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Low-carbon pilot city (LCPC) plays a pivotal role in stimulating green innovation among enterprises. However, relying solely on policy often proves less effective, necessitating support from financial development. Yet, current research frequently overlooks the impact of financial development on LCPC policy. Drawing on economic, management, and organizational psychology theories, we investigate the influence of the financial development level on enterprise green innovation in LCPC, utilizing data from listed companies between 2010 and 2018. The main finding is that LCPC facilitates institutional-level green innovation. Concurrently, financial development augments the effectiveness of LCPC policy, further expediting green innovation activities among enterprises in these pilot cities. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that financial development significantly promotes green innovation, particularly among state-owned enterprises, those with myopic management, non-high technology industries, and businesses in the southern region within LCPC. Mechanism tests identify enterprises' financing constraints and R&D investment levels as key pathways through which financial development fosters green economic development in LCPC. This study provides micro-level evidence from China elucidating the effects of environmental policies and offers practical implications for the low-carbon transformation of the manufacturing sector amid peak emissions and carbon-neutral targets. Additionally, it provides valuable guidance for other emerging economies seeking enhanced resource and environmental protection through the implementation of energy-saving and emission-reduction fiscal policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid evolution of the digital economy has significantly accelerated progress towards achieving green and sustainable processes, particularly in the field of green production. While existing research has delved into the effects of the digital economy on Green Innovation (GI) and the consequences of digital transformation on Corporate Value (CV), there remains a notable gap in the literature regarding the potential for synergistic enhancements in firms' GI&CV through the ongoing digital revolution. This study utilizes an evolutionary game model and employs system dynamics methods to simulate the dynamic evolution trajectory of the influence of the digital economy on the synergy between GI&CV. Subsequently, it empirically assesses the interconnected synergies between GI&CV using a dataset comprising information from Chinese listed firms spanning from 2011 to 2020, examining the impact of the digital economy on these synergies. Moreover, the study delves into the analysis of the transmission mechanism and conducts an extended investigation to further explore this phenomenon. The findings of this paper including: (1) The digital economy acts as a driving force behind the synergistic enhancement of firm GI&CV. Moreover, this effect is further augmented by governmental environmental regulation and green subsidy policies. (2) Drawing upon the information asymmetry theory and the resource-based theory, the regional marketization level and firms' digital transformation play intermediary roles. (3) The heterogeneity test indicate that firms situated in eastern regions and those classified as non-heavily polluted benefitted to a greater extent. This study sheds light on the incentive implications of digital economy for the synergistic upgrading of GI&CV, thereby extending the breadth of study on the consequences of digital economy. Moreover, it offers actionable suggestions for enterprises to leverage digital economy development towards achieving a synergistic improvement of GI&CV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reveal the impact of pilot free trade zones policy on green development, we use multi-period difference-in-difference estimation and fixed effect model to explore the impact and impact mechanism of the establishment of free trade zones on the green transformation of enterprises from the micro perspective, based on the panel data of China's A-share listed companies from 2009–2021, The results show that pilot free trade zones policy significantly improves the green transformation of enterprises in the zones. Pilot free trade zones policy affects the corporate green transformation through industrial agglomeration and financial constraints. The green transformation of state-owned enterprises, non-heavy polluting enterprises and high-tech enterprises are significantly impacted by pilot free trade zones policy. Urban innovation and green subsidies play a positive moderating role in the impact of free trade zones on enterprises' green transformation. The research conclusions provide a valuable policy basis for how to promote the green transformation of enterprises under the free trade zones policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing industry is supported by smart and green manufacturing, which have great potential to empower the nation's green development. This study examines the impact of the Made in China 2025 industrial policy on urban green economic growth. This study applies the super-slacks-based measure model to measure cities' green economic growth, using the double machine learning model, which overcomes the limitations of the linear setting of traditional causal inference models and maintains estimation accuracy under high-dimensional control variables, to conduct an empirical analysis based on panel data of 281 Chinese cities from 2006 to 2021. The results reveal that the Made in China 2025 strategy significantly drives urban green economic growth, and this finding holds after a series of robustness tests. A mechanism analysis indicates that the Made in China 2025 strategy promotes green economic growth through green technology progress, optimizing energy consumption structure, upgrading industrial structure, and strengthening environmental supervision. In addition, the policy has a stronger driving effect for cities with high manufacturing concentration, industrial intelligence, and digital finance development. This study provides valuable theoretical insights and policy implications for government planning to promote high-quality development through industrial policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The government's environmental protection policy can significantly contribute to alleviating resource shortages and curbing environmental pollution, but the impact of various policy instruments implemented by the government on energy efficiency is unclear. Based on the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2021, this paper analyses the impact of environmental regulation and the industrial structure on energy efficiency from the perspective of resource taxes. The U-shaped relationship between environmental regulation and energy efficiency and between the optimization of industrial structure can significantly improve energy efficiency, and the optimization of industrial structure is conducive to weakening the initial inhibitory effect of environmental regulation. In addition, the analysis of regional heterogeneity showed that the impact of environmental regulation was stronger in the central and western regions, while the impact of industrial structure was stronger in the eastern and western regions. The conclusions of this study can help to expand the understanding of the relationship between environmental regulation and industrial structure on energy efficiency, provide policy enlightenment for the realization of green development and high-quality development, and provide Chinese examples and experiences for developing countries to improve energy efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon emissions have become a global challenge, and China, as the world's largest developing country, has a serious emissions problem. Developing green buildings is an important way of reducing carbon emissions. China's low-carbon city pilot policy may be an effective way of promoting green building development and reducing these emissions. This study uses the low carbon city pilot policy as a quasi-natural experiment and employs the staggered difference-in-differences method to investigate its impact on green building development. The results show that the low-carbon city pilot policy promotes green building development, and this policy promotes it by enhancing regional green innovation capacity, improving green total factor productivity at the firm and regional levels, and reducing the financing constraints of firms in the construction and real estate sectors. In addition, the promotion effect of the policy on green building development is stronger in western and non-resource-based regions and large-scale cities in China. This study contributes to the literature related to environmental policy, green building, and carbon emissions and supports the promotion of green building development and the reduction of carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the continued advancement of the green economy transition, the proactive pursuit of carbon emissions reduction and the early attainment of carbon neutrality goals have emerged as essential components in promoting high-quality economic development. Not only does it contribute to the creation of a community of human destiny, but it is also vital to the realization of sustainable development for human civilization. A dynamic evolutionary game model, which encompasses the interactions among government, enterprises, and the public, was constructed to examine the inherent impact mechanisms of the behavior of three players on the development of a green economy under the context of energy saving and emission reduction subsidies. The results showed that the incentive and punishment mechanisms served as effective tools for harmonizing the interests of system members. Within the mechanisms, the public demonstrated a higher sensitivity to rewards, while enterprises exhibited greater responsiveness to fines. Consequently, the government could influence the behavior of enterprises by incentivizing the public to serve as a third-party inquiry and oversight body. Simultaneously, the government could encourage enterprises to expedite green technology innovation by employing a combination of incentive and punishment mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Housing industry is one of the major threats to global environment and resource depletion. Particularly in China, it is regarded as a major challenge due to massive population growth. The most common barriers involve; economic barriers and environmental barriers. Therefore, to promote sustainable housing development, the management of these barriers is most crucial. This study is an attempt to overcome these barriers with the help of financial institutions in the context of China. The sample of the study are construction sector employees which are selected through simple random sampling method. Partial Least Square (PLS) is employed as statistical tool to analyze the primary data. Results revealed the positive role of financial institutions to overcome the challenges related to the economic barriers and environmental barriers. Financing from banks for the sustainable housing schemes can reduce the economic barriers and help to fulfil the sustainable housing criteria. Similarly, the environment requirements can also be achieved through environmental policy developed by the banks in China. This study recommended the Chinese government to promote sustainable hosing development through the promotion of bank financing and implementation of banks environmental policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coordinating policies is an essential guarantee for carbon emission reduction and sustainable development. Based on the theoretical framework of the policy paradigm, we quantitatively analyze 266 policy documents on promoting carbon emission trading and green financial policies from 2011 to 2022 using the content analysis research method. Based on the matching network of "policy objectives-policy tools," we analyze the synergistic characteristics of carbon emission trading policies and green financial policies in promoting carbon emission reduction targets and reveal the matching mode of "objectives-tools" of green financial policies by using social network analysis. It is found that, first, from the perspective of policy objectives, the main policy objectives of carbon emissions trading are to promote green innovation of enterprises, and the main policy objectives of green finance are to promote green development, which reflects the consistency and endogenous motivation of policy objectives. Secondly, command-control and market incentive policy tools are the main policy tools in the structure of policy tools. The proportion of public participation policy tools is small, and there is a structural asymmetry. Third, carbon emissions trading tools focus on supervision, adjustment, and platform construction. The green financial policy tools have the characteristics of guidance, public welfare, and externality. The two constitute a complementary, embedded, and integrated ' double synergy ' carbon emission reduction policy. Based on this, this paper puts forward some suggestions to promote policy coordination and provides a reference for China to achieve the dual carbon goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the intensification of global industrialization coupled with the enterprise's production and operating activities have caused pollution, increasing the current environmental pressure. Relevant government departments in China have instituted several stringent measures (environmental protection sensitization and awareness activities, training sessions, and exchange activities targeted towards enterprise managers) to address these rising environmental problems. Though these measures have gained traction over the years, there is a dearth of research on their effectiveness on the green innovation performance of enterprises. To bridge the gap, this research explores the effect of environmental awareness training, knowledge exchange activities, and commitment on green innovation performance with survey data from 285 medical equipment manufacturing companies in China. It further expands the theoretical application of environmental awareness training, commitment, and innovation performance from the lens of the Knowledge-Based View. The findings depict a positive relationship between environmental awareness training and innovation performance. It also finds a mediating influence of environmental commitment in the relationship between environmental awareness training and green innovation performance. Furthermore, environmental knowledge exchange activities positively moderate the relationship between environmental awareness training and environmental commitment. These findings offer valuable insights for the green development of medical equipment manufacturing enterprises and the government to formulate environmental protection policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the challenges and implications of the United Nations' recognition of the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, especially concerning Indigenous peoples. Topics include the potential sidelining of Indigenous voices in environmental policy implementation, the historical context of Native Nations in the United States, and the need for sovereignty and recognition of Indigenous rights in legal frameworks.

The green credit policy serves as a crucial instrument for achieving the dual objectives of optimal resource allocation and green development. It plays a pivotal role in curbing inefficient investments in innovation by enterprises. This research employs the PSM-DID method to effectively explore the practical effects of the green credit policy on the innovation inefficiency investments of heavily polluting enterprises in China. Examining the impact from the perspectives of environmental regulation and financial constraints, the study utilizes panel data from listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares markets spanning from 2010 to 2020. The following conclusions are drawn: (1) Green credit policy has proven effective in inhibiting the inefficient investment in innovation by heavily polluting enterprises when compared to non-heavily polluting enterprises. (2) Moreover, this effect is more pronounced in state-owned enterprises and regions with less financial development. (3) Mechanism testing reveals that the green credit policy can discourage corporate over-investment by influencing financing constraints and can alleviate under-investment through commercial credit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the world's largest emitter of carbon, China has implemented a series of environmental regulatory policies to reduce emissions. However, most of these environmental regulations have been at the expense of increased corporate environmental costs. Therefore, research on how to efficiently control these costs is of significant practical importance. This paper uses the China's carbon trading policy (CTP) implemented in 2013 as a quasi-natural experiment, utilizing data from Chinese listed manufacturing firms between 2008 and 2020. Employing a difference-in-differences (DID) model, the study investigates the impact of market-incentive environmental regulatory policies (ERP) on environmental costs. The findings reveal that CTP significantly reduced the environmental costs of firms, confirming the positive and vital role market-incentive ERP can play in environmental protection and cost control. These conclusions remain robust after a series of stability tests. Mechanism analysis suggests that the cost reductions brought by market-incentive ERP are primarily achieved through increasing green innovation. Heterogeneity analysis shows that non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs), key polluting firms, firms with lower financial constraints, and firms with lower total production efficiency benefit more from market-incentive environmental regulatory policies. This study provides new empirical evidence for government policy-making aimed at achieving long-term sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the impact mechanism of different types of environmental regulations on corporate green technology innovation (GTI). The research focuses on analyzing three types of environmental regulations: command based environmental regulation (ER1), market-oriented environmental regulation (ER2), and voluntary environmental regulation (ER3), and how they affect corporate GTI. This study selected enterprise GTI as the dependent variable and measured it by the number of applications for green invention patents and green utility model patents. The independent variables are the three types of environmental regulations mentioned above. According to data from Chinese A-share listed companies. Using benchmark regression models to analyze the impact of different environmental regulations on GTI, and constructing a moderating effect model to study the role of corporate R&D investment and government support in the process of environmental regulations affecting GTI. The results indicate that (1) ER1, ER2, and ER3 can all promote enterprise GTI, and the three environmental regulatory methods have a better synergistic effect. (2) R&D investment has a positive correlation with the relationship between ER2 and GTI, and a negative correlation with ER 3 and ER 1. (3) There are differences in the GTI performance of enterprises in different regions, ownership nature, factor density, and industry types under the influence of environmental regulations. (4) The impact of environmental regulatory policies on corporate GTI is mainly short-term. This study provides a new perspective on how environmental regulations affect corporate GTI, especially in the context of developing countries like China. The research findings emphasize the role of different types of environmental regulations in incentivizing corporate GTI, while also pointing out factors that governments need to consider when formulating environmental policies, such as regional differences and corporate characteristics, which are of great significance for promoting green development of enterprises and achieving broader sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of global challenges related to climate change and sustainable development, comparing attitudes and infrastructure in the field of electromobility and renewable energy sources in different countries becomes crucial. The question of differences and similarities between Poland and Germany in these areas sheds light on the unique challenges and opportunities that the two countries present to each other. The aim of the study is to understand these dynamics, which can contribute to the shaping of more effective policies and strategies for green energy and sustainable mobility. This study was conducted through a review of Polish and foreign literature, the use of the method of tabular comparisons, and the analysis of a questionnaire that was used. These complex methods combined both quantitative and qualitative analysis, which allowed for an in-depth understanding and comparison of attitudes and infrastructure related to electromobility and renewable energy sources in Poland and Germany. The study revealed significant differences and similarities between Poland and Germany in terms of electromobility and renewable energy sources. Germany shows a higher level of urbanization, a higher share of electric car ownership, and better charging infrastructure, while in Poland there is a strong belief in the key role of renewable energy sources. These findings may have implications for future green energy initiatives and policies in both countries. The study presents a complex picture of electromobility and renewable energy sources in Poland and Germany, showing clear differences in awareness, infrastructure, and attitudes. Germany seems to be more advanced in these areas, while Poland shows a strong commitment to renewable energy sources. These conclusions do not exaggerate the differences, but underline the need for a case-by-case approach to green energy strategies in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, the environmental approach is included in the legal regulations of countries to achieve sustainable development. The development of public policies that demand the care and preservation of the environment is an urgency for the territories. In Ecuador, social and legal transformations led to the inclusion of the environmental perspective in the Constitution of the Republic, and subsequently to the development of the Organic Code of the Environment (CODA). Environmental principles are considered in the various legislations; however, no priority is established among them. The objective of this work is to determine the priority established in the environmental principles of CODA. For this, it was necessary to consult experts and, based on their criteria, the Pareto Diagram technique was applied, the fundamental principles were selected, and a hierarchical order was determined based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process, AHP Saaty, with a neutrosophic approach, for the decision making. The most relevant principles were Comprehensive Responsibility, Best Available Technology and Best Environmental Practices, and Comprehensive Repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-carbon city pilot (LCCP) policy is a progressive pollution regulation policy. Besides its role in carbon emission reduction, it has a profound impact on green growth performance and green innovation efficiency. Based on the data of 12 pilot cities and 14 non-pilot cities in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), this study applies the PSM-DID and spatial mediating model to investigate the multi-dimensional policy effects of LCCP policy on green growth performance and green innovation efficiency. First, the direct effect of LCCP policy on green growth performance has reached 1.46%, ever since its implementation in 2017. Second, considering the intercity innovation cooperation in YRD, LCCP policy has influenced green innovation efficiency by an increase of 12.6%. Furthermore, the time-spatial DID model and multiple mediating effect model identify that LCCP policies have significantly improved green innovation cooperation. Such policies act on the industrial structure upgrading path to achieve the ultimate objective of carbon emission reduction and green growth performance. Third, the green innovation cooperation and substantial transformation of industrial structure upgrading played an important role in realizing the LCCP policy's effect, with its mediating effect reaching 33.63%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significance of environmental governance is increasing worldwide, and Georgia is no exception. This article uses wide-ranging sources to provide comprehensive qualitative and quantitative data to discuss the most important aspects of environmental policy directions in Georgia. The results of the study show that: (a) it is crucial to increase public awareness about the importance of climate change and environmental protection; (b) introducing environmental and climate-related goals and objectives and green budgeting principles in national priorities is as important as implementing them effectively into practice; and (c) the practice of regulatory impact assessment needs further development in Georgia, especially in the environment and climate-related areas. Finally, the paper concludes that the lack of historical data is the main limitation for the current research, and proposes that scientific and practical work continues in the future to further explore the relationships between the country’s environmental policies and aspects of sustainable development on both an individual and public level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alongside production and consumption, bio-waste management is central to the food systems debate. To achieve sustainable food systems—an essential component of the Sustainable Development Goals and the world they envision—public authorities must address the shortage of current bio-waste-management policies and strive towards a new paradigm of bio-waste management, where environmental justice primarily informs policy design and decision making. In order to achieve fair environmental policies, particularly in the context of food systems and bio-waste management, it is essential to understand what drives public policy in these matters. In the present review, we seek to contribute by closing a gap in the literature by proposing a set of bio-waste-management drivers in the European context. Moreover, we focus on the "policy and legislation" driver, hoping to examine its main components and understand both their limitations and the opportunities they provide. Finally, we explore the role that co-creation can play as a facilitator of a public-governance paradigm that promotes sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme has emerged as a critical environmental policy instrument around the world, holding great promise for addressing significant environmental challenges in Vietnam, a country undergoing fast economic expansion and industrialization. This literature review proceeds to describe Vietnam's EPR program, focusing on its regulations and implementation procedures. By highlighting several obstacles and directions in Vietnam, this review emphasizes the importance of aligning EPR strategies with the country's socio-economic context to achieve sustainable management of waste and a circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vietnam's economy will be the fastest-growing in 2023 and 2024 compared to ASEAN-5 countries. Since the country is following a development pathway, it is in a position to bet on a Circular Economy (CE), which is a widespread phenomenon for Sustainable Development. This study identifies major environmental challenges and remarks on the evolution of regulations and notable actions in the CE direction. For instance, emphasizes the approximately 4,000 Recycling Craft Villages that poorly implement a CE, focusing on Da Hoi. Finally, this article aims to identify challenges and opportunities, provide recommendations, and portray the future of circularity. Both desk and field research was conducted, including interviews and event attendance. Three principal conclusions are depicted; the limitations in the waste value chain of Recycling Craft Villages, the necessity to minimize air pollution through circularity, and budgetary restrictions are noted as continual hurdles to moving toward circularity. This article will interest policymakers, Vietnamese and international businesses, and academics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural development needs to be regarded as an active driver of national development in countries with large rural populations. Increasing productivity in agriculture leverages labor and resources for other sectors while sustaining food supplies for urban areas. The experience of newly industrialized and emerging industrialized countries indicates a precedent for rural development, where an increase in agricultural productivity in rural areas leads to industrial as well as general development. For a better understanding of the phenomenon, I used a research method based on overlaying data from different sources of research and comparing, eventually, the degree of similarity. The purpose of this paper was to analyze the main features of the contribution of rural development to the achievement of sustainable development objectives. The main findings of the research showed us that a combined effort is needed to harness the potential of rural populations and resources to ensure sustainable development overall and to achieve the SDGs in particular. This effort should be based on the principle of improving the lives and livelihoods of rural people and not be a technocratic exercise in economic, social, or environmental policy. Furthermore, economic instruments can also play an important role in promoting sustainable land management, but it is important to achieve growth in rural economies without sacrificing environmental sustainability. Moreover, the EU has a responsibility to promote sustainable land management. Subsidy programs could also be further developed to provide payments for ecosystem services and compensate farmers for their environmental impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our planet is facing increasing challenges: climate change, biodiversity loss, pandemics, poverty, and many other problems closely linked to a deteriorating environment. Meanwhile, one of our most important assets, rangers working in protected and conserved areas responsible for managing large tracts of the planet's lands and waters, are often underutilized, underrecognized and underequipped. They are generally left out of the debate about conservation and sustainable development policy, despite being central to the success of those policies. This paper outlines the need for global leaders across multiple sectors to recognize the profession of rangers as essential planetary health workers and to position rangers more effectively within global conservation and environmental policy mechanisms. It introduces the challenges facing rangers, the emerging diversity of roles within the ranger profession and the important contribution of rangers to conservation and sustainable development. It presents policy and implementation avenues to improve recognition and professionalization of rangers as key executors of conservation and development policy, particularly considering the recent Global Biodiversity Framework ambitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new United Nations (UN) sustainable development (SD) agenda in 2015 heralded the beginning of a new global effort for the planet's sustainability through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They provide a framework for all countries, regardless of income levels, to guide national planning for achieving SD. Climate change may impact almost all SDGs and vice versa, though, of the 17 SDGs, the 13th is designated to climate action. The growing concern for environmental degradation has raised the question of how countries will manage to achieve SDGs and whether the answer can be found in their institutions. Reducing emissions necessitates environmental policies influenced by political institutions that shape policy adoption and implementation. This paper aims to analyze the effects of institutions adopting the dimensions of good governance on particular SDG indicators of the 13th SDG by using a Nonparametric Kernel Regression framework and a panel data set of 5 Western Balkans (WB) countries from 2000 to 2020. The target countries share the ambition of EU accession and hold the EU candidate status. WB countries spark our interest because of the severe institutional governance problems, which limit their ability to progress towards SDGs. The paper's empirical analysis uses a specific SDG indicator for the 13 SDG of the Europe Sustainable Development Report, similar to that used by the OECD for the report on Measuring Distance to the SDG Targets. The analysis includes as independent variables the World Governance Indicators (WGI). Contributing to the existing literature on institutions and SD, the novelty of our approach is the use of the WGI with SDG indicators in measuring the impact of quality of governance on the progress towards the 13th SDG referring to climate action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve the goal of sustainable development, China has implemented the energy conservation and emission-reduction policy. So far, there is still little evidence of the impact of the policiy on corporate behaviour. Therefore, this study collects data on Chinese A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2017 and applies the staggered difference-in-differences method to analyse the impact of the energy conservation and emission-reduction policy on the environmental, social and governance performance of companies in China. The result shows that the energy conservation and emission-reduction policy reduces environmental, social and governance performance, and this negative effect increases over time. Meanwhile, a further mechanism analysis confirms that the negative impact on environmental, social and governance performance operates through the incentive effect on environmental performance, the crowding-out effect on social performance and the spillover effect on governance performance. Furthermore, the negative effect is heterogeneous across companies and cities. Overall, our results provide empirical evidence for optimising energy conservation and emission-reduction policies in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) constitute an ambitious comprehensive global framework including monitoring mechanisms and indicators to evaluate progress towards precise targets of sustainable development. Most European countries have adapted their national sustainability indicator systems to conform to the UN Agenda 2030 for sustainable development, introducing new indicators and monitoring frameworks and governance processes in which these are embedded. What do we know about the political processes and struggles of implementing this important global framework? How does the politics of indicators differ in national contexts? We propose a classification of national indicator systems along dimensions of indicator selection, appraisal landscape, participatory nature, and political communication. We empirically explore these dimensions for four European national sustainability indicator systems through a comparative analysis based on national policy documents, indicator databases, and web portals as well as inputs from workshops and expert interviews. Given the considerable variation with respect to the trajectory of national sustainability indicator systems, we posit that these differences correspond to different national interpretations of sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vietnam's economy will be the fastest-growing in 2023 and 2024 compared to ASEAN-5 countries. Since the country is following a development pathway, it is in a position to bet on a Circular Economy (CE), which is a widespread phenomenon for Sustainable Development. This study identifies major environmental challenges and remarks on the evolution of regulations and notable actions in the CE direction. For instance, emphasizes the approximately 4,000 Recycling Craft Villages that poorly implement a CE, focusing on Da Hoi. Finally, this article aims to identify challenges and opportunities, provide recommendations, and portray the future of circularity. Both desk and field research was conducted, including interviews and event attendance. Three principal conclusions are depicted; the limitations in the waste value chain of Recycling Craft Villages, the necessity to minimize air pollution through circularity, and budgetary restrictions are noted as continual hurdles to moving toward circularity. This article will interest policymakers, Vietnamese and international businesses, and academics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing environmental and climate problems in the contemporary world necessitate the search for efficient solutions, including changes in agriculture, which has been reflected in the new package of reforms of the EU climate policy, called the European Green Deal (the EGD). Agriculture and rural areas play an essential role in the attainment of the EGD goals, and one of the prerequisites for an effective implementation of the EGD assumptions is to recognize the mechanism underlying the activity of agricultural farms in the scope of pro-environmental measures implemented under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). This article presents an endeavour to make a multidimensional evaluation of the spatial diversification in such activities, using Polish farms as an example. Compared to other EU member states, Poland is a country where agriculture remains a substantial sector in the national economy. This research is based on data from several institutions, including the Central Statistical Office (CSO) and the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture (ARMA), responsible for the allocation of funds from the EU budget and for providing support to the development of agriculture and rural areas. The level and structure of the absorption of funds from the CAP underwent analysis, including three pro-environmental measures of the Rural Development Programme: organic farming (OF), agri-environment climate measure (AECM), and afforestation and creation of forest areas (ACFA). In order to achieve a holistic approach to these measures, an innovative analytical model was developed. It can be applied to analyses on a regional, national, and European level, and it is based on several novel indicators, as well as advanced statistical and spatial analyses. The research demonstrates that the pro-environment activities of farmers are characterized by a significant geographical diversity. The most active in soliciting payments from the CAP were agricultural farms with a high level of pro-environment internal characteristics of agriculture (IPEAF = 30.1%, with national average = 11.6%). With regard to anthropogenic determinants, relatively higher values of the IPEAF indicator were found in the municipalities with a lower level of socio-economic development (12.1%) and those located in northern and western Poland, within the borders of the former Prussian Partition (18.6%), characterised by higher farming culture. The research results imply that the effectiveness of the up-to-date solutions needs to be improved, also by taking into consideration the endogenous conditions and potential of individual territorial units. The research results also prove the expediency of implementing the European Green Deal. Conducting an analysis of the pro-environmental activity of farms, taking into account both the applications of the current CAP financial perspective and those resulting from follow-up activities regarding the previous perspective, is an innovative approach to the issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heavy-polluting industry is inexorably to responsible for the deterioration of the environment. Improving environmental performance is an unavoidable decision for heavy-polluting firms to ensure sustainable development under the policy framework of the carbon peak target. This study provides theoretical and empirical evidence for the effect of environmental protection subsidies on environmental performance. This study constructs basic and mediating effect models to measure how environmental protection subsidies affect environmental performance using panel data of China's heavy-polluting listed firms from 2008 to 2019. This is an important outcome of industrial green transformation in environmental governance and provides a scientific basis for government departments to formulate environmental policies. The results of the empirical analysis show that environmental protection subsidies can improve the environmental performance of heavy-polluting listed firms. After receiving environmental protection subsidies, firms engaged in clean and green production through green technology innovation, thereby reducing external environmental pollution and improving their environmental performance. The mediating role of green technology innovation in the relationship between environmental protection subsidies and environmental performance is significant only in state-owned firms and firms in Eastern China. The research results may further guide the direction of green development of heavy-polluting industries, and thus promote harmonious development between the environment and the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological efficiency (EE) provides much reference for formulating appropriate regional economic, social and environmental policies to promote sustainable development. Interactive subsystems of economy, society and environment within EE system have been considered in this paper. By innovatively integrating the merits of two advanced economic research methods (global super efficiency network data envelopment analysis (GSE-NDEA) and panel vector autoregression (PVAR) and updating the EE evaluation indicator system by following the new features of sustainable development in the recent China, this paper comprehensively evaluates EE by drawing evidence from 3 regions in China during the period of 2011–2020, and further reveals how the three subsystems within EE system interact to achieve EE enhancement. The findings show EE and its three subsystems’ trend, the major constrains of EE development, the regional discrepancies in EE progress, and the interactions among the subsystems of economy-society-environment within the EE system in different regions of China. The policy implications are proposed accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The Green Belt Biosphere Reserve, with 2.33 million hectares and its internal urban area with 220 thousand hectares, is configured as a water security territory and expresses a direct relationship between urban development and areas that ensure well-being and ecosystem services for 12% of Brazil's population. With seventy-eight municipalities that fully or partially integrate the GBBR, the socioeconomic differences and the different contexts of urbanization and governance reflect on territorial management at the local level and impact the environmental and regional sustainable development agendas. Objective: Based on a survey of environmental policies and correlations between economic and socio-environmental indicators on a municipal scale for the entire study area, this article assesses the level of development of the main environmental public policies and identifies the relationship between these policies and socio-environmental indicators. Originality: Although the Green Belt Biosphere Reserve is an area recognized by the United Nations (UN), the management of its territory depends on municipal actions that comprise it. Little attention has been paid to environmental management, especially in terms of public environmental policies and a broad and ongoing understanding of the conservation of this area. Results: The analysis shows that the different municipalities in the GBBR have different levels of implementation regarding Environmental Agenda. When considering the Municipal Plans for Urban Afforestation, Adaptation to Climate Change, Atlantic Forest and Solid Waste, only Guarujá, Mogi das Cruzes, Santos and São Paulo have these four policies in preparation or completed, while for 33.3% (n=25) of the municipalities, none of these agendas was developed, and a positive correlation was identified between the HDI and the largest number of implemented policies. Contribution: Large and medium-sized cities in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, present studies addressing ecological patterns and processes, however, they do not address specific questions on the environmental sector itself, which this paper aimed at providing. Conclusion: As the Green Belt accounts for 72% of the volume of drinking water in all of São Paulo, the disparities between the municipal indicators analyzed reinforce the need to adopt the GBBR as a platform for adequate governance to integrate policies at different scales for sustainable regional development. Systemic efforts are needed, especially at the municipal scale, in order to carry out adequate environmental management of the GBBR territory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the literature on the subject, it is argued that tax policy is one of the tools stimulating the transition toward sustainable economies. Public authorities can use two functions for this purpose: fiscal and non-fiscal functions. High emission rates and the rising rapid atmospheric changes that come with them are serious threats to the climate and sustainable development. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is one of the goals towards which the world strives (including the EU), so as to keep a balance between people's expectations, economic aspects, and the needs of the environment. Therefore, it is necessary to explain whether, along with other factors, environmental policy and its component "green taxes" can act as a factor in limiting greenhouse gas emissions. The purpose of this article is to seek an answer to the question of whether "green taxes" as an instrument of tax policy are a significant factor influencing climate change by contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This article attempts to identify the determinants of greenhouse gas emissions (the dependent variable) using the method of linear regression analysis. Multiple linear regression models are used to predict the value of the dependent variable based on the values of the independent variables (identified from the literature). Trading of CO2 emissions was not included in the analysis due to lack of data. The regression analysis was carried out using specialized statistical software (SPSS). The authors negatively verified the hypothesis that environmental taxes are a significant determinant of greenhouse gas emission reductions compared to the analyzed determinants. "Population", "current and capital transfers for environmental protection", and "supply, transformation and consumption of solid fossil fuels" are the most important factors influencing greenhouse gas emissions. Changing consumer behavior (as an effect of the non-fiscal function of taxes) appears to be an extremely important factor in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Hence, the public authorities should promote behaviors conducive to their reduction by means of incentives, and not mainly taxation of negative behavior or fiscal incentives. [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]

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]

ESG investment and financing is a response to global warming and toxic carbon emissions. This is because market and financial development is expected to contribute to de-carbonisation in relevant firms. However, the opposite might occur with carbon-intensive industries. An option is to introduce a carbon tax or an emissions cap but this varies across countries. The impact of environmental policies and the development of financial markets are thus relevant factors to analyse in the debate regarding the best pathways to reduce pollution. This impact is not conclusive in extant studies. In order to meet this gap and to devise effective solutions to this problem, the mechanisms behind them need to be empirically clarified. To achieve this research objective, this study analyses the impact of these factors on welfare through pollution and growth. It examines the respective regulatory regimes of environmental taxes and emission quotas, using an R&D-based growth model with a monetary component. This is to identify the relationship between pollution emissions and financial markets. Results reveal that increasing environmental taxes and reducing nominal interest rates does in fact lead to pollution reduction and economic growth, as well as an increase in the quantity of money and credit through deflation. Reducing emission allowances has a similar effect. However, under emission quotas, it is found that a reduction in the nominal interest rate affects neither pollution emissions nor economic growth, although it does affect the quantity of money and credit. This is because the Fisher effect disappears when the emission quota caps output. A U-shaped relationship between emission allowances and the amount of credit then arises. Under an emissions trading system, the relationship between pollution emissions and financial development can be a win-win relationship or a trade-off relationship. This depends on the emission quota and nominal interest rate. These results suggest that, in addition to environmental policy instruments, financial market development can contribute to decarbonisation if there is the right environmental financial policy. A mix of environmental and financial policies is thus important in linking financial market development to decarbonisation. • Lower inflation, less pollution and economic growth by environmental tax increases. • Interest rate cuts lead to higher inflation, increased pollution and lower growth. • The tax and the interest rate have an inverse U-shaped relationship with welfare. • Under permits trading, interest rate cuts have no impact on pollution and growth. • Win-win relationship or trade-off between financial market and pollution reduction. [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]

The contribution of environmental fiscal instruments (taxes and fees) used in Costa Rica to finance conversation activities on biodiversity is analyzed. The collection of fiscal income is estimated, as well as its distribution in the different projects in favor of the environment. These tax revenues have contributed to limitations and deficiencies in forest recovery and the protection of bodies of water, mostly located in rural areas, and have incorporated women and indigenous people in these economic and conservation activities. Thus, environmental fiscal policy has contributed moderately to the sustainable development of these rural territories, which makes it urgent for fiscal policy to identify new environmental fiscal instruments that redirect towards a resilient and inclusive development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The constant rise in the consumption of resources puts the environment under pressure. Most resources are non-renewable in nature, which is why they must be utilized with great care. For this reason, the European Union devotes increasingly more attention to their efficient use. It deals with these aspects, making an effort to maintain the long-term competitiveness and to secure sustainable development in line with all of the related environmental impacts. In this context, several goals have been set out, to which the individual EU member states are bound. A method for monitoring resource efficiency was developed, consisting of indicators, the aim of which is to assess the efficiency of the use of soil, water, energy, with the most fundamental one being resource productivity. The results of the efficiency of use of the individual resources in the member states greatly differ, even without further investigating the links and correlations between the indicators. Research on the interrelationships of the individual indicators in terms of mutual influence has not yet been completed. The aim of our study was to define the correlation between the main indicator, resource productivity, and the other indicators at the level of the EU and its member states. For this purpose, we prepared a database with data which, for the sake of uniformity, were obtained from the publicly available Eurostat database. Subsequently, the data were analyzed and evaluated using the statistical software JMP 15 by a regression and correlation analysis. By using the multiple regression analysis, we created a model describing the significance of the impact of the observed variables on the resulting resource productivity of the EU member states. Generally, there is a positive correlation between the resource productivity and the Eco-Innovation index, as well as the utilization rate of recycled materials. For the sake of comparison, we developed a regression model at the level of the V4 countries, with the aim of evaluating the impact of the historical background of the countries on their contemporary ability to reach the goals set out by the environmental policy. The V4 countries are lagging far behind in meeting all of the environmental policy objectives, not only in tracking the main indicator (resource productivity) on which the multiple regression analysis is based. It was interesting to find that the multiple regression model at the V4 level does not include the indicators defined by the EU level model, the key ones, in this case, being water productivity, energy dependence, energy productivity, and environmental tax. This finding may also, after further analyses, be the key for other countries joining the EU in the future, in defining the weaknesses of the newly acceding states in terms of the EU's move towards a circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic growth-environment nexus explores the relationship between economic growth, as understood in the neoclassical free market or neoliberalism economic theory context, and its implications for the environment. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is considered one of the most successful environmental policy instruments to deal with the consideration of environmental implications of development decisions. Because the economic growth-environment nexus is central to discourses in EIA it is helpful to gain an improved understanding of different perspectives manifesting and influencing EIA practice. This paper aims to identify pluralism in perspectives on the economic growth-environment nexus in EIA practice. This is achieved by applying the Q-method to EIA practice in South Africa and involve the sorting of 36 statements by 16 respondents. The results show pluralism and distinct patterning with four key perspectives emerging namely: the deontological perspective, neoliberal progression, EIA polarisation and new conservationist perspective. We hope this research contributes towards a growing understanding of how different perspectives on the economic growth-environment nexus might influence EIA practice and decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the panel data of 204 prefecture-level cities in China from 2004 to 2019, this paper used the double-difference method to study the impact of ecological civilization demonstration area policy on ecological efficiency with the help of“quasi-natural natural experiment”from ecological civilization demonstration area. Results showed as follow.（1）Overall, the implementation of ecological civilization demonstration area policy has significantly promoted the improvement of ecological efficiency. At the same time, various robustness tests such as excluding the influence of other policies, counterfactual testing, replacing sample data, and propensity score matching-based difference-in-difference（PSM-DID）were carried out to ensure the reliability of the results.（2）Heterogeneity analysis showed that ecological civilization demonstration area policy had a more significantly effect on the improvement of ecological efficiency in the large cities and cities in eastern and central regions.（3）Mechanism analysis showed that ecological civilization demonstration area policy can improve the ecological efficiency of cities by driving technological innovation and optimizing industrial structure. Accordingly, it is proposed to further summarize the effective practices of the ecological civilization demonstration area policy. And a combination of policies should be carried out based on the consideration of heterogeneity factors. In addition, it is also necessary to focus on transforming and upgrading advantageous industries and stimulating innovation capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores stakeholder dynamics between government administrators and members of coalitions as it affects policy learning among government administrators in Kazakhstan, particularly in the case of the implementation of the Concept of Transition of Kazakhstan to a "Green Economy" (the Concept) since 2013. The article examines how stakeholder dynamics influence policy learning among government administrators based on one of the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) tenets, that of policy learning in a nascent policy subsystem. Based on field research conducted between May 2020 and September 2021, I have found that stakeholders in coalitions hold different views on implementing the Concept. Although government administrators are stakeholders in a coalition that emerged in a nascent policy subsystem, their learning is mostly defined as formal, as a result of stakeholder dynamics between the coalitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aimed to present the research results on some environmental challenges and priorities of climate resilience. The research work was carried out in 2021 and referred to the analysis of the transcendence character corresponding to the environmental policies according to the strategic guidelines of recovery and resilience for sustainable development and green transition. Although sustainable development of the Romanian water sector has been approached in the past, the present paper has new research related to the water security and its role in building the climate resilience of agriculture and rural development in the European Union and our country. From a methodological view, there are used accumulations and outcomes from the specialty literature, from previous researches, the own data processing in figures and tables to describe some conceptual relationships, comparative analyses of the developmental state and the climatic vulnerability of the Romanian water infrastructure sector. The conclusions and recommendations highlight backlogs, needs and opportunities in the context of implementing the European Green Deal and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article addresses the need of an Ethical code for the mining worker as part of the environmental management the nickel industry carries out in Cuba. Environmental Ethics has a paramount role as a discipline of theoretical-practical knowledge in conception of a sustainable development. In the mining-metallurgical business field, perception is quite formed that legal regulations are adequate for good environmental practices, ignoring the paramount role of awareness, which, above all, it is based on moral and political aspects. In that way, it is appropriate to draft a deontological code for the mining worker that ensures, together with the legal aspects, the improvement in knowledge, skills, norms, principles and convictions that facilitate the ecological management of natural system linked with society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical analysis of public policies on environmental conservation, management, and tourism development in the protected natural areas of Ecuador to detect their dysfunctions, contradictions, and problems of applicability. A predominantly exploratory research methodology with a descriptive-analytical approach is used when studying and systematizing the different regulations, actions and guidelines existing and implemented by international and national organizations with competencies in environmental conservation and sustainable development. These are systematized and analyzed through the main documents of interest that include principles, strategic guidelines, and specific rules of application. Through primary and secondary sources, and internal documentation of various Administrations we have identified the most visible effects and impacts that these policies have generated in the protection and/or valorization of the natural heritage, as well as in the tourist development compatible with the conservation of these spaces, the generation of complementary income and economic diversification for local communities. We concluded that Ecuadorian regulations on the conservation of protected areas present notable points of collision and lack of coherence or coordination with tourism policies. This is the consequence of two main factors: the lack of a broad strategic vision and comprehensive territorial planning of these territories as sustainable tourist destinations and the lack of a framework for management, planning and collaborative planning between the different local agencies and agents that affect these spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green energy efficiency (GEE) is pivotal for sustainable economic growth, particularly in the context of China's ambitious environmental goals. This study assesses the impact of Green Financial Reform and Innovation Pilot Zones on GEE from 2005 to 2020, using the SBM-GML method and a Double Difference Model (DID). Findings indicate a significant improvement in GEE within these zones, driven by advancements in green innovation and environmental regulation. At the micro level, firms in pilot zones show enhanced Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance and experience fewer financial constraints. The effectiveness of green finance policies is more pronounced in resource-rich and financially efficient regions, suggesting that these initiatives can significantly contribute to sustainable development. Based on empirical evidence, we recommend expanding pilot zones, promoting green technological innovation, and developing tailored green finance policies to address regional ecological sensitivities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to reveal how China's green finance reform and innovation demonstration zone policy affects ecologically sustainable development under the constraints of government environmental attention. Employing multi-period DID (Difference-in-Difference) and DDD (Difference-in-Difference-in-Difference) as the base model, the study tested the mechanism of the policy's effect on ecologically sustainable development, using panel data from 277 prefecture-level cities in China from 2006 to 2020. Endogeneity tests including Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS), counterfactual tests, and other robustness checks, were employed to enhance the study's validity. The research findings are as follows: (1) The policy effectively promotes ecologically sustainable development, and this conclusion remained valid even after conducting several robustness tests. (2) The more pronounced the government's emphasis on environmental preservation, the greater its efficacy in fostering ecologically sustainable development. (3) The stimulating effect of the policy on ecologically sustainable development is more pronounced in cities with higher ecological quality and a larger population. This study not only offers new analytical perspectives for comprehensively investigating the green finance policy but also emphasizes that enhanced policy outcomes hinge on the implementation of green financial reforms and innovations tailored to local conditions. Additionally, it provides valuable policy insights for optimizing the government's role in fostering ecologically sustainable development. (e.g., optimizing the governmental role in fostering ecologically sustainable development, enhancing both the scope and intensity of green finance policy, and harnessing the synergies between green finance policy and environmental protection policy). [Display omitted] • Green finance policy can improve ecologically sustainable development. • Government environmental attention can promote the effectiveness of green finance policy. • Focuses on 277 prefecture-level cities in China between 2006 and 2020. • Uses multi-period Difference-in-Differences (DID) as the base model. • China should give high priority to green finance policy to improve sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significance of the impact of trade on sustainable development cannot be overstated. Even though there is a large amount of literature examining the trade - environment connection, most of the studies that have been done so have primarily examined variables like trade openness and foreign direct investment, ignoring the impact of particular trade policy tools, like tariffs. Moreover, there is a pertinent concern about aggregation bias in aggregate estimations, which could lead to inaccurate assessments of the overall connections and potentially misguide policymakers. In contrast to the prevailing trend, this study delves into the influence of trade policy, specifically tariffs, on the environmental degradation in 20 African nations. The investigation also addresses the issue of aggregation bias, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of the trade policy-environment link. The panel long-run estimates, employing the PMG estimator, reveal a significantly negative influence of tariffs on ecological footprints. This suggests that, in this context, tariffs do not create market inefficiency but rather contribute to strengthening environmental quality in the African sub-region. The findings underscore the importance of considering specific trade policy instruments in environmental policymaking. Policymakers in the region are presented with an opportunity to strategically utilize tariffs as a tool to address environmental degradation issues. The study further highlights that the relationship is negative at the panel level but positive at some of the individual country-level, indicating the presence of aggregation bias in estimating the trade policy-environmental dilapidation association on a panel scale. As aggregation bias may lead to misguided environmental policies, policymakers are prevailed on to carefully consider both panel and individual country-particular level when formulating trade and environmental strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental protection and sustainable development are now profoundly ingrained in the public consciousness in the modern era of the global green revolution. First, this paper uses an evolutionary game model to theoretically analyse the impact of environmental regulation and green finance on enterprises by dissecting the game behaviour between local governments, banks and enterprises. Then, we incorporate entrepreneurial spirit into the model to determine whether entrepreneurial spirit accelerates the achievement of green sustainability objectives. Environmental regulation and green finance are found to contribute substantially to the innovation of green technologies by local enterprises, while entrepreneurial spirit accelerates this process. Finally, we empirically test the findings based on a prefecture-level panel dataset from 2007 to 2020. We find that green finance has a positive impact in Central and Western cities of China, while Eastern cities are in greater need for government environmental regulation controls. For entrepreneurial spirit, the incentive effect of entrepreneurial spirit on the level of green technology innovation is more significant in Central and Western regions of China. This paper enriches the field of research on entrepreneurial spirit and regional green sustainable development by providing empirical evidence for the evaluation of environmental regulatory and green financing policy impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]