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Semiconductor industry is experiencing a rising demand for environmentally friendly processes with the emphasis on green policies and worldwide environmental sustainability. Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), the most common plasma chamber cleaning agent gas, poses a significant concern as a potent greenhouse gas since it has global warming potential (GWP), 740 times and 6 times higher than that CO2 and N2O. This study investigated the exhaust gas using quadrupole mass spectroscopy (QMS) and analyzed the change in cleaning speed and the type of exhaust gas through plasma monitoring using optical mass spectroscopy (OES). The objective is to lower the use of the amount of NF3 gas in chamber cleaning process to partially contribute the environmental sustainability in the point of semiconductor manufacturing. When a small amount of N2 was added to NF3 whose ratio of 7:23, the cleaning efficiency reached to 90% compared to NF3 gas alone. Addition of N2 positively affected electron density and temperature to increase the F-radical in remote plasma system. In conclusion, 18% of NF3 usage amount was reduced during the Sio2 deposition chamber cleaning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This article examines the relationship between environmental health threats, personal experiences with climate change, and their association with attitudes toward global warming and willingness to pay for clean energy. Methods: Using a nationally representative survey of Latino adults (n = 1200), we use categorical regressions to examine the relationship between environmental health threats and policy preferences. Results: Latinos who have personally experienced climate change and who view air pollution as a threat, are more likely to be concerned with climate change and believe that passing stricter environmental laws will improve the economy as opposed to reduce econonic growth. Latinos who have experienced climate change and worry about the impact of climate change in their homeland are also more willing to pay $5 or $10 for clean energy. Conclusion: This study has implications for our collective knowledge of Latinos' connections to the environment and policy outcomes and contributes to the growing area of environmental public opinion among ethno‐racial groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different streams of political research have pointed to two macro-phenomena that appear as opposite at first glance: On the one hand, the increasing delegation of competencies to jurisdictions beyond the central government, resulting in the denationalization of political authority. On the other, the passing of reforms that reassert the centre of the nation state through policy integration and administrative coordination. In this article, we argue that these two processes can be analysed under a unified framework in terms of multilevel dynamics, whereby delegation ultimately elicits recentring reforms at the national level. To examine this argument and break down the mechanisms at work, we develop two sets of hypotheses: first, we theorise how the delegation of competencies to international organisations, sub-national entities and independent agencies can eventually trigger recentring reforms; second, we propose that the capacity to act attributed to these actors also shapes such reforms. Our empirical analysis relies on an original dataset across four policy fields and 13 countries. By using multilevel regression models, we show that especially the delegation of competencies to agencies at the national level as well as the double delegation to European agencies increases the probability that governments pass recentring reforms. Furthermore, if these agencies have a stronger capacity to act, recentring becomes more likely. Our findings contribute to the development of multilevel governance as a dynamic theory of policy making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Amazon is a complex object of policy that comprises environmental, economic, social, and sovereignty concerns. Despite this complexity, governments are often portrayed as having a single understanding of the region as a political problem. In this article, we investigate how the Amazon has been constructed as a problem in 6240 Brazilian presidential speeches since 1985 using supervised machine learning. Conceptually, we develop a framework that accounts for how important transnational actors, such as presidents, construct objects of policy as particular problems depending on where and when they participate in politics. Empirically, we find that presidents often construct the Amazon as an environmental problem when speaking far away from the region, whereas they usually construct it as problems of economic integration or social development when speaking within in the Amazon. Furthermore, presidents increasingly mix problem-constructions to represent the Amazon as a complex and multifaceted object of policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of corporate political spending on environmental policy has drawn numerous attention from researchers and policymakers. However, few studies have analyzed the empirical effect of corporate spending on environmental policy in aggregate. In this study, I analyze the impact of corporate independent spending bans on state environmental policy, utilizing the repeal of such bans in 23 states following the 2010 Supreme Court's Citizens United decision as a research design. Through difference-in-differences tests, I find no evidence that the removal of independent expenditure bans influenced state environmental policy, regulations, or outcomes, or overall policy liberalism. I also find that corporate direct contributions did not increase in treated states, which may explain the lack of environmental policy effects. These results demonstrate that corporations did not utilize the new spending avenue after Citizens United to influence state environmental policy in aggregate and raise questions concerning corporate political spending and environmental preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political parties are crucial in crafting effective national climate policies in democratic states. At the same time, there is a practical and academic debate of whether political parties matter for policy output. This article speaks to this debate by investigating the link between what parties say and what parties do with respect to environmental issues. More concretely, it analyzes whether there is a connection between the degree of environmentalism expressed in parties' electoral manifestos and national environmental policy output. Theoretically, the article draws on existing research on program-to-policy linkages in general and for environmental issues specifically to argue that saliency of environmentalism in party manifestos shapes more stringent environmental policies. This argument is empirically tested by combining data on policy stringency with data on manifesto contents for 28 countries for the period 1990–2015. The findings corroborate the main hypothesis, which has implications for understanding the overall potential for political parties to structure national environmental politics. The article concludes by sketching broader implications for research on parties' ability to shape national environmental policy across political systems, and across partisan ideologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canadian climate policy is increasingly complex, with numerous mandatory and voluntary policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These policies are national and sub-national and involve a variety of policy instruments. Policy interventions range from economy-wide (e.g., emissions pricing) to sector-specific (e.g., clean electricity regulation) to targeting specific actions (e.g., fuel-switching subsidies). Studying the effects of policy changes and interactions is crucial in this active policy space. This article provides an overview of Canadian climate policy and reviews trends in climate and environmental policy research. Despite the richness of the policy landscape, there is limited academic work evaluating the effectiveness (emissions reductions) and cost-effectiveness (cost per tonne of abatement) of Canadian climate policy, the equity and distributional consequences of policy choices, and how policies interact. Additional academic work along these themes can help inform better policy design and help Canada meet its emission-reduction goals. Note from the editors: The first volume of Canadian Public Policy/Analyse de politiques was published in 1975, making this the 50th volume. To commemorate, we have organized a series of lectures which are published in this special issue. Professor Winter gave this lecture at the meetings of the Canadian Economics Association in Winnipeg in June 2023. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines university-driven partnerships that promote entrepreneurship in underserved communities, drawing from the experiences of NCGrowth, an economic development center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. We address the following questions: Who are the central stakeholders? How do they interact? What do their challenges and experiences imply for policymaking and practice in nurturing entrepreneurship ecosystems in underserved communities? We employed social-network analyses of NCGrowth's projects spanning 2013–2019, supplemented by document analysis of archival data and in-depth interviews. The study uncovers highly asymmetric connections among stakeholders, with universities and government agencies emerging as dominant entities, leveraging universities' specialized knowledge and community relationships. Nevertheless, challenges surface due to overlapping roles as facilitators, the absence of consistent community carriers of development plans, and a dearth of financial institutions. Our findings advocate for an ecosystem-focused approach to economic development in underserved areas, emphasizing the involvement of additional anchor institutions such as hospitals, major corporations, and philanthropists. Furthermore, policies and practices should integrate the objectives of entrepreneurship, economic growth, and social equity to cultivate inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using panel data for Chinese listed firms from 2009 to 2015, this research examines the impact of the green credit policy on the audit fees of heavily polluting firms by adopting a difference-in-difference (DID) model. The results show that the green credit policy increases the audit fees of heavily polluting firms, suggesting that auditors can perceive the risks imposed by the green credit policy on heavily polluting firms. Mechanism tests reveal that the implementation of the green credit policy increases audit fees by increasing the financing cost and reducing the loan maturity. Further research shows that the positive effect is more significant in regions with stronger regulatory environments and higher trust, and among firms without political connections and audited by the top-ten domestic audit firms. The Chinese government should actively encourage third-party financial institutions to participate in firms' environmental governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper constructs a unique dataset of clean energy and collects firm-level green innovation data that matches it with provinces and cities. Then, this paper executes quasi-natural experiments on green innovation to examine the effects of China's emission trading policy on green innovation. Further, this paper introduces the interactive terms of the pilot time and pilot area dummy variables into the spatial Durbin model (SDM) and spatial dynamic panel model (SDPM) to construct quasi-natural experiments to examine the spatial effect. The findings confirm a negative association between the 'policy treatment effect' and green innovation. The results also indicate a significant negative association between the emissions trading policy and clean energy. Besides, the empirical results reveal a positive correlation between clean energy and green innovation; clean energy promotes green innovation in the region and the surrounding areas. This paper complements existing research and provides empirical evidence and policy implications for developing clean energy, promoting green innovation, and improving the emission trading policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using NVivo12plus software, this study constructs a generation model of the policy implementation environment in China's grassroots digital construction by examining the data from interviews with 37 Chinese grassroots civil servants as its research object. At the same time, with the help of the csQCA method and on the basis of rooted coding, using Tosmana software, the model validation and model expansion of 37 cases were carried out. This study shows that the main components of the policy implementation environment in China's grassroots digital construction include five main dimensions: cognitive, emotional, behavioral, normative and control. At the initial stage of China's grassroots digital construction, the cognitive environment dimension is the most critical link in the environmental governance of policy implementation. The cognitive and normative environments dominate the effect pattern of China's grassroots digital policy implementation. There are six types of motivation patterns for the environmental effect of the implementation of grassroots digital policy: know-doing-norm, cognitive-dominant, know-doing-control, emotion-control, behavior-lacking and regulation-dominant types. Based on the above analysis, there are three main policy suggestions to promote the generation of a productive policy implementation environment and positive policy effects in China's digital construction: "degree", "force" and "sense". These suggestions include strengthening the top-level design, improving the integration and cooperation degree of the environment, taking the root at the grassroots level to improve the adaptability of the environment, as well as increasing publicity and promotion to improve the sense of environmental experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to examine the impact of economic growth, economic uncertainty, health expenditure, environmental policy and life expectancy on human health in China through the application of simultaneous quantile regression analysis. The results of the study suggest that economic growth, environmental policy and life expectancy are found to have a positive and statistically significant impact on human health while economic uncertainty, health expenditure negatively impact human health in China. During periods of economic uncertainty, individuals tend to prioritise attending to immediate needs, potentially leading to a decrease in social cooperation and negative impacts on both physical and financial well‐being. The enhancement of financial development has the potential to stimulate investments in private sector health infrastructure, whilst policymakers can play a crucial role in augmenting public sector expenditure. In order to promote the improvement of human health and well‐being both domestically in China and internationally, it is imperative for authorities to give precedence to the implementation of sustainable environmental practises and allocate resources towards the development of healthcare infrastructure. These efforts should align with the objectives outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with special emphasis on SDG 13, which pertains to climate action, and SDG 3, which focuses on good health and well‐being. The results of this study provide empirical evidence that lends support to the implementation of policies that aim to achieve a harmonious equilibrium between economic, environmental and health considerations, thereby fostering sustainable development and promoting equitable health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Snakes of the genus Boa are outstanding elements of the New World biota with a broad sociological influence on pop culture. Historically, several taxa have been recognized in the past 300 years, being mostly described in the early days of binomial nomenclature. As a rule, these taxa were recognized based on a suite of phenotypic characters mainly those from the external morphology. However, there is a huge disagreement with respect to the current taxonomy and available molecular phylogenies. In order to reconcile both lines of evidence, we investigate the phylogenetic reconstruction (using mitochondrial and nuclear genes) of the genus in parallel to the detailed study of some phenotypic systems from a geographically representative sample of the cis-Andean mainland Boa constrictor. We used cyt-b only (744bp) from 73 samples, and cyt-b, ND4, NTF3, and ODC partial sequences (in a total of 2305 bp) from 35 samples, comprising nine currently recognized taxa (species or subspecies), to infer phylogenetic relationships of boas. Topologies recovered along all the analyses and genetic distances obtained allied to a unique combination of morphological traits (colouration, pholidosis, meristic, morphometric, and male genitalia features) allowed us to recognize B. constrictor lato sensu, B. nebulosa, B. occidentalis, B. orophias and a distinct lineage from the eastern coast of Brazil, which we describe here as a new species, diagnosing it from the previously recognized taxa. Finally, we discuss the minimally necessary changes in the taxonomy of Boa constrictor complex; the value of some usually disregarded phenotypic character system; and we highlight the urgency of continuing environmental policy to preserve one of the most impacted Brazilian hotspots, the Atlantic Forest, which represents an ecoregion full of endemism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the impact of China's low-carbon city policy on employment using a quasi-natural experiment approach based on microdata from A-share listed companies (2007–2021). The findings indicate a statistically significant positive effect on employment levels, with an average increase of 7.27% in pilot compared to non-pilot cities. This boost in employment is primarily linked to green innovation, improved financing conditions, and increased sales activities. The policy disproportionately benefits high-skilled workers and positively affects employment in sales, research and development, and management while having a lesser impact on low-skilled and production workers. The employment gains are particularly significant in non-polluting sectors, regions with high marketization, and in the eastern areas of China. This study underscores the complex interplay between environmental policies and labor markets, emphasizing the need for skill differentiation in policy frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid environmental change, natural resource overconsumption and increasing concerns about ecological sustainability have led to the development of 'Essential Variables' (EVs). EVs are harmonized data products to inform policy and to enable effective management of natural resources by monitoring global changes. Recent years have seen the instigation of new EVs beyond those established for climate, oceans and biodiversity (ECVs, EOVs and EBVs), including Essential Geodiversity Variables (EGVs). EGVs aim to consistently quantify and monitor heterogeneity of Earth-surface and subsurface abiotic features, including geology, geomorphology, hydrology and pedology. Here we assess the status and future development of EGVs to better incorporate geodiversity into policy and sustainable management of natural resources. Getting EGVs operational requires better consensus on defining geodiversity, investments into a governance structure and open platform for curating the development of EGVs, advances in harmonizing in situ measurements and linking heterogeneous databases, and development of open and accessible computational workflows for global digital mapping using machine-learning techniques. Cross-disciplinary collaboration and partnerships with governmental and private organizations are needed to ensure the successful development and uptake of EGVs across science and policy. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Geodiversity for science and society'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity compensation policies have emerged around the world to address the ecological harms of infrastructure expansion, but historically compliance is weak. The Westminster government is introducing a requirement that new infrastructure developments in England demonstrate they achieve a biodiversity net gain (BNG). We sought to determine the magnitude of the effects of governance gaps and regulator capacity constraints on the policy's potential biodiversity impacts. We collated BNG information from all new major developments across six early‐adopter councils from 2020 to 2022. We quantified the proportion of the biodiversity outcomes promised under BNG at risk of noncompliance, explored the variation in strategies used to meet developers' biodiversity liabilities, and quantified the occurrence of simple errors in the biodiversity metric calculations. For large developments and energy infrastructure, biodiversity liabilities frequently met within the projects' development footprint. For small developments, the purchase of offsets was most common. We estimated that 27% of all biodiversity units fell into governance gaps that exposed them to a high risk of noncompliance because they were associated with better‐condition habitats delivered on‐site that were unlikely to be monitored or enforced. More robust governance mechanisms (e.g., practical mechanisms for monitoring and enforcement) would help ensure the delivery of this biodiversity on‐site. Alternatively, more biodiversity gains could be delivered through off‐site biodiversity offsetting. For the latter case, we estimated that the demand for offsets could rise by a factor of 4; this would substantially increase the financial contributions from developers for conservation activities on private land. Twenty‐one percent of development applications contained a simple recurring error in their BNG calculations. One‐half of these applications were approved by councils, which may indicate under‐resourcing in council development assessments. Our findings demonstrate that resourcing and governance shortfalls risk undermining the policy's effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on evaluating the Chevron doctrine's expertise rationale, especially concerning energy and environmental law, and its implications post-2024. Topics include the development and endurance of Chevron's rationales; the importance of agency expertise in decision-making and governance; and the potential consequences of undermining expertise in fields like energy and environmental law.

The concept of circular economy (CE) is proposed to lead humanity toward a sustainable future. Public authorities increasingly build on CE narratives. The progress of private sector actors is key to enable more circular resource flows. Still, the world falls far short from becoming circular and large‐scale implementation of CE in actual problem–solution spaces is scarce. This study sheds light into the external strategies of circular start‐ups (CSUs) in building an adequate socio‐institutional embedding for circular business models (CBMs) and puts the findings in the context of CE and sustainability transformations research. CSUs are a distinct group of CE‐oriented actors that build and implement CBMs wholistically and from scratch. Thereby, they can directly and indirectly contribute to the creation of circular innovation systems. This study defines the common CE mission of CSUs, sets it in context of respective socio‐political CE missions, and scrutinizes the roles that CSUs adopt to drive systemic CE implementation. We observe that CSUs' strategic interventions go further than only novelty creation. This article proposes and elaborates on four roles that CSUs adopt: conveners, reinforcers, pioneers, and champions. The roles differ according to the CSU business models, stakeholders, the institutional elements that are addressed, as well as the directionalities that CSUs set. The findings are discussed considering the governance, policies, and strategic management of various directionalities in which CE innovation develops. It sheds light on inadequacies and limitations for bottom‐up CE innovation in existing norms and cognition, policy, and network governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The escalating levels of CO2 emissions from the transportation sector have been observed to exert deleterious effects on human well‐being and environmental sustainability. To mitigate these emissions, it is imperative to consider the potential contributions of environmental policies and financial innovation. Thus, this study examines the effects of financial innovation and environmental policy (environmental tax–environmental technology) on transport‐related CO2 emission (TCO2E) for BICS (i.e., Brazil, India, China and South Africa), which are characterized by substantial industrialization, rising TCO2E and growing environmental concerns. The analysis is complemented by including control variables, notably economic growth and the transition to cleaner energy, to offer a nuanced and holistic perspective on the dynamics governing this critical subject matter. The research adopts a novel econometric approach cross‐sectionally augmented auto‐regressive distributed lags for benchmark estimation and fully modified ordinary least squares–dynamic ordinary least squares for robustness analysis from 2000/Q1‐2018/Q4. The findings revealed that financial innovation and economic growth bolster TCO2E and decrease environmental quality in the region. In contrast, environmental tax, environmental innovation and energy transition decrease TCO2E. Based on findings, policy suggestions relating to implementing a carbon tax, promoting green financial innovation and others are discussed to decrease TCO2E. [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]

In 2014, The Public Religion Research Institute and the American Academy of Religion released a report called Believers, Sympathizers, & Skeptics: Why Americans Are Conflicted About Climate Change, Environmental Policy, and Science, which found that a total of 78% of Jewish Americans considered climate change a "crisis" or a "major problem." (Jones et al., 2014, p. 12). In this article, I argue that even as Jewish perspectives on climate change and the environment are varied, there are significant resources within the Jewish tradition that contributed to the development and growth of Jewish environmentalism and climate change activism and advocacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explains the importance of environmental care for the growth and development of the global world and how One Belt One Road Initiative (OBOR) can help to connect Asia, Europe, and Africa for economic cooperation and long-term sustainability. Paper, based on bibliometric analysis and utilizing Web of Science Core Collection database for calculation, summarizes total OBOR publications in terms of quantity, citations, regions, disciplines, institutes and explains about the most productive countries. Results reveal that total OBOR papers indexed in Web of Science was found 2508 where there were 1335 articles and 854 proceedings papers marking 87.3% of total OBOR research. We find the most productive direction of environmental science and global climate change and work related to environmental policies. Results show that China has contributed 73.3% (1755 publications) to global OBOR publication and have received 69.3% of all citations to "One Belt One Road" publications. Highest average citation level was from Canada, Portugal, and Spain while China's average citations were quite low though very close to average world level. Internationally collaborated publications had more citations than the publications prepared by authors of one country. The paper concludes that environmental concerns should be kept in mind while focusing on the growth and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes strategic environmental policy when polluting firms engage in overlapping ownership arrangements (OOAs) under differentiated duopoly with quantity competition. Specifically, we focus on two pollution control instruments: emission taxes and standards. The key findings are as follows: (i) Compared to the case without ownership, the optimal environmental tax rate and absolute standard are higher (lower) when the polluting firms' products are complements (substitutes). (ii) Both the tax and standard policies are equally efficient in their effects on the firms' output and abatement decisions, consumer surplus, environmental quality, and social welfare, regardless of whether the differentiated products are complements or substitutes. (iii) If the government sets equity share and emission tax (or standard) simultaneously to maximize social welfare, the optimal equity share may exceed 50% for OOA firms producing two complements and is inversely related to the degree of product complementarity. Our results have welfare implications for the choice of environmental regulation between taxes and standards, when equity share is exogenous, or when the government determines an optimal mix of equity share and emission tax (or standard). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the afterlives of knowledge infrastructures in the context of international climate policy, specifically the transition from the Kyoto Protocol to the Paris Agreement. The authors argue that understanding the temporal aspects of knowledge infrastructure is crucial for understanding its ongoing influence and power dynamics. The article focuses on the role of knowledge infrastructures in carbon offsetting, highlighting how they enable offsets to be traded as commodities. It also discusses the political interests that support carbon offsetting and raises questions about the fairness and sustainability of these mechanisms. The text emphasizes the importance of considering the afterlives of knowledge infrastructures and the potential for repurposing them to create more equitable futures. [Extracted from the article]

The article announces the winners of the 2023 Jim Lewis Prize, awarded by European Urban and Regional Studies. The prize was given to Stig-Erik Jakobsen, Elvira Uyarra, Rune Njøs, and Arnt Fløysand for their paper on "Policy action for green restructuring in specialized industrial regions." The authors have extensive experience in innovation studies, regional development, and policy analysis. Their research focuses on the challenges and potential solutions for green restructuring in Western Norway, a region heavily dependent on the oil industry. The paper proposes a framework for policy dimensions that can facilitate green industrial restructuring, emphasizing the need for policy experimentation, market nurturing, resource reconfiguration, and policy mix coordination. The authors' findings have influenced regional development strategies and initiatives in Western Norway, but they also highlight the challenges posed by conflicting national policies that prioritize the petroleum industry. The authors acknowledge the ongoing work needed to achieve a green shift in the region and express gratitude for the recognition and support from the journal. [Extracted from the article]

The article looks at how conservative Justices have undermined the extent of federal wetland protections available under the Clean Water Act. Topics include an analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court's push to gain control over environmental policy, caselaw surrounding wetland jurisdictional disputes to examine how conservative Justices have reduced federal wetland protections, and developments in Court jurisprudence that threatens the public's interest in mitigating the impacts of climate change.

This study investigates the impact of macroprudential policies on ecological footprint (EF) in the top 11 largest countries. This study uses country-level panel data from these countries, covering the period from 1992 to 2020. Findings indicate that macroprudential policies alleviates ecological footprint in the sample. Macroprudential policies primarily reduce the ecological footprint before medium quantile (50%) while the environmental benefits of the policies end in the later quantiles. Moreover, environmental policy stringency (EPS) amplifies the positive influence of macroprudential policies on environmental sustainability. Estimate results stay the same with basic regression results in the post-global financial crisis (GFC) period while the impact is positive in the pre-GFC period. Finally, other robust tests validate the findings reported in basic regression model. This study suggests that governments should customize various types of macroprudential policies while also considering environmental concerns. The achievement of a sustainable environment can be facilitated by the combined effects of macroprudential policies and EPS. [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]

Much effort has been devoted to understanding how trade openness is linked to technological progress. Less documented is the effect on green technology, which is particularly important as it is green technological progress that alleviates environmental degradation while improving economic growth. To fill the void, this paper empirically examines whether trade openness drives green technology development and whether the effect depends on the extent of trade openness and environmental policy stringency. In a sample covering both advanced and developing countries, the paper finds that green technology first decreases and then rises with increased trade openness, meaning that a sufficient level of trade openness is required for green technological progress. Tighter environmental policy is also found to weaken the beneficial effect of trade openness on green technological progress, implying that lax environmental policy creates a better environment for more open countries to develop green technology. However, these effects vary across countries, depending on the origin and destination of trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Biodiversity offsetting' aims to address the residual negative environmental impacts of human development. It's goal is to achieve No Net Loss (NNL), and preferably a Net Gain of biodiversity attributes between development and offset sites. Biodiversity offsetting suffers from a lack of 'proof of concept', as little work has been done to critically test the ecological efficacy of offsetting practices. Offsetting of stream ecological functions was investigated in Aotearoa New Zealand, via review of regulatory documentation for 76 offsets and field assessments of 14 offset sites. Field results indicated some functions, including fish passage connectivity, respond rapidly post-offset enhancement whilst others exhibit recovery lags (such as fish spawning habitat provision). However, most offsets were considered unlikely to achieve NNL due to failures in practice and process. Factors included inadequate consideration for restoration uncertainty, inappropriate monitoring conditions, insufficient data and inequivalent trade-offs. Key linkages between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, particularly regarding floodplain connectivity, were poorly considered in offset implementation. Thus, development may be occurring based on inadequate regulatory processes, and poorly evaluated ecological outcomes. These findings join a growing body of evidence which indicates that, in the context of a global biodiversity crisis, offsetting is not achieving its purpose of NNL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the changing role of the local government's environmental management in Guangzhou, China, through a historical content analysis of archival data. Environmental governance in Guangzhou has followed a government-led, top-down model. The content analysis showed that over the past four decades, the role of Guangzhou's municipal environmental governance has been characterized by transformation -- from passive responses to accelerating and securing economic growth, and finally to active interventions that balance economic growth and ecological protection. The changing role of the Guangzhou government in environmental governance is driven by varied urban political priorities at different historical stages. This article argues that the urban political economy and the national government's commitment to pragmatic, sustainable development shaped the local government's response to environmental problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to get an insight into the major sectors with a green job potential in Delta State and to further analyze the argument that job creation is one of the important benefits of green growth policies - that is, policies to foster economic growth and development while ensuring that natural assets continue to provide the resources and environmental services on which our well-being relies (Bowen and Kuralbayeva, 2015). The claims that the greening of economies is a net generator of decent jobs - good jobs that offer adequate wages, safe working conditions, job security, reasonable career prospects and worker rights (UNEP (2011). There is a great need to promote and create lots of green jobs to make Delta State a better place for future generations. The potential areas of green jobs in Delta State has revealed by the studies include among others: Rubber plantations, cassava (manioc), fish, palm oil and kernels, yams, and plantains, flour-milling plant, sawmilling, solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and water, tourism, building sectors, forestry activities, waste management, railways, health sector, government bodies, education sector, Escravos Gas-to-Liquids (EGTL) plant, an integrated steel plant in Aladja, small enterprises and the market within SMEs. The study recommends that for green jobs to thrive in Delta State, there needs to be an increased appreciation for green and sustainable practices; Individualistic efforts from different agents, like governmental agencies, private sector, policymakers, employers, and employees are very important towards the creation of a Green Economy; better integration of employment needs and research programs; and a specific regulatory framework to promote green businesses, and a competitive ecosystem that creates green jobs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differentiation has become a core feature not only in the European integration process but also in the implementation of European policies. Among the means to address differentiated implementation are European Administrative Networks (EANs). Through the exchange of information, best practices and advice, EANs are expected to contribute to more uniform implementation. However, the ways and extent to which they do so remain largely unexplored. This article addresses this gap through the empirical analysis of the European Network of Heads of Environmental Protection Agencies (EPA Network), drawing on a unique survey dataset and social network analysis. On the one hand, the findings uncover the EPA Network as a voluntary and informal network with a fragmented and clustered structure around key members. At the same time, several participants have recognised the network as a valuable asset to improving national implementation and developing innovative policy initiatives. Therefore, while there is significant diversity within and across the network, the network's perceived contributions and added value point to the considerable importance of these instruments in EU policy implementation. [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]

The "environment–economy trade-off" is a key question in research on public opinion on environmental policies. While evidence from Western economies suggests that individuals are more supportive of environmental initiatives when the macroeconomic situation is favorable, little is known about how environmental policy preferences are shaped by economic factors in East and Southeast Asian countries. Using a survey dataset consisting of 12 countries based on the fourth wave of the Asian Barometer Survey (ABS), we investigate how environmental policy preferences are associated with multiple aspects of economic consideration. In a pooled multilevel analysis, we find that personal economic conditions and perceptions are more consistently associated with greater support for environmental initiatives than objective and subjective national economic conditions. However, an analysis of the heterogeneous effect shows that the effect of individual economic situations is only partially identifiable among lower-middle or upper-income countries in our sample, signaling the complexity of qualifying the relationship between economic considerations and environmental attitudes in a cross-country context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides updates on various environmental issues and legislation, including Private Members' Bills in the UK Parliament addressing marine biodiversity conservation, heritage tree protection, and water quality monitoring. It also discusses the outcomes of COP28, highlighting fossil fuel emissions as a driver of climate change. The article mentions ongoing legal challenges related to the UK's National Adaptation Programme and the development of the Rosebank North Sea oilfield. It concludes with a summary of recent domestic case law related to environmental information disclosure. The article is concise, factually accurate, and respectful of diverse perspectives, making it suitable for library patrons conducting research on these specific topics. [Extracted from the article]

• 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]

In recent years, the debate over the need to address ecological and social concerns has grown substantially. Phenomena such as the Gilets Jaunes in France or the ecological versus social disputes in industrial sites (such as, for example, the ILVA steel plant in Taranto) have constituted a trade-off in terms of potentially conflicting policies, making the understanding of the various underlying preferences very important. Furthermore, growing environmental concerns have challenged more traditional views anchored on the predominance of social and employment concerns. The article, in line with the research questions raised in the introduction of the Symposium, intends to contribute to the above-mentioned debate addressing the following questions: did the European Union take an 'eco-social' path? If so, how and why? The article illustrates the growing intertwining of social and environmental policies at the EU level and tries to explain its genesis by focusing on the role of the various actors involved. The main argument is that the European Commission, and in particular the President of the Commission, developed an eco-social agenda in order to obtain further institutional (i.e. internal) and socio-political (i.e. external) legitimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In political research, scholars have increasingly paid attention to the political challenges of integrating new public policies into existing policy subsystems, which bears important implications for the study of eco-social policy and politics. By drawing on policy integration research, we identify and discuss insights and lessons deriving from policy integration scholarship, which appear to be relevant for understanding policy linkages between the social and environmental domains especially regarding the European Green Deal (EGD). More specifically, we focus on the following two aspects: (1) the elements of policy design and implementation practices that are deemed to be helpful for ensuring equilibrium between social and environmental goals and (2) political factors that are likely to affect policy integration dynamics along the social and environmental aspects (eco-social nexus). This article contributes to the literature by tracing novel research trajectories for the eco-social debate to explore in the policy integration perspective. [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 article focuses on climate litigation, particularly the case of Held v. State in Montana, where youth plaintiffs challenged the state's environmental policies regarding climate change. It discusses how the court found in favor of the plaintiffs, ruling that the state had violated its constitutional environmental protections, marking a significant development in climate accountability litigation and demonstrating the potential of state constitutional rights in addressing climate impacts.

The research analyzes the Twitter network made up of users and their interactions during the Conference of the Parties (COP) COP15 held in Montreal from December 7 to 19, 2022. The main objective is to measure the characteristics of the network and identify the key players in the conversation and the main topics addressed. We also sought to recognize if there was any relationship between the format of the messages and the level of engagement. To carry out the analysis, we used a methodology that combined quantitative and qualitative social network analysis techniques. The results suggest that communication through Twitter was a key factor in the successful mobilization of the environmental movement during COP15 and in raising awareness of the need to take concrete actions to address climate change. Likewise, the highest engagement was generated by mostly critical and urgent messages, focused on the need to take concrete action to address the biodiversity and climate change crisis. This reflects a separation between the activism reflected in the network and the scientific and political leadership present at the Summit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), a decades-old concept, has recently garnered significant support and investment as a leading method for decarbonizing the atmosphere. However, regulation of CCS technology lags behind its rapid development. In most cases, primary regulatory control belongs to the Environmental Protection Agency, though state regulations also play a role. However, an increasing number of states seek control over their own CCS programs through a process known as primacy. This Comment provides an overview of CCS regulation within states that already have or are currently seeking primacy over CCS from the Environmental Protection Agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policies for environmental systems are being increasingly evaluated on their robustness to deeply uncertain future scenarios. There exist many metrics to quantify robustness, the choice of which depends on stakeholder preferences such as performance thresholds and risk tolerance. Importantly, the policy deemed most robust can vary depending on which metrics are used. Complex systems often result in incomplete or inaccurate understanding of what the performance outcomes of a decision are, meaning that policies selected from initial robustness preferences can result in unexpected trade-offs between performance objectives and exhibit alarmingly poor robustness under alternative metrics. Therefore, we propose a novel, a posteriori robustness framework. Our framework calculates a broad selection of robustness metrics that reflect varying degrees of risk-tolerance and use different methods to summarize performance over future scenarios. Then, we provide stakeholders with background information to interpret what the metrics indicate, rather than propose what metrics are most appropriate based on their initial preferences. We use interactive visualization tools to explore trade-offs between many robustness metrics and performance objectives, iteratively refine what metrics and objectives are important, and remove nonrobust policies. Our dynamic and interactive framework requires an integrated platform, which we create through a web application. We apply our framework to a case study of Lake Mead shortage policies in the Colorado River Basin. Our results show that the selection of Lake Mead policies from predetermined performance requirements and a single type of robustness metric, as done in previous studies, yields solutions with severe but unexpected shortages. Building on these studies, we use our framework to discover these trade-offs, build a multiobjective and multimetric definition of robustness, and choose four robust alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent debates about "green" authoritarianism have focused on the institutional features of state-led coercive environmentalism. However, the role of various non-state actors in the greening of authoritarian states has remained largely unexplored. Carrying out a case study of Vietnamese‒German development cooperation in the environmental and climate spheres, this article examines the interaction between Vietnamese state institutions and international donors. The article argues that donors play an important role in greening the state policy agenda in Vietnam by funding environmental projects and facilitating knowledge sharing. Nonetheless, donors have very limited freedom to push the political process beyond policymaking and foster meaningful policy implementation. Development practitioners in Vietnam often find themselves caught in a policymaking vacuum, where policymaking is a never-ending process and implementation remains limited. These findings raise broader questions about the effectiveness of climate-related development finance for environmental governance under authoritarian regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy growth is a ubiquitous feature of modern democracies that has attracted increased attention in political science and beyond. However, the literature is characterised by considerable disagreement on why policy growth occurs. Existing explanations centre on the influence of (1) public demands, (2) interest group politics, (3) electoral competition, and (4) institutional fragmentation. While all four explanations are plausible, there are no studies that assess their relative explanatory power within a single empirical analysis. This article provides such an analysis by examining the drivers of policy growth in 21 OECD countries from 1976 to 2020 in the area of environmental policy. We identify strong ties between organised interests and the government as the primary driver of policy growth. Public demands and institutional fragmentation are relevant but comparatively less important factors, while the intensity of electoral competition has no influence on policy growth. These findings have important implications for our understanding of the functioning of democracy in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The political linkages between trade and environmental policy have rapidly increased since 1990. In this paper, I suggest a novel mechanism behind this phenomenon – ‘defensive issue linkage.’ As the scope of trade law expanded, it increasingly touched upon domestic and international environmental policies. As a result, environmental groups mobilized to seek carve-outs that preserve their traditional policy space. However, their opposition also led to the increased inclusion of proactive clauses that further the linkage between trade and the environment as policymakers strove to bolster ratifying coalitions. Using qualitative evidence from the US, EU, and Malaysia, I show that environmental groups mobilize in reaction to the expanding scope of trade policies and explore how this influences trade agreement content. A quantitative analysis of preferential trade agreements concluded between 1989 and 2016 then shows that general patterns of environmental clause inclusion are consistent with the channel of ‘defensive issue linkage.’ [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]