Articles Summary

Articles Summary

Introduction

This paper summarises two articles on carbon dioxide emissions. First article is presented by Peter J. Cook in which the researcher has taken into consideration the case of Australia. The second article is written by Xiaoli Han and Lata Chatterjee, in which researchers discuss emission of carbon dioxide in developing countries.

Discussion

Study 1: Impacts of Growth and Structural Change on CO2 Emissions of Developing Countries

Han and Chatterjee studied carbon dioxide (CO2) emission in nine developing nations and offers significant comparison with developed countries. The key factors studied Cook include energy efficiency, fuel mixes, changes in industrial structure and GDP growth on the emission of carbon dioxide. This study employed a decomposition model to examine carbon dioxide emission in developing nations.

In the introduction, researchers have provided a background of global warming controversies, along with facts and figures. For example, currently, CO2 contribution is about 55% in greenhouse gases. In this study, researchers employed a decomposition model to analyse issues prevailed among developing countries like Zambia, Philippines, Korea, Colombia, Brazil, Thailand, Mexico, India and Chile to study changes in use of energy and in energy related emissions of CO2.

The decomposition model includes five component factors, which include GDP growth, changes in the industrial structure, fuel mix of energy supply, energy efficiency in consumption and production, and interaction of these four factors. Since, only nine developing countries are taken under consideration; thus, findings cannot be generalised. Moreover, this study also highlighted benefits of using decomposition model, with the help of previous studies that have considered Divisia and Lapeyres indices of decomposition methods.

For this study, Han and Chatterjee collected data from recognised sources, such as International Energy Agency, World Bank and United Nations. Researchers have classified energy in eleven types, namely, heat, electricity, Geothermal-solar wind, nuclear energy, hydro energy, natural gas, petroleum products, crude oil and other solid fuels.

In chapter 3, researchers examined trends in carbon dioxide emissions, energy demand, and economic growth of 9 developing nations. The findings of this study asserted that the world economy undergone drastic structural changes with stable GDP. However, in developing countries, rates of growth varied significantly. Results also determined that energy demand is positively related with growth in GDP; whereas, world energy crises like oil shortage does not impact economic growth, which stimulated energy demand in countries under the study. On the contrary, Zambia and Korea were exceptions as there was more ...