Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant on a single liquified natural gas (LNG) vessel, with estimates of vaccine effectiveness.

In August 2021, there was an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) Delta variant on an international liquified natural gas (LNG) vessel offshore to Gladstone, Queensland. Fourteen of the 26 crew members aboard the vessel tested positive for SARS-COV-2 on PCR during the outbreak. Vaccine effectiveness (VE) was 52% for all lab-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections, 65% for symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and 100% for severe SARS-CoV-2. The attack rate (AR) of SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant was 54% (14/26). With heightened public health measures and infection control practices, we were able to declare the outbreak over in 26 days.

Forecasting of energy consumption by G20 countries using an adjacent accumulation grey model.

This paper studies an adjacent accumulation discrete grey model to improve the prediction of the grey model and enhance the utilization of new data. The impact of COVID-19 on the global economy is also discussed. Two cases are discussed to prove the stability of the adjacent accumulation discrete grey model, which helped the studied model attain higher forecasting accuracy. Using the adjacent accumulation discrete grey model, non-renewable energy consumption in G20 countries from 2022 to 2026 is predicted based on their consumption data from 2011 to 2021. It is proven that the adjacent accumulation exhibits sufficient accuracy and precision. Forecasting results obtained in this paper show that energy consumption of all the non-renewable sources other than coal has an increasing trend during the forecasting period, with the USA, Russia, and China being the biggest consumers. Natural gas is the most consumed non-renewable energy source between 2022 and 2026, whereas hydroelectricity is the least consumed. The USA is the biggest consumer of Nuclear energy among the G20 countries, whereas Argentina consumed only 0.1 Exajoules of nuclear energy, placing it at the end of nuclear energy consumers.

Methane sources from waste and natural gas sectors detected in Pune, India, by concentration and isotopic analysis.

Methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas and also plays a significant role in tropospheric chemistry. High-frequency (sub-hourly) measurements of CH4 and carbon isotopic ratio (δ13CH4) have been conducted at Pune (18.53°N, 73.80°E), an urban environment in India, during 2018-2020. High CH4 concentrations were observed, with a mean of 2100 ± 196 ppb (1844-2749 ppb), relative to marine background concentrations. The δ13CH4 varied between -45.11 and -50.03 ‰ for the entire study period with an average of -47.41 ± 0.94 ‰. The diurnal variability of CH4 typically showed maximum values in the morning (08:00-09:00 local time) and minimum in the afternoon (15:00 local time). The deepest diurnal amplitude of ~500 ppb was observed during winter (December-February), which was reduced to less than half, ~200 ppb, during the summer (March-May). CH4 concentration at Pune showed a strong seasonality (470 ppb), much higher than that at Mauna Loa, Hawaii. On the other hand, δ13CH4 records did not show distinct seasonality at Pune. The δ13CH4 values revealed that the significant sources of CH4 in Pune were from the waste sector (enhanced during the monsoon season; signature of depleted δ13CH4), followed by the natural gas sector with a signature of enriched δ13CH4. Our analysis of Covid-19 lockdown (April to May 2020) effect on the CH4 variability showed no signal in the CH4 variability; however, the isotopic analysis indicated a transient shift in the CH4 source to the waste sector (early summer of 2020).

Economic policy uncertainty and commodity market volatility: implications for economic recovery.

As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, most commodities experienced significant price drops, which were expected to continue well into 2020. As a result, the Markov switching model is used to study the influence of policy uncertainty and the COVID-19 pandemic on commodity prices in the USA. Commodity markets are stimulated by economic policy uncertainty, according to results from a two-state Markov switching model. In both high and low regimes, economic policy uncertainty (EPU) influences the commodity market, according to the study's findings. However, in the high regime, EPU has a greater influence on the energy and metal sectors. EPU has different influences on commodity markets in high- and low-volatility regimes, according to this study. There is a wide range of correlations between COVID-19 outcomes and EPU and how the prices of natural gas, oil, corn, silver, soybean, copper, gold, and steel respond to these tremors, in both high- and low-volatility tenure. Oil and natural gas, on the other hand, are unaffected by shifts in COVID-19 death rates under either regime. Results show that in both high- and low-volatility regimes, the demand and supply for most commodities are responsive to historical prices.

Key factors affecting carbon prices from a time-varying perspective.

For humankind to sustain a livable atmosphere on the planet, many countries have committed to achieving carbon neutralization. Countries mainly reduce carbon emissions by regulations through a carbon tax or by establishing a carbon market using economic stimuli. In this paper, we use the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method to select the key determinants of a carbon market and then use the Markov switching vector autoregression (MSVAR) model to study the market's driving factors and analyze its time-varying characteristics. The results show that there are perceptible time-varying characteristics and notable differences among markets. During COVID-19, energy factors had a long-term shock on the carbon market, economic factors had a short-term shock on the carbon market, and the economic recession has led to fluctuations in the carbon market. In addition, through MSVAR, the results show that the energy market has a negative effect on the carbon market, and the stock market has a positive effect on the carbon market. In periods of low volatility, compared with the natural gas market and coal market, the oil market has a stronger shock on the carbon market. In periods of high volatility, the coal market has a stronger shock on the carbon market. In terms of emission reduction, countries around the world would be wise to change their energy consumption structure, reduce coal use, and shift to a cleaner energy consumption structure.

Dominance of Fossil Fuels in Japan's National Energy Mix and Implications for Environmental Sustainability.

Despite the drive for increased environmental protection and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), coal, oil, and natural gas use continues to dominate Japan's energy mix. In light of this issue, this research assessed the position of natural gas, oil, and coal energy use in Japan's environmental mitigation efforts from the perspective of sustainable development with respect to economic growth between 1965 and 2019. In this regard, the study employs Bayer and Hanck cointegration, fully modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS), and dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) to investigate these interconnections. The empirical findings from this study revealed that the utilization of natural gas, oil, and coal energy reduces the sustainability of the environment with oil consumption having the most significant impact. Furthermore, the study validates the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in Japan. The outcomes of the Gradual shift causality showed that CO2 emissions can predict economic growth, while oil, coal, and energy consumption can predict CO2 emissions in Japan. Given Japan's ongoing energy crisis, this innovative analysis provides valuable policy insights to stakeholders and authorities in the nation's energy sector.