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The pulp and paper industry accounts for approximately 5% of total industrial energy consumption and contributes 2% of direct carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from industries. World paper and paperboard demand and production are increasing significantly, leading to an increase in this sector's energy use and CO 2 emissions. Although current studies identify a wide range of energy-efficiency technologies that have already been commercialized for the pulp and paper industry, information is limited or scattered regarding new energy-efficiency technologies that are not yet fully commercialized. Development of emerging or advanced energy-efficiency technologies and their deployment in the market will be crucial for this industry's mid- and long-term energy saving and climate change mitigation strategies. This paper compiles available information on energy savings, environmental and other benefits, costs, and commercialization status for 25 emerging technologies to reduce the energy use and CO 2 emissions. The purpose is to provide a well-structured comprehensive review on these emerging energy-efficiency technologies for engineers, researchers, investors, policy makers, pulp and/or paper companies, and other interested parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to assess the environmental impacts of the Norwegian pulp and paper industry, considering the production of pulp fibres and printing paper. The pulp fibres included in this study are thermo-mechanical pulp and kraft pulp fibres, which differ with respect to the energy consumption and chemicals used during production. The assessed paper grades were super-calendered paper and newsprint. The study was a cradle to gate approach, and corresponds to an attributional life cycle assessment (LCA). The LCA was based on data collected from main pulp and paper producers in Norway. Importantly, aspects related to the increasing use of mineral fillers in the production of newsprints were assessed. The results showed that a reduction of more than 18% climate change impact (kg CO2 eq.) was achieved by increasing the fraction of fillers, in the newsprint furnish. Furthermore, the total climate change impact reduction depended on the applied energy mix. Assuming that the production of printing paper was based only on Norwegian energy mix, yielded a reduction of the climate change impact by more than 44% in 2011, compared to the production based on Scandinavian and European energy mix. Additionally, the input and output transport contributed to more than 20% impact in several cases. We thus concluded that the estimated environmental impacts were affected by; i) the furnish composition of a given paper quality, ii) the input and output transport and iii) the use of different primary grid energy sources. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Disposable paper cups comprise typical single-use plastic items, as they are lined internally with a thin plastic coating for waterproofing. They are consumed at a staggering rate worldwide, with the UK alone consuming around 7 million cups daily, thus annually producing around 30,000 tonnes of paper cup waste. Contrary to popular belief, less than 1 in 400 paper cups is currently recycled in the UK, which is in stark contrast to the waste hierarchy and the European Commission's ambitious Circular Economy Action Plan. Paper cups typically end up in landfill sites or even improperly disposed of, contributing to (micro)plastic waste and potentially polluting the world's oceans. The implications of the latter are not fully known yet and cannot be quantified by existing life cycle impact assessment methods. By employing the life cycle assessment methodology, UK's annual carbon footprint from paper cup consumption was found to be 75 kt of carbon dioxide equivalents, which is similar to that of manufacturing 11,500 mid-size passenger cars. Globally, their environmental footprint was found to be comparable to that of some 1.5 M average European inhabitants, indicating the nature and extent of the single-use plastics problem, which paper cups are just a typical example of. Paper cup recycling could reduce this environmental footprint by up to 40%, whereas switching to reusable cups appears to be more environmentally sustainable, achieving a threefold reduction in carbon emissions, which at global scale is more than twice Malta's annual carbon footprint. Results indicate that consumerism along with small daily choices, such as using reusable cups or bags instead of their disposable counterparts, could play a huge role in climate change. At policy level, no concrete measures to curb the superfluous consumption of paper cups, as well as of other single-use plastic items that are becoming increasingly ubiquitous, have materialised. Furthermore, it appears that decision- and policy-makers tend to step in to curtail wasteful and polluting practices only when environmental problems have started to generate widespread concern, instead of undertaking preventative policy measures. Image 1 • The environmental sustainability of disposable paper cups was examined. • 75 kt CO 2eq are emitted annually in the UK and 7.5 Mt CO 2eq globally. • Switching to reusable cups axes carbon emissions by threefold. • Robust LCIA methods should be introduced to account for (micro)plastic pollution. • Existing policy on single use plastics appears to be too little too late. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Product service systems (PSS) are an example of a novel business model billed as having the potential to significantly reduce the environmental burdens of production and consumption processes. However, despite widespread interest in PSS, consensus regarding their actual environmental impacts, particularly with regard to salient issues such as global warming, is lacking. Hence this paper explores existing research to investigate the state of the art regarding the climatic impacts of PSS, alongside the set of factors that influence climatic impacts. The paper comprises a systematic review of peer-reviewed academic literature, quantifying the extent to which different types of PSS have the capacity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across multiple product categories. Our study shows that significant reductions in climatic emissions are possible, but PSS are in many cases associated with more modest reductions and, in some cases, increased emissions. Further, we observe no clear differences in climatic impacts according to the type of PSS model that is deployed. Rather, differences in climatic impact are influenced by factors such as production and design alongside use-phase impacts and contextual factors such as transportation and the energy mix. The study argues that further research is needed to establish a more robust baseline upon which to draw conclusions regarding the sources of climatic impacts, and outlines fruitful ways for companies to tackle the complexities of climatic emissions that are beyond their control. • In some cases, product service systems can reduce climatic impacts by up to 80%. • In other cases, climatic impacts increase compared to traditional product sales. • Climatic impacts are influenced by use intensity, transportation and production. • Other contextual factors such as the energy mix play a role. • More quantitative assessments are needed with less reliance on estimations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current global landscape, food loss and waste (FLW) persist as a significant challenge, accounting for one-third of global food production and directly impacting 700 million individuals. Beyond its social ramifications, FLW incurs substantial economic costs and raises environmental and ethical concerns. To address this issue, our paper presents a comprehensive systematic overview within operations management, offering a framework that delineates diverse supply chain types, defines FLW, examines its multifaceted impacts, and outlines reduction strategies. Emphasizing a holistic perspective, we utilize various case study approaches to shed light on the global implications of FLW, aiming to contribute to ongoing research endeavors. In exploring the depth of FLW, we build upon two foundational premises: the actions taken by rational actors towards FLW reduction hinge on the balance between benefits and costs, guiding policy formulation. Effective policies necessitate a thorough understanding of synergies, potential unintended consequences and trade-offs. The absence of comprehensive information on FLW leads to both excessive and insufficient rates of FLW. Justifying public intervention lies in its potential to enhance food security, efficiency, and environmental sustainability, albeit quantifying these effects poses challenges. Our overview paper identifies key challenges in FLW policies, encompassing measurement, quantification, interdependencies within the and trade-offs, and value chain in food policy objectives. Despite these challenges, the paper guides the enhancement of loss measurement for targeted interventions, emphasizing investments in policies that foster a conducive business environment and government-led initiatives in awareness and incentive modification. The study also sheds light on crucial gaps in knowledge, including data deficiencies and variability in estimates, calling for standardized data collection methodologies and targeted research initiatives. By addressing these gaps and emphasizing collaborative efforts, this research contributes to a nuanced understanding of FLW, advocating for improved strategies to tackle this multifaceted issue. • Comprehensive Ops Framework: Presents systematic framework for FLW reduction in supply chains. • Multifaceted FLW Impacts: Explores economic, environmental, and social impacts. • Urgent Data Gaps: Emphasizes need for current data on FLW, especially in BRICS nations. • Culture-Specific Solutions: Highlights importance of tailored innovations for waste reduction. • Climate Nexus and Renewable Energy Integration: Explores FLW, climate change, and renewable energy synergy for sustainable, low-carbon paths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the technological responses to concern about the healthiness and sustainability of red meat consumption as well as growing global food insecurity has been the development of plant-based meats. While still niche industries, plant-based meats are increasing in diversity and visibility and are often accompanied by scientific claims about their potential contribution to sustainability, health and nutrition. In this paper we analyse these claims from the perspective of critical metrology, looking not only at the state of knowledge about plant- and animal-based beef but also how knowledge is being produced. Such research is vital in understanding not only what is known about a topic but also the limitations of that knowledge in terms of influences and gaps, to shape how research can be done better. The research is based on a scoping review of scientific papers that compare the sustainability and nutritional properties of plant- and animal-based beef, with a particular focus on the Australian context. Our analysis shows that there are some points of consensus, such as plant-based beef having lower greenhouse gas emissions than animal-based beef and that plant-based burgers have lower total fat and saturated fat than animal-based burgers. However, we also find points of difference due to variability in production systems, products and approaches to measurement. We discuss how a metrological regime is forming that bears the imprint and interests of the industries involved, influencing the metrics and geographies that are studied and creating critical absences in understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract With fast development and urbanization, Chinese cities are facing several challenges including issues of environmental pollution, climate change, resource depletion and landfills shortage. Waste recycling is one effective way to respond these challenges. Under such a situation, this paper aims to evaluate energy saving and carbon reduction potential of recycling wastes by taking Shanghai, the biggest city in China, as a case study. Results show that 8.7 Mt standard coal (tce) and 16.81 Mt CO 2 could be reduced under current recycling system in Shanghai. And recycling of waste steel and nonferrous metals were the two dominant contributors, accounting for about 44% and 42% of energy saving, and 60% and 33% of CO 2 reduction, respectively. If the recycling rates of main recyclable wastes were improved to 100%, additional 6.44 Mt energy and 10.02 Mt CO 2 could be further saved, mainly from recycling waste glass, waste plastic and waste metals. Adoption of RPF (Refuse Plastic & paper Fuel) could further contribute to 1.24 Mt energy saving and 2.67 Mt CO 2 reduction. Finally, policy implications on establishing a mature recycling system and promoting RPF technologies are discussed, in which the potential on reducing total energy consumption and CO 2 emission of Shanghai can reach 6.6% and 4.9%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed not only attitudes and habits related to health care but also encompassed all other spheres even those related to environmental attitudes and pro-environmental behaviour. All the people spending the majority of their time at home had additional opportunities to change their habits, particularly those related to environmental aspects. Thus, the aim of this paper was to examine the Covid-19 contribution to the changes in the environmental, climate change and pandemic concerns during the period of the second wave and the slowdown of the Covid-19 pandemic before the other crises such as the energy crisis and inflation began. Furthermore, in this paper, the changes in resource-saving and waste-sorting behaviour and its determinants were analysed. The results revealed that during the pandemic the environmental and climate change concern increased significantly, and people also declared that the pandemic has encouraged them to sort waste and save natural resources more. Meanwhile, the concern about the Covid-19 pandemic decreased due to successful vaccination, other management tools for this illness and the emerging of another crisis. After analysing the main factors of changes in resource-saving and waste-sorting behaviour, we found that the changes in environmental concern influenced these behaviours the most. Changes in the Covid-19 pandemic concern also statistically significantly encouraged people to change resource-saving and waste-sorting behaviour. The environmental risk during the Covid-19 pandemic, significantly impacted the changes in resource-saving behaviour only. Meanwhile, the changes in climate change concern insignificantly influenced both pro-environmental behaviours. Therefore, this study reveals that the Covid-19 pandemic has taught people not only to care about the environment more but to carry out pro-environmental behaviour as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of electric vehicles (EVs) lies in the fact that they are seen as a key solution to the climate change problem. In the last decade, this topic has received significant interest from the scientific community, contributing to publications in different areas. However, the existing literature is fragmented, and efforts have not been made to categorize and analyze it from a freight logistics perspective. This work aims to fill this gap by presenting a systematic literature review (SLR) of the potential impacts of EVs on sustainable road-freight transport operations, including in urban areas. We reviewed 237 peer-reviewed articles for bibliometric and literature classification analysis, whereby 119 articles were subsequently studied for content analysis and research gaps related to sustainability approaches. The bibliometric analysis showed significant growth in the body of research in the past two years, reflected in the number of journal papers, authors, and references. In the literature and keywords analysis, we identified five main categories and research areas: economic and competitive aspects, city logistics, environmental sustainability, vehicle fleet operations, and infrastructure and technology. In addition, this paper revealed eight key research gaps for future research: multimodal integration, long-haul and heavy-duty truck approaches, emerging economies, business models, social factors, charging infrastructure inclusion, and fleet replacement policies. These findings can enlighten researchers and practitioners toward sustainable research and real-life applications of electromobility in freight logistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are frequently the most relevant element of a company's total emissions since they account for more than eighty percent. However, they are difficult to calculate since many stakeholders in the value chain are involved and emission data are usually not shared among them. Sustainable finance could provide a link to this discussion by providing data, digital data infrastructures and evaluation instruments. However, the existing research today is either limited to analyzing the levels of scope 3 emissions or to calculating them based on different measurement methods. How to implement scope 3 emissions reporting by solving the data sharing challenge remains mainly unexplored. This paper aims to close this gap by developing an approach, which chooses sustainable finance as a connecting element that (1) combines different calculation methods, (2) integrates cross-value chain data from different stakeholders and (3) combines primary and secondary data in a single model. The approach was developed in a prototype that uses real world data from collaboration with the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance to evaluate its applicability. The findings of the prototype indicate that a digital data infrastructure can improve the calculation of scope 3 GHG emissions by improving data availability, accessibility and reliability and at the same time shows that the calculations are only as good as the data, which fuels this calculation. With this, the paper contributes to the theoretical and practical discussion about scope 3 GHG emission data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climate crisis is recognized as one of the world's most serious concerns, posing a threat to environmental, social, and economic growth. However, previous work has failed to address the dynamic effects through which economic growth may affect green growth and climate crisis. In this research, we take a closer look at the impact of carbon emissions, eco-innovation adoption, and international collaboration on economic growth and the influence of economic growth on green growth. This paper used the generalized method of moments (GMM) for 54 African countries from 2010 to 2019, allied with an imbalanced panel of 540 observations. This paper finds a positive relationship between carbon emissions, eco-innovation international cooperation, and economic growth with p-values lower than 0.047. Our study discovers economic growth's robust and positive impact on green growth with a p-value of 0.009. This research finds a three-pronged mediating effect of economic growth between its driving factors and green growth. Lastly, this paper furnishes new visions into the argument over economic growth versus green growth. It informs policymakers of the need to pay attention to the growing effect of eco-innovation driving factors on attaining sustainable and greener growth and climate crisis mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming has aroused the attention all over the world, because not only can it directly damage the living environment, but it can also impact on the social and economic development, of a region in an obvious and far-reaching way. In this paper, we builded a trans-log production function model incorporating variables, such as rainfall, labor force, technology and temperature to simulate how climate changes impacted on the regional economics. Time series data of the domestic economy of Nanjing, a city in the southeast China, between 1996 and 2017, were used to verify the production theory of trans-log production frontier. The results showed that: with the rainfall increased and the temperature declined, the climate impact on the economy and the absolute value of the output elasticity of the frontier diminished. In addtion, the climate change was also positively related to the capital investment. The larger variation of temperature negatively impacted on the economic development. • This paper builds a trans-log production function model. • Time series data are used to verify the production theory of trans-log production frontiers. • Analyzing the effect of climate change on the regional economy. • The larger variation of temperature negatively impacted on the economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analysed and summarised the significant research outputs published on the environmental impact assessment of mining and mineral processing industries through life cycle assessment. The paper presents valuable insights in identifying the gaps, where should the focus be in the mining and mineral processing industries for a sustainable future. Mining and mineral processing industries have been the key focus of research in many countries due to its increasing sustainability concerns that affect global warming and climate change. Use of heavy equipment that consumes electrical energy, mechanical energy, and an enormous amount of process heat is a key contributor to the overall impacts in the industry. Due to the use of heavy equipment and associated energy consumption, these industrial sectors contribute notably to global warming, human health, ecosystems, and resources. Among the various environmental impact assessment tools which are widely used to identify sustainability indicators, life cycle assessment (LCA) is a well-justified approach among the practitioners and researchers. Though state of the art technological tools and resources are being used now a days, there is still a research gap in identifying the key mining processes which need to be the focus of attention. Renewable energy integration in the mineral processing sector and process heating from green energy sources is becoming the emergent field of research. The review results reveal, the assessment indicators in human health and ecosystems are key factors that are mostly missing in the previous studies which are crucial for people or community living nearby mining area. This review paper identifies the research gaps to the existing literature that can form the base for future research direction in the field of LCA and sustainable energy integration in mining and mineral processing industries. • A review based on life cycle assessment studies in mining and mineral processing. • 16 metal mining industries are reviewed. • Summarised key factors of environmental effects using LCA. • Future research directions are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present situation, renewable energy has become a vital source to mitigate energy crises and environmental threats. In order to ensure that women's contributions, knowledge and opinions represent a significant portion of the expanding energy sector, it is crucial to approach the development of renewable energy from a gender perspective. Bibliometric analysis was performed to identify prior research on two primary terms, "Gender" and "Renewable Energy", from 1995 to 2022. Identifying the most influential countries, authors, publications, journals, and co-occurrence of keywords helps to understand the evaluation and trends of the research through network visualisations by bibliometric approach. This paper presents a comprehensive bibliometric review of the influence of gender on renewable energy. The result of this paper gives details picture of the gender impact on renewable energy during the period from 1995 to 2022. The paper centred on bibliometric and cluster analysis based on the two most important databases, Web of Science and Scopus. The study involved utilising various bibliometric tools, including R Studio, VOSviewer, and Biblioshiny. The study revealed an increase in publications and citations during the third period since 2017, after the United Nations set the target of the Sustainable Development Goal. Most influential countries and productive authors belong to China, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom. Energy Research and Social Science are predominated in publications on the research topic. In addition, the co-occurrence of keywords found major keywords related to this topic, such as renewable energy, gender, women, knowledge, sustainability, climate change and sustainable development. Finally, the study observed a huge research gap because developing nations are more affected by the lack of gender-influencing policies on the growth of renewable energy. Thus, the study provides a comprehensive overview of research in this field that can help researchers and stakeholders identify potential ways for future research in gender considerations on renewable energy access by formulating effective policies to change society and reach the Sustainable Development Goals. • Gender has become a focal point of interest within the renewable energy sector. • Using network visualisation, bibliometric analysis examines research trends by keyword occurrence and country collaborations. • Publication, citation, journal, and authorship contribution trends are to be analysed. • The research growth across different periods was discussed for potential future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the increasingly severe challenges of global climate change and sustainable development, accurate prediction of daily carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions has become crucial. However, current research on real-time daily forecasts remains relatively scarce, often limited to annual predictions and point estimates. This paper proposes an innovative integrated model, based on quantile regression and Attention-Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BILSTM), specifically designed for probabilistic prediction of daily carbon emissions. Testing the model on daily carbon emission data from major carbon-emitting countries including China, the United States, India, Russia, and Italy has demonstrated its superior performance across various metrics, including mean squared error (MSE), mean absolute error (MAE), coefficient of determination (R2), and normalized average width of prediction intervals (PINAW), compared to other benchmark models. This achievement not only highlights the model's effectiveness in predicting daily carbon emissions but also provides policymakers with a powerful tool for real-time monitoring and assessment of carbon emissions. Furthermore , the application of probabilistic forecasting methods enables decision-makers to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the potential range of future carbon emissions, providing strong support for the formulation of targeted policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roads play a vital role in transportation systems, and their construction and maintenance expenses are high. Those reasons make crucial the examination of factors that accelerate road deterioration and those factors' negative impacts on societies. Climatic-related elements, especially temperature and precipitation, significantly affect the quality and lifespans of roads. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has reported that increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is causing changes in climate and that the rate of change has accelerated during the past several decades. To assess the impacts of changing climatic parameters on flexible-pavement performance, this study used 32 climate models to evaluate the performance of interstate, primary, and secondary roads across 11 diverse locations with varying traffic and climatic conditions. The study's findings reveal that changing climate exacerbates pavement distresses, leading to reduced pavement lifespans and increased numbers of reconstruction projects, which in turn raise demands for materials and equipment and contribute to higher GHG emissions. The effects of changing climate and changing climate's associated economic and environmental costs make the application of various engineering solutions to enhance pavement resilience essential, as described in this paper, in the absence of comprehensive emissions reduction strategies. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil erosion changes become more unclear in the future due to climate change and increased human activity. However, the spatiotemporal heterogeneity in the driving effects of key factors on soil erosion remains inadequately understood on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains (NSTM). In this paper, the spatiotemporal evolution of soil erosion on the NSTM was evaluated in the historical period (2000–2015) by the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model. Subsequently, the FLUS-CMIP6-RUSLE model was employed to predict soil erosion in the future period (2030–2050). Then, the GTWR model was used to dissect the spatiotemporal heterogeneity in the driving effects of precipitation and vegetation. The results indicated that soil erosion on the NSTM fluctuated from 2000 to 2015, increasing by 1.77 t ha −1 yr −1. Soil erosion areas mainly occurred in Changji City, Fukang City, Hutubi County, Mulei County, Qitai County, and Turpan City. The soil erosion modulus in 2030, 2040, and 2050 under different climate scenarios will be 26.56,28.83, and 37.49 t ha −1 yr −1, respectively. The spatial pattern of soil erosion is similar to the historical period. Precipitation was the main factor intensifying soil erosion in the eastern and western counties from 2000 to 2020, while the soil erosion change in central counties was affected by vegetation. In the future, soil erosion change in the counties (i.e., Karamay, Yili, Tacheng, Shihezi, Manas, Qitai, and Mulei) will be driven by precipitation. The vegetation will be the main driver of soil erosion change in central and eastern counties (i.e., Urumqi, Turpan, Fukang City, Jimsar County, and Changji City). This study firstly attempts to explore the spatiotemporal heterogeneity in the driving effects of precipitation and vegetation using Spatial-Temporal Geographically Weighted Regression (GTWR) in urban agglomerations of NSTM. It is meaningful to explore erosion-prone regions and to implement rational soil conservation measures in the study region and similar regions in the world. [Display omitted] • A coupled model was constructed to predict soil erosion for future scenarios on NSTM. • The spatiotemporal heterogeneity in effects of precipitation and vegetation were explored using GTWR. • Precipitation exacerbated soil erosion in eastern and western counties (2000 - 2020); central counties more by vegetation. • Vegetation to be key factor driving soil erosion change in Turpan; Wujiaqv and Mulei by precipitation (2030 - 2050). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of universities in climate change education (CCE) is of great importance if the scientific, social, environmental and political challenges the world faces are to be met. Future leaders must make decisions from an informed position and the public will need to embed climate change mitigation tools into their work and private life. It is therefore essential to understand the range of CCE strategies being taken globally by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and to explore and analyse the ways that HEIs could better address this challenge. Consistent with this research need, this paper offers an analysis of the extent to which HEIs in 45 countries approach CCE and provides a conceptual framework for exploring how HEIs are embedding CCE into their curricula. In addition to the specialist approach (where students choose to study a degree to become experts in climate change adaptation and mitigation tools), the CCE framework developed identifies and highlights three other approaches HEIs can deploy to embed CCE: Piggybacking, mainstreaming and connecting (transdisciplinary). Using data gathered in an explorative international survey involving participants working across academic and senior management, this paper illustrates the different approaches taken and analyses practical examples of current CCE practice from across the world. Responses from 212 university staff from 45 countries indicated that CCE was highly variable – no clear pattern was identified at the country level, with CCE approaches varying significantly, even within individual HEIs. This plurality highlights the wide range of ideas and examples being shared and used by institutions in very different countries and contexts, and underlines the importance of the independence and autonomy of HEIs so that they can choose the right CCE approaches for them. To highlight the breadth and variety of approaches that were uncovered by our survey, the paper offers a range of examples illustrating how climate change education may be embedded in a higher education context, some of which could be replicated in HEIs across the world. The conceptualisation of CCE and the examples given in this paper are valuable for anyone who is thinking about strategies for embedding more climate education in the higher education curriculum. • The emphasis to climate change at universities programmes is limited at present. • Possibilities for implementation of climate change in the curriculum are overseen. • A conceptual framework to describe climate change at universities was developed. • Practical examples show how it can be incorporated at universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Railways are a rather efficient transport mean, and yet there is increasing interest in reducing their energy consumption and making them more sustainable in the current context of climate change. Many studies try to model, analyse and optimise the energy consumed by railways, and there is a wide diversity of methods, techniques and approaches regarding how to formulate and solve this problem. This paper aims to provide insight into this topic by reviewing up to 52 papers related to railways energy consumption. Two main areas are analysed: modelling techniques used to simulate train(s) movement and energy consumption, and optimisation methods used to achieve more efficient train circulations in railway networks. The most used methods in each case are briefly described and the main trends found are analysed. Furthermore, a statistical study has been carried out to recognise relationships between methods and optimisation variables. It was found that deterministic models based on the Davis equation are by far (85% of the papers reviewed) the most common in terms of modelling. As for optimisation, meta-heuristic methods are the preferred choice (57.8%), particularly Genetic Algorithms. Highlights • Modelling and optimisation methods for railways energy efficiency are reviewed. • Modelling methods provide reliable simulations of the trains' energy consumption. • Optimisation methods help obtaining the most efficient solutions for train traffic. • Most used modelling methods are deterministic, based on Davis equation. • Most used optimisation methods are meta-heuristics, mainly genetic algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Much literature discusses higher education as an agent for sustainable development, but the extent to which higher education contributes to unsustainable economic and social systems receives less attention. This paper examines the environmental impacts of international student mobility in higher education. Combining several datasets, the paper presents a model of greenhouse gas emissions associated with international student mobility. Estimates suggest that these emissions are substantial and are rising faster than overall global emissions, but the emissions per student are slowly decreasing, largely due to changes in the patterns of mobility. The paper concludes that although international exchange is increasingly important, a meaningful consideration of higher education for sustainable development should take account of environmental costs of international mobility alongside its benefits. Highlights • Estimates emissions from international student mobility in higher education. • Considers emissions from travel and changes in consumption. • Estimates at least 14 megatons of CO 2 per year associated with student mobility. • Emissions per mobile student are decreasing as mobility patterns change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Most existing studies on environmental regulations and the location dynamics of pollution-intensive industries regard new environmental procedures as an incremental development process, and neglect the influence of sudden changes in environmental regulations triggered by a pollution crisis. Using the drinking water crisis in the Taihu Lake Watershed (TLW) in 2007 as an example, this paper examines the spatial behavior of pollution-intensive firms across the TLW, and pays special attention to the regional differences in the effectiveness of enforcing environmental regulations. We find that the pollution haven hypothesis works efficiently in the short term after an unexpected pollution crisis because of the immediate strengthening of environmental regulations by local governments under pressure from the central government and the public. However, the effect of strict environmental policies was compromised by differences in the effectiveness of policy enforcement across the watershed. Specifically, when other regions (for example, Huzhou) were compared with Wuxi (the site of the crisis in the present study), these regions were found to be relatively insensitive to the effects of the pollution incidents and the environmental regulations that were triggered. Highlights • This paper examines spatial behaviors of pollution-intensive firms across the Taihu Lake watershed in response to the water crisis. • The paper pays special attention to the regional difference in enforcement effectiveness of environmental regulations. • Pollution haven hypothesis works efficiently in the short run. • The effect of stringent environmental policies was compromised by differences in policy enforcement effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract For the water sector to cope with rising populations and the anticipated impacts of climate change, increasing amounts of construction output are needed to build water-related infrastructure. Amidst emerging operational energy efficiencies and gradual grid decarbonisation, the relative impact and extent of embodied carbon dioxide equivalent (embodied CO 2 e) effected from the construction and maintenance of water sector infrastructure is likely to rise. For practitioners in the water and construction sectors, there is a growing need to be able to understand and account for embodied CO 2 e. However, the contribution of embodied CO 2 e as part of the whole life cycle impacts of water related infrastructure is disputed in the current literature, and with only a handful of studies suggesting it is important its significance is not established. This work aims to explore this issue, and provide clarity. This paper shows the calculations involved to measure the embodied and operational CO 2 e of Old Ford Water Recycling Plant, a small blackwater recycling treatment facility producing 574 m3/day of reclaimed water. For the analyses, embodied carbon dioxide coefficients (ECCs) are used that were provided by the water operator Thames Water Utilities Ltd (TWU), and based on its supply chain, and datasets from Ecoinvent v3.1, a commercially available assessment tool. The final aggregated carbon footprint values calculated are 1.430 kgCO 2 e (TWU in-house analysis) and 1.566 kgCO 2 e (Ecoinvent) per cubic metre of recycled water. The results show that the contribution of embodied CO 2 e is significant, making up 50.7% (TWU) and 77.3% (Ecoinvent) of the total carbon footprint value in each analysis. The research identified that assessments could be improved if there was higher-quality data provided by manufacturers and suppliers on the embodied CO 2 e content of materials, components, and equipment. This paper further illustrates differences between calculations using generic data (Ecoinvent) and supply chain data, and the difficulties involved in producing functionally equivalent life cycle inventories. Graphical abstract Image 10027 Highlights • Contribution of embodied carbon is significant in water recycling plant case. • Embodied carbon deemed important in future project design and operation. • Generic data distorts true extent of accounted embodied impacts. • Robust information from supply chain can improve assessment accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Improving rural household energy efficiency is an important policy issue for climate change mitigation in China. A better understanding of the factors affecting farmers' energy-efficient appliance use behavior can help policymakers design more effective policies. This paper explores the effect of farmers' risk preferences and loss aversion on their energy-efficient appliance use behavior in rural China. Using unique data from a survey and a paired lottery experiment completed by 235 rural household heads in the Dazu District of China, this study finds that the farmers' risk preferences and loss aversion have significant effects on their energy-efficient appliance use behavior. The more risk-averse farmers are less likely to buy or use energy-efficient appliances. The farmers who are more loss averse are more willing to purchase and more likely to use durable energy-efficient appliances. In addition, the farmers' demographic factors (age, gender, education, and family location), their perceptions of climate change adaptation and their trust attitudes have significant effects on their energy-efficient appliance use behavior. This paper contributes to the emerging literature that relates risk preferences and loss aversion in experiments to farmers' energy-efficient appliance use behavior. Highlights • The analysis is based on a unique data set combining a survey and economic experiments. • The average response of our sample is risk averse and loss averse. • The more risk-averse farmers are less likely to use energy-efficient appliances. • The more loss-averse farmers are more willing to use durable energy-efficient appliances. • Farmers' socioeconomic status and trust attitudes affect their use behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A number of empirical methods have been developed to study China's sectoral carbon emissions (CSCE). Measuring these emissions is important for climate change mitigation. While several articles have reviewed specific methods, few attempts conduct a systematic analysis of all the major research methods. In total 807 papers were published on CSCE research between 1997 and 2017. The primary source of literature for this analysis was taken from the Web of Science database. Based on a bibliometric analysis using knowledge mapping with the software CiteSpace, the review identified five common families of methods: 1) environmentally-extended input-output analysis (EE-IOA), 2) index decomposition analysis (IDA), 3) econometrics, 4) carbon emission control efficiency evaluation and 5) simulation. The research revealed the main trends in each family of methods and has visualized this research into ten research clusters. In addition, the paper provides a direct comparison of all methods. The research results can help scholars quickly identify and compare different methods for addressing specific research questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To date, sustainable development has been the most important discourse informing planning, a powerful rhetoric for solving environmental problems that shows confidence in human ingenuity and technological advancements. However, recent advances in information and communication technologies, are prompting the development of smart(er) approaches to (sustainable) development, which might be signifying a departure from the more traditional, or perhaps earlier, greener narratives underpinning sustainable development. Within this context and informed by analysis of the literature, this paper aims to reflect on the extent to which ideas of going green and going smart are converging or diverging from the path towards sustainable development. This is done using convergence theory and Bennet's typology (1991) of similarities as an analytical framework. The findings suggest that the convergence of greening and smart ideas for sustainable development might be better achieved if smart-centric approaches to policy- and planning are subsumed in the overarching vision of environmental quality and resilience, with green approaches to urban development setting the path and driving decisions towards a sustainable future. Highlights • Climate risk and innovations in practice are suggesting a move away from greening efforts in planning for sustainable development. • In the name of resource and efficiency use, cities are responding by adopting smart(er) approaches to development. • This paper explores whether green and smart approaches converge, diverge or diffuse in their sustainable development quest. • Greater convergence could be achieved if smart = centric approaches were subsumed in green approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Despite the heightened urgency of curbing carbon emissions around the world, the healthcare sector in general, and the pharmaceutical sector in particular have received very little attention from the sustainability community in terms of their contribution to the global carbon footprint. In this paper, we conduct an analysis of the overall contributions and the historical emissions trends of the pharmaceutical sector, as well as an industry-specific comparative analysis of the major pharmaceutical companies in the world. Surprisingly, our analysis reveals that the pharmaceutical industry is significantly more emission-intensive than the automotive industry. We also use a previously published mathematical framework linking national target emissions to the target emission intensity of the pharmaceutical sector to derive the emission intensity of the pharmaceutical sector required for the US to meet its reductions commitments per the now defunct Obama-administration commitments at the 2015 Paris Agreement. We identify the excess emitters among the top-15 Pharmaceutical companies, from those that are leading the pack with their emissions improvement efforts. The results are quite instructive as we find a far greater variability amongst the Top-15 pharmaceuticals than the Top-10 automotive companies, suggesting a very disparate set of environmental practices within the industry. The paper should elicit further in-depth studies of the environmental performance of the pharmaceutical sector and help inform policy makers, business leaders and academicians on how to help curb this unwarranted level of emissions in this important and growing industry sector. Graphical abstract We conduct an analysis of the overall contributions and the historical emissions trends of the pharmaceutical sector, as well as an industry-specific comparative analysis of the major pharmaceutical companies in the world. Surprisingly, our analysis reveals that the pharmaceutical industry is significantly more emission-intensive than the automotive industry. We also use a previously published mathematical framework linking national target emissions to the target emission intensity of the pharmaceutical sector to derive the emission intensity of the pharmaceutical sector required for the US to meet its reductions commitments per the now defunct Obama-administration commitments at the 2015 Paris Agreement. We then use the same framework to identify the excess emitters among the top 15 Pharmaceutical companies, from those that are leading the pack with their emissions improvement efforts. There again, the results are quite instructive as we find a far greater variability amongst the Top 15 pharmaceuticals than the Top 10 automotive companies. Image 1 Highlights • Assessment and comparative analysis of GHG emissions of Top-15 global pharmaceutical companies. • The pharmaceutical industry emission intensity is about 55% higher than the automotive's. • There is a great level of variability in emissions (up to 5x) between peers with comparable revenues. • We calculate the intensities and maximum emissions required to comply with the Paris Agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Electrifying urban transportation through the adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs) has great potential to mitigate two global challenges, namely climate change and energy scarcity, and also to improve local air quality and further benefit human health. This paper was focused on the six typical factors potentially influencing the purchase behaviour of EVs in Beijing, China, namely vehicle price, vehicle usage, social influence, environmental awareness, purchase-related policies and usage-related policies. Specifically, this study used the data collected in a paper-based questionnaire survey in Beijing from September 2015 to March 2016, covering all of the 16 administrative regions, and tried to quantify the relative importance of the six factors, based on their weights (scores) given by participants. Furthermore, Multinomial Logit (MNL) models and Moran's I (a measure of global spatial autocorrelation) were used to analyse the weights of each factor from statistical and spatial perspectives, respectively. The results suggest that 1) vehicle price and usage tend to be more influential among the six factors, accounting for 32.3% and 28.1% of the importance; 2) Apart from the weight of social influence, the weights of the other five factors are closely associated with socio-demographic characteristics, such as individual income and the level of education; 3) people having similar attitudes towards vehicle usage (Moran's I = 0.10) and purchase restriction (Moran's I = 0.14) tend to live close to each other. This paper concludes with a discussion on applying the empirical findings in policy making and modelling of EV purchase behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to evaluate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of a Chinese highway tunnel in the life cycle. Life cycle assessment (LCA) method is adopted in the paper. Based on rock mass classification and pavement categories, five different functional units have been proposed for the first time. The system boundaries, processes and assumptions are defined. The study results indicate: 1) the GHG emissions of a double-track four-lane Chinese highway tunnel in 100 years can be up to 375.5 thousand tons of CO 2 eq. Cement and electricity contribute to more than 80% of the total emissions in all functional units. 2) The construction stage, operation stage and maintenance stage emit 30.89%, 56.12% and 12.99% of the total GHG respectively. During the construction stage, casting and lining, rock support and road work are the top three GHG emission processes. 3) Rock conditions are discovered to be an important factor of affecting GHG emissions in tunnels. The GHG emissions of the 1-m Chinese highway tunnel are between 82 t to 113 t CO 2 eq. With the increase of rock mass grades, GHG emissions rapidly rise if the pavement design stays the same. The emission differences among the functional units are mainly from materials. 4) Asphalt pavements tend to generate more GHG emissions than concrete pavement due to the more frequent replacements of asphalt pavements. This paper investigates the influences of rock conditions and pavement types on the GHG emissions of Chinese tunnels in the life cycle, which can provide a scientific reference for policy making of the Chinese government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Cities do play significant roles in tackling global environmental changes. Decoupling economic growth from environmental pressures is critical for global sustainable development, however, few studies pay attention to the decoupling analysis at city level. This paper conducts a comparative study of the decoupling performance of economic output from CO 2 emissions between Beijing and Shanghai, the top two cities in China. In this paper, the decoupling trends and the decoupling effects are explored from a sectoral perspective, by combining the Tapio decoupling elasticity and the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) model. The results show that Beijing and Shanghai both experienced weak decoupling in construction, expansive negative decoupling in transport, expansive coupling in trade, and weak decoupling in others over the period 2000–2015. Moreover, agriculture appeared strong decoupling in Beijing, and recessive decoupling in Shanghai; industry showed strong decoupling in Beijing, and weak decoupling in Shanghai. The decoupling effects showed different magnitudes and patterns in industrial sectors between Beijing and Shanghai. Overall, per-capita GDP and population growth inhibited the decoupling, while energy intensity, industrial share, energy mix accelerated the decoupling process. Highlights • The decoupling of sectoral economic output from carbon emissions in Beijing and Shanghai are investigated. • Beijing's industry enjoyed better decoupling performance than Shanghai's industry. • Transport should be put more emphasis in further decoupling efforts. • Energy intensity is crucial effect accelerating the decoupling process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The Sustainable Development Goals agreed by the United Nations in September 2015 comprise 17 goals and 169 targets aimed at integrating matters related to sustainable development into the overall economic, environmental and social frameworks of countries. Whereas the SDGs have a global dimension, their action implementation depends on the level of priority different countries give to them, and on how sustainability issues compete with a country's main problems. The aim of this paper was to identify the main Sustainable Development Goals approached by experts from different geographic regions, according to their experience and research area, and to discuss the relation between these goals and the main local issues and challenges of each region. The methodology starts with snowball sampling to collect information from experts from all geographic regions, through contact networks of universities in different countries. With the information about the goals researched by the participating experts, an analysis of the relation between the study focus and the geographical regions of origin was conducted. A total of 266 specialists from North America, Latin America/Caribbean, Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania participated in the survey. Based on the sample used, it can be said that there is a relation between the local problems or challenges observed in some regions and the main areas of interest of the surveyed experts, with a general emphasis on the study of goals 4, 11 and 13. Based on the data gathered, the paper presents a set of examples of positive and negative situations in the various regions, and considers the extent to which some Sustainable Development Goals are being pursued by research on a worldwide basis. Graphical abstract Image Highlights • The SDGs are now being implemented by many countries. • There are differences in the emphasis to the implementation of the SDGs across different geographical regions. • Goals related to Climate Action, Sustainable Cities and Education seem to be among the most popular ones. • The research gaps suggest that many SDGs deserve more attention in order not to "leave anyone behind". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Increased global competition in the agricultural sector is rapidly changing the structure of farms and farming. As the number of small and diversified farms (often family-owned) decreases, the number of large and specialized farms (often corporate-owned) is increasing. In this transformation, the agricultural sector is more and more concerned with strategy, innovation, and competition in the effort to be more productive and more profitable. At the same time, the sector faces demands that it become more environmentally responsible in its policies and practices. This paper proposes a Lean Implementation Framework that small and mid-size farms can use as they aim to increase production and profit and yet support environmental sustainability. This case study takes an action-oriented research approach that focuses on the implementation of a Green Lean approach at 34 Swedish farms using various Lean tools. The paper describes how training sessions, farm visits, workshops, and counseling were used to introduce the farmers to the benefits and risks of the implementation of a new business model that added Green elements to the traditional business model design. The paper concludes with recommendations for adaptations to the Framework and suggestions for future research. Highlights • Lean principles and practices in Green initiatives for the agricultural sector. • Challenges and outcomes when implementing Lean tools. • Environmental effects of implementing Lean tools. • Lean Implementation Framework for the agricultural sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Energy efficiency improvement is usually regarded as an effective way to decrease energy consumption and to fight climate change, but it also booms energy consumption through rebound effects. But the improvement of energy efficiency also has rebound effects, which increases energy consumption and emission. So this paper arms to capture the rebound effects of efficiency improvement by considering zero-cost breakthrough of energy efficiency and price jump of energy purchase. First, energy efficiency improvement, measured by zero-cost breakthrough of energy efficiency, stimulates energy consumption, but it may reduce the total emission. Second, both the direct and indirect rebound effects of energy efficiency improvement on energy consumption and environment are captured. Interestingly, jumping energy price decreases both the direct and indirect rebound effect. Finally, the result of the paper shows that restriction of individuals' entry or competition restriction moderates the rebound effects of energy efficiency improvement. Highlights • Effect of competition on energy efficiency rebound effects is developed in theory. • Rebound effects of energy efficiency are captured under zero-cost breakthrough. • Moderate monopoly is proofed to be helpful for reducing energy efficiency rebound effects. • Improvement of energy efficiency has both direct and indirect rebound effects. • Energy price jump has offset effects on rebound effects of efficiency promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The objective of this paper is to carry out a systematic review of the literature on climate justice from the point of view of the capabilities approach. This review had as object of study 53 papers selected in the Web of Science and Scopus databases, and focused on the following dimensions: starting models for the preparation of action plans (Basic Rights, Polluter Pays, and Fair Division), types of actions adopted (adaptation and mitigation), level of adoption (macro and micro) and individual freedoms affected (economic, political, social, transparency guarantees and protective security). The main results and contributions of the study are: a) the Basic Rights model is more frequently used than the other two; b) there is a prevalence of some freedoms when analysed in the context of adaptation and mitigation actions; c) opportunity to apply quantitative methods and mixed methods on climate justice analysis; d) a theoretical framework organization of the concepts related to the link between climate justice and human development, which can help future research on the subject as well as contribute to the cooperation among academics and policy makers post-Paris Agreement. Highlights • Identification of the developed countries as research centers, and leading researchers on climate justice and human development. • Greater frequency of climate adaptation actions and climate justice. • Capabilities approach as an assessment indicator for adaptation and mitigation actions to climate change. • Identification the special role of women and climate justice guarantees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Physical, Regulatory and Brand value risks due to climate change challenges are foreseen by businesses globally. This paper is oriented towards these challenges and prepared a comprehensive Greenhouse gases (GHG) footprint plan and identification of mitigation opportunities for ONGC, a fortune 500 and national oil company of India. Internationally recognized standards and guidelines like Greenhouse Gas Protocol, ISO-14064, and American Petroleum Institute compendium have been referred for quantifying carbon emissions in nearly real 400 + operation control facilities. The GHG inventory is based on Operational Control approach to identify the boundary for which emissions are to be quantified and two significant scopes of emissions viz Direct Emissions and Indirect Emissions are identified and quantified. The quantification concluded that GHG emission footprint for the year 2016–17 is in the range of 9 million tons of CO 2 equivalent. GHG emissions mainly account due to stationary combustion, fugitive emissions and wastewater treatment, which share the around 56% of total emissions. Another 24–26% of emissions are contributed due to flaring, processes by glycol dehydrator, acid gas removal units, and by electricity purchased from the grid. As a result, it has been found that ONGC emits 187 kg CO 2 e emissions per tonne throughput and also compared with its global peer organizations. At the organization level, "Key Industrial Sites" have been identified as contributing higher GHG emissions and accordingly key "hot-spots," a list of 15 GHG mitigation opportunities have been proposed in the paper. Two GHG mitigation initiatives based on solar energy and bioenergy application undertaken at ONGC has also been briefed on case studies. Highlights • Comprehensive carbon footprint plan and identification of mitigation opportunities for Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), a fortune 500 and national oil company of India. • Guidelines like Greenhouse Gas Protocol, ISO-4064 and American Petroleum Institute compendium are referred for quantifying carbon emissions from direct and indirect sources. • Green policy, incentives and mandatory compliance. • CO2e emissions per tonne throughput and also compared with its peer global organisations. • Key hot-spots, with a list of 15 GHG mitigation opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The agricultural sector in Nigeria provides a socio-economic resource base for exiting pervasive poverty, and transforming the economy. However, with the challenges posed by climate change through variability in rainfall, the agricultural livelihoods and poverty status of the population could be threatened due to the vulnerability context of the country. This paper explores the relationship between rainfall and food poverty through the assessment of vulnerability to climate change in an agricultural economy by geo-referencing and mapping of rainfall variability and food poverty. It provides a quantification of the scale and location of the area under food poverty and rainfall variability with scenarios that provide alternative sustainable development pathways of desirable outcomes. The coefficients of variation of rainfall or precipitation seasonality were computed from geo-referenced data and topologically overlaid on the most recent food poverty profile for Nigeria. The findings reveal intriguing phenomena bordering on agro-climatic and socio-economic factors of climate change vulnerability. The findings provide a basis for policy formulation and implementation on inequity of food poverty and environmental sustainability. It offers empirical insights on how to rethink concepts of socio-economic and environmental sustainability through landscapes and livelihoods as outcomes of vulnerability contexts. The paper concludes that, there is need for agricultural transformation along vulnerability dimensions. The evidence of the nexus between rainfall and food poverty could be a new model for promoting sustainability of the agrarian economy in Nigeria. Highlights • Rainfall variability exacerbates food poverty in rain-fed agricultural-based economy. • Agroecological-based system of agricultural production enhances agricultural livelihoods and environmental resilience. • The nexus between precipitation and poverty has implications for landscape, livelihoods and sustainable agricultural development. • Strategic climate change adaptation policy should aim at improving food poverty situation, and boosting resilience through agroecological-based food production system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faced with the urgency of climate change, Climate Engineering has been framed as a fast and feasible technological solution. At the same time, however, critique against it is getting increasingly louder. This paper articulates a critical analysis of Climate Engineering technologies from a point of view situated within the degrowth discourse. In the first part two approaches discussed within the degrowth debate are presented: the concept of viability based on a biophysical perspective and the concept of conviviality based on a socio-cultural approach. In a second step formalized arguments from the point of view of applied ethics are articulated and applied to three Climate Engineering Technologies: Sulfate Aerosol Injection, Bio-energy with Carbon Capture and Storage, and Afforestation. In a third step, an extended version of the trade-off argument about mitigation versus Climate Engineering solution is discussed from a degrowth perspective: accordingly, within the current dominant growth paradigm, climate engineering technologies might lead to reduced mitigation efforts. The paper follows the argumentative turn in applied ethics and displays a formalization of arguments that can help clarify decision-making and identify the different dimensions at stake. The paper articulates arguments against the deployment of CE technologies and advances a new version of the trade-off-argument based on a degrowth perspective. From the point of view of a degrowth-based critique of technology, the only type of Climate Engineering Technology ethically acceptable would be afforestation under specific conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has steadily gained attention as the global economy has grown more quickly, preventing continued high-quality economic growth. In this context, the eco-innovation concept has recently risen to the top of the list of academic research topics since it is a crucial tool that combines reduced environmental effects with a favourable socioeconomic impact. Nevertheless, the environmental situation is not improving despite the increasing eco-innovation level. From one perspective, instead of concentrating on how eco-innovation lessens carbon emissions, this research explores the indirect effect of carbon emissions on the GDP-eco-innovation nexus. From another perspective, since FDI might lessen harmful pollution, this research analyses the indirect effect of FDI on the economic growth-eco-innovation nexus. Therefore, this paper highlights the relationship between eco-innovation and economic growth (GDP), considering the dual mediating roles of carbon emissions and FDI. First, we examine the effects of GDP on eco-innovation activities in nine MENA countries from 2000 to 2019 using the geographic Durbin model based on spatial panel data. Second, this paper analysed the dual mediating effect of carbon emissions and FDI using the spatial stepwise regression model. The findings of this paper are as follows: (i) GDP positively impacts eco-innovation activities, and (ii) carbon emissions and FDI mediate the GDP-eco-innovation nexus. Therefore, GDP, FDI, and carbon emissions are significant drivers of eco-innovation. This research represents an essential step towards a better understanding of the need to support the transition to sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) has consistently held a prominent global position in climate governance. This paper compiles 152 climate neutrality policies issued by the European Commission (EU Commission) and employs a systematic analytical framework including "Vertical Policy Hierarchy - Horizontal Policy Path – Systematic Policy instruments" to conduct an in-depth analysis of the EU's climate neutrality policy system. This study produces several findings as follows: First, the EU's climate neutrality policy hierarchy is characterized by a structure comprising "Long-Term Planning – Specific Measures - Financial Support". Second, the EU's policy formulation process for climate neutrality emphasizes the integration of a multi-party engagement mechanism involving "Nongovernmental Level - Regional Level - National Level - Transnational Level - Supranational Level", while extensively employing a "framework-content" policy-making methodology. Third, the EU's climate neutrality governance is guided by the dual objectives of achieving a "Cleaner Energy Structure" and "Recover Ecological Environment" pursuing a broad-ranging and multi-tiered policy pathway towards climate neutrality. Fourth, the EU leverages a combined approach of mandatory measures and guiding policies to propel the climate neutrality governance process, aspiring to achieve breakthroughs in new energy technology innovation through climate neutrality governance, thereby solidifying its international standing. Moreover, this study provides an outlook on the future of the EU's climate neutrality policy governance, positing that the EU's emphasis on climate neutrality governance will remain undiminished, with a heightened focus on guiding policies and an emphasis on the roles of enterprises and the public in advancing the realization of climate neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses EU nature conservation and EU climate protection policies within the context of their local implementation in Vienna/Austria in order to gain insights into the decision-making process as well as to show the extent of achievements and experienced difficulties. In this connection, this paper also investigates based on published knowledge and the perceptions of stakeholders the awareness of nature conservation measures as climate-change adaptation and possibly ways of improvement. In order to address these issues, additionally to an in-depth literature review, 16 experts working in Vienna in the field of either nature conservation or climate protection were interviewed. The transcriptions of these interviews were then used in a qualitative content analysis. The findings show that the vast majority of the interviewed stakeholders see EU climate policy and nature conservation policy separately. Furthermore, the implementation of EU climate and nature conservation policy in Vienna is indicated as a “learning by doing” process. There the currently limited cooperation between stakeholders can be improved. Our study also finds that the awareness of different stakeholder groups of the possibility to use nature conservation as a measure against climate change is limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behaviour, practices and culture constitute a powerful human factor in the energy system; in particular the interactions between technologies, practices and norms lock individuals in to certain patterns of (often inefficient) energy use. Consequently, behaviour change has gained traction amongst policymakers as a key area of intervention given the impact energy-related behaviours have on climate change. Given the increasing emphasis within policy perspectives in the European Union, it is surprising that a gap in understanding of the success factors of behaviour change initiatives remains. This paper addresses this gap by identifying and characterising behaviour change initiatives across five European countries (the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, and Spain). The paper provides insights into the success factors and commonly encountered barriers to behaviour change initiatives. Initiatives are classified into 6 broad categories (community-based interventions; information and awareness based interventions; eco-districts; show-case events; energy switching; and smart-technology focused interventions). The results suggest that there are significant knowledge gaps between what is known to work to engage individuals in behavioural change and what is currently being applied in practice. An over-reliance on education and awareness-raising projects is evident, illustrating that such projects do not sufficiently aim for sustained behavioural changes. A dearth of projects incorporating fiscal measures, regulations or legislation to drive behaviour change reflects reluctance on behalf of decision-makers to engage widely with diverse approaches to foster lifestyle change. This paper contributes understandings of the different models and delivery tools employed to change energy-related behaviours; insights into the critical success factors that underpin best practice and the barriers to action; and a ‘what works in practice’ overview of the meaningful approaches to change behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measures that aim to enhance different environmental assets are increasingly conflicting also in urban areas and there is a lack as well as a need for science-based assessment tools that also provide solution-oriented approaches which work in practice. This paper aims to provide a new analytical framework for conflicts of interest between such measures. The framework is applied to climate change and biodiversity (including ecosystem) conservation law as well as thereon based measures and tested on the example of a city embedded in different geopolitical governance levels. The analysis is based on an in-depth literature review and develops an analytical framework in particular grounded upon differentiations between actions and inactions as well as between voluntary and compulsory activities. When testing this framework for the Viennese case, the authors systematically discuss the different types of Viennese endangered habitat types especially according to their required legal and other governance interventions, particularly under the climate change related forest law regime and biodiversity conservation law (both especially against the background of the Natura 2000 scheme of the European Union). The paper explains the logic and structure of the new framework and describes its theoretical applicability on conflicts of interests in general. Furthermore, the case study tested on the city of Vienna/Austria indicates also the practical applicability of the framework and offers different solution approaches de lege lata (how the law is) and de lege ferenda (how the law should be). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming, as many other threats, requires more activity from the government, and people inquire about this, rightfully so. However, the public and private sectors nowadays have a joint responsibility with society. Global warming has come out of the scientific community and shows that climate change is an important social, economic, and political issue. Currently the carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions by transportation sector are the main polluter of the planet. For this reason, in this paper we propose a reflection on transport, which is an important sector of the economy, responsible for the generation of many jobs and wealth but, at the same time, it has negative impacts on people, companies, and the environment. Recent investigations demonstrate that mobility problems affects the life quality of the people, business productivity and gross domestic product (GDP) performance. In the face of the changes that we are experiencing, it is important to find alternatives that assistance governments in the decision-making to solve the problem of traffic in large and medium-size cities and bring well-being to the population. The goal is to provide accurate tool to help take the best decisions in situations that most of the time has a lack of economic resources and transparency. Another motivation is to increase the productivity of companies and achieve sustainable development by reducing mobility problems and CO 2 emissions. As outcomes of the paper, an in-depth study is presented on the subject that indicates a gap in the literature with fuzzy logic applied to sustainability. We indicate a sustainable option for the transport sector using algorithms for decision-making, and broaden the discussion on climate change and solutions to reduce the impacts caused by humanity. When the models were applied through a conceptual study, it was possible to provide an instrument generated on the use of algorithms that can aid decision-making by getting qualitative data from a discussion with stakeholders on a topic. Finally, the document identifies the importance of the participation of stakeholder, reinforces legitimacy and transparency in decision-making processes and above all present a tool that can help governments to solve this problem. In short, this work proposes an original and valuable tool to be applied in the decision-making process for the sustainable transport sector based on the stakeholder engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities are suggested as being the key level for shifts towards more sustainable modes of production and consumption. The building sector with its significant carbon footprint plays an important role in urban climate change adaptation strategies. Using the case study of Brisbane (Australia), the paper examines the place-specific contextualisation of green building transitions by analysing the co-evolution and interplay of building practices, policy making and involved actors. Drawing on theoretical approaches of Transition Studies and Evolutionary Economic Geography, we trace back and analyse policy and economic trajectories focusing on formative and hindering processes. The paper discusses ambivalent pathways and 'regime resistance' caused by local economic and political specificities. The analysis illustrates how crucial the continual support from both policy makers and industry actors can be when economic market mechanisms do not drive sustainability transitions. Regime actors can play a powerful role as 'transition detractors' and can determine the dynamics and the scope of sustainability transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In some coastal cities there is an urgent need to decide on adaptation investments given the long periods needed to complete the relevant infrastructures. However such decisions are usually made under significant uncertainty due to local climate change and socio-economic impacts. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has developed four global scenarios according to different representative concentration pathways (RCPs); however, using these scenarios directly is equivalent to using incomplete information in the decision-making process because they do not provide information on what sea level rise behavior is most probable. In this study, I propose a model which assigns probabilities to IPCC scenarios with Local Sea Level Rise (LSLR) information. I obtain expected damage and risk measures for the world's 120 major coastal mega-cities at specific moments in time. That is, I consider uncertainty in both scenario selection and within each scenario. With this information it is possible to make adaptation investment decisions under uncertainty with a criterion of not exceeding certain risk levels in the future. The paper shows that in the year 2100 for the equal probability mixed scenario (25% RCP 2.6, 50% RCP 4.5 and 25 RCP 8.5) the expected damage is US$ 1,251,732 millions for New Orleans and US$ 1,196,517 millions for Guangzhou. The risk measurements show that in that year the damage in the 5% of worse cases will be US$ 2,800,756 millions for Guangzhou and US$ 1,832,466 millions for New Orleans. However, not all countries have sufficient resources to make the necessary adaptation investments, so we analyze expected damage and risk according to World Bank country income groups. The paper shows that the USA and China will need to make major adaptation investments in the future. The coastal LSLR risk in lower-income cities is also calculated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As climate change becomes an increasing concern in European countries, the bioeconomy could challenge previous conceptualizations about how states, citizens and corporations interact in everyday practices of natural resources governance. The conceptual understanding of responsive governance of the forest-based bioeconomy is an example of this challenge and is the topic of discussion in this paper. In Finland, there are efforts to support the transition towards the bio-based economy and to reform forest governance in an attempt to respond to local circumstances while mitigating global climate change. The recent articles have address the bioeconomy concept from political discourse point of view, the citizens participation has not yet been address sufficient in the current bioeconomy discourses. In order to fill this gap, this paper provides an empirical case from Finland and connects it to the theoretical contribution of responsive bioeconomy. The paper connects the capability approach and the forest based bioeconomy in the context of Finland. And argues that citizens could have capabilities and ability to participate in decisions about matters that directly affect their well-being. However, in the case of the forest based bioeconomy, the inclusion of citizens requires an interactive collaborative approach to empower various institutions and people to meet and debate on the development of their own living environment and environmental capability (i.e those bioeconomy opportunities to achieve outcomes people value). Citizens may not be able to find solutions and create the new innovations which the bioeconomy strategy require, yet it is the citizens who will live under the changed access to opportunities and entitlements including environmental services. For this reason, responsive governance and its adaptive and interactive administration need to ensure that many change actors are taken into account as a matter of basic justice in various processes of the bioeconomy transition. Therefore key aspects of change, such as citizens’ values, interests, knowhow and environmental entitlements need to be taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cascading use of biomass is a recognized strategy contributing to an efficient development of the bioeconomy and for mitigating climate change. This study aims at assessing the potential of cascading use of woody biomass for reducing GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions and increasing the overall wood flow efficiency in the European Union's forest and bioeconomy sectors. A scenario and life cycle approach was followed to quantify the potential benefits of cascading use of woody biomass. We started from a reference scenario in which (post-consumer) waste wood and paper are re-utilized for energy only (S0). Then we compared the reference scenario with two alternative scenarios, the current waste wood and paper recycling practices (S1) and the maximum technical potential to increase recycling of waste wood and paper flows (S2). Following a supply chain perspective, different stages of production were analysed, including forgone fossil-fuels substitution, optimization at manufacturing level and forest regrowth. Through cascading use, the wood use efficiency ratio (cascade factor) in the European wood sector would be increased by 23% (S0 vs S1) and 31% (S0 vs S2) and GHG emissions (cradle-to-gate energy use) would be reduced by 42% (28 MtCO 2 -eq/year) and 52% (35 MtCO 2 -eq/year) in scenarios S1 and S2. However, increased wood product cascading is counter effected in the short term by reduced savings in the energy sector by 49% and 48% (−43 and −42 MtCO 2 -eq/year) in scenarios S1 and S2 due to delayed availability of waste wood and waste paper fibers. This explorative study highlights the potential of cascading use of woody biomass in the wood production chains to contribute to a reduction of environmental impacts related to wood resource and energy use, but it also reveals trade-offs in terms of GHG emissions reduction, relevant especially in meeting short-term (2020–2030) renewable energy targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the management of the urban water cycle can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to climate change mitigation in cities. Stormwater in urban areas has traditionally been collected and conveyed to sewage treatment plants, a practice that has continued with the need to manage increased superficial flow. This paper presents the Low Impact Development (LID) measures to improve water management in the new urban development of Valdebebas in Madrid, and the associated benefits. Stormwater was considered a sub cycle; by shortening the water cycle the local use of rainwater was achieved while reducing energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions for off-site treatment. The article analyses the urban water cycle from a preventive approach. It considers how urban design features such as topography and pavement selection were used to convey surface water from impermeable areas to permeable ones (vegetated or permeable pavements) and the infiltration of water into engineered soil, reducing the need for off-site conveyance infrastructure, and the amount of water discharged into municipal treatment installations. Moreover, the captured water increases soil water content available for plants and trees which play an important role in absorbing CO 2 . Water exceeding soil capacity is collected in the subsurface Sustainable Drainage system (SuDS), including infiltration boxes where water is temporarily stored before moving through the soil toward ground water reserves. This paper describes the approaches and criteria used to design a large scale SuDS infrastructure in the district of Valdebebas, in northeastern Madrid (Spain), and analyses its performance, followed by a comparison with the predictions under three climate change scenarios, which consider not only the variation in peak flows and runoff, but also the reduction in GHG emissions. Additionally, it presents a sensitivity analysis for the main variables in the design of SuDS, and a multicriteria analysis, to compare the different drainage systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has highlighted the dangers of considering air pollution policy and climate change policy separately. Measures to reduce CO 2 emissions have been adopted in several countries, and in some instances, these have resulted in increases in some air pollution emissions and vice versa. Research has also highlighted the potential co-benefits of air pollution and climate change mitigation policy where these are considered together. This paper addresses the co-benefits of climate change mitigation policies to reduce the air pollution (PM 2.5 ) and climate change (CO 2 ) impacts of passenger cars, using a scenario-based approach in Ireland. Scenario-based approaches have previously been adopted for these pollutants in several co-benefit studies. However, a detailed disaggregation of non-exhaust PM 2.5 by brake, tyre and road abrasion, and a disaggregation of both PM 2.5 and CO 2 by a number of current and future passenger car technologies have not been considered to date. The current study, therefore provides deeper insights into the impact of policy on exhaust and non-exhaust emissions. In order to derive detailed disaggregated emission, an add-on module was developed for a well-known emission modelling software (COPERT). The add-on module adopted concepts and parameters from previous research papers and analysis from the COPERT software to estimate fuel-based emissions e.g. exhaust and disaggregated non-exhaust PM 2.5 and CO 2 emissions. To analyse future scenarios (2015–2035), estimation was initially conducted using that software for the current Irish fleet data. This estimation was later replicated using the add-on module, as a baseline scenario considering a different disaggregation of the same passenger car fleet. Two additional estimations were conducted in the add-on module: An Electric Vehicle policy scenario, and a scenario to show the effects of a ban on the sale of conventional vehicles by 2030. The results revealed that CO 2 emissions continuously decreased in the projection period, however, reductions of PM 2.5 reversed from the year 2028 due to increases in the non-exhaust component of PM 2.5 emissions. Under the two alternative scenarios, a 52–69% reduction of CO 2 could be possible whereas only a 9–15% reduction in PM 2.5 could be achieved by 2035. In conclusion, non-exhaust PM 2.5 was found to have a larger share (as much as 34 times that of exhaust emissions) in 2035 where passenger cars with alternative technologies represented a major share in the fleet. The research also provided a methodology capable of detailing the CO 2 and PM 2.5 emissions in future scenarios for a range of vehicle technologies. This research also highlights an urgent need for investigation of emission factors for several emerging passenger car technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urban heat island (UHI) is a phenomenon whereby temperature levels in urban areas are higher than in surrounding rural settings. Urban heat islands are a matter of increasing concern, since they can affect communities by exacerbating air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions (due to the greater use of air conditioning) and the occurrence of heat-related illness, and may lead to higher levels of mortality. This paper provides a description of the phenomena of (UHI) and an analysis of how cities are vulnerable to it. It highlights the need for resilience and the variety of means by which the UHI can be tackled. It describes a set of trends in two regions in Germany and Australia, which illustrate the scope of the problem in the northern and southern hemispheres, and the scale of vulnerability. Then, existing UHI vulnerability assessments are analysed to highlight common features and differences. Based on this, we propose a classification of adaptability parameters to support vulnerability assessments. The paper also discusses current mitigation approaches mentioned in the literature, and how these address some vulnerabilities. It concludes that both a better understanding of the UHI phenomena and consideration of the particular context of each city is needed to make urban areas more resilient to UHI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]