Topic: Carbon and Water Footprints of Emerging Energy and Material Systems: Global Transitions Toward 2050

Achieving climate neutrality by 2050 requires not only the rapid deployment of low-carbon energy technologies but also the sustainable transformation of material systems through resource efficiency, circular economy strategies, and life cycle thinking. As emerging energy and material technologies continue to evolve, comprehensive assessment of their carbon and water footprints, critical raw material requirements, and environmental impacts across the life cycle has become increasingly important for supporting evidence-based decision-making and accelerating the global transition toward Net Zero 2050.

This Special Issue focuses on the sustainability assessment of emerging energy and material systems, with particular attention to carbon and water footprints, circular economy strategies, critical raw materials, secondary raw materials, waste valorization, and life cycle assessment in support of the transition towards climate neutrality. We welcome original research articles, reviews, perspectives, and case studies that advance the understanding of environmental impacts and sustainability performance across the life cycle of innovative technologies, materials, and industrial processes. Contributions addressing both methodological developments and practical applications are encouraged, particularly those related to sustainable materials, industrial symbiosis, carbon mineralization, alkaline waste utilization, resource recovery, industrial decarbonization, renewable energy systems, and policy frameworks that facilitate the transition toward a low-carbon and circular economy.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

● Carbon and water footprint assessment of emerging energy and material systems;

● Life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies and applications;

● Circular economy strategies for sustainable production and consumption;

● Critical raw materials and resource security;

● Secondary raw materials and recycling technologies;

● Waste valorization and industrial by-product utilization;

● Carbonation technologies and alkaline waste utilization;

● Industrial symbiosis and resource efficiency;

● Sustainable materials for low-carbon transitions;

● Environmental assessment of renewable energy technologies;

● Decarbonization pathways for industrial systems;

● Resource recovery and closed-loop manufacturing;

● Net Zero 2050 strategies and climate-neutral technologies;

● Policy and decision-support tools for sustainable resource management.

This Special Issue aims to provide a multidisciplinary platform for researchers, engineers, industry practitioners, and policymakers to share innovative approaches that contribute to environmentally sustainable, resource-efficient, and climate-resilient energy and material systems.

Carbon footprint, alkaline waste, carbonation, water footprint, life cycle assessment (LCA), circular economy, secondary raw materials, critical raw materials, waste valorization, industrial symbiosis, decarbonization, sustainable materials, energy transition, Net Zero 2050