Maria Sharmina

@article{76fa9fd3dd2b43b1882cb51a0ef77630,

title = {Collaborative digitally-enabled business models for a circular economy: Sustaining, managing and protecting value in the UK plastics sector},

author = {Adeyemi Adelekan and Maria Sharmina},

doi = {10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.140770},

issn = {0959-6526},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-01-14},

journal = {Journal of Cleaner Production},

publisher = {Elsevier BV},

abstract = {Designing circular business models requires a combination of systems-level and company-level approaches, highlighting the importance of collaboration. While digital technologies can enable such business models, studies that shed light on the creation of multiple types of value in collaborative and digital technology-driven environments are currently limited. This paper, therefore, aims to explore the process of designing digitally enabled collaborative business models, using the UK plastics sector as a context that has seen a rise in new digital technology applications to plastics mandated by new regulations. To this end, we have worked with fifteen plastics sector organisations as part of an empirical qualitative study aiming to develop collaborative business models for a future plastics circular economy system in the UK. Together with the stakeholders, we have co-designed the value-retention and data-as-a-service business models that could be enabled by digital technologies such as tags. We show that the main stakeholder tensions relate to digital technology investments, access to recyclate and data, and digital asset management. We argue that such tensions might be the key cause of delaying experimentation with circular business models and enacting collaborations at the systems level. We suggest that future research could draw on quantitative data, such as investment costs to test these circular business models, in order to inform the discourse on infrastructural investments for sustainability.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{210e83a750134c7791f7b42e1ac6f648,

title = {From Future Diets To Dishes: Communicating Dietary Shift Associated With A 1.5°C Scenario For Brazil, China, Sweden And The UK},

author = {Susan Lee and Muir Freer and Ruth Wood and O. Edelenbosch and M. Sharmina and D. van Vuuren and C. Wilson},

doi = {10.3389/fsufs.2023.1266708},

issn = {2571-581X},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-11-27},

journal = {Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems},

volume = {7},

publisher = {Frontiers Media S. A.},

abstract = {The global food system faces mounting challenges due to a growing population, increased demand for meat protein, and a shifting climate. Reducing meat consumption and transitioning to plant-based diets have been proposed to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) are crucial in understanding the magnitude of changes required to achieve greenhouse gas emission reductions consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5°C. However, interpreting the outputs of these models related to dietary change can be challenging for professionals in diet and nutrition. In this analysis, outputs from the Integrated Assessment Model, IMAGE, are employed to develop more salientinformation on the potential dietary shifts and dish compositions that are consistent with limiting global temperature increases. This is accomplished by creating visualisations of future dishes and emphasising the proportions of meat- and plant-based ingredients within future diets and dishes. This analysis applied the DDDI (Diets, Dishes, Dish Ingredients) communication framework to visualisethese outputs. This study demonstrates how the scenario outputs from IMAGE can be communicated more accessibly and used to convert traditional IAM outputs into a more relevant set of information for a wider audience beyond academia concerning potential future food changes needed to comply with the Paris Agreement. Many countries use dietary guidelines to communicate dietary changes, and the visual charts and figures presented in this research can more effectively convey the appearance of a low greenhouse gas diet.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{d097a18870614610b886c7e6d3d682cc,

title = {Academia–industry ties under scrutiny},

author = {Maria Sharmina},

doi = {10.1038/s41558-022-01522-2},

issn = {1758-678X},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-11-10},

journal = {Nature Climate Change},

publisher = {Springer Nature},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{e997e92a44ce43d9bfaa60838d3a7264,

title = {Impact of Energy Imbalance on Financial Rewards in Peer-to-Peer Electricity Markets},

author = {Timothy Capper and Jaise Kuriakose and Maria Sharmina},

doi = {10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3176614},

issn = {2169-3536},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-05-22},

journal = {IEEE Access},

volume = {10},

pages = {55235–55254},

publisher = {IEEE},

abstract = {Peer-to-peer electricity markets allow small producers and consumers of energy to trade directly. Energy imbalances, the difference between predicted and actual supply or demand for energy, may be higher in peer-to-peer markets than in traditional markets. High energy imbalances could increase the total cost of the electricity system, both inside and outside the peer-to-peer market, because the system operator must take expensive corrective actions at short notice. This paper examines the effect of imbalance charges on peer-to-peer electricity markets. A new symmetric imbalance charge mechanism is proposed which penalises market participants irrespective of the direction of their energy imbalance. The symmetric imbalance charge mechanism provides a financial incentive for peer-to-peer market participants to reduce their energy imbalances. For illustrative purposes, this paper uses a simulation to show that the current imbalance charge mechanism in Great Britain does not provide a financial incentive for peer-to-peer market participants to reduce their energy imbalances. The imbalance charge is close to zero under the current British imbalance charge mechanism when averaged over hundreds of settlement periods or more. When subject to the symmetric imbalance charge mechanism, the simulation shows that peer-to-peer market participants are given a strong financial incentive to reduce their energy imbalances. Finally, this paper discussed how the symmetric imbalance charge mechanism could be implemented only within the bounds of a peer-to-peer market, or within the whole electricity system.},

note = {Funding Information: This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) through the Power Networks Centre for Doctoral Training under Grant EP/L016141/1. Publisher Copyright: © 2013 IEEE.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{bf66da13b556423d80dee7f7da83a724,

title = {Local energy businesses in the United Kingdom: Clusters and localism determinants based on financial ratios},

author = {Fabián Fuentes González and Janette Webb and Maria Sharmina and Matthew Hannon and Timothy Braunholtz-speight and Dimitrios Pappas},

doi = {10.1016/j.energy.2021.122119},

issn = {0360-5442},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-01-15},

journal = {Energy},

volume = {239},

pages = {122119},

publisher = {Elsevier BV},

abstract = {This paper presents the first financial analysis of the United Kingdom's local energy business sector. This analysis relies on financial ratios and degrees of localism as inputs for descriptive statistics, cluster, and canonical discriminant analyses. Our findings suggest that privately-owned energy businesses, typically with limited commitments to localities, account for the great majority of sectoral assets and turnover, and are in comparatively good financial condition. Highly-local energy businesses typically have low profitability and high reliance on debt. The latter is the key variable differentiating them from other less local energy businesses. Moreover, we find financial commonalities within different groups of local energy businesses, which correlate with their specific level of localism. In the context of increasing digitalisation in energy markets, more technological innovation may help strengthen local energy businesses' revenue sources and value creation. Further research is needed in terms of investability, specific financing terms and conditions, and geographical aspects of value creation, retention, and delivery to localities. This work can improve the understanding of sectoral dynamics and development needs, with value for policy making to incentivise investment in this emerging sector.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{f7ed713d7e8346dd9d7b0237ec9d16b0,

title = {Life cycle assessment of renewable energy in Africa},

author = {Velma Mukoro and Alejandro Gallego Schmid and Maria Sharmina},

doi = {10.1016/j.spc.2021.08.006},

issn = {2352-5509},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-08-11},

journal = {Sustainable Production and Consumption},

publisher = {Elsevier BV},

abstract = {Renewable energy capacity in Africa is expected to reach 169.4 GW by 2040 from 48.5 GW in 2019. The growth of the sector necessitates a re-evaluation of the environmental impacts of renewable energy on the continent to inform mitigation decisions. This study presents the first literature review of the life cycle assessments of renewable energy in Africa and gives an in-depth analysis of environmental issues that are specific to Africa’s renewable energy sector. It performs a systematic assessment of literature on the topic, examines the state-of-the-art, and critically evaluates environmental impacts on the continent, implications of methodological choices, gaps, challenges, and compares the findings with other regions. Climate change has been extensively researched in the studies, due to decarbonisation being among policy priorities. Other relevant impact categories such as resource depletion in non-closed loop systems, ecotoxicity from recycling emissions, or ecosystem degradation from landfill leachate are not fully explored despite the end-of-life being potentially a major burden for the continent. Choice of functional units and multifunctional processes give wide variations in the magnitude of environmental impacts for similar technologies and, therefore, have implications for decision-making. For example, similar biodiesel jatropha systems with energy- and mass-based functional units differ by around 16% in their climate change potentials. To ensure that life cycle assessment results apply to mitigation decisions in Africa, studies should consider methodological issues such as lack of transparency in inventories, incomplete coverage of life cycle stages and impact categories, and missing databases adapted for the African context.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{e244a2e617084250882b08858157e8db,

title = {Single-use plastic and COVID-19 in the NHS: Barriers and opportunities},

author = {Xiaocheng Hu and Roz Davies and Karyn Morrissey and Richard Smith and Lora Fleming and Maria Sharmina and Rebecca St Clair and Peter Hopkinson},

doi = {10.4081/jphr.2021.2483},

issn = {2279-9036},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-08-01},

journal = {Journal of Public Health Research},

publisher = {PAGEpress},

abstract = {Background: Single-use personal protective equipment (PPE) has been essential to protect healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, intensified use of PPE could counteract the previous efforts made by the UK NHS Trusts to reduce their plastic footprint.Design and methods: In this study, we conducted an in-depth case study in the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust to investigate plastic-related issues in a typical NHS Trust before, during and after the pandemic. We first collected hospital routine data on both procurement and usage of single-use PPE (including face masks, aprons, and gowns) for the time period between April 2019 and August 2020. We then interviewed 12 hospital staff across a wide remit, from senior managers to consultants, nurses and catering staff, to gather qualitative evidence on the overall impact of COVID-19 on the Trust regarding plastic use.Results: We found that although COVID-19 had increased the procurement and the use of single-use plastic substantially during the pandemic, it did not appear to have changed the focus of the hospital on implementing measures to reduce single-use plastic in the long term. We then discussed the barriers and opportunities to tackle plastic issues within the NHS in the post-COVID world, for example, a circular healthcare model.Conclusion: investment is needed in technologies and processes that can recycle and reuse a wider range of single-use plastics, and innovate sustainable alternatives to replace single-use consumables used in the NHS to construct a fully operational closed material loop healthcare system.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{0014ec7ce3094223b3577ef4b48cdb6f,

title = {The long term future for community energy in Great Britain: a co-created vision of a thriving sector and steps towards realising it},

author = {Tim Braunholtz-Speight and Carly McLachlan and Sarah Mander and Matthew Hannon and Jeff Hardy and Iain Cairns and Maria Sharmina and Edward Manderson},

doi = {10.1016/j.erss.2021.102044},

issn = {2214-6296},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-06-16},

journal = {Energy Research & Social Science},

volume = {78},

publisher = {Elsevier BV},

abstract = {Explorations of the longer-term potential for community energy to contribute to the energy transition can shape policy and practice today. However, much community energy research in Great Britain is currently, and understandably, focussed on short-term responses to the crisis in the sector induced by recent shifts in policy support. Therefore, we held a series of visioning and backcasting workshops with community energy practitioners and other stakeholders, to co-create a vision of a long term future where there is a thriving community energy sector.This paper presents the results of those workshops. Using the concept of business models to interrogate how community energy could be structured in the future, we find that the sector could diversify from its current focus on renewable electricity generation and energy efficiency, into new areas of the energy system: demand-side flexibility, mobility and heat. We also see potential for a Community Energy Confederation to help bridge the gap between the strengths of local organising, and the opportunities offered by larger scale activities. We identify the importance of actions by government – both at national and local level – to realising this vision, in combination with the efforts of the community energy sector itself of course. We conclude that our research highlights the need for change in the institutional and spatial character of community energy; the sector’s pragmatic attitude to the technological aspects of the energy transition; and its focus on community energy’s role in delivering social and environmental co-benefits, in line with the concept of a just transition.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{c3da5117507a408a92875afc888da66c,

title = {Seafood businesses’ resilience can benefit from circular economy principles},

author = {Carly Fletcher and Rebecca St Clair and Maria Sharmina},

doi = {10.1038/s43016-021-00262-4},

issn = {2662-1355},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-04-21},

journal = {Nature Food},

number = {2},

pages = {228–232},

publisher = {Springer Nature},

abstract = {Seafood is expected to become increasingly important in future food systems and healthy diets. This transition will require the seafood sector to adapt business practices to respond to environmental and social challenges while increasing resilience. Here, we develop the Circular Economy-Resilience Framework for Business Models (CERF-BM) and, through exploring current literature, apply this framework to business models in the seafood sector. We find that the majority of business models incorporate elements of circular economy and resilience in a limited way. The reviewed business models often fail to consider other supply chain actors and, instead, focus on the business itself and its customers. The CERF-BM helps to elucidate this disconnect through assessing business models against company-level actions towards circularity in combination with systems-level resilience mechanisms. To reap the synergies between the circular economy and resilience mechanisms, seafood businesses could extract more value from organic waste and dematerialise their business models.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{ae2f57db279f45f3b236fb4986b46e9b,

title = {A framework for assessing the circularity and technological maturity of plastic waste management strategies in hospitals},

author = {C. A. Fletcher and Rebecca St Clair and Maria Sharmina},

doi = {10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127169},

issn = {0959-6526},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-04-19},

journal = {Journal of Cleaner Production},

volume = {306},

number = {127169},

publisher = {Elsevier BV},

abstract = {Consumer single-use plastic waste has received much attention from the public, policy-makers and researchers. However, the management of such waste in medical settings has been less well examined. This article reviews existing evidence on waste management strategies within hospitals, with a particular focus on single-use plastics. The article develops the ‘Waste Hierarchy-Technology Readiness Levels’ framework and assesses each waste management strategy against it, indicating the maturity of the technology and the strategy’s position in the Waste Hierarchy, in addition to its relative adherence to circular economy principles. Findings show that currently dominant waste management strategies include disposal to landfill, incineration and recycling, while alternative strategies include reduction, reuse, bioremediation and chemical recycling. Most strategies reviewed are at a high level of technology readiness and at a low level on the Waste Hierarchy, demonstrating that hospital waste management strategies tend to be based on mature technologies and suggesting a need for more innovative, circular economy solutions. Exceptions, which are at a high level on the Waste Hierarchy but at an early stage of development, include bioremediation using microbial action and chemical recycling using hydrophilic solvents. This review highlights a disparity between the levels of alignment with the circular economy principles in waste management strategies of developed and developing nations, suggesting a need for both international collaboration and strategies sensitive to specific regional contexts.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{b7497cbe411449a0a7787d34548f8a3a,

title = {Decarbonising the critical sectors of aviation, shipping, road freight and industry to limit warming to 1.5-2 degrees C},

author = {Maria Sharmina and O Y Edelenbosch and C Wilson and R Freeman and D E H J Gernaat and Paul Gilbert and Alice Larkin and E W Littleton and Michael Traut and D P van Vuuren and N E Vaughan and Ruth Wood and C Le Quéré},

doi = {10.1080/14693062.2020.1831430},

issn = {1469-3062},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-01-24},

journal = {Climate Policy},

volume = {21},

number = {4},

pages = {455–474},

publisher = {Earthscan},

abstract = {Limiting warming to well below 2°Crequires rapid and complete decarbonisation of energy systems. We compare economy-wide modelling of 1.5°C and 2°C scenarios with sector-focused analyses of four critical sectors that are difficult to decarbonise: aviation, shipping, road freight transport, and industry. We develop and apply a novel framework to analyse and track mitigation progress in these sectors. We find that emission reductions in the 1.5°C and 2°C scenarios of the IMAGE model come from deep cuts in CO2 intensities and lower energy intensities, with minimal demand reductions in these sectors’ activity. We identify a range of additional measures and policy levers that are not explicitly captured in modelled scenarios but could contribute significant emission reductions in the four sectors. These are demand reduction options, and include less air travel (aviation), reduced transportation of fossil fuels (shipping), more locally produced goods combined with high load factors (road freight), and a shift to a circular economy (industry). We discuss the challenges of reducing demand both for economy-wide modelling and for policy. Based on our sectoral analysis framework, we suggest modelling improvements and policy recommendations, calling on the relevant UN agencies to start tracking mitigation progress through monitoring key elements of the framework (CO2 intensity, energy efficiency, demand for sectoral activity, as well as the underlying drivers), as a matter of urgency.},

note = {Funding Information: The authors are grateful to the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy for funding this research (grant number OJEU - CR16131BEIS). Additionally, E.W.L. acknowledges support from the Natural Environment Research Council (grant number NE/P019951/1). Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{6f9cc3c4a5904d13847d4c07a952b1d6,

title = {Decarbonising the critical sectors of aviation, shipping, road freight and industry to limit warming to 1.5–2°C},

author = {M. Sharmina and O. Y. Edelenbosch and C. Wilson and R. Freeman and D. E. H. J. Gernaat and P. Gilbert and A. Larkin and E. W. Littleton and M. Traut and D. P. Van Vuuren and N. E. Vaughan and F. R. Wood and C. Le Quéré},

doi = {10.1080/14693062.2020.1831430},

issn = {1469-3062},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-01-01},

journal = {Climate Policy},

volume = {21},

number = {4},

pages = {455–474},

publisher = {Earthscan},

abstract = {Limiting warming to well below 2°C requires rapid and complete decarbonisation of energy systems. We compare economy-wide modelling of 1.5°C and 2°C scenarios with sector-focused analyses of four critical sectors that are difficult to decarbonise: aviation, shipping, road freight transport, and industry. We develop and apply a novel framework to analyse and track mitigation progress in these sectors. We find that emission reductions in the 1.5°C and 2°C scenarios of the IMAGE model come from deep cuts in CO2 intensities and lower energy intensities, with minimal demand reductions in these sectors’ activity. We identify a range of additional measures and policy levers that are not explicitly captured in modelled scenarios but could contribute significant emission reductions. These are demand reduction options, and include less air travel (aviation), reduced transportation of fossil fuels (shipping), more locally produced goods combined with high load factors (road freight), and a shift to a circular economy (industry). We discuss the challenges of reducing demand both for economy-wide modelling and for policy. Based on our sectoral analysis framework, we suggest modelling improvements and policy recommendations, calling on the relevant UN agencies to start tracking mitigation progress through monitoring key elements of the framework (CO2 intensity, energy efficiency, and demand for sectoral activity, as well as the underlying drivers), as a matter of urgency.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{ca3c5aac20b0423fbeb2cb84b68ee200,

title = {Business Models and Financial Characteristics of Community Energy in the UK},

author = {Tim Braunholtz-Speight and Maria Sharmina and Edward Manderson and Carly McLachlan and Matthew Hannon and Jeff Hardy and Sarah Mander},

doi = {10.1038/s41560-019-0546-4},

issn = {2058-7546},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-02-10},

journal = {Nature Energy},

volume = {5},

number = {2},

pages = {169–177},

publisher = {Springer Nature},

abstract = {Where energy systems are dominated by large-scale actors, community energy represents an alternative model: a decentralised and participatory approach to delivering low-carbon energy projects. This paper presents the first UK-wide quantitative analysis of business models, financing mechanisms and financial performance of community energy projects, using data from a new survey of the sector. We find that business models depend partly on the energy technology used and on project size, in addition to fine-tuning of operations to local contexts. While larger projects rely more heavily on loan financing, community shares are the most commonly used and cheapest financial instrument in the sector. Community energy has thus pioneered low cost citizen finance for renewables, but its potential to grow is threatened by reductions, and instability, in policy support. Over 90% of the projects in our sample made a financial surplus in our single year snapshot, but if we remove income from price guarantee mechanisms, such as the Feed-in Tariff scheme, we find that the number of projects in surplus falls to just 20%. Renewed support and/or business model innovations are therefore needed for the sector to realise its potential contribution to the low-carbon energy transition.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{cab90fd0031142c7a8866f475075789a,

title = {Price support allows communities to raise low-cost citizen finance for renewable energy projects},

author = {Tim Braunholtz-Speight and Maria Sharmina and Edward Manderson and Carly McLachlan and Matthew Hannon and Jeff Hardy and Sarah Mander},

doi = {10.1038/s41560-020-0556-2},

issn = {2058-7546},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-01-01},

journal = {Nature Energy},

volume = {5},

number = {2},

publisher = {Springer Nature},

abstract = {Community energy groups can raise citizen finance for renewable energy projects at lower interest rates than from commercial lenders, but they often depend on price guarantee schemes. Policies providing price stability and business model innovations are needed to realize the sector’s potential contribution to the zero-carbon energy transition.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{5809b0bc06d34c47940e02e83be735ff,

title = {Envisioning surprises: How social sciences could help models represent ‘deep uncertainty’ in future energy and water demand},

author = {Maria Sharmina and Dana Abi Ghanem and Alison Browne and Sarah Hall and Josephine Mylan and Saska Petrova and Frances Wood},

doi = {10.1016/j.erss.2018.11.008},

issn = {2214-6296},

year  = {2019},

date = {2019-04-01},

journal = {Energy Research & Social Science},

volume = {50},

pages = {18–28},

publisher = {Elsevier BV},

abstract = {Medium- and long-term planning, defined here as 10 years or longer, in the energy and water sectors is fraught with uncertainty, exacerbated by an accelerating ‘paradigm shift’. The new paradigm is characterised by a changing climate and rapid adoption of new technologies, accompanied by changes in end-use practices. Traditional methods (such as econometrics) do not incorporate these diverse and dynamic aspects and perform poorly when exploring long-term futures. This paper critiques existing methods and explores how interdisciplinary insights could provide methodological innovation for exploring future energy and water demand. The paper identifies four attributes that methods need to capture to reflect at least some of the uncertainty associated with the paradigm shift: stochastic events, the diversity of behaviour, policy interventions and the ‘co-evolution’ of the variables affecting demand. Machine-learning methods can account for some of the four identified attributes and can be further enhanced by insights from across the psychological and social sciences (human geography and sociology), incorporating rebound effect and the unevenness of demand, and acknowledging the emergent nature of demand. The findings have implications for urban and regional planning of infrastructure and contribute to current debates on nexus thinking for energy and water resource management.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{ab60ddcf39164c8491376fd9cb94ba30,

title = {Trade and trade-offs: Shipping in changing climates},

author = {Conor Walsh and Nicholas-Joseph Lazarou and Michael Traut and James Price and Carlo Raucci and Maria Sharmina and Paolo Agnolucci and Sarah Mander and Paul Gilbert and Kevin Anderson and Alice Larkin and Tristan Smith},

doi = {10.1016/j.marpol.2019.103537},

issn = {0308-597X},

year  = {2019},

date = {2019-01-01},

journal = {Marine Policy},

publisher = {Elsevier BV},

abstract = {This paper addresses the evolution of maritime transport demand in response to global climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. The complexity of the global shipping system makes predicting volumes and patterns of long-term future international maritime trade a challenging task which is best explored by building scenarios rather than ‘precise’ forecasts. We present four contrasting scenarios of international maritime trade out to 2050, available in high resolution in terms of the dimensions studied (regions, countries, commodities, decades), which are consistent with high and low levels of global CO2 mitigation and associated climate impacts. The scenarios project trade increasing to between two and four times the 2010 value by 2050. Scenarios characterised by low temperature increases and material intensity lead to the lower bound trade increase with high trade growth in bioenergy commodities. Unfettered production growth across countries, high temperature increases and material intensity lead to a quadrupling of trade across energy, containerised, dry and wet commodities. The estimated range is lower than those in existing scenarios and forecasts in which globalisation is assumed to continue apace. The scenarios which project the highest growth presupposes both limited decarbonisation (in contrast to the Paris Agreement) and continued growth in expanding markets. The scenarios therefore become a valuable policy and decision-making tool to address technological and operational change required of the shipping sector, if it is to deliver mitigation in line with the Paris Agreement.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{3f59b699336a45dfab6002b83d165d60,

title = {Developing and implementing circular economy business models in service-oriented technology companies},

author = {Graeme Heyes and Maria Sharmina and Joan Manuel Fernandez Mendoza and Alejandro Gallego Schmid and Adisa Azapagic},

doi = {10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.12.168},

issn = {0959-6526},

year  = {2018},

date = {2018-03-10},

journal = {Journal of Cleaner Production},

volume = {177},

pages = {621–632},

publisher = {Elsevier BV},

abstract = {The service sector has the potential to play an instrumental role in the shift towards circular economy due to its strategic position between manufacturers and end-users. However, there is a paucity of supporting methodologies and real-life applications to demonstrate how service-oriented companies can implement circular economy principles in daily business practice. This paper addresses this gap by analysing the potential of service-oriented companies in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector to build and implement circular economy business models. To this end, the Backcasting and Eco-design for the Circular Economy (BECE) framework is applied in an ICT firm. BECE, previously developed and demonstrated for product-oriented applications, has been developed further here for applications in the service sector. By shifting the focus from a product-oriented approach to a user-centred eco-design, the paper shows how ICT firms can identify, evaluate and prioritise sustainable business model innovations for circular economy. The two most promising business model innovations are explored strategically with the aim of designing circular economy models consistent with the company's priorities of customer satisfaction and profitability. The findings suggest that ICT companies may be able to support the deployment of a circular economy in the service-oriented technology sector. Importantly, micro and small organisations can play a fundamental role if provided with macro-level support to overcome company-level barriers. Finally, the BECE framework is shown to be a valuable resource to explore, analyse and guide the implementation of circular economy opportunities in service-oriented organisations. Further research to verify the application of the findings to other service-oriented organisations is recommended.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{2128,

title = {Analyzing Sentiments Expressed on Twitter by UK Energy Company Consumers},

author = {V Ikoro and M Sharmina and K Malik and R Batista-Navarro},

doi = {10.1109/SNAMS.2018.8554619},

year  = {2018},

date = {2018-01-01},

journal = {2018 5th International Conference on Social Networks Analysis, Management and Security, SNAMS 2018},

pages = {95-98},

chapter = {95},

abstract = {<p>Automatic sentiment analysis provides an effective way to gauge public opinion on any topic of interest. However, most sentiment analysis tools require a general sentiment lexicon to automatically classify sentiments or opinion in a text. One of the challenges presented by using a general sentiment lexicon is that it is insensitive to the domain since the scores assigned to the words are fixed. As a result, while one general sentiment lexicon might perform well in one domain, the same lexicon might perform poorly in another domain. Most sentiment lexica will need to be adjusted to suit the specific domain to which it is applied. In this paper, we present results of sentiment analysis expressed on Twitter by UK energy consumers. We optimised the accuracy of the sentiment analysis results by combining functions from two sentiment lexica. We used the first lexicon to extract the sentiment-bearing terms and negative sentiments since it performed well in detecting these. We then used a second lexicon to classify the rest of the data. Experimental results show that this method improved the accuracy of the results compared to the common practice of using only one lexicon. textcopyright 2018 IEEE.</p>},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{2083,

title = {The challenge of decarbonising four critical sectors to limit warming to 1.5textdegreeC},

author = {M Sharmina and C Le Quéré and C Wilson and ? Edelenbosch and R Freeman and D Gernaat and A Larkin and EW Littleton and M Traut and D P Van Vuuren and N Vaughan and R Wood},

year  = {2018},

date = {2018-01-01},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{2004,

title = {CO2 abatement goals for international shipping},

author = {M Traut and A Larkin and K Anderson and C McGlade and M Sharmina and T Smith},

url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14693062.2018.1461059},

doi = {10.1080/14693062.2018.1461059},

year  = {2018},

date = {2018-01-01},

journal = {Climate Policy},

abstract = {<p>The Paris Agreement, which entered into force in 2016, sets the ambitious climate change mitigation goal of limiting the global temperature increase to below 2textdegreeC and ideally 1.5textdegreeC. This puts a severe constraint on the remaining global GHG emissions budget. While international shipping is also a contributor to anthropogenic GHG emissions, and CO_{2} in particular, it is not included in the Paris Agreement. This article discusses how a share of a global CO_{2} budget over the twenty-first century could be apportioned to international shipping, and, using a range of future trade scenarios, explores the requisite cuts to the CO_{2} intensity of shipping. The results demonstrate that, under a wide range of assumptions, existing short-term levers of efficiency must be urgently exploited to achieve mitigation commensurate with that required from the rest of the economy, with virtually full decarbonization of international shipping required as early as before mid-century.</p>},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{2036,

title = {Developing and implementing circular economy business models in service-oriented technology companies},

author = {G Heyes and M Sharmina and JMF Mendoza and A Gallego-Schmid and A Azapagic},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652617331396},

doi = {10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.12.168},

year  = {2018},

date = {2018-01-01},

journal = {Journal of Cleaner Production},

volume = {177},

pages = {621-632},

chapter = {621},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{2037,

title = {Developing and implementing circular economy business models in service-oriented technology companies},

author = {G Heyes and M Sharmina and JMF Mendoza and A Gallego-Schmid and A Azapagic},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652617331396},

doi = {10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.12.168},

year  = {2018},

date = {2018-01-01},

journal = {Journal of Cleaner Production},

volume = {177},

pages = {621-632},

chapter = {621},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{3d54b8cd4804426fb6fe8ddab869c54f,

title = {CO2 abatement goals for international shipping},

author = {Michael Traut and Alice Larkin and Kevin Anderson and Christophe McGlade and Maria Sharmina and Tristan Smith},

doi = {10.1080/14693062.2018.1461059},

issn = {1469-3062},

year  = {2018},

date = {2018-01-01},

journal = {Climate Policy},

volume = {18},

number = {8},

pages = {1066–1075},

publisher = {Earthscan},

abstract = {The Paris Agreement, which entered into force in 2016, sets the ambitious climate change mitigation goal of limiting the global temperature increase to below 2°C and ideally 1.5°C. This puts a severe constraint on the remaining global GHG emissions budget. While international shipping is also a contributor to anthropogenic GHG emissions, and CO2 in particular, it is not included in the Paris Agreement. This article discusses how a share of a global CO2 budget over the twenty-first century could be apportioned to international shipping, and, using a range of future trade scenarios, explores the requisite cuts to the CO2 intensity of shipping. The results demonstrate that, under a wide range of assumptions, existing short-term levers of efficiency must be urgently exploited to achieve mitigation commensurate with that required from the rest of the economy, with virtually full decarbonization of international shipping required as early as before mid-century.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{4d12924b80f04bdeb333c2caa83e08ba,

title = {Global energy scenarios and their implications for future shipped trade},

author = {Maria Sharmina and Christophe McGlade and Paul Gilbert and Alice Larkin},

doi = {10.1016/j.marpol.2017.06.025},

issn = {0308-597X},

year  = {2017},

date = {2017-10-01},

journal = {Marine Policy},

volume = {84},

pages = {12–21},

publisher = {Elsevier BV},

abstract = {About half of the world’s oil supply, a fifth of coal supply and a tenth of natural gas supply are traded by ship. Accordingly, any significant shift in the size and shape of the global energy system has important consequences for shipping, which underpins international trade and supports economic development. The Paris Agreement requires an acceleration of the drive towards energy system decarbonisation. Yet, the International Maritime Organisation’s understanding of the future is more in line with the high-carbon scenarios analysed here. This paper is a first comprehensive and global assessment of implications of fundamental changes to global and regional energy systems for international shipping, under-researched in energy scenarios consistent with deep decarbonisation. It concludes that, despite uncertainties (particularly with negative emission technologies), fossil fuel trade by the middle of the century will almost certainly be significantly lower under low-carbon than under high-carbon scenarios, and (for oil and coal) lower than in 2012. As to bioenergy and captured carbon dioxide, while their supply is expected to increase during a low-carbon transition, worldwide shipped trade in these commodities will not necessarily grow, based on the analysis in this paper. In other words, if the low-carbon futures envisioned in the Paris Agreement materialise, energy-related shipping will likely decline (by a quarter for oil and by 50% for coal in the median <2°C scenarios by 2050), with significant ramifications for policies and regulation in the shipping sector and international trade},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{0cfc7c497f574b14a83099cbacccb3d6,

title = {Low-carbon scenarios for Russia’s energy system: A participative backcasting approach},

author = {Maria Sharmina},

doi = {10.1016/j.enpol.2017.02.009},

issn = {0301-4215},

year  = {2017},

date = {2017-05-01},

journal = {Energy Policy},

volume = {104},

pages = {303–315},

publisher = {Elsevier BV},

abstract = {Despite the high profile of climate change in scientific and policy discourse, the Russian government has thus far failed to commit to an emission reduction target based on the latest science. Given Russia is a key supplier of fossil fuels, a major greenhouse gas emitter, and climate impacts on its vast territory likely to have far-reaching consequences, this contextual research shows that the country’s current policies fall woefully short of what is required to implement the Paris Agreement. To support Russia in developing informed, internally consistent and scientifically literate energy policies, this paper presents low-carbon emission trajectories commensurate with the 2°C goal, using stakeholder-informed backcasting. The results illustrate that even if Russia’s CO2 emissions peak in 2017, a reduction rate of at least 9% per year between 2020 and 2030 is required to meet a 2°C budget constraint. These sustained rates are in excess of anything achieved globally or, indeed, deemed possible within most studies. Such emission reductions would involve unprecedented material changes to Russia’s energy system, including both rapidly cutting energy demand and building extensive low-carbon infrastructures. Nevertheless, failure to transform Russia’s existing policies will likely have global repercussions for achieving the Paris Agreement’s goals.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{1921,

title = {Global energy scenarios and their implications for future shipped trade},

author = {Maria Sharmina and Christophe McGlade and Paul Gilbert and Alice Larkin},

doi = {10.1016/j.marpol.2017.06.025},

year  = {2017},

date = {2017-01-01},

journal = {Marine Policy},

volume = {84},

chapter = {12-21},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{1654,

title = {Low-carbon scenarios for Russiatextquoterights energy system: A participative backcasting approach},

author = {Maria Sharmina},

doi = {DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2017.02.009},

year  = {2017},

date = {2017-01-01},

abstract = {<p>Despite the high profile of climate change in scientific and policy discourse, the Russian government has thus far failed to commit to an emission reduction target based on the latest science. Given Russia is a key supplier of fossil fuels, a major greenhouse gas emitter, and climate impacts on its vast territory likely to have far-reaching consequences, this contextual research shows that the countrytextquoterights current policies fall woefully short of what is required to implement the Paris Agreement. To support Russia in developing informed, internally consistent and scientifically literate energy policies, this paper presents low-carbon emission trajectories commensurate with the 2 degrees C goal, using stakeholder-informed backcasting. The results illustrate that even if Russiatextquoterights CO2 emissions peak in 2017, a reduction rate of at least 9% per year between 2020 and 2030 is required to meet a 2 degrees C budget constraint. These sustained rates are in excess of anything achieved globally or, indeed, deemed possible within most studies. Such emission reductions would involve unprecedented material changes to Russiatextquoterights energy system, including both rapidly cutting energy demand and building extensive low-carbon infrastructures. Nevertheless, failure to transform Russiatextquoterights existing policies will likely have global repercussions for achieving the Paris Agreementtextquoterights goals.</p>},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{1940,

title = {What if negative emission technologies fail at scale? Implications of the Paris Agreement for big emitting nations},

author = {Alice Larkin and Jaise Kuriakose and Kevin Anderson and Maria Sharmina},

url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2017.1346498},

doi = {10.1080/14693062.2017.1346498},

year  = {2017},

date = {2017-01-01},

journal = {Climate Policy},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{9dd7fac49e0f440c9b3e2f4695c4b725,

title = {Integrating Backcasting and Eco-design for the Circular Economy: The BECE Framework},

author = {Joan Manuel Fernandez Mendoza and Maria Sharmina and Alejandro Gallego Schmid and Graeme Heyes and Adisa Azapagic},

doi = {10.1111/jiec.12590},

issn = {1088-1980},

year  = {2017},

date = {2017-01-01},

journal = {Journal of Industrial Ecology},

volume = {21},

number = {3},

pages = {526–544},

publisher = {John Wiley & Sons Ltd},

abstract = {Circular economy is essential for decoupling economic growth from resource consumption and environmental impacts. However, effective implementation requires a systemic change across supply chains, involving both technological and non-technological innovations. Frameworks are beginning to emerge to foster circular-economy thinking in organisations. However, literature review carried out as part of this research has revealed gaps in their ability to fulfil circular economy requirements. Furthermore, few frameworks provide support on how circular economy requirements may be implemented. To address these issues, this article presents a new framework “BECE” (Backcasting and Eco-design for the Circular Economy), to ensure businesses can implement circular economy requirements more readily. BECE empowers organisations to tackle the circular economy holistically, by embedding the concept into corporate decision-making and by bringing operational and systems thinking together, thus increasing the likelihood of successful implementation. The potential of the BECE framework was tested through a pilot workshop focusing on the development of a CE business model through re-design of products and supply chains. Using vacuum cleaners as an illustrative case study, several product design and supply chain alternatives were identified, including the development of scenarios and action plans for their implementation at the business level. Although the case study focuses on a particular product, the BECE framework is generic and applicable across different products and business sectors.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{1234,

title = {A nexus perspective on competing land demands: Wider lessons from a UK policy case study},

author = {M Sharmina and C Hoolohan and Alice Larkin and PJ. Burgess and J Colwill and P Gilbert and D Howard and J Knox and K Anderson},

url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901116300326},

year  = {2016},

date = {2016-01-01},

journal = {Environmental Science & Policy},

volume = {59},

pages = {74-84},

chapter = {74},

abstract = {<p><span>As nations develop policies for low-carbon transitions, conflicts with existing policies and planning tools are leading to competing demands for land and other resources. This raises fundamental questions over how multiple demands can best be managed. Taking the UK as an empirical example, this paper critiques current policies and practices to explore the interdependencies at the water-energy-food nexus. It considers how current land uses and related policies affect the UKtextquoterights resilience to climate change, setting out an agenda for research and practice relevant to stakeholders in land-use management, policy and modelling. Despite recent progress in recognising such nexus challenges, most UK land-related policies and associated science continue to be compartmentalised by both scale and sector and seldom acknowledge nexus interconnections. On a temporal level, the absence of an over-arching strategy leaves inter-generational trade-offs poorly considered. Given the system lock-in and the lengthy policy-making process, it is essential to develop alternative ways of providing dynamic, flexible, practical and scientifically robust decision support for policy-makers. A range of ecosystem services need to be valued and integrated into a resilient land-use strategy, including the introduction of non-monetary, physical-unit constraints on the use of particular services.</span></p>},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{ecef11e8a221474cb6bc767c2cf97ea6,

title = {Russia's cumulative carbon budgets for a global 2°C target},

author = {Maria Sharmina and Alice Bows-Larkin and Kevin Anderson},

doi = {10.1080/17583004.2015.1113616},

issn = {1758-3004},

year  = {2015},

date = {2015-11-30},

journal = {Carbon Management},

publisher = {Future Science Ltd},

abstract = {Russia is the fifth highest emitter of carbon dioxide, and has been in the top five for at least six decades. However, thus far no in-depth study has estimated Russia's cumulative emissions in the context of the global 2°C constraint. This is despite the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reiterating the importance of cumulative emissions and their approximately linear correlation with temperature rises. Translating the global 2°C temperature commitment into a meaningful national context, this paper derives and evaluates 2°C-compatible carbon budgets for Russia, based on a range of apportionment regimes. The work contributes to the debate by providing a deeper analysis of the principles of allocating carbon emissions to Russia, while considering two probabilities for remaining within 2°C. This analysis demonstrates how, if Russia is to make a fair contribution to global emission reductions in line with 2°C, its 2011-2100 cumulative emissions should not exceed 20-26 GtCO2, commensurate with a 37-52% probability of exceeding the global 2°C commitment. If Russia continues to emit CO2 at current annual levels, this budget will be 'spent' by the mid-2020s. Yet, the carbon budget estimated here for Russia appears technically feasible, if extremely challenging. Despite continuing to assert itself as a fossil fuel superpower, Russia has a wealth of opportunities for full and early decarbonisation, including the potential to become a net exporter of renewable energy.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}