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The increasing global demand for electric vehicles is evidence of the general recognition among the public regarding issues tied to climate change, carbon emissions, and air pollution. China has experienced a rapid expansion in its New Energy Vehicle (NEV) market over recent years, establishing itself as the largest such market globally. This research endeavors to comprehend how consumers' value systems contribute to their intent to purchase NEVs. The proposed model was assessed using the data collected from a Chinese sample. Employing a multi-faceted approach, this study uncovers the diverse ways in which consumers with varying value orientations evaluate NEVs and formulate intentions to support governmental initiatives. Furthermore, the study examines the interplay between consumers' value assessments, their inclination to endorse governmental efforts, and their intentions to purchase NEVs. The study's findings underscore the role of consumers' value orientation in shaping their perceptions of NEVs. Additionally, it reveals that consumers who align with an environmentally conscious government are more inclined to buy NEVs. • Based on Value-Belief-Norm and Value orientation theory, a new framework of NEVs behavior decision is constructed. • Perceived hedonic and utilitarian values are critical for increasing to buy NEVs. • Value perception and intention to support the government are found to influence the consumer's NEV purchase decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This short communication is based on a workshop on hydrogen network modeling in macro-energy system models discussing the whole hydrogen value chain: production, transmission, storage, and use, as well as the related issues of demand flexibility, alternative fuels of biological origin, and the integration with district heating. It was organized by the Danish research network ENERforsk with leading modelers from academia, industry, and transmission system operators. The workshop collected (1) lessons learned, (2) best practices, and (3) potential next steps. We conclude that no-regret pathways need to consider evolving hydrogen regulation while balancing social aspects with interests driven by green industrial policy. Important and uncertain issues include the repurposing of natural gas networks, considering hydrogen pipeline standards and existing contracts, or the disposal of brine water. As more demand sectors and carbonaceous fuels are included in the models, carbon management, sustainable biomass, and carbon networks become more important. Collecting and incorporating lessons learned, best practices, and potential next steps will help the modeling community and policymakers to develop sound policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Quantifying the impact of peer pressure on environmental improvements among local governments in China. • Investigating cities ' reaction to declining air quality rankings through regression discontinuity design. • Demonstrating the efficacy of political incentives in combating pollution and the catalytic effect of rankings on policy action. • Assessing the benefits resulting from air pollution reductions using an exposure response function. This paper estimates the impact of peer governmental pressure on air quality using a regression discontinuity design inherent in China's air quality ranking system. Because air quality rankings are important for political evaluations, local officials who witnessed a decline in air quality ranking are motivated to enforce more stringent environmental standards compared to their counterparts with increased rankings. By exploiting this regulatory discontinuity with monthly air quality ranking data from 2012 to 2020 of 169 cities, we find that cities experiencing a lower air quality ranking in the current month compared to the previous month exhibit a subsequent improvement in air quality during the following month, as evidenced by decreased pollutant concentrations. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that in cities where pollutant rankings decline more sharply, officials are less likely to encounter fewer promotion opportunities. Importantly, we observe that the discontinuity in individual pollutant concentrations is not solely influenced by their respective rankings but is also impacted by the overall A ir Q uality I ndex (AQI) ranking. Linking the reduction in air pollutants concentration with the economic benefits, a back-of-the-envelope calculation indicates the decrease in premature deaths due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases amounts to approximately 200 thousand, resulting in an associated economic saving of more than 600 billion Chinese yuan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A distribution dynamics approach is employed to examine the converge of TFEE across Chinese PAA level cities. • The findings show a clear convergence in TFEE. • Convergence comes more from efficiency drops in high TFEE cities than from efficiency gains in low TFEE cities. • The environmental protection polices in key cities improved energy efficiency. • Large-sized cities show better performance in energy efficiency than small- and medium-sized cities. Improving energy efficiency is considered the most direct route to reducing carbon emissions on a massive scale. To examine the long-run trend of China's energy efficiency, this paper employs a distribution dynamics approach to analyze the convergence of total-factor energy efficiency (TFEE) across 286 Chinese cities between 2002 and 2014. The result suggests the existence of convergence, which comes more from the efficiency declines in the high TFEE cities rather than the efficiency gains in the low TFEE cities. Despite the fact that a few cities have performed well in energy efficiency, the majority of cities have converged to a low-efficiency point. Further analyses show that the inefficiency was attributed to inefficient energy use in small- and medium-sized cities. Our analysis provides strong scientific support for China's ongoing energy conservation and environmental protection policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel gravity model integrating multilayer network for waste trade is executed. • Multilayer network results show new patterns challenge the North-South pattern. • Northern waste havens indicate a recycling market for textile and metal scrap waste. • PHH is better supported for highly connected hubs and havens in SDT waste. • Stringent waste management policies reduce exports and imports in SDT waste. Waste management is an international enterprise, and it is important to understand global flows of recyclable materials. The Pollution Haven Hypothesis (PHH) suggests that waste moves from high income nations with stringent environmental policy to low income nations with less environmentally stringent policy, by exploiting low labor and regulatory costs. This paper assesses the PHH thesis for slag/dross and textiles (SDT) wastes in PHH through novel integration of the multilayer network and gravity models. The multilayer network model generates network effect that quantifies interlayer connections of multiple waste trade networks. Instead of North-South movement of waste, North-North, South-South, and even South-North are shown. Results from the gravity model indicate that stringent waste management policies reduce both waste exports and imports. PHH is not found for slags/dross where high income countries are importing the waste, contradicting PHH. On the other hand, PHH is more evident between highly connected hubs and havens in SDT waste trade networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current reductionist approaches to environmental governance cannot resolve social-ecological crises. Siloed institutions fail to address linked social and ecological processes, thereby neglecting issues of equity, justice, and cumulative effects. Global insights can be gained from Indigenous-led initiatives that support the resilience of relationships within and among places. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Explored the impact of environmental policies on nuclear trade within the EU. • Uncovered connection between environmental policies and nuclear trade relationships. • Countries pursuing environmental policies rely less on nuclear-related imports. • Nuclear trade rises as EU environmental policies align. • Environmentally friendly exporting countries shape the nuclear trade network evolution. This study explores the impact of environmental policies on nuclear trade between European Union (EU) countries. The primary research question revolves around understanding the reasons behind and the mechanisms through which nuclear trade relationships evolve. Our analysis uncovers a compelling connection between the degree of alignment in environmental policies among EU states and the emergence of nuclear trade cooperation. Furthermore, it indicates that countries actively pursuing environmental policies tend to have a reduced dependency on imports of nuclear-related goods. Notably, as environmental policies across the EU converge and become more similar, there is a noticeable inclination to engage in nuclear trade activities. Additionally, our research highlights the significant role played by exporting countries that have strong commitments to environmentally friendly policies in shaping the evolution of the nuclear trade network over time. Moreover, we observe that economic factors have a positive impact on the development of this intricate trade network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microbiota–gut–brain axis facilitates communication between the gut microbiota and the brain. It has implications for health and environmental policy. Microbiota are linked to neurological and metabolic disorders, and our exposure to health-promoting microbiota depends on environmental quality. Microbiota–gut–brain axis interventions could inform policy initiatives to address systemic health issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a river basin across regions, is environmental improvement in downstream areas based on actions that negatively impact economic development and social welfare in upstream areas? This paper takes the pilot of Transverse Eco-compensation Mechanism (TECM) in Xin'an River of China as a quasi-natural experiment and uses the difference-in-differences strategy to estimate the impact of TECM on environmental inequality. We find that the government's environmental policy may lead to more environmental inequality，which is often overlooked. Our results show that the pilot of TECM depresses the upstream economy, reduces upstream resident income, especially rural residents, and widens the regional income gap between the upstream and downstream. Heterogeneous tests confirm our findings. Our mechanism test shows that the industries' shutting down and relocation are the main driving forces for the regional environmental inequality in the short term. Therefore, in implementing future TECM, the upstream government needs to pay attention to the economic slowdown and the subsequent unemployment and resident welfare loss. The central and downstream governments should help the upstream regions upgrade the industrial structure, rather than just pay compensation funds, thereby reducing the resulting environmental inequality. Our findings have important policy implications for the treatment of trans-regional river pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have identified the negative effect of environmental regulation on capital accumulation and the positive effect on innovation, but this observed capital-innovation tradeoff due to environmental regulation lacks theoretical underpinning. We fill this gap by developing a unified two-engine endogenous growth model with environmental regulation, and show that a stringent environmental policy (in terms of pollution tax) leads to a sectoral reallocation from dirty inputs to clean final-good sectors, which increases the demand for R&D and activates the innovation engine. The capital engine depends on the elasticity of substitution between polluting and capital inputs. If both are sufficiently complementary, capital accumulation slows down. Another novelty of our model is that the contrasting responses of the two growth engines can lead to an inverted-U relation between overall GDP growth and environmental taxation. Our calibration shows that a well-designed environmental regulation can achieve a "double dividend": both improving the environment and enhancing economic growth and social welfare. Our empirical analysis provides macro-level evidence to justify our model prediction by using cross-country panel data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Eco-modulation is intended to restore incentives for eco-design that are muted or missing in extended producer responsibility (EPR). • Eco-modulation operates through changes in fees paid by producers to producer responsibility organizations (PROs) to meet obligations under EPR. • Eco-modulation faces challenges related to linkage to environmental outcomes, fee size, data, online sales, cross-jurisdictional harmonization, and ex post evaluation. • Prospects for eco-modulation can be improved through the use of life cycle assessment (LCA), increased fees, mandated provision of data, and more sophisticated policy evaluation. • As various challenges must be overcome in its implementation, eco-modulation might be currently best viewed as a policy experiment on improving EPR and the drivers of eco-design more broadly. Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is an environmental policy strategy that makes producers responsible for the waste management of their products and packages. A key goal of EPR is to incentivize producers to (re)design their products and packages to improve their environmental performance, especially at end of life. However, because of the way in which the financial structure of EPR has evolved, those incentives have largely been muted or undetectable. Eco-modulation has emerged as an additional component in EPR to restore the missing incentives for eco-design. Eco-modulation operates through changes in the fees that producers pay to meet their EPR obligations. Eco-modulation includes both increased differentiation of types of products and associated fees, and additional bonuses and penalties—environmentally targeted discounts and penalties on the fees that each producer pays. Based on primary, secondary, and grey literature, this article characterizes challenges faced by eco-modulation if it is to restore the incentives for eco-design. These include weak linkages to environmental outcomes, fees too low to induce changes in materials or design, lack of adequate data and ex post policy evaluation, and implementation that differs across jurisdictions. Opportunities to address these challenges include use of life cycle assessment (LCA) to inform eco-modulation, increased eco-modulation fees, strategies to increase harmonization of eco-modulation implementation, mandated provision of data, and policy evaluation tools that establish the efficacy of different eco-modulation schemes. Considering the scope of the challenges and the complexity of establishing eco-modulation programs, we suggest treating eco-modulation at this stage as an experiment in promoting eco-design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The considerable increase in municipal waste has become a primary global concern due to the contamination of the environment through the emission of greenhouse gases. Therefore, many OECD countries have adopted municipal waste management practices. This study is a baseline attempt to explore the long-term effect of municipal waste management along with the energy transition, environmental innovation, and environmental policy stringency on GHG emissions in ten OECD countries from 1994 to 2020. This objective is realized by using non-parametric panel quantile regression. The estimated result reveals the asymmetric effect of selected explanatory variables on GHG emissions at various quantiles. The findings show that an increase in municipal waste can increase GHGs emissions at lower quantiles, while an insignificant effect is observed at higher quantiles. Similarly, energy transition, environmental innovation, and environmental policy stringency reveal asymmetric effects across the quantiles. The findings urge OECD countries to adopt more efficient municipal waste management practices and encourage renewable energy transition and environmental innovation. Environmental policy stringency can also be instrumental in enhancing environmental sustainability. • Role of municipal waste management on environmental sustainability is investigated. • Effect of Green energy transition, environmental innovation, and environmental policy is also modelled. • Non-parametric panel quantile regression is employed. • Optimal policy implications for environmental sustainability are devised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze the effect of strategic ambiguity and heterogeneous attitudes towards such ambiguity on optimal mitigation and adaptation. Pessimistic players tend to invest more in mitigation, while optimists favor adaptation. When adaptation is more expensive than mitigation, three types of equilibria can obtain depending on the level and distribution of ambiguity aversion: (i) a mitigation equilibrium, (i i) an adaptation equilibrium and (i i i) a mixed equilibrium with both adaptation and mitigation. The interaction between ambiguity attitudes and wealth distribution plays a crucial role for the aggregate environmental policy: a wealth transfer from pessimistic to optimistic agents increases total mitigation. A similar result applies to the choice of an optimal mitigation subsidy, which is shown to increase in optimism, but decrease following a transfer of income towards the more optimistic players. Finally, we show that under strategic ambiguity, the introduction of a non-binding standard can impact agents' beliefs about their opponents' behavior and as a result lower total equilibrium mitigation. Our results highlight the necessity to consider attitudes towards strategic ambiguity in the design of economic policies targeting climate change. They might also shed some light on the slow rate of convergence of environmental policies across countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, there has been an increasing demand for policy research focusing on market-based measures for decarbonizing shipping. It is increasingly recognized that more than just technological and operational measures will be needed to achieve the objectives of decarbonizing shipping. This paper presents a quantitative review of the existing research leveraging bibliometric analysis techniques, highlighting the concepts, general trends, research themes and applications within the maritime industry in this field. It sheds light on the evolution of policy and regulations, design details, impacts and methods of quantifying the effects of environmental policies and provides future research directions in this area. The findings and future research agenda may become valuable resources for academic research and industrial practice. • This paper presents a quantitative review on market-based measures towards shipping decarbonization. • A bibliometric analysis on research themes and applications of decarbonization within maritime industry is made. • It sheds light on the evolution of environmental policies and future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial inclusion is a critical element of economic development as a result of its contribution to the expansion of financial institutions and sectors in developing and developed countries. Therefore, using a sample of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries, this research examines the effect of financial inclusion on CO 2 emissions from 2005 to 2018. The CS-ARDL technique is applied to investigate the connection between CO 2 emissions and financial inclusion. The financial inclusion index is measured using principal component analysis PCA). The study findings show that financial inclusion, financial development, FDI, trade openness, urbanization, and population have led to higher CO 2 emissions in the region. Additionally, the increased renewable energy seems to have reduced CO 2 emissions. The findings of this research are critical in the fight against pollution and the pursuit of long-term development goals. Financial inclusion goals must be brought into line with energy consumption patterns and environmental policies at the federal and state levels. • Examine the effect of financial inclusion on CO 2 emissions. • The CS-ARDL technique is applied to investigate the connection. • Financial inclusion index is measured using principal component analysis. • Financial inclusion, financial development led to higher CO 2 emissions. • Increased renewable energy seems to have reduced CO 2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are scant empirical studies investigating the impact of fiscal policy and environmental policy stringency on consumption-based carbon emissions, especially within the context of the BRICS countries. To fill the voids in prior studies, the current study evaluates the effect of fiscal policy and environmental stringent policy on consumption-based carbon emissions. The study also incorporates other drivers of fiscal consumption-based carbon emissions (CCO 2) emissions, such as disintegrated energy and economic growth, using data from 1990 to 2019. Since second-generation econometric methodologies such as augmented mean group (AMG) and common correlated effect means group (CCEMG) were used in the empirical research, this work presents trustworthy and solid empirical evidence. The quantile regression performs better when dealing with unobserved heterogeneity for each cross-section. Quantile regression gives more consistent and trustworthy results than traditional econometric approaches because heterogeneity and non-normality are identified in the dataset. The results from these estimators show that economic growth, nonrenewable energy, and government expenditure intensify CCO 2 emissions while taxation revenue, environmental policy stringency and renewable energy mitigate CCO 2 emissions. Furthermore, the panel causality test results show that taxation revenue, government expenditure, environmental policy stringency, and renewable energy can predict CCO 2 emissions. Policy recommendations are put forward based on these results. • Investigate the effects of fiscal policy on load capacity factor in BRICS nations. • The novel panel asymmetric ARDL test is used for data analysis. • Economic expansion and nonrenewable energy deteriorate environment. • Environmental sustainability is attributed to increase renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Using the data of micro industrial enterprises and the quasi-natural experiment of the PNTR authorisation from the U.S. after China's accession to the WTO to investigate the impact of TPU decline on enterprise environmental performance. • Enterprises' SO2 emissions of enterprises in an industry with a large reduction in TPU after China obtained the PNTR authorisation from the U.S. will be reduced more than those of enterprises in an industry with less TPU reduction. • The decline in TPU helps reduce SO2 generation and strengthens enterprises' pollutants removal ability, thereby improving enterprises' front and terminal environmental performance. • The decline in TPU is conducive to improving enterprises' environmental performance under strong environmental regulation by local governments. Using the data of micro industrial enterprises and the quasi-natural experiment of the permanent normal trade relationship (PNTR) authorisation from the United States after China's accession to the World Trade Organization, this study investigates the impact of trade policy uncertainty (TPU) on enterprise environmental performance employing the difference-in-differences model. We found that the sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions of enterprises in an industry with a large reduction in TPU after China obtained the PNTR authorisation will be reduced more than those of enterprises in an industry with less TPU reduction. The decline in TPU helps reduce SO2 generation and strengthen enterprises' pollutants removal, thereby improving enterprises' front and terminal environment performance. Under strong environmental regulation by local governments, the decline in TPU is conducive to improving enterprises' environmental performance. The impact of TPU decline mainly exists in the enterprises of high pollution industries, non-state-owned and the eastern area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wholesale conversion of natural Amazonian ecosystems has been encouraged by Brazil's extreme antienvironmental government, and historical forest loss explains municipal-scale voting prevalence. Embracing a new administration would strengthen local-to-regional governance, suppress illegal land grabbing, deforestation, logging, and gold mining, thereby protecting the world's most species-rich forest domain and ensuring global sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sweden has since the end of the 1990s, when the environmental objective system was adopted, had the ambition of being an environmental frontrunner. In line with this, in 2009 the Parliament adopted the goal of achieving a fossil free vehicle fleet in 2030. Replacing private car use with public transport is expected to contribute to this goal. In 2008, a co-operation between actors in the public transport sector was launched with support from the Government with the aim to double its use. Sweden however is a country with important geographical differences. Much of the country is sparsely populated, especially in the north. From previous research it is well known that usage of public transport is dependent on population density and accessibility to employment and schools. Understanding how spatial differences influence the cost of public transport provision is therefore crucial when discussing if public transport is a cost-efficient way to achieve national goals for the transport sector. In this paper, Swedish county level panel data, including variables that provide information on geographical differences between the counties, have been used to estimate average marginal costs of boardings. Results show that these are much lower in the three counties with the largest urbanized areas. In the other counties there is a variation which illustrates that there are a number of factors that influence the average marginal costs. In relation to policy, we find that the doubling ambition established in 2008 has not been achieved. • The role of public bus transport provision in reaching national climate objectives. • In Sweden, the estimated average marginal costs of boardings are much lower in the three counties with the largest urbanized areas. • To achieve cost-efficient reductions of CO 2 , the goals for public transport provision should be regionally differentiated. • The topic raised relates to the general question about the alignment between local, regional, national and international targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a Hotelling duopoly and study the relationship between privacy regulation and environmental policy in an industry in which firms invest in "green" innovation (E-R&D) to reduce emissions in production. This research concludes that governments need to set emission taxes consistent with privacy regulations. With strong privacy protections, emission taxes should be higher than the case with no privacy protections. In the asymmetric case with poor privacy regulation, the optimal emission tax is highest to achieve emissions reductions. In addition, an economic trade-off can arise from the industry profits and E-R&D investment. With weak privacy regulation, the effort of E-R&D is highest, and corporatedo the least harm to the environment, while the industrial profits are lowest due to the massive tax burden. Finally, we suggest that policymakers should (i) combine reasonable emission tax policies and green finance for renewable energy projects, (ii) conduct weak privacy regulations on green finance and renewable energy projects, and (iii) encourage uniform pricing for renewable energy products from a competition policy perspective. • Based on a non-cooperative game-theoretic model, the relationship between privacy regulation and environmental policy. • With privacy regulation, an economic trade-off can arise from the industry profits and E-R&D investment. • Governments are advised to set emission taxes consistent with the privacy regulation. • The direct and strategic, are found in the E-R&D investment and emissions taxes determination stages. • The policymakers should (i) combine reasonable emission tax policies, conduct weak privacy regulations and encourage uniform pricing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric fossil fuel CO 2 information is an important reference for local government to formulate energy-saving and emission reduction in Beijing. We present a reconstruction of the fossil fuel CO 2 mole fraction from 2007 to 2014 near the Beijing meteorological tower using AMS to measure 14C of cedar tree rings. The results show that the mole fraction of fossil fuel CO 2 at the sampling point first decreased from 22.3 ± 0.7 ppm (2007) to 21.0 ± 0.9 ppm (2008), then increased to 22.5 ± 0.9 ppm (2010), and finally decreased to 18.7 ± 0.7 ppm (2014). This trend correlates (r = 0.958, p < 0.01) well with one third (May-August) of fossil source consumption of secondary industry in Beijing during 2007–2014. It is attributed to environmental policy programs and control measures at local scope in Beijing during 2007–2014. This study suggests that 14C measurements of tree rings by AMS provide an effective method to evaluate the effect of the environmental policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the backdrop of rising environmental concerns and an increase in awareness for renewable energy, the current paper explores the factors influencing renewable energy consumption by drawing a sample for BRICS nations from the period 1990 through 2015. To do so, we use dynamic common correlated effects, panel quantile regression methods and other robustness checks and find that environmental policy stringency index and human development index have significant and positive impact on renewable energy consumption. Other variables including carbon dioxide emission and gross fixed capital formation show statistically significant and negative link with renewable energy use. Our results emphasize upon stringency in existing environment policies and promoting renewable energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Analyze underlying dynamics and mechanisms of the nuclear trade network formation. • Use ERGM to estimate which network structures proactively influenced the formation. • The current network was formed by intensive imports and active exports. • The network was formed by the trade of nuclear commodities between specific states. • Economic/military power and environmental policy contribute to network formation. This empirical study analyzes the dynamics and mechanisms underlying the formation of the nuclear trade network in Europe. For this analysis, we use ERGM (the Exponential Random Graph Model) to estimate whether and the extent to which specific subnetwork structures and the attributes of state actors proactively influenced the formation of the EU's nuclear trade network. We examine both endogenous and exogenous factors. In terms of endogenous effects, the analysis results show that the current nuclear trade network in the EU was formed by intensive imports in certain states and active exports from others. Therefore, the network was formed by the active trade of nuclear commodities between specific states. In terms of exogenous effects, the analysis results show that certain attributes of European states, such as economic power, military power, and environmental policy, contributed to the formation of the nuclear trade network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although a few studies have analyzed the nexus of renewable energy and green finance, the literature lacks the use of renewable energy by sources. The other major failure is that it uses only annual and small data. Therefore, this study investigates the connectedness and spillovers relationship between green finance and five types of renewable energy (biofuels, fuel cell, geothermal, solar, and wind) by applying the novel TVP-VAR method of Balcilar et al. [1] to the daily indexes from July 31, 2014, to Feb 4, 2022. The results show that dynamic connectedness, both total and pairwise, is heterogeneous over time and influenced by economic events. Furthermore, wind is found to be the largest transmitter of shocks to green finance, followed by biofuels, while both fuel cell and geothermal receive the least shocks. The findings suggest that green finance is mostly a net receiver of shocks from renewable energy sources and that wind has been a net receiver of shocks during the COVID-19 pandemic. A high interconnectedness between the indexes highlights the safe-haven property for diversification purposes of green finance. Our results are important for energy policymakers, those responsible for the implementation of environmental policies, individual investors, and portfolio managers, while also shedding light on the achievement of COP26 goals. • The study aims to analyze the spillovers and connectedness relationship between green and renewable energy sources. • Five types of renewable energy (biofuels, fuel cell, geothermal, solar and wind) are considered. • The novel method TVP-VAR is applied on a daily data. • Dynamic connectedness is heterogenous over time. • Green finance is mostly a net receiver of shocks from renewable energy sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the role of solar energy, environmental policy stringency (EPS), and climate technology in realizing environmental sustainability in OECD economies from 2001 to 2018. The preliminary findings confirm the issues of slope heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependency; thus, we apply the cross-sectional augmented autoregressive distributed lags (CS-ARDL) model. The overall results indicate that solar energy, EPS, and climate technologies are playing a positive and significant role in encountering environmental issues and ensuring environmental sustainability in the long run, while economic growth is the key driver of environmental degradation. A similar insight is observed in the short run; however, their coefficient size and significance substantially vary. Moreover, the Error Correction Term is significantly negative, implying the convergence towards long-run equilibrium in case of any shock in the short-run. These results are consistent with alternative estimators and suggest the promotion of solar energy, implementation of stringent ecological policies, and climate technologies to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth. • Cross-sectional dependence, Slope heterogeneity and cointegration properties exist. • Energy is reducing the environmental pollution like CO2 for OECD economies. • Economic growth is a direct contributor towards sustainability issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the alarming rate of ecological corrosion, countries around the globe are seeking ways of curtailing environmental deficits to attain future sustainability. In this quest for green development, economies are motivated to adopt eco-friendly practices that can assist in the fulfilment of resource conservation and efficiency to achieve green eco-systems. Keeping the importance of the concept in mind, the current study analyzed the influence of renewable energy transition, ecological innovation and environmental policy stringency on the ecological footprint of OECD economies from 1990 to 2017 under the theoretical concepts of the Environmental Kuznets Curve. Applying the advanced Method of Moment Quantile-Regression (MM-QR), the empirical findings reported the negative association of the studied green variables with the ecological footprint across all quantiles while also validating the Kuznets curve in the sampled sample economies. Moreover, the outcomes of heterogeneous panel causality revealed the uni-directional causal link from ecological innovation and renewable energy transition to ecological footprint. On the other hand, economic growth and policy stringency have been found to have feedback causal association with the ecological footprint. The study recommended the formulation of policies to syndicate countries' economic and financial tools with environmental and technological incentives to promote sustainable business operations and country-wide green awareness. • Increase in energy transition, eco-innovation and environmental policy reduce the levels of ecological footprint. • Environmental Kuznets Curve is validated in OECD economies. • Eco-innovation and energy transition cause environmental sustainability. • Economic growth and policy stringency have bidirectional causal link with ecological footprint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines the effect of environmental policy stringency on green innovation in renewable energy technology and whether the green innovation response differs with varying degrees of environmental policy. Based on panel data of 33 countries over the period 1990–2015, we show that a stringent environmental policy does encourage green innovation in renewable energy technology, and this impact is more pronounced in OECD countries and high-income countries. More specifically, a stringent non-market-based environmental policy induces more patents in renewable energy generation. The findings also show that a stringent environmental policy yields green innovation for geothermal energy, hydro energy, and marine energy, but not for wind energy and solar energy. Heterogeneity analysis suggests that innovation capacity and environmental pressure enhance the impact of environmental policy stringency on green innovation in the renewable energy field. Finally, the paper presents that clean energy investment plays the role of a mechanism through which environmental policy stringency spurs green innovation in the renewable energy field, offering insights into the influence of environmental policy stringency on green innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, there has been rising global concern regarding the importance of achieving environmental sustainability. Consequently, researchers and policymakers have focused on identifying and evaluating the various elements that contribute to an individual's ecological footprint and environmental consequences. Therefore, this study provides an in-depth understanding of the roles of green technology, research and development (R&D), and environmental policies that help attain environmental sustainability in Ghana. The present study utilized both the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) and autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) techniques to evaluate the long and short-run relationships between explanatory variables from 1990 to 2022. The study compares the results of NARDL and ARDL techniques. The findings reveal that the NARDL (0.999) analysis had a greater impact on the ecological footprint in Ghana than the ARDL (0.996) analysis. Under the ARDL technique, green technology has a negative impact on ECF in both the short and long run, and R&D also decreases ecological footprint (ECF) in the long run. Environmental policies had a negative impact on ECF in both the short and long run. Based on the NARDL approach, an adverse change in GT had a negative impact (0.004) on the ECF in both the short and long run. In contrast, a negative change in R&D has a negative impact (0.007) on the ECF in the short run, and a positive change in R&D negatively affects the ecological footprint in the long run. Notably, a positive change in environmental policies had a significant negative impact (0.040) on the ECF in the short and long run. This study suggests that policymakers should encourage and support the adoption and application of green technology and the development of robust environmental policies, as these measures can significantly contribute to decreasing the ecological footprint and fostering environmental sustainability. • This research assesses factors for attaining environmental sustainability in Ghana. • This study utilizes the ARDL and NARDL methodologies. • Research and development decrease ecological footprint. • Green technology can contribute to reducing ecological footprint in the long run. • Environmental policies decrease ecological footprint in the short run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Ghana has been a pioneer in energy efficiency in the sub-Saharan region, becoming the first country to introduce minimum energy performance standards and energy labelling for lighting, air conditioners and refrigerating appliances in 2008. It also introduced an innovative and not yet widely adopted policy of banning the import of used air conditioners and refrigerating appliances, mostly from Europe. While the impact of this policy package has already been assessed in terms of energy savings in Ghana, it is still unclear whether the import ban on used products makes sense in terms of environmental impact. Ghana's ban may seem surprising given that current European product policies in the context of the Green Deal aim to extend the lifetime of products and encourage their reuse to make them more sustainable. In this paper, different scenarios covering new and used refrigerating appliances as well as different end-of-life management options were examined in a life cycle analysis. The results show that exporting used refrigerators from Europe to West Africa increases their environmental impact per functional unit in many categories, even if it extends the lifetime of the product. The informal end-of-life treatment of refrigerators by open burning has a massive impact on human toxicity. As energy consumption during the use phase is the main determinant of most environmental impacts, energy efficiency policies (minimum energy efficiency performance standards and labelling) combined with an import ban on used refrigerating appliances are the best approach to reduce these impacts. It is therefore recommended that the Ghanaian policy package be replicated in other countries in the region, but also that exporting countries take action, as the fight against environmental dumping is a shared responsibility. • Used refrigerators exported to West Africa increase greenhouse gas emissions. • Energy efficiency reduces the environmental impact of refrigerators. • Import ban on used refrigerating appliances is justified. • Informal end-of-life treatment of refrigerators has a major impact on human toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban green spaces assume a pivotal role in city-level nature-based solutions for sustainable development. Parks, street greening, and community greens play a significant role in regulating the urban microenvironment, enhancing subjective well-being, and increasing regional attractiveness. Additionally, urban greenbelts have the capacity to control urban sprawl, thereby influencing housing prices and population distribution. However, the exisiting urban models have typically addressed greenbelts and other green spaces in isolation, resulting in fragmented planning strategies. This study aims to establish a novel spatial equilibrium model that accurately assesses the socio-economic effects resulting from the combined impact of various urban green spaces. This model encompasses green infrastructure components and carefully balances their appeal against the consequent rise in housing costs. The proposed model can elucidate the latent synergistic interactions among multiple urban green policies, which enables urban policymakers to access the multifaceted impacts of greening policy combinations. and suggests that combining different urban greening policies can mitigate the negative effects of a single policy type, such as population redistribution. A case study based on empirical data from Shanghai, China, has been employed to identify the additional value associated with diverse urban green spaces. The scenario analysis suggests that combining different urban greening policies can alleviate the negative impacts of urban population relocation. These findings furnish urban planners and policymakers with novel insights to develop the distribution strategy of urban green spaces via judicious policy integration. Consequently, the proposed model furnishes a novel academic standpoint on the role of urban green spaces within the context of nature-based solution for sustainable development of metropolitan conglomerates and nascent urban agglomerations amidst the evolving post-COVID-19 environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The global tropospheric NO 2 columns have generally decreased in the past 18 years. • Several hotspots tropospheric NO 2 are observed over industrialized and highly populated coastal zone areas. • Atmospheric nitrogen deposition plays an important role in nitrogen pollution in Bohai Sea. • The highest tropospheric NO 2 occurs in winter, and the highest near-surface NO 2 occurs at 08:00 and 20:00 LT. • NO 2 trends observed from ground-based measurements and satellite-derived retrievals is consistent. Tropospheric and ground-level levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) may have changed due to environmental policies and technological changes. Here, multiyear ground-based measurement (2014–2022) and satellite-derived retrieval (October 2004 to May 2023) datasets of NO 2 concentrations are used to study the long-term ground-level and tropospheric NO 2 patterns and trends at four time scales (interannual, quarterly, monthly, and hourly) over the three regions with the highest global NO 2 concentrations. Several tropospheric NO 2 hotspots are observed over industrialized and highly populated coastal zone areas. Over the past 18 years, these hotpots have generally decreased due to the implementation of strong and effective environmental protection policies. A significant trend reversal was observed in 2011 in East-central China. The maximum values of tropospheric NO 2 occurred in winter over East-central China, Western Europe and East-central USA, with concentrations of 13.010, 4.243 and 4.149 × 1015 molecules cm−2, respectively. The Bohai Sea exhibited disproportionately high tropospheric NO 2 levels, suggesting it as a significant contributor to regional nitrogen pollution. Ground-level NO2 shows similar temporal patterns to tropospheric concentrations, with over 82.8 % of sites in East-central China exceeding 30 μg m−3, compared to 12.8 % in Western Europe and 3.8 % in East-central USA. The analysis of diurnal variations in ground-level NO 2 concentrations shows a significantly decrease during the daytime compared to nighttime, reflecting that the peak occurs at approximately 08:00 and 20:00 LT, while the lowest concentrations at around 12:00 LT. These insights clarify the impacts of environmental policies on NO 2 levels and identify critical areas for targeted pollution control, enhancing our understanding of NO 2 dynamics in high-pollution regions globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transfer of energy-intensive projects to areas abundant in clean energy resources holds promise for optimizing the energy structure. After obtaining specific information on transferred projects of listed energy-intensive firms through search or phone contact, this paper innovatively constructs a three-dimensional panel containing 1,859,220 observations to empirically examine the attraction of clean energy to energy-intensive projects under the carbon intensity constraint policy (CICP). Our findings reveal that: (1) the CICP promotes the transfer of gray energy-intensive projects, leading to the transfer structure trending towards graying. (2) Furthermore, we observe a positive correlation between the proportion of thermal power in transfer-out areas and the outflow of gray energy-intensive projects. Conversely, areas with higher wind power and photovoltaics attract a greater inflow of gray energy-intensive projects. (3) Notably, clean energy predominantly attracts the inflow of gray projects rather than green projects. Our findings provide micro evidence and valuable insights into the transfer of energy-intensive industries, informing the design and implementation of future environmental policies for policymakers and stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in urban population and the accompanying construction activities have brought along many economic, environmental, and social problems. For this reason, greening cities entered urban planning practices. However, these efforts have brought about some equality and justice concerns about whether green spaces are beneficial to certain communities. In parallel with this, there is a recently rising critique of green gentrification in literature. This study explores whether the government's green space policies lead to green gentrification by scrutinizing twelve different "Nation's Gardens" in Istanbul. When the Nation's Gardens were announced, they were defined as open and green spaces that the public can use, have fun, and visit, but revitalizing the idle parts of the city and increasing their value were among its other goals. Within the scope of this research, changes in the social, economic, and demographic structure of the population before and after the establishment of Nation's Gardens are analyzed and mapped by using Geographic Information System technologies. Green gentrification was evidenced in ten of the twelve Nation's Gardens in Istanbul between 2017 and 2021. Our findings reveal that green gentrification trends in Istanbul are prevalent in both central and peripheral neighborhoods. This suggests that the attraction and property value increases brought about by green spaces constitute a city-wide phenomenon, affecting neighborhoods across the spectrum of urban density and socio-economic background. • Greening efforts in cities have brought about some equality and justice concerns. • This study explores if "Nation's Gardens" in Istanbul lead to green gentrification. • Socio-economic and demographic changes are mapped by using GIS. • Green gentrification was observed in ten of the 12 Nation's Gardens in Istanbul. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of global climate change and increasing population, transitioning to resource-efficient, environmentally friendly agricultural technologies is essential for sustainability. In this context, the present study is anchored in the theories of information asymmetry and bounded rationality. It constructs a tripartite evolutionary game model under market mechanisms and government guidance, facing the challenges of promoting green agricultural technologies among multiple actors. This model explores the strategic choices and dynamic evolution of these actors under economic incentives and risk perception. The objective of the research is to reveal the dynamic evolutionary trends of stakeholder behavior under different policy intervention conditions and how governments can propel the promotion of green agricultural production technologies through policy instruments. To encompass the impact of historical decisions on the evolutionary process of green technology dissemination, this study employs a Delay Differential Equations (DDE) algorithm that considers historical time lags in its numerical simulations. Through stability analysis and DDE numerical simulations, the research identifies factors influencing the promotion of green agricultural production technologies. The findings indicate that under market mechanisms, there is a risk of "market failure" in the dissemination model of green agricultural technologies. Government participation can provide external incentive support, effectively enhancing the stability and efficiency of the evolutionary game system for promoting green technologies. Simulation results further suggest that government intervention can significantly improve the stability and efficiency of technology promotion. Economies of scale, initial willingness, risk perception, and subsidy intensity are decisive factors in technology adoption. Consequently, policymakers are advised to formulate precise and multifaceted subsidy strategies based on the varying needs of different actors, to stimulate engagement, reduce risk, and encourage widespread adoption of green technologies. This study lays a theoretical groundwork for smallholders and family farms to overcome technology adoption barriers, crucial for sustainable agricultural development. It provides a framework for understanding and addressing these challenges, guiding policymakers in crafting effective green agriculture policies to improve farming efficiency and sustainability. [Display omitted] • This research investigates the impact of policy interventions on the adoption of green agricultural technologies. • We employ a tripartite game model and the DDE algorithm to analyze strategy evolution. • The study demonstrates that government involvement enhances the promotion of green technologies. • Implement a variety of subsidies to promote green technologies and support sustainable agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an overarching goal of the European Union's (EU) policies, sustainable development has become one of the trickiest challenges in the EU. Despite the burgeoning literature on sustainable development in EU member states, few studies have explored the relationship between green cooperation and sustainable development. From the resource orchestration perspective, we aim to investigate how EU green cooperation affects member states' pursuit of sustainable development. Empirically, we constructed a sample of well-documented EU joint green projects, and found that the participation of the higher education sector (HES), business sector (BUS), and government (GOV) in EU green cooperation contributes to achieving its member states' sustainable development goals in different ways. Specifically, the contributions of the HES and BUS, compared to those of the GOV, are more essential for EU green cooperation projects, because of their dominant roles in green knowledge generation and carbon emissions make them pivotal for the EU member states' sustainable development. Moreover, our findings suggest that green cooperation among the HES, BUS, and GOV has a more significant impact on EU member states' sustainable development when those states possess a stronger capacity for transnational knowledge spillovers and a higher national digital level. These findings have important implications for the design of green policies in pursuit of sustainability within the EU region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the domain of global socio-economic dynamics, the pivotal role of food production (FP) cannot be overstated. It constitutes the bedrock of fundamental human necessities while being inexorably linked with critical aspects such as economic expansion, societal equilibrium, and geopolitical interplays. The multifaceted nature of FP appears through its direct impact on macroeconomic indicators and its latent influence on international relations and policy-making. This critical nexus underscores the imperative for a comprehensive understanding and strategic management of food production processes to sustain and enhance global socio-economic stability and growth. Investigating the nexus between green finance (GF) and FP is pivotal for ensuring national security and promoting sustainable economic development. This research thus paper examines GF's impact on FP in China as outlined in the 2017 green finance policies. It employs the difference-in-differences (DID) method and analyzes a balanced panel dataset comprising 282 cities in China from 2009 to 2020. The results show that GF has an inhibitory effect on FP, and this remains valid after a range of reliability checks, including parallel trend assessments and placebo tests. Further findings of transmission mechanism analysis indicate that non-agricultural factors and financial exclusion are critical for GF's inhibitory effect on FP. Heterogeneity analyses show that GF's inhibitory effect on FP is more pronounced in the main food-producing areas, the main food-marketing areas, and cities with better infrastructure. The empirical results of this paper comprehensively illustrate GF's impact on FP and how it contributes to the achievement of food security objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal halide perovskite materials have gained significant attention in recent years due to their potential energy and lighting applications. They are potentially vital materials for the current energy transition which aims to minimize the dependence on fossil fuels and limited land resources by the increased use of cost-effective and efficient renewable energy sources. The European Green Deal policy, which sets out its ambitions in the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, can help its transition to a Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) development. In this context, we applied the SSbD approach to selected perovskite-based devices which are still in their development state, by assessing potential human health and environmental risks along their life cycle. We applied the SSbD approach in a tiered manner so that it aligns with successive Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) to help the innovators ensuring safety and sustainability aspects throughout the various stages of their product development. Thus, the SSbD assessment began right from the start of the development (TRL 1–2), when there can be (huge) gaps and uncertainty in the product knowledge, up to the later stages of higher TRL when the product knowledge is more abundant and certain. In our assessment, we mainly focused on the human health risk of the perovskite-based devices and considered the implications of environmental emissions of hazardous substances on the human health. We further bring attention to the alternatives which could help mitigate concerns over their safety and sustainability for a responsible technology development and deployment. Results of this study are important to understand the detailed sustainability assessment in which we look at multiple sustainability aspects and its potential future impacts due to technology scale-up in the future. • We assess human health and environmental risks of perovskites over their life cycle. • Application of perovskites in energy harvesting and lighting devices is assessed. • Assessment uses safe and sustainable by design approach in a tiered manner. • Flexibility in the use of available knowledge and data helps adoption by the industry. • Alternatives in material design can mitigate safety and sustainability concerns of the perovskites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the positive externalities of public transit, fares have been heavily subsidized throughout the United States and the world. Policymakers have designed these subsidies as a potential mechanism to reduce local air pollution. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of free-fare public transit subsidies in reducing air pollution. Studying the "Zero Fare for Better Air" initiative, I find no significant decrease in ground-level ozone due to free-fare public transit in Colorado. This paper also demonstrates how the free-fare initiative failed to improve welfare even when incorporating all the positive externalities of transit ridership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing urgency of environmental problems, such as climate change, pollution, and waste management, has highlighted the importance of eco-innovation. It includes the development of sustainable solutions for goods and services. As corporations adopt sustainability practices, governments are increasingly essential in propelling eco-innovation. Innovation and economic growth are inextricably linked since innovation helps reduce costs, increases productivity, and builds knowledge. Eco-innovation, requiring stakeholders' collaboration and knowledge sharing where public policy plays a critical role in fostering eco-innovation, is frequently catalyzed by climate change and environmental issues. This paper provides an assessment of the public policy of several countries and its part in promoting eco-innovation. It explores how policy tools such as research and development investments, regulations, incentives, and infrastructure can be used successfully. It also explores how such instruments influence small and medium enterprises due to their importance in environmental sustainability policy. This research contributes to knowledge and adds to the literature by offering a global approach to the subject, complementing previous regional/single-country studies. It demonstrates the worldwide consequences of policy actions on eco-innovation and provides recommendations for policymakers, businesses, academics, and environmental stakeholders. The results highlight how governmental support is integral to ensuring the sustainability of a green future with economic benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land managers' preferences towards practice- and outcome-based payments for environmental services are analysed using a labelled choice experiment applied to a Mediterranean oak savannah (dehesa or montado) as a case study. Results indicate that land managers prefer outcome- to practice-based payments, equivalent in terms of environmental targets, most probably because they are opposed to the restrictive practices included as requirements in the latter. This preference strongly depends on the environmental policy objective, with land managers being more willing to participate when the outcome-based payment targets carbon sequestration rather than biodiversity. Willingness to accept (WTA) significantly increases when the payment involves a remote-sensing monitoring system, but only for practice-based payments, hinting at differing views of the monitoring system depending on the scheme type. However, a complementary analysis focusing on acreage decision shows non-significant WTA values for the use of remote-sensing monitoring systems in practice-based payments when the requirement of the area enrolled is relaxed. This suggests that land managers may be trading off monitoring intensity against the probability of defaulting. Significant preference heterogeneity is observed, mostly explained by farms' structural and management characteristics. Results point to strong potential for the use of outcome-based payments with remote-sensing monitoring systems in oak savannahs. • Practice- & outcome-based environment-and-climate schemes (pECS & oECS) are studied. • Discrete and acreage decision is modelled based on labelled choice experiment data. • Land managers' WTA is generally higher for pECS than for oECS. • Much higher WTA for oECS targeting biodiversity, probably due to higher uncertainty. • WTA for using remote sensing monitoring differs for pECS and oECS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental pollution caused by many factors including energy use has been a major problem around the world. A sustainable energy structure can help improve environmental sustainability. The roles of green innovation and environmental policies in determining an effective energy structure and achieving environmental sustainability have gained attention in recent research, but there are gaps to fill. Given the rapid development and unification of Africa to boost economies, this article aims to establish whether or not green innovation and environmental policies have influenced energy structure and environmental sustainability. Thirty-one (31) countries out of the 55 African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) countries were used in the analysis. The study adopted the Fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and the Dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) models in its analysis. Major empirical results revealed that a 1% increase in green innovations reduces ecological footprints by 0.7% and 1% (DOLS and FMOLS). Also, a percentage increase in environmental policies can reduce ecological footprints by 10.12% (DOLS) and 21.87% (FMOLS). A 1% rise in renewable energy improves their environmental sustainability by 3.26% (DOLS) and 1.82% (FMOLS). A 1% consumption of non-renewable energy reduces environmental sustainability by 4.59% (DOLS) and 1.55% (FMOLS). These results provide insights into the importance of green innovation, environmental policy, and renewable energy in improving environmental sustainability. Stringent measures and policies to boost green investment, sustainable energies, and environmental sustainability are necessary for the region. • Role of green innovation in energy structure and environmental sustainability is examined. • Thirty-one AfCFTA countries were examined. • Green innovation and environmental policy influence energy structure. • Policy implications to boost environmental sustainability are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asia has the world's largest population and the largest number of biogas digesters, with implementation across 25 countries. These countries can be categorised into four groups based on their biogas development status. Asia has approximately 45.03 million biogas digesters, of which about 99.72% are household units and 0.28% are industrial digesters. Predominantly located in less developed rural areas, a substantial number of household digesters have ceased operation or been abandoned. Some Asian countries and regions are witnessing a transition from household to industrial digesters, driven by economic growth and favourable environmental policies. However, many industrial digesters smaller than 500 m3 are underperforming, unprofitable, or inactive. Larger digesters are better managed and more sustainable. From 1958 through 2023, 163 biogas safety incidents were recorded in seven Asian countries, resulting in 321 fatalities, 220 injuries, and substantial property damage. This study identifies and discusses seven key factors influencing biogas development in Asia: climate conditions, energy demand, biowaste resources, economic development, government policy, technical service, and biogas programs. These factors range from objective and independent to external dependencies and direct, dynamic influences. Future biogas development in Asia will benefit from favourable technoeconomic growth and increased climate change awareness, supported by societal priorities and government policies. However, it must also confront and address several significant challenges. [Display omitted] • Biogas development activities have been in 25 Asian countries. • Asia has approximately 45.03 million biogas digesters and 99.72% are household units. • From 1958 through 2023, 163 biogas accidents resulted in 321 deaths and 220 injuries. • Seven key factors influence biogas development in Asia. • Future biogas development is optimistic, but challenges must be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines the persistent constraints faced by Taiwan's government in its departure from a high carbon economic pathway, resulting in a climate governance lag, despite robust international climate regulations, decarbonization value drivers, a global market, and civil society influences. This research in the study investigates Taiwan's national carbon reduction targets across various stages of climate proposals (1998, 2005, 2010,2015, and 2022), focusing on symbolic formalism rather than genuine efforts to curb carbon emissions. Additionally, this research contends that green energy policies linked with carbon reduction targets have evolved into primary objectives competing for the forthcoming wave of technological industries. Consequently, national carbon reduction strategies have succumbed to the logic of economic competition rather than tangible carbon reduction initiatives; namely, they portray the typical approach of East Asian developmental environmentalism. Owing to geopolitical and economic competition, the Taiwanese government did not declare net zero carbon emissions until April 2021, later than South Korea, China, and Japan. Furthermore, the government presented only a vague 2050 net zero roadmap, limited carbon fee, and scaled back 2030 carbon reduction objectives. When combined with nontransparent energy reviews for new investment in Taiwan, a conservative Climate Change Act, and limited civil society participation, these factors demonstrate the continuing influence of the government's authoritarian, centralized, and bureaucratic policy-making model. This research coins the term "developmental netzeroism" to describe the transformational thresholds and structural impediments that a society characterized by a high carbon emissions regime encounters, resulting in transitional delays and governance deficiencies that necessitate bold breakthroughs. [Display omitted] • This research focuses on the net zero emissions transition from a high carbon economic pathway. • National carbon reduction targets have succumbed to the logic of economic competition logic. • The current centralized, bureaucratic policy-making model significantly impacts sustainable transition. • This research critically investigates transitional lag and governance deficiencies. • "Developmental netzeroism" emphasizes the transition predicament of a carbon-intensive manufacturing country in East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] We examined the associations between PM 2.5 exposure and Type 2 diabetes mellitus risk under the implementation of the Clean Air Act (CAA) among high-risk population for diabetes in Shanghai. A total of 10,499 subjects from the Shanghai High-Risk Diabetic Screen (SHiDS) project between 2002 and 2018, linked with remotely sensed PM 2.5 concentrations, were enrolled in this study. Ordinary least squares and logistic regression were applied to explore associations between PM 2.5 and diabetes risk in various exposure periods. In year 2002–2013 (before CAA), the diabetes risk increased 7.5 % (95 % CI: 1.018–1.137), 8.0 % (95 % CI: 1.022–1.142) and 7.9 % (95 % CI: 1.021–1.141) under each 10 μg/m3 increase of long-term (1, 2 and 3 years) PM 2.5 exposure, respectively. Elevated PM 2.5 exposure were also associated with a significant increase in glycemic parameters before CAA implementation. However, in the year 2014–2018 (after CAA), the associations between PM 2.5 exposure and diabetes risk were not significant after controlling for potential confounders. Our findings suggest that long-term and high-level exposure to PM 2.5 was associated with increased prevalence of diabetes. Moreover, the implementation of CAA might ameliorate PM 2.5 -related diabetes risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a double-difference model to test the impact of green credit policy on the default risk of heavy polluters based on the data of China listed companies from 2008 to 2021. It is found that green credit policy can significantly reduce the default risk of heavy polluters, and the reduction effect is more significant in state-owned enterprises. Further mechanism tests show that green credit policy reduces default risk by guiding heavily polluting firms to reduce financial leverage. Government environmental regulation and corporate green innovation capacity affect the role of green credit policy on corporate default risk. With the strengthening of regional environmental regulations and the enhancement of corporate green innovation capabilities, the effect of green credit policies in diminishing the default risk for companies with high pollution levels is increasingly evident. This study not only enriches the literature on green credit but also demonstrates the effectiveness of directing banks and various financial entities to allocate resources reasonably, guiding heavily polluting enterprises to control risks, and steadily achieving green transformation. These findings hold significant implications for decision-making in designing environmental policy and management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Performance assessments quantify either abatement (AC) or transaction costs (TC). • We develop tools to quantify both AC and TC. • Socio-hydrology modeling of interconnected human and water systems is used to measure AC. • We develop a cutting-edge longitudinal dataset to assess future directions and magnitude of TC. • Results in the Douro Basin (Spain) show TC can represent 5.7 % − 8.3 % of total costs (AC + TC). • This highlights the need to account for AC and TC in performance assessments. Water reallocations have costs to the users of water, or abatement costs (e.g., charges designed to marginally increase environmental water flows), but also nontrivial institutional transaction costs (e.g., costs incurred to develop institutions and organizations to support and enforce environmental reallocations). However, institutional transaction costs studies are very limited and those available do not integrate abatement costs measurements, which constrains our ability to assess the performance of water reallocation. This paper presents the first integrated analysis of abatement and transaction costs of water reallocation. The analysis is illustrated with an application to the Douro River Basin, an agricultural basin in central Spain that has recently finished its second planning cycle (2015–2021). First, we use a hydroeconomic model that accounts for the two-way feedback responses between human and water systems to estimate the abatement costs of water reallocations, as well as their effectiveness in achieving the good ecological status of water bodies. Second, we measure and monetize realized institutional transaction costs of river basin planning over time and build on this cutting-edge longitudinal dataset to assess future directions and magnitude of transaction costs. We use this information to assess and rank the performance (through cost-effectiveness) of the water reallocations considered in the latest Douro River Basin Plan under alternative climate change scenarios. We find that under the hypothesis of stationary transaction costs, these can represent between 5.7% and 8.3% of the total reallocation costs (abatement plus transaction costs). This non-trivial magnitude highlights the need to account for both abatement and transaction costs when assessing the performance of water reallocations, and environmental policy overall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study empirically examined the relationship between energy-focused climate policies (EFC) and trade (TR) in 65 of the world's top renewable energy generation countries using data ranging from 1995 to 2022. The cross-sectional augmented distributed lags (CS-DL) results revealed positive effects of EFC on both employment and economic growth. It also proves the positive effects of both employment and economic growth on trade. The Dumitrescu Hurlin test confirmed the feedback causality within indirect effects. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) allowed us to show that employment and economic growth mediate the EFC and TR. All the SEM results were robust due to the positive heterogeneous effects obtained from panel quantile regression. The results also confirmed the presence of heterogeneous effects of EFC and TR on clean energy poverty. Furthermore, the study suggests promoting more incentives, investment, and monitoring in renewable energy resource infrastructure, carbon finance, and energy efficiency to promote trade and reduce clean energy poverty in the long run. • Energy-based green climate policies and the trade nexus investigated for 28 years. • Recent estimators employed in 65 of the world' top renewable energy generation countries. • Employment and economic growth mediate the positive nexus between energy-based policies and trade. • Energy policies and trade heterogeneously affects clean energy poverty across countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Climate change and restoration policies are the primary and secondary factors to the greening of the Loess Plateau. • The difference-in-differences method suggest lowered contribution of the restoration policy to vegetation greening than previously thought. • Using spatially specific starting time of the policy implementation instead of a fixed year can help better estimate the effects of restoration programs. The vegetation greening on the Loess Plateau, China, over recent decades, has been primarily driven by a series of vegetation restoration programs (VRPs) and other natural environmental changes (including climate change, rising atmospheric CO 2 concentration, and nitrogen deposition, etc.). However, accurate determination of the contributions of natural environmental change and the VRPs to this greening has been challenging due to the lack of the exact time of policy implementation in different areas. Herein, we extracted the starting time of greening (SOG) from different sources of remote sensing data and used it as the starting time of the VRPs. Then, we employed a difference-in-differences (DID) method to ascertain the relative contributions of the VRPs on the observed vegetation greening. Results showed that the contribution of the VRPs to vegetation greening on the Loess Plateau was 23.8–35.8 %, with a greater contribution potentially originating from natural environmental factors. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the complex relationships among vegetation restoration policies and climate change, and offer a platform to quantify the climate effects on vegetation greening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade, waste management and prevention have become important in the transition towards a circular economy (CE). This study explores how voluntary environmental policies, adopted at a regional level, contribute to green transition from the perspective of the CE. By considering general and region-specific trends in waste management and environmental certifications, we perform a two-step analysis on a panel of 20 Italian regions between 2015 and 2019: the first step extrapolates the relative efficiency by using a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), while the second step extrapolates the efficiency in terms of productivity changes supported by Malmquist Productivity Analysis (MPA). The DEA results show an overall rising trend of efficiency among the Italian regions, supported by the MPA. Furthermore, they reveal that technological innovation in Italian waste management contributes to a greater efficiency in socio-economic systems which are characterized by 'environmental federalism'. From a decision-making perspective, this study suggests that measures such as the incentivization of voluntary environmental policies should be proposed to promote techno-organizations' transition to CE, in coherence with regional economic/industrial specializations and strategies, possibly based on a diversified policy mix, setting a knowledge-based framework by using budgetary measures and policy actions at the regional level. • Circular Economy with resource recovery is a driving force to achieve green transition. • Increase in resource efficiency is an unexplored economic opportunity to support growth. • EMAS and UNI EN ISO certifications are proxies for the level of attention paid to the environment. • Voluntary environmental certifications facilitate the transition. • Choices made at the regional level contribute to the transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]