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This paper analyses the role of libraries in the development of Open Educational Resources (OER) and, more specifically, the impact and level of implementation of UNESCO's (2019) OER Recommendation in Higher Education libraries. This study, the result of a joint undertaking between a national R&D project and SPARC Europe, is based on an online survey, disseminated amongst the European Network of Open Education Librarians (ENOEL) and uses a descriptive research methodology. The results highlight the implementation actions being taken by university libraries (n = 136) in each of the five areas of action of UNESCO's Recommendation. We find that the main contributions are being made in the areas of capacity building and Open Education policies, but that considerable work has yet to be done in terms of promoting inclusiveness and the sustainability of OER. Thus, the full implementation of UNESCO's recommendation requires a greater commitment on the part of librarians to joint actions undertaken via international networks and projects, as well as greater institutional commitment and the building of interdepartmental alliances.

Students' action competence must be taught and developed, particularly for prospective science teachers, to have a pedagogical perspective as environmental educators. As indicated by publications in respected journals, researchers' focus and alignment on the issue of action competence are highly expected. This systematic literature review aims to compare the findings of research articles published by Web of Science-indexed journals. The keyword used to find the articles on the Web of Science's database was "action competence," which discovered 193 publications. Furthermore, 25 articles met the criteria to be analyzed. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis was the inclusion and exclusion model used. In the last three years, research focused on action competence has increased. The research employed several methods, i.e., qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods, and development research. Jelle Boevede Pauw and Wanda Sass were the authors who frequently published research that focused on action competence. The keyword action competence was directly associated with environmental education, sustainable development, education-based learning for sustainable development, and evaluation. The authors who published their research with this focus were from 16 countries, mainly from Europe, i.e., Sweden, Belgium, and Denmark. The continent diversity of authors who contributed articles indicated that the action competence issue had become a global concern. Furthermore, it was found that the number of non-collaborating publications (universities or countries) was higher than those collaborating, even though single authors rarely wrote the articles. The recent trend shows that publications are authored by scientists with various backgrounds such as fields, universities, and even countries. The authors of this paper developed and proposed eight ideas to be reflected by prospective science teachers or science teacher education providers in educating future science teachers concerned about action competence about sustainable development.

This paper discusses the representation of resource exploitation and consumption in German geography textbooks. The aim of the paper is to contribute to a critical and reflective understanding of the representation of resource-related issues in textbooks by analyzing two scientific debates (resource curse and actor analysis). The paper shows that all studied geography textbooks contribute to a certain degree to awareness raising in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), but references to the everyday life of students are rare. There are only few action-orientated tasks in the frame of resource exploitation and consumption in the studied textbooks. As real-world examples help develop students' critical thinking skills and shape their ideas of sustainable development, these aspects reflect a pedagogical shortcoming.

This article discusses the challenges and opportunities identified in the implementation of the Citylab project in Latin America during the period of 2015-2018. The project was funded by the Erasmus+ Key action 2 programme of the European Union. The project aims to innovate teaching for sustainability in higher education institutions through Problem Based Learning (PBL). Opposed to traditional teaching methods, the pedagogical approach of PBL is a learner-centred approach that takes a complex problem as point of departure instead of existing established knowledge. Since application of such learning methods is limited in Latin America, the Citylab project attempts to introduce PBL in the existing curricula of 12 Latin American universities through the implementation and development of interdisciplinary Citylab modules focusing on sustainable urban development. Citylab project will be presented. Third, we highlight some critical issues and success factors experienced during the project. The findings of this paper are based on (1) self-reported questionnaires from the partners at the end of 2017; (2) onsite visits by the authors and expert visits; (3) focus groups, interviews and conversations with project leaders of the participating institutions during the project. Depending on the institution, the project results were varying in terms of innovation and upscaling potential. Critical factors were related to the role of the project leader in the organization, the flexibility of the implementation and cultural differences. Internal regulations created both incentives and disincentives for participation. Competitive elements in the project and available resources for equipment can act as stimulators in some cases. The challenge lies moreover in detecting windows of opportunities for change in order to accomplish curriculum reform and by doing so, pursue continuation of the PBL approach after the project's horizon.

Nature-Based Solutions concepts and practices are being used worldwide as part of attempts to address societal challenges but have also been criticised for not dealing with deeper transformations needed to face urgent issues including biodiversity loss, climate change and inclusion. In this paper, we explore how an inclusive, integrated and long-sighted approach, emphasising a more radical integration of nature within cities, might support the transformations needed to endure major contemporary challenges. Addressing important emerging critiques of Nature-Based Solutions, we consider the potential of a more incisive form of Nature-Based Thinking (NBT) in cities, based on more holistic perspectives. The paper draws on a reflective and iterative research process that engaged both the research and practice communities through a symposium and a series of futures workshops that together explored the potential of NBT to develop future nature-cities relations in Europe and Latin America. The results of the reflective process suggest that notions of nature with people-not for people- new organisational structures, and the intention and capacity to apply long-term perspectives, are needed when planning for NBS interventions aimed at sustainable urban development. This includes developing a cultural-structural change based on new and inclusive understandings of human-nature relations, and novel governance paradigms that allow cross-sectoral coordination and engagement of local stakeholders beyond formal organisational structures., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Less than seven years remain for Europe to meet the targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However robust and accurate methods for assessing SDG progress are currently lacking. Through the development of several SDG indices, this study addresses this critical knowledge gap by providing the means to accurately identify national 'problem areas' and thereby accelerate SDG achievement. Specifically, an indicator-based approach has been used to create a composite index containing 166 unique SDG indicators that assess a nation's SDG performance compared to the best and worst performers in the European Union (EU). Our results indicate that each EU nation is on average, 58% of the way towards the best performer in the overall SDG indicator framework. A nuanced taxonomy has been developed that allows for the assessment of SDG performance in several critical dimensions of the SDGs, including in 'Means-of-Implementation (MoI)', 'Linkage', and 'Outcome' indicators. The index's comprehensive framework allows for EU's performance in individual SDG indicators to be investigated while providing the most accurate assessment of national SDG performance, to date. Overall, the indices presented in this paper can significantly enhance the understanding of SDG performance while concurrently guiding national and EU SDG policy development., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Murphy et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Copyright of Pasos: Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural is the property of Universidad de La Laguna, Instituto Universitario de Ciencias Politicas y Sociales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Considered among the fastest-growing industries in the world, tourism brings immense benefits but also creates certain challenges. Conservation of natural resources is a stringent necessity, without which the extraordinary ecosystems' attributes that create the premises for nature-based tourism would reduce, alter, and subsequently disappear. The aim of the present review is twofold: gaining a general understanding of what nature-based tourism is and providing a systematic literature review of articles on nature-based tourism in European national and natural parks, with emphasis on their applicability. The articles included in the present review were selected based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The review accounts for research conducted between 2000 and 2021 and is divided into two sections: articles aimed at understanding tourists' behaviour and articles that are focused on other stakeholders or have the local communities in the foreground. While many studies are aimed at understanding tourists' behaviour as a means of improving parks' management, participatory strategies including local communities are often indicated as beneficial. The results of this paper can facilitate future research in the field and provide valuable knowledge to policymakers and any interested parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discourse surrounding digital transformation (DT) and sustainable development (SD) is pervasive in contemporary business and organizational operations, with both processes considered indispensable for sustainability. The success or failure of these endeavors hinges significantly on factors such as the behavior and skill sets of individuals within organizations. Thus, the purpose of the paper is twofold: to investigate the perceptions of organizations on digital transformation and sustainable development with regards to skills and education, and, secondly, to use the insights from these perceptions as a starting point for the use of systems thinking as a tool that could assist in achieving these states. To achieve the objective, a research effort was conducted that included desktop research, interviews with experts, and the development of a survey that was disseminated across Europe with questions on digital transformation and sustainable development. Finally, a general causal loop diagram was designed, illustrating the processes of digital transformation and sustainable development within organizations from a top-down view. The study reveals commonalities between DT and SD, recognizing both processes as advantageous with shared deficiencies in specific skill sets. It highlights a synergistic relationship between initiating DT and fostering SD activities. Furthermore, the research underscores the temporal aspects of these processes, acknowledging delayed positive effects and immediate implementation costs that challenge decision-makers to balance long-term benefits with short-term viability. In conclusion, the exploration emphasizes the dynamic nature of DT and SD, urging continual attention to the evolving landscape and the imperative for a shared understanding within organizational contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social work (SW) is criticized for its (i) inconsistent ontology, epistemology, and methodology and (ii) co-dependency with the capitalist hegemony, which is the main cause of multiple crises that primarily affect the most vulnerable. Addressing these issues is of paramount importance if SW is to achieve its core mandate of promoting social change, social development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people. The purpose of this paper is to assert that SW can address these issues by learning from the (i) Settlement House Movement (SHM), especially the Hull-House tradition of SW; and (ii) current endeavors of the Social Solidarity Economy (SSE). We were led to this assertion because we noticed in our research, in the area of SSE of vulnerable groups and SW, remarkable similarities and potentials of these two approaches to help transform SW. Our argument is based on data and insight gained from (i) a narrative literature review on the history of SW and the nature of SSE; and (ii) a systematic scoping review of the SSE of People of African Descent (PAD) in Europe. In this paper, we elaborate on our key arguments and provide examples and recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pension systems around Europe are being reformed for several decades already. Main objectives of the reforms are to enable people to have adequate income at retirement and to ensure the system’s financial sustainability. Many European countries implemented policies aiming at diversification of financing sources of income at older age: risk-sharing between pay-as-you-go and funded pensions is expected to help in achieving social policy objectives towards pension systems. Central and Eastern European countries (CEE) face even more challenges in ensuring adequate income at retirement. First, CEE countries were required to transform radically their economies in 1990s towards market economy, including old age pension systems. Second, in order to ensure diversified future old age pension income and attract more financial means to the system, introduction of funded pensions from scratch and ensuring as wide as possible coverage with funded pension schemes was of primary importance also. The paper discusses latest developments of retirement pension systems in Europe and state involvement in private pension schemes. In doing so, the focus is on the introduction of funded private pension schemes in selected CEE countries. In spite of initially chosen different paths for the reforms, inconsistent state policies towards funded pensions in the CEE countries resulted in similar outcomes of the reforms. The paper starts with discussion on main objectives of pension systems – enabling people to have adequate income at retirement and ensuring financial sustainability of the systems. Further, possibilities to achieve the objectives of pension reforms are analysed – diversification of income at retirement. Third part of the paper discusses prevailing debates on future of welfare state as such and individualisation trends within different European welfare state models. These debates and perceptions of population about responsibilities of a state for individual welfare affect direction of reforms and future shape of old age pension systems. Fourth part of the paper deals with state policies and tools that are used for encouragement of participation in supplementary pensions. Final part of the paper presents more detailed outline of the pension reforms in selected CEE countries and summarises particular challenges of their pension systems. The paper ends with a discussion on policy implications in relation to latest developments of pension systems in CEE countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to summarize the available important information on local pig breeds maintained in Europe. Genetic erosion has prompted national and international bodies to take organized action aimed at the minimization of further losses of biodiversity. Since the genetic resources of livestock ensure both food security and the sustainable development of rural areas, genetic diversity is indispensable for sufficient flexibility of future animal husbandry to adapt to changing consumer demands and climatic conditions. Therefore, the problem of biodiversity has recently become an essential part of the comprehensive international program of the World Conservation Strategy and the global idea of the so-called sustainable development. The issue of biodiversity protection occupies an important place in the provisions of the EU Common Agricultural Policy. The successive financial perspectives assume an increase in relevant expenditure from the EU and national budgets. With regard to the protection of native pig breeds, a particularly large increase in funding was recorded in 2014–2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the emerging topics of the international debate for safe mobility in urban areas with an innovative interpretation. This is the bibliometric mapping of the most recurrent concepts (keywords) of almost 80 scientific publications. The paper framework moves from the issue of the sustainability of cities and through a mobility lens. In Europe by 2030 cities have to become climateneutral and some main urban strategy to achieve this result is focused on transport and mobility sectors. The interpretation of the bibliometric mapping results leads to highlighting the shortcomings of some topics within the scientific debate. The Qualiquantitaive Data Analysis was applied to set the interdependency among research fields and better understand the interrelation among the different topics. The key concepts of don't emerge clearly as an object of research and they will be included in future reflections about the transformative capacity of the city through sustainability and in the development of city strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing importance of maturity smart cities is currently observed worldwide. The vast majority of smart city models focus on hard domains such as communication and technology infrastructure. Scientists emphasize the need to take into account social capital and the knowledge of residents. The smart cities invest in enhanced openness and transparency data. Mature smart cities use real-time evidences and information to citizens, businesses and visitors. The smart cities are characterized by bottom-down management and civil government. The paper aims to assess the urban smartness of selected European cities based on the ISO 37120 standard. Several research methods including the Multidimensional Statistical Analysis (MSA) were applied. Using the statistical analysis of European smart cities with the implemented ISO 37120 standard, the author tried to fill gaps in the knowledge and to evaluate maturity smart cities. The results of the research have shown that the smart city concept is a viable strategy which contributes to the urban sustainability. The author also found out that urban sustainability frameworks contain a large number of indicators measuring environmental sustainability, the smart city frameworks lack environmental indicators while highlighting social and economic aspects., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The economic crisis triggered by the pandemic and continued by the economic recession resulting from the geopolitical conflict worsened in 2023, generating a series of economic bottlenecks and reduced growth rates in European economies amidst financial banking instability. Currently, the social economy is analysed in direct connection with rising unemployment and inflation. As a result, the analysis in the paper is focused on finding solutions in order to recover the social economy by increasing employment and social inclusion. The statistical information come from the EU official statistical database Eurostat. The results will be useful for the identification of social policies for the recovery of the European social economy and will highlight the main directions for its sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to understand public preferences for several future scenarios of achieving a healthier, more equitable and sustainable Europe, which differ in the way the society is organized (individualistically vs. collectively) and in the driving sector (public vs. private). To achieve this aim, we conducted a questionnaire survey using representative samples for five European countries in 2018. About three thousand respondents chose among the four scenarios presented within four different contexts (green spaces, active mobility, energy-efficient housing, food consumption) or none of them. A majority of people in the five European countries were ready to accept one of the scenarios. We found significant differences in preferences according to socioeconomic backgrounds and values of respondents. People above 35 years old, those who were less educated, and those in the lowest household income tertile were less supportive of all scenarios. The heterogeneity in preferences associated with differences in socioeconomic backgrounds was larger for the scenario in which society is organized individualistically and driven by the private sector. Smaller distinctions were found in case of the scenario in which society is organized collectively and is driven by the public sector. Departing from social psychological theories, we examine the role of altruistic, biospheric, egoistic, hedonic, and security values. People with stronger biospheric values were more likely to accept scenarios, particularly those which are driven by the public sector and where there is more collective organisation. Those with a more egoistic value orientation were more likely to have higher preferences for scenarios where the private sector had a dominant role. The policy implications, in terms of the selection and framing of policy measures to enhance public support, are discussed.

Innovations supporting a shift towards more sustainable food systems can be developed within the dominant food system regime or in alternative niches. No study has compared the challenges faced in each context. This paper, based on an analysis of 25 cases of European innovations that support crop diversification, explores the extent to which barriers to crop diversification can be related to the proximity of innovation settings with dominant food systems. Drawing on a qualitative analysis of interviews and participatory brainstorming, we highlight 46 different barriers to crop diversification across the cases, at different levels: production; downstream operations from farm to retailing, marketing and consumers; and contracts and coordination between actors. To characterise the diversity of innovation strategies at food system level, we introduce the concept of "food system innovation settings" combining: (i) the type of innovative practice promoted at farm level; (ii) the type of value chain supporting that innovation; and (iii) the type of agriculture involved (organic or conventional). Through a multiple correspondence analysis, we show different patterns of barriers to crop diversification according to three ideal-types of food system innovation settings: (i) "Changing from within", where longer rotations are fostered on conventional farms involved in commodity supply chains; (ii) "Building outside", where crop diversification integrates intercropping on organic farms involved in local supply chains; and (iii) "Playing horizontal", where actors promote alternative crop diversification strategies-either strictly speaking horizontal at spatial level (e.g. strip cropping) or socially horizontal (arrangement between farmers)-without directly challenging the vertical organisation of dominant value chains. We recommend designing targeted research and policy actions according to the food systems they seek to develop. We then discuss further development of our approach to analyse barriers faced in intermediate and hybrid food system configurations., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The goal of the paper is to elaborate an empirical overview of green technological development in European regions. This is a timely pursuit considering the ambitious commitments stipulated in the recent European Green Deal to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Our analysis is organised in three steps. First, we map the geographical distribution of innovative activities in Europe and profile regions in terms of technological capabilities. Second, we elaborate a metric to identify regions' green innovation potential. Third, we check whether possessing a comparative advantage in specific, green and non-green, technological domains is associated with a region's capacity to develop green technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When we talk about Space, our interlocutors think about planets, stars, asteroids, astronauts and, sometimes satellites. But, only a small percentage is aware of what satellite technology can do and the relevance of satellite applications in our everyday life. From satellite communication, to navigation and to earth imagery, satellites data and technology are contributing in improving our daily life, or businesses or helping the management of our cities. Often, the end users come across an obstacle in communicating their needs to the service providers. On the other side, the service providers themselves are not fully aware how to communicate with the end-users. In some cases, this lack of communication makes difficult to meet the demand of space applications from the user side with the supply from the service providers. Eurisy, an association of space agencies established thirty years ago, works to put the end users at the core of the space value chain. In this last decades, Eurisy has been attentive and responsive to the changes of the space sector trying to picture how end users are becoming familiar with space technology. In particular, how the democratisation of space is turning space, especially satellite technology, into an enabler to guarantee the development of a sustainable living, accessible to everyone. Eurisy recently started a review of the case studies collected over the last ten years thanks to direct testimonials, event and conferences, publications and surveys. The user-centred approach adopted is innovative in the space sector and over the years proved to be effective in connecting users and service providers in different contexts. The paper aims at: 1- Identifying challenges and barriers that characterise the relations between service and/or information providers and end users. 2- Analysing the changes occurred in the relations between end users and service providers from 2007 to date in Europe. 3- Presenting the reasons that motivates the use of satellite data and technologies and which of these is the most used. 4- Presenting Eurisy's approach as an applicable model outside the European borders and the benefits deriving from connecting space and society. Furthermore, the paper will briefly present the ongoing activities as examples of the work put in place by the organisation and how the user-centred approach is applied. • The so-called democratisation of space has consequences on the downstream sector. • End users are mostly local and regional public authorities. • Central Europe seems to be the most fertile area where to find use cases. • The main technology adopted is Satellite Navigation. SatComs are not common. • Eurisy works putting the end-users central in the space value chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the ecosystem services which are provided by agriculture land and on the urban sprawl in the study area of municipality with extended powers Třebíč. The main focus of this article is to evaluate what ecosystem services are provided to Czech society by the agricultural land and assess their financial value and also evaluate which ecosystem services disappear or are limited due to urban sprawl on agricultural land. Generally, the topic of ecosystem services in agriculture comes under focus especially in view of the recurring drought in Europe and on-going climate change. Also the subject of urbanization and decreasing area available for agriculture is a wide-spread phenomena in Europe. The practical output of this paper will comprise of better insight on function and value of land under agriculture use which is lost due to urban development and raising the awareness amongst the society on the fast-growing trend of unsustainable urban sprawl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variety of elements in nature, from a pine cone's bracts to a spiral galaxy, are described by a unique mathematical relationship described by Fibonacci as adhering to the "golden ratio". In forest management, various models are used to achieve a balance between forest use and conservation that meets societal expectations in both ecological and economic terms. In Central European countries, where forest management has been subordinated to the timber industry, such a transition is still in progress, and people continue to look for an acceptable balance between forest conservation and management. The main objective of this paper is to review approaches to forest management in Central Europe with the aim of contributing to current discussions on forest management models in Europe. We anticipate that the new EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 will implement the billion-tree afforestation program with appropriate consideration of forest potential based on the tenets of sustainable management and that the future climate will be neutral. We hope that the forestry aspects of the strategy will provide a positive impetus to forest management by finding effective compromises between forest conservation and forest use in furthering the aims of sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One quarter of global energy consumption goes towards meeting transport needs. In Europe, the share of energy for transport is much higher and accounts for about a third. Therefore, it is very important to monitor the sustainable development and progress of the sector. This paper seeks to develop a framework for the sustainability assessment of road transport in EU countries and to evaluate the countries' achievements in the last decade. The research adheres to the provision that the developed framework should be easily applied in future studies. Therefore, significant attention is paid to the selection of indicators and their availability, as well as the selection of the research instrument itself. The multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) technique TOPSIS has been applied for calculations and countries' ranking, in order to compare countries' achievements in the last decade (2010–2020). The last ten years' analysis allows us to identify the direction of individual countries in developing road transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper brings into the spotlight the concept of smart city, emerging from major economic, social and environmental considerations and developed to provide new possibilities for the inhabitants, but also to limit the impact of human activities on the environment. Thus, the authors initiate a presentation of attempts to define the smart city, highlighting the six dimensions on its development in a sustainable context. Moreover, as one of the greatest challenges of mankind today is to ensure the increasing demand for energy by maintaining the balance with the environment, the paper highlights aspects regarding the use of a form of renewable energy, known as bioenergy. This is one of the key factors for ensuring the sustainable development of smart cities and beyond. Taking into account that smart cities have a smart energy approach, in the last part of the paper the authors present ways to integrate bioenergy into the functioning of such urban areas in Europe and build a map of smart European cities which make use of bioenergy in the benefit of population's consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU has committed to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Reaching this objective requires massive changes in the region. The biggest challenge is that the green transition happens without sacrificing economic progress and guaranteeing justice and inclusiveness. This pledge implies that every country be capable of addressing the trade-offs between targets while remaining committed towards the common decarbonisation goal. Our paper analyses the success with which countries are carrying out the energy transition. We propose an enhanced hyperbolic distance function and a stochastic frontier analysis approach to model the joint attainment of economic development, environmental sustainability, and energy equity. We apply our model to an unbalanced panel dataset of 29 European countries for the period 2005–2018. Our estimates show that the average performance of the economies has improved over time. The results also highlight the pivotal role of a sustainable economic development with clean energies for both slashing CO 2 emissions and fostering energy equity. Moreover, we find convergence in countries' performance, being this convergence slightly higher for the EU-15 countries compared to the rest. Finally, we show that a higher share of renewable energy sources helps countries that are lagging behind to reach their optimal performance level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The state of food security in the world, including that of Europe and Central Asia (ECA), was highlighted in 2020 by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the fact that the food security status of millions of people in ECA, particularly the most vulnerable and those living in fragile contexts, would deteriorate if swift action was not taken as soon as possible became apparent. Improving cereal yield is the key for the ECA to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 2.1 to end hunger by 2030. Impressive cereal yield growth has been witnessed within the ECA from 1991 to 2020, but there is still significant variation across the five sub-regions. This paper aimed to analyze the evolutionary trends and convergence of cereal yield in countries of the ECA from 1991 to 2020 for four major cereals: wheat, maize, barley and oats. The findings show that there is strong evidence of σ-convergence and absolute and conditional β-convergence for cereal yield in the ECA, which indicates that countries with low yield in the initial stages have totally experienced higher growth rate, and yield in countries farther away from the steady-state have to have faster growth rate to converge to the steady-state. The presence of club convergence is also identified in terms of geographic location and income level, simultaneously. Therefore, cereal yield in the ECA has converged to the whole and to different groups at the same time, which provides some evidence of agricultural technology spillover effect in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancing agricultural and other environmental performances has become an essential part of sustainable development policy in countries around the globe. Although Europe is considered as a global leader in the environmental competitiveness, the national economies within Europe region achieve different results in this field. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate current agricultural and other environmental performances of sixteen Central and East European (CEE) countries, but also to identify critical determinants for its improvement in the future period. The research is conducted through comparative analysis, benchmarking method, and correlation analysis. The data basis includes the Environmental Performance Index (2018). The research findings suggest the inferiority of CEE countries in the comparison with the bestranked European countries. The paper contributes to the sustainability literature and could serve as a practical guide in the process of formulating the development policies connected with agricultural and other environmental performances in CEE countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of integration and future developments within the European Union (EU) covers the issues of environmental protection, sustainable development and energy efficiency. These issues are becoming a significant part of economic and social development and appear as a factor for assessing the competitiveness of the EU countries. Therefore, this paper focuses on: the implementation of achieving the climate and energy objectives in line with the Europe 2020 Strategy, the environmental sustainability of EU countries under the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) and the assessment of the competitiveness of the EU countries on the basis of ecological development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scientific paper presents a practical research carried out by the authors in order to implement certain concepts of technical nature, so that those interested in this field can become aware of a certain way of exposing the problems regarding the role of technology and autonomous vehicles in the sustainable development of car transportation. According to previous research, it has been found that human error has a share of about 95% in the occurrence of road accidents in Europe, causing thousands of human lives to be taken away annually. Experts in the field say that autonomous vehicles can significantly reduce this percentage and at the same time contribute to increasing road safety. Digital technology also has its advantages and disadvantages. It helps reduce congestion and pollution in road traffic, increases access to mobility for people with disabilities, creates new jobs, brings economic growth, increases safety in road traffic but can also become dangerous when disturbances and malfunctions make their mark on artificial intelligence. We present further a technical and managerial study with engineering nuances, through which readers can look at and understand the concept of sustainable development in a global context, presenting the place, role and current stage of development of the autonomous vehicle in the road transport system. At the end, some conclusions and further research directions in the approached field are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local currencies represent an alternative to fiat money. They contribute to the development of local communities, primarily by supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, which remain fundamental for the economy of every European country. The purpose of the study is to identify both ways and methods focused on supporting the implementation of the concept of sustainable development by the selected local currencies in the area of Europe, analysed in the years 1932-2020. The paper takes the form a descriptive analysis based on the studies covering Polish, Czech, Dutch, German and English source literature as well as the Community Currencies in Action (CCIA) publications, websites of the analysed local currencies and other studies in the field of financial law. The method of comparative analysis was used to examine the similarities and differences in supporting the implementation of the concept of sustainable development. The basic conclusion formulated after conducting the research is the fact that each local currency does support sustainable development in an indirect way. In addition, certain local currencies can be identified, in the case of which the support of sustainable development is the essence of their functioning. The effectiveness of the impact exerted by local currencies on sustainable development depends on the involvement of the creators of these currency systems and the specificity of the existing conditions. The ability to establish partnerships between non-governmental organisations, business entities and public administration may also play a significant role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2018 European bioeconomy strategy sets a new vision for Europe's sustainable development: a transition to regenerative resource usage that embraces circular principles. Similarly, various member states have developed national bioeconomy strategies. To be effective, such strategies require methodologically sound monitoring tools that support the alignment of national and urban policies. Indeed, cities are central to the bioeconomy, mobilizing ever increasing amounts of biogenic materials. To better understand the suitability of national bioeconomy strategies for guiding urban circular bioeconomy transitions, this paper examines the composition, features, and topical coverage of national bioeconomy indicator sets with a threefold analysis: (1) assessment of the integration of circularity principles in the sets and their alignment with existing policy frameworks; (2) appraisal of quality and the fulfillment of the sets' functional purposes; (3) evaluation of the breadth and depth of tackled issues. Of the 27 EU member states, only nine have a dedicated bioeconomy strategy, of which four propose an indicator set. While there is a general lack of sophisticated monitoring, the tools proposed after the publication of the 2018 bioeconomy strategy (Germany and Italy) follow indicator development standards rigorously. They include circularity in their notion of bioeconomy and combine indicators for a comprehensive, substantial, informative and politically relevant analysis. These characteristics strongly improve the potential for alignment and coherence with urban-level bioeconomy monitoring efforts. Although national measuring tools are not intended to cover all urban needs, the findings of this paper give insight into their remaining gaps and highlight improvement pathways for an efficient EU-wide circular bioeconomy transition. [Display omitted] • Most EU national bioeconomy strategies lack sophisticated indicator sets. • National bioeconomy strategies should favor alignment with other policy levels. • Thoroughly developed indicator sets allow targeted answers to environmental change. • Recent strategies follow indicator development standards more rigorously. • Recent indicator sets enable monitoring of urban circular bioeconomy transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a systematic literature review of how market-based instruments can influence the development of sustainable innovation. Our analysis of empirical papers published in selected peer-reviewed journals from 1992 to 2021 shows that contextual factors such as geography and industrial sector impact whether market-based instruments successfully stimulate firms to adopt sustainable innovation. Interestingly, while most of our selected papers on East Asia report positive effects of market-based instruments, about half of the papers on Europe report negative or non-significant effects. Moreover, we appear to uncover a link between the research method they use for analysis and the observed effectiveness of market-based instruments. We reflect on the limitations and bias in current methodological approaches and discuss explanations for our findings, implications for policymakers, and avenues for future research. • We review the effect of market-based instruments on sustainable innovation. • Results from 76 empirical papers show mixed effects. • The observed effect appears to depend on geography and the research method applied. • Instruments appear more effective in East Asia than in Europe. • Reported effectiveness is higher in studies using patent data versus surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been consolidated as a fundamental pillar of the new model of competitiveness and sustainable development of territories. However, there has still not been sufficient in-depth study of the role that geographical proximity plays in the digital inequalities that affect regional competitiveness. In this context, this paper aims to identify and characterise the clusters and patterns that define the spatial behaviour of ICT access and usage variables at household and individual level in the Technology Readiness (TR) pillar of the Regional Competitiveness Index (RCI). A database of 280 NUTS2 has been created in order to perform: i) an exploratory statistical analysis to show the regional behaviour of the ICT variables; and ii) a spatial autocorrelation analysis to detect the presence of spatial dependence. The results at regional level in Europe demonstrate that: i) the greatest inequalities occur in the ICT usage variables and not in those of access; ii) the indicators of TR create a spatial pattern with a gradient from the regions of the extreme north-west to south-western and eastern Europe; and iii) there is evidently an opportunity to incorporate other regional variables of ICT usage for future editions of the RCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the economic crisis that started in the United States in 2007, economic growth has become of great importance for the countries affected by the crisis further to their confrontation with lower growth rates of GDP per capita. At national level, governments are searching for that mix of optimal economic policies that would revive economies on the upward and also sustainable trend. One of the key policies in this regard, especially for the countries in Central and Eastern Europe which intend to adopt the euro currency, is the tax policy. Its main instruments are taxes. In this paper, we pay special attention to these instruments and to the connection that they have with the economic growth. This paper is divided into three parts. The first part presents a few ideas related to the importance of taxes at national level, the second part is an analysis in terms of taxation of the Central and Eastern Europe countries, while the third part consists of a panel-type assessment of the relation between economic growth and taxation level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The imperative conditions for sustainable development both in Europe and around the world, waste collection is a fundamental goal, one way to achieve this is to develop circular economies. In this context, the paper analyzes the evolutions of the recycling rate of packaging waste by type of packaging in Romania compared to the 27 states of the European Union, as well as to other states in Europe. The analysis revealed that, among the 30 states included in the analysis, Romania moved from 28th place in 2006 to 23rd place in 2018, but is still quite far from the European Union average. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to present a new approach of business intelligence technologies in the context of sustainable development of the railways. The concept of business intelligence is increasingly used in the developed companies and considering that the current economic market is more dynamic from year to year, business intelligence solutions plays an important role for companies to be able to develop efficient plans for both short-term and medium and long term developing. This paper will focus on two technologies: data-warehouse and datamining and how are they use in the railway business. The subject adapts to the current development trend of European countries to direct the transport of freight and passengers to the railway for support environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

End-of-life vehicles (ELV) represent a relevant waste source in Europe, even if ELV recycling is a priority of the European Union waste legislation and Environment Action Programmes (EAPs). End-of-Life Tires (ELTs) constitute a relevant portion of ELV waste. Textile fibre, which is a relevant portion of the ELT material, is considered as a special waste (European Waste Catalogue – EWC code 19.12.08). The main problem related to textile fibre is its contamination with rubber which does not allow to obtain a pure product economically and qualitatively useable. The aim of this paper is to illustrate an innovative technology for ELT fibre's recycling, which allows to transform textile fibre into a useful secondary raw material for different applications. In particular, the use of ELT fibre as additive for bituminous conglomerates has been investigated. The different processes have been analysed from an environmental point of view, applying the Life Cycle Assessment methodology. It came up there is an impact reduction in case the ELT fibre is reused as additive for bituminous conglomerates, instead of disposing it (through incineration). Moreover, the financial and economic sustainability of the related technological process has been evaluated to check whether the process is sustainable in the long term. Starting from the results of the Life Cycle Assessment, economic performance indicators have been calculated, by applying the European Commission methodology for cost-benefit analysis. According to the present cost-benefit analysis, in the medium and long term the system is financially viable, and the high economic profitability makes the process economically sustainable. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis as well as a risk assessment have been carried out in order to identify critical variables, evaluate risks and define risk mitigation measures. According to the sensitivity analysis performed, the project is not highly risky since even in the worst scenario the possible loss is moderate. Based on the results of this analysis, it can be concluded that this ELT fibre's recycling system can be replicated across Europe, conveniently fostered by national policies (such as subsidies, value added tax etc.). • A crucial technological add-on to existing installations is illustrated. • The aim is to transform ELT textile fibre into a useful secondary raw material for different applications. • ELT fibre's reuse presents a reduced environmental impact in comparison to the fibre's incineration. • The high economic profitability makes this recycling system economically sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Comparative Economic Research is the property of Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Lodzkiego and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Comparative Economic Research is the property of Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Lodzkiego and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The European Union Regions of Development are characterized by substantial social, economic, and territorial disparities. There also recorded large economic disparities between rural and urban areas. The Romanian rural areas includes: 2860 communes, 12,956 villages, representing around 90% of the Romanian territory and 45 % of its population. It has the main agricultural and forestry resources and over 9.6 million inhabitants. Of these, 506 communes and 2414 villages are located in the 6 counties of The North East Region of Development, one of the poorest regions of development within European Union. This paper is focused on the regional development issues in the rural areas of this region and is aimed to evaluate the resources that haven't been enough capitalized in this region and to indentify solutions to improve the socio- economic situation in the next years, through a balanced development strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper considers the significant transformations in the social dimensions of science in last decades. It is argued that science is no more "productive force" only, but it becomes a powerful factor for economic growth, enhancement of quality of life and social prosperity. Another tendency is the enhanced science-policy interactions, as well as the growing role of knowledge transfer and research ethics. New concepts, related to the increasing importance of the social functions of science, have occurred - "knowledge society, "knowledge-based economy, "sustainable development". The scientometric study, presented in the paper, based on counting the publications on science-society relations and issuing new scientific journals on the considered topic, supports these statements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is no secret that while the European Union (EU) has taken up commitments to combat climate change under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Paris Agreement and its own 2020 and 2030 climate and energy package strategy, the Union continues to be heavily dependent on the import of fossil fuels from abroad. One may even say that this leads to a cognitive dissonance, i.e. the discomfort which ensues if one holds two contradictory values, with respect to the externalisation of the Union's energy and sustainable development policy. On the one hand, the EU aims to become a global frontrunner in the field of promoting renewable energy and sustainable development. This expresses itself through the inclusion of specific chapters on Trade and Sustainable Development in the EU's Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) (standard since the 2011 EU-South Korea FTA). On the other, the EU realises that it is imperative to secure the Union's security of energy supply, still largely guaranteed by fossil fuels. Therefore, the Union in parallel attempts to eliminate discriminatory practices in international fossil fuel trade in its bilateral agreements (e.g. in the EU-Ukraine Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement). This paper will explore the root causes of this cognitive dissonance and research what elements could contribute to ensuring more coherence in EU external energy policy. The objectives of sustainable development and security of supply are not necessarily contradictory per se. However, clearer delineations between the two objectives are necessary in EU external relations in general, and in the Union's FTAs more specifically. This also applies to relations between Member States and the Union in this area, as well as to the interactions between the relevant EU institutions tasked with energy, sustainable development and the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the technological advance in electricity generation techniques and the prevailing need for sustainable development of countries, the massive use of alternative energies has been in force for the last 15 years, with clear goals towards 2020 for sustainable development. At the regulatory level, Colombia cannot be left behind in the regulation, and progress has already been made on the subject with law 1715 of 2014 and several decrees of incentives in the promotion of renewable energies. The objective of this paper is to show the state of the art on the way in which the net balance and residential energy self-consumption by DER is handled by several tax regulations in different countries of Europe; moreover, it will also go into detail about the advantages offered by using a selected methodology to consider fair charges of support for the use of the electrical network by generators distributed from photovoltaic solar energy, all this as a contribution to advances already made in this field. This is provided from a network planning approach, in which a long-term methodology is selected that efficiently integrates the distributed generation into the interconnected system and allows transition periods in its implementation to avoid disruption of network operators (ORs). Likewise, this analysis is supported by the simulated operation of a system with DER together with the changes in load flows due to decongestion and surplus injection that the electric system has in the scenario of massive use of these resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the data collected through a survey which examined attitudes of participants in the costal maritime traffic of the Republic of Croatia on the introduction of electric ships in the system. Croatia has one of the most indented coastlines in Europe and the world, and 2.92% of its total population lives just on the islands. An important factor for the life of the island's population and sustainable development of the island is certainly public traffic in the coastal maritime traffic services which includes 51 state line and serviced by 14 shipping companies with 77 ships. Permanent and regular lines between the islands and mainland and between the islands is essential for sustainable development of the islands, but it must not ignore the negative impact of maritime traffic on the environment. Croatian's strategic goal is safe and environmentally sustainable maritime traffic and space which includes an active change in the system of the the coastal maritime traffic. A prerequisite change is to raise awareness about the environment and causes of pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a point of view regarding nowadays global and European context and of relevant institutions involved in providing sustainable development. The analysis of different models gives the future trends of sustainable development, from my point of view. The main question of the paper is to find out whether the new economy creates sustainable development in the regions. The problems we face are complex and serious - and we can't address them in the same way we created them. But we can address them. What kind of Europe do we want - for ourselves and for future generations? The research included a literature review of sustainable development, some interpretations of the SD and the EU instruments, the mechanism and the impact of some instruments on the sustainable development of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in traffic, freight and passengers has led to an overload of road routes that were no longer able to absorb the growing amount of traffic, and this resulted in unexpected problems related to traffic jams, increased costs and environmental pollution. It was very important to find a suitable alternative that would fully meet all users' criteria and would be able to follow current and future economic expansions, increase in trade and population growth. As a possible solution, the European Union proposed a program of short sea shipping connections, which represents a certain type of innovation. Its aim is to unburden the overloaded road routes and offer sea routes as an alternative. On its path of development the implementation of the program meets many obstacles. Firstly, it is necessary to identify these obstacles, and then to remove them, in order to enable faster and better progress. Therefore, this paper gives a special attention to identifying obstacles that impede the implementation of short sea shipping connection in developed countries of the European Union, and also in the Republic of Croatia. The paper also presents a part of the 'Motorways of the Sea' program, which refers to the introduction of a new intermodal logistics chain, based on ship transport, which should bring structural changes into the organization of European transport. Thus allow for successful functioning of the short sea shipping connections and overcoming the obstacles which impede its implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents an investigation of factors that stimulate the decision-making process of exporting firms from a European Lesser Developed Country (LDC) to continue and sustain export activities. The paper explores the existence of dimensions underlying export motivation and identifies potentially significant differences in perceptions of export stimuli based on firm size, degree of export involvement, and exporting experience. The findings point to a more proactive (than reactive) motivation structure underlying the export activities of these manufacturers. While no relationship is found between perceptions of export motivation and firm size, a number of significant differences in ongoing export stimuli are identified between different groups of firms in terms of export involvement and, to a lesser extent, exporting experience. Managerial and public policy implications are discussed, and suggestions for future research directions are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Urban sprawl (dispersed urban development) has increased at alarming rates in Europe and North America over the last 50 years. Quantitative data are urgently needed in monitoring systems for sustainable development. However, there is a lack of reliable measures of urban sprawl that take into account the spatial configuration of the urban areas (not just total amount). This paper introduces four new measures of urban sprawl: degree of urban dispersion (DIS), total sprawl (TS), degree of urban permeation of the landscape (UP), and sprawl per capita (SPC). They characterize urban sprawl from a geometric point of view. The measures are related through TS = DIS ×urban area, UP = TS/size of the landscape studied, and SPC = TS/number of inhabitants. The paper investigates the properties of the new measures systematically using 13 suitability criteria which were derived from a clear definition of urban sprawl as discussed in a previous paper. The scale of analysis is specified by the so-called horizon of perception. Second, the new measures are applied to three examples from Switzerland. Subsequently, the measures are briefly compared to other measures of urban sprawl from the literature. We demonstrate that UP is an intensive and area-proportionately additive measure and is suitable for comparing urban sprawl among regions of differing size, while SPC is most appropriate when comparing sprawl in relation to human population density. The paper also provides practical advice for calculating the new measures. We conclude that the new method is more suitable than previous methods to quantify the indicator “urban sprawl” in monitoring systems as this method distinguishes the phenomenon of urban sprawl from its various causes and consequences. This article is part II of a set of two papers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper provides an overview of current environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practice with some of the leading U.S. and pan-Europe institutional real estate open-end fund managers. There were 18 firms that participated in the interviews, which were conducted with 36 persons, of which 72% were at the decision maker level. The participant firms represented over $300 billion in assets under management at year-end 2009. The paper discusses how fund managers balance fiduciary responsibilities and sustainability goals, the impact of green regulatory pressures, holistic approaches to ESG implementation, green push/pull on tenants, perceived and realized economic returns to sustainability, and the need for internal and external "buy in" for sustainability implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the future liquid biofuels will need to be renewable, sustainable, as well as technically and economically viable. This paper provides an overview of the challenges that the biochemical production of cellulosic ethanol process still faces. The main emphasis of the paper is on challenges that emerge from the scale of liquid biofuel production. These challenges include raw material availability, other consumables, and side stream handling. The pretreatment, C5 fermentation, and concentration of sugars in processing need improvements, too. Sustainability issues and greenhouse gas reduction also pose a challenge for implementation and require development of internationally recognized sustainability principles and standards, and certification of sustainable operation. Economics of cellulosic ethanol processes are still also an area under development and debate. Yet, the Energy Independence and Security Act mandate together with the European Union Renewable Energy Directive and other local targets are driving the development and implementation forward towards more significant contribution of biofuels in the transportation sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the LEADER+ programme and on the work carried out supporting rural communities in EU countries under the LEADER+ programme. This is a programme that supports development in particularly vulnerable rural regions of the European countries that are members of the EU. It supports creative and innovative projects that can contribute to long-term and sustainable development in these regions. In this paper, we will focus on three specific areas: networking, facilitation of groups, and information and communication technologies. Some case studies are shortly described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]