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The paper offers innovative cooking utensil designs for remote, isolated, and even peri-urban communities at a low price, with high reliability and simple construction. It can alleviate energy poverty and improve food security. This utensil uses only local solar energy directly and allows comfortable indoor cooking. This paper provides the design principles of a solar cooker/frying pan or generic heater, based on a PV panel or a plurality of them, which are directly connected to a plurality of Positive Thermal Coefficient (PTC) resistors to match the power. PTCs are nowadays produced in massive quantities and are widely available at low cost. The proposed device does not require an electronic controller or a battery for its operation. The aim is for family use, although the design can be easily scaled to a larger size or power, maintaining its simplicity. Electric heating inside or attached to the cooking pot, plus the temperature self-limiting effect of PTCs, allows for thermally insulating the cooking pot from its outside using ordinary materials. Insulation enhances energy efficiency during cooking and keeps cooked food warm for a long time. Clean development would receive a significant impulse with its application. A simple mathematical model describes its functioning and states guidelines for adequate design. Its results indicate a successful proof of concept and high efficiency both for water and oil as representatives of cooking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the energy efficiency of enterprises is one of the key means to solve the problem of energy shortage. It is of great significance to investigate how environmental information disclosure (EDI) promotes the green total factor energy efficiency (GTFEE) of enterprises. Based on this, this study calculates the GTFEE of enterprises by combining the database of Chinese manufacturing and the pollutant emission of industrial enterprises and investigates the impact of EDI on the GTFEE of manufacturing industries by using a difference-in-difference model. The following is found: (1) EDI can significantly promote the manufacturing enterprises' GTFEE, and the results are still valid after a series of robustness tests; (2) Mechanism analysis shows that EDI can improve the GTFEE of manufacturing enterprises by promoting technological innovation and optimizing energy structure; (3) The heterogeneity analysis shows that EID is more positive on firms' GTFEE in the eastern than western regions. The positive impact is greater for non-state-owned, low-energy consumption, export, and polluting enterprises. The findings of this paper provide a theoretical basis and practical enlightenment for the government to promote the green development transformation of enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to investigate potential strategies to reduce energy consumption and environmental impacts of a recently converted rural complex into an agri-spa in a high environmental value area within the province of Viterbo (Italy). Actual operational data on appliances, climate, and energy consumption are employed for the energy audit. While this analysis generally provides energy-saving solutions, such options are not examined for their life cycle environmental impacts. The current article is based on the experimentation of a consolidated methodological approach in the scientific literature, integrating the energy audit, life cycle assessment (LCA), and economic analysis (Life Cycle Cost) to assess a series of energy-efficiency measures designed for the new wellness centre function. The combined use of these well-established procedures provides a comprehensive assessment of intervention scenarios for a particularly energy-intensive type of case study, not yet widely documented in the literature. The results reveal that energy consumption related to heating/cooling is marginal compared to the actual electrical consumption in the specific case study. Therefore, the most efficient scenarios involve installing photovoltaic systems and replacing gas boilers with high-efficiency heat pumps, especially with economically advantageous insulation. This leads to a 51% reduction in energy consumption and an 81% decrease in heating, DHW, and electricity costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2030 sustainable development goal (SDG7) target progress indicators show that developing countries are off track. Ethiopia's low performance to the SDG7 has endangered its economic, societal, and environmental sustainability. The performance in clean cooking has contested its policy, institutional setup, and R&D. The objective of this paper lies in evaluating four improved cook stoves against a traditional stove based on fuel consumption, cooking time, and emission. The study would contribute to solving the clean-cooking challenges by giving scientific evidence on the technological status of these stoves. The evaluation results show that the TCS consumed 2.7 kg of fuel, had a cooking time of 1:30 h, and used 4.3 kg CO2 per cooking period. Similarly, the ICSs required: 1.2 kg, 2 h, and 1.9 kg (EZY); 1.5 kg, 3 h, and 2.4 kg (Tikikkle); and 1.4 kg, 5 h, and 3.2 kg (Lakech), respectively. In addition, these stoves registered a thermal efficiency of 25, 17, and 19%, respectively. The metal body, insulation, and air inlet caused EZY to perform better. However, these technologies are low-order technologies, and their performance is found to be a major locking factor in ICS adoption. This evidence would help ICS actors to understand where to intervene for better adoption. Furthermore, the authors gave implementation fix recommendations to improve ICS programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a scenario characterised by mitigation concerns and calls for greater resilience in the energy sector, energy audits (EAs) emerge as an essential mean for enhancing end-use energy consumption awareness and efficiency. Such a tool allows us to assess the different energy carriers consumed in a productive sector, offering insight into existing energy efficiency improvement opportunities. This opens avenues for research to devise an econometrics-based methodology that encapsulate production sites and their environmental essentials. This paper contributes to the literature by exploiting the EAs received by the Italian National agency for New technologies, Energy, and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA) in 2019 from the Italian plastics manufacturing sector, matched with Italian firm-based data extracted from the Analisi Informatizzata delle Aziende Italiane (Italian company information and business intelligence) (AIDA) database. In particular, we investigate how the implementation of energy efficiency measures (EEMs) is influenced by a set of contextual factors, as well as features relating to the companies and EEMs themselves. The empirical investigation focuses on the EAs submitted to ENEA in 2019, which was strategically chosen due to its unique data availability and adequacy for extensive analysis. The selection of 2019 is justified as it constitutes the second mandatory reporting period for energy audits, in contrast to the 2022 data, which are currently undergoing detailed refinement. In line with the literature, the adopted empirical approach involves the use of both the OLS and logistic regression models. Empirical results confirm the relevance of economic and financial factors in guiding the decisions surrounding the sector's energy performance, alongside the analogous influence of the technical characteristics of the measures themselves and of the firms' strategies. In particular, the OLS model with no fixed effects shows that a one-percent variation in investments is associated with an increase in savings performance equal to 0.63%. As for the OLS model, including fixed effects, the elasticity among the two variables concerned reaches 0.87%, while in the logistic regression, if the investment carried out by the production sites increases, the expected percentage change in the probability that the energy-saving performance is above its average is about 187.77%. Contextual factors that prove to be equally influential include the incentive mechanism considered and the traits of the geographical area in which the companies are located. Relevant policy implications derived from this analysis include the importance of reducing informational barriers about EEMs and increasing technical assistance, which can be crucial for identifying and implementing effective energy solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The highlighted energy consumption of Internet data center (IDC) in China has become a pressing issue with the implementation of the Chinese dual carbon strategic goal. This paper provides a comprehensive review of cooling technologies for IDC, including air cooling, free cooling, liquid cooling, thermal energy storage cooling and building envelope. Firstly, the environmental requirements for the computer room and the main energy consumption items for IDC are analyzed. The evaluation indicators and government policies for promoting green IDC are also summarized. Next, the traditional cooling technology is compared to four new cooling technologies to find effective methods to maximize energy efficiency in IDC. The results show that traditional cooling consumes a significant amount of energy and has low energy efficiency. The application of free cooling can greatly improve the energy efficiency of IDC, but its actual implementation is highly dependent on geographical and climatic conditions. Liquid cooling, on the other hand, has higher energy efficiency and lower PUE compared to other cooling technologies, especially for high heat density servers. However, it is not yet mature and its engineering application is not widespread. In addition, thermal energy storage (TES) based cooling offers higher energy efficiency but must be coupled with other cooling technologies. Energy savings can also be achieved through building envelope improvements. Considering the investment and recovery period for IDC, it is essential to seek efficient cooling solutions that are suitable for IDC and take into account factors such as IDC scale, climate conditions, maintenance requirements, etc. This paper serves as a reference for the construction and development of green IDC in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines normality in time series econometrics for a sustainable energy transition. By analysing data from January 1997 to December 2021, this study integrates macroeconomic, environmental, and energy data to gain insights into the potential changes in daily commuting patterns among Slovenians. Various methods, including unit root tests such as the augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF), Kwiatkowski–Phillips–Schmidt–Shin (KPSS), and Zivot–Andrews (Z-A), as well as other tests, are employed. Additionally, the vector autoregressive (VAR) model, Granger Causality and regression analysis determine the impact. This paper contributes to uncovering valuable information within data from macrovariables using macroeconometric techniques. It also provides insights that can support evidence-based decision-making for sustainable energy transition policies in Slovenia. The results of the normality tests indicate that most macro variables are integrated; there is a need for a careful analysis of integration levels and appropriate testing methods. These findings have implications for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners in economics, the environment, and energy supply. At the same time, this research highlights that gross domestic product, unemployment, inflation, and carbon dioxide positively impact car usage among Slovenians, while gasoline prices and commuters have a negative one. While the recently investigated development of sustainable commuting does not work, the study highlights an innovation: the connection of time series econometrics, which offers a better understanding of future commuting patterns on energy consumption and their causalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient and low-carbon energy utilization is a crucial aspect of promoting green and sustainable development. Multi-energy microgrids, which incorporate multiple interchangeable energy types, offer effective solutions for low-carbon and efficient energy consumption. This study aims to investigate the sharing of energy and carbon in multiple multi-energy microgrids (MMEMs) to enhance their economic impact, low-carbon attributes, and the efficient utilization of renewable energy. In this paper, an energy–carbon co-sharing operation model is established, incorporating carbon capture systems (CCSs) and two-stage power-to-gas (P2G) devices within the MMEMs to actualize low-carbon operation. Furthermore, based on cooperative game theory, this paper establishes an energy–carbon co-sharing Nash negotiation model and negotiates based on the energy–carbon contribution of each subject in the cooperation as bargaining power so as to maximize both the benefits of the MMEM alliance and the distribution of the cooperation benefits. The case study results show that the overall benefits of the alliance can be increased through Nash negotiation. Energy–carbon co-sharing can effectively increase the renewable energy consumption rate of 8.34%, 8.78%, and 8.83% for each multi-energy microgrid, and the overall carbon emission reduction rate reaches 17.81%. Meanwhile, the distribution of the benefits according to the energy–carbon co-sharing contribution capacity of each entity is fairer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the 10 priorities of the Green New Deal is sustainable transportation. It should be considered in the perspective of long-term ecological and economic sustainability, according to the trend of opportunities for sustainable development. The economic and environmental aspects of transportation related to the harvesting and movement of timber play a special role in the energy cost and their environmental impact per distance of raw material supply. The principles of rational and energy-efficient use of transportation equipment play a key role in the movement of raw timber. These are influenced by the availability of timber resources, limitation of vehicle payloads, reduction of energy consumption expressed in terms of reduction of fuel combustion, or current legal and road regulations for timber transportation. The paper evaluates economic and environmental factors in relation to the demand for fuels necessary for the implementation of road transportation of softwood timber. The aim of this paper was to present the current situation of the use of transportation means in the movement of bulky timber, as well as opportunities to optimize fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, affecting the economic and environmental effects. Previous studies on fuel consumption in the transportation of roundwood indicate irrational use of vehicles. This indicates unused payload capacity increasing energy inputs expressed in fuel consumption. It has been empirically investigated that this is the result of improperly approved transport sets adapted to the material being transported. In addition, it was shown that there is a clear correlation between the vehicle payload utilization rate and economic and environmental factors. The results of this study point to the potential to increase the use of transportation vehicles for timber transportation and reduce fuel combustion and CO2 emissions by 7–20%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This scientific paper highlights the critical significance of energy in driving sustainable development and explores the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in shaping the future of energy systems. As the world faces mounting challenges in meeting growing energy demands while minimizing environmental impact, there is a pressing need for innovative solutions that can optimize energy generation, distribution, and consumption. AI tools, with their ability to analyse vast amounts of data and make intelligent decisions, have emerged as a promising avenue for advancing energy systems towards greater efficiency, reliability, and sustainability. This paper underscores the importance of energy in sustainable development and investigates how AI tools can catalyse the next phase of human civilization. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the Collaborative Energy Optimization Platform (CEOP), an innovative model that utilizes AI algorithms in an integrated manner. The review of the CEOP model is based on an in-depth analysis of existing literature, research papers, and industry reports. The methodology encompasses a systematic review of the model's key features, including collaboration, data-sharing, and AI algorithm integration. The conducted research demonstrates the effectiveness of applying MCDM methods, specifically fuzzy AHP and TOPSIS, in evaluating and ranking the performance of five Collaborative Energy Optimization Platforms (CEOP models) across 20 sub-criteria. The findings emphasize the need for a comprehensive and holistic approach in assessing AI-based energy optimization systems. The research provides valuable insights for decision-makers and researchers in the field, fostering the development and implementation of more efficient and sustainable AI-powered energy systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary aim of this study was to assess the investment activity of basic local government units in the development of renewable energy sources co-financed by EU funds depending on CO2 emissions and other socio-economic conditions in terms of regions of Poland in the years 2007–2020. Empirical studies aimed at the verification of the research hypothesis that "the greatest investment activity in local projects co-financed from EU funds related to the development of renewable energy sources is observed for local government units in regions with highest CO2 emissions". Empirical studies were conducted based on data from the Ministry of Investment and Economic Development in Poland, the Local Data Bank, and the National Centre for Emissions Management. Thus, the conducted analyses provide both cognitive and applicatory values for the establishment of an appropriate energy transition policy in individual regions of Poland, which may be implemented by local government authorities within the current financial framework. Data concerning CO2 emissions at the regional level were estimated by applying the original disaggregation method as modified by the authors, which made it possible to fill the research gap resulting from the lack of data on emissions at the regional level. In order to show the regional diversification in investment activity of local government units in terms of renewable energy sources, its multi-faceted analysis was conducted by applying the Ward method. Clusters of regions with similar investment activity of local government units were described based on characteristics included in the typological classification (so-called active characteristics) and selected indexes showing CO2 emission levels, as well as selected socio-economic indexes (so-called passive characteristics). Based on the empirical studies, the research hypothesis presented in this paper was negatively verified. Considering both multiannual financial frameworks, the EU financial support for the development of renewable energy sources was used primarily by local government units of a predominantly agricultural character, and less advanced in terms of their development but exhibiting conditions conducive to renewable energy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The public procurement system in Poland remains highly centralized, although thanks to European Community directives, it is part of European law. Therefore, it has established procedures for sustainable public procurement, including so-called green public procurement. In addition to the Public Procurement Law of 11 September 2019, other provisions introducing specific instruments (e.g., energy labels, environmental labels) should be taken into consideration, as such provisions make it easier for contracting authorities to take environmental aspects into account in tender procedures. Bearing in mind the existing legal regulations, this article features a diagnosis of the degree of use of measures to improve energy efficiency in public procurement procedures and models activities related to improving this situation. For this purpose, surveys were conducted for 120 entities applying the provisions of the Public Procurement Law. Taking into consideration the results obtained in the survey, 15 factors related to the improvement of energy efficiency in tender procedures were selected with the help of 12 purposively selected experts connected with the issues raised in this article. Thanks to their expert knowledge, three key factors determining the wider use of this instrument were modeled by means of the systems theory–based methodology of network thinking. The paper also attempts to indicate the key factors determining the wider use of this instrument, using the network thinking methodology for this purpose. As a result of the conducted research, it was found that these factors include human capital, industry, and the energy crisis. Research on the subject in the Polish literature remains innovative and allows for the formulation of application recommendations for decision makers. The concept of energy efficiency in this paper refers to the ratio of the results obtained to the energy input. Efficient use of energy aims to reduce the amount of energy needed to deliver products and services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper examines the adoption of solar energy in residential buildings throughout Saudi Arabia, with a specific emphasis on Makkah. Despite the immense global demand for energy and growing environmental concerns, the adoption of solar energy in Saudi housing remains relatively low. While previous studies have examined the potential, feasibility, and policy support for solar energy, this research uniquely approaches the issue from the perspective of customers on a national scale. The study aims to identify the factors that influence customers' intentions to use solar energy in Saudi Arabia, contributing to the development of a sustainable circular supply chain for renewable energy. To achieve this, the research integrates the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2). An online questionnaire was distributed, garnering responses from a total of 250 participants. A regression analysis was employed to analyze the data and examine the relationships between the proposed hypotheses. The study's findings reveal that four critical factors wield significant influence over consumer behavior and their decisions regarding the adoption of solar PV technology. These factors are: Social Influence (SI), Performance Expectancy (PE), Effort Expectancy (EE), and Facilitating Conditions (FC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although many works focus on increasing the energy efficiency of buildings, there are still a number of problems that need to be solved, such as reducing heat losses at the window-to-wall interface, especially since the requirements for saving energy used for heating/cooling rooms are constantly increasing. This paper analyses the impact of the material parameters of the external wall and the window installation in the insulation layer on the size of thermal bridges around the window. Purpose: The aim of the work is to demonstrate the benefits resulting from the correct installation of the window, the appropriate location of the window in relation to the face of the external wall, as well as the correct selection of construction materials. Methodology: In order to show the improvement in the energy efficiency of buildings, an analysis of the heating/cooling energy consumption was carried out for the selected buildings. The thermal and humidity analyses were carried out using TRISCO program, while the economic analysis was performed using the Audytor OZC program. Results: It was found that the proposed system of window installation in the thermal insulation layer reduced the annual heating demand by at least 10% on average. Conclusions: It has been shown that the method of window installation and the type of the wall structural materials are interrelated and therefore should be considered simultaneously. Their proper selection allows for a reduction in the amount of energy needed for heating and cooling buildings, and thus a reduction of heating/cooling costs, as well as limiting greenhouse gas emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital business plays a crucial role in driving energy efficiency and sustainability by enabling innovative solutions such as smart grid technologies, data analytics for energy optimization, and remote monitoring and control systems. Through digitalization, businesses can streamline processes, minimize energy waste, and make informed decisions that lead to more efficient resource utilization and reduced environmental impact. This paper aims at analyzing the character of digital business' impact on energy efficiency to outline the relevant instruments to unleash EU countries' potential for attaining sustainable development. The study applies the panel-corrected standard errors technique to check the effect of digital business on energy efficiency for the EU countries in 2011–2020. The findings show that digital business has a significant negative effect on energy intensity, implying that increased digital business leads to decreased energy intensity. Additionally, digital business practices positively contribute to reducing CO2 emissions and promoting renewable energy, although the impact on final energy consumption varies across different indicators. The findings underscore the significance of integrating digital business practices to improve energy efficiency, lower energy intensity, and advance the adoption of renewable energy sources within the EU. Policymakers and businesses should prioritize the adoption of digital technologies and e-commerce strategies to facilitate sustainable energy transitions and accomplish environmental objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving agricultural energy efficiency is essential in reducing energy consumption and achieving agricultural sustainable development. This paper aims to measure the agricultural total-factor energy efficiency in China rather than the partial-factor energy efficiency while taking full account of regional heterogeneity and to investigate the driving factors of agricultural total-factor energy efficiency. The empirical results showed that the average value of agricultural total-factor energy efficiency is 0.814 in China, and the technological gap ratio is 0.853. The regional difference in agricultural total-factor energy efficiency was quite obvious. Higher agricultural energy inputs are associated with higher agricultural total-factor productivity. The total value of potential agricultural energy savings in 30 provinces of China reached 1704.41 billion tons of standard coal. In terms of the absolute amount of agricultural energy saving, the amount was largest in the low-energy-input area, which was 113.87 million tons of standard coal, accounting for 66.81% of the total potential saving amount. Furthermore, we used the Tobit model to analyze the influencing factors of agricultural total-factor energy efficiency. We found that the proportion of agriculture to GDP has a positive impact on agricultural total-factor energy efficiency, while the per capita income of farmers, fiscal support for agriculture, the illiteracy rate of farmers, agricultural labor input, and agricultural capital stock have a negative impact on agricultural total-factor energy efficiency. Finally, we proposed policy implications in terms of agricultural technological progress, agricultural infrastructure, technical training, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utilization of wind energy has become increasingly popular in the United States and many European countries due to its abundant nature and optimized design. While existing wind turbines are predominantly large-scale and not suitable for standalone or distributed power production, Lubbock County in West Texas offers a diverse range of renewable energy options to meet its energy needs. The region relies heavily on utility-scale wind energy sources to supply power to the Texas Grid, replacing conventional fossil fuel-based systems. Currently, standalone solar PV systems are the preferred choice for renewable energy generation. However, West Texas possesses an ample supply of wind energy that can be harnessed to establish a microgrid and provide standalone power to rural communities. Distributed wind energy offers localized power generation, reducing transmission losses and grid strain, while conventional wind farms require long-distance transmission, leading to efficiency gains. By employing the latest technology and optimizing efficiency, even in low-scale generation, a 6-kilowatt permanent magnet alternator-based distributed wind turbine has been designed. This paper focuses on analyzing the techno-economic aspects of implementing this wind turbine in a real-world scenario, taking into account wind attributes, such as velocity and available power, at the specific location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the influence of the dual policies of sustainable economic development and the national dual-carbon target, the establishment of an environmental protection department for the treatment of heavily polluting industries is imminent, and the country has launched pollution control policies and regulations to restrict the emission rights of heavily polluting industries. Therefore, this paper focuses on whether the restriction of emission rights in key industries has reduced carbon emissions. To achieve this, this paper uses panel data of prefecture-level cities in China from 2006 to 2019 and adopts a two-way fixed-effects DID model to systematically analyze the impact of the key pollution industry governance policies launched by the Ministry of Environmental Protection on CO2 emissions in 2017. And further analyze the role of variables such as green technology innovation patents and energy efficiency using this model, while parallel trend tests and placebo tests, and related policies are used to ensure the robustness of the regression results. This paper reveals that: (1) The heavy pollution industry governance policy implemented in 2017 can effectively reduce CO2 emissions in the cities of the treated group, and the effect is more significant in the year of policy implementation; (2) Green utility patents and energy-use efficiency are the effective mediating mechanisms to reduce CO2 emissions; (3) Over time, the effect of heavy pollution industry governance policy on CO2 emissions gradually decreases; (4) The reliability of the baseline regression results of this paper is proved by the use of parallel trend tests, placebo tests, and tests excluding the influence factors such as relevant policies in the same period. Therefore, the key polluting industries treatment policy launched by China's Ministry of Environmental Protection in 2017 under the recent dual-carbon policy development goals formulated by China, can effectively reduce carbon emissions; however, in the future economic development process, the government should give more consideration to the continuity of the policy impact and its coherence on economic development when implementing the policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reduction of carbon emissions from the energy industry chain and the coordinated development of the energy supply chain have attracted widespread attention. This paper conducts a systematic review of the existing literature on the energy industry chain and energy supply chain. Based on the analytical results, this paper finds that research gaps exist in the studies of energy consumption structure and resource consumption in energy industry chain. In addition, the studies of coordinated operation mechanisms, risk control and the impact of government policies on the energy supply chain still have some shortcomings. Furthermore, this paper shows that the exploitation and utilization of renewable energy and the sustainable development of the energy industry chain and supply chain have become the major focus of scholars and governments in recent years. Accordingly, this article finally presents the future research prospects and provides managerial insights for policy makers and enterprise managers to accelerate the development of renewable energy resources and to achieve green, low-carbon, coordinated and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The resources of the earth are being consumed day by day with the increasing population and necessities of humankind in many areas, such as industrial applications and basic needs in houses, workplaces and transportation. As a consequence, careful usage of the energy sources and the conversed energy is of great importance in order to obtain sustainable development. Machining operations have a large percentage of all manufacturing methods in terms of depleted energy which gives them a high potential for reducing the total energy consumption. The approaches handled in the literature for the minimization of the consumed energy in the machining industry were considered in this study. While several machinability characteristics under different machining processes were investigated broadly in the context of composites and superalloys, the comparison of these systems has been given cursory attention in the current literature, specifically for cutting energy saving. The overall performance of these group material systems utilizing widely in numerous significant industrial areas supplies important signs about manufacturing costs, service conditions and environmental impacts. It is highly crucial to monitor the indicators of energy-saving phenomena of the machined parts since the mechanisms behind the energy consumption of these systems is very complex and dynamic owing to different process-induced variables. This well-organized review paper distinguishes itself from previous studies in this field since the comprehensive literature survey paves the way for diverse approaches that regard energy saving, especially for composites and superalloys under different machining operations. This overview paper aims to contribute to the current literature by highlighting the effects of the state-of-the-art approaches in reducing energy consumption in the machining of industrially important materials. This study can also establish a framework in the context of the process-property interactions to comprehend the influence of energy-saving mechanisms through machining in a system of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a review of research undertaken, and subsequent policy change enacted, in the years 2018 to 2022 regarding the integration of cooking loads and needs into modern energy planning. Building on an earlier paper which described how the dominant global approaches to tackling the enduring problem of biomass-fuelled cooking was failing, and how a new UK Aid programme (Oct 2018) would be seeking to intentionally change international energy policy towards cooking and enable a significant transition in energy use, in this paper we review whether this strategy is being adopted by researchers, governments, and the private sector across the world and whether it is likely to make a significant contribution to the fulfilment of Sustainable Development Goal 7. In particular, the call is for integrated planning of modern energy inclusive of cooking loads—the potential 'Mutual Support' that both can lend to each other. The review considers the international commitments made by donors and governments to this end, the research that positions the use of modern energy as a cost-effective proposition, the urbanisation and societal changes reinforcing such planning, and positions the review in the light of climate change and the need to reach net zero carbon by 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing demand for sustainable and efficient energy harvesting and storage technologies has spurred interest in the integration of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) with supercapacitors (SCs). This combination offers a promising solution for powering Internet of Things (IoT) devices and other low−power applications by utilizing ambient mechanical energy. Cellular materials, featuring unique structural characteristics such as high surface−to−volume ratios, mechanical compliance, and customizable properties, have emerged as essential components in this integration, enabling the improved performance and efficiency of TENG−SC systems. In this paper, we discuss the key role of cellular materials in enhancing TENG−SC systems' performance through their influence on contact area, mechanical compliance, weight, and energy absorption. We highlight the benefits of cellular materials, including increased charge generation, optimized energy conversion efficiency, and adaptability to various mechanical sources. Furthermore, we explore the potential for lightweight, low−cost, and customizable cellular materials to expand the applicability of TENG−SC systems in wearable and portable devices. Finally, we examine the dual effect of cellular materials' damping and energy absorption properties, emphasizing their potential to protect TENGs from damage and increase overall system efficiency. This comprehensive overview of the role of cellular materials in the integration of TENG−SC aims to provide insights into the development of next−generation sustainable energy harvesting and storage solutions for IoT and other low−power applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China agricultural development has been facing the problem of resource constraints because its resources per capita such as land and energy are relatively lower than the global average. By applying the provincial agricultural panel data from 2000 to 2015 and fixed effect model based on the translog production function, this paper estimates both output elasticities and substitution elasticities of agricultural inputs, which may provide insights into sustainable agricultural development. The results show that, except for capital, the output elasticities of other production factors are all positive. Energy has always played an important role in agricultural production, whose elasticity in agriculture increased from 0.0203 in 2000 to 0.1694 in 2015. We also find a severe scarcity of land, and the high intensity of energy in the field of agriculture. Moreover, there exists a substitute relationship between all factors, which means that in the short term, one production factor can be employed to replace another to maintain agricultural development. From the empirical results of this paper, some policy suggestions are proposed as follows: it is crucial that more attention should be placed on land and to plan energy use wisely. In addition, on account of the current situation in China, the input of labor force should be stepped up and energy should be used more efficiently to make up for the shortage of land resources. The empirical results and policy suggestions in this paper may benefit the sustainable development of China's agricultural economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morocco has resolutely committed to the green transition of its economy by opting for industry decarbonation, which now imposes itself as an essential access criterion to foreign markets. Intending to include energy efficiency in the leading players in energy-intensive industries, this paper has the main objective of contributing to a better understanding of the decarbonation plans potential impact, taking the example of solar energy integrating opportunities as an action for a thrifty, sustainable, and low carbon Moroccan industry. Indeed, the paper focuses on the industrial textile sector, such as the energy-intensive industry. This sector is the first employer and the most important industrial activity; it is also an icon and the oldest industry in Morocco. This study examines the energy, economic and environmental fallout, evaluating the productions, the investment and the CO2 emissions limit. Besides, the energy industrial sector is characterized by a strong dependence on fossil imports, which increases the energy factor and price. In this regard, several geographical sites and factories were studied under six climatic regional conditions, proposing the most optimal and sustainable configurations for each location and present models with scopes and levels of energy and environment gains and investments that can inspire the sector actors. Then the present work must install concepts by inspiring local factories, accompanying the national vision, and resizing the industrial ecology. In this paper, a power of 8.88 MW is the total power installed, which provides an annual total of 8484.65 tonnes of CO2, with an average payback time between 2.6 years and 4.5 years, and attractive economic parameters, with an LCOE of 0.034 $/kWh and $181,863 for the NPC, those outputs shows the importance of environmental gains that the generalization of this strategic vision can achieve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote community initiatives for renewable energy are rapidly emerging across Canada but with varying numbers, success rates, and strategies. To meet low-carbon transition goals, the need to coordinate technology deployment and long-term policy to guide the adoption is critical. Renewable resources such as wind, solar, hydro, and biomass can provide energy at a subsidized cost, create sustainable infrastructure, and provide new economic viability in social value integration. The renewable energy transition is crucial to Canada in sustaining remote and indigenous communities by providing local, clean, and low-carbon-emission energy for heat, power, and possibly transportation. This paper identified 635 renewable resources projects deployed to improve and increase electricity supply. To an extent, balancing demand within the remote and indigenous communities of Canada and highlighting sustainable renewable energy development through ownership participation within the communities is achievable before 2050 and beyond through energy efficiency and the social value of energy. The article identifies clean energy targets as mandated by the different provinces in Canada to reach net-zero GHG emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water and energy are the main natural resources, and their rational use is the basis for sustainable development. Therefore, the energy efficiency of water supply networks is one of the priorities for the management system of water utilities. Many methods and indicators can be used to assess the energy efficiency of water distribution networks (WDNs), and their choice should be adapted to the characteristics of a WDN. This paper presents an energy audit of WDNs that are supplied from five reservoirs located above the supply area, to which water is supplied from four underground and surface water intakes. In the analysis of the system operation, a hydrodynamic computer model of the water distribution network was used to estimate the operating parameters that are necessary to determine the energy efficiency indicators. A new method for calibrating the emitter coefficient used for water loss modeling is also proposed. The conducted audit showed that more than 70% of the energy supplied to the WDS was "lost", mainly due to friction (37%) and water losses (27%). Thanks to hydraulic modeling, it was possible to indicate that 34% of the energy lost in the system was related to the use of pressure-reducing valves (PRV), and that only 3% was directly related to friction. In turn, the majority of leaks are attributed to service connections (17.4% vs. 8.8% in the water distribution network). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first report of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) was released in 2003 and was identified as a new member of ionic liquid (IL), involving innovative chemical and physical characteristics. Using green solvent technology concerning economical, practical, and environmental aspects, DESs open the window for sustainable development of nanomaterial fabrication. The DESs assist in different fabrication processes and design nanostructures with specific morphology and properties by tunable reaction conditions. Using DESs in synthesis reactions can reduce the required high temperature and pressure conditions for decreasing energy consumption and the risk of environmental contamination. This review paper provides the recent applications and advances in the design strategy of DESs for the green synthesis of nanomaterials. The strategy and application of DESs in wet-chemical processes, nanosize reticular material fabrication, electrodeposition/electrochemical synthesis of nanostructures, electroless deposition, DESs based nano-catalytic and nanofluidic systems are discussed and highlighted in this review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ambitious goal of the European Union (EU) countries is to achieve carbon neutrality by providing inclusive economic growth, which requires the development of relevant incentives and initiatives. Furthermore, such incentives and initiatives should guarantee the achievement of the declared goals. Energy sectors are the core determinant of inclusive economic growth. Traditional energy resources (coal oriented) have a higher negative impact on nature and people's well-being than on economic and social benefits. However, the transition to renewable energy raises new issues in achieving goals of inclusive economic growth: affordable and clean energy, responsible energy consumption, and energy infrastructure. The analysis of the theoretical framework found that the digitalization of government could be a core instrument for handling the abovementioned issues. The paper aims to justify the role of green energy in achieving inclusive economic growth empirically. The study applies the following methods: fully modified Ordinary Least Square (OLS) and canonical cointegrating regression. The findings allow concluding that institutional quality passively affects inclusive economic growth and that the digitalization of government has a U-shaped impact on inclusive economic growth. In this case, countries should boost the digital transformation of public services and continuously increase the quality of institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Africa, switching to renewable energy sources with low carbon emissions is becoming more popular. In the Economic Community of West African states (ECOWAS), the low-carbon energy transition must overcome significant obstacles, including those posed by policies put in place and their implementation. In order to replace the current fossil fuel-driven economy with low-carbon development that also advances the regional aims and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this paper analyzes the current policy landscape in the region. A total of 75 policies from four categories (energy access, energy efficiency, renewable energy, climate change) were chosen for the policy review. Multicriteria decision analysis and a thorough review of the literature have shed light on how well the policies of the ECOWAS countries could promote low-carbon development and what the main challenges to overcome are. The last step was the comparison of the progress of the two key policies in the region: the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) and National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP). The results illustrate the amount of work still needing to be done in the region, with only 26 of the 75 policies receiving a score above 50. However, the prospect of a better energy strategy that adequately considers the difficulties of the energy transition is possible, given the progress made by the region's nations since the creation of national action plans for energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE). Our analysis has also shown that countries like Senegal have obtained quite promising results, as evidenced by the best scores of 76.88 and 73.25, respectively, obtained by its NREAP and NEEAP policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EU countries declared the strategic goal to achieve energy independence and increase energy efficiency. In this case, EU countries have provided a vast range of incentives, mechanisms, and directives to promote energy efficiency. Ukraine as a potential candidate should provide a convergent policy with EU countries to increase energy efficiency. The paper aims to estimate energy efficiency based on the revealed convergent and divergent determinants of energy policies among the EU and Ukraine. The data are compiled from the World Energy Statistics Yearbook, the European Statistical Office, the International Energy Agency, SolAbility agencies, and State Statistics Service of Ukraine. The study applies σ- i β-convergence theory to determine the convergent and divergent determinants of the country's energy efficiency. The empirical results allow concluding that Ukraine has an average level in the integrated energy efficiency index of the national economy, and the highest value of this index was in 2008. The highest values of energy efficiency were in Sweden and Denmark among EU countries. Besides, the findings confirm that the Ukrainian government should pay attention to divergent determinants (expenditure for environmental protection, pricing for energy resources, etc.) to improve the country's energy efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sixth Assessment Report of Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has highlighted the urgency of accelerated climate actions harnessing synergies and minimizing trade-offs with various SDG. This calls for a clear understanding of linkages between climate goals and other SDGs at national level for formulating synergistic policies and strategies and developing different sectoral programs and coherent cross-sectoral policies. This is even more important for least developed countries such as Nepal where these linkages are less understood and development challenges are multifaceted. In this context, this paper aims to evaluate potential synergies and trade-offs among selected SDGs and their associated targets in Nepal in a linear pairwise comparison. Synergies and trade-offs related to climate action (SDG 13), access to energy (SDG 7), sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12), and life on land (SDG 15) have been evaluated using historical data for the period from 1990 to 2018 employing a mixed methods approach. Network analysis to map the conceptual linkages between the SDGs and their targets was combined with the advance sustainability analysis (ASA) to quantitatively evaluate the synergy and trade-offs between SDGs. The results illustrate the presences of a continual trade-off between emission reductions targets of SDG 13 with per capita energy consumption and share of renewable energy of SDG 7, land use for agricultural production target of SDG 12, and forest area target of SDG 15. This indicates that climate action is strongly interlinked with GHG emissions from economic activities and energy consumption. The results of the study represent a valuable input for the policy makers, supporting coherent and sustainable development planning as Nepal plans to graduate to a middle-income country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Affordable and clean energy for any rural community is crucial for the sustainable development of the community and the nation at large. The utilization of diesel-based power generation is one of the barriers to the sustainable development of these communities. Such generations require fuel that has a volatile market price and emits massive greenhouse gas emissions. This paper presents the design, modeling, and simulation of a hybrid power system for a rural area in the Sultanate of Oman that aims to reduce daily consumption of diesel fuel and greenhouse gas emissions. Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) is utilized to model multiple energy mix hybrid systems and to propose the best optimal energy mix system for a selected community. In addition, Electrical Transient Analyzer Program (ETAP) software is employed to assess hybrid system operational performances, such as bus voltage profiles and active and reactive power losses. This study revealed that the PV–wind–diesel system is the optimal energy mix hybrid microgrid for the Al-Dhafrat rural area in Oman, with a net present cost of USD 14.09 million. Compared to the currently operating diesel-based system, the deployment of this microgrid can reduce the levelized cost of energy, diesel fuel consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions per year by 54.56%, 70.44%, and 70.40%, respectively. This study confirms that the Sultanate of Oman has a substantial opportunity to install a hybrid microgrid system for rural diesel-based communities to achieve sustainable development in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is concerned with predicting energy consumption in the production and product usage stages and searching for possible changes in product design to reduce energy consumption. The prediction of energy consumption uses parametric models based on regression analysis and artificial neural networks. In turn, simulations related to the identification of improvement opportunities for reducing energy consumption are performed using a constraint programming technique. The results indicate that the use of artificial neural networks improves the quality of an estimation model. Moreover, constraint programming enables the identification of all possible solutions to a constraint satisfaction problem, if there are any. These solutions support R&D specialists in identifying possibilities for reducing energy consumption through changes in product specifications. The proposed approach is dedicated to products related to high-cost energy use, which can be manufactured, for example, by companies belonging to the household appliance industry. [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]

With the increasing attention paid to sustainable development around the world, improving energy efficiency and applying effective means of energy saving have gradually received worldwide attention. As the largest energy consumers, manufacturing industries are also inevitably facing pressures on energy optimization evolution from both governments and competitors. The rational optimization of energy consumption in industrial operation activities can significantly improve the sustainability level of the company. Among these enterprise activities, operation and maintenance (O&M) of manufacturing systems are considered to have the most prospects for energy optimization. The diversity of O&M activities and system structures also expands the research space for it. However, the energy consumption optimization of manufacturing systems faces several challenges: the dynamics of manufacturing activities, the complexity of system structures, and the diverse interpretation of energy-optimization definitions. To address these issues, we review the existing O&M optimization approaches with energy management and divide them into several operation levels. This paper addresses current research development on O&M optimization with energy-management considerations from single-machine, production-line, factory, and supply-chain levels. Finally, it discusses recent research trends in O&M optimization with energy-management considerations in manufacturing systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2010 to 2020, this paper employs the panel vector autoregression (PVAR) model to investigate the dynamic relationship between a green economy and energy utilization level. The results show that: (1) the green economic development level and energy utilization level of 30 provinces in China have been continuously enhancing in recent years, the increase in green economic development level is higher than energy utilization level, and the geographical characteristics of both levels are significant, decreasing from East to West; (2) the causal relationship between the green economy and the energy utilization level has passed the Granger test; the two have formed a relatively high-level balanced relationship over a long period, showing a benign and orderly development trend; (3) the green economy generates a positive pulse response on energy utilization level in the initial period, but the impulse response weakens in the period of lag 1, entailing the relationship needs to be further strengthened in the long term; (4) in the process of continuous enhancement of energy utilization level, it is difficult to drive economic benefits due to high input costs in the initial stage, but it can form a two-way interaction relationship with a green economy as time goes by. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy resource utilisation is becoming more prevalent in society and can be a sustainable method to meet rising energy demand and consumption. The International Renewable Energy Agency reports that presently, approximately 33% of total electricity output around the world is from renewable energy sources. However, in Nigeria, the World Bank reported this figure as 18.2% in 2015. It is important to understand how Nigeria can raise this average as the world moves towards less use of fossil fuels. Therefore, the aim of this work was to provide a review of the established literature, which can then be used to support the development of renewable energy systems in Nigeria. The methodology employed for the study of the literature involved a systematic review method, including identification, screening, eligibility and inclusion criterium steps. Understanding the national energy landscape is essential to support potential projects, and consequently, energy supply, demand and consumption in Nigeria are observed. The review examined renewable energy sources in Nigeria with a focus on solar and biomass/bioenergy. The levelised cost of electricity from renewable technologies was analysed, and the paper identified and evaluated past projects centered on solar and biomass, presenting three main case studies. The results indicate that solar and biomass have the most potential for energy generation in Nigeria, with 4–6.5 kWh/m2 of solar irradiation available per day and approximately 2.3 × 109 GJ bioenergy potential per year. However, solar PV is currently of most interest in Nigeria due to the lower cost of on-grid solar PV electricity, which can comfortably compete with fossil fuels. Nevertheless, costs still need to be lowered to compete fully. Finally, the findings also indicate that there is an omission in the literature surrounding the existing renewable projects and technologies in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, there has been an upsurge of studies on sustainable development. The majority of research focuses on developed countries and issues that are incompatible with developing nations. This study addresses a gap in the literature by reviewing the research on developed and developing economies, as well as their social and environmental boundaries, under the renewable energy and sustainable development (RESD) nexus. It also explores how RESD may be applied in extreme situations such as population increase, energy supply disruptions, and transportation shortfalls. The fundamental contribution of this paper is to provide detailed debate from the perspective of economic growth hypotheses and their relationship with energy usage and renewable energy solutions for sustainable growth and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to replicate an existing study using the Generalized Method of Moments on the impact of ICT penetration (Mobile Phone and Internet) in Western Balkan countries on environmental sustainability through changing CO2 emissions for the period 2000–2015. A two-step system GMM method is used to handle both endogeneity of the independent and persistency of the dependent variables. Two important findings are derived: First, we find that mobile phones have a positive impact, whereas the Internet has a positive but insignificant impact on CO2 emissions per capita in noninteractive models. The impact of ICTs is insignificant as far as CO2 emission from liquid fuel consumption is concerned in noninteractive specifications. Based on this finding, we suggest policymakers of Western Balkan countries follow interdisciplinary policies and strategies considering ICTs such as Internet penetration to mitigate CO2 emissions. Second, in interactive models, all marginal effects are negative, and in one specification the impact is statistically significant. We argue that increasing Internet penetration has a negative net effect on CO2 emissions from liquid fuel consumption. By calculating the policy threshold for this net effect, we discuss the practical implications for policy making in Kosovo where the average Internet penetration is below this threshold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper deals with issues related to activities undertaken by local government. The article focuses on the identification and assessment of the significance of local government's different bottom-up initiatives that support development of local entrepreneurship. The article also indirectly discusses the importance of activities referring to energy efficiency. Through the digitization process and by using digital tools, LGs realize projects, improve local actors' awareness, and finally achieve new challenges such as a higher proportion of gross final energy consumption being from renewable sources. The aim of the paper is to present the relationship between the LGs' entrepreneurial activities, which we call bottom-up initiatives, and the local entrepreneurship level, understood as the number of entrepreneurs active on the territory of a LG. This paper presents the results of research carried out on the bottom-up initiatives undertaken by Polish local governments to support entrepreneurship. The research was based on survey and statistical tools and stepwise regression analysis. In the paper, bottom-up initiatives undertaken by local governments (such as organizing events at the national or regional scale that enable networking among entrepreneurs or establishing departments for supporting local entrepreneurship that offer cooperation with local entrepreneurs) were found to influence the number of entrepreneurs active in local government territories. The paper concludes that local governments and their bottom-up activities are an important factor influencing local entrepreneurship development. The presented research results have implications for policy makers and may be useful for local governments in Poland and in other countries in the context of supporting entrepreneurship by undertaking bottom-up initiatives at the local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction is a powerful industry that is not indifferent to the environment. Neither the maintenance of buildings in a proper technical condition nor their eventual demolition is indifferent to the environment. The main threats to the environment are still the inefficient use of construction materials and energy needed for their production and installation, as well as the emission of harmful substances to the environment at the stage of operation of buildings and their demolition. This article discusses the importance of wood as a renewable material in terms of its physical and mechanical properties. The restoration of forest areas is of great importance to the global ecosystem and the sustainable development system, reducing the threat of global warming and the greenhouse effect by reducing CO2 levels. In addition, demolition wood can be reused in construction, can be safely recycled as it quickly decomposes, or can be used as a source of renewable energy. The preservation of existing timber-framed buildings in good condition contributes to a lower consumption of this raw material for repair, which already significantly reduces the energy required for their manufacture, transport, and assembly. This also reduces the amount of waste that would have to be disposed of in various ways. Both at the stage of design, execution, and then exploitation, one forgets about the physical processes taking place inside the partitions and about the external climatic influences of the environment (precipitation, water vapor, and temperature) on which the type, intensity, and extent of chemical and biological corrosion depend to a very high degree. This paper presents examples of the influence of such impacts on the operational safety of three selected objects: a feed storehouse and an officer casino building from the second half of the nineteenth century and an 18th century rural homestead building. The research carried out on wooden structures of the above-mentioned objects "in situ" was verified by means of simulation models, which presented their initial and current technical conditions in relation to the type and amount of impact they should safely absorb. Moreover, within the framework of this paper, artificial intelligence methods have been implemented to predict the biological corrosion of the structures studied. The aim of the paper was to draw attention to the timber already built into buildings, which may constitute waste even after several years of operation, requiring disposal and at the same time the production of a substitute. The purpose of the research carried out by the authors of the article was to examine the older and newer buildings in use, the structures of which, in whole or in part, were made of wood. On a global scale, there will be considerable demand for the energy required to thermally dispose of this waste or to deposit it in landfills with very limited capacity until its complete biological decomposition. These energy demands and greenhouse gas emissions can be prevented by effective diagnostics of such structures and the predictability of their behaviour over time, with respect to the conditions under which they are operated. The authors of the article, during each assessment of the technical condition of a building containing wooden elements, analysed the condition of their protection each time and predicted the period of their safe life without the need for additional reinforcements or replacement by others. As the later reality shows, it is a very effective method of saving money and energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of the paper is to present a proposal to measure the relationships between Goal 7 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and one of the areas considered in the green growth concept: environmental production efficiency. Both of these areas illustrate the relationship between the natural environment and the economy, emphasizing transformations in the field of energy use. Selected taxonomic methods, TOPSIS, and multicriteria taxonomy, were applied to study the relationships between the two areas. The results of the EU countries classification showed a variety of countries' development pathways within a single economic community. Despite continued attempts to equalize the development levels between European Union countries in many strategic areas, they remain highly diversified. That is also true for the areas analyzed in the paper, which is a disturbing situation, indicating that both strategies might not correlate in all respects. Further research into the relationships linking the remaining dimensions of both strategies is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy efficiency is a pillar for the energy system transition and for reaching the Sustainable Development Goals. In the light of the "energy efficiency first!" principle, European member states enforce policies to spread energy saving throughout the whole energy chain involving both citizens and industries. In this context, information and training campaigns arise as valuable support tools to disseminate energy efficiency and, therefore, for reducing energy consumption. Although various studies have evaluated the impact of information campaigns targeted to citizens, there is a lack of investigations that assess the impact of campaigns dedicated to industry sectors. This study discusses the results of a survey targeted at energy-intensive Italian companies, with a sample of 300 responses. Starting from the analysis of drivers that trigger the implementation of energy efficiency measures, the paper proposes an approach to evaluate the amount of energy savings linked to the Italian information and training program targeted to industries carried out by the Italian Energy Efficiency Agency. Results show that although information campaigns are not a crucial driver for companies, they are recognized as a factor that contributes to the implementation of energy efficiency practices. Findings show that roughly 1.4% of energy savings noted by interviewed companies to the Italian Energy Efficiency Agency are a direct effect of the information and training program. This outcome has significant implications, especially for decision-makers, giving evidence of the efficacy of information campaigns on industries, which have great potential for the transition to low carbon production systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modern logistics industry in relation to economic growth and carbon emission has opened new strategic perspectives. Recent research work have analyzed such complex interference from a broad perspective. However, analyzing this overlap needs comprehensive insight into the logistics industry while simultaneously estimating its short-run and long-run effects from regional aspects due to continue-evolving factors and their impact on it. This paper competently analyzes logistics industry components in connection with economic prosperity, energy consumption, trade development, and carbon emission from a more specific regional perspective of a developing country. Methodologically, an autoregressive distributive lag model (ARDL) is employed using correlative evaluation of the dynamic factors and their interactive impact in short and long run on this relation, based on time-series data of Pakistan from 1990 to 2019. The study results endorse the previous studies' outcomes by recognizing that an increase in carbon emission depends on trade development, energy usage, economic development, and the logistics industry's various components except for air logistics. However, study results show a unidirectional long-run causality directing from economic development, logistics industry, energy utilization, and trade development to carbon emission. Moreover, these results reveal that this emission is the leading factor to introduce stringent emission standards that further overlap with regional demographics trends, i.e., carbon emission implications. These findings imply that economic development applies a substantial demand-pull impact on national logistics, i.e., regional economic development directs to the growth of the logistics industry in the corresponding region. Consequently, high-income geographical regions have higher long-run risk concerning contemporary developmental activities of the logistics industry when adhering to carbon emission standards. Particularly, the influence of upcoming emission standards must be prioritized when planning the future returns of contemporary research and development activities of the logistics industry in a given geographic area, such as CPEC. Given Pakistan's perspective, the proposed empirical analysis can be exampled to other developing countries. This analysis may facilitate the design and development of strategies for upcoming financial funding in the modern logistics industry to seek its sustainable development-goals in developing economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon emission efficiency, which is mainly affected by economic output, energy efficiency and energy structure, is the effect of carbon emissions generated in economic activities. Improving carbon emission efficiency and narrowing regional differences are very important for green development in Belt and Road Initiative regions with developing countries as the main body. The existing literature mostly uses the Theil index to study the temporal differences in carbon emission efficiency, but spatial differences and the reasons for the differences have rarely been examined. This paper measures the differences of carbon emission efficiency using the Theil index and examines the reasons based on the Logarithmic Mean Divisia index (LMDI) method in five groups of 60 Belt and Road Initiative countries. The results show that the Theil index of carbon emission efficiency in these countries is 0.196, with an intra-group difference of 0.165 and an inter-group difference of 0.031. Between most of the groups, energy efficiency is the dominant factor affecting carbon emission efficiency differences, especially between East Asia and Central and Eastern Europe, South Asia and East Asia. Between most of the countries with the highest and lowest carbon emission efficiency in the same group, such as Singapore and Vietnam in East Asia, energy efficiency is still the primary factor affecting the differences. Only some differences between a few groups, countries and sectors have been caused mainly by energy structures. Therefore, improving energy efficiency is the first way for those countries with low carbon emission efficiency to catch up other countries with high carbon emission efficiency, followed by improving the energy structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The penetration of renewable energy is one of the main challenges for sustainable energy development. Local governments across the European Union commit to development and implementation of the Sustainable Energy (and Climate) Action Plan. This paper focuses on the case of Lithuania—a Central and Eastern European country. Almost one-third of Lithuanian municipalities have joined the Covenant of Mayors and prepared the plans that include SWOT analysis. However, there is a lack of information on how those plans contribute to climate change mitigation and sustainable energy development. This study identifies the links between key policy financial instruments, increasing energy efficiency. The Strategic Action Plans aimed at reducing GHG emissions and energy consumption in Lithuanian municipalities are analyzed. The challenges in promoting the renewable energy generation in Lithuanian rural regions are discussed. Moreover, the importance of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats identified is elicited at the local level. The study uses a combination of methods, such as expert surveys and SWOT analysis, that complements the tools used for regional energy climate planning and allows for overarching analysis. The expert survey shows that priority is given for renovation of buildings and modernization of energy infrastructure, making them more sustainable and more energy efficient. The results also show that, in the case of Lithuania (and possibly elsewhere in the post-Soviet countries), conditions and opportunities should be created beforehand to increase energy efficiency. Once this is achieved, the policies should focus on energy transition by switching to sustainable energy resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance and urgency of improving energy and carbon emissions efficiency in mitigating climate change and achieving carbon neutrality have become an increasingly relentless focus in recent years. Assessing the performance of energy saving and carbon emissions reduction is a significant necessity to achieve sustainable economic development. Therefore, from the perspective of production economics, this paper presents a review of the definition, models, and input-output variables for measuring total-factor energy efficiency and total-factor carbon emissions efficiency. Relevant literature in this field, published between 2006 and 2021, has been systematically analyzed using CiteSpace software, which includes a quantitative and visual review of a large body of published literature. This review found that the current definitions of total-factor energy efficiency and total-factor carbon emissions efficiency are confusing and misleading. Furthermore, future research on energy saving and carbon emissions reduction should incorporate subject areas such as economics, energy, and ecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coal power policy has been influencing the development of China's coal power industry from the aspects of quantity control, technological progress, and market-oriented reform. Meanwhile, the strategic coal power policy of the mid- and long-term future is yet to be well-designed under the carbon peak and neutrality targets. Therefore, it is necessary to have a comprehensive overview of the coal power policy during the past and give targeted prospects for policy-makers. This paper discusses the policy effect on the development and technological progress of the coal power industry by giving an overview of the policy and reform processes of the coal power industry in China in the past 20 years. The results indicate that China's coal power policy has promoted the progress of coal power generation technology, optimized the coal power structure, accelerated the diversified investment in the power industry, and alleviated the overcapacity problem of coal power generation. After discussion, we conclude that: (1) It is necessary to gradually reduce the average generation hours of coal-fired power units while retaining high-quality coal-fired power units. (2) The renewable energy enterprises that adopt the support services of coal power enterprises should provide reasonable capacity compensation costs to create favorable conditions and achieve sustainable development for China's coal power industry. (3) To deploy coal power units combined with large-scale renewable energy in the western and northern regions will achieve efficient energy utilization. (4) Different strategies should be adopted for different coal power units, and the peak regulation potential of coal power units with low-capacity parameters should be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the economic and managerial literature on the relationship between energy-ICT and the development of the green energy economy. It is summarized that there are four lines of existing literature on energy-ICT: cost and benefit analysis, fair competition issues, cybersecurity issues, and promotion policy issues. Even though ICT is energy-consuming, most of the existing empirical studies support the idea that energy-ICT has net positive effects on energy savings, energy efficiency improvement, emission reduction, and economic growth at both enterprise and economy-wide levels. Energy-ICT equips the platform operator with higher bargaining power, such that a governance mechanism to assure the fair access right of each entitled participant is required. A smarter energy-ICT network also becomes riskier, and hence the cybersecurity protection is more important than before. Future research and development opportunities remain on these issues of the fair competition, cybersecurity, and promotion policy of energy-ICT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overcoming of the issues on energy crisis and inequality have become the priorities as far developing as developed countries are concerned. Moreover, energy inequality has increased due to the shortage of natural gas and rising energy prices in retaliation to the economic recovery affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to verify the linkage between the growth of renewable energy consumption and the country's economic advancement. In this context, this paper determines the main driving forces of renewable energy consumption in European countries during 2000–2018. The annual data for panel regression analysis are retrieved from the OECD. Stat and World Bank Open Data. This empirical analysis employed a set of estimation procedures such as the panel unit root test (Levin, Lin & Chu; Im, Pesaran, Shin W-Stat; ADF-Fisher Chi-square; and PP-Fisher Chi-square methods), the Pearson correlation, fixed- and random-effects models, generalized method of moments (GMM), Hausman and the robustness tests. The results from the Hausman test ratified that the fixed-effects regression model is more suitable for involved panel balanced data. The results of fixed-effects regression and GMM identified the statistically significant and positive relationship between the share of renewable energy consumption of total final energy consumption, GDP per capita, and CO2 emissions per capita for the overall sample. In turn, the total labor force, the gross capital formation, and production-based CO2 intensity are inversely related to renewable energy consumption. The identified effects could provide some insights for policymakers to improve the renewable energy sector towards gaining sustainable economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]