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Sustainable development has always been given priority by economic authorities, therefore pursuing both environmental emissions reduction and economic growth at the same time is required. However, energy structure is often disregarded in existing performance evaluation methodologies, despite its essential function in determining environmental efficiency or productivity. This study shows how ignoring the energy structure can lead to distorted policy recommendations as well as evaluation results. The present study provides a non-parametric estimating approach to quantify the difference between the optimal (theoretical) energy structure required to achieve sustainable development and the actual (observed) energy structure. This method may assess the energy transition process and evaluate the observed and optimal energy structure of a country or region. We demonstrate that using the countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development as an example, that only a limited number of countries are able to meet their objectives for carbon reduction and economic development simultaneously without transforming their energy structure. The relationship between energy structure and green total factor productivity (GTFP) was further studied using a two-stage least squares regression on the observed energy structure and GTFP. The findings indicate that most countries need to increase their share of renewable energy in order to achieve green growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decoupling the dependence on carbon emissions from achieving high-quality economic development is a paramount objective for China. However, the often-overlooked aspect is the carbon emissions generated through trade activities, which can lead to an overestimation of decoupling progress. Our study quantified and compared the decoupling status of production-based and consumption-based carbon emissions from economic growth in Guangdong from 2002 to 2017 from the perspective of inter-provincial embodied carbon flow, and further investigated its driving factors. The results reveal that consumption-based carbon emissions consistently surpass production-based emissions, although they exhibited a steady decline in recent years. As a significant contributor to embodied carbon emissions, Guangdong outsources a considerable portion of its emissions to less developed regions such as Liaoning and Guangxi by importing raw or intermediate products with lower value-added raw, while it exports service products to provinces like Beijing and Zhejiang. Decoupling analysis indicated that Guangdong is progressively moving towards an optimal state of "double decoupling", where both production and consumption-based carbon emissions are decreasing. This represents a departure from the previous scenario of "fake decoupling", characterized by a reduction in production-based carbon emissions but persistently high consumption-based emissions. Additionally, our structural decomposition analysis highlights the potential for reducing carbon emissions and enhancing decoupling by increasing the utilization of clean energy and optimizing the trade input structure. These findings underscore the importance of accounting for embodied carbon emissions in decoupling studies and offer valuable insights for achieving high-quality development. • We compare the decoupling status of production and consumption-based emissions from GDP. • Multi-Regional Input-Output tables from 2002 to 2017 is used. • Guangdong outsources most of its emissions to less developed regions. • Guangdong achieves a double decoupling, where both production and consumption-based emissions are decreasing. • Increasing the utilization of clean energy and optimizing the trade input structure can enhancing decoupling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

The extant body of academic literature has thoroughly examined the influence of political promotion institutions on various aspects of economic growth and corporate behavior. However, there remains a gap in the understanding the extent and mechanisms through which the establishment of economic growth targets influences firms' pollution emissions. Addressing this gap, we construct datasets that encapsulate both micro-level and macro-level perspectives to examine the impact of economic growth targets on corporate pollution. We find that an increase in economic growth targets leads to a significant rise in pollution emissions from industrial firms. To address potential endogeneity issues, we employ various strategies, and our results remain robust across these different approaches. We then estimate the heterogeneous impact of economic growth targets and demonstrate that the positive effect of these targets on pollution emissions tends to be less pronounced for firms situated in cities governed by female mayors. Conversely, the effect appears more pronounced for firms located in the western region, those operating in cities led by older mayors, and those in cities where mayors have lower levels of education. Finally, we explore potential mechanisms through which economic growth targets impact corporate pollution. Our results show that at the firm level, a higher economic growth target primarily leads to increased pollution emissions from enterprises by reducing firms' investment in pollution control. At the city level, an elevation in economic growth targets predominantly results in escalated enterprise-related pollution, chiefly due to its hindrance of urban green innovation, reduction in fiscal allocations for science and technology, and a decrease in educational fiscal outlays. These empirical findings strongly advocate for the implementation of measures aimed at dissuading prefecture-level city governments from formulating excessively ambitious economic growth targets, as a viable strategy for mitigating pollution stemming from manufacturing firms in developing nations. In view of this, our research is conducive to advancing the process of building a sustainable development path in China and providing reliable solutions to global ecological challenges. • Examines the effect of economic growth targets on pollution emissions by industrial firms. • Identifies the causal mechanisms linking economic growth targets to pollution emissions. • Explores the heterogeneous effects of economic growth targets on pollution emissions. • Finds increased pollution effects in western regions and in cities with older, less-educated mayors. • Advocates policy changes to curb pollution emissions arising from ambitious growth targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to provide insights into the decoupling of GDP growth and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Morocco, a developing country with the ambitious goals of reducing GHG and strongly vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change. The Engle-Granger cointegration method was used in addition to the Tapio elastic analysis based on annual time series data from 1990 to 2018. The cointegration test indicates a significant long-term relationship between greenhouse gas emissions and Gross Domestic Product with a coefficient equal to 0.85. On the other hand, Tapio's decoupling index method presents mixed results both by pollutant and by time period. Nevertheless, total greenhouse gas emissions, with a decoupling index valued at 0.7, exhibit a weak impact decoupling throughout the entire sample period wherein emissions continue to grow at a lower rate than the Gross Domestic Product. The findings are coherent with the view that more aggressive carbon pricing initiatives (CPI) policies will likely be necessary to achieve the ambitious goals set by the Moroccan government to achieve absolute decoupling. [Display omitted] • Engle-Granger cointegration and Tapio's elastic analysis to study decoupling. • One of the first decoupling studies done for North Africa particularly Morocco. • Long-term relationship found between Gross Domestic Product and greenhouse gases. • Weak decoupling state was the most frequent in Morocco between 1990 and 2018. • Need for more aggressive policies such as carbon pricing initiatives (CPI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The essence of China's contemporary green economic transition is to enhance the capacity of the green production system, emphasizing regional technological and intellectual capabilities as the primary force of green economic growth (GEG). Economic complexity can reflect hidden regional production capacity, providing a new analytical tool for exploring GEG. Using a city–year panel dataset from 2000 to 2016, this study incorporates economic complexity and GEG into a unified research framework, adopting a fitness–complexity algorithm to measure Chinese urban economic complexity to empirically examine the influence and mechanisms of economic complexity on GEG. The results show that increased economic complexity promotes GEG by enhancing green technological innovation capacity and facilitating industrial structure upgrading, with one standard deviation increase in economic complexity followed by a 2.1% rise in GTFP. In addition, we emphasize the moderating effect of the government and the public, arguing that increased government environmental attention and public environmental concern reinforce the contribution of economic complexity. Finally, the findings reveal that public policies focusing on improving the economic complexity of low-complexity areas can strike a good balance between fairness and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's adoption of an "ecological civilization" strategy since 2012 demonstrates its vision to move toward more sustainable development models while promoting green energy and strengthening environmental protection. However, China's continuing heavy reliance on fossil fuels, especially coal, masks the complex positive trends in energy use, more sustainable economic development, and environmental management. Through examining the evolving energy-GDP relationships in China over the past few decades, we elucidated the underlying complex nonlinear processes using environmental Kuznets curve analysis and showed that the energy–GDP relationship has fluctuated between positive and negative decoupling. Furthermore, fluctuating trajectories manifested as sharp regional divergences when early-transitioning coastal areas restructured toward services and exhibited robust decoupling, whereas the industrial interior remained fossil fuel reliant. We identified various forces related to these provincial disparities, where rapid urbanization, industrial realignment, and income growth were all important. By promoting service transitions and enabling low-carbon technologies in coastal hubs, these drivers also exposed infrastructure deficits and entrenched fossil fuel usage in the interior. These problems led to China's latest strategic plans emphasizing "higher quality" growth underpinned by clean energy transitions and coordinated regional policies. Ongoing declines in coal and the rise in renewable energy usage highlight promising momentum, but stable decoupling remains contingent on sustained policy coordination. The intricate balance between growth and environmental pressures in China provides essential lessons to help emerging economies achieve sustainability by catalyzing green transitions and attaining developmental milestones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid expansion of built-up land in China contributes to the great differences in regional development, which has impacted balanced regional development. Analysis on teleconnections of built-up land can better understand the mechanism of spatial imbalance, thus promoting the achievement of overall carbon neutrality. We attempt to quantify the degree of unbalanced regional development based on teleconnections of built-up land in China. Results reveal an increase in external dependence in developed regions, with the economic growth in these regions driving the expansion of built-up land in undeveloped regions. Undeveloped regions primarily serve as suppliers of land for the mining and manufacturing industry, while developed regions export substantial land for the service industry. There is considerable variation in the environmental-economic benefits among regions: While each province experiences economic gains from built-up land expansion, differences in land utilization efficiency contribute to a significant development gap among regions. This divergence in development levels exacerbates the unbalanced regional development in China, a trend that is currently widening. It is imperative for developed regions to assume greater responsibility in achieving carbon neutrality. This involves providing economic and technological support to undeveloped regions, fostering a more equitable and sustainable development path. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relationship between government environmental governance (GEG) and regional green development. The findings suggest that GEG boosts green innovation by promoting the "innovation compensation effect" while inhibiting regional green development due to increased environmental costs, supported by the "compliance cost effect". The relationship between GEG and regional green development is moderated by economic development and environmental pollution in an inverted U-shaped pattern. When economic development and environmental pollution are at lesser levels, the positive effect of GEG amplifies as economic growth and environmental pollution ascend. However, if economic growth and environmental pollution continue to escalate, the positive impact of GEG will lose its strength. In low-carbon pilot cities, GEG negatively affects regional green development, whereas the opposite effect is seen in non-pilot cities. Regardless, there is an inverted U-shaped moderating impact of economic development or environmental pollution in both low-carbon pilot and non-pilot cities, yet the inflection point varies across regions. This paper offers an original perspective by creating a theoretical link between green development and environmental governance and emphasizes the significance of a nonlinear viewpoint when examining the relationship between variables in the regional green development process, thereby expanding our understanding of green development phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the fundamental fabric of society constitutes a transformative process, with the potential to exert profound influence on various facets of human existence including environmental quality. Our research investigates the interaction of AI and renewable energy production in 22 leading robotics and innovative countries, providing crucial insights into a previously underexplored domain. The study's novelty and originality are in demonstrating the precise impact of AI in enhancing and revolutionizing renewable energy production, consequently addressing, and filling a critical study gap. Our analysis comprises both asymmetric and symmetric assumptions to cover the positive and negative shocks of artificial intelligence on renewable energy from 1991 to 2020. The findings from the panel NARDL analysis provide substantial support for the profound impact of changes in artificial intelligence (AI) on the substantial stimulation of renewable energy in the long-run. Furthermore, AI plays a substantial role in enhancing long-term renewable energy production in the panel symmetric ARDL. In the country-specific investigation, it is found that Austria, Germany, and New Zealand are the nations where both affirmative and adverse changes in AI improve clean energy structure significantly in the short run. Natural resources, information communication technology (ICT), and economic growth also enhance renewable energy production. Finally, policies are directed to increase renewable energy production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to explore the asymmetric effects of income inequality, financial development, and human development on the ecological footprint in Türkiye between 1990 and 2021, as well as the symmetric impacts of energy consumption, economic growth, trade openness, and urbanization. The Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag method is employed to examine the short- and long-term relationships among the variables. This study distinguishes itself from previous research by examining the asymmetric effects of income inequality, human development, and financial development on the environment in Türkiye, where significant economic and social transformations have occurred in the past few decades and have had severe impacts on the environment. The study's key findings demonstrate that shocks in income inequality, financial development, and human development have significant impacts on the ecological footprint. Our findings indicate the importance of using disaggregated data in the analyses. The results related to control variables indicate that energy consumption and economic growth exacerbate ecological pressure, while urbanization mitigates it. These findings have significant implications for policymakers, who can achieve socioeconomic and environmental gains by addressing crucial issues such as green job creation, green technologies, green financing, and environmental education. [Display omitted] • Study tests impacts of inequality, human and financial developments on Türkiye's footprint. • Study includes factors like economic growth, energy use, trade openness, and urbanization. • The Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag methodology is employed. • Results indicate that shocks in the key independent variables affect ecological footprint. • The results show energy and economic growth raise environmental degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the immense pressure of environmental pollution, economic growth and energy usage, green growth is recognized as the fundamental development strategy in Europe. This paper assesses environmental efficiency (ENE) of 54 industries from 28 European countries across the three sectors of an economy over the 2000–2014 period using a non-radial directional distance function (DDF). The aim of this study is to shed light and provide a deeper understanding of the different levels of technological heterogeneity that exist among industries by incorporating the metafrontier approach under distinct sector and country-specific production frontiers. The results reveal that industries present higher levels of environmental efficiency within their sectors while manufacturing industries achieve the lowest progress in environmental efficiency. Thus, it is critical to introduce and implement sector-oriented policies rather than common guidelines for all European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sustainable economy through the rational spatial expansion of coastal areas is an increasingly essential global topic. This paper aims to explore the mechanism by which supporting cities influence the spatial expansion of economic development zones (EDZs) in 264 coastal EDZs of China during 1995–2020. Meanwhile, the effects of variations in the distance between supporting cities and coastal EDZs and different city scales are considered. The results provide new explanations for realizing the sustainable development of the coastal economy by planning EDZs at a suitable location from the supporting city. The supporting cities' economic strength can significantly contribute to the spatial expansion of coastal EDZs. The influence shows a distance decay law when the distance is less than 47.692 km, between 47.692 and 58.039 km, and greater than 58.039 km, with impact coefficients of 0.479, 0.393, and 0.212, respectively. The average spatial scale of coastal EDZs varies in an "inverted U–shape" with increasing distance. The average spatial scale of the urban general radiation type (47.692 km ≤ distance <58.039 km) is the largest. Supporting cities' scale affects the economic radiation range of supporting cities. The results suggest three implications for the future development of coastal EDZs. 1) Building the EDZ while incorporating practical development needs; 2) Scientifically planning the spatial layout of EDZs; 3) The synergistic development of supporting cities, transportation hubs, and EDZs. [Display omitted] • Supporting cities can promote coastal economic development zones' expansion. • The contribution of supporting cities to zone expansion shows a distance decay law. • The average spatial scale of coastal zones shows an "inverted U-shaped" change. • Supporting cities scale affects the economic radiation range by supporting cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainability of the blue economy (BE) may be impeded by the adverse consequences of human activities, such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, unsustainable economic expansion, and engagement in environmentally harmful trading practices. Therefore, this study aims to determine the impact of GHG emissions, trade, and economic growth on the BE. To achieve this, we used a panel dataset of 25 selected countries surrounding the Indian Ocean, covering the period 2002–2019. As a process of estimation, we employed the Westerlund error correction model to detect cointegration. To determine the long-term relationship among the variables, we adopted the cross-sectional autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) approach, which revealed a significant outcome in the long run but an insignificant outcome in the short run. In response to this divergence, the panel corrected standard error (PCSE) model was applied to correct the autocorrelation problem. Subsequently, a two-step generalized methods of moment (GMM) test was conducted to check robustness. Based on the results of PCSE and GMM, this study reveals that trade has a negative effect on the BE, while GHG emissions and economic growth have a positive ascendance. From a policy standpoint, all governments must integrate ocean-based solutions into their national climate pledges to fulfill the objectives outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 14 (Life Below Water). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Degrowth and post-growth economics has emerged as a particularly fruitful approach in the debates about the reorientation of economies in the Global North towards environmental sustainability, equality, need satisfaction and democracy. This perspective promotes a planned reduction of energy and resource use in the Global North to limit environmental pressures and global inequalities and improving well-being. Yet, the specifics of this "design" are not precisely delineated. On the one hand, there is a wide acceptance, at the abstract, most general, even definitional level, that degrowth involves planning or amounts to a planned transition. On the other hand, there is strikingly little explicit engagement with, debate on, and research into what exactly "planning beyond growth" could look like. This gap urgently needs to be addressed. By exploring the degrowth-planning nexus, this paper seeks to lay a foundation for this effort. First, it identifies in the degrowth/postgrowth literature the obstacles and the opportunities for further engagement with planning. Second, it advances an agenda-setting framework, delineating problems relative to democratic ecological planning beyond growth along three axis: elaboration, implementation and multilevel dynamics. • Laying the ground for an engagement between research on democratic planning and degrowth/postgrowth. • Identifying the obstacles to a more substantial engagement with debates on planning in the degrowth/postgrowth literature. • Delineating the key requirements and challenges for democratic planning beyond growth. • Advancing a bridging framework from the current economic institutional setting towards planning beyond growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last few decades, China has faced the pressing effects of climate change due to its rapid progress in industrialization and economic expansion. China has taken the lead in developing aggressive plans to reduce environmental degradation. Considering this, several studies conclude that green finance, green innovation, and environmental taxation stand out as the most efficacious strategies for reducing environmental degradation. Also, geopolitical concerns can make it difficult to implement plans, particularly when there is political unrest, hostilities, or hostility between countries. Therefore, this work explores the influence of green finance, green innovation, environmental tax, and geopolitical risk to mitigate environmental degradation in China. This research employed a novel dynamic ARDL simulation model for long-run association, KRLS for robustness check, and frequency domain causality for checking casual relationships from 1990 to 2020. The findings indicated that green finance, green innovation, and environmental tax mitigate the consumption and production-based carbon emissions, while geopolitical risk has adverse implications for environmental sustainability. The frequency domain causality test findings suggested that green finance, green innovation, environmental tax, and geopolitical risk have long-term casual associations in both models. These findings provide specific policy suggestions to assist China in reducing environmental deterioration and achieving the SDGs. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significance of environmental quality for the movement of human capital and economic development is growing. This study utilizes the difference-in-difference (DID) approach to analyze the effects of the implementation of new ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) on economic development and investigate its underlying mechanism. The research indicates that the NAAQS promotes urban economic growth, and this impact tends to progressively intensify over time. According to the analysis of the mechanism, the NAAQS had a significant impact on the city's human capital, which in turn contributed to economic growth. The analysis of heterogeneity indicates that the NAAQS promotes economic growth primarily in the eastern region, in large and medium-sized cities, and in cities where the government pays more attention to environmental protection. This study offers a new explanation for how environmental information disclosure (EID) promotes economic growth and provides policy enlightenment for local governments on how to increase talent inflow. [Display omitted] • New ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) are taken as a quasi-natural experiment. • The generalized multiperiod DID method is used in this paper. • NAAQS can promote economic growth. • Human capital structure plays an intermediary role between NAAQS and economic growth. • The policy effects are affected by the heterogeneity across cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental pollution is an essential constraint to the sustainable growth of regional economy. This paper uses the super efficiency slacks-based measure data envelopment analysis (SBM-DEA) model to measure the efficiency of sustainable economic growth (ESEG) in the European Union (EU) and applies the spatial econometric model to explore the impact of environmental regulation intensity (ERI) on ESEG in the EU. The results show that the ESEG in the EU shows an N-shaped growth trend and the spatial pattern of "Western Europe > Eastern Europe > Central Europe > Northern Europe > Southern Europe" from 2001 to 2019. The impact of ERI on the ESEG in the EU presents a "U" shape, indicating that increasing ERI first reduces ESGE, and after reaching the turning point of ESGE, continuing to increase ERI will promote ESGE. Further analysis shows the ERI have spatial spillover effect on the ESEG, while the spatial spillover effect in the eastern and western regions of the EU is different. Improving the ERI in the western region is not only conducive to the ESEG of the country but also has a positive spillover effect on neighboring countries. However, the spatial agglomeration effect in the eastern region is not significant. In addition to environmental regulation, labor & capital structure, research and development (R&D) expenditure, GDP per capita and trade value have a significant impact on the ESGE of a country and neighboring countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an era where there is heightened worldwide attention towards environmental issues, the findings obtained from this study have the potential to contribute to policy-making processes that are grounded in empirical data. These policies are intended to foster sustainable economic development, decrease the release of greenhouse gases, and alleviate the negative consequences associated with climate change. The present study undertook a detailed analysis of key factors across OECD countries, encompassing the time period from 1990 to 2022. We utilized robust analytical techniques, such as the Method of Moments Quantile Regression, together with stringent diagnostic testing, to validate and strengthen our findings. The present study has successfully shown a robust and statistically significant correlation between economic expansion and the emission of greenhouse gases. This highlights the significance of implementing sustainable growth strategies that consider the environmental consequences. The findings suggest that both trade openness and globalization are inversely related to emissions, underscoring the potential advantages of international collaboration in mitigating carbon footprints. The study revealed that the emissions were highly influenced by the quality of institutions, highlighting the crucial importance of strong regulatory frameworks and effective environmental governance in controlling emissions. The influence of total natural resource rent and renewable electricity generation on emissions trends has been identified, highlighting the significance of sustainable resource management and the shift towards green energy. The findings of this study have substantial significance for OECD countries as they confront the complexities associated with climate change and the pursuit of environmental sustainability. It is advisable for policymakers to take into account the many effects of economic growth, trade, globalization, resource management, the adoption of renewable energy, and institutional quality on emissions. • This study delves into the determinants of greenhouse gas emissions in OECD countries from 1990 to 2022. • Factors such as economic growth, natural resource prices, and trade are found to contribute to increased CO2 emissions. • Improved institutional quality is associated with better environmental quality outcomes. • The impact of globalization appears to have a detrimental effect on greenhouse gas emissions. • Surprisingly, the study suggests that renewable electricity output does not play a significant role in reducing emissions. • The research employs cointegration regressions and robust least squares methods to validate the empirical findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Territorial sustainability performance is becoming a core subject and an important governing tool for defining policies and strategies from the global to local scale. In this regard, this research has two main objectives. The first one is to develop composite indicators considering the social, environmental, and economic aspects as coupled systems for assessing the territorial sustainability performance (TSP) at the provincial level of Moroccan territory. The second objective is to identify provinces having difficulties in reaching economic growth, social equity, and environmental preservation. Using the standard constant-elasticity-of-substitution function, the TSP index was calculated based on 33 indicators, including 15, 13, and 5 for economic, social, and environmental indicators respectively. The evaluation was conducted at three levels: first; from indicators to nine dimension indices (Occupation, Education, Employment, Public Services, Health infrastructure, Tourism, Mobility, Vegetation, and Climate); second, from these dimensions to the three main aspects of sustainability; and finally, the TSP index. The results obtained from the composite index (TSPI) show that the majority of the Moroccan provinces present a low to moderate sustainability performance, requiring an effective improvement in those provinces' management. To better analyze the dimension performances and illustrate weaknesses and strengths, Moroccan provinces were subdivided into 5 main clusters using hierarchical and non-hierarchical Cluster-Analyses. The outcomes show that 62% of Moroccan provinces present some weaknesses in employment, education, and tourism. However, the public services, health infrastructure, and climate are the strengths of the remaining Moroccan provinces. These findings can be considered a valuable information system for adequate decision-making and enhancing vision in territorial planning and management. • The territorial sustainability performance (TSP) at the provincial level was evaluated based on composite indicators. • A general overview of the strengths and weaknesses in the sustainability performance of the Moroccan provinces is provided. • The majority of the Moroccan provinces show a low to moderate sustainability performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bearing in mind the devastating nature of climate change, the question of how climate change affects economic growth is becoming increasingly important. The aim of this paper is to answer this question by eliminating the most important methodical shortcoming of the available literature. The analysis is based on an advanced plug-in model averaging procedure that allows taking into account a very large number of potentially important growth determinants. The results of the analysis show that the growth of CO 2 and CH 4 emissions by 1%, increases on average the economic growth rate by 0.00132 and 0.00537 percentage points, respectively. In addition, an increase in surface temperature change by one degree Celsius results in an average increase in the rate of economic growth by 0.865 percentage points. Finally, increasing the number of climate-related disasters by one leads to an average increase in the economic growth rate of 0.115 percentage points. The obtained findings also reveal the impact of climate change is very heterogeneous across countries. Such results imply that the current extent of global warming and climate change does not yet have a dominant negative impact on economic growth. • The impact of climate change on economic growth is very heterogeneous. • The average effect of climate change on economic growth is still positive. • Surface temperature change increase by Celsius degree, increases growth by 0.865 pp on average. • Surface temperature change doesn't affect growth in at least 30% of countries. • The negative impact of climate change on economic growth is still relatively rare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For India, achieving environmental sustainability in the midst of faster growth remains a challenging objective. Therefore, we are revisiting the nature of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) at different stages of economic growth through both necessary and sufficient conditions under the cubic model specifications in India. Further, we extend the EKC framework by incorporating energy consumption, agricultural value added, trade, the world uncertainty index, and geopolitical risk as additional variables into the three preferred disaggregated greenhouse gas emission (GHG) models. This study employs an auto-regressive distributed lag model (ARDL). The empirical findings show evidence of the valid N-shaped EKC through both necessary and sufficient conditions for carbon dioxide (CO 2) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) and exhibit the presence of two real and distinct income turning points for both valid EKCs. In contrast, only the necessary condition supports the N-shaped EKC for methane (CH 4) emissions in India. Further, the results highlight that trade has a positive impact, whereas the world uncertainty index has a negative impact on disaggregated GHGs. Similarly, geopolitical risk has a negative effect on CH 4 and N 2 O, whereas energy consumption has a positive impact on CO 2 emissions. Moreover, agricultural value added has a negative effect on CH 4 and a positive effect on N 2 O emissions. Our empirical findings suggest policy recommendations that can collectively work as a roadmap for India to become emission-neutral by 2070. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of culture industries stems from their impact not only on economic growth, but also on social development, which translates into quality of life. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the impact of culture industries on sustainable development in EU countries. The study presents the Authors' approach to the Culture Industries Index (CI) and the Sustainable Development Index (SD). The basis for the creation of the presented measurable indices was data taking into account the years 2010–2020. The analytical objective was achieved by applying two separate methods of multiple regression: panel regression with random effects and OLS regression performed on the first differences of the respective variables. The analyses conducted in the study show that the selected components comprising the Culture Industries Index (CI) have an impact on sustainable development in the EU countries studied. Thus, it is safe to conclude that culture industries could develop and generate added value if the favourable socio-economic conditions are created in the countries studied. The results of the study have made it possible to provide recommendations for the EU countries indicating to what extent and in which areas they must consistently take action to create favourable conditions for the development of culture industries and their impact on sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban green space (UGS) is susceptible to shocks from multiple sources, including the economy and governance. It is now a global policy challenge to ensure the sustainability and livability of cities. Nevertheless, available studies have reached contradictory conclusions regarding the economic impact on UGS. Using statistical data, empirical studies in the Chinese context failed to differentiate between built-up areas and municipalities and neglected data matching within the study area. To address these gaps, this study explored the relationship between the economy and UGS at various quantiles by constructing unconditional quantile regression (UQR) models using panel data from 283 Chinese cities (2001–2019). The relationship between economic growth and the total area of UGS in the municipal zone (ugs_area) and UGS coverage of built-up areas (ugs_rate) was generally positive and statistically significant, according to the analysis. Furthermore, the study observed heterogeneity in the relationship between the economy and ugs_area and ugs_rate across different quantiles, indicating a growing presence of UGS appearing in the periphery of built-up areas. Cities strived to increase ugs_area and ugs_rate to meet the National Garden City (NGC) standards. After NGC designation, ugs_area and ugs_rate decreased significantly. Moreover, the positive correlation coefficient between the economy and UGS in provincial capital cities was considerably greater than in non-provincial capital cities. This study contributes to UGS research by revealing the nonlinear impact of driving factors. In addition to distinguishing between UGS in municipal districts and those specifically in built-up areas, this study quantifies the impact of governance variables. The study provides a valuable resource for planning UGS in China and promoting harmonious integration of economic growth, governance, and UGS in rapidly developing cities. [Display omitted] • We explored the effect of multiple factors in shaping the UGS. • This study includes panel data of 283 cities (2001–2019) using econometric methods. • Economic growth is pushing UGS to the urban fringe, despite benefiting UGS growth. • Economic impact on ugs_area is stronger in provincial capitals. • Upon designating as an NGC, the citie's ugs_area and ugs_rate significantly decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pursuit of sustainable development has become a prevalent goal in numerous countries. Therefore, renewable energy development is deemed the prime alternative, as it not only curtails CO2 emissions but also stimulates economic prosperity. Hence, there is a need to investigate rational options for renewable energy development. This paper utilises a research framework that combines linear and non-linear modelling. The specific results are as follows. The study's findings reveal that wind, solar and hydro energy can each promote economic growth and lower carbon emissions. Nevertheless, wind energy exhibits the most effective reduction in emissions, followed by solar energy, and lastly, hydro energy. When it comes to promoting economic development, hydro energy proves to be the most effective, followed by wind energy and then solar energy. Additionally, a panel threshold model is utilised to assess further the CO 2 reduction for solar, wind, and hydro energy across a range of economic levels. The results indicate a double threshold effect for wind energy, whereby the effectiveness of CO 2 suppression initially increases and then decreases as the economic level rises. In contrast, the use of solar power displays a sole threshold effect that incentivizes CO 2 emissions at sub-threshold economic levels, yet significantly curbs them beyond it. Similarly, hydro energy also demonstrates a single threshold effect, but lacks statistical significance below the established threshold and actually heightens carbon emissions above it. Our observations can assist in creating sustainable renewable energy development strategies. [Display omitted] • Investigating the impacts of solar, wind, and hydro on economic growth and carbon emission. • Using the linear and nonlinear panel data in 22 countries from 2001 to 2020. • Solar, wind, and hydro contribute to economic growth and carbon emissions reduction. • Countries with a good economy prioritize wind and solar, while others prioritize hydro and wind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climate crisis is recognized as one of the world's most serious concerns, posing a threat to environmental, social, and economic growth. However, previous work has failed to address the dynamic effects through which economic growth may affect green growth and climate crisis. In this research, we take a closer look at the impact of carbon emissions, eco-innovation adoption, and international collaboration on economic growth and the influence of economic growth on green growth. This paper used the generalized method of moments (GMM) for 54 African countries from 2010 to 2019, allied with an imbalanced panel of 540 observations. This paper finds a positive relationship between carbon emissions, eco-innovation international cooperation, and economic growth with p-values lower than 0.047. Our study discovers economic growth's robust and positive impact on green growth with a p-value of 0.009. This research finds a three-pronged mediating effect of economic growth between its driving factors and green growth. Lastly, this paper furnishes new visions into the argument over economic growth versus green growth. It informs policymakers of the need to pay attention to the growing effect of eco-innovation driving factors on attaining sustainable and greener growth and climate crisis mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the impact of renewable energy consumption on the economic growth of G7 countries and explore the potential nonlinear relationship between the two variables. Initially, the NARDL model is employed to analyze the G7 countries, allowing for the control of nonlinear relationships and considering asymmetric effects. The findings of the NARDL model reveal an asymmetric long run cointegration relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth in Canada and the US, while other countries show different dynamics. Subsequently, a causal dynamic impact analysis is conducted to gain further insights into the relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth. In the next step, the advantage of panel data analysis is utilized to investigate the overall impact across all G7 countries. For this purpose, the study extends the NARDL model to the PNARDL (Panel Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag) model, which facilitates the control of asymmetric effects and nonlinearity in the panel data model. In this context, this study is one of the first studies to control the nonlinearity in panel data analysis. The results from the PNARDL model demonstrate that renewable energy has a positive long-term relationship with economic growth in G7 countries; however, this relationship is statistically insignificant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the impact of trade on environment and economic growth in G20 countries from 1990 to 2019, for environmentally sensitive goods (ESGs). Traditional and modern approach of hypothesizing Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), are employed. Cross-Sectional-Autoregressive-Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) model is used to determine short-run and long-run cointegration between environment, growth and trade variables. To analyze the asymmetric impacts of environmental stringency on carbon emissions, Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) model is used. The results demonstrate that trade-induced EKC of ESGs for G20 is inverted-U shaped. Further, the study shows that trade-induced economic growth results in higher carbon emission, but mitigates environmental degradation at an early stage. Stringency has asymmetric effects on carbon emission, as observed from the findings. Given the controversial nature of research on the environmental impact of trade, particularly with respect to environmentally sensitive items, the present study is unique in terms of selecting the research topic and adds specific value to the literature in comparing the relationship between economic growth and environmental quality, with and without-trade, of toxic product. Moreover, the study highlights the importance of an asymmetrical analysis of the relationship between legislative strictness and environmental degradation from a policy-making perspective of G20. • This is a panel study accounting for trade-induced economic growth in G20 economies. • The study mainly revolves around the trade in environmentally sensitive goods. • Both the traditional and modern approaches for EKC framework have been employed. • The study analyzes the asymmetric impacts of environmental stringency on carbon emissions. • The results reveal that trade-induced growth is more pollutive and technologically advanced in the G20. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The ETRS significantly cut SO 2 emissions and related activities. However, non-targeted air pollutants were unaffected. • The ETRS reduced more polluting activities in the state sector, but it caused more firm shutdowns in the private sector. • Encouraging efforts on environmental protection crowded out efforts on economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In times of climate change, biodiversity loss, or growing natural resource scarcity, the circular business model (CBM) concept is increasingly attractive, promoting the reorganization of current value creation architectures and supply chains toward a sustainable system of production and consumption. Driven by a vision of continued economic expansion and growth on a planet with finite natural resources, CBMs are endorsed by political institutions, multinational corporations, business consultancies, and academia. Some argue that CBM configurations contribute to a more holistic and radical change in the existing business logics than approaches that achieve incremental resource efficiency improvements. However, how "holistic" and "radical" are CBMs theoretically constituted in academia if we consider the deep structural and paradigmatic shifts in societies necessary to deal with the challenges associated with the Anthropocene? Prior studies do not examine the inherent normative settings and the operational change approaches beneath CBM concepts. To reconstruct the theoretical foundations of CBMs critically, the recent CBM body of academic literature is systematically reviewed according to (1) the legitimacy of CBMs (why should it be done) (2) the modes of value creation and offerings (what should be done), and (3) the core principles of CBM integration into daily business (how should it be done). From this synthesis, the predominant notion of sustainability behind the CBM concept can be revealed. This study argues contemporary scientifically constructed CBMs need to be reconsidered if they are intended to contribute to a profound economic transition toward sustainability. Hence, the paper shows how principles from more "holistic", "radical", and pluralistic economic approaches can widen CBMs and how future research can help to diversify the concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tremendous effects on the global economy in terms of economic, social and environmental costs remind us of the catastrophic consequences of climate change and global warming caused by CO 2 emissions. Therefore, accelerating decarbonization of the global energy system should be put in place to curb large amount of CO 2 emission from hydrocarbon energy sources on which the current global value chain of production heavily relies.This study focuses on analyzing the effects of renewable energy transition, the digital economy, and the synergy between them on green economic growth in 18 Latin American countries. To capture the multidimensionality of these transitions, the Renewable Energy Transition Index (RETI) and the Digital Economy Index (DEI) are developed using the Principal Component Factor (PCF) technique. The FixedEffect Panel Threshold Regression (FEPTR) substantiates that renewable energy transition has a significant threshold effect on economic growth and environmental sustainability depending on the level of income and carbon emissions. On the other hand, the Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) shows that both renewable energy transition and the digital economy have a significant positive impact on economic growth in all quantile groups. For the environmental sustainability, only renewable energy transition is found to have a positive impact in all quantile groups. From the synergistic effect perspectives, the CO 2 emissions reduction is observed in both the low and middle quantile groups, but the economic growth promotion is only observed in a low quantile group. [Display omitted] • Impact of renewable energy, digital economy, and their synergy on green growth. • Development of new indices for renewable energy and digital economy. • Nonlinearity and asymmetry in renewable energy examined via threshold regression. • Heterogeneity analysis substatntiated by Method of Moments Quantile Regression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the increasing pressure of global warming, carbon emission reduction has gradually become a consensus. Compared with the developed areas, the underdeveloped regions are at a significant disadvantage, which not only have the urgent need to rapidly improve the economic level, but also shoulder the responsibility of mitigating carbon emissions. That is, try to limit carbon emissions while maintaining rapid economic growth. Therefore, it is necessary to estimate the profile of carbon emissions, reveal the key driving mechanisms, and explore effective ways to achieve efficient and low-carbon development. Therefore, we took Guizhou, a less developed province in southwest China, as research area, calculated the carbon emissions from energy consumption and cement production during 1990–2020, identified the relationship between carbon emissions and economic development, investigated the driver factors using the STIRPAT model, and set up five scenarios to predict the carbon emissions from 2021 to 2035, to provide scientific data support and decision-making suggestions to promote the high-quality and sustainable development of Guizhou and similar regions. The results show the following: (1) The total carbon emissions show a fluctuating growth trend, up from 55.67 million tonnes in 1990 to 306.17 million tonnes in 2020, in which coal consumption contributes more than 80% of the total. (2) The relationship between carbon emissions and economic growth is mainly weak decoupling and gradually shifts to strong decoupling. (3) Energy structure plays a decisive role in carbon emissions, for every 1% increase in the ratio of coal in total energy consumption, carbon emissions will increase by 2.202%. (4) Carbon emissions could be greatly limited under policy scenario, which is 8.01% lower than the baseline scenario. The policy scenario is more likely occurred, while the other three scenarios could provide different direction references for further carbon emission reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the largest developing country in the world, China is committed to promoting high-quality economic development, while maintaining necessary economic growth. Given the downward pressure on economic growth alongside the goal of achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality, the scientific coordination of economic growth and carbon emissions is a vital consideration at local government level. Setting economic growth targets is an important element of economy management, one that also affects carbon emissions through factor allocation. This study analyzes the theoretical impact of setting economic growth targets based on carbon emissions, and conducts empirical research utilizing Chinese provincial-level panel data from 2000 to 2019. Accordingly, this study adopts the driving mechanism using mediating and moderating effect models. The economic growth target setting significantly reduced carbon emissions, and the study's result conclusively passed the robustness test. The carbon emission effect of the economic growth target setting has significant spatiotemporal heterogeneity. Setting economic growth targets affects carbon emissions by influencing industrial structure, factor mismatch, and innovative development. Moreover, the relationship between carbon emissions and economic growth targets is significantly regulated by government behavior and marketization levels. In future, optimizing the government's economic management behavior is an important measure for China to achieve the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. For local governments, the focus is on formulating reasonable growth targets, promoting market-oriented reform, and accelerating innovation-driven transformation to achieve a high-quality synergy between economic growth and carbon emissions reduction. On the basis of enriching relevant research perspectives, this study provides empirical experience for understanding the carbon emission effects of economic management in the emerging countries, and the driving mechanism identification can provide reference for local governments to optimize economic management behavior. [Display omitted] • A heuristic analytical framework is provided to study the relationship between economic management and carbon emissions. • Setting economic growth targets can help to inhibit carbon emissions, and innovation is the key mechanism. • Marketization level significantly affects the relationship between economic growth target and carbon emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid economic growth, people's need for environment and atmospheric qualities is getting higher. The Chinese government is taking active measures to deal with it, and the scientific evaluation of atmospheric emission efficiency is necessary for atmospheric environment management. Concerning this reason, this paper uses the non-radial DEA model and the PS (Phillips and Sul) convergence test to study the atmospheric emission efficiency and spatial convergence characteristics in China and analyzes the changing trends and transfer path of atmospheric emission efficiency from a dynamic perspective. We conclude that (1) the overall level of atmospheric emission efficiency in China is low, and further improvement can be done; (2) there is a positive relationship between atmospheric emission efficiency and regional economic development; (3) there are obvious characteristics of unbalanced distribution and regional distribution of atmospheric emission efficiency; (4) the transfer path of atmospheric emission efficiency shows a decreasing trend year by year, which indicates that China's atmospheric environment is gradually being improved. These findings show some directions for the atmospheric environment management in China and can help the cities to deal with atmospheric pollution management issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates the necessary and sufficient conditions for the ecological footprint in a panel of 103 countries in 2018 by employing two distinct analytical approaches: Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) and Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) models. The NCA and fsQCA models are data-based and were analyzed using R software. The research utilized various factors, such as economic growth, institutional quality, urbanization, energy consumption, fragile states, and trade openness, as influencing factors. The NCA model examines the necessary conditions for the influence of independent variables on the ecological footprint. In contrast, the fsQCA model allows for exploring sufficient conditions and identifying the optimal combination of variables that increase or decrease the ecological footprint. The results of the NCA model indicate that only energy consumption is a necessary condition for the ecological footprint. In contrast, the fsQCA model shows that low GDP is necessary for a low ecological footprint. Moreover, the fsQCA model reveals five combined solutions for increasing or decreasing the ecological footprint. For example, solution 4, with a compatibility of 0.98, states that increasing urbanization and institutional quality, along with reducing energy consumption, leads to a decrease in the ecological footprint. The term "compatibility" in this context refers to the extent to which the solution satisfies the necessary and sufficient conditions of the model. The findings suggest that policymakers should focus on reducing energy consumption to decrease the ecological footprint and promote low economic growth to achieve a sustainable environment. • The NCA and fsQCA models have been utilized to assess the necessary and sufficient conditions for the ecological footprint. • NCA model links energy consumption to ecological footprint, while fsQCA model emphasizes economic growth as a key factor. • The fsQCA model finds 5 complex variable combinations for higher ecological footprint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has steadily gained attention as the global economy has grown more quickly, preventing continued high-quality economic growth. In this context, the eco-innovation concept has recently risen to the top of the list of academic research topics since it is a crucial tool that combines reduced environmental effects with a favourable socioeconomic impact. Nevertheless, the environmental situation is not improving despite the increasing eco-innovation level. From one perspective, instead of concentrating on how eco-innovation lessens carbon emissions, this research explores the indirect effect of carbon emissions on the GDP-eco-innovation nexus. From another perspective, since FDI might lessen harmful pollution, this research analyses the indirect effect of FDI on the economic growth-eco-innovation nexus. Therefore, this paper highlights the relationship between eco-innovation and economic growth (GDP), considering the dual mediating roles of carbon emissions and FDI. First, we examine the effects of GDP on eco-innovation activities in nine MENA countries from 2000 to 2019 using the geographic Durbin model based on spatial panel data. Second, this paper analysed the dual mediating effect of carbon emissions and FDI using the spatial stepwise regression model. The findings of this paper are as follows: (i) GDP positively impacts eco-innovation activities, and (ii) carbon emissions and FDI mediate the GDP-eco-innovation nexus. Therefore, GDP, FDI, and carbon emissions are significant drivers of eco-innovation. This research represents an essential step towards a better understanding of the need to support the transition to sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable economic growth relies on an increase in total factor productivity (TFP). To upgrade the core competitiveness and support the sustainable growth and high-quality development of China's economy, ascending TFP in China's manufacturing industry counts. This study analysed the impact of biased technological progress on TFP, which was estimated by using the relevant data of 27 subsectors of China's manufacturing industry from 1980 to 2019. The results revealed that from the early industrialisation period (1980–2000) to the mid-industrialisation period (2001–2012) and then to the middle and late industrialisation period (2013–2019), the mean value of TFP in China's manufacturing industry grew from 0.291 to 0.394 and then to 0.555, embodying a continuously upwards advancing tendency. Technological progress was capital biased from 1981 to 2011 and labour biased during the rest of the sample period. In addition, its direction was heterogeneous among various industries. To some extent, the growth of TFP has been hindered by biased technological progress and factor allocation. The per unit increase in them has led to 1.495 and 1.017 unit decreases in the TFP. Upon examining the factor efficiency and the factor structure, we found that the estimated coefficients of biased technological progress dropped to −1.516 and −1.719, preventing TFP from growing to a greater extent. Consequently, there is room for their optimisation in China's manufacturing industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Countries are placed under high ecological pressure during economic expansion periods, especially in the construction sector. In order to tackle the effects of such expansion, it is necessary to clearly identify its principal sources of impact. In this respect, the present methodology is proposed, where two dwelling projects (one in Spain, where the methodology is initially implemented, and a second in Chile) are economically and environmentally assessed in the design stage. The procedure is based on the Ecological Footprint indicator and the project's bill of quantities, where the latter traditionally classifies project elements into three major categories: materials, manpower, and machinery. Each element has an associated footprint in terms of fossil fuel, cropland, pastures, forest and carbon absorption land, productive sea, and/or built land. The Chilean dwelling has an Ecological Footprint per m2 of floor area similar to that in Spain. The first is mainly built out of wooden materials, while the second is made of concrete and brick. The forest footprint of wooden materials is high compared to the fossil footprint of ceramic materials. The construction cost is significantly lower in Chile than in Spain, due to the cost of construction materials. In the case of the Chilean project, the footprint can be reduced from 0.17 to 0.07 hag/m2, largely due to the use of recycled wood. In Spain, a 25% reduction is achieved by using recycled concrete and steel, and by substituting ceramic vaults with cement vaults. The indicator is sensitive to different building typologies and construction materials, such as wooden, ceramic, and concrete products. The main obstacles in the assessment are related to the classification system of construction work. Highlights • Based on the budget, the economic and environmental impact is simultaneously assessed. • The model has shown to be sensitive to different types of buildings and materials. • The wooden materials has a very high impact due to the forest footprint. • Chilean and Spanish houses have a similar Ecological Footprint per square metre. • The project phases with the greatest economic and environmental impact are detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inclusive green growth has received significant attention globally since being proposed in 2012, with an emphasis on the social inclusion and green growth of the economy. In the process of growing the inclusive green economy, innovation has become the key factor in balancing the connection between economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental greenness. This study attempts to determine which innovation type—independent innovation or imitation innovation—is more beneficial to inclusive green growth and the possible regional heterogeneity by using the Spatial Durbin Model (SDM) and the Dynamic Spatial Durbin Model (DSDM). We examine the hypotheses by sampling 29 provinces in China over the past 10 years and find that independent innovation has a positive effect on inclusive green growth, while imitation innovation has a negative effect. In the subregional test, independent innovation, and imitation innovation in the eastern region of China can promote inclusive green growth, whereas in the rest of the districts these are insignificant or even inhibit inclusive green growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper was to analyze the behavior of environmental and performance variables in the Lean Manufacturing versus Green Manufacturing context in a road freight transportation system. Thus, a survey analysis was carried out by applying a satisfaction questionnaire to evaluate the customers, workers and managers perception concerning some environmental issues. It was verified the possibility for managers to develop different sustainable strategies considering the type of commercial vehicle available in the company, the vehicle age and the eco-driving behavior among drivers. Discrete Event Simulation was also applied to investigate the behavior of typical scenarios of transport operations in the Supply Chain encompassing greenhouse gas emissions and transport time of operation routes. In order to verify which factors most influenced the emissions, an experimental project using simulation models was employed. Investigating the results, it could be seen that the behavior of the transport structures cannot be generalized, as different scenarios had different results on the performance of the Supply Chain when analyzing factors such as Types of delivery fleet, Age of the fleet and Driving style. It was also identified that some simulations that present low emission have greater transport time. Thus, the green consumer behavior will carry greater weight on manager’s decisions; this way, actions that meet the lean and green can be established in a way that both practices can add value to eco-efficiency or greater sustainability to the Supply Chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clustering the manufacturing industries nearby major river is a common feature globally and can offer significant benefits in terms of productivity improvement. Nonetheless, such clustering also poses extensive and far-reaching environmental burdens on the river. China is implementing a green and low-carbon transformation strategy along the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, two of the largest rivers in its manufacturing hub. This research examines the following three ways for decoupling economic growth and CO 2 emissions in a typical industrial park located along the Yangtze River, which includes the chemical industry, textile industry, glass manufacturing industry, and automobile manufacturing as pillar industries. First, we use the Tapio decoupling model and Kaya identity to forecast the decoupling paradigm between economic growth and CO 2 emissions in the park by 2030 in response to policy interventions. Second, 10 two-digit level industries (TDLIs) with high energy-resource consumption and CO 2 emissions in the manufacturing sector are evaluated. Third, a model is developed to determine the most appropriate approach for modifying the 10 TDLIs' structures under different scenario analysis. The main findings are as follows. It is expected that the parks could achieve a relative decoupling around 2028 and 2029 under policy interventions. In addition, tailored policies for industries with high economic output and low CO 2 emissions are proposed, while their opposites are also. Lastly, the optimal way for the park to decouple economic development and CO 2 emissions is to simultaneously adjust its industrial structure and upgrade its energy facilities. This would result in a 31% reduction in CO 2 emissions with positive effects on the economy and continuous upgrading of the industrial structure of the park. This study will play an important role in the green transformation of China's manufacturing clusters located along the Yangtze and the Yellow Rivers and will also have implications for other similar manufacturing clusters. • Reduction of carbon dioxide (CO 2) in industrial parks near big rivers is revealed. • A 3-model integrated method decouples economic growth from CO 2 emissions in parks. • CO 2 emissions quota, economic growth, and adjustment smoothness are contemplated. • Industrial structure adjustment boosts economic growth and reduces CO 2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information and Communication Technology (ICT), especially internet-use and technological innovation are argued to have brought significant structural changes that drive economic growth. The current study verifies this argument using data for 16 emerging economies from 2000 to 2018. In this analysis, we have investigated the effects of ICT, innovation, electricity-consumption and renewable power generation, on the economic growth of the emerging economies. Using Instrumental-Variable GMM and fixed-effects regression with Driscoll-Kraay standard-errors, it is found that, ICT not only increases economic growth monotonically, but also increases the effectiveness of financial development on growth. However, ICT is also found to accentuate the negative effects of trade on economic growth. In order to account for the heterogeneities among these economies, both conditional and unconditional panel quantile estimators have been used for an income-level analysis. This shows that internet-use increases growth significantly in the lower and middle-income quantiles; innovation is found to have significant negative effects on growth, except for the highest income-quantile, while the positive growth-effects of electricity-consumption are confirmed across all quantiles. These findings suggest that the emerging economies should increase internet-connectivity to induce network-effect and to improve their capital markets, while also augmenting renewable electricity generation for environmentally-sustainable economic growth. • Internet-use increases economic growth monotonically for the overall sample of emerging economies. • Internet-use increases growth significantly in the lower and middle-income quantiles. • Innovation is found to have significant negative effects on economic growth, except for the highest income-quantile. • Electricity consumption significantly increases growth, but renewable power generation have insignificant effects. • The interaction of internet-use with trade and financial development are significantly negative and positive respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the asymmetric and long-run effect of energy productivity on the quality of the environment in Finland. Finland, as one of the Nordic countries, is a major contributor to the global drive to achieve decarbonization by 2050. In effect, this study seeks to contribute to the strides by querying the extent to which shocks in energy productivity make or mar the sustainability of the Finland environment from 1990:Q1 to 2019:Q4. The other impacts of financial development, economic growth, and trade openness are considered in the model estimated by using the novel hidden panel cointegration and nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) methodology. The results reveal a significant asymmetric equilibrium cointegration relationship among the variables over long-run time horizons; energy productivity utilization enhances the quality of the environment in Finland over the long run while trade openness, financial development, and economic growth contribute to environmental degradation in Finland in the long term. In particular, a 1% positive and negative fluctuation in energy productivity lowers carbon emissions by 1.79442% and 0.84799% in the long term. Whereas 1% change in trade openness, financial development, and economic growth trigger CO 2 emissions (CO 2 E) by 1.15298%, 0.271365%, and 2.93402% in Finland's economies. The results of the frequency domain causality model corroborate the NARDL results. On the basis of these empirical findings, this study suggests that policymakers in Finland should consider the asymmetric behavior among these variables in setting their trade, environmental, growth, and energy policies. [Display omitted] • The effect of energy productivity on environmental degradation in Finland is examined. • Nonlinear ARDL, Fourier ADL cointegration and frequnecy domain causality tests are employed. • Energy productivity leads to lower environmental degradation in Finland. • Energy productivity causes environmental sustainability at different frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrial economy in Henan has developed rapidly, and Henan has transformed from an agricultural province into an industrial one. However, the previous rough development model led to a certain degree of imbalance in the industrial structure (IS), which had impact on environment pollution (EP). Based on the existing problems of industrial pollution in Henan, it is still necessary to explore whether the evolution of IS had impact on EP or not. Thus, firstly, the paper used the latest available data of the whole Henan, the prefecture-level cities and the different types of industries from 2008 to 2019 to measure the temporal and spatial evolution of IS using the IS rationalization index, the IS advanced index and the IS change index. Secondly, based on the three indicators of the IS evolution and the comprehensive index of EP, multiple linear regression models and mediation effect models were constructed to assess the impact of the IS evolution on EP. The results showed that the economic growth of industrial sectors presented the characteristics of the structure optimization. The improvement of the rationalization index and the advanced index of IS could reduce the pollution level significantly. Fig: a. The impact of the IS rationalization index on EP b. The impact of the IS advanced index on EP c. The impact of the IS change index on EPFig. a. The mediation effect of IS rationalization index on EP b. The mediation effect results of IS advanced index on EP c. The mediation effect results of IS change index on EP. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental degradation has become one of the major concerns of the international community and the most debated topic at international forums. Therefore, policymakers have turned their attention from the traditional concept of economic growth to the more sustainable concept of growth known as green growth. This study tries to analyze the asymmetric effect of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on green growth in top polluted economies over the period 1994–2020. Furthermore, this study also controls the issue of cross-sectional dependence while estimating the effects of EPU on green growth. From the results of the CS-ARDL model, we confer that the linear estimate attached to the EPU is significant and negative, implying that any uncertainty hurts the progress of green growth. On the other side, in the nonlinear model, the estimate attached to the positive shock of EPU is negatively significant, and the estimate attached to the negative shock of EPU is insignificant. This result confirms that positive shock in the EPU is harmful to green growth, and the negative shock in EPU does not have a significant role in determining green growth. The findings propose that the economic policy uncertainty issue must be considered while formulating green growth policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, the interaction among innovation, tourism, and climate change has become a point of focus recently. This study examines the impact of innovation and tourism development on the sustainable development of the G7 economies. Panel data from 2000 to 2019 was analyzed for cross-sectional dependency, and a series of panel unit root tests were used to confirm the variables' unit root properties. Pedroni and Kao's tests confirm the cointegration relationship among the variables. The fully modified OLS and dynamic OLS results show that higher economic prosperity and lower environmental pollution are associated with innovation as measured in scientific publications and patents, highlighting the importance of innovation. The results highlight the positive significant impact of tourism arrivals on pollution reduction and economic expansion, which mark the steps for sustainable development. The study finds further evidence that asylum refugees did not positively contribute to economic prosperity, nor were they active in the environmental correction plans of the countries. The level of education provides strong evidence supporting sustainable development by encouraging economic growth and discouraging environmental degradation. Overall, the results recommend raising the level of innovation, tourism development, and higher technical education for the sustainable development of the G7 economies. These findings offer important contributions to firms, policymakers, and UN sustainable development agendas. [Display omitted] • The paper assesses the impact of innovation and tourism on sustainability. • The results show that innovation helps improve environmental quality. • The results reveal that innovation helps foster economic prosperity. • The paper finds that tourism helps in pollution reduction and economic expansion. • The results show that the level of education is important for sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda encourages and establishes initiatives that are important to society. In this sense, it is vital and valuable to adapt these initiatives on a sectoral basis. Therefore, this study aims to handle sustainability issues at ports within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) framework. Two targets were set. The first target is addressing the attention of European ports' sustainability disclosures to SDGs. The second target is to develop a comprehensive framework of port related sustainability initiatives to support the achievement of SDG targets. This paper is based upon a qualitative content analysis study. To consolidate the best practices, European Ports were selected as the research area. First, this study contributes to the extension of the UNSDG and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) indicator framework with port specific aspects. Therefore, it provides a comprehensive picture of port-related actions linked to each SDG goal. Secondly, it provides evidence of how European ports are aligned with SDGs. The results revealed that the port industry has the potential to contribute mainly to SDGs 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth; 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities, 12 Responsible Consumption and Production, 13 Climate Action, and 17 Partnership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental degradation has become one of the major concerns of the international community and the most debated topic at international forums. Therefore, policymakers have turned their attention from the traditional concept of economic growth to the more sustainable concept of growth known as green growth. This study tries to analyze the asymmetric effect of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on green growth in top polluted economies over the period 1994–2020. Furthermore, this study also controls the issue of cross-sectional dependence while estimating the effects of EPU on green growth. From the results of the CS-ARDL model, we confer that the linear estimate attached to the EPU is significant and negative, implying that any uncertainty hurts the progress of green growth. On the other side, in the nonlinear model, the estimate attached to the positive shock of EPU is negatively significant, and the estimate attached to the negative shock of EPU is insignificant. This result confirms that positive shock in the EPU is harmful to green growth, and the negative shock in EPU does not have a significant role in determining green growth. The findings propose that the economic policy uncertainty issue must be considered while formulating green growth policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important goal of circular economy strategies is the extension of product lifetimes, under the assumption that this will deliver reductions in materials, energy use and waste. More broadly, longer lifetimes might counter the "broken windows fallacy" on which much of economic growth is based. The aim of this paper is to elaborate on this assumption rather than take it for granted. What are the systemic effects of policies aimed at saving materials? Who will benefit from them? To answer these research questions, we start connecting two issues that are often handled separately, despite being closely interlinked, namely (i) working time reduction and (ii) (over)production and waste generation. Trends in work indicators and material consumption in the EU15 countries confirm that higher material efficiency has not delivered the hoped-for benefits, thereby supporting the rest of our analysis. The conceptual framework that we propose shows that efforts towards material savings might allow reductions in working time per inhabitant while keeping labour compensation unchanged. However, such a possibility is hindered by competition over material efficiency gains. • Efficiency gains from longer product lifetimes (LPL) do not benefit labour. • A shorter working time without cuts in labour compensation becomes feasible with LPL. • The integration of policies for LPL and for shorter working times increases wellbeing. • Longer product lifetimes do not necessarily reduce material use and waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, the interaction among innovation, tourism, and climate change has become a point of focus recently. This study examines the impact of innovation and tourism development on the sustainable development of the G7 economies. Panel data from 2000 to 2019 was analyzed for cross-sectional dependency, and a series of panel unit root tests were used to confirm the variables' unit root properties. Pedroni and Kao's tests confirm the cointegration relationship among the variables. The fully modified OLS and dynamic OLS results show that higher economic prosperity and lower environmental pollution are associated with innovation as measured in scientific publications and patents, highlighting the importance of innovation. The results highlight the positive significant impact of tourism arrivals on pollution reduction and economic expansion, which mark the steps for sustainable development. The study finds further evidence that asylum refugees did not positively contribute to economic prosperity, nor were they active in the environmental correction plans of the countries. The level of education provides strong evidence supporting sustainable development by encouraging economic growth and discouraging environmental degradation. Overall, the results recommend raising the level of innovation, tourism development, and higher technical education for the sustainable development of the G7 economies. These findings offer important contributions to firms, policymakers, and UN sustainable development agendas. [Display omitted] • The paper assesses the impact of innovation and tourism on sustainability. • The results show that innovation helps improve environmental quality. • The results reveal that innovation helps foster economic prosperity. • The paper finds that tourism helps in pollution reduction and economic expansion. • The results show that the level of education is important for sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]