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• Dentification of the water intensive industry—pulp and paper industry (PPI) at the firm level. • The partial static equilibrium model was applied to explore the economic effects. • Environmental regulation shows positive impacts on multiple indicators. Whether environmental regulation has negative impact on the economic performances of manufacturers in the real world cannot be concluded without reliable policy evaluations. The regional policy experimentation on raising the wastewater discharge standard in the pulp and paper industry in Shandong Province, China in the early 2000′s has been considered a success and has provided lessons for the crafting and strengthening of water pollution regulation for the whole country at a later stage. There has been, however, long lack of rigorous study that comprehensively evaluates the environmental and economic consequences of the policy experiment. The question about whether cleaner water came at a substantial economic cost remained unanswered. This may hinder cumulative policy learning and development. In this article, we adopt plant-level economic and environmental statistics and a difference-in-differences design to examine the economic effect of the Shandong wastewater policy in the 2000′s. Our results revealed that on average the environmental regulation enhanced the economic performances of pulp and paper plants. The regulation had positive effects on total output, total assets, and total profit, and it did not cause a statistically significant decline in employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The park-level integrated energy system characterized by electricity heat cooling storage is regarded as a viable solution to energy and environmental crises due to its cleanliness and high efficiency. However, decision-makers encounter challenges in picking the optimum construction scheme. The paper introduces the matter element extension into the investment decision-making of the park-level integrated energy system. To begin, the paper analyzes the composition of the evaluation index system from the basic composition of the park-level integrated energy system, and establishes a standard system for comprehensive performance analysis, including economic, environmental, energy, security, and intelligence. Second, the subjective weight is calculated using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process, the objective weight is calculated using the entropy weight. The matter element extension is used to evaluate the alternatives' performance. Finally, an industrial park in Jiangsu Province of China is selected as a case to verify. The results show that good comprehensive performance can be obtained by using photovoltaic, wind turbines, electric energy storage, ice storage, and heat pumps. The decision-making results will not be affected by the change in subjective and objective weight and the change in index weight within 20 %, but changes in matter-element classification would. • Intelligent performance criterion is introduced. • The evaluation system includes economy, environment, energy, security, intelligence. • A decision-making framework for the park-level integrated energy system is established. • A variety of sensitivity analyses were performed. • Using renewable energy and energy storage can obtain good comprehensive performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) is a mandatory institutional change to promote low-carbon energy transformation and renewable energy development. Its successful implementation requires the scientific design of relevant incentive mechanisms and rules. To make up for the defects in the current RPS mechanism design and the problems exposed in the Tradable Green Certificate (TGC) market, this paper takes China as an example and uses the system dynamics method to study the supply side incentives. The results show that: (1) Scientific setting the relevant system parameters of RPS (such as quota, benchmark price and penalty) and promoting the electricity market reform will effectively stimulate the power generation and investment on the supply side, and improve manufacturers' profit. (2) Higher quotas and lower benchmark prices can increase the manufacturers' power generation, profit and investment, and stimulate the supply side to conduct TGC transactions. However, when the penalty is set at different multiples of the benchmark price, the incentive effect on supply side power generation, investment and profit differ. (3) Marketed on-grid prices can significantly stimulate the supply side and promote renewable energy development. This paper can provide reference for the design of RPS incentive mechanism and institutional parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ever-increasing attention to environmental pollution and the greenhouse effect, together with the need to reduce harmful emissions into the atmosphere, has led to a general enforcement of stricter legislation worldwide which imposes the adoption of more efficient and sustainable solutions in many different fields. The use of traditional fossil fuels must be reduced, favoring both renewable energy sources and alternative fuels. This paper outlines a procedure for calculating the environmental advantages of using liquified natural gas (LNG) instead of traditional fossil fuels in terms of reduced emissions: it is based on the choice and application of emission factors (EFs), available through a dedicated and extensive database managed and updated by the European Environmental Agency (EEA). Whenever the EF database lacks data, additional literature studies and databases are used to integrate the missing information. The proposed methodology is then applied to the Sardinia Region: starting from data regarding regional energy needs, the emissions deriving from the current situation are calculated to define a reference point to be compared with two forecast scenarios. These assume that, over a 10-year horizon, certain shares of fossil fuels will be substituted by LNG. Comparisons are made between the emission levels of six different compounds (PM 2.5 , PM 10 , CO, CO 2 , NO X , SO X) showing that, overall, LNG adoption can be considered effective in reducing air pollution for the compounds considered. In particular, as an example, reductions of up to 70 % of PMs and 38 % of CO 2 can be achieved for the thermoelectric sector, whereas for the transportation sector the reductions of the same compounds can be respectively 15 % and 10 %. • Environmental benefits evaluation of a transition to LNG • Emission factors based methodology developed and applied to two forecast scenarios • Emission levels for six pollutants calculated for the different scenarios • Simple and replicable approach to define energy strategies and transition policies [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the development of improved control strategies for the standard environmental conditions in a fed-batch bioreactor used for monoclonal antibody cell culture. The consequences of relying on fixed parameter PID based controllers are considered and poor performance is demonstrated as a consequence of non-linearity and loop interactions. The benefits from adopting a more sophisticated control strategy are considered. Model Predictive Control (MPC) relies on a process model that can be identified from small system perturbations. It considers the predicted longer-term response and consequently can deliver improved control and satisfy user defined constraints. Results from experimental trials demonstrate the capability of MPC and the merits are discussed with regards to industrial application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On May 05, 2018 NASA JPL launched its mission to Mars called "InSight". Main objective of this mission is to gain more knowledge of the evolution of terrestrial planets. Beside a number of different scientific instruments onboard the lander there are two instruments that will perform measurements on the Martian ground. One of the instruments is HP3 (Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package), which was developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to measure the heat flow of the Martian outer crust. Main elements of this instrument are the heat flow probe, the Backend Electronic and the Support System. With this paper the authors give a detailed insight of the function of the Support System within the instrument and its development. The Support System enables the operation of the heat flow probe on the surface. The mechanical design of the Support System is mainly driven by a unique set of requirements derived from the working environment on Mars, the deployment from the lander deck, and the mechanically separated operation on the surface. The paper will give an overview of the development and the qualification of the structure of the Support System. It will focus on the mechanical design and the analysis of the structural dynamics, and on the testing which includes standard environmental testing but also numerous development tests that are very mission specific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An evolutionary game model is developed to explore the application of deposit-return system(DRS) in the recovery of waste PV modules. • DRS can restrict the photovoltaic power plant recycling behavior and improve the recovery rate. • DRS is effective when the deposit amount is higher than a certain condition. • The present value of the deposit amount returned shall not be higher than the present value of the deposit amount originally collected. China's PV module scrapping tide will arrive in 2025, but the recycling market has not been regulated, and the recycling rate and reuse rate of waste PV modules are low. From the perspective of self-interest, photovoltaic power stations tend to abandon and illegally dump waste PV modules in informal channels that do not meet environmental protection standards. This seriously hinders the recycling of scrapped photovoltaic modules. In order to restrict the photovoltaic power plant recycling behavior and improve the recovery rate, this paper explores the application of recovery deposit-return system(DRS) in the recovery of s waste PV modules, constructs an evolutionary game model between PV power stations and government, and simulates it with actual data. The results are as follows: (1) DRS is effective when the deposit amount is higher than a certain condition. It can not only restrict the behavior of PV power plant from the angle of interests, but also enhance the government's credibility and bring economic benefits. (2) The present value of the deposit amount returned shall not be higher than the present value of the deposit amount originally collected, otherwise it shall become invalid. In addition, this paper calculates the minimum value of the recycling deposit, analyzes the factors affecting the recycling choice of power stations, and puts forward policy suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The residential sector is well known to be one of the main energy consumers worldwide. The purpose of this study is to select the best renewable energy alternatives for electricity generation in a residential building by using a new integrated fuzzy multi-criteria group decision-making method. In renewable energy decision-making problems, the preferences of experts and decision-makers are generally uncertain. Furthermore, it is challenging to quantify the reel performance of renewable energy alternatives using a set of exact values. Fuzzy logic is commonly applied to deal with those uncertainties. The method proposed in this paper combines different methods. First, the Delphi method is used in order to select a preliminary set of renewable energy alternatives for electricity generation as well as a preliminary set of criteria (economic, environmental, social, etc.). Then, the questionnaire is used to study the renewable energy alternatives preferences of the residents of the residential building'. Later, the FAHP (Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process) is implemented to obtain the weighs of the criteria taking into consideration uncertainties in expert's judgments. Finally, the FPROMETHEE (Fuzzy Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation) global ranking is performed in order to get a complete ranking of the renewable energy alternatives taking into account uncertainties related to the alternatives' evaluations. The originality of this paper comes from the application of the proposed integrated Delphi- FAHP- FPROMETHEE methodology for the selection of the best renewable energy alternatives for electricity generation in a residential building. A case study has validated the effectiveness and the applicability of the proposed method. The results reveal that the proposed integrated method helps to formulate the problem and is particularly effective in handling uncertain data. It facilitates the selection of the best renewable energy alternatives in a manner that is participatory, comprehensive, robust, and reliable. • This paper presents a new methodology for the selection of the best renewable energy alternatives in a residential building. • A new fuzzy integrated Delphi- FAHP- FPROMETHEE methodology has been applied. • The sensitivity analysis indicates that the proposed methodology is stable with respect to decision-makers' preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates in a multi-level government system, how the federal government sets environmental standards for different states after communicating with state governments regarding the cost of pollution abatement to local economies. Here, the term “federal government” refers to the level of government in a federation responsible for the whole country, while “state governments” are responsible for individual states. We adopt a game-theoretical analysis under asymmetric information where state governments, which know the pollution abatement cost, report to the federal government, which is initially uninformed about the true cost level. We argue that interstate spillover of pollution causes a bias for state governments towards lax environmental standards and gives state governments an incentive to exaggerate the economic cost of pollution abatement. In equilibrium, state governments partition the set of possible costs into disjoint subsets and report the same cost to the federal government under different costs within each partition. After receiving reports, the federal government only knows the partition to which the local cost belongs and sets environmental standards that are not appropriate for the state. On the other hand, when state governments have the authority of setting local standards, the standards are inefficiently lax from a total welfare perspective. The paper compares total welfare levels of all states under the environmental standards set by the federal and state governments. The result indicates that if the degree of spillover is small, the welfare level in the centralized system is less than that in the decentralized system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient and equitable allocation scheme for renewable portfolio standard (RPS) quota is of great significance to renewable energy (RE) development and the improvement of the electricity trade market. This study establishes a quota allocation model based on the lowest cost of RE generation to determine the RPS targets (LC-RPS) of 30 Chinese provinces. Subsequently, an index system based on energy consumption, RE resource endowment, historical responsibility, and transmission facilities is constructed to determine the RPS targets (IN-RPS). Finally, the two scenarios mentioned above are compared with the RPS target allocation scenario published by the Chinese government (GM-RPS) and with the NO-RPS scenario. The results show that: Compared with those of GM-RPS and IN-RPS, the power generation cost associated with the LC-RPS is reduced by 8.5% and 49.4%, respectively, and the unit power generation cost is reduced by 9.4 and 39.7 RMB/MWh, respectively; the fairness of the LC-RPS is marginally worse than that of the other three scenarios, but the fairness of the power generation cost is still relative average, thereby demonstrating distribution fairness. This paper appeals to the Chinese government for the perfection of a national renewable energy certificates (REC) trade market and offering additional REC for solar generation. •Least-cost quota (LC-RPS) and index system allocation schemes are proposed. •The renewable energy (RE) generation capacity of 30 Chinese provinces is determined. •The power generation cost of the LC-RPS is reduced compared with other schemes. •The LC-RPS scheme is more efficient and meets national RPS targets. •The generation resources are diversified with the improvement of the national REC trade market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Certification is widely seen as an innovative strategy for dealing with environmental problems in supply chains. As the number of labels available in the fisheries sector has increased, each with its own framing of sustainability, questions are being asked about their credibility. In tuna fisheries, contrasting approaches have led to conflict over, among other things, the credibility of competing labels. This paper investigates one such conflict between the Dolphin Safe and the Marine Stewardship Council certification schemes in the West and Central Pacific. It looks at how key practices like scientific rigour, inclusiveness, transparency/openness, impartiality/independence and impact contribute to label credibility and explains the importance of authority in understanding how certification schemes maintain influence within global production networks. The results demonstrate that despite substantially different levels of credibility within these networks, the application of an environmental standard is more connected to the authority of the standard setter than the credibility of the label. The paper concludes that understanding the more nuanced role of authority, both with and without credibility, offers new insights into the wider dynamics that shape environmental regulation in global production networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The evaluation is based on a new inventory generated by a big-data analysis of online food delivery network. • The study evidenced that food packaging account for 15.7% of the total urban waste generated in JJJ. • Food delivery providers should improve their way of packaging to avoid a further growth. • Food delivery service platforms should improve environmental protection mechanisms. Controversies on food delivery services environmental impacts have been sparked due to the growth of this economic sector. This study focuses on the environmental impacts generated by packaging waste related to urban food delivery services. In particular, the Python based web-crawling and sample survey methods are used for big data mining, and LCA-based environmental impacts evaluation and Kernel density analysis methods are combined to determine the positioning trend of food delivery service providers and expansion direction of environmental pollution load in Jing-Jin-Ji region (North China). Results indicate that (1) food delivery service packages presently account for a very small proportion (<0.1%) of municipal solid waste (MSW). However, this study also evidences that food packaging accounts for 15.7% of the total MSW generated in this region. Even if this growing market sector might have a relatively low impact, households' lifestyle might affect the results. (2) In terms of consumption quantity, plastic bags are the most used packages, accounting for 35.08%; wooden chopsticks account for 32.21% and plastic boxes account for 27.43%. Among all environmental impact categories resulting from the process of production of packages, greenhouse effect is the most distinct one. Paper boxes generate the most serious environmental pollution. (3) The distribution of environmental pollution loads resulting from food delivery service packages positively correlates with the distribution of food delivery service providers in Jing-Jin-Ji. Shijiazhuang has the highest degree of pollution resulting from food delivery service packages with the interrupt value ratio of 80%, followed by Baoding City and Chengde City, which have the interrupt value ratios of 65.1% and 48.6%, respectively. Finally, as bridges between food delivery service providers and consumers, food delivery service platforms should improve their environmental protection mechanisms. Meanwhile, the government should define a standard concerning food delivery service packages to consolidate the concept of environmental protection in the society to change the ways people consume, in order to achieve a harmonious co-existence between resource utilization and environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper uses Italian official survey data collected in 2012 from more than 20 thousand households to shed light on the determinants of people's pro-environmental behavior, more specifically the differentiation of domestic waste disposal. A rich interdisciplinary literature has developed to explain why people may make eco-friendly choices, which come at a personal cost and provide benefits accruing largely to other people. The paper contributes to this investigation by jointly considering non-economic (a declared general interest in environmental issues), economic (easy access to recycling bins) and contextual (the perceived condition of the local environment) determinants of recycling. The results show that a higher general interest in environmental issues is associated with an increase in recycling of 7.5 percentage points, while easy access to facilities is associated with an increase in recycling of 5.3 percentage points. More educated households are also more inclined to behave pro-environmentally: a university degree or a Ph.D. is associated with an increase in the probability of recycling of 5.2 percentage points. Finally, the paper provides evidence that locally perceiving environmental degradation is associated with a 5.8 percentage points decrease in the likelihood of recycling. This last result may be explained by bounded rationality and/or conditional social cooperation, which both may lead to an environmental poverty trap. The final message is that the evidence gathered is difficult to reconcile with the "homo oeconomicus" hypothesis still prevailing in standard economic theory and that non-economic determinants have to be properly considered in the formulation of effective environmental policies. • Being interested in environmental issues is found to be associated with more recycling. • Lower perceived opportunity costs increase the probability of recycling. • Intrinsic motivation is more successful as a driver for recycling when people are confronted with external limitations than when they are not. • Perceiving environmental degradation decreases the probability of recycling. • The effect of environmental degradation on recycling does not vary with the level of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy, either from non-renewable or renewable sources, is of paramount importance as the progress of a country is gauged on economic development. However, with the use of non-renewable energy resources, the environmental degradation is exacerbating with every passing day in developing countries including Pakistan. On the contrary, the developed countries are resorting to sustainable and renewable energy resources to achieve sustainable development goals. The primary consumer of the non-renewable energy sources is transportation sector in Pakistan, with the total consumption amounting to almost two-third of the total utilization. Keeping in view the existing energy expenditures and its share in environmental pollution by transportation sector, Lahore Metropolitan area has been selected for this research paper. This research analyzed the environmental data collected from multiple road junctions of Lahore City. In light of the existing data, the research exhibited improvements in overall environmental quality by comparing the existing and proposed energy solutions comprising of Hydrogen in transportation sector. The comparison carried out by utilizing International and National Environmental quality standards. Additionally, research also addresses the energy savings with the transition from non-renewable energy sources to renewable and innovative energy solutions. • Environmental degradation is exacerbating with use of non-renewable energy resources. • Primary consumer of non-renewable energy sources is transportation sector in Pakistan. • Comparison of the existing and proposed energy solutions. • Comprising of Hydrogen fuel cell in transportation sector. • Hydrogen fuel cell technologies for the transportation sector for safe and clean future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The current Chinese Environmental Quality Standard (EQS) for DEHP (8 μg/L) in China does not provide adequate protection for D. magna populations. • Whereas 8 µg/L DEHP reduced D. magna populations by 27 %, DnOP caused a 37 % decline over the same exposure period. • DEHP, DIOP and DnOP can cause D. magna populations to collapse at environmental relevant concentrations. • To protect aquatic organisms, environmental management and toxicological studies should pay attention to DnOP. Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is the most commonly used phthalate and is ubiquitous in surface water. Based on its well-established toxicological profile, many countries and regions have adopted specific environmental quality standard (EQS) for DEHP. In China, the EQS value for DEHP is 8 μg/L. However, information on isomers structurally similar to DEHP is limited. Among the isomers of DEHP, di-isooctyl phthalate (DIOP) and di-n-octyl phthalate (DnOP) have received limited attention. The goal of this paper was to study effects and toxic potencies of DEHP, DIOP, and DnOP to individuals and predict effects on populations of female Daphnia magna (cladoceran crustacea) in media containing environmentally relevant concentrations of single PAEs for three consecutive generations (21 days for every generation). Exposure to all three PAEs resulted in reduced survival and reproduction and cause collapse of populations at the highest concentrations. DnOP was the most potent for causing adverse effects followed by DIOP, while DEHP was the least potent. 8 μg DnOP/L were found to reduce the population size by 37 % in the F 2 generation. These findings demonstrate that PAE isomers other than DEHP can cause adverse effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Official promotion assessment standards are an important factor affecting the environmental governance of local governments. The study of the Chinese government adding the evaluation of ecological civilization to the official promotion assessment standards is of great significance to promote China's environmental pollution control and eco-environmental protection. Therefore, it is necessary to explore diversified ways of environmental governance from the perspective of improving the assessment standards for official promotion. Based on this background, this paper uses a variety of econometric models to compare the impact of traditional assessment standards and new assessment standards, including environmental factors on environmental quality. The results show that: (1) Different from the negative environmental impact brought by traditional assessment, when the official promotion assessment standards change, that is, when it is included in the environmental assessment, the official promotion incentive can actively promote the improvement of regional environmental quality, and this result has a more significant effect on the improvement of environmental quality in economically underdeveloped areas and vulnerable areas. (2) The mechanism test shows that the change of assessment standards will force officials to improve environmental quality by improving regional productivity. (3) the promotion of environmental supervision, represented by the development of information technology, helps strengthen the positive effect of the transformation of official assessment standards on the environment. However, it is unstable. This paper provides a useful reference for improving official promotion assessment standards, exploring diversified ways of environmental governance, and clarifying the effectiveness of the Chinese government's ecological environment reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, countries have actively promoted green economic transformation. Formulating reasonable and effective environmental regulation policies is an important way to realize this transformation. Based on a policy of raising standard sewage charges in China, this paper selects the panel data of 30 provinces from 2000 to 2018 and adopts the multi-time Differences-in-Differences (DID) method to empirically examine the effect of raising environmental costs on industrial green total factor productivity (GTFP). This paper finds that industrial GTFP is significantly increased by raising standard sewage charges. The conclusion is still valid after alleviating the endogenous problem and conducting robustness tests. The policy gives a boost to industrial GTFP in Eastern and Western regions, but not significantly in Central regions, according to the heterogeneity test. Further analyses of its transmission process reveal that raising environmental costs can promote industrial green growth, mostly via technological and structural effect. As a result, if all provinces can optimize and upgrade their industrial structures and improve their levels of technological innovation when faced with increasingly strict environmental regulations, they will be able to better change the model of economic growth and realize green industrial development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new dependence measure for importance analysis is presented. • The mathematical properties of the proposed measure are derived and discussed. • The nonparametric method for estimating the new measure is presented. • The new method is applied to a risk assessment model and the Level E model. • The advantages of the new measure with respect to the existing ones are highlighted. This paper presents a new dependence measure for importance analysis based on multivariate probability integral transformation (MPIT), which can assess the effect of an individual input, or a group of inputs on the whole uncertainty of model output. The mathematical properties of the new measure are derived and discussed. The nonparametric method for estimating the new measure is presented. The effectiveness of the new measure is compared with the well-known delta and extended delta indices, respectively, through a linear example, a risk assessment model and the Level E model. Results show that the proposed index can produce the same importance rankings as the delta and extended delta indices in these three examples. Yet the computation of the proposed measure is quite tractable due to the univariate nature of MPIT. The results also show that the established estimation method can provide robust estimate for the new measure in a quite efficient manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the event of a radiological emergency, early and reliable knowledge of radioactivity concentrations is important information for organising countermeasures to protect the general public and emergency workers. This is ensured by all European countries in operating airborne radioactivity and dose rate early warning networks. To increase the provided information, the development of new secondary standards based on scintillation detectors for the measurement of ambient dose rate equivalent was initiated in 2014. This paper shows the state-of-the-art of uncertainties and characteristic limits of low dose rate measurement that can be achieved by scintillation-based detector (CeBr 3) and gas-based detectors (a high-pressure ionization chamber, HPIC). The comparison of the devices shows the performance and the metrological potential of the CeBr 3 detector: Its uncertainty is already very close to the uncertainty of reference values. Looking at the question how to select a reference instrument, the CeBr 3 detector with a special data evaluation is even superior to the HPIC and qualifies therefore as a modern secondary standard: Providing both, dose rate and nuclide information. • Uncertainty determination for ambient dose rate assessment in the environment. • Metrological supported determination of decision threshold and detection limit according ISO 11929. • Comparison of counting and spectrometric dosimetry systems for the ambient dose rate determination. • Proposed new secondary standard for environmental dosimetry based on spectrometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Both voluntary and mandatory standards raise issues for environmental policy. • Standard-setting is affected by resources, pragmatism and economic considerations. • Despite limitations, standards may take the place of government-set regulation. • Standards for environmental policy should take account of sources of bias. • Improving representation and government's role could improve standard-setting. As a tool to regulate environmental issues, standards play a key role in defining acceptable levels of safety and environmental protection. From a governance perspective, standards are also significant for their inclusion of non-governmental stakeholders, including industry and environmental organizations, in determining the benchmarks upon which policies are enacted. Drawing upon work on Israeli standards for both environmental pollutants in consumer products and 'green building', this paper considers how the use of standards as an environmental policy tool affects how environmental issues are regulated. The research uses written standards, research into standardisation committees and approximately twenty in-depth interviews. Thematic analysis of the use of these standards as environmental policy tools highlighted different issues including the connection between representation of different interests and availability of resources; different rationales for standards that may produce conflict in professional decisions; and implications of the consensus-building approach for balancing interests and driving government policy. We conclude that various factors ought to be taken into account when using standards within environmental policy. We provide policy recommendations including a need to consider the implications of using a standard in the absence of broader regulation; the impact of economic and pragmatic rationales on environmental and health measures in standards; and means to improve the balance of representatives on standards committees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal call to action to end poverty and protect the environment. The Government of Guatemala is prioritizing the SDGs it will focus on and defining lines of action to achieve them. In this paper, we apply the Integrated Economic-Environmental Modelling (IEEM) Platform for Guatemala to evaluate the economic, wealth and environmental impacts of strategies to achieve the second SDG of zero hunger and the sixth SDG of clean water and sanitation. The analytical power of the IEEM approach is driven by its integration of the first international standard for environmental statistics, the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting introduced in an earlier edition of this journal. This integration enables the evaluation of policy alternatives from economic, wealth and environmental perspectives which is essential given the integrated nature of the SDGs. We find that significant additional investment in agricultural productivity and water and sanitation would be required to meet these SDG targets and that the overall pace of economic growth is critical. IEEM applied to the SDGs lends transparency and structure to the prioritization and agenda setting process of the policy cycle and highlights the importance of allocating adequate resources in multi-year budgets if targets are to be met. IEEM can shed light on the need for complementary policies to reconcile lines of action that can make progress toward one SDG while inadvertently moving away from another SDG, as well as identify potential win-wins, where one line of action can make progress toward multiple SDGs simultaneously. • We apply the Integrated Economic-Environmental Modelling Platform to evaluate strategies to achieve the SDGs in Guatemala. • IEEM derives its analytical power from integration of the first international standard for environmental-economic accounting. • Focusing on the 2nd and 6th SDGs, Government strategies fall short to double agricultural output (41% gap) and income (83%). • Nonetheless, over 2.4 million individuals would be lifted out of poverty by 2030. • IEEM proved to effective in shedding light on synergies, trade-offs and the need for complementary policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Substitution of 2nd generation for 1st generation biofuel is investigated. • An optimization model for the 2nd generation biofuel supply chain is proposed. • Both economic and environmental performance measures are examined. • 2nd generation biofuel is more cost effective than 1st generation biofuel. • Considering stover handling or not leads to different environmental performances. Multiple generations of biofuel manufacturing technologies have been proposed and developed, among which first generation technology is the most mature. It typically utilizes corn grain as feedstock in bio-refineries in many countries such as the United States. However, the use of edible matter of crops like corn may lead to a food-versus-fuel competition. To address such an issue, second generation biofuel manufacturing technology using the non-edible matter of crops has been developed. In this paper, the economic viability and environmental sustainability are analyzed and quantified, when restructuring the biofuel supply chain from employing first generation manufacturing technology to the one utilizing second generation technology considering the existing supply chain infrastructure. Two supply chain restructuring strategies, i.e., distributed and centralized preprocessing deployment, are modeled for implementing biomass preprocessing for second generation biofuel manufacturing. Bi-objective optimization formulations for the corn stover-sourced biofuel (a typical second generation biofuel) supply chain considering both economic and environmental aspects are proposed under both strategies. Different decision variables such as the locations selected for constructing preprocessing centers and the corresponding corn stover handling capacities of such centers, as well as the material flows between farms, preprocessing centers, and bio-refinery plants are identified. A case study based on the state of Missouri in the United States is implemented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed model and analyze the performance of different strategies. The results of the case study show that when corn stover is used as feedstock in bio-refineries, the unit cost of bioethanol production can be reduced, while the unit emission is increased compared to the corn-sourced supply chain under both supply chain restructuring strategies. Specifically, in Missouri where the daily stover handling amount per bio-refinery plant is relatively low and the stover collection radius is relatively small, the centralized strategy outperforms the distributed one with a higher cost reduction and a smaller increase in emissions. It reduces the unit cost by 27.39%, while increasing the unit emission by 24.42%, compared to the corn-sourced supply chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In 2015, almost 25% of China's lakes were polluted to the point of being unfit for any purpose. In the same year, China introduced plans to upgrade hundreds of existing and planned wastewater treatment plants to China's highest standard for wastewater discharge. The goal of this paper is two-fold. Firstly, it aims to help policy makers in China understand the impact of China's new wastewater standard on energy use. Secondly, it aims to provide policy makers with suggestions to increase the environmental benefit gained from reducing wastewater contaminant discharge. The most recent data from around 5000 wastewater treatment plants in China are used to estimate the extra electricity required to upgrade a plant from China's commonly used Class 1B municipal wastewater discharge standard to the highest discharge standard, Class 1A. Results show that implementing Class 1A instead of Class 1B tends to use 2%–36% more electricity. This result was used to estimate the overall increase in electricity used over five years by the Chinese wastewater sector due to the introduction of the new policy, an increase that was estimated to be 3–63% of annual electricity used for wastewater treatment. The environmental benefit and electricity cost of three scenarios aimed at reducing wastewater contaminant discharge were compared. Results showed that the benefit-to-cost ratio of implementing stricter standards is greatly improved (by over seven times) when wastewater is not discharged into the environment but instead reused to replace freshwater for purposes that can be met with Class 1A standard. This result has implications for policy makers seeking to increase energy use efficiency, minimise water wastage and reduce environmental pollution within cities. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • China's new wastewater standards are highly likely to increase electricity use. • The highest standard tends to use 2–36% more electricity than the second highest. • Results are based on a decade of data for thousands of treatment plants in China. • Benefit of strict treatment can be increased over 7 times by wastewater reuse. • Collecting and treating untreated wastewater has greatest benefit-to-cost ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Due to environmental standards, noise reduction solutions for high voltage devices such as dry-type air-core reactors are needed. The objective of this paper is to predict the vibroacoustic response of a single layer air-core reactor from its electrical feed to its acoustical response. Since the coil is a non-ferromagnetic powered conductor placed in a field created by itself, the excitation accounted for is the Lorentz force. The presented multiphysics model couples electromagnetic, mechanical and vibroacoustic numerical softwares. The electromagnetic model gives the distribution and the amplitudes of the Lorentz forces applied on the mechanical structure of the coil. The mechanical model determines the normal modes of the coil on which the Lorentz forces are applied. Finally, a modal vibroacoustic response is performed. The final and intermediate numerical results are compared to experiments performed on a prototype coil normally intended for the manufacture of loudspeakers, showing a good agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The local institutionalization of RSPO standards shifts national and sub-national structures of environmental governance, power, and authority. • In Ecuador, palm oil governance is increasingly driven by a transnational regime of private and public institutions of governance. • The state has pursued an alternative model of governance that harmonizes private regulatory instruments with national economic plans. • Standards entrenchment has influenced community-company dynamics, public–private governing coalitions, and scalar approaches to landscape governance. • New arrangements bring about novel governance coalitions and approaches while reinscribing the exclusionary nature of palm oil governance. The expansion of Latin America's palm oil frontier has spurred an explosion of interest in the social and environmental impacts of palm oil production. Researchers have been particularly focused on the effectiveness of global sustainability certification standards in addressing induced vulnerabilities. Only a small fraction of this research, however, analyzes how the local institutionalization of global standards has shaped national and sub-national structures of environmental governance, or regional conceptualizations of authority. It also fails to examine how the entrenchment of global standards has reworked local social relations inhering within formal and informal palm oil governing arrangements. To address these gaps, this paper draws on the case of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in Ecuador to answer the following research questions: 1) How does the local introduction and institutionalization of RSPO standards (re)shape national and sub-national environmental governance structures and relations? 2) How do RSPO standards reconfigure long-standing notions of power and authority? Drawing on extended fieldwork, the paper finds that the introduction of RSPO standards has prompted three major shifts in domestic palm oil governance. These shifts are: 1) technicalization of community-company relations, 2) hybridization of governance coalitions 3) regionalization of governance efforts. Taken together, these transformations point to an emerging transnational hybrid governance regime that blends public laws with private guidelines to reach national and international sustainability objectives. The regime has enabled the emergence of new palm governance authorities in the sector yet at the same time, it has reinscribed the uneven power relations of palm oil governance. The study concludes that future research and policy efforts must go beyond simply evaluating RSPO standards in local spaces, and instead aim to improve the social relations that exist within agro-commodity chains in order to make the governance of sustainable palm oil more socially-inclusive and just. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The management of indoor microclimates is an important function of museum operations, a topic that has recently received growing attention. The way in which museum microclimates are specified is still not well documented universally, particularly in developing countries where a significant part of the global 'movable' heritage is situated. Most of the current contributions come from scholars covering climate control practices in developed nations. The bibliography related to museum environmental and climate management in other regions is comparatively limited. Heritage institutions have varying levels of resources, funding mechanisms, management protocols and expertise. In the absence of shared best practices, great variability in the environmental management practice exists across different institutions and countries. This paper brings together 96 studies that were selected and critically evaluated to review publications in the field over the last two decades and trace the variations in climate control practice across regions. The findings of the review confirmed the gaps in research in the field and identified the relevance to the implementation of regulatory frameworks particularly in regions where little or no research of museums' indoor environments is taking place. The paper also shows that the fragmentation of tools and methods to assess the indoor environment in museums has contributed to variations in practices across the sector. Moreover, the paper provides evidence of the struggle to comply with the strict, and in cases exaggerated requirements, that aim at satisfying a varying range of conflicting criteria to provide indoor comfort to visitors while continuing to protect artefacts. • The paper reviews current research in visitor comfort and preventive conservation requirements in museum environments. • It explores research gaps in the literature relating to the global distribution of case studies and authorship of the work. • The paper examines the call to revise the various current standards that govern the indoor environment of museums. • The authors highlight the importance of localisation of standards to carefully reflect comfort and conservation needs. • It provides an insight into current trends and possible future directions for research on museum environmental management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Status, problems, prospects of Chinese standards related to metro ventilation are summarized. • Assessment methods, control standards, design methods of building space are reviewed. • Transient thermal comfort, complex environment/pollution sources are the main challenges. • Real-time monitoring, demand forecast and multi-objective optimization are necessary. The metro is an indispensable transportation system in big cities and the primary commuting method for city residents. Ventilation primarily controls metro environmental health. The Chinese metro industry has gradually developed systematic codes, standards, and guidelines on environmental control and building design, drawing on excellent research and projects worldwide. This paper discusses the status, problems, and prospects of the Chinese standards related to metro ventilation. Healthy ventilation should prevent health risks according to the characteristics of vulnerable groups and the metro environment. This paper further discusses the threshold limit values, assessment methods, control standards, and design methods of building space and building equipment. Several challenges in metro environmental control are highlighted, including transient thermal comfort, hot and cold alternation, piston wind, air pollution, energy-saving, and control efficiency. The efficient-ventilated metro space requires an integrated design of piston ventilation, natural ventilation, and mechanical ventilation and coupled spatial forms with airflow organization. This can improve professional collaboration, environmental control efficiency, and energy-saving potential. Besides, insufficient epidemiological data and pathology studies on passengers' health risks in metros limit the development of health standards and risk assessment methods that need further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recognising the well-known limitations of economic growth as a litmus test of progress and the call by Target 19 of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17 to "develop measurements on progress on sustainable development that complement gross domestic product", this paper advances understanding of the linkages between alternative measures of economic well-being, the well-being economy and the SDGs. A conceptual model is presented, linking four capital assets to well-being goals and domains, which are connected to related SDGs. An assessment is conducted on the extent to which Gross Domestic Product and five alternative indicators of economic well-being (Environmentally Adjusted Net Domestic Product, Measure of Economic Welfare, Genuine Savings, Genuine Progress Indicator and Inclusive Wealth Index) align with (a) the dimensions of economic well-being, and (b) various environmental, economic, social and institutional targets set by the SDGs. The Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) is found to be the most comprehensive in coverage, accounting for market-based welfare, services from essential capital, and various environmental and social costs, and linking directly to targets in fourteen of the seventeen SDGs. The paper discusses how greater use of alternative measures of economic well-being by policymakers can encourage transitions to economies which prioritise well-being and desirability objectives. • Conceptual model of wellbeing economy presented – capital asset classes, domains and goals. • Alternative measures of economic wellbeing have far greater linkages to SDGs than GDP. • Genuine Progress Indicator most closely aligned with SDG targets. • Alternative measures of economic wellbeing can promote policy initiatives with SDG benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental sensing data provide crucial information for environment-related decision-making. Formal data are provided by official environmental institutes. Beyond those, however, there is a growing body of so-called informal sensing data, which are contributed by citizens using low-cost sensors. How good are these informal data, and how might they be applied, next to formal environmental sensing data? Could both types of sensing data be gainfully integrated? This paper presents the results of an online survey investigating perceptions within citizen science communities, environmental institutes and their networks of formal and informal environmental sensing data. The results show that citizens and experts had different views of formal and informal environmental sensing data, particularly on measurement frequency and the data information provision power. However, there was agreement, too, for example, on the accuracy of formal environmental sensing data. Furthermore, both agreed that the integration of formal and informal environmental sensing data offered potential for improvements on several aspects, particularly spatial coverage, data quantity and measurement frequency. Interestingly, the accuracy of informal environmental sensing data was largely unknown to both experts and citizens. This suggests the need for further investigation of informal environmental sensing data and the potential for its effective integration with formal environmental sensing data, if hurdles like standardisation can be overcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The palm oil industry has had to undergo rapid development in order to cope with the increasing demand from consumers year by year. The palm oil industry is receiving criticism from various parties on the issue of sustainability. This paper presents the development of a Palm Oil Mill Sustainability Index that enables millers to assess the sustainability performance of palm oil mills against benchmarks, and to differentiate between the performance of each mill. The assessment was performed via the adoption of a Proximity-to-Target approach that measures the current sustainability performance of the industry relative to policy targets. The industry's comparable performance was observed in terms of sustainability and indicators through a graphical method. The resulting Palm Oil Mill Sustainability Index scores were translated into a five-point rating system to describe the sustainability performance levels for different mills i.e. excellent, good, fair, poor, and very poor. Based on the Palm Oil Mill Sustainability Index scores and rating system, weak performance indicators were identified, for example, excessive use of water consumption due to inappropriate operation of hydrocyclones. By identifying the weak performance indicators, practical recommendations and measures for improvement can be proposed and the Palm Oil Mill Sustainability Index scores recalculated to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed sustainability performance strategy. Selected palm oil mills in Malaysia were used as a case study to demonstrate the applicability of the framework. The results provide empirical evidence to support a decision-support-system for enhancing palm oil mill sustainability performance, so as to achieve a balance between environmental, economic, and social aspects in the palm oil mill sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The source control of pharmaceuticals involves influencing the everyday consumption volume and compound choice. This paper evaluates how source control contributes to protecting the environmental health and decreasing the investment needs in urban wastewater infrastructure. Different levels of reduction in diclofenac consumption (as recommended by the European Medicines Agency) compensated by equivalent increases in naproxen consumption (a less environmentally harmful compound) are evaluated. The different loads of compounds are fed into a microcontaminant fate and transport model of the Llobregat river basin (Spain) to assess the investment needs in tertiary treatment to reach diclofenac and naproxen concentrations below environmental quality standards. The results show that, despite the implementation of source control measures, tertiary treatment upgrades are still required in every scenario evaluated. Even though source control of pharmaceuticals decreases the investment needs in urban wastewater infrastructure, apparent concentrations reductions (i.e. statistically significant differences relative to the reference situation) are only observed in drastic substitutions of diclofenac by naproxen (a reduction in the total diclofenac consumption by 73% and a corresponding increase in naproxen consumption). The results also show that Spain is on good track with regards to the substitution of diclofenac by naproxen (among the top 5 in Europe), and this paper shows how positive this substitution can be for the environment. ga1 • We assess the substitution of diclofenac by naproxen as a source-control measure. • Source control of pharmaceuticals has a positive effect on freshwater ecosystems. • Investment needs for tertiary treatment are reduced. • Substitution at the UK level would lead to significant savings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the report of the World Health Organization (WHO) on the list of 50 cities with the most polluted air in Europe as many as 33 are located in Poland. All the cities that are on the list exceed the maximum concentration of dust recommended by WHO at least three times. In the Lubuskie Province there is a very serious problem of maintaining good air quality. The air in Poland is among the most polluted in the European Union and this also applies to less-industrialized areas, such as Lubuskie, where the concentration levels of substances hazardous to human health and the environment are recorded as exceeded. One of the main factors affecting the poor air quality in the region is road transport. It is not just a problem near roads with heavy traffic, but also applies to the cities, where there is a large movement of cars, which are often old and do not meet current environmental standards. This article aims to identify the main sources of low emission from road transport and identify potential solutions to help reduce emission from this sector. The actions aimed at limiting low emission from road transport can bring a significant positive ecological effect. The aim of this article is to review one of the main sources of low emission in the province of Lubuskie, which is transportation. Moreover, the authors of the paper indicate the main problems associated with the emission coming from road transport and describe the possibilities for opportunities to reduce pollution from this sector. In addition, the article presents the three-scenario simulation of annual emissions from passenger cars that could take place in 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, the use of catalysis is widespread in almost all industrial processes; its use improves productivity, synthesis yields and waste treatment as well as decreases energy costs. The increasingly stringent requirements, in terms of reaction selectivity and environmental standards, impose progressively increasing accuracy and control of operations. Meanwhile, the development of characterization techniques has been challenging, and the techniques often require equipment with high complexity. In this paper, we demonstrate a novel elemental approach for performing quantitative space-resolved analysis with ppm-scale quantification limits and μm-scale resolution. This approach, based on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), is distinguished by its simplicity, all-optical design, and speed of operation. This work analyzes palladium–based porous alumina catalysts, which are commonly used in the selective hydrogenation process, using the LIBS method. We report an exhaustive study of the quantification capability of LIBS and its ability to perform imaging measurements over a large dynamic range, typically from a few ppm to wt%. These results offer new insight into the use of LIBS-based imaging in the industry and paves the way for innumerable applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India is fast becoming one of the most lucrative options for manufacturing industry to prosper. This research was carried out to study the current manufacturing strategies implied by India for its growth in the manufacturing sector. An analysis was done on the factors which affect the manufacturing sector in different states across the country. Good infrastructure, compliance to tax & labour laws and meeting the desired environmental standards were some of the factors responsible for better performance of states like Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.” International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised a concern about the pace of the reforms which are being passed. They pointed out that Indian economy is facing “decelerating pace of reforms”. Recently the long waited GST bill had been passed by the government of India which would enable an easy and a cost cutting flow of goods across different states of the country. It presents a wonderful opportunity for the manufacturing sector to re-establish the logistic sector of the country. A strong infrastructure is an essential ingredient for any manufacturing sector to grow. Keeping that in mind the government of India is investing a lot of funds in building a strong network of roads, rails and transport to foster the growth of the manufacturing sector. As many industrial corridors and road networks rapidly are being formed, this paper focuses on how these networks are catering to the growth of this sector. From this research we found out how new laws especially on land and labour coupled with constant improvement in the infrastructure is aiding India to emerge as the new manufacturing sector hub. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combination of renewable energy generation and battery energy storage has been widely recognized as a promising solution to the problems associated with variability of renewable energy in residential microgrid. However, due to the low renewable feed-in tariffs in many countries, microgrid users are generally not motivated to install expensive battery systems if they can only be used to satisfy the objective of grid operator. From this perspective, a microgrid power market that encourages users to install batteries for energy-trading will be helpful for the deployment of batteries. For such circumstances, this paper introduces a user-driven microgrid power market. The possible pricing schemes are discussed and an illustrative price controller is presented. The potential destabilizing effect of the collective trading behavior of users is analyzed. A novel dissipativity based distributed economic model prediction control approach is proposed to allow microgrid users to optimize their own benefits while ensuring the performance and stability of the residential microgrid. A simulation study with photovoltaic energy generation and Vanadium Redox batteries is presented to illustrate the efficacy of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Product- and service-design methods traditionally focus on different aspects and use specific models which are difficult to integrate. This paper proposes a PSS “multi-views” modelling framework for supporting integrated PSS design. By coupling models currently used by product and service engineers, the proposed framework should provide a communication support for these actors during PSS design. The “multi-views” perspective should allow them to detail the design of the PSS components until the most technical phases while it also should ensure integration of these components through a shared perspective on the system modelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socioenvironmental performance of suppliers is a matter of critical concern in buyer-supplier relationships. Studies have shown that many times adoption of socioenvironmental standards (SES) by the suppliers remains ceremonial and does not translate into concrete performance. This phenomenon called 'decoupling' has serious implications for both buyers and suppliers, and the need arises to understand the underlying dynamics of SES decoupling. This paper builds on a systematic review of the literature to discuss the antecedents of decoupling. The paper has three main contributions. First, it identifies the antecedents of SES decoupling; second, it develops a taxonomy of the antecedents, and finally, it develops a model comprising a set of propositions explaining how the identified antecedents bring about decoupling. The framework developed in this paper can help buyers and supplier in preventing decoupling and developing integrated systems at suppliers' end. Overall, the framework is useful for making decisions regarding supplier selection, retention, development, and prevention of supplier opportunism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Predetermined calibration volume limits magnetometer calibration error. • Coil assembly parts influence field amplitude and distribution with frequency. • Correction with frequency requires parameterization of coil multi-resonant circuit. • Verification of field correction uses wideband induction sensor with amplifier. In this paper, we present the establishment of a magnetic flux density standard in the national calibration laboratory in Croatia. A single-layer Helmholtz coil was constructed as a magnetic field source at frequencies from 25 Hz to 100 kHz to calibrate magnetic field meters up to field limits for occupational exposure. First, the calibration error margin was determined for probes up to 100 cm2 of the cross-sectional area with respect to the predefined calibration volume inside the coil. Next, the equivalent electrical model of the assembled standard was parameterized as a multiple resonance circuit to estimate the correction of the reference field with frequency. Finally, the calculated correction was experimentally verified using a single-turn induction loop with an amplifier. The resulting uncertainty budget of the standard confirms the laboratory's capability to calibrate environmental magnetometers with the best relative uncertainty of 0.8 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Three types of PCMs suitable for agricultural system are summarized. • The integration of PCMs into agricultural cold chain logistics are summarized. • Agricultural cold chain logistics system future development offers some insights. The agricultural cold-chain logistics system is significant for agricultural product preservation and reducing losses. Moreover, it meaningfully promotes the income of farmers and rural revitalization in China, to a certain extent. The energy-storage technology as an emerging distributed solution has been attracting increasing attention over recent years. However, because of the low performance of energy-storage materials and lack of integration methods, many agricultural products rot during transportation. The current challenge resides in how the agricultural cold-chain logistics system can meet the requirements of stable and efficient continuous operation and reduce rot during the transportation of agricultural products. For this purpose, it is necessary to consider improving the performance of energy-storage materials and achieve their more-efficient integration into the entire agricultural cold-chain logistics system. Future trends in the agricultural cold-chain logistics system involve the high performance and low carbon footprint of energy-storage materials, which are key to meeting environmental standards and changing market demands. Advances in renewable energy technologies and energy-storage solutions have significantly accelerated the industrialisation of this system. The agricultural cold-chain logistics system will become the main force in promoting rural revitalisation in the future, which is a necessary condition for narrowing the development gap between China and other developed countries in this context. Therefore, this paper reviews the properties of the energy-storage materials that are suitable for the agricultural cold-chain logistics system and how to integrate these materials into that system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing concern about the shift of trade in more polluting products to countries with less restrictive environmental standards, popularly known as pollution havens. This paper explores whether institutional quality affects trade composition and fosters a transition towards cleaner products. Applying a gravity model to a sample of 140 countries for the period 2002–2018, our results show a negative link between institutional quality and trade in products classified as dirty. In addition, the results show a non-linear pattern, with the effects being stronger for countries with high levels of institutional quality. We also examine which dimensions of institutional quality play a more prominent role. Finally, we find that part of the effect of institutional quality is channelled through higher environmental stringency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses to what extent the Mining Code lives up to the environmental standards as originally meant to be applicable to the deep seabed. The focus will be on the ethical background of the common heritage and its reflection in the current application of the principle on deep seabed mining. The evolving legal status of the common heritage of humankind as part of the ‘Constitution of the Ocean’ plays a significant role in keeping the Mining Code in check. In this regard, the legal meaning of common heritage in 1967 might very well differ from that almost half a century later. Probably, the environmental component was a secondary priority when the common heritage was proposed as a principle. Of major importance is if the Mining Code suffices to protect and preserve the resources of the deep seabed from a perspective of intra- and intergenerational justice. This article is one attempt to trace the environmental roots of the common heritage concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Standards organizations and NGOs have begun to refer to “fair carbon” projects, and “fairly traded” carbon credits. “Fairness” is a fuzzy notion, subject to multiple and competing interpretations. This paper draws on a framing used by standards organizations, which encompasses issues of access and benefits, to critically examine challenges and opportunities for achieving desired “fair” outcomes as discussed in the literature. Arising knowledge gaps are presented as a research agenda that explores what “fair carbon” means to multiple stakeholders; illuminates governance processes through which “fairness” is being standardized; and examines its implications within certified carbon projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Multicriteria comparison of technical solutions for residential heat production. • Energy, exergy, economic, exergoeconomic and environmental indicators. • Sensitivity study on solar matching, LCOE and exergy destruction cost. • Extended qualitative discussion including more technical and operational criteria. • Some grid-driven solutions are competitive (efficient, de-carbonized French grid). The French energy market is highly reliant on nuclear power. Several factors pressure for a phase-out of this technology, but finding an environmentally and economically competitive substitute is not easy. Renewable sources are a candidate, and a full deployment in the residential sector could significantly reduce nuclear-based electricity production in France. In this paper, we assess multicriteria competitiveness of renewable energies for residential heat production in a French dwelling. A total of 9 solutions combining the following systems are compared: boilers (electric, biomass or gas-fired), heat pumps (air-source or ground-source) and solar panels (solar thermal or photovoltaic). Global performance is analyzed for each solution through energy, exergy, economic, exergoeconomic and environmental (5E) multi-criteria analysis considering energy efficiency, exergy efficiency, Levelized Cost Of Energy, exergy destruction cost and CO 2 mitigation. Sensitivity of selected indicators is analyzed with respect to the heat load, the investment cost and the fuel cost. The ground-source heat pump and the biomass boiler are found to be the most competitive solutions. It is also found that temporal mismatch between production and consumption is the major drawback of solar-driven solutions, especially for solar thermal collectors. One of the innovations of this study is comparing various residential heat production systems through various performance criteria. The other innovation is applying the study in the French context, which has a very high share of non-carbon electricity. Results from this study can be generalized to other OECD countries in future conditions, i.e. when their shares of non-carbon electricity become very high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper is built on the outcome and recommendations from FAO LEAP guidelines. • An international consensus on water use assessment is presented. • Water footprint concepts and water use information are detailed and connected in relation with each other. • Water scarcity footprint and water productivity are recommended for the assessment of water use. • Water productivity is reported with fractions of green and blue water consumed. The FAO Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance (LEAP) Partnership organised a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to develop reference guidelines on water footprinting for livestock production systems and supply chains. The mandate of the TAG was to i) provide recommendations to monitor the environmental performance of feed and livestock supply chains over time so that progress towards improvement targets can be measured, ii) be applicable for feed and water demand of small ruminants, poultry, large ruminants and pig supply chains, iii) build on, and go beyond, the existing FAO LEAP guidelines and iv) pursue alignment with relevant international standards, specifically ISO 14040 (2006) / ISO 14044 (2006) , and ISO 14046 (2014). The recommended guidelines on livestock water use address both impact assessment (water scarcity footprint as defined by ISO 14046, 2014) and water productivity (water use efficiency). While most aspects of livestock water use assessment have been proposed or discussed independently elsewhere, the TAG reviewed and connected these concepts and information in relation with each other and made recommendations towards comprehensive assessment of water use in livestock production systems and supply chains. The approaches to assess the quantity of water used for livestock systems are addressed and the specific assessment methods for water productivity and water scarcity are recommended. Water productivity assessment is further advanced by its quantification and reporting with fractions of green and blue water consumed. This allows the assessment of the environmental performance related to water use of a livestock-related system by assessing potential environmental impacts of anthropogenic water consumption (only "blue water"); as well as the assessment of overall water productivity of the system (including "green" and "blue water" consumption). A consistent combination of water productivity and water scarcity footprint metrics provides a complete picture both in terms of potential productivity improvements of the water consumption as well as minimizing potential environmental impacts related to water scarcity. This process resulted for the first time in an international consensus on water use assessment, including both the life-cycle assessment community with the water scarcity footprint and the water management community with water productivity metrics. Despite the main focus on feed and livestock production systems, the outcomes of this LEAP TAG are also applicable to many other agriculture sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian affordable rental housing sector has historically faced barriers to green building (GB) adoption due to issues of split-incentives, despite financial support from the commonwealth. This paper explores how a recent shift towards bond-based funding mechanisms offer an opportunity to integrate green building practices, and influence regional social, environmental and economic outcomes. A novel system dynamics model is developed to forecast a business as usual (BAU) and green-building scenario framed around the recently introduced Australian Affordable Housing Bond Aggregator (AHBA) policy framework. The purpose of the model is to examine how a mandate on green building standards together with the use of green versus conventional bonds impact social, environmental and economic outcomes of the framework over a 20-year horizon, within the South East Queensland metropolitan area of Australia. The study determined that the green building framework would deliver 2.37% less housing overall due to higher initial capital costs. However, offers substantial long-term energy and water efficiency benefits, improved affordability for tenants due to reduced utility costs, deferred water and energy infrastructure benefits, and considerable contributions towards Australia's carbon emission reduction targets. Tenants are expected to benefit from a 45–59% reduction in energy and a 27% decrease in water bills. Moreover, a shift to affordable green building policy could contribute to 2.9% of Australia's Conference of Parties (2030) carbon emissions reduction target if applied nationally. The study concludes with a sensitivity analysis to reveal policy refinement recommendations that would yield the benefits of green affordable housing without sacrificing the small reduction in housing stock delivered by the proposed program. • A System dynamics model is applied to determine affordable housing policy outcomes. • A business as usual versus green building policy scenario are compared and analysed. • Three policy recommendations are presented to improve the GB scenario. • GB policy benefits are substantial therefore developer grant scheme is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allocating initial water rights in a river basin is not only a significant problem but also an essential research topic. It plays a crucial role in promoting the construction of a system of water rights and water-saving society as well as alleviating the contradiction between water supply and demand. Thus, the effective initial allocation of water rights has theoretical and practical significance for enhancing water rights management in China. First, this paper analyzes the impact of the strictest water resources management system on the establishment of the main criteria in the initial water rights allocation index system of a basin, including social, economic and environmental benefit criteria. Then, a new fuzzy comparison-based method, namely the fuzzy best-worst method (FBWM), is proposed to determine the weights of criteria and a procedure for group decision-making by FBWM is put forward. Finally, a case study about the initial water rights allocation in the Huaihe River Basin is illustrated to show how the developed FBWM works for real-world applications. Sensitivity analysis and comparative analysis with the existing methods are also provided to show the performance of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We study what drives ports to adopt air emissions abatement measures. • We disentangle the impacts of port characteristics on abatement measure adoption. • Population density, port business model, and container specialization drive adoption. • Ports tend to adopt bundles of measures, combining pricing and other energy sources. • Coordinated abatement efforts among ports increase their effectiveness. The reduction of Greenhouses gasses (GHG) and other air emissions represents a major challenge for ports. The world over, however, ports vary considerably in their efforts to reduce air emissions, and the causes for this variation remain under-researched. This paper examines the drivers for the adoption of air emissions abatement measures in a sample of 93 of the world's largest ports, covering all continents and mobile emitters. We test five hypotheses with a Linear Probability Model to disentangle the impacts of key port characteristics on the current adoption of abatement measures and identify three key drivers for adoption: Population density, the port landlord business model, and a specialization in servicing container shipping. We also find that ports are more likely to implement specific bundles of measures, in particular combining pricing and new energy sources. Our work has implications for ports, as we suggest that they should coordinate abatement efforts to achieve effectiveness in their work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 158 indicators were identified from a total of 600 identified in the initial data collection. • There were an average of an additional 29 indicators, beyond FMEOPL per AONB management plan. • An average of 12 of the 22 regular indicators were presented in AONB management plans. • 100% of AONB management plans identified climate change adaptation as a primary issue. Protected landscape status is one of the highest designations afforded by the British legislature. To maintain consistent landscape quality, track environmental interventions, or measure the impacts of planned and unexpected events there is a need for co-ordinated national as well as local environmental monitoring. Conventionally indicators are used as monitoring proxies for tracking complex changes in landscape form and qualities, designation criteria, compliance against protective legislation, and the effectiveness of varying governance programmes. The regulatory agency of UK (English) environmental standards on behalf of the government, Natural England, monitors against a framework of indicators for the designation criteria of 'natural beauty' in 10 UK National Parks (NP) and 33 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and distributes data and analysis annually. This paper centres on an empirical case study that investigates environmental indicators used on-the-ground, as evidenced in AONB management plans. These bottom-up indicators are compared with top-down indicator frameworks from both Natural England's monitoring programme (FMEOPL), and the emerging indicators associated with the UK 25-Year Plan to Improve the Environment (25YEP). A methodology is developed to collate diverse indicators from these three policy and governance sources and to recommend a synthetic list of 158 indicators with future potential as candidates of a national framework for monitoring environmental change in the UK at landscape-scale. Given the trans-national action of environmental stressors, this work is also considered to represent internationally significant findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The improvement of rural human settlements is an important task in the Rural Revitalisation strategy in China. Determining the quality and spatial distribution of rural human settlements and making strategies according to local conditions are conductive to the construction of beautiful rural in China. On the basis of existing theories and research on rural human settlements, this paper constructs a theoretical analysis framework of rural human settlements that focuses on infrastructure, public services, quality of life, living standards and environmental health. Entropy method and cluster analysis are used to analyse the quality of rural human settlements and to divide regions among 31 provinces in China. The main conclusions are as follows: (i) China can be divided into four quadrants. Regions with high qualities are mainly concentrated in the first quadrant. The second and third quadrants score the lowest. The quality of rural human settlements in sub-dimensions shows disequilibrium and the quality of life is low compared with other four dimensions. (ii) The 31 provinces can be divided into five categories: demonstration regions, regions with potentials for development, regions with weak points, regions of satisfying basic needs, and backward regions. (iii) Rural human settlements is a large complex system, whose quality is closely related to the conditions of regional development. Long-term follow-up investigation should be the focus of future research. Findings provide scientific guidance for the optimization and improvement mechanism of rural human settlements and rural revitalisation. • The theoretical analysis framework of people-oriented is constructed to highlight the core position of human. • Hu Line and Bole-Taipei Line were used to analyze the spatial distribution of quality of rural human settlements. • China can be divided into five regional types according to the quality characteristics of rural human settlements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Odors from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have attracted extensive attention and stringent environmental standards are more widely adopted to reduce odor emissions. Biological odor treatment methods have broader applications than the physical and chemical counterparts as they are environment-friendly, cost-effective and generate low secondary wastes. The aqueous activated sludge (AS) processes are among the most promising approaches for the prevention or end-of-pipe removal of odor emissions and have the potential to simultaneously treat odor and wastewater. However, AS deodorization biotechnologies in WWTPs still need to be further systematically summarized and categorized while in-depth discussions on the characteristics and underlying mechanisms of AS deodorization process are still lacking. Recently, considerable studies have been reported to elucidate the microbial metabolisms in odor control and wastewater treatment. This paper reviews the fundamentals, characteristics, advances and field experiences of three AS biotechnologies for odor treatment in WWTPs, i.e., AS recycling, microaeration in AS digester and AS diffusion. The underlying deodorization mechanisms of typical odors have been revealed through the summary of recent advances on multi-element conversions, metabolic interactions of bacteria, microscopic characterization and identification of functional microorganisms. Future research aspects to advance the emerging deodorization AS process, such as deodorization mechanisms, simultaneous odor and water treatment, synergistic treatment with other air emissions, are discussed. Image 1 • Activated sludge (AS) processes are promising in odor control. • Polysulfide plays an important role in H 2 S production. • Poly-S is stored intracellularly or extracellularly in biological sulfur conversions. • Chemical and biochemical deodorization mechanisms were revealed. • Diverse future aspects of the emerging deodorization AS process were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]