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We present experimentally determined trace element partition coefficients (D) between pyrochlore-group minerals (Ca2(Nb,Ta)2O6(O,F)), Ca fersmite (CaNb2O6), and silicate melts. Our data indicate that pyrochlores and fersmite are able to strongly fractionate trace elements during the evolution of SiO2-undersaturated magmas. Pyrochlore efficiently fractionates Zr and Hf from Nb and Ta, with DZr and DHf below or equal to unity, and DNb and DTa significantly above unity. We find that DTa pyrochlore-group mineral/silicate melt is always higher than DNb, which agrees with the HFSE partitioning of all other Ti–rich minerals such as perovskite, rutile, ilmenite or Fe-Ti spinel. Our experimental partition coefficients also show that, under oxidizing conditions, DTh is higher than corresponding DU and this implies that pyrochlore-group minerals may fractionate U and Th in silicate magmas. The rare earth element (REE) partition coefficients are around unity, only the light REE are compatible in pyrochlore-group minerals, which explains the high rare earth element concentrations in naturally occurring magmatic pyrochlores., Finanziert über die DEAL-Vereinbarung mit Wiley 2019-2022.

Resumo Não obstante sua importância ecológica e status de proteção legal, são vários os tipos de degradação das áreas de Restinga observados ao longo do litoral brasileiro. É necessária a análise dos documentos legais que protegem esses ecossistemas para que estes sejam realmente efetivos. A lista de espécies indicadoras dos estágios sucessionais de vegetação de Restinga para o estado de Sergipe (definida pela Resolução CONAMA n° 443/2012) foi comparada com um banco de dados sobre a composição da flora das Restingas de Sergipe, a fim de analisar a similaridade entre elas e, consequentemente, a adequação desse instrumento legal. Ao todo, 52 espécies (39%) citadas nesta resolução não foram encontradas no banco de dados sobre a flora das Restingas do estado de Sergipe. Dentre estas, para nove e 13 espécies presentes na resolução analisada não foram encontradas, respectivamente, registros de coletas em Sergipe e em municípios sergipanos inseridos na planície costeira. A listagem fornecida pelo CONAMA não reflete a diversidade nativa das Restingas do estado, sendo necessário, portanto, uma revisão cuidadosa da lista apresentada por esta resolução, para uma caracterização realmente representativa da flora das áreas de Restinga do estado que possa servir de forma mais adequada como subsídio legal para a proteção dessas áreas. Abstract Despite their ecological importance and legal protection status, several types of degradation forms can be observed in Restinga areas along the Brazilian coast. The analysis of legal documents that protect these ecosystems is required in order to make them truly effective. The list of indicator species of Restinga vegetation successional stages in the State of Sergipe (defined by CONAMA Resolution n. 443/2012) was compared with a floristic composition database from Sergipe Restingas, in order to analyze the similarities between them and, hence, the suitability of such legal instrument. The analysis result shows that 52 species (39%) mentioned in the Resolution were not found in Sergipe State Restingas flora database. Among them, nine species showed no collection record in Sergipe and 13 species showed no collection record in the states’ counties located in the coastal plain. The species list provided by CONAMA’s Resolution does not reflect the diversity of Restingas in Sergipe. Therefore, a careful review of the Resolution is required, so it can be used as a more adequate legal instrument for protecting these areas.

Resumo O presente artigo analisa o fenômeno da Ilha de Calor Urbana (ICU), em Rancharia, cidade de pequeno porte localizada no oeste paulista, em episódio de verão. A coleta dos dados ocorreu por meio da instalação de registradores de temperatura em miniabrigos meteorológicos de madeira, distribuídos em 8 pontos representativos da área intraurbana, do rural próximo e do entorno do Balneário Municipal. Os resultados, exibidos na forma de painéis espaçotemporais mostram a distribuição das diferenças térmicas e a intensidade da ilha de calor no tempo (mês de janeiro) e no espaço (locais dos pontos fixos) e possibilitam uma análise integrada do clima no espaço geográfico. Os resultados indicaram a existência de um clima urbano específico associado ao uso e à ocupação da terra urbana sendo possível diagnosticar ilhas de calor de intensidade moderada a forte. Abstract This paper analyzed the Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomenon in Rancharia, a small city located in the west of the state of São Paulo, in the summer. Data was collected through the installation of temperature recorders in mini weather shelters, made of wood, distributed over eight representative points for the intra-urban area, nearby rural area and the area surrounding the Municipal Resort. The results, exhibited as spatial-temporal panels show the distribution of the thermal differences and the intensity of the heat island over time (month of January) and space (fixed sites). They permit an integrated analysis of climate in the geographical space. Results indicated the existence a specific urban climate associated with the use and the occupation of urban land where it was possible to diagnose heat islands that are moderate to strong in intensity.

Resumo Alterações na paisagem ocasionadas pela urbanização diferenciam o clima da cidade do seu entorno natural, originando as ilhas de calor urbanas. Estudos têm comprovado a relação entre densidade construída, recobrimento do solo, vegetação e o microclima urbano. Este artigo apresenta a análise da influência do ambiente construído e da vegetação sobre o microclima urbano em quatro áreas residenciais de Santa Maria (RS). As áreas estudadas são ocupadas por habitações unifamiliares de até dois pavimentos, com densidade construída semelhantes, mas diferentes índices de vegetação. O método foi desenvolvido a partir da interpretação de fotos aéreas, observação direta e medições in loco de temperatura do ar, com análise baseada em dados noturnos. Em geral, os resultados mostraram que nas quatro áreas de ocupação residencial foram registradas temperaturas maiores que o ponto de referência, local com área de 70% de cobertura vegetal, demonstrando o efeito da urbanização sobre a temperatura. Quanto maior a taxa de vegetação, mesmo para densidades construídas semelhantes, menores foram as temperaturas. Os resultados indicam que áreas com densidade construída semelhantes podem apresentar diferentes condições térmicas, de acordo com o arranjo espacial e com os elementos que compõem cada fração urbana, entre eles a vegetação. Abstract The urbanization and the transformations of the natural landscape cause differences between the temperature of cities and their natural surroundings. Urban heat island is a probable consequence of this cultural action. Studies have verified the relation between building density, ground cover, vegetation and urban microclimate. The study presents findings related the analysis of the influence of the built environment and the vegetation on urban microclimate in four residential areas in Santa Maria (RS). The samples are mainly formed by single-family housing with one or two-floors, with similar urban building density, but different vegetation rates. The method was developed from the interpretation of aerial photos, field work observation and in situ air temperature measurements, with analysis based on nighttime data. In general, the results have showed that in all four areas of residential occupation the temperatures were recorded larger than the reference point, the local area with 70% plant cover, demonstrating the effect of urbanization on the temperature. And the higher the rate of vegetation, even for similar building densities, the lower the temperature. The results indicate areas with similar built density may have different thermal conditions according to the spatial arrangement and the elements that make up each fraction of urban, including vegetation.

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مقدمه پس از غلات، دومین منبع غذایی انسان حبوبات است. لوبیا هفتمین محصول غذایی عمده در جهان است که به طور گسترده توسط شرایط محیطی مانند خشکسالی تحت تاثیر قرار می­گیرد. علی رغم اهمیت اقتصادی لوبیا، مطالعات کمی بر روی ژنتیک و ارزیابی منابع ژنتیکی آن انجام شده است. مواد و روش ها با توجه به اهمیت این تنش، در این مطالعه به منظور بررسی مقاومت ژنوتیپ­ های لوبیا به سطوح مختلف تنش خشکی، آزمایشی به منظور بررسی تاثیر تنش خشکی بر عملکرد لوبیا و اجزای آن انجام شد، به طوری که یک آزمایش فاکتوریل در قالب طرح کاملا تصادفی در گلخانه در دانشگاه ایلام اجرا شد. در این آزمایش، مقاومت چهار ژنوتیپ لوبیا (ناز، اختر، Ks41128 و G11867) به سطوح مختلف تنش خشکی شامل 70، 50 و 30 درصد از ظرفیت زراعی مورد ارزیابی قرار گرفت. تنش خشکی 10 روز پس از کاشت بر گیاهان اعمال شد. صفات اندازه گیری شامل وزن خشک، ارتفاع بوته، عملکرد دانه در بوته، طول غلاف، تعداد غلاف در بوته و تعداد دانه در بوته بودند. نتایج و بحث نتایج نشان داد که بین صفات مورد مطالعه در بین ژنوتیپ­ها تفاوت معنی­دار وجود دارد که نشان­دهنده تنوع ژنتیکی ژنوتیپ­ها است. همچنین تفاوت معنی­داری بین سطوح تنش خشکی برای تمام صفات وجود داشت و کمبود آب توانست تمام صفات مورد مطالعه را کاهش دهد. هر چند تفاوتی بین تنش ملایم و شدید وجود نداشت. نتایج ارزیابی واکنش ژنوتیپ­ها به تنش خشکی نشان داد که ژنوتیپ KS41128 بیشترین تغییرات درصد عملکرد و اجزای عملکرد را داشت. دو ژنوتیپ (اختر و Ks41128) در شرایط بدون تنش متوسط عملکرد بالاتری داشتند، ولی عملکرد Ks41128 نسبتا به شدت تحت تاثیر تنش قرار گرفت اما ژنوتیپ دیگر کمتر تحت تاثیر تنش قرار گرفت. نتیجه­ گیری کلی با توجه به درصد تغییرات اغلب صفات، اختر (ژنوتیپ با رنگ دانه قرمز، فرم ایستاده، و به علاوه بازاریابی و کیفیت مطلوب) حداقل درصد تغییرات را داشت و بنابراین می­تواند در برنامه­های اصلاحی جهت انتشار ارقام متحمل به تنش آبی مورد استفاده قرار گیرد.

Understanding the complexity of sustainable fashion issues can be overwhelming and a barrier for fashion designers. A number of tools for sustainable fashion design have been developed to aid designers in the integration of sustainability into their design practices. We analyze these to determine their fitness for purpose. Among them, three categories (archetypes) of tools are identified: Universal, Participatory, and Assessment. We propose an innovation framework and a five-dimensional model of sustainability specific to fashion to facilitate the analysis of the tools. Using the archetype categorization may facilitate designers in identifying the most appropriate type of tool for a specific circumstance, depending on context and need.

Innovation ecosystems evolve and adapt to crises, but what are the factors that stimulate ecosystem growth in spite of dire circumstances? We study the arduous path forward of the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem and analyse in depth those factors that influence ecosystem growth in general and during the pandemic in particular. For the EV ecosystem, growth implies outcompeting the less sustainable internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, thus achieving a transition towards sustainable transportation. New mobility patterns provide a strategic opportunity for such a shift to green mobility and for EV ecosystem growth. For innovation ecosystems in general, we suggest that a crisis can serve as an opportunity for new innovations to break through by disrupting prior behavioural patterns. For the EV ecosystem in particular, it remains to be seen if the ecosystem will be able to capitalize on the opportunity provided by the unfortunate disruption generated by the pandemic.

In terms of natural hazard events, resilience characterizations provide a means of identifying risk profiles, degrees of preparedness, and the ability of communities to respond and recover. While nationally consistent measures of community resilience to natural hazards are needed to address widespread socio-ecological impacts from a broad policy perspective, geographically specific resilience characterizations are needed to target local resources to increase community resilience. The Climate Resilience index (CRSI) was developed to characterize the resilience of socio-ecological systems in the context of governance and risk to natural hazard events for all U.S. counties for the years 2000–2015. Those resilience characterizations were based on the full range of nationwide county domain scores. This paper presents a re-scaled application of CRSI, where county domain scores are limited to the range of scores within a specific set of U.S. coastal and shoreline counties within each of eight coastal regions. The re-scaled CRSI values for selected counties/parishes in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) region are also presented in conjunction with calculated Location Quotients (LQ) values >1.0, which represent a high employment dependence on ocean economy sectors. Using a combination of re-scaled CRSI and LQ values provides a more holistic picture of vulnerability and resilience in these U.S. coastal shoreline counties. The relative resilience assessments presented for coastal regions are useful in identifying potential strengths and weaknesses in resilience aspects given similar hazard profiles, a signature otherwise diluted in nation-wide county-level assessments. The unique approach of combining CRSI and LQ for characterizing natural hazard resilience described could be transferred to other specific geographies as defined by population groups, hazard profiles and economic dependence.

Nowadays heavy metals especially Cr have posed a serious threat to water bodies due to environmental pollution. The tannery industries in Bangladesh have been releasing a significant amount of Cr for years to the environment. The current research works focus on the efficient removal of Cr from tannery effluents using rice husks and coconut shell as natural adsorbents. Chromium concentration determined was 1500 mg L-1 which is alarmingly high in effluents just after chrome tanned discharge, and that was 1.30 mg L-1 Cr in effluents from dumping storage. Rice hush and coconut shell adsorbent were applied to remove Cr. Chemical modifications by treating rice husks with coconut shell increased the adsorption ability of rice husks for Cr removed. Among these adsorbents rice husks of 50 mesh size (particle size 0.297 mm) showed the maximum adsorption (98%) within 6 hours without any stirring effect. However, rice husks of 200 mesh size (particle size 0.297 mm) showed the adsorption (67%) within 6 hours with any continuous stirring effect. These results suggest that cheaply available rice husks can be considered as a good adsorbent for the removal of Cr from tannery effluents.

Sustainability has received widespread attention in both academia and industry, but there is still a paucity of research investigating the relationships between gender, consumer innovativeness, and clothing, as well as how they may influence sustainable practices. The overarching objective of this study is to investigate clothing expenditure, product cues (intrinsic, extrinsic and sustainable), gender (men and women) and consumer innovativeness (fashion innovators and non-innovators) in China, in order to find out how these factors may influence consumers&rsquo, choices. To address the research objective, 10 intrinsic cues, three extrinsic cues, and seven sustainable cues were used to investigate apparel consumers&rsquo, choices and preferences. A self-administered online survey consisted of eight items on sustainable commitment and behaviour, six items of fashion innovativeness adapted from the Domain-Specific Innovativeness scale, 20 items concerning product cues, and numerous demographic and behaviour-related questions. In total, 1819 usable data were collected in China, including 614 males and 1196 females. The results revealed that four out of eleven hypotheses were supported, another four were partially supported, while the remainders were not. For example, both female consumers and fashion innovators relied more on style and colour to evaluate an apparel product than fashion non-innovators and male consumers. However, men tended to rely more on the brand name and country of origin to guide their product selection and purchases than women. In terms of the influence of sustainable cues, Chinese consumers are more concerned about the social/ethical cues than environmental cues. Interestingly, women were more concerned about &ldquo, no animal skin use&rdquo, in evaluating apparel products than men. All in all, the results of this study can provide valuable information and meaningful insight for fashion designers, product developers, and marketers to develop effective communication strategies to guide potential customers in understanding a plethora of apparel values, including functionality, aesthetics, finances, altruism, and sustainability.

L'écopastoralisme est une pratique de gestion écologique en plein essor, dont les bienfaits pour le maintien ou la restauration des milieux naturels ont été largement démontrés. Mais cette solution alternative de gestion obtient-elle les mêmes résultats sur des milieux fortement anthropisés et artificialisés ? Une étude menée sur les digues artificielles du Rhône de la réserve de chasse de Donzère-Mondragon s'est intéressée aux impacts des différents troupeaux sur les communautés végétales d’écosystèmes récents. Grâce à un suivi botanique sur plusieurs années, les scientifiques ont pu démontrer que la gestion par les herbivores s'avérait efficace pour maintenir l'ouverture des milieux et augmenter significativement le nombre et la diversité des espèces par rapport à l’absence de gestion ou aux interventions mécaniques.

Growth of plants, apart from being complex and highly dynamic, is directly dependent on the environmental conditions, particularly the quality of soil for terrestrial plants and the water quality for aquatic plants. Presence of microplastics in the environment may affect the plant growth in numerous ways depending on the contents of the growing medium. However, increasing presence of microplastics at an alarming rate due to its pervasive usage and mismanagement of plastics have led to significant environmental problems. Several research studies have been conducted as well as reviewed to investigate the toxic effects of microplastics on aquatic systems, but studies that investigate the toxic effect of microplastics on the terrestrial systems are limited. Hence, in this review the individual and the combined effects of microplastics on the growth of plants and seed germination in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems are concisely discussed. At the beginning accumulation of microplastics on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem is discussed and the reasonable solutions are highlighted that can mitigate the effects from the widespread increase of the plastic debris. Thereafter, the individual and combined effect of microplastics on seed germination and plant growth is reviewed separately while summarizing the important aspects and future perspectives. This review will provide an insight into the existing gap in the current research works and thus could offer possible implications on the effect of microplastics on plant growth and seed germination in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem. ==========================================================================================COPYRIGHTS©2021 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers.==========================================================================================

Crude oil continues to impact many nations as it is among the major sources of fuel. Its role in making life in modern societies comfortable cannot be overemphasized as it is readily available and easy to use. Contamination resulting from its use in industries such as mining, transportation and petroleum especially soil contamination cannot be overlooked. Soil pollution resulting from oil contamination can be seen as being among the twenty-first-century vulnerabilities because if not well taken care of the consequences can be devastating. Soil contamination is of interest in most societies because it affects both the environment and humans. This review highlights common sources of soil pollution and their effects, oil waste disposal methods, soil remediation techniques that are well established and those still in their infancy. Such techniques include bioremediation such as phytoremediation and landfarming, where percent removal of contaminated soils was reported from 68% to 89 % in 40 days to 1 year, respectively; physical methods such as excavation and incineration (75-86% removal); chemical methods such as oxidation (48 % by Fenton process); and photocatalysis (67% using titanium dioxide). The choice of remediation in mining, transportation and petroleum industries depends on the urgency and hazardous effects of the pollutant. In Zambia, Mopani Copper Mines uses landfarming as a means to mitigate large amounts of soil contaminated with oil wastes, but the process is slow. In the proposed research, photocatalysis coupled with adsorption of oil on clay will be used to assess the effectiveness of this emerging technology to quicken the degradation of oil in soils. Clay will be incorporated with metal ions and with hydrophobic groups to enhance light absorption and oil-clay interaction, respectively. Photochemical remediation techniques for remediation of soils polluted with oil have attracted considerable interest as the processes are reported to enhance the degradation of oils in soil compared to the biological and physical methods. The extent of photo-degradation of oil waste will be evaluated using the Soxhlet technique by determining the percent residual oil. The importance of remediating contaminated soil in any nation cannot be overemphasized as consequences of not remediating this precious resource might be devastating. Since economic development through industrialization will continue, there is need to constantly improve on methods of mitigating the impact of wastes on the environment, especially in developing countries, where engineering of cheap, nontoxic materials for soil remediation is paramount. ========================================================================================== COPYRIGHTS©2021 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers. ==========================================================================================

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Empowering activities is the key in building awareness and individual capacity of household waste management, especially for women as the main actors. This study aimed to explore empowering activities as the key factor in shaping women's awareness of household waste management. METHODS:This study was conducted using quantitative methods. The data collection technique used was survey. The sampling was carried out by purposive sampling technique. The criteria for sampling were those women who attended training in waste management in Jagakarsa Sub District, South Jakarta, Indonesia. The analytical technique used was Ordinary Least Square regression. FINDINGS: Based on the findings of this study, it was known that women who had good adaptability to technology were likely to have a greater chance score of 0.908. Education in schools was also found to have a positive impact on the opportunity score to earn good living environment. It was found that an increase in 1 year of schooling will increase the score of chance by 0.0755 (estimation 5). This is not significantly different from estimation 4 which would increase the chance by 0.0745. In waste management training, The womens’ participation are likely to increase the score chance of having a good environment by 0.944 points (estimation 5). Besides, the womens’ participation were found to be statistically significant at 95% confidence level in all estimations, particularly in the waste management training. Based on the comparison of the participation coefficient parameters in waste management training, it was found that there were no significant differences or signs (+ and -) between the estimations. All coefficient parameters ranged from 0.83 to 0.94. CONCLUSION: Empowerment activities that utilize access to education and easily adapt to a technology might have a significant correlation with women's involvement in waste management training. This is the basis for building awareness to carry out more sustainable household waste management and achieve change to get a good living environment. ==========================================================================================COPYRIGHTS©2021 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers.==========================================================================================

Rapid human population growth and its consequences of food shortage become a significant concern in recent decades across the world. The untold reasons behind this food shortage were industrialization, urbanization, modern civilization, etc., where the agricultural land has been deployed. With the decreasing farmland and its cultivation, food productivity declined drastically and failed to serve the world's vast human population. The present challenge is to increase productivity with the least agricultural land. Thus, excessive chemical fertilizer has been used to quickly turn out more outstanding food production, leading to more significant damages to soil ecosystem and human health. Henceforth, bio-fertilizers find the best alternatives to chemical fertilizers. This study focuses on complete nature of plant growth Promoting rhizobacteria, which is used in bio fertilizers for sustainable agricultural productivity and everlasting soil fertility. The characteristics of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria and its role in plant growth and formulation of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria biofertilizers have been revealed through intensive literature. The consortium information collected from various literatures brings the unique findings that plant growth promoting rhizobacteria is the natural boon to the global agriculturist. This study discusses plant growth promoting rhizobacteria bacterial strains' role in protecting the soil from various biotic and abiotic stresses, regulating plant growth and its role in producing biofertilizers. Besides, it is transformed into commercial products. Eventually, the future trends and research in plant growth promoting rhizobacteria bio inoculants that promote sustainable agriculture have been elucidated. The microorganism is the bio fertilizer's main ingredients, promoting the soil nutrients for efficient plant growth and increasing food productivity. Although many microorganisms efficiently contribute to the soil nutrients, this review narrows down to the plant growth promoting rhizobacteria study. Beneficial bacterium plays a vital role in nutrient mineralization and productivity among the various microorganisms. Bio fertilizers containing beneficial bacteria were economically viable and readily available in nature. This review reveals the complete essence of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria and its part in bio fertilizers. ==========================================================================================COPYRIGHTS©2021 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers.==========================================================================================

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In this study, the characteristics of bio-oil samples produced through slow pyrolysis of two different macroalgae, i.e. Azolla ‎filiculoides and Ulva fasciata, at optimized conditions were determined and compared. METHODS: For this purpose, the effects of temperature (300-500 °C), carrier gas flow rate (0.2-0.8 L/min), ‎and heating rate (10-20 °C/min) on the final bio-oil production were optimized using response ‎surface methodology established by a central composite design. FINDINGS: The highest bio-oil yield from U. fasciata (34.29%) was obtained at the temperature of 500 °C, ‎‎ nitrogen flow rate of 0.2 L/min, and heating rate of 10 °C/min. As for A. filiculoides feedstock, the highest bio-oil ‎yield (30.83%) was achieved at the temperature of 461 °C, nitrogen flow rate of 0.5 L/min, and heating rate of 20 °C/min. Both bio-oil samples contained ‎saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons. However, the average hydrocarbon chain length was ‎relatively shorter in U. fasciata bio-oil (C4-C16) than in bio-oil from A. filiculoides (C6-C24). Although both bio-oils had almost ‎identical heating values, the U. fasciata bio-oil showed more appropriate properties, i.e. lower viscosity and ‎density. Furthermore, the energy recovery from U. fasciata pyrolysis was calculated as 56.6% which was ‎almost 1.5 times higher than the energy recovery from A. filiculoides pyrolysis. CONCLUSION: The results indicated that U. fasciata bio-oil, with its superior characteristics, could be proposed as a promising candidate for application in diesel-based automotive industries. ‎ ==========================================================================================COPYRIGHTS©2021 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers.==========================================================================================

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: As a public concern, monitoring and controlling toxic metals pollution is needed worldwide. Due to the ability of poisonous metals in biomagnification and bioaccumulation, they can cause several adverse impacts on ecological and human health. The study aims to assess chromium and nickel enrichment levels and estimate the soil''s ecological risk surrounds the Pangkajene watershed. METHODS: The total concentrations of chromium and nickel were determined using the Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. This study used contamination factor, geo-accumulation index, and pollution load index to evaluate soil enrichment status. The ecological hazard index is used to estimate the potential hazard that may occur due to contamination. FINDINGS: The mean concentrations of chromium and nickel were 92.9 and 43.18 mg/kg, respectively. Chromium concentration exceeded the soil quality guideline for the protection of environment and human health, while Ni still below the standards. The geo-accumulation index value indicated no human-made-derived contamination in the soil. Weathering of carbonate rocks is the chromium and nickel major enrichment factor in the Pangkep regency. Contamination factor and pollution load index values showed low pollution in the studied soil. However, all study sites exceeded the ecological hazard index value (Ecological hazard index>1), which indicates a considerable ecological risk in the Pangkajene watershed area. CONCLUSION: These findings may provide baseline information related to chromium and nickel enrichment in the soil for Pangkep regency municipality. The Pangkep regency municipality must highlight the importance of strengthening environmental standards and monitoring mechanism as the priority to maintain a healthy environment.

Disposable diapers have become a complicated matter due to the risk generation to the environment and human health. This study presents a description of disposable diapers characteristics and the success-proven methods used to handle this waste. In many developing countries where an inadequate waste management system occurs, the handling method selection must consider effectivity, the affordable cost, and the end product quality. Despite the diaper composting has successfully conducted in several previous studies, some issues remain for researchers to address. Thus, it requires an improvement so that the system runs effectively and sustainably. This study aimed to determine the possibility of using Cyanobacteria for enhancing the diapers composting. This study gains insights from previous studies using a literature review method, with the year of publication between 2007 to 2020. The focus of the investigation relates to disposable diapers composting and its optimation by cyanobacteria addition. And so as the future prospecting for application and implication to the environment and human life. Cyanobacteria ability to carry out nitrogen fixation, carbon sequestration, ubiquitous in natural habitat, highly adaptive in a wide range environmental condition, can live in the composting system, perform bioremediation, and its application as quality fertilizer, and potentially degrade plastic polymers, spread the expectation to cyanobacteria which associated with its advantages over other microorganisms to enhance the disposable diapers composting. This study highlights the potential utilization of cyanobacteria as an opportunity for copping disposable diapers pollution. The application of compost resulted expected to provide promising-advantages to the environmental sustainability and agriculture. This paper proposes an overarching review of the feasibility in this regard. ==========================================================================================COPYRIGHTS©2021 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers.==========================================================================================

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Soil erosion is considered one of the major indicators of soil degradation in our environment. Extensive soil erosion process leads to erosion of nutrients in the topsoil and decreases in fertility and hence productivity. Moreover, creeping erosion leads to landslides in the hilly regions of the study area that affects the socio-economics of the inhabitants. The current study focuses on the estimation of soil erosion rate for the year 2011 to 2019 and projection for the years 2021, 2023 and 2025. METHODS: In this study, the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation is used for estimation of soil erosion in the study area for the year 2011 to 2019. Using Artificial Neural Network-based Cellular Automata simulation, the Land Use Land Cover is projected for the future years 2021, 2023 and 2025. Using the projected layer as one of the spatial variables and applying the same model, Soil Erosion based on Revised Universal soil loss equation is projected for a corresponding years. FINDINGS: For both cases of projection, simulated layers of 2019 (land use land cover and soil erosion) are correlated with the estimated layer of 2019 using actual variables and validated. The agreement and accuracy of the model used in the case land use are 0.92 and 96.21% for the year 2019. The coefficient of determination of the model for both simulations is also observed to be 0.875 and 0.838. The simulated future soil erosion rate ranges from minimum of 0 t/ha/y to maximum of 524.271 t/ha/y, 1160.212 t/ha/y and 783.135 t/ha/y in the year 2021, 2023 and 2025, respectively. CONCLUSION: The study has emphasized the use of artificial neural network-based Cellular automata model for simulation of land use and land cover and subsequently estimation of soil erosion rate. With the simulation of future soil erosion rate, the study describes the trend in the erosion rate from past to future, passing through present scenario. With the scarcity of data, the methodology is found to be accurate and reliable for the region under study. ==========================================================================================COPYRIGHTS©2021 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers.==========================================================================================

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The problem of energy saving and the transition to technologies that allow to partially or completely move away from the use of gas and other fossil fuels are a priority in Ukraine today. By consuming traditional energy sources using outdated technologies for energy supply of industrial facilities, Ukraine consumes 3-4 times more fuel per unit of Gross Domestic Product compared to developed countries. For industrial enterprises, the energy intensity of costs is 35-40% of the total cost. At the same time, obsolete fixed assets, especially its active part (the degree of physical wear and tear of industrial equipment is 60-65%), are characterized by a large share of energy and heat loss. METHODS: Modeling, structural analysis, and theoretical research based on current advances in the theory and practice of creating energy-efficient buildings using energy from alternative sources. FINDING: Calculations and structural analysis of costs by stages of the life cycle of the design solution of the hot water supply and heating system with energy-efficient fencing and heat pump have been made. Peculiarities of calculation of assessment and design solutions in accordance with the Ukrainian legislation have been determined. The study has been conducted in seven Ukrainian industrial enterprises in the energy sector. CONCLUSION: It is determined that the structural analysis of costs by stages of the project life cycle on the basis of standard costing should be used at the stage of designing a new power system or upgrading an existing one through marketing research. All this will contribute to the formation of a fundamentally new approach to solving technical and economic problems of the introduction of modernized energy supply systems for industrial purpose. ==========================================================================================COPYRIGHTS©2021 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers.==========================================================================================

To address the need for information on biochar effects on crop growth and nitrogen (N), a greenhouse study was conducted with carrot, lettuce, soybean, and sweet corn using sandy loam (Coxville series) and loamy sand (Norfolk series) soils and a variety of biochars. Biochar was produced from pine chips (PC), poultry litter (PL), swine solids (SS), switchgrass (SG), and two blends of PC plus PL (50/50% [55] and 80/20% [82], wt/wt), with each feedstock pyrolyzed at 350, 500, or 700 ˚C. The results confirmed that biochar can increase crop growth; however, the responses varied with crop, soil, and feedstock and to a lesser extent with pyrolysis temperature. In general, lettuce had large increases in shoot and root dry weights vs. no‐biochar controls with many biochars, primarily the SS and 55 blend and to a lesser extent with 82 followed by PL, and then PC and SG, especially when grown in the Coxville soil. Biochar had more limited effects on carrot, sweet corn, and soybean weights. Some biochars decreased crop growth (e.g., PL at 700 ˚C) for soybean shoot and pod dry weights with the Norfolk soil. Shoot N concentrations decreased with SS, 55, and 82 for carrot, lettuce, and sweet corn with the Norfolk soil but tended to increase for soybean. Shoot N uptake increased or decreased depending on biochar feedstock and temperature, crop, and soil. These results confirm that biochar can increase crop growth and affect shoot N, which is essential for crop growth.

The Global Vegetation Project (http://gveg.wyobiodiversity.org) is a new initiative to host an online database of open-access, georeferenced vegetation photos. The mission of the Global Vegetation Project is ‘to inspire and empower people of all ages to learn about the diversity of vegetation on our planet and to provide educators with a resource for teaching ecology online’. The beta release includes two R-Shiny web applications that allow users to 1) submit photos of plant communities through a user-friendly online portal and 2) explore submissions made by others through an interactive global map. The spatial coordinates of each photo are used to extract information about the location including long-term and recent climate data to create Walter and Leith climate diagrams for each photo. User submitted photos can be filtered by biome, temperature, precipitation, and elevation on the map. The Global Vegetation Project will evolve to match the needs of vegetation scientists and ecology educators. We intend to enhance the educational value of the mapping application by incorporating additional search features, global data layers, and the publication of curricula geared towards primary, secondary, and post-secondary education. We encourage the global community of vegetation scientists to use this resource in their classrooms and to contribute photos of vegetation to grow this valuable resource for the world.

Floods and flash floods are complex events, depending on weather dynamics, basin physiographical characteristics, land use cover and water management. For this reason, the prediction of such events usually deals with very accurate model tuning and validation, which is usually site-specific and based on climatological data, such as discharge time series or flood databases. In this work, we developed and tested two hydrological-stress indices for flood detection in the Italian Central Apennine District: a heterogeneous geographical area, characterized by complex topography and medium-to-small catchment extension. The proposed indices are threshold-based and developed considering operational requirements of National Civil Protection Department end-users. They are calibrated and tested through the application of signal theory, in order to overcome data scarcity over ungauged areas, as well as incomplete discharge time series. The validation has been carried out on a case study basis, using flood reports from various sources of information, as well as hydrometric-level time series, which represent the actual hydrological quantity monitored by Civil Protection operators. Obtained results show that the overall accuracy of flood prediction is greater than 0.8, with false alarm rates below 0.5 and the probability of detection ranging from 0.51 to 0.80. Moreover, the different nature of the proposed indices suggests their application in a complementary way, as the index based on drained precipitation appears to be more sensitive to rapid flood propagation in small tributaries, while the discharge-based index is particularly responsive to main-channel dynamics.

Owing to differing and complex snow geophysical properties, radar waves of different wavelengths undergo variable penetration through snow-covered sea ice. However, the mechanisms influencing radar altimeter backscatter from snow-covered sea ice, especially at Ka- and Ku-band frequencies, and the impact on the Ka- and Ku-band radar scattering horizon or the “track point” (i.e. the scattering layer depth detected by the radar re-tracker) are not well understood. In this study, we evaluate the Ka- and Ku-band radar scattering horizon with respect to radar penetration and ice floe buoyancy using a first-order scattering model and the Archimedes principle. The scattering model is forced with snow depth data from the European Space Agency (ESA) climate change initiative (CCI) round-robin data package, in which NASA's Operation IceBridge (OIB) data and climatology are included, and detailed snow geophysical property profiles from the Canadian Arctic. Our simulations demonstrate that the Ka- and Ku-band track point difference is a function of snow depth; however, the simulated track point difference is much smaller than what is reported in the literature from the Ku-band CryoSat-2 and Ka-band SARAL/AltiKa satellite radar altimeter observations. We argue that this discrepancy in the Ka- and Ku-band track point differences is sensitive to ice type and snow depth and its associated geophysical properties. Snow salinity is first increasing the Ka- and Ku-band track point difference when the snow is thin and then decreasing the difference when the snow is thick (>0.1 m). A relationship between the Ku-band radar scattering horizon and snow depth is found. This relationship has implications for (1) the use of snow climatology in the conversion of radar freeboard into sea ice thickness and (2) the impact of variability in measured snow depth on the derived ice thickness. For both (1) and (2), the impact of using a snow climatology versus the actual snow depth is relatively small on the radar freeboard, only raising the radar freeboard by 0.03 times the climatological snow depth plus 0.03 times the real snow depth. The radar freeboard is a function of both radar scattering and floe buoyancy. This study serves to enhance our understanding of microwave interactions towards improved accuracy of snow depth and sea ice thickness retrievals via the combination of the currently operational and ESA's forthcoming Ka- and Ku-band dual-frequency CRISTAL radar altimeter missions.

Radiative transfer in snow and ice is often not modeled explicitly in regional climate models. In this study, we evaluate a new englacial radiative transfer scheme and assess the surface mass and energy budget for the Greenland ice sheet in the latest version of the regional climate model RACMO2, version 2.3p3. We also evaluate the modeled (sub)surface temperature and melt, as radiation penetration now enables internal heating. The results are compared to the previous model version and are evaluated against stake measurements and automatic weather station data of the K-transect and PROMICE projects. In addition, subsurface snow temperature profiles are compared at the K-transect, Summit, and southeast Greenland. The surface mass balance is in good agreement with observations, with a mean bias of −31 mm w.e. yr−1 (−2.67 %), and only changes considerably with respect to the previous RACMO2 version around the ice margins and near the percolation zone. Melt and refreezing, on the other hand, are changed more substantially in various regions due to the changed albedo representation, subsurface energy absorption, and meltwater percolation. Internal heating leads to higher snow temperatures in summer, in agreement with observations, and introduces a shallow layer of subsurface melt. Hence, this study shows the consequences and necessity of radiative transfer in snow and ice for regional climate modeling of the Greenland ice sheet.

Lowland karst aquifers can generate unique wetland ecosystems which are caused by groundwater fluctuations that result in extensive groundwater–surface water interactions (i.e. flooding). However, the complex hydrogeological attributes of these systems, linked to extremely fast aquifer recharge processes and flow through well-connected conduit networks, often present difficulty in predicting how they will respond to changing climatological conditions. This study investigates the predicted impacts of climate change on a lowland karst catchment by using a semi-distributed pipe network model of the karst aquifer populated with output from the high spatial resolution (4 km) Consortium for Small-scale Modelling Climate Lokalmodell (COSMO-CLM) regional climate model simulations for Ireland. An ensemble of projections for the future Irish climate were generated by downscaling from five different global climate models (GCMs), each based on four Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs; RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6.0 and RCP8.5) to account for the uncertainty in the estimation of future global emissions of greenhouse gases. The one-dimensional hydraulic/hydrologic karst model incorporates urban drainage software to simulate open channel and pressurised flow within the conduits, with flooding on the land surface represented by storage nodes with the same stage volume properties of the physical turlough basins. The lowland karst limestone catchment is located on the west coast of Ireland and is characterised by a well-developed conduit-dominated karst aquifer which discharges to the sea via intertidal and submarine springs. Annual above ground flooding associated with this complex karst system has led to the development of unique wetland ecosystems in the form of ephemeral lakes known as turloughs; however, extreme flooding of these features causes widespread damage and disruption in the catchment. This analysis has shown that mean, 95th and 99th percentile flood levels are expected to increase by significant proportions for all future emission scenarios. The frequency of events currently considered to be extreme is predicted to increase, indicating that more significant groundwater flooding events seem likely to become far more common. The depth and duration of flooding is of extreme importance, both from an ecological perspective in terms of wetland species distribution and for extreme flooding in terms of the disruption to homes, transport links and agricultural land inundated by flood waters. The seasonality of annual flooding is also predicted to shift later in the flooding season, which could have consequences in terms of ecology and land use in the catchment. The investigation of increasing mean sea levels, however, showed that anticipated rises would have very little impact on groundwater flooding due to the marginal impact on ebb tide outflow volumes. Overall, this study highlights the relative vulnerability of lowland karst systems to future changing climate conditions, mainly due to the extremely fast recharge which can occur in such systems. The study presents a novel and highly effective methodology for studying the impact of climate change in lowland karst systems by coupling karst hydrogeological models with the output from high-resolution climate simulations.

Concerned by the environmental and economic threats posed by fossil fuels as the source of energy, this study uses the case of Nigeria economy to understand the extent to which economic growth and carbon emissions matters for renewable energy demands. Exploring both the linear and nonlinear ARDL modelling framework, the main empirical findings are that the amplified responsiveness of the consequence of climate change has led to increase in the demand for renewable energy particularly when the underlying source of the emissions is attributable to activities in the transport sector. However, in addition to our findings of oil prices as viable for explaining renewable energy demand, this study further pointed out the economic growth as another potential for explaining renewable energy demand but vary for the boom and recession phases of the business cycle. Keywords: Renewable energy demand; CO2 emission; economic growth; nonlinear ARDL; NigeriaJEL Classifications: C22; F64; Q21; Q42, Q53DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.11306

Petroleum fiscal regime has been a controversial issue in Nigerian economy. The basic issue is which regime will lead to the greatest benefit to the government without negatively affecting the performance of the international oil companies. Nigeria has in the past used different regime and had adopted the current price sliding royalty regime in 1996. The aim of this study is to examine how the new price sliding royalty affects the stake of government and contractors. This study adopts ex-post research design approach using data from various sources between 1980 and 2019. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) regression approach was adopted for the data analysis. The unit root results reveal that the time series data consists of a mix of I(1) and I(0) variables. The ARDL Bound cointegration test shows that all the variables specified in the models have long run relationship. Estimates from the models indicate that the royalty regime in the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contract has positive and significant impact on the stake of government in the long and short runs, but negative impact on the stake of contractors. Furthermore, the royalty regime has negative impact on contractors’ performance in the long run. However, the impact on the three fiscal indicators (oil revenue, government expenditure, and deficit-GDP ratio) is positive. The study therefore recommends the repeal of the Nigerian petroleum fiscal policy with the new price sliding royalty to encourage investment and development of the petroleum sector.Keywords: Deepwater; Fiscal sustainability; Government and Contractor takes; Price sliding; Royalty regimesJEL Classifications: P28, O22, O38DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.10837

This paper is aimed at analyzing the interrelation between Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Energy Consumption (EC) in Mexico during the period 1970-2014. To do that, we carry out a cointegration test and a Granger causality analysis. The empirical results from the cointegration test show a stable link between the growth rates of FDI and EC in the long run. While the results from Granger’s causality show that in the short run there is a unidirectional Granger causality from the growth rate of FDI toward the growth rate EC, while in the medium and long there is a bidirectional causality between the growth rates of FDI and LEC in Mexico during the period under study.Keywords: foreign direct investment, energy consumption, cointegration, Granger causalityJEL Classifications: C32, F21, Q43.DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.10988

This research examines how profitability, company size, board independence, and board gender diversity affect carbon emission disclosures in Indonesian companies. The sample of this study consists of 36 manufacturing companies which were consecutively listed on Indonesian Stock Exchange from 2015 to 2018. The carbon emission disclosures were measured using a disclosure checklist consisting of 18 items. Using multiple regression analysis, this study found that carbon emission disclosures are greater in more profitable and larger companies. This suggests that financial resources availability and the political visibility can increase carbon emission disclosures. This study also finds that carbon emission disclosures are greater in companies with a large portion of independent commissioners and female directors. This supports the legitimacy and stakeholder theories that a more independent and diversified board will be more able to manage different stakeholder expectations. The findings can provide evidence to companies about how to increase their carbon emission disclosures, which can consequently help the government to control the national carbon emissions.Keywords: carbon emission disclosure, profitability, company size, board independence, board gender diversityJEL Classifications: Q56, G34, M14DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.10792

Renewable energy resources ranking, and power plant location selection are multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problems. These problems can be solved as two-phase decision-making tasks separately and sequentially or, in a unified form, as a single-step task. In this paper, we are studying the efficiency and applicability of the unified approach based on fuzzy and Z-information, and TOPSIS technique. Alternatives for the single-step approach are generated based on renewables available in the country and potential geographical locations for these resources. Considering the importance of weights in MCDM and the multiplicity of approaches to criteria weighting, subjective, objective, AHP-based, and combination of the subjective and objective weights are used for decision matrix weighting. Comparative analysis of the solutions, based on various weights, allows making a reliable solution. The results of the study and problem solution confirm the efficiency and applicability of the combined approach. The advantage of the unified single step solution is that this approach, in addition to the solution of the main task, provides to decision-maker additional information about preferable next best renewable and location option as well. Keywords: renewables selection, multi-criteria decision, fuzzy and Z-information, plant location selection, criteria weights.JEL Classifications: D81, P48, Q35, Q42DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.10880

This study offers Sustainable Development Measurement using three variables, namely; The Human Development Index (HDI) represents Sustainable Social Economic Development, and the Environmental Quality (EQ) represents Environmental Sustainability, while the Exogenous Variable is Household Electrification (EoH). With Analysis Using Structural Equation Modeling, the results showed; EoH positively and significantly correlated to HDI. EoH is negatively correlated and significant to EQ. HDI significantly negatively correlated with EQ. Electrification of Households causes the occurrence of Sustainable Social Economic Development, and vice versa, the electrification of households causes the occurrence of environmental sustainability, and the relationship of sustainable Social Economic Development causes the occurrence of environmental sustainability. Research Novelty is the Role of Moderation from EoH to the relationship between HDI and EQ so that provinces with low Household Electrification with Provinces with high Household Electrification will differ in environmental damage due to Sustainable Social Economic Development. Reference for Policy Makers to replace fossil fuel power plants that supply the electricity in households with environmentally friendly power plants.Keywords: Sustainable Development, Household Electrification, Structural Equation ModelingJEL Classifications: Q01, L94, C38DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.10937

It is very important to make forecasts to support future planning. In electricity field, for estimating the demand for electrical energy, there are several influential factors to be considered, e.g. economic growth, increased demand for electricity, and the capacity of power and electrical energy providers. The limited availability of data and variables causes the predictions made to be inaccurate. This paper focuses on the accuracy of forecasting with various numbers of variables to optimize the data held. The initial stage of this research is the division of clusters using the hierarchical clustering method to divide 24 administrative regions into 6 clusters, and to increase the accuracy of forecasting using principal component regression. Based on the results obtained, it can be seen that the MAPE values vary in each cluster. The use of 7 variables in forecasting, in general, shows better accuracy than the use of 6 or 5 variables. However, the difference between the number of these variables is narrow. In cluster 6, the MAPE value in 7 variables is 0.88% while in 5 variables the MAPE value is 0.91%. In cluster 1 and cluster 4, the use of 5 variables has a better value than the use of other variables. Thus, this model can be used and developed to do forecasting even though it uses limited data and variables.Keyword: Spatial Forecasting, Clustering, Principal Component AnalysisJEL Clafissifications: C210, C25, C380DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.11010

The article considers the main mechanisms for controlling the formation of oil prices, including Brent and Urals brands. Based on the analysis of trends in the oil market and their dynamics over the past decades, the authors identify factors affecting pricing in the oil market, different oil market price control systems, and their dynamics. Our results show that there is a substantial price gap in the world oil market between the Brent reference grade and the Urals crude grade, while the formation of the Urals brand price is opaque. Comparing the key characteristics of different systems of price control in the oil market, we revealed that under the influence of external and internal factors, the system of control over pricing in the oil market underwent significant changes throughout its existence. The authors conclude that at present, there are real prerequisites for the institutional correction of the global oil market in terms of strengthening the administrative levers of developed countries control over exchange and OTC pricing mechanisms.Keywords: oil market, Brent brand, Urals brand, oil price, pricing factors, pricing system, pricing control mechanism.JEL Classifications: G23; L52; O24DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.11022

As a source of revenue for the state budget and a source of energy (particularly fuel) to drive various sectors of life, the oil and gas industry plays an important role in the Indonesian economy. The purpose of this study is to analyse the effect of crude oil prices on natural gas during the Covid19 Pandemic in Indonesia. The research method used is an explanatory method using the real price decomposition of crude oil introduced recently by Kilian (2009). This study develops four variables for the oil and natural gas market through a structural vector autoregressive model (SVAR). Based on the results of the analysis, hence some evidence is found that the crude oil market affects the natural gas market in Indonesia through a combination of changes in demand and not through changes in oil supply during the Covid-19 pandemic. The uncertainty of oil supply due to the Covid-19 pandemic has made the oil market shift to the natural gas market and increased the price of natural gas as the main substitute for oil. Meanwhile, changes in demand in Indonesia during the Covid19 Pandemic affected crude oil and gas prices, causing similar fluctuations in oil and gas prices.Keywords: Crude Oil Prices, Natural Gas Prices, Demand, and Supply JEL Classifications: P41, P28, P43DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.10671

Amid the energy reform efforts by the Taiwan government, residential energy demand continues to face an escalating trend every year. This indicates the phenomenon of the energy efficiency gap. One of the factors that control the energy efficiency gap is the rebound effect. The rebound effect is related to the increase in energy consumption through efforts to reduce the use of energy itself. This can be due to the low cost of usage that causes a person to be encouraged to use more energy. This study aims to estimate the magnitude of the direct rebound effect of household electricity consumption in Taiwan using monthly time series data from January 1998 to December 2018 and to implement the artificial neural network (ANN) as an alternative approach to measure the direct rebound effect. Based on the simulation results, the direct rebound effect magnitude for household electricity consumption in Taiwan is in the range of 11.17% to 21.95%. GDP growth is the most important input in the model. Additionally, population growth and climate change are also critical factors and have significant implications in the model.Keywords: energy efficiency gap, direct rebound effect, artificial neural networkJEL Classifications: Q43, C63, E7DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.9834

The study aims to investigate how oil continues to be the driving force of the Omani economy. Accordingly, changes in oil prices will have positive or negative impacts on all economic sectors. This study investigates the impact of oil prices on firm performance in 74 industrial and services companies listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSM) from the years 2010 to 2018.This study’s econometric model uses panel data regression since comprising time-series and cross-sectional data. The paper examines the effects of oil price fluctuations on the sampled firms’ performance. The statistical analysis indicates that oil prices have a significant positive impact on financial performance (as measured by return on assets - ROA) with the exception of the interest rate. Moreover, all fixed effects are highly significant for the five sectors. This result contributes to the literature by highlighting the impact of oil price on firm performance in Oman’s industrial and service sectors. Both sectors are highly exposed and sensitive to oil price fluctuations. All regression coefficients in all sectors are highly significant, with the exception of interest rate, which has no impact on the profitability performance of the cement, oil, and textile industries. Moreover, both fixed and effects models are highly significant.Keywords: Oil price, Firm performance, ROA, panel data, industrial and service sectors, Oman.JEL Classifications: E44, F31, F37, B25 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.10990

This study analyzes the causal relationship between oil prices and production costs and their implication over hedging in production companies. Two different data sets have been used as a proxy for production costs: i) monthly product price index related to oil activities from the Bureau of Labour of Statistics; ii) yearly data obtained from reports of publicly traded oil companies. For the oil price, different future contracts of Brent (1M, 12M, 24M, 60M) have been explored. Based on Granger's definition of causality, and using the Toda-Yamamoto (1995) methodology, both causal directions have been tested. The results obtained indicate that oil prices (any term of the curve) Granger-cause production costs, and not the other way around (as it has been considered for many specialists) in any term of the curve.Keywords: Oil Price, Production Costs, Hedging, Granger Causality, Toda-Yamamoto JEL Classifications: Q41, Q47DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.10887

This paper investigates several key challenges faced by oil-rich countries regarding their economic growth and development. First, it discusses how to determine currency overvaluation for these countries (if any). To determine the overvaluation, the real exchange rate (RER) is calculated and the Balassa–Samuelson effect is estimated via a regression model. Next, the study presents an empirical model for assessing the impact of oil rent on economic growth in the context of currency overvaluation and the institutional quality in every country. As a dynamic model, both endogeneity and heterogeneity are expected across cross-sections because countries are different in culture, customs, and political institutions. Consequently, heterogeneous panel data analysis is undertaken using the error correction model cointegration technique and the mean group estimation method in an autoregressive distributed lag model. Finally, the study concludes the findings and provides policy recommendations by offering a new perspective on an ongoing dilemma, discussing the challenges and limitations facing developing oil-rich countries and how their path to success may differ from other countries.Keywords: Natural resources; Rent-Seeking; Institutions; Economic Growth; Energy EconomicJEL Classifications: D72; E02; F43; O47; Q43DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.10971

This study examines the issues of modernisation of the state planning system in the Republic of Kazakhstan, taking into account the Paris Climte Agreement and new pledge on achievement of the carbon neutrality. Based on the generalisation of the international experience of the OECD countries, authors determine the main approaches, principles and priorities for adapting the strategic planning system to the conditions of climate change and global risks. According to the authors opinion, approaches to imporovement of the planning system in terms of decarbonisation should be based on the OECD methodology. In conclusion, the authors substantiates the recommendations to the Government of Kazakhstan on improvement of the state planning system trough an integration of the SEA and decarbonisation principles.Keywords: climate change adaptation, state planning system, decarbonisation of economy, emission of the GHGs, energy efficiency, renewables, monitoring approaches.JEL Classifications: Q5,Q54, Q56, O3DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.11308

The article examines the spillover effect of the transition to renewable energy on different financial markets: specifically, the stock market. The research paper analyzes the prices and dynamics of oil-related assets and renewable funds, as well as reviews literature on the topic in order to evaluate the most important factors of development in these industries. The article utilizes methods of correlation analysis, analysis of variance, regression analysis and standards of deviation and error with the intention to test null hypotheses from previous research. The study uses empirical data spanning the majority of the last decade, in which a decline in the oil market can be observed. This is juxtaposed by the rapid and intense development of renewable energy – solar energy in particular. As concluded in the article, there is a strong spillover effect of this growth onto other markets, emphasizing the investments flowing into renewable energy. Moreover, the ambitious prospects of renewable energy development and it being a strong competitor to fossil fuels and, specifically, oil is drawn as a result of the conducted research.Keywords: Spillover effect, solar energy, oil energy, transition, energy investments.JEL Classifications: C12, C52, E23, Q41DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.10899

This study considers the importance of comprehensive pipeline network plans with exploring the determinants of vertical integration in Japan’s natural gas distribution utilities from the perspective of transaction cost economics. Japan’s natural gas industry is reliant on imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) that normally requires regasification prior to consumption. Unbundling of the industry has not been enforced and while some local distribution utilities purchase gas via pipelines that is regasified by the seller, others choose LNG from tank trucks with subsequent regasification occurring in-house (vertical integration). Estimating the determinants of vertical integration in terms of transaction cost economics, I deduce the cause of poor pipeline networks in Japan. This study found that local distribution utilities prefer to purchase natural gas via pipelines when there are neighboring wholesalers or utilities. Hence, a broad pipeline network has never been constructed because local distribution utilities construct point-to-point pipelines to neighboring utilities or wholesalers. This indicates that without pipeline network planning by the government, comprehensive infrastructure policies, or financial support, a broad pipeline network will not be built throughout the country.Keywords: Natural Gas, Transaction Costs, Probit model, Pipeline Networks. JEL Classifications: Q40, L95, L81DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.11049

This paper aims to analyze the market reactions on corporate actions in the form of split-up, reverse split, right issue, and mergers and acquisitions in growing and non-growing energy consuming companies in Indonesia. The market reaction is analyzed based on stock price, trading volume, and abnormal returns movements using paired sample t-tests from the results of the event study for five days before and after corporate actions in the form of split-up, reverse split, right issue, and mergers and acquisitions. The results showed that stock prices reacted positively on the split-up in growing energy consuming companies, while in non-growing energy consuming companies, stock prices did not react significantly. However, the abnormal returns of growing and non-growing energy consuming companies both showed a negative movement, while the trading volumes did not react significantly. This paper specifically analyzes the market reaction on corporate actions in growing and non-growing energy consuming companies to provide interesting insights about the different reactions given by the market to corporate actions carried out by the companies with different growth categories.Keywords: Market reaction, corporate action, split-up, reverse split, right issue, merger and acquisitionJEL Classifications: D81, P48, Q35, Q42DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.10737

Renewable energy, which is the type of energy that plays a major role in the development and growth of countries, plays an important role in today’s world, considering that the life of depleted energy resources is finite. Compared to fossil energy sources, except that its source is infinite, a noticeable difference in carbon dioxide emission is seen as the reason for preferring renewable energy sources. Many studies in the literature investigate the relationship between the consumption of renewable energy resources and economic growth. This study was conducted on renewable energy production in 27 European Union member countries explores its impact on employment. In the study, panel ARDL test was conducted with the data for the years 2006-2019. According to the results of the study, renewable energy generation has a positive effect on employment in European Union countries in the long term. In the long run, a 1% increase in renewable energy primary production increases employment by 0.08%. Increasing the use of renewable energy resources should go beyond being a policy recommendation in international conventions. The fact that these resources provide employment in large areas can be a good alternative today with high unemployment rates.Keywords: renewable energy, employment, developed countries, panel ARDLJEL Classifications: O40, Q43, Q40DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.10744

The inconclusiveness of findings from various studies on Nigeria on the effect of crude oil price fluctuation on the stock market has led to an argument in literature, thus necessitating further exploration of the subject. This study examines the effect of variations in the price of crude oil on selected stock market performance variables in Nigeria using monthly frequency data covering January 1997 to December 2016. Variance decomposition, impulse response analysis, and VAR estimations were employed for the study. The results reveal that oil price variations are slowly transmitted in some stock market performance variables. The findings indicate that the effect of crude oil price fluctuations in the Nigerian stock market is greatly minimized and does not sufficiently account for market activities.Keywords: Emerging Economy, Nigeria, Oil Price Shocks, Stock Market, VAR.JEL Classifications: C25, Q47, F4DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.10140

This study investigated the impact of energy consumption on poverty in BRICS using panel data analysis methods (fixed effects, pooled OLS, random effects, FMOLS) with annual data ranging from 1995 to 2018. Whether economic growth is a channel through which energy consumption influences poverty in BRICS was also a subject of investigation in this study? Although there is acknowledgment that energy consumption reduces poverty through economic growth by authors such as Okwanya et al (2015), Hussein and Filho (2012) and Okwanya and Abah (2018), there is no dedicated empirical study on the subject matter which exclusively focused on BRICS. Nothing is known about the energy consumption-growth-poverty nexus in BRICS, according to the author’s best knowledge. Also, majority of the energy consumption-poverty nexus empirical research wrongly assumed that the two variables (energy consumption and poverty) are linearly linked. Using both mean mortality rate and mean life expectancy as measures of poverty, the study noted that energy consumption reduced poverty in a significant way across all the four panel methods employed in BRICS. Economic growth was also generally found to have reduced poverty in BRICS countries. The complementarity between the two variables (energy consumption and poverty) had a significant poverty reduction effect in BRICS, in support of the existing literature. BRICS nations are therefore urged to develop and implement policies that ensure more energy consumption and increased economic growth activities if they intend to reduce poverty.Keywords: Energy Consumption; Growth; Poverty; BRICS; Panel dataJEL Classifications: I32, Q43, O47DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.11075

Recently, several authors and reports inform about peer-to-peer transactions of goods and services. Usually, the electricity markets work trading energy at large scale in wholesale electricity markets. Given the integration of distributed energy resources such as PV generators, storage at small scale, demand response and electric vehicles then there are new options to trade energy at small scale by focusing in the producer-consumer relationship. This derives in alternatives based on peer-to-peer (P2P) electricity markets to trade energy employing tools as the blockchain and deployment of distributed energy resources (DERs). This paper presents a framework to trade energy at small scale with a flexible hybrid model of P2P based on transactions between communities and peers, for each period of time, each peer can change its role, the prosumer and producer peers can offer their generated energy. The consumer peers can adjust their consumption behavior based on price and quantity. Thus, the role of the community manager comes into play to associations between peers as an intermediary of the community and the grid. Therefore, a model of transactions with P2P offers was developed for different structures and sales prices. Finally, the framework to trade energy in a hybrid P2P model is evaluated in a demand curve considering a 24-hour period for several cases.Keywords: Blockchain, Distributed Energy Resources, Electricity Markets, Microgrids, Peer-to-peer.JEL Classifications: O12, Q21, Q42, Q47

This paper examines the impact of oil price volatility on macroeconomic performance in fourteen non-oil exporting Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) economies using panel ARDL model fort he 1980-2015. It also looks at the channels through which oil price volatility transmit to the three major sectors of their economies. The panel ARDL estimate indicates how persistent oil price volatility prevailed on the economy by measuring the short run and long run effects. The result shows that economic activity and sectors, respond very differently to oil price volatility depending on the time period whether short term or long term. In particular, oil price volatility has a negative effect on the macroeconomy in the short run but the effect becomes positive in the long run. The result also indicates that oil price volatility dampens the agricultural sector but improves the activities in the manufacturing and services sectors. The results further show that oil price volatility affects the exchange rate and interest rate channels negatively but positively through the inflation channel. The paper therefore shed some light on how the policy makers of these economies can use controlling mechanisms to stabilise the macroeconomy, key sectors and the transmission channels.Keywords: Oil price volatility, macroeconomic performance, sectors, transmission channels, non-oil exporting, SSA, panel ARDL.JEL Classification: B22DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.11140

Renewable energy sources are still not the predominant energy resource in the energy sector, although in certain developed countries they participate in a significant share in electricity generation. It is estimated that world energy consumption from renewable energy sources exceeds 20% at the present and continues to grow. Renewable energy sources appear as an additional source of energy in the conventional electro-industry. The main reason for the increasing investment and exploitation of renewables is certainly environment preservation and environmental aspect of sustainability. This study seeks to expand the existing literature and contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of renewable energy sources as a whole. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to determine the advantages and disadvantages of renewable energy sources utilization in general, without considering the individual type of renewables, such as wind or solar energy. Thereby, the paper presents numerous advantages of using renewable energy in the electricity generation, such as environment preservation in terms of reduced greenhouse gas emissions or improvement of innovations and technical/technological development. There are also presented certain disadvantages of renewables in the production of electricity, such as dependence on weather conditions or low energy efficiency and low ability to produce electricity. Keywords: Renewable energy sources, boosting the economy, environment preservation, renewables limitations JEL Classifications: Q42; Q56DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.11027