Journal profile · Engineering-Architecture
International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies
ISSN 1748-1317 · eISSN 1748-1325 · Oxford University Press · United Kingdom
International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies: CAS Zone 4 · Engineering (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.55; fully open access; APC about USD 2,748; review about 27 weeks (community reports); 185 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies is published by Oxford University Press and is in Zone 4 of Engineering in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Building Energy and Comfort Optimization, Solar Thermal and Photovoltaic Systems and Thermodynamic and Exergetic Analyses of Power and Cooling Systems, together about 28.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Mechanical Engineering. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Journal Overview International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies (IJLCT) is an open access, online only journal that addresses the challenges of energy generation and use, climate change, and their impact on sustainability and the environment. The Journal publishes original, high quality research papers on issues of energy provision, energy security, climate change, environmentally sustainable development and the built environment, with relevance to mechanical, civil, chemical and building services engineering, architecture, urban design, and other related disciplines. It features in-depth articles, technical notes, review papers, book reviews, and special collections devoted to international conferences and important topics of current technological and environmental interest. All articles are peer-reviewed by leading experts in the field. All areas of the field are considered with sections focusing on: Renewable energy technologies Innovative and emerging new technologies (all areas) Solar collector technologies Solar thermal power and solar desalination PV cells and system technologies (BIPV and new technologies) Wind power technology Biomass and biogas technologies Geothermal energy Wave and tidal power Ambient energy utilization CO2 reduction and low carbon technologies Heat pumps and CHP systems Hydrogen generation, storage, transport and use Fuel cells Waste heat reduction, recovery and use Low carbon technologies and systems Carbon capture and storage Process optimization with carbon reduction in industry Energy and life cycle analysis Sustainable energy technologies in the built environment Solar heating and cooling for the building environment Low and zero energy houses and buildings Moisture control in buildings Advanced energy storage technologies Integration of renewable energy systems in buildings HVAC system and natural ventilation Distributed energy systems and buildings Renewable energy management and environmental impact Renewable energy policies and economics Carbon trading, CDM Sustainability impact assessments and tools Sustainable development criteria for use in environmental assessment Simulation, optimization and analysis tools and professional software Integrated approaches It is our aim that International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies will provide a forum for the cross-fertilization of ideas across all areas of the field. Papers should be written in such a way that the technologies and results they report on are accessible to
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Engineering-Architecture
Editor-in-chief Tassos G. KarayiannisPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 8 in mainland China (about 15%); most named United Kingdom 17, Mainland China 8, Türkiye 4, Malaysia 3, Hong Kong, China 2 (55 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Building Energy and Comfort OptimizationEngineering12.8%
- Solar Thermal and Photovoltaic SystemsEnergy9.4%
- Thermodynamic and Exergetic Analyses of Power and Cooling SystemsEngineering5.9%
- Refrigeration and Air Conditioning TechnologiesEngineering5.3%
- Heat Transfer and OptimizationEngineering4.9%
- Adsorption and Cooling SystemsEngineering4.5%
- Photovoltaic System Optimization TechniquesEnergy4.3%
- Urban Heat Island MitigationEnvironmental Science3.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Engineering Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Energy & Fuels | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Thermodynamics | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Engineering Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Thermodynamics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Energy & Fuels | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Engineering Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Energy & Fuels | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Thermodynamics | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexINSPECPublisher website
Other: Naver, OCLC
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.55LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.7Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 4.7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.5LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.63LetPub ·
- h-index
- 19LetPub ·
- h-index
- 55OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 606OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.7OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 11.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.3%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 189LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 348,381Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,671 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 121 | 121 | 22 |
| 2025 | 185 | 185 | 447 |
| 2024 | 266 | 266 | 1,649 |
| 2023 | 133 | 133 | 1,089 |
| 2022 | 125 | 125 | 1,677 |
| 2021 | 103 | 103 | 1,549 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 27 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 27 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | USD 2,748 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,886 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 2,748 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 3,625 | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Discounts
- 20
- Submission fee
- USD 3,625
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- Vancouver
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
Article types accepted11, with length limits
- book reviewThe International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies accepts contributions in three broad categories. All manuscripts are subject to the Journal's standard peer…Length not stated
- book reviewsBook reviews and special conference issues are also featured, and the Editor particularly encourages submissions originating from interdisciplinary research in …Length not stated
- original articleThe International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies accepts contributions in three broad categories. All manuscripts are subject to the Journal's standard peer…main text ≤ 8,000 words
- original articlesOriginal papers reporting research and development work - these should typically be less than 8,000 words in length plus figures and tables.Length not stated
- original paperThe International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies accepts contributions in three broad categories. All manuscripts are subject to the Journal's standard peer…Length not stated
- perspectiveThe International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies accepts contributions in three broad categories. All manuscripts are subject to the Journal's standard peer…Length not stated
- rapid communicationThe International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies accepts contributions in three broad categories. All manuscripts are subject to the Journal's standard peer…main text ≤ 3,500 words
- rapid communicationsRapid Communications are short papers addressing exciting topics or presenting new ideas on a topic of broad interest. There is a strict 3,500 word limit.Length not stated
- reviewThe International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies accepts contributions in three broad categories. All manuscripts are subject to the Journal's standard peer…main text ≤ 12,000 words
- reviewsReviews or critical assessments of research and development work, dealing with their subject in broad perspective. These should typically be less than 12,000 wo…Length not stated
- special conference issuesBook reviews and special conference issues are also featured, and the Editor particularly encourages submissions originating from interdisciplinary research in …Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints, Self-archiving
- Authorship Authorship
Authorship is limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the design and execution of the work described. Any contributors whose participation does not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged but not listed as an author. For a detailed definition of authorship, please see the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) definitions of authors and cont…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest
Authors The Journal requires all authors to disclose any potential conflict of interest at the point of submission. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to ensure that conflicts of interest of all authors are declared to the Journal. A conflict of interest exists when the position, activities, or relationships of an individual, whether direct or indirect, financial or non-financial…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Availability of data and materials
Data sharing encouraged Model summary
Where ethically feasible, the Journal strongly encourages authors to make all data and software code on which the conclusions of the paper rely available to readers. Whenever possible, data should be presented in the main manuscript or additional supporting files or deposited in a public repository. Visit our Research data page for information on general repositories for all data types, and resour…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Screening for misconduct
Manuscripts may be screened using iThenticate to help detect publication misconduct including plagiarism and redundant publication. Manuscripts may also be screened, including with services provided by third parties, to help detect integrity issues such as inappropriate image alteration and papermill activity.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Open Government Licence
The Open Government Licence is an open licencing model for content produced by employees of UK Crown bodies allowing users to copy, publish, distribute, adapt and transmit the Information for commercial and non-commercial purposes. For additional information visit the gov.uk information on the Open Government Licence.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access charges
Please see the details of open access licences and charges. As the Journal is fully open access, you must pay the open access charge or request to use an institutional agreement to pay the open access charge through our licencing and payment portal, SciPris. Please note that prices are subject to change. All stated charges are exclusive of any applicable value added tax, goods and services tax and…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review process
Single-anonymized peer review Model summary
The Journal uses the ANSI/NISO Standard Terminology for Peer Review. If you would like further description of the peer review terms used here, please refer to the most recent standard definitions. If further clarification is needed, please contact the editorial office at ijlct.editorial@paeditorial.co.uk. Peer review summary: Identity transparency: Single-anonymized Reviewer interacts with: Editor…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprints allowed Model summary
As an author, you retain the right to make an Author’s Original Version (preprint) available through various channels and this does not prevent submission to the Journal. If accepted, you are required to update the status of any preprint, including adding your published paper’s DOI. For full details on allowed channels and updating your preprint, please see our Author self-archiving policy.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Self-archiving Self-archiving
Self-archiving refers to posting a copy of your work on a publicly accessible website or repository. Under certain circumstances, you may self-archive versions of your work on your own webpages, on institutional webpages, and in other repositories. For information about the Journal's policy, and to learn which version(s) of your paper are acceptable for self-archiving, please see our Author self-a…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Country or region
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1748-1317
- Electronic ISSN
- 1748-1325
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies
What CAS zone is International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies is in Zone 4 of Engineering, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Energy & Fuels / Thermodynamics. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Engineering. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.55; CiteScore 4.7, h-index 55.
How long does peer review take at International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies?
Authors report an average review time of about 27 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: Vancouver; Suggested reviewers: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies based?
Of the 55 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 8 (about 15%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (17), Mainland China (8) and Türkiye (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex and INSPEC; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies open access, and what is the APC?
International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,748.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .