Search

In order to achieve China's carbon peaking and carbon neutrality (double carbon) targets and to advance ecological conservation and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin, it is essential that China reduces its energy intensity and increases its energy efficiency. This research developed an evaluation index system for energy efficiency and green development in the Yellow River Basin based on panel data collected from 64 of its prefecture-level cities and covering the period from 2011 to 2020. Each city's energy efficiency and green development level index was calculated, and was analyzed together with the characteristics of its spatial pattern progression. The STIRPAT model was then used to investigate the influence mechanism of energy efficiency on green development. The final step in the analysis was to assess the process by which technical innovation influences the rise in energy efficiency from a green development point of view. The findings of this study indicate that: (1) There was a marked improvement in energy efficiency and green development levels across the Yellow River Basin over the study period of 2011 to 2020, but there are notable disparities among prefecture-level cities, with higher levels found in capital cities and cities in the lower reaches of the basin. (2) The improvement in energy efficiency has had a positive impact on the transition to green development, with factors such as human capital, urbanization levels, and the upgrading of industrial structures contributing significantly, while the level of foreign direct investment has had a limited impact. (3) Technological innovation plays a partial role in mediating the relationship between energy efficiency and green development in the Yellow River Basin, and passes the single-threshold test. When technological innovation surpasses the threshold value, the effect of energy efficiency on green development is significantly strengthened. This study indicates that improving energy efficiency, stimulating emerging industries, and enhancing technological innovation capabilities can significantly promote transformative green and high quality development in the Yellow River Basin of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes Green Jobs (GJs) in the energy sector. GJs are naturally created in the processes related to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); this is especially visible in the 7th and 8th SDGs. There is currently a green transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources in the energy sector, and this mainly technological change also influences GJ creation. Despite this, there is a research gap related to green self-employment and GJ definitions. The goal of this paper is to explore the scientific literature collected from the Scopus database using a qualitative approach to present areas and keywords related to GJs in the energy sector. The adopted method is a Structured Literature Review (SLR), with the original query Q1. The retrieved data results of the SLR method were analyzed in the form of bibliometric maps of co-occurring keywords generated by the VOSviewer software, together with tables showing clusters of keyword features. As a result, the pivotal keywords and their clusters were identified. In this study, the most important scientific areas of GJ research in the energy sector were also indicated. This paper presents the current state of knowledge and the evolution of the subject of GJs in the energy sector, which can be useful for both researchers and practitioners. In the last section of this paper, possible new directions of future studies on the subject of GJ creation in the energy sector are identified. The limitations of this research and its practical implications are also addressed. [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]

The aim of the research, the results of which are used in this publication, was to identify the motives for mergers and acquisitions in the energy sector after the introduction of green economy elements in Western Europe. The mentioned region is the group of countries where changes related to the move to green energy are most visible (in addition to some countries from other regions, such as Singapore, New Zealand, or countries of the Arabian Peninsula). The research assumed the hypothesis that over the years since the Paris Conference the themes of mergers and acquisitions have changed from motives close to the views related to energy generation in traditional systems (black energy in large, monopolistic systems) to motives close to green energy (the research hypothesis). This was confirmed in the research, as business risk diversification (defined as diversification of the power sources from black to green) was the most popular M&A motive. In addition to emphasizing the direction of changes in the M&A motives, the authors of this study decided to check whether since 2015 (when the Paris Conference was organized) the motives behind the M&A transactions conducted by companies operating in the electrical energy generation sector have changed, making their motives close to the green energy dominant in Western Europe. Apart from verification of the abovementioned hypothesis, the aim of the research was to check whether there are any characteristic directions of changes in M&A motives across companies from particular Western European countries. The motives are changing from positional approaches to motives closer to resource approaches (green economy). The research used a critical analysis of the literature on the subject, a study that used desk research based on openly available sources and our own analytical tool developed for the needs of this analysis, which is the transformation of the concept of analysis of the M&A motives proposed in K. Borowski's research: "The strategic development of the technology companies. The mergers and acquisitions perspective". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]