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Sustainable Management of Fuel Consumption and Carbon Emission Reduction

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 23 October 2025 | Viewed by 837

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Interests: energy; chemical engineering; environmental science
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Amid growing environmental pressures, particularly in the energy sector, achieving long-term development requires substantial efforts. Sustainable development, widely recognized as essential for this purpose, can be realized through effective environmental management, with particular emphasis on fuel consumption and carbon emission reduction, which is the title of this Special Issue.

Rapid global economic growth drives social prosperity and increasing energy demand, swiftly depleting petroleum reserves and making the reduction or adjustment of fuel consumption an urgent priority.

Carbon emissions are often accompanied by releasing other harmful substances, such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, which pose significant threats to air quality and public health. Reducing carbon emissions helps mitigate air pollution and improves overall human health outcomes.

Sustainable development demands the minimization of fuel consumption and carbon emissions throughout the entire production and consumption process while promoting the advancement of a green, low-carbon economy and facilitating the transformation of the energy structure.

This Special Issue welcomes high-quality process-oriented and hypothesis-based submissions that report results from original and novel research and contribute new knowledge to help address problems related to fuel consumption and carbon emission reduction under the sustainable development goals at a regional or global scale. Discussions on the effects of fuel consumption and carbon emission reduction under the sustainable development goals are welcome.

Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Low carbon fuel consumption;
  • Clean utilization of fossil fuels;
  • Hydrogen fuels;
  • Carbon emission;
  • Emission reduction;
  • Low-carbon development;
  • Sustainable development in fuel consumption.

Dr. Denghui Wang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • fuel consumption
  • carbon emission
  • emission control
  • energy access
  • environmental remediation
  • catalytic material
  • sustainable development

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 1185 KiB  
Article
Reducing Carbon Emissions from Transport Sector: Experience and Policy Design Considerations
by Saeed Solaymani and Julio Botero
Sustainability 2025, 17(9), 3762; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17093762 - 22 Apr 2025
Abstract
Countries aim to reduce fossil fuel usage and related environmental issues through various demand- and supply-side policies. Numerous studies have assessed the policies’ overview. However, analysis of the impacts and effectiveness of these policies in addressing transport-related CO2 emissions is limited globally [...] Read more.
Countries aim to reduce fossil fuel usage and related environmental issues through various demand- and supply-side policies. Numerous studies have assessed the policies’ overview. However, analysis of the impacts and effectiveness of these policies in addressing transport-related CO2 emissions is limited globally and in countries like New Zealand, which have a lower CO2 emissions energy intensity compared to Europe, Asia, and Oceania averages. Therefore, this study first analyses the trends in energy consumption and CO2 emissions within the transport sector across the ten largest total CO2-emitting countries, as well as the ten largest transport CO2-emitting OECD countries. It then provides a systematic review of the relevant policies and, finally, estimates two econometric models to explore the effects of these policies on the energy market, aimed at reducing GHG emissions globally from the transport sector, with New Zealand as a case study. The study findings indicate that the transport sector remains a significant contributor to global fossil fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, accounting for 40.4% and 23.3%, respectively, in 2024. The ten largest CO2-emitting countries—China, the United States, India, Russia, Japan, Germany, South Korea, Iran, Canada, and Saudi Arabia—are responsible for 68% of global emissions. Additionally, the ten OECD countries, except the US, with the highest transport CO2 emissions—Japan, Germany, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Italy, France, Spain, and Australia—accounted for 15.7% of the world’s total transport CO2 emissions. Although the share of renewable energy and electricity consumption in the transport sector has steadily risen to 3.54% and 1.4%, respectively, in 2022, further adoption of these sources can considerably lower greenhouse gas emissions in this sector. Results also indicate that both demand- and supply-side policies effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with their impact amplified when implemented together. In New Zealand, demand-side policies have proven to be more effective in reducing emissions than supply-side strategies alone, though combining them is the most efficient approach. This study emphasizes the importance of strategic policy implementation to guide the world toward sustainable development. Full article
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19 pages, 14314 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Breakthrough in Manganese Oxide Thermochemical Energy Storage: Advancing Efficient Solar Utilization and Clean Energy Development
by Zhizhen Wang, Mengjiao Zhao and Denghui Wang
Sustainability 2025, 17(8), 3752; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17083752 - 21 Apr 2025
Abstract
Solar power generation systems, recognized for their high energy quality and environmental benefits, require efficient energy storage to ensure stable grid integration and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Thermochemical energy storage (TCS) using metal oxides, such as the Mn2O3/Mn [...] Read more.
Solar power generation systems, recognized for their high energy quality and environmental benefits, require efficient energy storage to ensure stable grid integration and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Thermochemical energy storage (TCS) using metal oxides, such as the Mn2O3/Mn3O4 redox system, offers advantages like high energy density, wide temperature range, and stability, making it ideal for solar power applications. This study investigates Mn3O4 and Mn2O3 as initial reactants, analyzing reaction temperature range, rate, conversion efficiency, and cyclic performance via synchronous thermal analysis. Microstructural characterization was performed using XRD, SEM, BET, XPS, nanoparticle size, and zeta potential measurements. The results show that Mn3O4 reversibly converts to Mn2O3 with over 100% conversion efficiency over five cycles with 3.3% weight loss, indicating stable performance. Mn3O4 oxidation follows Arrhenius’ Law below 700 °C but deviates at higher temperatures. The oxidation mechanism function is G(α) = α and f(α) = 1, with an activation energy of 20.47 kJ/mol and a pre-exponential factor of 0.268/s. Mn2O3 synthesized via ammonia precipitation exhibits reversible redox behavior with 3.3% weight loss but samples from low-concentration precursors show poor cyclic performance. The reduction reaction of Mn2O3 has an activation energy of 249.87 kJ/mol. By investigating the Mn2O3/Mn3O4 redox system for TCS, this study advances its practical integration into solar thermal power systems and offers critical guidance for developing scalable, low-carbon energy storage technologies. These findings can support Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by advancing renewable energy storage technologies, reducing carbon emissions, and promoting the integration of solar power into sustainable energy grids. Full article
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22 pages, 340 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Human Capital, Natural Resources, and Renewable Energy on Achieving Sustainable Cities and Communities in European Union Countries
by Magdalena Radulescu, Mihaela Simionescu, Mustafa Tevfik Kartal, Kamel Si Mohammed and Daniel Balsalobre-Lorente
Sustainability 2025, 17(5), 2237; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17052237 - 4 Mar 2025
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Abstract
This study investigates the influence of human capital and natural resource productivity on achieving sustainable cities and society (SDG-11) within the European Union (EU) while also considering the contribution of renewable energy (RE). This research analyzes data from the European Union between 2011 [...] Read more.
This study investigates the influence of human capital and natural resource productivity on achieving sustainable cities and society (SDG-11) within the European Union (EU) while also considering the contribution of renewable energy (RE). This research analyzes data from the European Union between 2011 and 2020 by deploying the first-difference generalized method of moments (FM-GMM) model to distinguish between two different effects of the human capital variable—a low effect (negative influence) and a high effect (positive influence). The analysis has identified an optimal threshold value of 1.867 for the human capital index (HCI) score in the context of European Union countries. This threshold value represents a critical point at which the effect of human capital on achieving SDG-11, which aims to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, undergoes a significant shift. The impact of renewable energy consumption on SDG-11 exhibits a non-linear pattern. There is a negative relationship at lower levels of renewable energy adoption (below a certain threshold), with renewable energy negatively impacting SDG-11 progress at a 1% significance level. However, the relationship becomes significantly positive once renewable energy consumption surpasses this threshold. This non-linearity suggests that achieving mass renewable energy adoption is crucial to unlocking its full potential in promoting the sustainable urban development goals captured by SDG-11. The results also demonstrate a positive effect on natural resource productivity both before and after exceeding a specific threshold, although the magnitude of this effect varies. This robust evidence underscores the necessity for targeted policies in the European Union to enhance human capital, increase renewable energy adoption, and boost natural resource productivity, thereby securing sustainable funding mechanisms for SDG-11. Full article
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