Search

Abstract: In the policy-making process concerning energy and environmental issues, cooperation between government and firms is a means to create a more efficient energy and environmental policy. Intermediary organizations can play an important role in this policy-making process. Aim of this study is to get insight into the role of one specific intermediary organization: the industry association. In this paper, we focus on the Dutch paper and board industry. Important policy themes for this industry are waste water, waste, and energy efficiency. We distinguished four types of governmental policy instruments: top-down regulation, interactive regulation, negative economic instruments, and positive economic instruments. We analyzed the role of the industry association in the policy-making process for all of these four instruments. The results clearly show different (relative) roles of the industry association in different steps of the policy-making processes and for different types of instruments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Production of sludge as waste in pulp and paper plants can be considered as one of the serious environmental problems that have to be solved. While landfilling is not a suitable solution from the environmental point of view, thermal treatment proved to be the most appropriate one.This paper describes an efficient way of processing sludge including waste-to-energy aspects. A thermal treatment unit with a capacity of more than 100 tons of wet sludge per day had been built in a large pulp and paper plant some years ago. This pulp and paper plant is located in a mining area. When built, this unit was quite modern. However, because of more and more sweeping environmental laws affecting the process industry, the unit needed a complete retrofit. The retrofit has been realised in three stages.A brief description of the unit for the thermal treatment of sludge is as follows: the waste sludge (after transport from a sludge storage system) is burnt in a multiple hearth incinerator with a fluidised-bed chamber. Then, the flue gas enters a secondary combustion chamber (afterburner chamber). During the first stage of retrofit, only a part of heat from flue gas was utilised for heat recovery (pre-heating air for combustion and fluidisation) and a contact cooler was involved in the unit. The second stage of retrofit can be characterised as a “waste-to-energy” one. The contact cooler was replaced by a system for preheating water for steam generation. Off-gas cleaning system consists of a filter for particulate removal and a three-stage scrubber system. (Several alternatives of retrofit were considered and simulated and the most promising one was selected.) [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

As China's ecological environmental problem becomes severe, corporate environmental behavior (CEB) has become the focus of a range of stakeholders, policy makers and the whole society since the operating activities of companies is the main source of environmental pollution. This study used a questionnaire survey and structural equation model (SEM) to examine the relative importance of external and internal pressures (EIP) on driving CEB. Data was obtained from 702 papermaking companies in China. The mechanism of EIP effects on CEB was tested employing SEM through path analysis, using AMOS 21.0. The results showed that government pressure, economic pressure and internal pressure played significant positive roles in environmental behavior of papermaking companies in China. Economic pressure was the most important factor on environmental behaviors (including defensive, accommodative and proactive behaviors) of papermaking companies. Furthermore, the role of internal pressure on CEB (defensive and proactive) was second only to economic pressure, while the role of government pressure on CEB was much weaker than our expectation. However, the role of social pressure, which was imposed by general public and environmental Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), was not significant. Thus, policy makers should emphasize on the interactions of economic mechanism, government regulation and internal incentive mechanism to stimulate firms to adopt active environmental behavior. More concerns from the general public shall be addressed to enhance their driving effect on CEB in Chinese papermaking industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the development paths leading to the transition to cleaner bleaching technologies in the pulp industry. It devotes particular attention to the key features of the Swedish transition, but also compares this to the Finnish experiences. The empirical investigation builds on an analytical framework highlighting the conditions under which pollution regulations can provide efficient incentives for deep emission reductions at industrial plants. Existing and new archive material, including not least comprehensive license trial acts for Swedish pulp mills over an extended time period, are studied. Based on this historical analysis our findings contradict previous literature, the latter emphasizing that pressures from consumers and the public were the most significant driving forces behind the adoption of–and innovation in–alternative bleaching technologies during the late 1980s. Instead, this paper asserts, the green pulp transition was characterized by regulation-induced technological change and was made possible by long history of industry-wide cooperation in environmental R&D. Furthermore, while previous research has emphasized the leading role of the Nordic countries in green pulp innovation, we identify a number of profound differences between Finland and Sweden. These emerge from various national contexts in terms of, for instance, industry structures and strategies, political cultures, and regulatory styles. Finally, at a more general level the paper provides a few policy implications for supporting the ongoing transition towards a forest-based bioeconomy. [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]

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]

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]

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 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]

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]

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]

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]

Abstract Gold mining has for several decades contributed to the socio-economic development of many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, but it has also caused considerable environmental damage and human health concerns in mining communities. However, despite the extensive proliferation of policies and programs aimed at addressing the adverse environmental impact of mining, limited attention has so far been paid to identifying what might constitute environmental policy best practices across Sub-Saharan Africa's gold mining sector. To address this gap, this paper undertakes a systematic literature review of environmental policy measures and considers its broader implications for sustainable development in the context of gold mining in Sub-Saharan Africa. Of the 1,217 papers retrieved from the databases, 22 met the inclusion criteria and are included in evidence synthesis. Based on an in-depth analysis, we find that there are tensions and consensus in the environmental policy literature. However, extant works remain fragmented, uneven, and not systematically integrated. This perhaps might explain the difficulty in trying to develop and institutionalize best practices within the gold mining industry in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result, we propose an integrated conceptual model that lays a foundation for possible environmental policy best practices within the mining industry in developing countries. The paper concludes by identifying specific theoretical and practical implications of the study and suggests possible avenues for future research. Highlights • Gold mining has contributed to the socio-economic development of many countries. • However, it has also caused considerable environmental damage. • This study explored evidence of environmental policy best practices. • We found that there are tensions and contradictions in the literature. • We propose an integrated conceptual model of environmental policy best practices. • We conclude by considering the theoretical and practical implications of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Pollution Haven hypothesis and Porter hypothesis provide two different behavioral strategies for pollution industries under stringent environmental regulations, which make a clear line between the two hypotheses in the previous literature. This paper studies the pollution industry transfer in China from the perspective of industry mobility, and proves that the transfer of pollution industries under environmental regulations is the comprehensive effect of "Pollution Haven" and "Innovation Compensation" by using Chinese provincial-level data from 2000 to 2015. The empirical results find that strongly mobile pollution industries have tended to transfer directly to the areas with loose regulations, but "Innovation Compensation" effect is not significant, leading to the pollution industries transferring out; the weakly mobile pollution industries have not shown the "Pollution Heaven" effect, environmental regulations will stimulate innovation and increase industry output through the mechanism of "Innovation Compensation", which increases the regional proportion of pollution industries output. In short, we believe this study can provide a new perspective for explaining the current pollution industry transfer in China and help for more precise and reasonable environmental policies. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Based on the industry mobility, this paper studies the pollution industry transfer in China. • We break the line between PHH and PH by providing an analytical framework and an empirical test. • Pollution industries with different mobility have different strategies respond to regulations. • Pollution industry transfer is a result of the comprehensive effect of PHH and PH. [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 This paper deals with the efficiency of the 28 European Union (EU) Member States for the years 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014 by employing Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and directional distance function to tackle undesirable outputs. Eight parameters are used, namely municipal solid waste (MSW) generation, employment rate, capital formation, gross domestic product (GDP), population density and for the first time sulphur oxide (SOx), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions from the waste sector for the relevant countries. The innovation of this paper lies in the fact that both new parameters are taken into account and that diverse modelling techniques have been employed in terms of the outputs and inputs used. The empirical results obtained were bias corrected in order to get the correct efficiency scores for each country studied. Overall the most efficient countries were shown to be Germany, Ireland and the UK. These results were then reviewed against the recycling rate of each country for the examined time periods. The recycling rate actually depicts the DEA results, namely more efficient countries seem to have a higher recycling rate too. Moreover the DEA efficiency results were contrasted to the overall treatment options used in the countries under consideration. Overall it is noticed that countries employing all four treatment options with high use of more sustainable ones and decrease in the use of landfill are the ones that also proved to be efficient according to DEA. These results resemble the image of a financial crisis hit Europe which tried to take advantage of the more sustainable treatment options in order to achieve a transition to a circular economy, whereas the value of products, materials and resources needs to be maintained in the economy for as long as possible and the generation of waste minimised. This can be a valuable lesson for policy makers in the design and application of national and EU legislations and directives in order to achieve also the targets towards a circular economy driven Europe. Highlights • Employing DEA to assess national waste generation. • Three novel environmental production frameworks designed. • Directional distance function to tackle undesirable outputs. • Comparison of results with treatment options and recycling rates. • Policy implications under a circular economy approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Promoting firms' eco-innovation through environmental regulation is of great significance to the sustainable development of China's economy. Based on the Porter Hypothesis, this paper used the panel data of 1962 listed Chinese industrial companies from 2004 to 2015 to empirically test the impact of environmental regulation on firm eco-innovation and the moderating effects of fiscal decentralization and political competition. The results showed that (1) without the influences of China's fiscal system and political promotion system, environmental regulation would likely significantly promote firms' eco-innovation as well as firms' eco-investment and eco-planning innovation. (2) Under the influence of China's fiscal decentralization system, environmental regulation has exerted a significant inhibitory impact on firms' eco-innovation as well as on firms' eco-investment and eco-planning innovation. (3) Under the influence of China's 'championship' system of political promotion, environmental regulation has exerted a significant inhibitory effect on firms' eco-innovation and on firms' eco-investment and eco-planning innovation. Finally, this paper provided detailed policy recommendations on how to optimize China's environmental regulatory policy system and how to promote firm eco-innovation. Highlights • This paper designed a web crawler in a Java programming language to collect data on firm eco-innovation. • Eco-innovation was divided into eco-investment and eco-planning innovation. • Fiscal decentralization negatively moderates the effect of environmental regulation on firm eco-innovation. • Political competition negatively moderates the positive effect of environmental regulation on firm eco-innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green transition is important for the economics of the OECD countries and their transition to cleaner production. This paper estimates a knowledge production function consisting of a system of innovation inputs, innovation outputs, and productivity with feedback effect from productivity on innovation investments. The model accounts for productivity shock, endogeneity of inputs, and their simultaneity and interdependence. Productivity shock is a latent unobserved component that is specified in terms of observable factors. The model is estimated using Bayesian methods organized around Marco Chain Sequential Monte Carlo iteration techniques also known as Particle Filtering. For the empirical part, the paper uses balanced panel data covering 27 OECD countries' green innovation and patents activities observed during the period 1990–2018. Our empirical results show evidence of significant heterogeneity in productivity and its relationship with its identified determinants. The paper also discusses the implications of these results for OECD countries' green growth strategies. • This paper estimates a knowledge production function with system of equations. • It accounts for endogeneity of inputs and their simultaneity and interdependence. • The latent productivity shock is specified in terms of observable factors. • Uses panel data covering 27 OECD countries observed from 1990 to 2018. • Find heterogeneity in productivity & its relationship with identified determinants. [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]

The maturing literature on innovation has recognized the processes of sectoral and technological systems of innovation as helpful frameworks to analyze environmental innovation – a field whose importance continues to grow amidst contemporary regulatory pressures, for example, on maritime industry and shipping. This paper intertwines these key innovation concepts and applies them to classify and systematize an environmental product innovation: marine scrubber systems. The paper also addresses the linkage between innovation policy and environmental regulation and presents an overall framework to visualize and systematize conceptual connections between sectoral and technological systems of innovation to further develop and manage these complex systems of environmental innovation inducement. The paper applies technological and legal materials depicting the context of maritime scrubber systems as technological responses to more rigid environmental regulation by addressing their implications for market potential and change. The results underline the importance of environmental regulations as the driver of the development of technological innovation systems centered on environmental innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular economy (CE) is gaining popularity at different levels with the promise of creating more sustainable processes. In this context, cities are implementing a number of initiatives that aim to turn them into sustainable circular systems. Whether these initiatives achieve their sustainability goals, however, is largely unknown. Nevertheless, as the application of CE strategies is actively encouraged by many policies across the globe, there is a need to quantify the environmental impacts and to identify the strategies that support urban sustainability. This paper analyses the extent to which research focuses on quantifying the environmental balance of CE initiatives promoted at the municipal level. To this end, the analysis scanned CE initiatives reported in cities around the globe and classified them into urban targets and CE strategies. In parallel, the paper conducted a review of the literature that uses industrial ecology tools to account for the environmental impacts of CE strategies. Results show a diverse geographical representation, as reported cities concentrated in Europe, whereas for environmental research, the main results came from China. In general, cities encourage strategies relating to urban infrastructure (47%), with and additional focus on social consumption aspects, such as repair and reuse actions. In comparison, research mainly addressed industrial and business practices (58%), but the approach to infrastructure was similar to that of cities, both with a special interest in waste management. Research has yet to assess social consumption and urban planning strategies, the latter essential for defining the impacts of other urban elements. Hence, there is a need to define the environmental impacts of the strategies that cities select in their quest for circularity. Research and practice can also benefit from working collaboratively so as to prioritize the CE strategies that best fit into the features of each urban area. [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]

The Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model could capture the full range of interaction and feedback effects among different agents in the economic system. This study analyzes the economic impacts of differentiated carbon reduction targets by using a two-region CGE model in Tianjin Municipal City of China (hereafter “Tianjin”). Firstly, based on a business-as-usual (BaU) scenario and seven proposed carbon reduction scenarios, this paper quantifies the macroeconomic impacts of different carbon reduction targets in both regions, especially the carbon reduction costs and industrial output. Furthermore, several typical industries in Tianjin are chosen to explore how their competitiveness is affected under different carbon allocation scenarios. The results show that compared with the BaU scenario, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Tianjin would achieve the highest growth rate if the carbon intensity reduction target is set at 65% in Tianjin whereas 55% in the rest of China (ROC). Meanwhile, residents’ welfare loss in Tianjin will be the largest if carbon intensity reduction target in 2030 is set to be 65% in Tianjin and 75% in ROC. Also, the local pillar industries (including electronic sector and the metal smelting sector) would benefit from the carbon reduction policy, while the paper sector would be negatively influenced. Policy recommendations are raised, in which several factors should be fully considered, including development stages, resource endowments, technical levels and local environmental carrying capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green Public Procurement (GPP) is an increasingly debated “demand side” environmental policy instrument. The aim of this paper is to take stock of the related literature, with the twofold aim of developing a conceptual model of the relevant phases of GPP and to identify the related research gaps in detail. The literature analyzed here comprises English language papers, which are focused on GPP during the time period from 2000 to 2016. By means of a systematic literature review and content analysis, we provide both a quantitative and qualitative viewpoint. As our analysis reveals, GPP discussion has mostly focused so far on the specific impacts of GPP implementation, while the discussion on GPP as compared to other environmental policy tools, in terms of efficiency and innovation, is still lagging behind; this is coupled with a limited geographical coverage. Finally, by disaggregating the 17 years period under scrutiny into four sub-periods allows us to outline the changes in research trends over time. [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]

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]

[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]

As China's longest-implemented market-based environmental regulation policy, emission charges have contributed outstandingly to improving the ecological environment and reducing firms' pollution emissions. We assess the impact of emission charges on the innovation quality of Chinese firms based on the perspective of firms' breakthrough technological innovation. By observing Chinese A-share listed firms with heavy pollution from 2011 to 2020, we find that corporate breakthrough technological innovation positively moderates the emission charges to enhance the quality of corporate innovation. Our mechanism tests suggest that emission charges and breakthrough technological innovation positively affect innovation quality by improving the means of green innovation of enterprises. In addition, heterogeneity analysis shows that emission charges and firms' breakthrough technological innovation are only effective in improving the innovation quality of state-owned firms, and the effect on the innovation quality of non-state-owned firms is not significant. Our findings suggest that the imposition of emission charges and incentives for firms to embark on breakthrough technological innovation can effectively improve the quality of innovation. • The article is probably the first literature to explore the effects of breakthrough technological innovation and emission charges on the innovation quality of heavily polluting enterprises in China, enriching the research on the impact of enterprise innovation models on environmental regulation. • Based on the IPC information of enterprise patent applications, the paper distinguishes enterprise innovation patterns and explores the moderating effect of breakthrough technological innovation on emission charges to enhance the quality of enterprise innovation. • This paper provides micro evidence on the impact of environmental regulation on innovation quality based on the perspective of firms' breakthrough technological innovation, which has important implications for adopting environmental regulation to achieve a "win-win" situation between pollution control and improving innovation quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Defining sustainable cities is not straightforward. The main issues involved in urban sustainability are buildings, energy, food, green areas and landscape, mobility, urban planning, water and waste; and their improvement is promoted through different strategies. However, a quantitative method, such as life cycle thinking (LCT), is essential to evaluating these strategies. This paper reviews LCT studies related to urban issues to identify the main research gaps in the evaluation of these improvement strategies. The review identifies the main sustainability strategies associated with each urban issue and compiles articles that deal with these strategies through LCT, including environmental life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle costing (LCC), social LCA (S-LCA) and life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA), as well as integrated analyses with combined tools. Water, waste and buildings are the urban issues that accounted for a larger amount of studies. In contrast, a limited number of papers assessed urban planning and energy (excluding energy in buildings). Strong interrelations among urban issues were identified, most of them including water. In terms of methods, 79% of the studies exclusively applied life cycle tools (i.e., LCA, LCC, S-LCA or LCSA). Within this group, the environmental dimension was the focus of 84% of the papers. Single environmental indicators (e.g., global warming) were common in 20% of the analyses, highlighting the need to integrate more impact categories to prevent trade-offs. In the field of social and sustainability assessment, there is a need for methodological advances that foster their application in urban areas. Further research should cover the thematic and methodological gaps identified in this paper, such as developing models that assess complex urban issues, generating comprehensive LCT studies and promoting multi-indicators. Life cycle tools might benefit from revising the methodology with stakeholders to optimize the understanding and communication of life cycle results for policy- and decision-making processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increased awareness of the need for protecting the environment and policies relating to carbon emissions has resulted in manufacturers viewing carbon emissions as one of the most critical elements affecting production decisions. As a gradually maturing production form, remanufacturing plays an increasingly pivotal role in economy, environment and society. This paper extends the classical EOQ model, considers carbon emissions in (re)manufacturing activities and product transportation and builds an inventory cost model with carbon constraints. The optimal batch and quantity of manufacturing/remanufacturing and the frequency of cyclic remanufacturing are derived with and without carbon constraints through analysis of the model. At the same time, this paper investigates the impact of carbon emissions quota and its trade prices, remanufacturing ratio and different means of transportation on manufacturers’ decisions. The examples show that the batch size of manufacturing and remanufacturing is identical within the period with carbon constraints; the batch size of manufacturing without carbon constraints is less than remanufacturing with carbon constraints; the results are just the opposite in terms of the batch of remanufacturing and the number of remanufactured products. In other words, the (re)manufacturers’ total cost and carbon emissions with carbon constraints are lower than those without carbon constraints. Starting from the real-life circumstances, this article considers manufacturers’ total cost with imperfect remanufacturing, varied means of transportation, carbon quota and its trade, which have not been taken into account previously, the manufacturer’s optimal decisions are derived. Meanwhile, the analysis of carbon quota can provide some insights for governments and enterprises in terms of carbon emissions rights allocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to set out the provisions that ensure emissions reduction and technical progress in environmental regulation is very important for both China’s future emissions reduction and sustainable development. The paper uses statistical data from 30 Chinese provinces from 1997 to 2014 and empirically tests the effects of different types of environmental policies and regulations on emissions reduction and technical progress by using dynamic spatial panel models. The results of spatial autocorrelation tests show that there are both significant positive global autocorrelation and local spatial agglomeration effects relating to pollutant emissions and technical progress. Dynamic spatial panel models indicate that command and control regulations (CCR) are conducive to emissions reduction, but their effects on technical progress are not significant. Market based regulations (MBR) are conducive to technical progress, but their effects on the reduction of emissions are relatively weak. There is a significant inverted-U relationship between economic development level and carbon emissions, validating the EKC hypothesis in China, but the effects of foreign direct investment on carbon reduction and technical progress are not significant. The paper recommends that China should optimize a combination of environmental regulations so as to achieve the win-win outcome of both emissions reduction and technical progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, China has been facing serious water pollution crises. To address this problem, discharge standards for wastewater treatment plants in China are becoming more and more stringent. Also, the sewage charge for compliant emissions and the penalty rate for non–compliant emissions have increased significantly. This paper comprehensively investigates the economic and environmental implications of such wastewater management policy in China. In this paper, a general framework for the analysis of WWTPs’ behavior and the resulted economic and environmental consequences is presented, and the impacts of discharge standard, charge rate, and penalty rate are analyzed. The trade–offs between the operational cost, environmental impact, and pollutant emissions are identified. This study also provides some insightful management implications for concerned policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to global warming, it is urgent to control and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, especially from the supply chain perspective. The most often discussed topic in this domain indicates that emission trading scheme (ETS) could be employed as one of policy instruments for supply chain emissions management. Via mathematical models, scholars have shown that the employment of emission trading is affecting supply chain performances (both environmental and economic) in different levels. However, previous literature focus on the cost-effectiveness analysis only from the mathematical aspect. To provide policy-makers and companies with the theoretical bases on this hot topic, it is significant to discuss how ETS, one of market-based instruments, could be imposed in the context of supply chain from the mechanical point of view. By incorporating ideas from relevant literature, this paper generates two concepts/modes in imposing ETS on supply chain: jointly imposed supply chain emission trading (e.g., jointly imposed SC-ETS) and separately imposed supply chain emission trading (e.g., separately imposed SC-ETS). It illustrates the working principles of both concepts/modes and conducts a sandbox example to analyze the cost-effectiveness of them. Furthermore, this paper discusses the challenges and opportunities of implementing two modes from practical aspects. Results of quantitative analysis and discussion show that for the sake of both policy-makers and supply chain companies, the separately imposed SC-ETS allowing selling permits would be so far the better mode to manage supply chain GHG emissions compared to the jointly imposed SC-ETS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical studies of pollution haven hypothesis predict that differentiated environmental regulation policies will result in inter-country relocation of polluting industries. This paper investigates pollution haven hypothesis at domestic level in China. Using panel data of 30 provincial level regions for the period 2004 to 2013, this paper empirically examines to what extent multiple environmental policies affect intra-country relocation of polluting industries in China. It is found that the implementation of both economic policy instrument like pollution discharge fee and public participation like letter complaints on environmental problems encourages industrial relocation, whereas the implementation of environmental legal policy instrument like laws, regulations and rules prevents polluting industries from relocating to other regions. It is also found that the relocation effect of environmental policies varies with industrial characteristics. Compared with water pollution-intensive industry, air pollution-intensive industry dominated by stated-owned capitals are insensitive to legal policy instruments. These findings suggest that the validity of pollution haven hypothesis is jointly associated with the type of environmental policy as well as industrial characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to analyze the action mechanism of environmental pressures on the development of environmentally friendly technologies (EFTs), this paper constructs a neo-schumpeterian simulation model containing firms' production, pricing, pollution abatement investment, (environmental) R&D, entry & exit decision-making and consumer choice behavior. The objective of this paper is to investigate the influence of consumer demand preferences and environmental policies on firms’ environmental investment decision-making as well as the development of EFT. Results showed that consumers prefer product price, a market-based instrument (MBI) combined with an information-oriented instrument (IOI) can promote the development of EFT, while MBI applied alone will reduce environmental investment. Under scenarios that consumers prefer product quality, a command and control environmental policy (CAC) can promote the development of EFT to a greater extent, but it inhibits environmental investment and damages the average profit rate of profit of the industry. If consumers prefer environmental performance of firms, CAC or IOI is advantageous to the change of EFT. However, in such a case environmental investment and consumer utility are reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that the failure to implement sustainable policies is not merely due to the fact that successful political leaders lack systems intelligence or foresight but that their ambitions – one of which is their motivation to politically survive – strongly influence their judgements. On the one hand, it is undeniably crucial to understand how leaders acquire and process information and how their systems thinking perspectives guide their cognitive procedures when turning pieces of information into policy interventions. On the other hand, it is also important to highlight that leaders are embedded both in institutional and political contexts that also deeply affect their political decisions and practices. Based on selectorate theory this paper suggests that in addition to these effects, under the current rules of politics, political leaders' main motivation is to increase the chances of their own political survival drawing upon their systemic understanding. By analysing how this motivation affects environmental policy-making, this paper would like to contribute to research that searches for new avenues in thinking about more sustainable political leadership. [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]

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]

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]

Governments have the incentive to increase public infrastructure investment for the post pandemic world so as to recover the economy, but in doing so more carbon emissions may be generated. This paper explores how governments should coordinate environmental policy with public infrastructure provision in business cycles to achieve a certain goal of emissions reduction. First, we find that stringent environmental policy is required to realize the emissions reduction goal when there is heavy investment in public infrastructure. Second, we display that in the presence of public infrastructure, the emissions tax is less able to mitigate pollutants than the emissions cap in a productivity shock, and the interaction between environmental policy and public infrastructure can amplify emissions and macroeconomic volatility in a monetary shock. Third, different from the existing literature arguing that optimal environmental policy should be procyclical in business cycles, we show that it could be countercyclical when the government's willingness to provide public infrastructure is small. This paper contributes by incorporating public infrastructure into the environmental dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy sources can contribute to the increasing energy demand as well as reduction of green-house gas emissions and pollutants. It is desirable to find the optimum mix between renewable and non-renewable energy sources, based on carbon emissions or cost of electricity constraints. In this paper, a Pinch Analysis based method for allocating different energy sources to different demands of a region is proposed. The proposed approach determines the cost optimum mix of various energy sources. Applicability of the method is demonstrated through an illustrative case study of Lakshadweep Islands, India. These islands are too remote to have inter-connections with the mainland and depend on imports of oil for electrical, process, and transport energy requirements. The locally available renewable energy sources can be used to solve problems of energy security, higher energy cost, and environmental pollution. Additionally, the Government of India provides a significant amount of subsidy to supply electricity in Lakshadweep Islands. The proposed method helps in reducing the burden of subsidy significantly by appropriately utilizing locally available renewable energy sources. The proposed Pinch Analysis formulation consider energy as flow, cost of energy as quality, and minimizes subsidized diesel based power generation (formulated as resource). Based on the current acceptable price of electricity, the use of renewable energy sources leads to saving in the subsidy of 317.08 × 10 6 Rs./y and reduction in emissions from diesel generator set by about 58%. The policy implications for subsidy are also discussed in this paper and therefore, the work is useful to guide policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationship between neighborhood effects and pro-environmental behavior. Working on 1999–2012 data on separate waste collection in Italian provinces, a spatial econometric analysis is carried out. While a substantial stream of research focuses on recycling behavior determinants, spatial dependence among different inter-regional geographical areas has been less studied. Here, empirical support is provided to the existence of spatial effects and heterogeneous behavior in the Italian context. It is found that waste collecting habits tend to be strongly influenced by proximity effects, either in a positive or negative way. Moreover, the paper tests the nature of such influence in terms of time effects, by evaluating non-contemporary spatial dependence. “Good” (or “bad”) pro-environmental behavior as a persistent dynamic effect is found, with the possibility of both self-sustaining virtuous socio-spatial dynamics and perverse lock in. These results call for a rethinking of environmental policies, and in particular for a stronger focus upon the social dimension of spatial diffusion phenomena in pro-environmental behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable innovation is typically viewed through the lens of the producer innovator, whereas end-users (or consumers) are perceived to play only a peripheral role in the development of sustainable products and services. A growing literature stream, however, sharply departs from this view by suggesting that end-users often play a critical role with regard to sustainable innovation. To further consolidate this field, the purpose of this paper is threefold. First, the paper summarizes and synthesizes key insights within the field based on 84 papers published from 1992 to 2015. Second, we offer a framework to understand the current observed barriers and drivers to this innovation process, suggesting two distinct end-user innovation types: independent and facilitated. The end-users' motivation, ability and opportunity to innovate serve as the deductive analytical tool utilized for discerning these drivers and barriers. Third, the paper suggests how this form of innovation may be ameliorated from a policy perspective. The paper reveals that the literature on end-user innovation within sustainability is both diverse and compartmentalized. Hence, policy mechanisms designed to support this type of innovation process need to be tailored to the independent or facilitated framework in which the end-user resides and to take into account how each framework is necessitated by a different actor logic and motivation, resulting in the pursuit of different innovation types. It is concluded that the literature focusing on independent end-user innovation typically highlights policy aimed at enabling end-users with the necessary skills and resources to innovate, whereas literature focusing on facilitated end-user innovation typically emphasizes creating platforms that enable the effective introduction of end-user knowledge into an already existing framework. The paper offers an overview and a framework for researchers to further explore this diverse and compartmentalized field. Practitioners may especially benefit from the proposed policy tools, including the overview of potential tools for drawing on end-user competences and resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many environmental networks form around specific initiatives with prescribed outcome objectives. When the objectives are met, the networks frequently disband. Technological transfer halts and the social capital built up during the initiative fragments, in many cases, disappearing altogether. In an era of globally unsustainable economic activity, encouraging progressive innovation and broadening the scale and scope of knowledge transfer is one strategy for helping to attenuate ecological damage. This paper presents empirical field work which explores the Kalundborg Symbiosis in Denmark – a network of economic actors that has organically come together to implement industrial ecology principles – and documents how this network has managed to foster progressive innovation. The four drivers which emerged as central for fostering collaboration are i) a pragmatic environmental mindset, ii) the existence of opportunities to explore possibilities, iii) mutually beneficial initiatives and iv) the presence of dominant needs which stimulate a proactive search for solutions. The paper also contributes to sustainable public policy and urban planning literature by considering how municipal involvement can foster progressive and sustained development within the Kalundborg Symbiosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming combined with low carbon transition plans is threatening the future of high energy consumption industry sectors in the European Union (EU). The need to respond to environmental challenges is demonstrated by support for international level energy policies and legal requirements, such as the Kyoto Protocol which the EU supports, and increased EU-level environmental legislation and energy policies. The effect of these initiatives is gradually transforming industrial activities in the EU. However, since not all countries have adopted these policies, evaluation of their net effect needs to take account also of side-effects such as delocalization of industry activity and the legal environmental frameworks in the countries where companies have chosen to relocate. This paper analyses EU energy policy and its impact on a particular energy intensive industry, the European ceramic tile sector. The discussion in this paper is not about the purpose of EU legislation, but about its effects on a specific industry. The effect of policy on industry is not a new topic, but the question of the unwanted effects of environmental and energy policy on European industry is becoming more relevant as the struggle to achieve a post-carbon Europe increases. In focussing on a specific set of EU legislation on a particular industry this article adds to the debate by showing the negative effects of policy mechanisms. The need for a scientific evaluation of the systemic changes required for a transition to a resource-efficient, green and competitive low-carbon economy outlined in the 7th Environment Action Programme is highlighted. It is suggested that the EU should periodically re-evaluate its Emissions Trading Scheme legislation to include specific actions and a follow up system which would prevent the best performing environmental companies from delocalizing or shutting down. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy instruments introduced with the aim of promoting environmental sustainability are often designed and evaluated in terms of their impact with regard to facilitating technological change. Most ‘green’ policy instruments that have emerged in recent decades have targeted facilitation of the development and adoption of greener processes, goods and services. Concurrent business models have sought to create and capture value arising from this policy-induced transition to more environmentally sustainable practices. Both such policy instruments and the business models are, however, often evaluated more in terms of their impact on the development and adoption of innovations and less in terms of their impact on behavioural change. This paper provides a critical review of the interplay between green policy instruments and green business models from a behavioural perspective. Instead of looking at policy instruments from a technology-push and demand-pull perspective, this paper samples them in terms of ‘sticks’, ‘carrots’ and ‘sermons’ and then provides a critical review of business models that have emerged in response to these types of policy regimes. The paper finds that most green business models that have emerged in the built environment - in response to sticks - may be characterised as buck-passing, i.e. passing costs to others and skirting around the stick of regulation. Those that emerge in response to carrots as opportunistic carpet-bagging aimed at capturing a temporary gain. Finally, those that emerged in response to sermon-orientated awareness campaigns, show a tendency to diffuse even in the absence of supportive fiscal conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution is a major health hazard in China and a serious focus of governmental concern. To reduce the levels of air pollution will take a strategic realignment of priorities for all of the major players responsible for monitoring and implementing environmental controls to air emissions. Gaining and maintaining compliance of on-the-ground company directors and managers is essential to adequate pollution control, but to date little is known about how managers of heavily polluting companies view pro-environmental measures in their company operation. This paper identifies common characteristics of managers in heavy polluting industries, and measures the impact these characteristics have on corporate environmental behavior based on the survey data that was collected in 2013 from sixty energy companies in China's Shaanxi Province. Personal characteristics of these managers include age, gender, place of birth, level of education, average monthly household income, department, position, environmental awareness, and environmental behavior. Empirical results show that 33.5% of managers that belong to companies with high corporate environmental behavior scores also have the highest level of environmental awareness and environmental behavior. Managers' environmental behavior, awareness and education are significantly positively correlated to corporate environmental behavior. The research also discovered that managers' seniority is positively correlated with corporate environmental behavior, which indicates that senior managers have higher environmental awareness and knowledge. The paper concluded that distinct differences between senior management types related to their core underlying values and these differences matter both for environmental protection and training. Understanding how company directors and managers view their roles in relationship to company environmental protection will require a nuanced approach that rejects a simple uni-dimensional conceptualization of company managers' relationship to environmental implementation. By extension, a “single-service” educational approach will also need to be rejected since one message aimed at one set of values will not tap into the range of environmental motivations and values currently held by those in management positions and therefore will be less effective than training approaches that are targeted at specific types of managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public environmental awareness (PEA) is critical to the implementation of environmental policies by governments and product strategies by companies, however, there is less literature discussing its drivers. Environmental information disclosure (EID), as a bottom-up environmental policy, promotes public environmental management. This paper takes the Pollution Information Transparency Index (PITI) as a proxy for the degree of EID and discusses its impact on PEA. Using the PITI of 113 cities and the Baidu index-based PEA for 30 provinces from 2010 to 2019, we find a significant increase in PEA with the widening of EID, and the impacts of EID get larger as the quantile increases. Moreover, the effects of EID on PEA are amplified in areas with heavy pollution, high levels of green innovation, and stringent environmental governance capacities, but are diminished in areas with rampant corruption. The findings of this paper provide recommendations for optimizing EID implementation. • With the expansion of EID, PEA has increased significantly. • The impacts of EID on PEA are amplified in areas with high pollution, green innovation, and strict governance capacities. • The impacts of EID on PEA are diminished in areas with rampant corruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the conceptual and practical linkages between climate change governance, diversity of authority and regenerative sustainability. It empirically explains such linkages in the context of adaptive flood risk management in the delta cities of Rotterdam and Hong Kong which are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. It addresses three questions: 1) if what is being witnessed is a transition to more inclusive, engaging, empowering, place-sensitive modes of urban climate governance gaining authority to deliver climate policy, how should these transitions be conceptualized and analysed ? 2) how do transitions towards collaborative governance and regenerative sustainability and the deployment of authority in these transitions serve manage the risk of flooding in places with different cultural and climatic settings? 3) what do different cases demonstrate in terms of the practical pathways and examples of implementation of regenerative sustainability ? Conceptual and empirical understandings are needed to assess whether these new, flexible forms of governance might ultimately challenge state-centred authority in the policy responses to climate change. This paper reveals that new governance systems are diluting, not supplanting, state authority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As CO 2 emissions differ in households with different characteristics, mitigation policies still address the contributions of these characteristics and their effects on specific households. Using a representative resident survey in urban China, this paper compares how household characteristics differ in their associations with household embedded carbon emissions (HECEs) at different levels by quantile regression; then, this paper analyzes the contributions of these characteristics by Shapley decomposition. The findings include the following: (i) household income is the most important contributor to the difference of HECEs, and its positive effect increases as HECEs rise; (ii) the use of wealth has different effects on HECEs because household housing ownership and deposits contribute little to HECEs, but the positive effects of household car ownership contribute 25.8%; (iii) young people and children will emit more HECEs than adults; the employed emit more than persons who are unemployed or retired; (iv) education increases HECEs overall but mainly at the low quantiles; the negative effect of the marriage increases as HECEs rise; (v) income, car ownership, marital status, size and constitution of households with high HECEs should be addressed to reduce the inequality of HECEs. Indeed, education on the low-carbon concept is another way forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]