The relationship between energy consumption and economic growth and the development strategy of a low-carbon economy in Kazakhstan

Fossil energy is the material basis of human survival, economic development and social progress. The relationship between energy consumption and economic growth is becoming increasingly close. However, energy consumption is the major source of greenhouse gases, which can significantly affect the balance of the global ecosystem. It has become the common goal of countries worldwide to address climate change, reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and implement sustainable development strategies. In this study, we applied an approximate relationship analysis, a decoupling relationship analysis, and a trend analysis to explore the relationship between energy consumption and economic growth using data from Kazakhstan for the period of 1993-2010. The results demonstrated： （1） the total energy consumption and GDP in Kazakhstan showed a ＂U＂-type curve from 1993 to 2010. This curve was observed because 1993-1999 was a period during which Kazakhstan transitioned from a republic to an independent country and experienced a difficult transition from a planned to a market economy. Then, the economic system became more stable and the industrial production increased rapidly because of the effective financial, monetary and industrial policy support from 2000 to 2010. （2） The relationships between energy con- sumption and carbon emissions, economic growth and energy exports were linked; the carbon emissions were mainly derived from energy consumption, and the dependence of economic growth on energy exports gradually increased from 1993 to 2010. Before 2000, the relationship between energy consumption and economic growth was in a recessional decoupling state because of the economic recession. After 2000, this relationship was in strong and weak decoupling states because the international crude oil prices rose and energy exports increased greatly year by year. （3） It is forecasted that Kazakhstan cannot achieve its goal of energy consumption by 2020. Therefore, a low-carbon economy is the best strategic choice to address climate change from a global perspective in Kazakhstan. Thus, we proposed strategies including the improvement of the energy consumption structure, the development of new energy and renewable energy, the use of cleaner production technologies, the adjustment and optimization of the industrial structure, and the expansion of forest areas.

Apply of Low-Carbon Technology in Building Energy Conservation in Hot Summer and Cold Winter Area

Building energy conservation is the basis for carbon emission reduction, through elaborating the relationship between low carbon and energy efficient building. It points out that the construction of energy-saving emission reduction is an effective means to solve the problems of high energy consumption of the building, and it is also an important measure for China＇s carbon emission reduction. According to the climate characteristics in hot summer and cold winter area, low carbon technology suitable for the construction of energy-efficient hot summer and cold winter area is proposed which is based on the analysis of the current main building energy-saving technical measures.

Japan's experience of energy saving and business model for low-carbon economy

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the questions concerning stimulation of the innovation and the diffusion of energy saving or low-carbon.To do so,this paper explains using two cases of Japan-energy saving innovation after the Oil Shock and the eco points system.For the case after the oil shock,we explain the energy saving trend after the Oil Shock and the factors statistically.Then we put forward the business model for the low-carbon economy.Furthermore,we analyze the case of the eco points system from 2009-2011 in Japan and explain the significance of the business model for diffusion of the low-carbon products.

Green and Low-carbon Development Strategy for Large Energy Enterprises

Green and low-carbon development is the critical countermeasure to cope with climate change and to promote energy production and consumption revolution.China National Offshore Oil Corporation(“CNOOC”)has thoroughly implemented the requirements of the country’s ecological civilisation construction,highlighting the mission and responsibility of large central energy enterprises.Combined with the characteristics of its industry,CNOOC put forward a green low-carbon development strategy.CNOOC has put into practice the concept and practice of green and lowcarbon development by optimising the design of management systems,innovating energy conservation and emission reduction management and practice,promoting the construction of a green manufacturing system,and strengthening the supply of low-carbon clean energy.The main path and direction of the follow-up of the sustainable development are clearly defined.These practices provide a useful reference for promoting the transformation of China’s economic development mode to being more green and low-carbon,constructing an ecological civilization and development that is sustainable.

Review on carbon emissions, energy consumption and low-carbon economy in China from a perspective of global climate change

Accompanying the rapid growth of China's population and economy, energy consumption and carbon emission increased significantly from 1978 to 2012. China is now the largest energy consumer and CO2 emitter of the world, leading to much interest in researches on the nexus between energy consumption, carbon emissions and low-carbon economy. This article presents the domestic Chinese studies on this hotpot issue, and we obtain the following findings. First, most research fields involve geography, ecology and resource economics, and research contents contained some analysis of current situation, factors decomposition, predictive analysis and the introduction of methods and models. Second, there exists an inverted "U-shaped" curve connection between carbon emission, energy consumption and economic development. Energy consumption in China will be in a low-speed growth after 2035 and it is expected to peak between 6.19–12.13 billion TCE in 2050. China's carbon emissions are expected to peak in 2035, or during 2020 to 2045, and the optimal range of carbon emissions is between 2.4–3.3 PgC/year(1 PgC=1 billion tons C) in 2050. Third, future research should be focused on global carbon trading, regional carbon flows, reforming the current energy structure, reducing energy consumption and innovating the low-carbon economic theory, as well as establishing a comprehensive theoretical system of energy consumption, carbon emissions and low-carbon economy.

Input-output efficiency model of urban greenenergy development from the perspective of a low-carbon economy

With the acceleration of urbanization,cities are the main targets for carbon neutrality and urban energy is the terminal of energy consumption and the integration point of various energy systems.Therefore,there is a need to promote the development of urban green energy and achieve low input and high output to achieve a low-carbon economy in cities.Previous studies have not considered the input-output efficiency of urban green-energy development.This study fills this gap.Based on the economic-energy-environmental framework,an input-output efficiency-evaluation index system for urban green-energy development was constructed.Based on improved data-envelopment analysis,a comparative evaluation of the input-output efficiency of green-energy development was carried out in 30 provinces in China in 2019.Considering the differences in regions,the development of urban green energy in different provinces was classified.From the perspective of a low-carbon economy,economic growth factors and environmental constraint factors were set.Together with the generalized Divisia index approach,the input-output efficiency optimization directions of urban green-energy development were obtained.The results showed that the input-output efficiencies of urban green-energy development in Jiangsu,Zhejiang,Fujian,Inner Mongolia,Ningxia and other provinces and cities were relatively high.Provinces with faster economic development and higher environmental carrying capacity have advantages after optimization and will become pilot areas for the development of urban green energy.This research provides a reference for the development of urban green energy in various provinces from the input and output perspective.

Study on Relation between Energy Consumption and Climate Change in China

[Objective] The research aimed to study relation between energy consumption and climate change in China. [Method] Climate change characteristics from 1951 to 2009 in China were summarized. Economic and social developments in China in recent 50 years were analyzed from production and consumption amounts of the energy, energy source composition and energy consumption of the GDP （ten-thousand yuan）. Influences of the energy consumption and economic development on climate change were discussed. [ Result] Annual average temperature of China in- creased obviously from 1951 to 2009, and regional difference was distinct. Increasing trend of the temperature in the north of 35° N was bigger than that in the south. Increasing trend of the temperature in northeast China and Inner Mongolia reached 0.04 ℃/a. The average temperature from 1981 to 2009 was higher than that from 1951 to 1980, and the biggest difference value was more than 2.0 ℃. Mutation of Chinese energy produc- tion and consumption happened in 1985, but average temperature of China had an obvious mutation in 1989, showing temperature mutation lagged behind energy production and consumption mutation. Energy consumption of the GDP （ten-thousand yuan） decreased evidently from 1978 to 1997. Beginning from 1998, the decreasing pace slowed down markedly, and there was a rebound in 2003. Chinese new energy amount was increasing year by year. Because the total energy consumption amount was also increasing, new energy proportion had been maintained about one quarter. The energy consumption increasing model with energy consumption coefficient and the model without energy consumption coefficient were set up in this paper. It was found that Chinese energy structure changed a little after considering energy consumption coefficient. Proportion of the coal de- creased, while proportions of the oil, natural gas and electric power increased. Temperature changing trend was consistent with that of the economic development and energy consumption. Change trend of the average temperature basically presented good positive correlation with effective energy consumption amount, and the maximum correlation coefficient was 80%. [ Conclusion] The research proved the importance of developing clean ＆ efficient energy and carrying out low-carbon economy to relieve climate change of China. It was urgent to carry out low-carbon economy and transform economic growth manner.

我国低碳包装发展机制与体系研究

阐述了我国包装产业具有较大的节能减排空间,低碳化是包装产业转变发展方式的重要内容,低碳包装的发展符合相关者利益,具有内在动力。研究认为:低碳包装应瞄准包装设计、产品生产、产品运输、产品使用及包装材料的再回收处理等5个重点环节的低碳化;建立健全的扶持奖励机制、融资创新机制、联合推进机制和示范推广机制等4个发展机制,积极引导政府、包装企业、消费者和社会组织等低碳行为主体的参与;从生态化规划设计体系、集约化生产服务体系、社会化宣传推广体系和绿色化环境审计体系等环节,建立健全低碳包装发展保障体系,支撑保障包装产业节能减排工作落到实处。

Research on the Export Trade of Hubei Province from the Perspective of a Carbon Tax

With the global concern about the safety of the environment and the increasing demands for carbon reduction, European countries have proposed to levy a carbon tax to reduce global carbon emissions. In the process of global trade, depending on advanced technology on carbon emissions, European and American countries raise the production cost of their competitors through a carbon tax to gain competitive advantage. The West＇s carbon tax will inevitably have serious implications for the export trade of China as a trading nation. As the central region, Hubei Province＇s export trade will also be affected. This paper first reviewed the background of carbon tariffs on the international market, then analyzed the impact of a carbon tax on exports of Hubei Province, and proposed relevant policies and countermeasures against trade barriers on a carbon tax at last.

The importance and potential of photovoltaics in the context of low-carbon development in Poland

The main topic of the study is the development of photovoltaic systems in Poland,and its main goal is to char-acterize the current situation and development prospects in a given subject area in the context of the growing importance of the low-carbon economy in Poland.The study uses both secondary and primary(Foresight)data.The development of photovoltaic micro-installations in Poland,recorded in recent years,was possible thanks to the state support.Unnecessary administrative barriers have been removed;legal provisions have been simplified and adapted to small,distributed systems.However,there is a risk of a slowdown in the high dynamics of rates on the analyzed market in Poland due to changes in legal solutions introduced by the state.

Green Transport Infrastructure of Taiwan

Transport is the lifeblood of a nation’s economy. Since the fossil fuels are being gradually depleted and the global warming phenomena are more and more serious, this article is to construct a low-carbon transport infrastructure for Taiwan by the implementation of energy-saving measures. First of all, via data collection and analysis, we found that the small passenger cars and the large trucks are the largest energy users in the transport sector, due to their high energy intensities and large transport volumes. Therefore, their energy-conserving potentials are the focuses of this study. According to “Top-Down” methodology, the most effective and economical energy-saving strategies for Taiwan’s transport sector are the significant adoptions of rail transport and electrification mode. Whereby, under a maximal energy-saving scenario, comprising of delicate shift of transport volumes, the energy saving potential in the land transport sector of Taiwan is 4914 MLOE (million liters of oil equivalent), which is equivalent to greenhouse gas reduction of 10.56Mt-CO2e approximately with a scale of 45.3% or crediting for 4.1% reduction of national GHG emissions. Finally, we suggest the green transport infrastructure of Taiwan should be mainly comprised of rail transport, electric motorcycles, MRT (Mass Rapid Transit), and EV (Electric Vehicles).

The Goals of Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality and China's New Energy Revolution

Based on the full consideration of both domestic and global environments and conditions,the adherence to the conviction that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets,and the comprehensive weighing of pros and cons,the Chinese government has made a major strategic decision to achieve the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality,which is crucial to the overall green transformation of the economy and society and the long-term benefits of the Chinese nation.With the new energy revolution and energy mix diversification driven by the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals,nonfossil energy sources centered on photovoltaic energy will gradually dominate the energy mix,while the status of electricity and hydrogen energy will be significantly enhanced and the consumption of coal and petroleum will decline significantly.Carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals are both challenges and opportunities for China.Specific challenges are embodied in the large pressure of economic and energy restructuring,the rising manufacturing costs,the difficulties in withdrawing coal-fired power stations,the possibility of unstable grid operations due to large-scale integration of photovoltaic and wind power into the power distribution network,and the supply risks of key metals,while specific opportunities are emerging in the strong competitiveness of photovoltaic and wind power equipment,lower dependence on foreign petroleum and gas supply and accelerated low-carbon green transformation.China should strengthen the top-level design of the path to achieve carbon peaking and carbon neutrality,encourage innovation of green low-carbon technologies,accelerate economic and energy restructuring,strictly restrict the construction of new high-emission and energy-intensive projects,and steadily promote the adjustment and withdrawal of the existing high-emission and energy-intensive projects.

Effects of Rolling and Cooling Conditions on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Low Carbon Cold Heading Steel

Effects of rolling and cooling conditions on microstructure and mechanical properties of low carbon cold heading steel were investigated on a laboratory hot rolling mill. The results have shown that the mechanical proper ties of low carbon steels exceed the standard requirements of ML30, ML35, ML40, and ML45 steel, respectively due to thermomechanical controlled processing （TMCP）. This is attributed to a significant amount of pearlite and the ferrite-grain refinement. Under the condition of relatively low temperature rolling, the mechanical properties exceed standard requirements of ML45 and ML30 steel after water cooling and air cooling, respectively. Fast cooling which leads to more pearlite and finer ferrite grains is more critical than finish rolling temperatures for low carbon cold heading steel. The specimen at high finish rolling temperature exhibits very good mechanical properties due to fast cooling. This result has great significance not only for energy saving and emission reduction, but also for low-carbon economy, because the goals of the replacement of medium-carbon by low-carbon are achieved with TMCP.