The Science Network RED MENTES has recently published a joint contribution entitled “Energy-socio-economic-environmental modelling for the EU energy and post-COVID-19 transitions” in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

The paper argues how recovery plans are an opportunity to deepen the way towards a low-carbon economy, improving at the same time employment, health, and equity and the role of modelling tools. It is based on contributions from many network members and tries to justify how multidisciplinary modeling is key to the successful development of the energy transition. Policies must be focused on both short-term and long-term goals, and the assessment of the social impacts of the energy transition must be highlighted. The scientific community has to assess disparate, non-equilibrium, and non-ordinary scenarios, such as sectors and countries lockdowns, drastic changes in consumption patterns, significant investments in renewable energies, and disruptive technologies, and incorporate uncertainty analysis

This paper has been written by Ignacio Cazcarro, Diego García-Gusano,  Diego Iribarren, Pedro Linares José Carlos Romero, Pablo Arocena, Iñaki Arto, Santacruz Banacloche, Yolanda Lechón, Luis Javier Miguel, Jorge Zafrilla, Luis-Antonio López, Raquel Langarita y María-Ángeles Cadarso, from ARAID and University of Zaragoza, Tecnalia, IMDEA, Comillas Pontificial  University, Public University of Navarra, Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), CIEMAT, University of Valladolid and University of Castilla-La Mancha.

Read us at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969721054061

UCLM researchers Abdessamad Gueddari-Aourir, Santiago García-Yuste, Carlos Alonso-Moreno, and Jesús Canales-Vázquez together with the GEAR Group members Ángela García-Alaminos and Jorge Zafrilla have recently published a new research article in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews.

The paper, entitled “The carbon footprint balance of a real-case wine fermentation CO2 capture and utilization strategy”, evaluates the environmental impact of the so-called CO₂-alcoholic fermentation processes (CO₂-AFP) strategy, a recently developed eco-innovative strategy. This proposal offers a new pathway toward a greener wine-making production with a 16.79% reduction of the carbon footprint considering scopes 1 (direct emissions), 2 (emissions generated directly in the production of electricity), and 3 (indirect emissions embodied in the organization’s value chain). The paper presents the strategy development corresponding to a real case: a medium-size winery and distillery in Spain, where the “CO2-AFP Strategy” has been successfully tested and scaled up. Detailed and tested carbon capture and utilization schemes are used to evaluate the overall carbon footprint balance (carbon calculation, capture potential, and carbon balance) via an improved hybrid multiregional input-output-lifecycle assessment model (MRIO-LCA). The benefits go beyond the reduction of carbon footprint in the fermentation industry. The application of the “CO2-AFP Strategy” implies a revolution, in terms of Circular Economy, in the sodium carbonate industry, as the symbiotic process between the different stages of the value chain will allow downstream carbon footprint reductions, facilitating a greener sodium carbonate production.

We hope you enjoy it!    LINK

GEAR Members Jorge Zafrilla, Ángela García-Alaminos, and Fabio Monsalve have recently published a new book chapter. You can find “The Sustainability Challenge of Dairy Livestock Systems” inside the book Sustainable and Environmentally Friendly Dairy Farms, edited by Santiago García-Yuste, it is part of the SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology book series.

The book, Sustainable and Environmentally Friendly Dairy Farms, presents an innovative environmental proposal. While chiefly focusing on dairy farms, the environmental solution it describes applies to the entire livestock sector. This book is divided into five chapters elaborated by eight authors. The first chapter -written by the GEAR members listed above – describes the current situation of the global dairy livestock industry under the influence and challenge of the commitments of the so-called Paris Agreement and addresses the carbon footprint of dairy farms. Firstly, the key points of the Agreement affecting the livestock and dairy systems are discussed within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals. Next, a detailed analysis of the evolution of the activity and the greenhouse gas emissions of the industry is presented. Finally, a summary of current environmental solutions and bioeconomy alternatives will contribute to enriching the discussion.

This contribution is part of the collaboration of the GEAR group in a UCLM’s multidisciplinary research group. Together with chemists and engineers, who are working on techniques for the capture and use of CO2.

LINK to the ebook: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-46060-0

GEAR members Mateo Ortiz, Maria Ángeles Cadarso and Luis Antonio López carried out a study on the carbon footprint associated with the activities of multinational companies operating in the European Union. The paper entitled ”The carbon footprint of foreign multinationals within the European Union” is part of the GEAR’s project to evaluate the role of multinational enterprises as key actors in the fight against climate change and the reduction of carbon emissions along global supply chains. A previous paper related to this project was already published in Nature Communications.

In this new paper, the authors reveal that, during 2015, the emissions directly and indirectly generated by multinational’s foreign affiliates operating within the European Union are estimated at 714 Mt of CO2, which accounts for 17% of the total carbon footprint of the European Union. Although most of these carbon emissions are generated by foreign affiliates located in the United Kingdom and Germany, the findings suggest that low-income EU-members receive higher amounts of emissions in relation to the value added created by the foreign affiliates they host.

The paper also provides valuable insights into the potential for multinational corporations to become actors of change in terms of reducing global emissions by taking responsibility for the environmental impacts of their affiliates and suppliers worldwide and by spreading low-carbon practices across countries and industries.

We strongly encourage you to read this great article on a very interesting topic. We hope you like it!

LINK: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jiec.13017

The GEAR members Manuel Tomás, Luis A. López and Fabio Monsalve, have recently published the article entitled «Carbon footprint, municipality size and rurality in Spain: Inequality and carbon taxation» in Journal of Cleaner Production.

In this paper, the authors assess the Spanish households’ carbon footprint for the 2008-2017 period considering the municipality size as well as the urban or rural residential zone. In light of the results, they test whether the carbon footprint inequality among households could lead to asymmetric regressive impacts based on where families live.

We hope you enjoy it!

Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095965262031845X