterprise- level carbon emission inventory and the method designed in this study to construct sound carbon emission reduction policies. The carbon trading scheme to be established in Shanghai based on the developed carbon inventory is also introduced in this paper with the aim of promoting the monitoring, reporting and verification of carbon trading. Moreover, we believe that it might be useful to consider the participation of industries, such as those for food processing, beverage, and tobacco, in Shanghai＇s carbon trading scheme. Based on the results contained herein, we recommend establishing a comprehensive carbon emission inventory by inputting data from the pollution source census used in this study.