Search

Climate change and urban policies significantly impact lake water quality, especially in rapidly developing regions. Existing impact assessments are limited by the duration and resolution of water quality data, while long-term impacts and contributions of climate and socioeconomic drivers have rarely been quantified. In this study, we utilized remote sensing imagery to obtain high spatiotemporal resolution data and Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) to reveal how the comprehensive impacts vary over time. We obtained Trophic State Index (TSI) data between 2000 and 2022 from remote sensing imagery. XAI was employed to elucidate the intricate connections between TSI and the multifaceted factors that encompass climate and socioeconomic dynamics. Six typical lakes in East China were selected for this study. Results showed that the TSI of these lakes had generally decreased over the past two decades, being typically higher in the littoral zones compared to the center. Moreover, higher temperatures increased lake TSI. Meanwhile, higher rainfall increased TSI through increased lake nutrient inputs from surrounding watersheds where agricultural and industrial activities are intensive. It was also found that economic development impacts on lake TSI shifted around 2013. Economic development caused severe negative effects on lake water quality before 2013, while this phenomenon decreased thereafter. This is attributed to the implementation of a series of green transformation policies in the region. This study demonstrates the long-term contribution of climate change and urban policies in driving lake water quality variations, and provides implications for policy makers to establish positive economic, social, and environmental linkages. • Remote sensing and explainable AI are combined in lake water quality analysis. • Impacts of climate and socioeconomic drivers on water quality are quantified. • Green transformation policies in China contribute to water quality protection. • Water diversion projects help improve water quality in eutrophic lakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the complex relationship between environmental taxation, green technology, green investment, real GDP, and environmental pollution by employing the Nonlinear autoregressive distributive lag model for China. The findings indicate that environmental tax policies have significant short- and long-term effects, with positive shocks leading to pollution reductions. The positive and negative shocks to green investment increase pollution levels in the long run. Moreover, the real GDP displays pollution reductions in the short run. The results provide valuable insights into China's environmental and economic situation and offer policy recommendations. These findings were confirmed using the Wald test. The findings emphasize China's need for stronger environmental taxes, green technology adoption, evaluated green investments, and sustainable economic growth to achieve cleaner production and environmental sustainability. • Environmental tax policies is reducing pollution in China. • Positive shocks to green technology is reducing environmental pollution. • Both positive and negative shock in green investment is increasing pollution. • China must prioritize green business practices for cleaner production incentives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental sustainability has emerged as a critical global priority, driving an increasing focus on how fiscal policies in various countries can promote sustainable business practices. Despite global efforts towards sustainability, the impact of fiscal measures on green practices remains underexplored in existing literature. This study aimed to fill this gap by assessing the impact of China's environmental protection tax on firms' green practices. The study employed a difference-in-differences methodology to provide robust evidence on how fiscal policies influenced environmental behaviors in heavily polluting industries from 2009 to 2019. The findings revealed that the environmental protection tax significantly improved firms' green practices, primarily mediated by green innovation. This effect was particularly strong in state-owned and large enterprises. Furthermore, executive green awareness played a critical role in amplifying the positive effects of these taxes on green practices. This study provides novel insights into integrating environmental tax policies with corporate innovation and executive green awareness to drive sustainable business practices, offering strategic guidance for policymakers and corporate leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the dynamic effect of external conflict risk on environmental transition by considering the impacts of eco-innovation, economic growth, and energy consumption in a panel comprising 26 European countries from 2011 to 2020. Using a non-parametric model represented by the panel QARDL, we find that in the short run, a 1% increase in external conflict risk statistically leads to a 0.25% and 0.13% increase in the likelihood of environmental transition for the median and extreme upper quantiles (50th and 95th percentiles), respectively. However, the same increase holds little importance when considering the lower quantile (5th percentile). The indicated effect substantially decreases in the long run, reaching zero across the different quantiles. We also note discrepancies in the impact of energy across various quantile levels. For instance, the effect of population is significant from the 5th to the 90th quintiles. Overall, our findings suggest that enhancing eco-innovation helps reduce environmental transition risk. The results are relevant to the development of environmental policies and provide valuable insights for energy officials, technology stakeholders, and policymakers in their attempts to strengthen resilience during an environmental transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem Services (ESs) are benefits that humans derive from nature, including climate regulation, air and water purification, soil formation, and recreation. Currently, ESs are at the center of green city policies tackling sustainability challenges. Traditionally, ESs have been assessed using monetary estimations, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), and Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA). These methods are useful for integrating environmental aspects in land use planning but have practical limitations since they focus on analyzing biophysical values and economic benefits. Due to the value pluralism of the ESs concept, intangible/extra-economic elements and the plurality of perspectives of the different stakeholders involved need to be included. Within this context, Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) allows the consideration of multiple problem dimensions and accommodates value pluralism. Based on these premises and limitations, the present paper proposes the integration of CBA and MCDA to evaluate alternative project solutions for green roof installation. The multidimensional outputs from CBA and MCDA are combined in a common aggregation procedure called COSIMA. Starting from a real case in Turin (Northern Italy), this article illustrates the application of COSIMA from the point of view of the best trade-off on the preferences of users and investors. The study results show the suitability of COSIMA for integrating all ESs values (i.e., biophysical, sociocultural, and economic) in urban governance processes. • A holistic approach is developed to assess Ecosystem Services in urban context. • Multidimensional benefits generated by green infrastructure are considered. • Montetary and non-monetary methods are applied. • The research provides support for policy-makers and stakeholders to design and planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green innovation is a pivotal means of achieving economic growth while mitigating environmental harm, and encouraging green innovation is a goal of policymakers. This paper systematically reviews the literature on the impact of diverse policy instruments on green innovation and corporate performance. We derive three main conclusions. (a) The majority of studies demonstrate that implementing policy instruments (including demand-pull policies, technology-push policies, and soft and systemic instruments) positively promotes the growth of green patents. (b) The development of green innovation involves passive diffusion, influenced by domestic policy interventions, international spillovers, and inter-firm knowledge flow. (c) The impact of environmental regulation and green innovation on firm performance is intricate, with the mediating role of green innovation remaining ambiguous. Finally, the paper concludes by highlighting potential new research directions in green innovation. • Policy instruments positively promote green innovation across various policy types. • Green innovation is influenced by both domestic and foreign policies. • The nexus among environmental regulation, green innovation, and firm performance is complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-quality urban finance and economic development are still facing high pollution, high emissions, and low green production efficiency problems. However, as China's recent Pilot Zone for Green Finance Reform and Innovation (PZGFRI) policy has been playing an important green development role, it is necessary to evaluate its effectiveness. Based on 2011 to 2020 panel data from 282 Chinese cities, a dynamic spatial difference (DSDID) model was constructed to explore the local and spatial spillover effects of the PZGFRI policy on green total factor productivity (GTFP) in Chinese cities. It was found that: (1) the PZGFRI policy promoted GTFP in the pilot cities and exerted a positive incentive effect on the GTFP in neighboring cities through spatial correlation policy spillovers; (2) heterogeneity analysis illustrated that the PZGFRI policy had a more significant GTFP promotional effect in small and medium-scale cities, western regions, and regions with weak innovation abilities; and (3) the mechanism test found that digitization and technological innovation played moderating and mediating roles. This study enriches research content on the PZGFRI policy and provides theoretical empirical support for the extension of the PZGFRI policy to other cities in China. • A DSDID model was used to evaluate the dynamic spatio-temporal effects of PZGFRI policy. • Policy effects are affected by the heterogeneity across Urban region, Scale and Technological innovation. • Digitization level and technological innovation played moderating and mediating roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate projections of carbon emissions are essential for climate change responses and environmental policy development. However, the complexity of carbon emission projections has increased due to various factors like technology and policy, posing challenges for accuracy. Many studies rely on time-series data alone, overlooking the combined impact of multiple information sources on carbon emissions. To overcome these bottlenecks, a hybrid model is proposed, integrating multimodal data, convolutional neural network inceptionv2 (CNN-inceptionv2), text convolutional neural network (TextCNN) optimized by attention mechanism, and bi-directional long and short-term memory (BiLSTM). Firstly, the time series feature set and text feature set are extracted using the CNN-inceptionv2 and the TextCNN, respectively. Subsequently, the feature sets of the two modal information are fused and outputted into a multimodal feature set, which are ultimately predicted using BiLSTM. The validity of the study model was also verified by different methods such as ablation experiments, single model and combined model. The coefficient of determination (R2) values were 0.986 for the validation set and 0.933 for the prediction set. In comparison to other models, the present model showed an average improvement of 16.6% in R2 values, fully indicating its superior predictive performance. The high point and interval predictions of carbon emissions further verified the superior prediction accuracy of the present model. The present model can accurately predict carbon emissions, providing data references for carbon emission decision makers. Additionally, it further enriches the methodological system of carbon emission prediction and aids in strategic planning for future carbon emission and energy management. • Developing a deep learning ensemble model for accurate carbon emission prediction. • Extracting features from time series and text data to mine deeper impact information. • Multivariate selection followed by multimodal feature fusion via corresponding CNN models. • High points and different time-period predictions validate the model's broad suitability. • Realizing carbon emission interval prediction makes the model more applicable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amid escalating global concerns surrounding climate change, the transportation sector has garnered the attention of stakeholders. Double-hurdle censored models were employed in this study to elucidate the relationship between the probability of private fuel expenditure and expenditure levels and household characteristics to determine the factors contributing to household-based CO 2 emissions. Remarkably, nearly two-thirds of the 38 factors examined contributed to the emitters, and almost all emitters were identified as statistically significant. This alarming situation underscores the importance of formulating family based green transformation policies. If successful, these policies can ignite transformative momentum. Consequently, understanding household transportation expenditure from a bottom-up perspective can provide invaluable insights into crafting a comprehensive set of top-line policy recommendations for innovation and marketing strategies in the transport and energy sectors. Measures such as incentivizing the adoption of electric vehicles through economic incentives, expanding public transportation networks, and implementing sustainable housing policies have immense potential to effectively reduce private fuel expenditure. When implemented holistically, these strategies can pave the way for a more sustainable and environmentally friendly future. [Display omitted] • Examining the link between fossil fuel expenses and household characteristics is crucial. • Analyzing how fossil fuel expenditures correlate with rising CO 2 levels is essential. • The household head's diverse generational cohorts affect fuel consumption significantly. • Highlighting interactions among variables is more insightful than single-variable analysis. • Establishing a taxonomy enhances understanding of the dynamics influencing fossil fuel use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amidst a backdrop of decelerating economic growth, China confronts mounting environmental challenges, including air pollution, water scarcity, and escalating carbon emissions. In this context, enhancing the urban ecological carrying capacity (UECC)– defined as the ability to sustain human activities without compromising environmental quality – emerges as a pivotal concern. To address these issues, the Chinese government has instituted the "Low Carbon Pilot Cities policy" initiative (LCPP), aiming to foster sustainable urban development by encouraging cities to adopt measures that reduce carbon emissions and enhance energy efficiency. This paper treats the policy as an exogenous quasi-natural experiment, employing a spatial double-difference methodology to assess its impact on the ecological carrying capacity of 281 Chinese cities from 2006 to 2021. Utilizing the pressure-state-response (PSR) model, this study constructs and evaluates their ecological carrying capacity. The findings reveal that: firstly, the low-carbon pilot policies significantly augment urban ecological carrying capacities; secondly, the policy's effects exhibit regional variability; thirdly, these policies bolster ecological carrying capacity through innovation-driven and energy structure optimization mechanisms; and fourthly, a further spatial spillover analysis indicates that the policy implementation adversely affects the ecological carrying capacity of adjacent cities. Consequently, this study offers empirical evidence and policy insights to assist countries in judiciously implementing environmental policies to achieve sustainable development objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting the development of green innovation is crucial for achieving the green transformation of society. This paper considers the decision bias of different agents in policy implementation and presents a theoretical model that captures the structure of the green innovation system. The model includes six subsystems: government, technology, public, energy, environment, and population. The study examines the transmission effect of green innovation and the influence mechanism of multiple decision biases on policy combination effects using a combination of various policy tools. The results show that: Various policy tools and their implementation differences have distinct effects on the green innovation and environmental performance. In most cases, the synergistic policy mix effect, surpassing the impact of individual policies, is driven by the resource effect. However, the synergistic effect of policy combination may not be fully realized, leading to potential conflicts. Due to various decision biases, particularly the gap in the public's green behavior, the policy mix faces challenges in achieving immediate synergistic effects. Combining tax policies with other policy instruments increases the risk of incoherence and inconsistency. However, in the long term, the combination of policy tools can exert strong late-developing advantages. This study provides insights for green innovation policy improvement. • This paper develops a green innovation system with the government subsystem serving as the operational hub. • This paper establishes a policy framework for green innovation systems based on multi-subject decision bias. • This paper simulates the impact of policy implementation on green innovation and main pollutant emissions. • The study finds that tax policy has a more significant dampening effect when combined with other policies. • This study finds that policy mix can exert resource effects, but decision biases cause a delayed manifestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The time-varying dynamics of the transition to renewable energy reflect the effectiveness and efficiency of energy policy. This paper investigates renewable energy transition behavior in China using Markov regime-switching models. Two distinct phases, expansion and contraction, are identified based on the growth rates of renewable energy consumption share. We find that since China started its new-energy national strategy in 2005, there has been an extended period in which it has been in the expansion state, although it occasionally reverts to a contraction state. Intriguingly, we uncover that the timing of transition state changes can be explained by the changes in policy-related, market-based instruments and risk-related indexes. These findings present implications for policymakers in developing more precise and effective policies, that drives investment choices to align with the goal of a sustainable energy system. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates an innovative approach to enhance urban green space access by adding new park entrances rather than expanding the green space itself, aiming for sustainable urban development. Taking Shenzhen as a case study, we first developed a universal framework to identify potential locations for new entrances and used network analysis in ArcGIS to quantify green service improvements. Then, under the 15-min city concept, the impact on green accessibility and equity was assessed using the two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method and Gini coefficient analysis. Results indicate that (1) new entrances enabled 21.10% of residents to access parks with an average reduced travel distance of 214.71 m, and increased the population within a 15-min walk to parks by 7.34%. (2) This strategy proved cost-effective, serving 27.66% of residents at 1/38 the cost of creating new green spaces. (3) Furthermore, the accessible green area within a 15-min walking or cycling increased by 0.18 km2 and 1.42 km2, respectively, without affecting green equity. Our findings support the policy of adding park entrances as a feasible and efficient urban strategy, supporting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3 and 11, and the policy can be implemented across almost cities. • A proposed framework identifies 203 new park entrances from a pool of 2,237 candidates. • New entrances reduce the average travel distance to parks by 214.71 m for 21.10% of residents. • Adding green space costs 37.85 times more than new entrances for serving an equivalent population. • The policy of adding park entrances is suitable for most cities and contributes to sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's 2016 Guidance on Building a Green Financial System aims to reallocate private financial resources to eco-friendly enterprises. This study treats the 2016 green finance policy (GFP) as an external shock and employs the difference-in-differences (DID) approach to analyze the effect of GFP on the air pollutant emissions intensity of listed enterprises. The findings show that heavy-polluting enterprises have significantly reduced their air pollutant emissions intensity due to GFP. This reduction is achieved through improving energy efficiency rather than green innovation. Consequently, an energy rebound effect is triggered that partially offsets the energy savings achieved through improved energy efficiency. Furthermore, we have observed that the green innovations driven by GFP are of poor quality, and they neglect end-of-pipe treatment and clean energy use. As a result, these innovations are unable to achieve the intended emissions reduction. Finally, thanks to strict environmental regulations, non-state-owned firms have a more profound inclination towards embracing green transformation than state-owned firms, resulting in a greater impact of GFP on the former. • GFP reduces the SO2 emission intensity of heavily polluting firms. • GFP reduces firms' emission intensity through energy efficiency improvement instead of green innovation. • The energy efficiency improvements brought by GFP will trigger energy rebound. • The green innovations brought by GFP neglect end-of-pipe treatment and clean energy use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Ghana has been a pioneer in energy efficiency in the sub-Saharan region, becoming the first country to introduce minimum energy performance standards and energy labelling for lighting, air conditioners and refrigerating appliances in 2008. It also introduced an innovative and not yet widely adopted policy of banning the import of used air conditioners and refrigerating appliances, mostly from Europe. While the impact of this policy package has already been assessed in terms of energy savings in Ghana, it is still unclear whether the import ban on used products makes sense in terms of environmental impact. Ghana's ban may seem surprising given that current European product policies in the context of the Green Deal aim to extend the lifetime of products and encourage their reuse to make them more sustainable. In this paper, different scenarios covering new and used refrigerating appliances as well as different end-of-life management options were examined in a life cycle analysis. The results show that exporting used refrigerators from Europe to West Africa increases their environmental impact per functional unit in many categories, even if it extends the lifetime of the product. The informal end-of-life treatment of refrigerators by open burning has a massive impact on human toxicity. As energy consumption during the use phase is the main determinant of most environmental impacts, energy efficiency policies (minimum energy efficiency performance standards and labelling) combined with an import ban on used refrigerating appliances are the best approach to reduce these impacts. It is therefore recommended that the Ghanaian policy package be replicated in other countries in the region, but also that exporting countries take action, as the fight against environmental dumping is a shared responsibility. • Used refrigerators exported to West Africa increase greenhouse gas emissions. • Energy efficiency reduces the environmental impact of refrigerators. • Import ban on used refrigerating appliances is justified. • Informal end-of-life treatment of refrigerators has a major impact on human toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban green spaces assume a pivotal role in city-level nature-based solutions for sustainable development. Parks, street greening, and community greens play a significant role in regulating the urban microenvironment, enhancing subjective well-being, and increasing regional attractiveness. Additionally, urban greenbelts have the capacity to control urban sprawl, thereby influencing housing prices and population distribution. However, the exisiting urban models have typically addressed greenbelts and other green spaces in isolation, resulting in fragmented planning strategies. This study aims to establish a novel spatial equilibrium model that accurately assesses the socio-economic effects resulting from the combined impact of various urban green spaces. This model encompasses green infrastructure components and carefully balances their appeal against the consequent rise in housing costs. The proposed model can elucidate the latent synergistic interactions among multiple urban green policies, which enables urban policymakers to access the multifaceted impacts of greening policy combinations. and suggests that combining different urban greening policies can mitigate the negative effects of a single policy type, such as population redistribution. A case study based on empirical data from Shanghai, China, has been employed to identify the additional value associated with diverse urban green spaces. The scenario analysis suggests that combining different urban greening policies can alleviate the negative impacts of urban population relocation. These findings furnish urban planners and policymakers with novel insights to develop the distribution strategy of urban green spaces via judicious policy integration. Consequently, the proposed model furnishes a novel academic standpoint on the role of urban green spaces within the context of nature-based solution for sustainable development of metropolitan conglomerates and nascent urban agglomerations amidst the evolving post-COVID-19 environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of global climate change and increasing population, transitioning to resource-efficient, environmentally friendly agricultural technologies is essential for sustainability. In this context, the present study is anchored in the theories of information asymmetry and bounded rationality. It constructs a tripartite evolutionary game model under market mechanisms and government guidance, facing the challenges of promoting green agricultural technologies among multiple actors. This model explores the strategic choices and dynamic evolution of these actors under economic incentives and risk perception. The objective of the research is to reveal the dynamic evolutionary trends of stakeholder behavior under different policy intervention conditions and how governments can propel the promotion of green agricultural production technologies through policy instruments. To encompass the impact of historical decisions on the evolutionary process of green technology dissemination, this study employs a Delay Differential Equations (DDE) algorithm that considers historical time lags in its numerical simulations. Through stability analysis and DDE numerical simulations, the research identifies factors influencing the promotion of green agricultural production technologies. The findings indicate that under market mechanisms, there is a risk of "market failure" in the dissemination model of green agricultural technologies. Government participation can provide external incentive support, effectively enhancing the stability and efficiency of the evolutionary game system for promoting green technologies. Simulation results further suggest that government intervention can significantly improve the stability and efficiency of technology promotion. Economies of scale, initial willingness, risk perception, and subsidy intensity are decisive factors in technology adoption. Consequently, policymakers are advised to formulate precise and multifaceted subsidy strategies based on the varying needs of different actors, to stimulate engagement, reduce risk, and encourage widespread adoption of green technologies. This study lays a theoretical groundwork for smallholders and family farms to overcome technology adoption barriers, crucial for sustainable agricultural development. It provides a framework for understanding and addressing these challenges, guiding policymakers in crafting effective green agriculture policies to improve farming efficiency and sustainability. [Display omitted] • This research investigates the impact of policy interventions on the adoption of green agricultural technologies. • We employ a tripartite game model and the DDE algorithm to analyze strategy evolution. • The study demonstrates that government involvement enhances the promotion of green technologies. • Implement a variety of subsidies to promote green technologies and support sustainable agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an overarching goal of the European Union's (EU) policies, sustainable development has become one of the trickiest challenges in the EU. Despite the burgeoning literature on sustainable development in EU member states, few studies have explored the relationship between green cooperation and sustainable development. From the resource orchestration perspective, we aim to investigate how EU green cooperation affects member states' pursuit of sustainable development. Empirically, we constructed a sample of well-documented EU joint green projects, and found that the participation of the higher education sector (HES), business sector (BUS), and government (GOV) in EU green cooperation contributes to achieving its member states' sustainable development goals in different ways. Specifically, the contributions of the HES and BUS, compared to those of the GOV, are more essential for EU green cooperation projects, because of their dominant roles in green knowledge generation and carbon emissions make them pivotal for the EU member states' sustainable development. Moreover, our findings suggest that green cooperation among the HES, BUS, and GOV has a more significant impact on EU member states' sustainable development when those states possess a stronger capacity for transnational knowledge spillovers and a higher national digital level. These findings have important implications for the design of green policies in pursuit of sustainability within the EU region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the domain of global socio-economic dynamics, the pivotal role of food production (FP) cannot be overstated. It constitutes the bedrock of fundamental human necessities while being inexorably linked with critical aspects such as economic expansion, societal equilibrium, and geopolitical interplays. The multifaceted nature of FP appears through its direct impact on macroeconomic indicators and its latent influence on international relations and policy-making. This critical nexus underscores the imperative for a comprehensive understanding and strategic management of food production processes to sustain and enhance global socio-economic stability and growth. Investigating the nexus between green finance (GF) and FP is pivotal for ensuring national security and promoting sustainable economic development. This research thus paper examines GF's impact on FP in China as outlined in the 2017 green finance policies. It employs the difference-in-differences (DID) method and analyzes a balanced panel dataset comprising 282 cities in China from 2009 to 2020. The results show that GF has an inhibitory effect on FP, and this remains valid after a range of reliability checks, including parallel trend assessments and placebo tests. Further findings of transmission mechanism analysis indicate that non-agricultural factors and financial exclusion are critical for GF's inhibitory effect on FP. Heterogeneity analyses show that GF's inhibitory effect on FP is more pronounced in the main food-producing areas, the main food-marketing areas, and cities with better infrastructure. The empirical results of this paper comprehensively illustrate GF's impact on FP and how it contributes to the achievement of food security objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal halide perovskite materials have gained significant attention in recent years due to their potential energy and lighting applications. They are potentially vital materials for the current energy transition which aims to minimize the dependence on fossil fuels and limited land resources by the increased use of cost-effective and efficient renewable energy sources. The European Green Deal policy, which sets out its ambitions in the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, can help its transition to a Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) development. In this context, we applied the SSbD approach to selected perovskite-based devices which are still in their development state, by assessing potential human health and environmental risks along their life cycle. We applied the SSbD approach in a tiered manner so that it aligns with successive Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) to help the innovators ensuring safety and sustainability aspects throughout the various stages of their product development. Thus, the SSbD assessment began right from the start of the development (TRL 1–2), when there can be (huge) gaps and uncertainty in the product knowledge, up to the later stages of higher TRL when the product knowledge is more abundant and certain. In our assessment, we mainly focused on the human health risk of the perovskite-based devices and considered the implications of environmental emissions of hazardous substances on the human health. We further bring attention to the alternatives which could help mitigate concerns over their safety and sustainability for a responsible technology development and deployment. Results of this study are important to understand the detailed sustainability assessment in which we look at multiple sustainability aspects and its potential future impacts due to technology scale-up in the future. • We assess human health and environmental risks of perovskites over their life cycle. • Application of perovskites in energy harvesting and lighting devices is assessed. • Assessment uses safe and sustainable by design approach in a tiered manner. • Flexibility in the use of available knowledge and data helps adoption by the industry. • Alternatives in material design can mitigate safety and sustainability concerns of the perovskites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a double-difference model to test the impact of green credit policy on the default risk of heavy polluters based on the data of China listed companies from 2008 to 2021. It is found that green credit policy can significantly reduce the default risk of heavy polluters, and the reduction effect is more significant in state-owned enterprises. Further mechanism tests show that green credit policy reduces default risk by guiding heavily polluting firms to reduce financial leverage. Government environmental regulation and corporate green innovation capacity affect the role of green credit policy on corporate default risk. With the strengthening of regional environmental regulations and the enhancement of corporate green innovation capabilities, the effect of green credit policies in diminishing the default risk for companies with high pollution levels is increasingly evident. This study not only enriches the literature on green credit but also demonstrates the effectiveness of directing banks and various financial entities to allocate resources reasonably, guiding heavily polluting enterprises to control risks, and steadily achieving green transformation. These findings hold significant implications for decision-making in designing environmental policy and management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how urban greening policies affect urban ecological resilience through a quasi-natural experimental analysis of various cities in China. Leveraging the country's large-scale promotion of forest city development, we assess the effectiveness of these policies using differences-in-differences modeling across multiple time periods. The results affirm the positive impact of urban greening on resilience, as designated forest cities demonstrated enhanced resilience levels compared to control cities. Notable disparities were also found among the three major Chinese urban agglomerations - the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regions - in terms of policy effects. While short-term resilience increased under central government oversight, long-term gains relied more on intercity cooperation within agglomerations. It highlights the limitations inherent within China's "experiment under hierarchy" paradigm but also benefits from regional integration. This study contributes novel insights regarding the dynamic relationship between governance structures and urban ecosystem resilience under authoritarian contexts. Innovatively, we explore how intercity cooperation among urban agglomerations affects the long-term effectiveness of urban ecological governance, thereby contributing to a deeper understanding of the complexities involved in fostering resilient urban ecosystems under such governance models. • An evaluation index for urban ecological resilience (UER) was built based on DPSIR framework. • Multi-period DID model was used to analyze the impact of forest city on UER. • Yangtze River Delta had the highest resilience. • National Forest City Certification significantly improved UER of the three megacity clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green energy policies have spread globally, as a means to promote societal transition towards more sustainable pathways of growth. In this framework, the European Union posed as a key actor, identifying the promotion of green energy policies as a cornerstone of all its strategies for green transition. While the literature has generally recognised the ongoing harmonisation process, still scant attention has been paid to the assessment of differentials in the diffusion of policies promoting various typologies of renewable energy sources. Moreover, the role of domestic factors tends to be overlooked. Based on these premises, the present research has aimed to study the role played by both policy diffusion mechanisms and adopting countries' characteristics for explaining the emulation of renewable energy policies. Our main results show that coercion enhances the likelihood of policy emulation, while the other mechanisms differently influence the policymaking process, based on the typology of renewable and on the level of development of the country. These results set the stage for relevant policy implications for promoting coordination and abatement of normative barriers existing among EU Member States. These recommendations become even more relevant given the unprecedented investments planned by the EU through the REpowerEU plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing the "greenwashing" behavior implemented by enterprises through methods such as whitewashing environmental information is a vital part of government environmental governance. The study treats the government digitization implementation as an exogenous shock. It utilizes data from Chinese listed companies between 2016 and 2021 to establish a difference-in-differences model, aiming to discern the causal impact of government digitization on corporate greenwashing behavior. The findings confirm that government digitization advancement substantially curtails corporate greenwashing behavior, exhibiting a comparable inhibitory impact to green finance policies on greenwashing behavior. The test results of the mechanism confirm that government digitization effectively curbs corporate greenwashing by optimizing the regional business environment and enhancing environmental regulatory capabilities. Moreover, in-depth analysis reveals that government digitization has a stronger inhibitory impact on the greening behavior of heavily polluting enterprises, state-owned enterprises, and those facing high environmental uncertainty. The research findings presented in this article contribute to a better understanding of the internal mechanism linking government digitization and corporate greening behavior. They are significant in expanding the micro-environmental governance effects of government digitalization and identifying the factors influencing corporate greening behavior. • Government digitization can curtail corporate greenwashing behavior. • We expand the micro green governance effect of government digitization. • We enrich the literature on the influencing factors of corporate greenwashing. • Opening the black box between digital government and corporate greenwashing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green energy efficiency (GEE) is pivotal for sustainable economic growth, particularly in the context of China's ambitious environmental goals. This study assesses the impact of Green Financial Reform and Innovation Pilot Zones on GEE from 2005 to 2020, using the SBM-GML method and a Double Difference Model (DID). Findings indicate a significant improvement in GEE within these zones, driven by advancements in green innovation and environmental regulation. At the micro level, firms in pilot zones show enhanced Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance and experience fewer financial constraints. The effectiveness of green finance policies is more pronounced in resource-rich and financially efficient regions, suggesting that these initiatives can significantly contribute to sustainable development. Based on empirical evidence, we recommend expanding pilot zones, promoting green technological innovation, and developing tailored green finance policies to address regional ecological sensitivities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Canada, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions continue to remain high despite the federal government's commitment to reduce GHG emissions. Environmental policy across Canadian provinces has largely lacked consistency with some provinces implementing targeted policy such as carbon taxes while others have strongly resisted the federal government's attempts to encourage such policy. This study examines the impact of environmental policy on GHG gas emissions across Canadian provinces with policy uniquely measured by public and business sector spending on environmental protection as well as notable province-specific policies. An extended STIRPAT model is specified with the inclusion of proxies for environmental policy using panel data from Canada's ten provinces from 1995 to 2019. The cointegration and the error correction modelling approaches are employed to estimate the non-stationary panel data. A pooled mean group estimation is applied to provide short run and long run coefficients. The findings indicate that although per capita GDP is the main driver of GHG emissions in Canada, environmental policy has a significant mitigating effect, as shown by the negative association between emissions and private and public sector spending on environmental protection in the long run. Furthermore, provinces with targeted policies, such as Ontario's coal phase-out and British Columbia's carbon tax, experienced significant emissions reductions. The theoretical implication is the successful addition of policy variables to the STIRPAT model, providing the model a new application for future research. [Display omitted] • Assess the impact of environmental protection policies on per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. • Utilize public and private expenditures on environmental protection, along with provincial policies. • Extend the STIRPAT model to incorporate environmental protection policies in an empirical model. • Demonstrate a significant negative relationship between environmental protection policies and GHG emissions. • Offer insights with implications for global environmental sustainability efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing literature recommends the essential role of renewable energy consumption (REC) in achieving environmental sustainability. Although prior works have investigated the significant factors of REC, the effect of green environmental policies remains largely understudied, particularly in OECD countries. Therefore, this study specifically examines the role of environmental policy stringency (EPS) in enhancing (or diminishing) REC in 27 OECD economies between 2000 and 2019. Furthermore, we aim to specify the determinants of REC and investigate whether EPS could help moderate the relationship between global economic policy uncertainty (GEPU) and REC. To accomplish this, we employ both the fixed effects and panel quantile estimation methods. The findings underline that EPS has a positive and significant impact on REC, indicating that stricter green environmental policies lead to encouraging REC. Besides, the findings show that EPS has a beneficial role in lessening the negative effect of GEPU on REC, and its negative effect on REC is more moderated as moves from environments with low EPS to high EPS. The results also underscore that financial market development, FDI, remittances, technological innovation, and economic development positively promote REC whereas CO2 and natural resources rents have a detrimental impact. The findings are significant and a wide range of policy suggestions is recommended to governments, policymakers, and regulators to attain the energy and environmental sustainability targets set out in SDG 7 and SDG 13, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to reveal how China's green finance reform and innovation demonstration zone policy affects ecologically sustainable development under the constraints of government environmental attention. Employing multi-period DID (Difference-in-Difference) and DDD (Difference-in-Difference-in-Difference) as the base model, the study tested the mechanism of the policy's effect on ecologically sustainable development, using panel data from 277 prefecture-level cities in China from 2006 to 2020. Endogeneity tests including Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS), counterfactual tests, and other robustness checks, were employed to enhance the study's validity. The research findings are as follows: (1) The policy effectively promotes ecologically sustainable development, and this conclusion remained valid even after conducting several robustness tests. (2) The more pronounced the government's emphasis on environmental preservation, the greater its efficacy in fostering ecologically sustainable development. (3) The stimulating effect of the policy on ecologically sustainable development is more pronounced in cities with higher ecological quality and a larger population. This study not only offers new analytical perspectives for comprehensively investigating the green finance policy but also emphasizes that enhanced policy outcomes hinge on the implementation of green financial reforms and innovations tailored to local conditions. Additionally, it provides valuable policy insights for optimizing the government's role in fostering ecologically sustainable development. (e.g., optimizing the governmental role in fostering ecologically sustainable development, enhancing both the scope and intensity of green finance policy, and harnessing the synergies between green finance policy and environmental protection policy). [Display omitted] • Green finance policy can improve ecologically sustainable development. • Government environmental attention can promote the effectiveness of green finance policy. • Focuses on 277 prefecture-level cities in China between 2006 and 2020. • Uses multi-period Difference-in-Differences (DID) as the base model. • China should give high priority to green finance policy to improve sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on 196 prefecture-level cities in China from 2006 to 2021, this paper constructs a weight matrix of urban economic geography and uses the spatial differential model to verify the impact of smart city policies on urban green energy efficiency. The results show that the efficiency value of green energy fluctuates in Chinese cities. Different test results show that smart city policies can effectively improve urban green energy efficiency, but mainly from the time effect rather than the individual effect. It means the improvement in urban green energy efficiency comes more from the fast-growing of the Chinese economy and urban construction in this period than from the country's smart city pilot policy. In addition, from the spatial spillover effect result, China needs to design a better urban spatial development plan to improve the capacity of smart city energy services and vigorously develop intelligent technology represented by information and communication science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significance of the impact of trade on sustainable development cannot be overstated. Even though there is a large amount of literature examining the trade - environment connection, most of the studies that have been done so have primarily examined variables like trade openness and foreign direct investment, ignoring the impact of particular trade policy tools, like tariffs. Moreover, there is a pertinent concern about aggregation bias in aggregate estimations, which could lead to inaccurate assessments of the overall connections and potentially misguide policymakers. In contrast to the prevailing trend, this study delves into the influence of trade policy, specifically tariffs, on the environmental degradation in 20 African nations. The investigation also addresses the issue of aggregation bias, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of the trade policy-environment link. The panel long-run estimates, employing the PMG estimator, reveal a significantly negative influence of tariffs on ecological footprints. This suggests that, in this context, tariffs do not create market inefficiency but rather contribute to strengthening environmental quality in the African sub-region. The findings underscore the importance of considering specific trade policy instruments in environmental policymaking. Policymakers in the region are presented with an opportunity to strategically utilize tariffs as a tool to address environmental degradation issues. The study further highlights that the relationship is negative at the panel level but positive at some of the individual country-level, indicating the presence of aggregation bias in estimating the trade policy-environmental dilapidation association on a panel scale. As aggregation bias may lead to misguided environmental policies, policymakers are prevailed on to carefully consider both panel and individual country-particular level when formulating trade and environmental strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of green industrial policy in China is deeply embedded within a unique political, economic, cultural, and social milieu. The intricacies and complexities inherent in this context present challenges for quantitative policy research. In the existing literature, the study of thematic clustering of green industry policy instruments and their effectiveness measures in large-scale policy text repositories remains a relatively unexplored area. To fill this research gap, this study provides an analysis of China's green industrial policies from 1994 to 2022. By adopting the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic model, implicit and optimal themes are identified, and key policy instruments are systematically and comprehensively parsed. Based on this, the cutting-edge Policy Modeling Consistency-Text Encoder (PMC-TE) index model was used to conduct an in-depth quantitative evaluation of various policy tools. The findings reveal 15 policy instruments from 7891 Chinese green industry policy documents. Notably, technical support, information resource demonstration project policies emerged as the most frequently deployed and efficacious. Conversely, government procurement and service outsourcing policies, while showing incremental growth year-on-year, lagged in utilization and effectiveness. These policy instruments can be broadly categorized into three primary archetypes: supply-type, demand-type, and environment-type. The supply-type instruments dominate, while environment-type instruments remain underutilized. Additionally, this study delineates the four chronological phases of China's green industrial policy evolution, illuminating China's strategic pivots-transitioning from resource allocation, to market dynamics, and ultimately to environmental governance trajectories. [Display omitted] • A novel evaluation system of green industrial policy in China was proposed. • Supply-side policy instruments dominate, followed by environmental policy. • Significant policy effectiveness in technology and resource building, demonstration projects. • Weaknesses in market incentives, consumer education, and brand building from demand-side. • The evolution of China's green industrial policy can be divided into four periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental protection and sustainable development are now profoundly ingrained in the public consciousness in the modern era of the global green revolution. First, this paper uses an evolutionary game model to theoretically analyse the impact of environmental regulation and green finance on enterprises by dissecting the game behaviour between local governments, banks and enterprises. Then, we incorporate entrepreneurial spirit into the model to determine whether entrepreneurial spirit accelerates the achievement of green sustainability objectives. Environmental regulation and green finance are found to contribute substantially to the innovation of green technologies by local enterprises, while entrepreneurial spirit accelerates this process. Finally, we empirically test the findings based on a prefecture-level panel dataset from 2007 to 2020. We find that green finance has a positive impact in Central and Western cities of China, while Eastern cities are in greater need for government environmental regulation controls. For entrepreneurial spirit, the incentive effect of entrepreneurial spirit on the level of green technology innovation is more significant in Central and Western regions of China. This paper enriches the field of research on entrepreneurial spirit and regional green sustainable development by providing empirical evidence for the evaluation of environmental regulatory and green financing policy impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The escalating demand for resources in urban and rural construction development raises the crucial question of achieving green development within limited resource constraints. This study delves into the interplay between environmental policy and green development in urban and rural construction. Utilizing the spatial Durbin model for analysis, findings reveal that investment-oriented environmental regulation significantly impacts green development and positive spillover effects in neighboring regions when considering spatial weight matrices. In contrast, cost-based environmental regulations positively affect green development when spatial interactions are disregarded. However, they exhibit negative effects at the spatial level, potentially leading to a "pollution relocation" phenomenon. Although the influence of R& D subsidy-based environmental regulations on green development is not significant, their impact becomes notable upon considering spatial interactions, potentially generating positive effects across regions through mechanisms such as technology diffusion and knowledge transfer. Furthermore, from an endogeneity perspective, the impact of environmental regulatory tools on green development exhibits a time lag effect. Moreover, investment-type regulation in the eastern regions significantly fosters green development, whereas cost-based regulation shows a suppressive effect; investment-type regulation in central regions has a positive spillover on neighboring areas; and R&D subsidies in western regions negatively impact local green development. Moreover, the quality of governmental institutions, market integration, and technological innovation are key factors influencing green development in China's urban and rural construction. This study reveals the direct and indirect effects of various environmental policy tools on green development in urban and rural areas. It emphasizes the importance of considering spatial interactions in implementing environmental policies, providing a theoretical foundation and practical guidance for optimizing environmental policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green credit can alleviate the financing constraints of green enterprises, and thus is an important policy to encourage green development and mitigate climate change. However, how green credit affects the technological innovation of clean energy enterprise (TICEE) and the role of corporate policy catering behavior (CPCB) both need to be further explored. Therefore, the impact mechanisms of green credit and the roles of CPCB are empirically tested by the mediation model and moderation model, respectively. Compared with large, eastern and mature enterprises, green credit plays a stronger positive role in the technological innovation of small, central and western and growing enterprises. Green credit optimizes enterprises' debt financing by alleviating financing constraints, reducing debt costs and extending debt maturity structure, thus driving technological innovation. Besides, the two most typical types of CPCB — research and development (R&D) manipulation and rent-seeking — weaken the positive effect of green credit on TICEE. However, CPCB weakens less on the quality of innovation of large, mature and eastern enterprises. Accordingly, green credit should be strengthened to promote TICEE, and the supervision of corporate speculation should also be strengthened to avoid the policy's failure. [Display omitted] • Green credit promotes the technological innovation of clean energy enterprises. • Corporate financing constraints, debt cost and debt maturity mediate the effect. • Policy catering behavior inhibits the role of green credit in corporate innovation. • The effects are stronger on small, growing enterprises in developing regions. • Various policy priorities and avoiding corporate speculation should be highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the inaugural attempt to investigate the herding behavior of firms in the context of environmental orientation to achieve the UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) in the ASEAN region. Insights from the previous literature infer that peer effect is visibly seen in firms across various fields, especially amongst their CSR and ESG performance. Using data from the Thai listed firms, we document strong evidence of peer effects concerning environmental performance and its dimensions (emission reduction, product innovation, and resource reduction). The targeted time frame for the current study is from 2009 to 2019 for which we analyze the firms listed on the Thailand Stock Exchange (SET). Moreover, the results of our study support the fact that mimicking behavior is one of the common behaviors that is followed by the majority of the firms keeping in view their varied purposes which include enhancing their market reputation, increasing profits, attracting shareholders and investors and most importantly raising their sustainability standing. Thus, overall our study highlights the main perspective that peer effects and herding behavior a common practices amongst firms concerning their environmental policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition to a circular economy can be undermined by rebound effects, which could mean secondary production does not fully displace virgin raw materials. So called 'circular economy rebound' is under examined in the academic literature and thus requires greater attention if it is to be successfully estimated and mitigated by decision and policy makers. Accordingly, this paper undertakes a systematic review of the methods that have been deployed to measure rebound effects of all types and identifies those quantitative tools that have yet to be utilised in the nascent area of circular economy rebound but which could have application in this context. In so doing, the paper also reflects on the data needs of different methods, as well as the magnitude of the different rebounds identified and potential mitigating strategies. Findings suggest clear research gaps within the rebound literature and identify areas in which estimation of the circular economy rebound specifically could benefit from this wider body of work on rebound assessment. • Circular economy rebound is underexamined in the academic literature. • A review of applied methods for estimating rebound effects is conducted. • Methods that could be used to estimate circular economy rebound are identified. • Data needs, rebound effect sizes and mitigation options are discussed/classified. • Major gaps in the rebound effect literature are synthesised in a research agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although technological innovation plays a critical role in promoting sustainable development and environmental sustainability, there are few studies in the existing literature that address this relationship. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between technological innovation (TI), renewable energy consumption (REC), natural resource rent (NRR) and ecological footprint (EF) of E-7 countries (i.e. Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia and Turkiye) from 1992 to 2018 in order to ensure environmental sustainability in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Analysis was performed using the ARDL estimator, robustness test and Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel causality (DHC) test. Long-term empirical estimates from the PMG-ARDL technique have shown that a 1 % increase in TI and REC reduces EF by 0.064 % and 0.234 %, respectively, i.e. increases environmental sustainability. At this point, it is possible to say that TI and REC contribute to the achievement of SDG-7 and 13 in E-7 countries while NRR and real income (GDP) were found to impede the achievement of SDG-7 and 13 in E-7 countries through an increase in EF. The results were confirmed using robustness techniques. In the DHC test results, while there is a unidirectional causality from TI to EF, from EF to NRR and trade openness, a bidirectional causality was found between GDP and EF. This study suggests that policymakers should focus on introducing environmentally friendly equipment to reduce environmental degradation, increase the share of RECs and focus on sustainable development within the framework of the SDGs. • We explore nexus between technological innovation affect the ecological footprint in E-7 economies. • Adoption of second-generational panel econometrics techniques. • Technological innovation and renewable energy consumption help in mitigating climate change. • Green growth policies should be pursued in E7 energy mix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the presence and insights of suspended atmospheric microplastics (SAMPs) in a coastal urban setting of Xiamen, China, focusing on the downtown tourist and urban-rural fringe areas. The abundance of SAMPs in Xiamen ranged from 0 to 0.062 items m−3, with an average of 0.011 ± 0.012 items m−3. Notably, the urban-rural fringe area exhibited a higher abundance of SAMPs compared to the tourist area, attributing to surrounding pollution sources and the effectiveness of environmental policies. Fibers emerged as the dominant form of SAMPs, with microbeads and films also observed. Polyethylene terephthalate emerged as the dominant type, and transparent and blue SAMPs constituted the largest proportion. Over 50% of the SAMPs were smaller than 1 mm, with the smallest particle measuring 29 μm. Correlation and principal component analyses revealed that atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, wind speed, and wind direction significantly influenced the distribution of SAMPs. Backward trajectory modeling indicated that marine air masses diluted the SAMP pollution, whereas continental air masses exacerbated it. This study represents the first assessment of SAMP pollution in Xiamen, shedding light on the interplay between local pollution sources, environmental factors, air masses, industrial layout, and environmental policies. It emphasizes the need for increased attention to atmospheric microplastic pollution in coastal urban landscapes and underscores the importance of effective mitigation strategies. [Display omitted] • Suspended atmospheric microplastics (SAMPs) were studied in a coastal urban zone. • SAMPs in Xiamen were 0–0.062 items m−3, with average 0.010 ± 0.012 items m−3. • Sources and environmental policies led to more SAMPs in urban-rural fringe area. • Fibers were dominant SAMP form, with microbeads and films observed. • Year-round monitoring gives seasonal variations in SAMPs, enhancing representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To combat climate change and achieve climate-related Sustainable Development Goals, countries have been applying environmental taxes in various areas. Accordingly, this research analyzes the role of environmental tax in ensuring environmental quality. In doing so, the study focuses on G7 countries excluding Canada and Italy because of data unavailability, considers tax-based environmental taxes as the proxy of environmental precautions, uses load capacity factor (LCF) as the most recent environmental quality proxy, makes disaggregated and aggregated level analysis, performs novel quantile methods, and uses data from 1995/Q1 and 2020/Q4. The results present that at higher quantiles (i) energy-related environmental tax stimulates LCF in the United Kingdom (GBR) and the USA; (ii) resources-related environmental tax is beneficial to LCF in GBR, whereas it is partially helpful in France and Germany, and harmful in Japan and USA; (iii) transport-related environmental tax is beneficial for GBR, whereas it is partially helpful for France and Japan, and harmful for environmental quality in Germany and USA; (iv) total environmental taxes are good for GBR, whereas it is partially beneficial for France and harmful for environmental quality in Germany, Japan, and USA; (v) disaggregated and aggregated level environmental taxes have a causal impact on LCF across various quantiles; (vi) robustness of the results is validated. Thus, the study highlights the varying role of environmental taxes across countries, quantiles, and tax types on environmental quality. Hence, G7 policymakers should consider the changing structure in environmental policy formulation so that environmental tax practices can be beneficial in supporting environmental quality. [Display omitted] • The study examines the role environmental taxes (ET) on LCF in G7 countries. • The study applies novel quantile methods for the period 1995/Q1-2020/Q4. • ET have a heterogeneous effect on LCF in the countries. • United Kingdom benefits ET, while there is partial benefit for France and Germany. • The results are robust based on alternative economic method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amidst the global advancement of sustainable production, the green supply chain initiative is becoming increasingly significant in harmonizing environmental and economic interests. This study delves into the financial implications of such initiatives, focusing on a particular government-led green supply chain demonstration project. Utilizing a difference-in-differences model and data from firms involved in the project between 2010 and 2021, findings indicate a notable reduction in firms' financial distress. This result, framed within the resource-based view perspective, shed lights on how green policy value permeates a company's internal capabilities, aligning environmental goals with financial performance. Additionally, we found that when companies enhance the quality of their environmental information disclosure and decrease the concentration of their supply chain, the inhibitory effect of this demonstration policy on financial distress is amplified. This underscores the pivotal value of enhancing information transparency and maintaining a flexible supply chain structure in green supply chain practices. In conclusion, this study emphasizes the empirical link between sustainable operations and financial resilience, laying a strong theoretical groundwork for businesses to proactively adopt green practices and aiding in the government's crafting of environmental policies. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper chooses 98 mining cities in China from 2007 to 2021 as research samples. It investigates the policy practice of green development in mining cities according to the point of view of policy combination. We establish a super-efficiency model considering undesirable output to measure the green development level of mining cities and further construct a dynamic panel model based on the Gaussian mixture model (GMM) to test the transmission mechanism and heterogeneous effect of different types of environmental regulation to promote the green development of mining cities. The findings demonstrate that environmental regulations about command control, market incentives, and public participation can all help mining cities develop more sustainably. Additionally, there is a nonlinear relationship of an inverted "U" shape between the degree of green development in mining cities and environmental regulations related to command control. Combining policies can encourage the green development of mining cities, but there are crowding-out and substitution effects when environmental regulations are combined with market forces. Environmental regulation promotes urban green development by improving the energy consumption structure of mining cities. In this process, the level of digital development positively regulates the impact of environmental regulation on urban green development. Therefore, the government should choose environmental regulation tools and combinations according to local needs to achieve a multi-pronged effect of energy structure improvement and urban green development and use digital technology to support the green development of mining cities. • Command-controlled, market-motivated, and public-participating environmental regulations can significantly promote urban green development by promoting the improvement of energy structure. • There is an inverted' U' -shaped nonlinear relationship between the intensity of command and control environmental regulation and the green level of mining cities. • The level of digitization can positively regulate the relationship between environmental regulation and urban green development. • The combination of environmental regulations have a significant positive impact on urban green development. • The combination of environmental regulations has heterogeneity in urban green development due to factors such as regional resource endowment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To encourage enterprises to take green innovation, the Chinese government has been promoting the development of green finance. However, it has brought about the risk of "greenwashing". This article analyzes "greenwashing" from the perspective of government intervention, focusing on the stakeholder theory and institutional theory that influence the decision-making of participants in green finance, constructing a three-party evolutionary game model for enterprises, green financial institutions, and local governments. By comparing the stable strategy changes before and after the introduction of blockchain technology, the mechanism of blockchain in addressing the "greenwashing" risk in green finance is discussed. The study shows that: first, government regulation plays a crucial role in stimulating enterprises to engage in green innovation and encouraging green financial institutions to provide financial services; Second, before the application of blockchain technology, low-intensity regulation cannot curb the "greenwashing" of enterprises and fails to stimulate them to engage in green innovation. However, after applying blockchain technology, even under low-intensity regulation, enterprises will actively engage in green innovation under the reputation mechanism constructed in the architecture of a consortium chain. This work provides a theoretical framework and guidance for subsequent scholars to conduct quantitative research on the resolution of "greenwashing" in green finance from a government perspective using blockchain. [Display omitted] • Blockchain's role in solving "greenwashing" via institutional and stakeholder theory. • Quantitative research on blockchain and green finance using evolutionary game theory. • Discussed government role in China's mandatory green finance policy context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With China's proposed green development strategy, environmental protection investment needs are growing exponentially, and government funding alone is inadequate to meet the massive demand. To encourage social investment in green industries and achieve green development goals, the authorities implemented the major green finance policy entitled the Guidance on Building a Green Financial System (GBGFS) in late 2016. Whether this policy effectively promotes the development of environmentally friendly (EF) firms is an essential under investigated question. This study employs a difference-in-differences approach to explore whether and how the GBGFS affects EF firms' total factor productivity (TFP) with a sample from 2012 to 2021. Our benchmark regression and robustness tests demonstrate that the GBGFS effectively promotes EF firms' TFP. We also obtain three notable research findings with a number of additional analyses. (a) Although there is a certain lag, the policy effect was obviously enhanced with the passage of time. (b) Our threshold effect analyses reveal that the enhancing effect of the GBGFS on EF firms' TFP only becomes significant when research and development (R&D) investment, profitability (ROA), and government subsidies (GSF) exceed certain values. Further analysis demonstrates that firms with higher ROA and more GSF can effectively increase R&D. (c) Finally, GBGFS implementation has a greater impact on firm TFP in China's more developed region than its less developed regions. The findings suggest that regulatory authorities should persist in enforcing the GBGFS policy and encourage corporate R&D investment. In addition, the central government should design targeted policies based on the characteristics of different regions to improve the policy effect. • The Chinese authorities implemented the GBGFS on August 31, 2016. • The GBGFS effectively promotes EF firms' TFP (this result is robust). • The policy effect gradually expanded as the GBGFS was enforced over time. • The policy effect becomes significant when R&D, ROA and GSF exceed certain values. • The GBGFS has a greater impact in more developed region than less developed regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study empirically investigates whether targeted government spending and environmental policies promote green growth, as measured by greenhouse gas productivity. Government spending for pollution abatement (GEPA) represents non-market environmental policies encompassing both enforcement regulations and stakeholder incentives, while policy dummy represents province specific targeted environmental policies. Using panel data from 1995 to 2020 across ten provinces of Canada, an empirical model based on STIRPAT has been developed and estimated, addressing various econometric issues to ensure the robustness and consistency of the results. The findings confirm that both GEPA and targeted environmental policies are crucial determinants in achieving green growth. Additionally, variables such as business sector expenditures for R&D, the share of renewable energy, per capita GDP, and population also contribute to green growth. These results highlight the importance of the stick-and-carrot approach as a key strategy and policy tool for sustainable development. The implications of these findings extend beyond Canada and hold valuable lessons for emerging and developing countries that predominantly rely on command-and-control regulations without adequate support. To effectively address the challenge of achieving green growth, a coordinated approach that combines targeted government spending and environmental policies, supported by innovation and renewable energy exploration, is essential. Overall, this study's findings have significant implications for environmental sustainability on a global scale. [Display omitted] • Examines the effect of targeted government spending and environmental policies on green growth in Canada. • Uses greenhouse gas productivity as an index of green growth. • Estimates the empirical model developed addressing advanced econometric issues related to panel data for 1995–2020. • Controls renewable energy, innovation, per capita income, population. • Have significant implications for environmental sustainability on a global scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, stringent environmental policies have gained prominence to tackle rising ecological and environmental threats and achieve energy transition. The current research extends fiscal and environmental deliberations by analyzing how fiscal, environmental and energy policies impact energy transition in advanced industrial economies. Our empirical analysis helps us identify that renewable energy, economic developments and environmental stringency ensure energy transition. On the other hand, fossil fuels, governmental expenditures and taxation revenues hinder ecological progress and energy transition. Based on our analysis, we propose that policymakers must align fiscal and environmental policies to bring structural changes and upgrade energy infrastructure to combat environmental threats from climate change. • We evaluate the impact of fiscal policy, energy consumption and environmental policy on energy transition. • Renewable energy, economic developments and environmental stringency ensure environmental sustainability. • Nonrenewable energy, governmental expenditures and taxation revenues hinder energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Haze pollution caused by particulate matter such as PM2.5 and PM10 significantly affects public health. Confronted with haze pollution, people have increasingly taken to expressing opinions online to demand restrictions on pollution discharge by enterprises to protect their health rights. However, are such public demands met by the government and incorporated into policy agenda relating to environmental regulation policies? To investigate this question, this study employed text content analysis to examine the role of public opinion as an intermediary in the relationship between haze pollution and the formulation of environmental regulation policies, using a dataset of 460 environmental regulation policy documents and over 800,000 public opinions on environmental issues spanning from January 2011 to December 2021. We found that public opinion exerted a significant intermediary effect by linking haze pollution and environmental regulation policy tools. Further analysis revealed heterogeneity in the influence of public opinion on environmental regulation policy tools. Public opinion exhibited the most substantial intermediary effect on command-control policy tools (with a 6.68% intermediary effect), followed by economic incentive policy tools (4.65%) and social autonomy policy tools (4.58%). Additionally, there was a notable time lag in the impact of public opinion on environmental regulation policy tools. It took approximately 7–10 months for the government to respond to the disseminated public opinions. This study may shed light on how the government can encourage public engagement, respond to, and guide public opinion. [Display omitted] • Public opinion plays an intermediary role between haze and regulatory policy. • 7–10 months' time lag of environmental policy to public opinion was estimated. • The heterogeneity in the impact of public opinion on three policy tools was analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of China's environmental regulations, with a focus on the green credit policy, on green innovation in pursuit of the "carbon peak and carbon neutrality" goal. Given the implementation of the 2012 Green Credit Guidelines, this paper employs the Difference-in-Difference Method (DID) and conducts a quasi-natural experiment to empirically examine the interactions among the central government, local governments, and high-pollution and high-emission enterprises by exploring the impact of green credit policies on green innovation of these enterprises. Relying on 4503 samples of 237 high-pollution and high-emission enterprises listed in the main board in China from 2003 to 2021, this study reveals that the green credit policy can improve green innovation of these enterprises. Specifically, this study explores the detailed mechanism through which the green credit policy enables these enterprises to increase their market concentration and then the monopoly profits, which in turn promotes their green innovative productivity. In addition, this paper also reveals how local governments' political and financial incentives may serve as positive and negative moderating factors, respectively, within the impact mechanism. This study has valuable implications for how to effectively formulate and implement environmental regulations by balancing the interests of the central government, local governments and enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sand is a strategic natural resource that plays a key role in delivering ecological services, protecting biodiversity, promoting economic growth, and supplying means of subsistence. This study investigates the relationship between sand mining, land-use change, economic growth, environmental policy stringency, urbanization, biodiversity loss, and ecological footprint in BRICS economies using a quantile regression (MM-QR) approach over the period 1990–2020. For robustness, this study employs the Dumitrescu-Hurling causality panel test to explore and validate the long-term association among the variables. The empirical results reveal that urbanization, economic growth, land use changes and sand mining are all positively associated with environmental degradation in the long run. Results further indicate that weak environmental governance and biodiversity loss leads to deterioration of environmental quality. Overall, the study infers that sand is a common pool resource that is prone to the tragedy of the commons, posing a real threat to the environment and economic development in BRICS economies. The results highlight the importance of sustainable sand mining practices and environmental governance in promoting environmental quality and offset the negative consequences associated with this activity. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the global inclination of economies toward green solutions, the current study aims to explore the association between green energy transition, adjusted net saving, energy intensity, and carbon dioxide emission in China. To achieve this, a novel approach utilizing Wavelet analysis is employed to examine the dynamic association among these variables from 1979 to 2020. The analysis utilized continuous wavelet, wavelet coherence, and partial and multiple wavelet coherence techniques, offering a comprehensive understanding beyond the limitations of prior research by investigating the relationships over various time frames. The findings from the wavelet coherence analysis yielded intriguing insights, indicating that an increase in energy transition is likely to result in higher energy intensity and increased CO2 emissions. Surprisingly, the study observed a negative impact of adjusted savings on energy transition in the medium run, whereas in the long term, an increase in adjusted net savings was associated with higher carbon emissions in the Chinese economy. This highlights the intricate interplay between energy transition, adjusted savings, and environmental impacts, with different time scales playing a significant role in shaping these connections. Policymakers should carefully consider these dynamics to formulate effective strategies for sustainable development and carbon emission reduction in China. Furthermore, employing partial and multiple coherence analysis, the outcomes has demonstrated a strong interconnected correlations between energy intensity, green energy transition, CO2 emissions, and adjusted net savings across short-run, medium-run, and long-run time frequencies. Overall, the study concludes the positive link between energy and carbon emissions in China, while the effectiveness of the green energy transition remains vulnerable. The findings offer valuable insights for informed decision-making and policy implications, facilitating the adoption of appropriate measures to promote a greener and more sustainable future in China. • Study explores green energy transition, net saving, energy intensity, and CO 2 in China. • Advanced time-frequency based Wavelet analysis is used to analyze asymmetric relationships. • Energy transition is found to have positive link with CO 2 and energy intensity. • Net adjusted saving have positive effect on CO2 but negative on energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of using green finance policies to prevent climate-related systemic risk (CRSR) while promoting low-carbon production is of great concern. Despite its significance for a stable transition to low-carbon energy, this topic remains underexplored in the literature. Our study examines the impact of monetary policies promoting low-carbon development on CRSR based on China's low-carbon transition scenario. To achieve this, we develop a financial network model with a forward-looking climate stress-testing framework. This model captures banks' heterogeneous behaviors regarding carbon asset allocation and the systemic feedback effects of climate policy shocks in a multilayer network. Our findings reveal that targeted reductions in the required reserve ratio (RRR) and carbon reduction re-lending policies have significant and distinct effects on CRSR. We also observe that larger banks tend to have higher systemic importance and are more responsive to adjustments in low-carbon monetary policies. By contrast, relatively smaller banks demonstrate greater vulnerability to climate policy shocks. Additionally, these policies influence CRSR through mechanisms involving credit restructuring and interbank network interconnectedness. This study provides valuable insights for enhancing low-carbon financial policies and facilitating a stable low-carbon transition. • The impact of monetary policies promoting low-carbon development on climate-related systemic risk (CRSR) is analyzed. • A financial network with a climate stress-testing framework in China's low-carbon transition scenario is constructed. • Targeted reductions in the required reserve ratio (RRR) and carbon reduction re-lending policies significantly affect CRSR. • Their impact shows apparent differences in quantity- and price-based adjustments. • Influencing mechanisms based on credit restructuring and interbank network interconnectedness are verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]