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Towards Carbon Neutrality: Sustainable Solutions for Reducing Carbon Footprints

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 5838

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Rafael E. Vásquez

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Guest Editor

School of Engineering, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Medellín 050031, Colombia
Interests: ocean sciences and technologies; process control; renewable energies; sustainability; engineering education
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Cesar Nieto-Londoño

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Guest Editor

School of Engineering, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Medellín 050031, Colombia
Interests: renewable energies; waste heat recovery; reacting flows; sustainability; engineering education
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Zulamita Zapata-Benabithe

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Guest Editor

School of Engineering, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Medellín 050031, Colombia
Interests: renewable energies; hydrogen energy; sustainability

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The pressing need to mitigate climate change has brought carbon neutrality, or achieving net-zero carbon dioxide emissions, to the forefront of global priorities. As highlighted by the United Nations, the transition toward carbon neutrality is critical for guaranteeing humanity's quality of life and respecting the planet's limits. Achieving this ambitious goal requires collective action across all sectors of society. Governments, organizations, academic institutions, and industries worldwide are increasingly incorporating sustainability into their missions, not only to address climate challenges but also as a value that enhances their social and environmental accountability.

This Special Issue aims to explore innovative, scalable, and practical solutions for reducing carbon footprints and progressing toward carbon neutrality. Contributions should be aligned with the multifaceted dimensions of sustainability, environmental, economic, and social, while addressing global and local challenges. Original research articles, case studies, and comprehensive reviews are welcome.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

Strategies for carbon footprint reduction and management in organizations, institutions, and industries;
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies for promoting sustainability and carbon neutrality;
Development and evaluation of technologies promoting carbon neutrality;
Smart energy systems for sustainable development;
Advances in energy-efficient systems and low-carbon industrial processes;
Hydrogen energy and its role in the transition to carbon neutrality;
Solar energy innovations and applications for reducing carbon footprints;
Wind energy and ocean energy as sustainable alternatives for energy generation;
Measurement, compensation, and mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions;
Innovative programs and projects for GHG capture, utilization, and storage;
Process control and smart systems to optimize operations;
Renewable energy solutions for decarbonization;
Energy transition policies and incentives;
Sustainable infrastructure and urban planning;
The role of digital technologies in decarbonizing the telecommunication, transportation, electricity, manufacturing, and service sectors;
Circular economy approaches to achieving carbon neutrality.

This issue seeks to

Highlight cutting-edge research contributing to carbon footprint reduction and carbon neutrality solutions.
Foster interdisciplinary collaboration to address sustainability challenges across environmental, economic, and social dimensions.
Present case studies demonstrating applications of innovative technologies and practices that lead to achieving carbon neutrality.
Inform policymakers and stakeholders about viable strategies, practices, and technologies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting sustainable development.

Dr. Rafael E. Vásquez
Dr. Cesar Nieto-Londoño
Dr. Zulamita Zapata-Benabithe
Guest Editors

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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

carbon footprint management
carbon neutrality
decarbonization strategies
energy transition
greenhouse gas reduction
process automation for sustainability
renewable energy
smart and digital technologies
smart energy systems
sustainable development

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

28 pages, 3564 KB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing the Sustainable Development of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Storage and Transportation Under Energy Transition Based on the C-STSM Multidimensional Framework: China Case

by Liyun Yang, Yan Zhang, Hao Wu and Wuyi Cheng

Sustainability 2026, 18(8), 3943; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18083943 - 16 Apr 2026

Viewed by 258

Abstract

Under the global energy transition, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) remains an important transitional fuel. However, persistent safety risks in storage and transportation continue to limit its sustainable development. This study aims to evaluate the sustainability of China’s LPG storage and transportation system and identify practical improvement pathways. A “1+4” C-STSM multidimensional framework was developed by combining accident fault-tree analysis, comparative review of domestic and international standards, and a systematic assessment of storage, transportation, monitoring, and safety technologies. The results show that the sustainability of LPG systems depends on the coordinated performance of infrastructure, transportation, monitoring, and safety barriers across the full supply chain. China has made progress in engineering facilities and safety management, but still faces weaknesses in intrinsic safety, barrier integrity, intelligent monitoring, and life-cycle governance. The main gap with international advanced practice lies in insufficient system integration rather than the lack of basic technologies. Improving LPG sustainability requires a coordinated pathway that combines safer infrastructure, intelligent monitoring, stronger barrier management, and better regulatory coordination. Such an approach can enhance industrial safety while supporting low-loss, low-emission energy transition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Carbon Neutrality: Sustainable Solutions for Reducing Carbon Footprints)

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22 pages, 624 KB

Open AccessArticle

AI-Powered Carbon Mitigation: Charting the Green Inflection Point of Manufacturing in the Intelligent Economy Era

by Zilin Liu, Xiaoqian Ma and Jiong Gong

Sustainability 2026, 18(4), 1971; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18041971 - 14 Feb 2026

Viewed by 461

Abstract

As a key production factor in the era of the intelligent economy, Artificial Intelligence is profoundly reshaping the production methods and energy usage structures of the manufacturing industry. Based on the data of 55 economies from 2002 to 2020, this paper systematically examines the impact and mechanism of AI on carbon emissions embodied in manufacturing production from the perspective of the intelligent economy. The results show that AI presents an “inverted U-shaped” characteristic in relation to carbon emissions embodied in manufacturing production, that is, it has a “carbon-increasing” effect in the early stage and a “carbon-reducing” effect in the later stage. This conclusion remains valid after a series of robustness tests. Mechanism analysis indicates that AI jointly affects carbon emissions embodied in manufacturing production by improving the technical level of manufacturing production and energy utilization efficiency, but there is certain national heterogeneity in the relevant transmission paths, with green inflection points appearing earlier in developed countries. Heterogeneity analysis shows that AI first reduces and then expands the carbon emission gap between different manufacturing industries, and at the same time, the carbon reduction effect on industries varies significantly due to differences in technical gaps, production energy consumption, and the status of intelligent applications. Therefore, China should accelerate the promotion and application of AI in the manufacturing industry, enhance the transmission effect of the manufacturing industry’s production technology level and energy utilization efficiency on carbon emission reduction in the manufacturing industry, and at the same time, rationally plan the industrial layout of AI investment to fully release the carbon emission reduction capacity of AI. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Carbon Neutrality: Sustainable Solutions for Reducing Carbon Footprints)

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42 pages, 2598 KB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Low-Carbon City Pilot Policies on Urban Green Energy Efficiency: A Quasi-Natural Experiment Based on Three Batches of Pilot Policy Implementation

by Yilin Wang, Yuanhe Du and Rongkun Liu

Sustainability 2025, 17(9), 3775; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17093775 - 22 Apr 2025

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2461

Abstract

With the acceleration of global industrialization, energy consumption and environmental problems are becoming increasingly serious issues. As an important measure to deal with climate change in China, the low-carbon city pilot policy is of great significance to the improvement of urban green energy efficiency. Based on the panel data of 285 prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2022, this paper systematically evaluates the impact of low-carbon city pilot policies on urban green energy efficiency and its mechanism. The study found that the low-carbon city pilot policy significantly improved urban green energy efficiency, with an average effect of 0.023 units. The policy effect shows obvious regional heterogeneity, especially in the eastern region, large cities, and non-resource-based cities. Further analysis shows that industry chain toughness, green finance and technological innovation are important intermediary paths for policy to play a role, and there is a significant synergy among the three. In addition, the policy also shows a spatial spillover effect, which has a positive impact on the green energy efficiency of adjacent cities. Finally, based on the results, this paper discusses and puts forward targeted suggestions for policy making. This study provides an empirical basis for optimizing low-carbon policy design and promoting regional coordinated development, and has important reference value for achieving the goal of sustainable urban development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Carbon Neutrality: Sustainable Solutions for Reducing Carbon Footprints)

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39 pages, 1446 KB

Open AccessArticle

Research on the Impact of Carbon Emission Trading Policies on Urban Green Economic Efficiency—Based on Dual Macro and Micro Perspectives

by Yuanhe Du, Wanlin Chen, Xujing Dai and Jia Li

Sustainability 2025, 17(6), 2670; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17062670 - 18 Mar 2025

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1751

Abstract

In the context of global climate change, carbon emission trading (CET) has become a critical tool for driving urban green economic transformation. Since 2011, China has launched CET pilot programs, supporting the achievement of the “dual carbon” goals. Studying the relationship between CET and urban green economic efficiency is essential for advancing urban green economic transitions. However, the existing research is limited by its single-perspective approach, insufficient exploration of mechanisms, and weak heterogeneity analysis, which restricts a comprehensivethe comprehensiveness of our understanding of policy effects. To address these gaps, this study is the first to integrate macro-regional data with micro-enterprise behavior, evaluating the impact of CET on urban green economic efficiency from a dual macro–micro perspective, thereby filling the research void in macro–micro data integration. At the macro level, this study employs panel data from 281 Chinese cities spanning 2007 to 2020, using fixed-effects and difference-in-differences (DID) models to assess the impact of CET on urban green economic efficiency. At the micro level, a game-theoretic pricing decision model is constructed to reveal behavioral differences among enterprises in complete and incomplete information markets and their indirect effects on green economic efficiency. The findings indicate that CET significantly enhances urban green economic efficiency, with technological innovation, green finance, and industrial structural upgrading serving as mediating mechanisms. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the effects are more pronounced in eastern, non-resource-based, small-to-medium-sized, and non-old industrial cities. The game-theoretic model further demonstrates that enterprises in complete information markets more effectively indirectly enhance green economic efficiency through CET mechanisms. By combining macro and micro perspectives, this study provides a new theoretical framework and practical insights for understanding the policy effects of CET. However, limitations such as data confined to Chinese pilots and model simplifications remain. Future research should expand data dimensions, allowing researchers to more comprehensively evaluate policy outcomes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Carbon Neutrality: Sustainable Solutions for Reducing Carbon Footprints)

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