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Effect of resource consumption on dynamics of Environmental Sustainability: An Empirical Analysis Based on Data of Selected Countries between the years 2001-2014
Adrielle Frimaio, and Biagio F. Giannetti
Laboratory of Production and Environment, Paulista University, São Paulo, Brazil
A.F. a_frimaio@hotmail.com , B.F.G. biafgian@unip.br
Human activities have modified the environment and the way the resources are used changes global sustainability. Any unsustainable society cannot be maintained and at some point, will cease functioning. Many sustainability assessment methods take the biophysical limits of the planet as a parameter to evaluate and compare natural and human-made systems, stressing the need for developing more studies that make the procedures clearer. As a complex system, the world is not only the adding-up of its countries but also a result of the interactions among its many parts and tends on pursuing adaptation instead of disruption. The present study aims at assessing the evolution of the world’s sustainability based on the analysis of 149 countries. The present study uses emergy accounting to calculate the demand for and the use of resources by each country. The Emergy Ternary Diagram aids in monitoring the system’s dynamics. The focus of the work is on proposing a standardized emergy accounting procedure to express the hierarchical characteristic of resources and allow comparisons among the results for every year studied. Results indicate the reduction of global sustainability between the years 2001 and 2014 led by the increase in non-renewable and imported resource consumption as the economies developed and led the Planet to an unsustainable scenario. Increasing the efficiency of processes is suggested for improving sustainability, as well as understanding the role of each country on the global dynamics so as to plan policies that suit every country and allow it to play its role in global development rather than standardized policies for every country regardless of their differences.
Keywords: Global policies, Energy Ternary Diagram and sustainability.
Sustainability evaluation of key sectors in China's steel industry chain based on the scrap recycling
Yanxin Liu 1*, Huajiao Li2, 3, Haizhong A 2, 3, Remo Santagata 4, Xueyong Liu 1, Sergio Ulgiati 4,5
- School of Management and Engineering, Capital University of Economics and Business, Beijing 100070, China
- School of Economics and Management, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
- Key Laboratory of Carrying Capacity Assessment for Resource and Environment, Ministry of Land and Resources, Beijing 100083, China
- Department of Science and Technology, Parthenope University of Naples, Centro Direzionale-Isola C4, 80143, Napoli, Italy
- School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
*Correspondence to: School of Management and Engineering, Capital University of Economics and Business, Beijing 100070, China. Tel.:+86 13436751815; E-mail address: lyxinnn@126.com (YX. Liu)
To achieve the goal of "carbon peak" and "carbon neutral" soon, the steel industry chain as the pillar of China's economic development began to pay attention to scrap recycling. To clarify the impact of scrap recycling on the sustainable development of steel industry chain, this study applies Emergy Accounting (EMA) to assess the China´s steel industry environmental performance and to identify key application sectors. Subsequently, this study calculates emergy–based indicators capable to assess the present economic performance, environmental sustainability, and land resource appropriate utilization. Building on these indicators, changes of sustainability scenarios in key application sectors are also investigated, with special focus on increased use of recycled steel. Results show that the environmental impacts of primary steel use in downstream sectors, specially in the Housing and Vehicles Sectors, are significantly high, when expressed in terms of emergy demand and emergy loading indicators. The total emergy demand is particularly affected by embodied land. When the recycling rate of scrap steel increases, the performance of downstream sectors improves, with the Vehicle sector showing the most significant changes. Although the economic benefits of steel use to society cannot be disregarded, multidimensional sustainability concerns and international competition for primary resources necessitate a transition towards increased recycling and innovative materials within a strictly enforced “circular economy” policy.