ABSTRACT
The objective of the study is to analyse what and how researchers are covering sustainable low carbon recovery pathways in the post-COVID 19 scenario across various content categories. The unit or categories of content for thematic analysis taken under study includes a total of 121 content published within the year 2020-22. The study also assesses the focus and frames of research on sustainable low carbon recovery being conducted from 2020 to 2022 in order to gain a better understanding of the issues and best practises in global economies. For more valid results, the research design seeks novelty by concluding the qualitative and quantitative methodologies with statistical analysis of identified themes using thematic analysis. The data is analysed using Kruskal Wallis Test. The analysis shows that researchers are concerned about carbon emission and its impact on countries, sectors, industries, over the globe and are more inclined towards studying the impact of carbon emission, issues, and challenges posed in sustainable low carbon recovery pathways and measures. The studies also suggest the role of the public and policy in the recovery process with a focus on energy sector. The studies are primarily concerned with carbon emissions and green recovery measures for future sustainable development.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed socioeconomic vulnerabilities around the world. After fighting the coronavirus for more than 1 and a half years now, the countries are recovering from the epidemic with the help of cutting-edge medical research. The policymakers are implementing stimulus packages for post-pandemic economic recovery. However, sustainable "green recovery" plans are yet to get adequate attention. Sustainable investment in green industries can create green jobs, promote a low-carbon economy, and foster long-lasting economic growth in the post-pandemic world. COVID-19 affected countries with emerging economies call for even more focus on such investments. In Bangladesh, the bicycle industry - a growing low-carbon industry - has been showing promising potential for growth since the beginning of the pandemic. Both the local and global markets of Bangladeshi bicycles have seen substantial growth during the epidemic. In this paper, we analyze the potential of the Bangladeshi bicycle industry as an effective green recovery driver. We conduct semi-structured interviews with relevant experts and professionals, analyze their opinions, and perform a "strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT)" analysis. The analysis reveals valuable insights regarding post-pandemic sustainable economic and environmental recovery which will be beneficial to the policymakers of Bangladesh and similar developing countries.
ABSTRACT
The prevalence of global unilateralism and the shock of COVID-19 brought considerable uncertainty to China's economic development. Consequently, policy selection related to the economy, industry, and technology is expected to significantly impact China's national economic potential and carbon emission mitigation. This study used a bottom-up energy model to assess the future energy consumption and CO2 emission trend before 2035 under three scenarios: a high-investment scenario (HIS), a medium-growth scenario (MGS), and an innovation-driven scenario (IDS). These were also used to predict the energy consumption and CO2 emission trend for the final sectors and calculate each sector's mitigation contribution. The main findings were as follows. Firstly, under HIS, China would achieve its carbon peak in 2030, with 12.0 Gt CO2. Moderately lowering the economic growth rate to support the low-carbon transition of the economy by boosting the development of the low-carbon industry and speeding up the employment of key low-carbon technologies to improve energy efficiency and optimize energy structure in the final sectors, the MGS and the IDS would achieve carbon peak approximately in 2025, with a peak of 10.7 Gt CO2 for the MGS and 10.0 Gt CO2 for the IDS. Several policy recommendations were proposed to meet China's nationally determined contribution targets: instigating more active development goals for each sector to implement the "1+N" policy system, taking measures to accelerate the R&D, boosting the innovation and application of key low-carbon technologies, strengthening economic incentives, forming an endogenous driving force for market-oriented emission reduction, and assessing the climate impacts of new infrastructure projects.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Carbon Dioxide , Humans , Carbon Dioxide/analysis , Economic Development , China , Carbon/analysisABSTRACT
Resource-based cities (RBCs) are not only important for ensuring national resource and energy security, but they also face serious ecological and environmental problems. To achieve China's carbon peaking and neutrality goals in the coming years, RBCs' achievement of a low-carbon transformation has become increasingly significant. The core of this study is an investigation as to whether governance, including environmental regulations, can facilitate the low-carbon transformation of RBCs. Based on RBC data from 2003 to 2019, we establish a dynamic panel model to research the influence and mechanism of environmental regulations on low-carbon transformation. We found that China's environmental regulations facilitate a low-carbon transformation in RBCs. Mechanism analysis identified that the environmental regulations facilitate the low-carbon transformation in RBCs by strengthening foreign direct investment, enhancing green technology innovation and promoting industrial structure upgrading. Heterogeneity analysis found that the environmental regulations play a greater role in facilitating the low-carbon transformation of RBCs in regions with more developed economies and less dependence on resources. Our research provides theoretical and policy implications for environmental regulations for the low-carbon transformation of RBCs in China, applicable to other resource-based areas.