Narrow Results

This study examines how electrification affected the economic performance of the Japanese coal mining industry in the 1900s. Using difference-in-differences estimation, we find that electrification considerably improved labor productivity and increased the number of workers, but had statistically zero effects on miners’ wages and caused a significant decline in the labor income share. We explain this phenomenon by using the “superstar firm” hypothesis, which provides a consistent explanation of the recent declines in labor income share in the US economy.

The transportation sector is experiencing a period of unprecedented and disruptive change from the rapid improvement in the performance and cost of battery electric vehicles (BEVs). We quantify the carbon mitigation cost impact from transport electrification with BEVs under policies to limit the Earth surface temperature change to $2^{\circ }$C. Our results show that the reduction in carbon mitigation costs from transport electrification is as high as 40%. While BEVs without decarbonization policies merely shift the sources of emissions, aggressive BEV adoption with policies dramatically reduces the cost of addressing climate change because power sector decarbonization costs are capped by a broad range of emission-free power technologies. The decarbonization of electricity caps road transport decarbonization costs with BEVs. Without BEVs, transportation decarbonization costs escalate as the liquid fuel costs rise sharply with carbon penalties on fossil fuels and large-scale biofuels production. Electrification of transport with BEVs transforms a “problem” sector into a major part of the climate solution.

After the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals were proposed, different institutions and scholars carried out research on China’s medium- and long-term mitigation pathways. Through the literature review of China’s research on carbon neutrality, this paper finds that the zero-carbon energy transition is the key to achieving carbon neutrality. The main driving factors of reducing energy-related carbon emissions include the cleanliness of primary and secondary energy supply systems, the electrification of energy consumption and the development of hydrogen energy, energy efficiency improvement, carbon capture and storage (CCS), and negative emissions. Furthermore, based on the literature, this paper conducts a quantitative comparative analysis, and selects key indicators for comparative analysis and summary from seven dimensions, including economic and social development, carbon emission pathways, primary energy consumption, final energy consumption, final hydrogen energy consumption, electricity demand and supply, and installed capacity and structure of power generation. Main conclusions are as follows: (i) In terms of carbon emission pathways, the institutions generally believed that China will peak carbon emissions around 2028 and achieve carbon neutrality between 2050 and 2060. Achieving net-zero or near-zero emissions first in the power sector is the key to carbon neutrality across the society; (ii) In terms of energy supply, it is a consensus to increase the proportion of clean energy and reduce carbon emissions from the source. The proportion of clean energy in primary energy will increase to more than 85%, and the proportion of clean energy power generation and installed capacity will reach more than 90%; (iii) In terms of energy use, electricity will become the core of final energy consumption in the future. The predicted electricity consumption across the society will range 14.3–18.4PWh, and the predicted electrification rate will exceed 65%.

The automotive industry is advancing with global innovations in vehicle electrification and hybridization as an adaptive response to ongoing environmental issues. Automotive automakers show concerns about these global megatrends that should impact the sector and are emphatic, especially regarding the rapid growth of solutions and business proposals that involve changing consumer behavior, especially regarding the aspect of product sustainability, as well as the new concept of vehicle use, instead of buying this. The planet does not have the capacity to withstand current patterns of consumption and, consequently, production. Aligned with this need, the work establishes corporate governance guidelines necessary for the transition from fossil fuel to electrification within the automotive chain. This paper aims to analyze the impact of the sustainable automotive chain against the perspective of electromobility in the most consolidated automotive markets, as well as in the incipient Brazilian market.

Rapid growth in information and communication technologies has spawned a number of major innovations in transportation area, including automation and connectivity. At the same time, the advancement in battery technology has accelerated the electrification of transportation vehicle propulsion. This paper, focusing on highway-oriented surface transportation, examines the current development of these innovations, along with their synergies, benefits, pitfalls, trends, possible barriers to deployment, and wider impacts.

Seventy million American homes and businesses burn natural gas, oil, or propane on-site to heat their space and water, generating 560 million tons of carbon dioxide each year — one-tenth of total US emissions. But now, we have the opportunity to meet nearly all our buildings’ energy needs with electricity from an increasingly low-carbon electric grid, eliminating direct fossil fuel use in buildings and making obsolete much of the gas distribution system — along with its costs and safety challenges…

New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (“Board”) is a state agency that oversees the public (investor-owned) utility companies supplying natural gas, electricity, water, telecommunications and cable television services. The Board ensures safe, adequate and proper utility services at reasonable rates for New Jersey residents. The Board protects consumers with competitive rates, and monitors service quality by responding to consumer complaints. The Board promotes clean, renewable sources of energy, incentivizes efficient use of energy and also conservation…