Search

As a response to the increasing threat to sport events from climate change and expectations around climate change mitigation, sport event managers increasingly engage in environmentally-related initiatives that aim to reduce GHG emissions. One of the major contributors to GHG emissions at large sport events is spectators' travel and, thus, their associated modal choices. Building on the Sport Logistics Framework (SLF) and using the case study of Rapid Vienna, the largest football club in Austria, this study investigates spectators' modal choice to systematically assess the total GHGs emitted by spectators at a professional football home game. Data was obtained from two sources: a) an extensive data set collected on Rapid Vienna season ticket holders, and b) three surveys at home games which, together, constituted 3317 valid responses. The calculation of the GHG emissions resulted in 99,548 kg GHG emissions per home game or 6.0 kg GHG emissions per spectator. It was also found that 42.4 per cent spectators arriving by car emit 71.6 per cent of GHG emissions, while in contrast, 52.8 per cent of spectators using public transport emit 27.1 per cent of GHG emissions. The results also indicate that the possession of an annual public transport ticket seems to determine travel behavior, i.e. the majority of spectators with an annual ticket are using it, while spectators without a ticket are using a car. As such, this paper not only provides an opportunity for academics and managers to benchmark the data in order to identify initiatives to reduce the impact of GHG emissions, but also allows for the systematic measuring of the environmental impact of fan and spectator travel. • Fan travel to professional football games is a major contributor to GHG emissions. • We assess fans' modal choices and their carbon footprint at a football home game. • The home game emits a total 99,548 kg GHG emissions or 6.0 kg GHG emissions per fan. • We found that 42.4% fans arriving by car emit 71.6% of GHG emissions. • The study allows for benchmarking and systematic measuring of fan travel behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to evaluate and compare two integrated processes (Plant A and B) for hydrocarbon production from CO 2. They involve proton exchange membrane water electrolysis for H 2 production, reverse water-gas shift reaction for syngas production, pressure swing adsorption for syngas purification, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis for diesel-range hydrocarbons from CO 2 , and atmospheric distillation for product separation. Plant B additionally integrates a hydrocracking-based upgrading section. The simulations were performed using Aspen Plus® v10, Aspen Adsorption® v10, and Aspen Custom Modeler® v10. The evaluation covers technical, economic, environmental, and multi-criteria assessment (GREENSCOPE). The proposed processes demonstrate the potential to convert CO 2 to hydrocarbons, with carbon conversion rates of 75% and 71% for Plants A and B, respectively. Process energy intensity is 155 and 170 MJ/kg LP for Plants A and B, respectively. Environmental assessment reveals CO 2 reduction, resulting in negative global warming potentials of −2.20 and −0.84 kgCO 2-eq /kg LP for Plants A and B, respectively. The sustainability degree indices for Plants A and B are 1.00 and 0.06, respectively, indicating Plant A as the more sustainable process alternative based on both quantitative and qualitative metrics. Economic analysis shows project unviability in the Brazilian context due to reliance on H 2 production and prevailing pricing conditions. Economic viability requires a price increase of liquid products by 266% and 302% or CO 2-eq abatement costs ranging from 2.05 to 3.43 US$/kgCO 2-eq for Plants A and B, respectively. GREENSCOPE methodology indicates better performance for Plant A across all scores, highlighting a clear connection between the hydrocracking unit and performance indicators. The findings show that these processes align with sustainable development goals (SDGs) targets for climate action (SDG 13), clean energy (SDG 7), industry, innovation, and infrastructure (SDG 9), decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), and responsible consumption and production (SDG 12). Overall, the research moves forward SDGs by offering solutions to cut carbon emissions and promote sustainable industrial practices. [Display omitted] • The overall carbon conversion achieved 71–75%. • The global warming potential is about −2.20 to −0.84 kg CO2-eq /kg LP. • The net present value is about −1066 to −1147 MMUS$. • An increase of 266–302% in liquid product prices is required for economic viability. • A CO 2-eq abatement cost of 2.05–3.43 US$/kg is required for economic viability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With less than 6 years left to achieve the global sustainable development goals (SDGs) by 2030, there is a growing urgency to increase the effectiveness of policy actions by targeting multiple SDGs. Mathematical modeling tools facilitate sustainability assessment in support of integrated policymaking. This study examines the interlinkages between the SDGs with commonly used and broadly applicable energy system models (ESMs) using the 248 indicators defined by the United Nations. The SDGs are classified under the environment (SDGs 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15), economy (SDGs 8, 9, 10, 11, 17), and society (SDGs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 16) domains governing the sustainability framework. The results ascertain that current ESMs are conceived to prioritize energy-related environmental indicators related to SDG7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG13 (Climate Action) with limited focus on non-energy indicators of the environmental domain, along with little to no coverage of SDGs-indicators allocated within the economic and social domains, respectively. The findings call for expanding the frontiers of ESMs to incorporate emerging systemic interdependencies that extend beyond the traditional "energy-environmental" nexus considering the multi-dimensional facets of sustainable development. For this purpose, a conceptual integrated framework was developed underscoring procedural protocols and technical directives to advance the ESMs-SDGs modeling paradigm through the application of methodological improvement opportunities. Theoretical and practical implications driven by policy and managerial perspectives were also discussed. In closure, this study can inform stakeholders about the gaps (sustainability issues and corresponding targets-indicators) that are imperative to address in modeling the SDGs and how to leverage existing ESMs into integrating a broader range of SDGs beyond traditional considerations. The improved outcomes are expected to facilitate integrated sustainable policy planning and formulation in pursuit of operationalizing the SDGs for the timely attainment of the 2030 agenda. [Display omitted] • Shortlisted ten commonly used and broadly applicable energy system models (ESMs). • Systematic interlinkages mapping among ESMs and SDGs using 248 indicators. • Ranked SDGs-indicators coverage within ESMs using a customized scoring system. • ESMs focus on energy-environmental indicators followed by economic and then social. • Proposed conceptual integrated framework for advancing ESMs-SDGs modeling paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mitigation of climate change requires that agricultural development would proceed in accordance with green and sustainable practices. This implies that economic performance should be improved while minimizing the impact on the environment. One way to assess the underlying costs of sustainable agricultural development, and to model the relationship between the environment and the economy in general, is to use the carbon shadow price (CSP). In this paper, we utilize a by-production model within a non-parametric framework to estimate the agricultural CSP from 1997 to 2020 in 31 provinces of China. The patterns of the agricultural CSP are unveiled through kernel density analysis and convergence tests. Additionally, this paper constructs a comprehensive agricultural informatization indicator using the entropy method. We then empirically investigate its influence on agricultural CSP. The results reveal that China's agricultural CSP has demonstrated consistent growth over the past two decades which suggests serious improvement in environmental performance. Furthermore, the CSP show cross-province variation, albeit with conditional β convergence. Our empirical findings indicate that agricultural information technology contributes to an increase in CSP, thereby indicating its positive role on the green growth of agriculture in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European Union member states are dedicated to bring standards and create climate change mitigation strategies at the center stage of public policy, prioritizing energy sector's transition from non-renewable to renewable sources by the means of innovation. Though there are a plethora of studies on determinants of environmental degradation, the nexus between fiscal decentralization and ecological intensity has been lacking of empirical evidence. To bridge this shortcoming, this study aspires to investigate the direct impact of fiscal decentralization, economic abundance, human capital, energy use and green innovation on environmental degradation and how green innovation moderates the impact of fiscal decentralization on environmental degradation. Using the theoretical setting of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) phenomenon, this study analyzes the determinants of environmental degradation measured by ecological intensity and carbon intensity respectively across the nine European Union member states over the time span from 1995 to 2018. This study built upon a panel Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) with fixed effects and the ordinary least squares (OLS) regression with Driscoll-Kraay (DK) standard errors to validate the appropriateness of the EKC hypothesis in the observed sample authenticating the inverted U-shaped pattern between economic abundance and environmental degradation. Insofar as the direct impacts are considered, human capital and green innovation are efficient in abating environmental degradation of the countries under examination whereas energy use and fiscal decentralization aid in to environmental degradation. Regarding the indirect impacts, green innovation negatively moderates the association between fiscal decentralization and both indicators of environmental degradation namely, ecological intensity and carbon intensity. In the light of these findings, it is imperative for European Union member states to authorize the local governments to reduce pollution through innovation in climate change mitigation technologies to reinforce the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The depth and breadth of the climate crisis is well known, all sectors, industry, government and the individual have the potential to reduce emissions to slow or stop catastrophic climate change. To determine and evaluate the (revealed) preferences of the public in reducing their personal carbon emissions, a conjoint analysis survey, using the PAPRIKA (Potentially All Pairwise RanKings of all possible Alternatives) method, was distributed to the public in a city in the south of England (Southampton). Knowledge of the deep-seated preferences of the public makes a fundamental contribution to future climate actions because it enables publicly acceptable system change to be developed. Results showed the public were unwilling to make large-scale lifestyle changes, even if they would cause large emission reductions. There was a clear preference for making relatively easy, convenient changes to behaviour rather than making more difficult personal lifestyle changes involving diet and transportation. A significant value-action gap is evident, with the public showing high awareness of the seriousness of climate change but showing an unwillingness to make deep cuts to their personal emissions. Demography and personal factors had a relatively low influence over preferences with trends generally staying the same across demographic groups, aside from income brackets. Participants believed that reductions in emissions should come from a 'group effort' from all levels of government, business, environmental groups and individuals. Few participants placed themselves as individual drivers of carbon emission reduction. In order to reduce emissions some form of intervention needs to be made, as the public are not personally willing to make large-scale reductions in carbon emissions, regardless of their environmental awareness or demography. • Public's views on approaches to carbon reduction investigated via conjoint analysis. • Preference for low intensity, 'easy' behaviours not challenging lifestyle changes. • Demographic & personal factors have low influence on carbon reduction preferences. • High awareness of severity of climate change, impacts/priority; also high anxiety. • Desire to consume & "carry on as normal" outweighs self-reported concerns/attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing population and rising need for transportation amplify emissions, elevating the corresponding welfare costs. This research examines the effect of transportation sector Innovation in mitigating emissions and decreasing welfare costs. The study selected the 15 most polluted European economies from 1994 to 2020 and employed second-generation econometric approaches. The study used the Westerlund panel co-integration technique and pooled mean group estimate strategy to examine the long and short-term relationships. Additionally, a fixed and random-effects model is employed to assess the consistency of the results. The research utilized the Granger causality methodology to investigate the outcomes specific to each country. The findings indicate that the implementation of new technologies for transport has a restraining effect on demand, transportation, and overall emissions in both the long and short term. Moreover, the interaction of renewable technologies with green energy profoundly impacts the European economies. The results show that environmental degradation increases temperature and rainfall uplift welfare costs. The country-specific results demonstrate a significant causal association among variables in the major economies, endorsing the effect of innovation in mitigation efforts and climate change on surging the welfare cost. The results suggest that green transport using renewable energies is the way to achieve carbon neutrality, decrease welfare costs, and 2050 sustainable transport targets. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Future projections indicate an expansion for both food and energy demands, which can increase pressure on land use, while there is an urgent global need for climate change mitigation. Bioenergy is foreseen as key option to meet future energy demands and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, however its sustainability depends on locations and regional characteristics. Simultaneously, agricultural production models that co-produce food, feed, and energy offer sustainability synergies and co-benefits, but site-specific sustainability assessments of their large-scale implementation are missing. This study presents a bottom-up approach to assess spatially explicit sustainability aspects of bioenergy-livestock integrated systems (BLI) in Brazil and shed light on their contribution to future energy demands, to climate change mitigation targets, and their impacts on selected ecosystem services, including bioenergy production, climate change mitigation, reduction of food competition, biodiversity conservation, and avoided deforestation. The proposed integration considers livestock intensification and use of biofuels by-products as animal feed supplement, taking advantage of synergies between these two value chains. The expansion of the BLI system in the Center-South region of Brazil produce up to 89 billion liters of ethanol, enough to meet future domestic ethanol demands from multiple shared socioeconomic pathways and generating surpluses for export. This production takes place on 16 million hectares of pastureland within the Sugarcane Agroecological Zoning, excluding the Amazon and Pantanal biomes, and biodiversity hotspots. BLI expansion mitigate up to 250 million tonnes of CO 2 eq and generate 15 billion dollars of profits. The best locations to maximize the selected ecosystem services are west of São Paulo, east of Mato Grosso do Sul, and the south-central region of the states of Goiás. This study may encourage the formulation of enhanced public policies for the integration of bioenergy and livestock value chains and guide a sustainable large-scale deployment of BLI systems. • Bioenergy and livestock integration (BLI): co-production of food, feed and energy. • BLI systems: 89 billion liters of ethanol and 250 million tonnes of CO 2 eq mitigated. • Enough ethanol to meet future Brazilian demands and surplus to be exported. • Biomass expansion only on pastureland inside Sugarcane Agroecological Zoning. • Without land displacement and deforestation of native vegetation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paris Agreement, signed in 2015 by 195 countries around the world as a measure to stop and reverse the consequences of global warming and promote Sustainable Development (SD), sets out strategies for reducing greenhouse gases and the Agenda 2030, which contains the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The participating countries of these agreements are demanded to develop public policies that incorporate the signed commitments. Regarding this issue, a topic of great importance is solid waste management. To decrease the generation of waste through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse become fundamental. Landfill Mining (LM) is presented as a strategic tool that, if established properly within waste management public policies, it can contribute to SD and mitigation of climate change. This article reviews more than a hundred projects carried out in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, which were cataloged according to the objectives they attended. Economic, social and environmental benefits and their relations with the compliance of SDGs are discussed. • From 112 projects worldwide, none were from Latin America, Africa and Australia. • Most projects were initiated by the public sector. • Landfill mining is considered as a strategic tool to accomplish 11 of the 17 SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While climate change mitigation agenda and energy governance are the central concerns of climatologists and energy-environmental scientists, the mainstream literature seems silent on whether a decentralized governance structure is desirable for complex economic systems and governmental intervention approaches to realize sustainable environments. To frame this critical research gap, we investigate the contribution of fiscal decentralization in moderating the influence of economic complexity and government intervention on energy and carbon efficiency in the presence of real GDP per capita. We employ a panel method of moments quantile regression (MQR) on data from selected seven fiscally decentralized OECD countries over the 1995–2018 period. The empirical results uncovered that economic complexity causes a drop in energy efficiency (at 1, 5, and 10% significance levels), with a more magnified effect in countries with low environmental sustainability levels. Conversely, our findings exerted that government intervention discourages energy and carbon intensity (at diversified significance levels as per probability scores of 0.01, 0.05, and 0.10), with heterogeneous degrees of impact across diversified model specifications. Regarding direct influence, our outcomes exhibited that expenditure and revenue decentralization aid in energy and carbon efficiency. Concerning moderation effects, expenditure and revenue decentralization successfully rejuvenate the environmental sustainability effects of economic complexity and government intervention (at 1 and 5% significance levels). Finally, our study gauged that the EKC phenomenon exists among the sampled OECD members, indicating that economic growth in the region will be the driving force behind the region's long-term environmental sustainability. Estimation results are robust to the alternative dependent variable, carbon intensity and alternative econometric technique, ordinary least squares with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors. A fiscally decentralized paradigm is desirable from a policy standpoint for government intervention in complex economies to realize environmental sustainability goals. [Display omitted] • Employed a novel Method of Moments Panel Quantile Regression. • Economic complexity directly impedes ecological sustainability. • Government intervention directly improves ecological sustainability. • For decentralized governance, economic complexity achieves ecological sustainability. • Fiscal decentralization negatively moderates the government intervention-environment link. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electricity as a clean cooking fuel is economically and environmentally efficient compared to other cooking fuels, and induction stoves are among the most efficient that could contribute to the sustainable energy transition. Nepal is rich in water resources, having resources four times higher than the global average. With increasing hydroelectricity generation, promoting induction stoves for cooking is a viable way to reduce the use of traditional fuels and Liquified Petroleum Gas imported from other countries. This study aims to identify the underlying product-specific factors influencing households' preference for electric cooking using induction stoves and assess the impact of awareness about the benefits of induction stoves on choice probability. We used a randomized conjoint experiment along with a randomized controlled trial collecting primary data of 9500 choice responses from 950 households in the Nuwakot district of central Nepal to achieve the objective. Among the six product-specific factors considered in the conjoint analysis, monthly expenses and supply of electricity were found to be significant determinants for choosing electric induction cooking, while cooking time, sickness rate, and environmental conditions also had a certain degree of influence, whereas the effect of installation cost was found to be statistically insignificant. The lower bound of households' willingness to pay for electric induction cooking was found to be as high as 4% of their monthly income. The information treatment increases the uptake rate of the induction package by 5% and willingness to pay by 9.58%. This indicates the role of awareness and behavior change in driving a sustainable energy transition, highlighting the need for policymakers to promote cleaner cooking technologies through the effective dissemination of information The results of this study will enable policymakers to make informed decisions to promote the use of induction stoves as the primary cooking fuel, thereby contributing to efforts toward climate change mitigation. • Promoting clean cooking fuel transition is essential for addressing global sustainability challenges. • However, prospects of the adoption of clean cooking fuels are uncertain. • We identify determinants of household preferences for clean cooking fuel transition. • Nepal government is prioritizing the provision of free induction stoves to households. • Instead, reducing monthly expenses and regular supply of electricity should be prioritized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were introduced to the world in 2015 to provide a roadmap for development in domains, such as poverty reduction, health, education, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, and climate action. Among the domains that must be worked on to reach the SDGs, waste management in the present day Built Environment (BE) is a domain that has been found to be significantly involved in achieving the SDGs and ensuring a sustainable future. Addressing the significance of this observation, the review aims to provide an overview of the current environmental and social factors related to waste management in the BE, identifies how waste management is important in achieving each SDG, and discusses key challenges and opportunities regarding the waste sector along with innovative approaches to waste management. Furthermore, the review presents cooperative game theory as a tool for providing models for the better identification of gaps in the compliance of waste laws and potential predictions of the future behaviour of the generators and handlers of waste to make better policies regarding waste management in the BE by considering SDGs as a guiding tool. • Waste management in the built environment (BE) is significant for achieving SDGs. • Nexus established between SDG and waste management in the BE. • Innovative approaches to waste management are highlighted. • Waste law compliance using cooperative game theory can be predicted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multi-faceted emergencies of our time (recession, pandemics, and international conflict) can disrupt progress towards sustainable development goals (SDGs). While climate-economy models can show pathways out of these disruptions, numerous stakeholder-informed enhancements are required to navigate through the interconnected SDG landscape. We introduce a novel Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs) approach that integrates Monte Carlo simulations, aiming to capture and understand the differences among modellers' and experts' perceptions of the impacts of such crises on broader sustainability, considering models' existing/planned capacity and uncertainty over perceived magnitude and propagation of impacts across SDGs. Our application shows that expert stakeholders appeared more concerned over the implications of these crises for sustainable development than modellers, but expectations were considerably constrained by model capabilities. SDGs 8 (growth), 7 (energy-sector sustainability), and 13 (climate action) were robustly found as most prone to examined shocks. Our proposed Monte Carlo Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (MCFCM) approach also highlighted potentially important propagation effects as well as gaps in integrated assessment model capabilities to holistically study the SDG spectrum. • We integrate Monte Carlo into Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping to allow uncertainty assessment. • We measure how SDGs are impacted by today's crises according to modelers and experts. • Expert perceptions of bigger & wider crisis propagation can inform model developments. • Modelers' perceptions may be biased based on their models' current/planned capacities. • Progress in SDGs 7, 8, 13 appears most prone to emergencies such as pandemics or wars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Global warming and energy shortage have aroused great interests in climate-responsive technologies during recent years. They are required for buildings to positively adjust themselves to local climates in different climate regions. Incorrect selections of these technologies may cause resource waste and low technological efficiency. Therefore, the present study to explore the regional suitability of climate-responsive technologies was conducted with expert knowledge-based investigation in five kinds of climate regions in China, including severe cold region, cold region, hot summer & cold winter region, hot summer & warm winter region and temperate region. 71 climate-responsive technologies were identified for controlling climate physical features (i.e., temperature, humidity, sunlight, and ventilation). Suitability priorities as well as application levels were analyzed with expert knowledge-based rankings, based on which, a database of climate-responsive technologies for buildings in different climate regions was established. The most suitable general technologies in different climate regions were derived regarding temperature, humidity, sunlight, and ventilation. The findings illustrated universality and disparity of technology regional suitability and those with high suitability rankings are well-responded to different climate regions. The study provides guidance for selecting climate-responsive technologies according to their regional suitability. It promotes wide application of appropriate technologies in different climates and contributes to the formation of healthy climate-responsive buildings with highly suitable climate-responsive technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, transportation and manufacturing emit large amount of greenhouse gases that needs to be lowered for reaching agreed upon clim ate goals. In this context evidence of mitigation activities among eighty-five companies and their forty-five parent companies in these two polluting sectors were traced focusing on a country that has committed itself to leading the implementation of ambitious climate-mitigation goals worldwide. Documentation from the companies in the transportation and manufacturing sectors was scrutinized (yearly reports, homepages and sustainability reports, if available) for evidence of any mitigation efforts, including emissions reporting and reduction goals. The study’s results found that two thirds of the companies seemed to have done nothing to mitigate climate change, while efforts in the remaining companies were modest at best; mitigation activities among the forty-five parent companies were only slightly more ambitious. The implications of these depressing findings are discussed in the light of possible caveats and the possibilities of new policy measures such as gender quotas in company boards. The conclusion is that the study’s results most likely reflect reality in the studied sectors and that novel approaches and more sector oriented research is needed in the quest for a carbon-neutral society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generation of goods and services are highly dependent on the use of natural resources. Until very recently, there was an implicit belief that the physical expansion of the economic system could be unlimited, as if the planet would have conditions and time enough to recover and continue to supply resources. This belief implies a confidence in an economic system that would provide whatever is necessary for a continuous growing production and consumption. Even believing that technology alone is not enough to solve the current environmental problems, it is certain that it can collaborate to mitigate climate change and to adaptation to changes in the environment. By bringing environmental aspects into discussions, eco-innovations can affect and transform the innovation system in order to create sustainable processes. However, the main challenge towards the transition to a more sustainable, cleaner and more equitable society is to set innovation in a new context, as until very recently it only considered the economic variables. This change means to value the social and environmental dimension of the innovation. In addition to eco-innovation, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is spreading in the industrial environment, offering promising perspectives. LCA is considered a valuable methodology in the environmental sustainability of industry. In this context, the present study addresses LCA and its relationship with the generation of eco-innovations. Drawing on contributions from literature on eco-innovation and LCA, the paper analyses available evidence on this relationship in a context of the transition towards sustainable development. To structure the debate, the paper offers a conceptual approach and an illustrative case on international researchers' and practitioners’ perceptions on the potentially positive relationship between eco-innovation and LCA. The study gathers data in the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection and in Scopus, in order to provide a picture of the distribution of documents retrieved from these databases, dealing with both eco-innovation and LCA topics. The paper concludes that the convergence of the eco-innovation and LCA studies is quite plausible, but at least in its initial phase, the literature that unites both themes is scarcely found in publications in the area of innovation, being more frequent in the area of engineering and management that usually addresses LCA studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimentation has been introduced as a potential means to overcome gaps between top-down led climate change policies and challenges related to the upscaling of grassroots innovations. In Finland, the current government programme emphasises the role of experimentation in sustainability transition and as a source for new growth. We carried out an exploratory study into the conditions that support experimentation and analysed the role of experiments in creating change, and the critical factors that determine the success of the experiments and their possibilities for upscaling. We drew our analyses from a selection of ten experiments aimed at mitigating climate change and improving resource efficiency. Experimentation scholars have identified similar success factors and barriers across different types of experiments, including economic viability, public funding, technological development, impact assessments, public policies and regulation as well as social aspects. Our results are in line with these findings, especially highlighting the significance of the social aspects as a crucial enabling factor. The monitoring of the sustainability performance of both successful and ended or failed experiments and communication about the impact of such experiments are important from a learning point of view. We conclude that the development of governance structures for experimentation requires further attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on sustainable practices has attracted increasing interest as a way to understand energy demand and transitions towards sustainability. In this paper we elaborate on how practice theories can inform the discussion of experimentation. Practice theory suggests that the everyday life of people appears recalcitrant. Practices are robust, resilient and have multiple, historically formed constituents and are thereby difficult to destabilize and change quickly. The making and breaking of links inside and between practices is highlighted, as is the need for enduring, multi-sited change efforts. Practice theory further helps us to better understand the constitution of new, levelled forms of expertise, the distributed nature of experimentation and the enrolment of citizens as active participants in sustainability transitions. We have operationalized and examined these suggestions in a Finnish research project related to climate change mitigation and energy use in detached houses. We report specific modes of experimentation and innovation, including user innovations, and the shared resources of situated expertise, the collective and shared processes of empowerment and the ways in which normality is challenged by ruptures in everyday life. Based on the results, we derive suggestions for effective policy interventions. We also bring forward a set of generic suggestions for more sensitive, appreciative and effective public policies on sustainability transitions and cast experimentation in a particular and partial role in such policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimentation has been proposed as a key way in which governance drives sustainability transitions, notably by creating space for innovative solutions to emerge. In seeking to bring greater coherence to the literatures on climate and sustainability governance experiments, this article reports on a systematic review of articles published between 2009 and 2015. Based on these results a new definition and typology of climate governance experiments is suggested. The typology distinguishes between the various purposes experiments can have, including niche creation, market creation, spatial development, and societal problem solving. It deepens the understanding of the diversity in experimenting by highlighting the salient features of different types of governance experiments. It can therefore guide future research to generate more cumulative research findings contributing to a better understanding of the role and outcomes of experiments in societal transitions. The findings also suggest that real transitions towards low-carbon and climate-resilient societies will require a systematic deliberate combination of different types of experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The language of the global sustainability discourse in science and society is laden with time rhetoric, and time has been identified as one major contextual condition for sustainability transformations. Still, time and temporal dynamics are often not explicitly considered or conceptualized in research and strategy-building towards sustainability transformations in social-ecological and socio-technical systems: While existing approaches to time such as the concept of time ecology mainly inform system knowledge, many transformation concepts are found to lack an in-depth integration of time. This sets up the challenge to acknowledge and operationalize temporal system dynamics in transformation processes, in order to be able to plan and act purposefully towards long-term sustainable development. In this article, we take a first step to meet this challenge and propose an approach towards operationalizing and integrating the findings of time ecology for these sustainability transformation concepts. The presented time-in-transformations-approach consists of three subsequent steps. Each step informs specific features of the transformation process and is operationalized on the basis of insights from time ecology. By applying these steps to the exemplary case of the mineral-energy nexus, we show how our approach might enable a better temporal system understanding and support a structured reflection on human perception of change and typical temporal patterns. The approach leads to two main outcomes: First, it can inform how to design and carry out interventions in a way that they consider a system’s temporal resilience and transformability. Second, an active consideration of temporal dynamics can inform strategy-building towards coherent sustainability transformations across sectors and regulatory levels, spatial and temporal scales. Therefore, it can contribute to a shared and operational understanding of temporal diversity and may thus meaningfully complement existing approaches to analyze, assess and purposefully intervene into systems across sector boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite promises that they can contribute toward more environmentally beneficial transportation there are many sustainability concerns about liquid transport biofuels. In response to pressure from civil society, the European Union (EU) has introduced sustainability criteria for biofuels. A hybrid regulatory system involving state and non-state actors stipulates that retailers and producers must comply to be eligible for fiscal support such as tax exemptions. Flexibility in the system allows choice between different means of compliance, including a range of voluntary schemes. We present an analysis of views within the Swedish liquid transport biofuel sector in 2012 – a year after the introduction of EU sustainability criteria. Using document analysis, official statistics, and a survey, we use four key structures of global value chains — input–output structure, territorial configuration, institutional framework, and firm-level chain governance structure — to structure an analysis of biofuel value chain coordination. This yields three main findings regarding how the Swedish liquid transport biofuel system operates within, and views, the new regulatory framework. Firstly that it uses a broad portfolio of feedstock mainly from within Europe, seemingly avoiding countries where any supply conditions may be in doubt; second, larger retailers and producers achieve compliance without the need to provide additional social sustainability information; third, that actors exhibit predominantly Eurocentric perspectives on sustainability, express confidence that their supply chains have strong ‘sustainability performance’ and desire long-term policy stability. We conclude that despite a deep critique of the sustainability of biofuels amongst civil society and academia, EU regulation allows for production systems that reflect a European- and climate change mitigation-centred view on biofuel ‘sustainability’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study considers the potential conflict between economic growth and climate change mitigation. Some believe green growth is an option, while others think climate goals are incompatible with growth. It does so by developing a sector-based approach to analyze the relation between on the one hand carbon dioxide emissions per dollar of output and on the other the growth in economic output and labor productivity. This allows us to investigate whether green growth – combining economic growth with environmental sustainability – is feasible. The analysis covers Denmark, Germany and Spain for the period 1995–2007. An important innovation of this study is that carbon intensity is calculated in two different ways: (1) as direct carbon dioxide emissions from each sector, which can be seen to immediately result from the processes in the respective sector; and (2) as total, direct plus indirect, emissions, by using environmentally-extended input–output tables and considering also indirect carbon emissions through imported goods. Another novelty of this study is that we calculate correlations over time between sectoral carbon intensity and a range of economic indicators: sectoral total and relative output, final demand, value added, and so-called output and valued-added productivity indicators, and their change. A main conclusion is that despite past climate policy, developed under the Kyoto protocol, relatively clean sectors do not seem to be more productive than dirtier ones, and neither show higher productivity growth. Sectors associated with high carbon intensity grew more in absolute terms than those with low carbon intensity. The share of these sectors increased suggesting that green development requires an extremely rapid pace of decarbonization (to allow for green growth), or the economy as a whole to shrink (green decline). An important additional finding of this study is that longer-term sectoral growth, as expressed by a change in value added, does not seem to be positively correlated with carbon intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global food system is a major contributor to climate change with 23–42% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Thus, the transition to sustainable food systems and dietary patterns represents a big challenge and a key solution to feed a fast-growing world population while maintaining safe planet boundaries of sustainability. Organic farming is often proposed as a sustainable option, however a debate is open on its effectiveness in reducing the impact on climate when compared to conventional agriculture. Therefore, there is a need for clear indicators of climate and environmental sustainability to duly inform the food system actors and foster an effective transition towards sustainable food production and consumption. The carbon footprint (CF) is one of the most used indicators to assess the sustainability of food as it measures the contribution to climate change in terms of GHG emissions with different metrics (e.g. GHG per unit of product or per unit of land). Through a systematic analysis of the existing peer-reviewed studies allowing an unbiased comparison of product-based vs land-based CF, this study shows that organic food has on average lower impact on climate than conventional, both when the CF is assessed per 'land unit' (−43% GHG emissions, average) and per 'product unit' (−12% GHG emissions, average). However, the two CF metrics provide diverse results, even opposite in some cases, when individual conventional vs organic food types are compared: organic food results to be more sustainable than conventional in almost all cases when the 'land unit' CF metric is compared; conversely, conventional food results to be less impacting than organic in the 29% of cases when the 'product unit' CF is considered. According to these results, although the CF per unit of product is far more used and provides useful indications on the food emissions intensity, in some cases it can bring a misleading message towards unsustainability, with the paradox of making more preferable food that apparently shows lower impact per unit of product while having higher emissions per land unit. Contrariwise, the CF per unit of land better reflects the actual agricultural contribution to climate change which is driven by the land-atmosphere GHG fluxes. According to this study's results and in view of the global climate policies' targets which foster organic food production and the transition to sustainable diets, an extensive conversion of the existing global croplands into organic lands would significantly contribute to reducing total GHG emissions from the land sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global food system is a major contributor to climate change with 23–42% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Thus, the transition to sustainable food systems and dietary patterns represents a big challenge and a key solution to feed a fast-growing world population while maintaining safe planet boundaries of sustainability. Organic farming is often proposed as a sustainable option, however a debate is open on its effectiveness in reducing the impact on climate when compared to conventional agriculture. Therefore, there is a need for clear indicators of climate and environmental sustainability to duly inform the food system actors and foster an effective transition towards sustainable food production and consumption. The carbon footprint (CF) is one of the most used indicators to assess the sustainability of food as it measures the contribution to climate change in terms of GHG emissions with different metrics (e.g. GHG per unit of product or per unit of land). Through a systematic analysis of the existing peer-reviewed studies allowing an unbiased comparison of product-based vs land-based CF, this study shows that organic food has on average lower impact on climate than conventional, both when the CF is assessed per 'land unit' (−43% GHG emissions, average) and per 'product unit' (−12% GHG emissions, average). However, the two CF metrics provide diverse results, even opposite in some cases, when individual conventional vs organic food types are compared: organic food results to be more sustainable than conventional in almost all cases when the 'land unit' CF metric is compared; conversely, conventional food results to be less impacting than organic in the 29% of cases when the 'product unit' CF is considered. According to these results, although the CF per unit of product is far more used and provides useful indications on the food emissions intensity, in some cases it can bring a misleading message towards unsustainability, with the paradox of making more preferable food that apparently shows lower impact per unit of product while having higher emissions per land unit. Contrariwise, the CF per unit of land better reflects the actual agricultural contribution to climate change which is driven by the land-atmosphere GHG fluxes. According to this study's results and in view of the global climate policies' targets which foster organic food production and the transition to sustainable diets, an extensive conversion of the existing global croplands into organic lands would significantly contribute to reducing total GHG emissions from the land sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recycling has emerged as a critical global environmental and economic issue. Recycling helps achieve primary sustainability goals, including better waste management and climate change mitigation. This study tackles the research gap on how place identity and natural bonding affect recycling decision-making. The research investigates citizens' recycling intention by incorporating place identity and natural bonding into an extended norm activation model (NAM). The study proposes that openness to change, awareness of consequences, environmental concern, personal norms, and attitudes are responsible for place identity and natural bonding's indirect effect on citizens' recycling intention. Based on 815 survey responses, hypothetical claims were examined using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results revealed that place identity and natural bonding indirectly affect citizens' recycling intention through personal norms, awareness of consequences, and attitudes. Place identity also indirectly affects citizens' recycling intention, mediated by openness to change and environmental concern. The expanded NAM helps comprehend place identity and natural bonding's role in citizens' recycling intention. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the plight for sustainable development and to support net zero ambitions for climate change mitigation, a broad range of aeration strategies have been developed with the hope of improving efficiency to minimize environmental and economic costs associated with the wastewater treatment processes. However, a balance is levied between reducing oxygen availability and hindering aerobic processes thus compromising performance. In the present work, we evaluate and compare the sustainability of a range of investigated strategies including continuous aeration (CA) at different dissolved oxygen (DO) setpoints (0.5 mg/L, 2.5 mg/L, 4.5 mg/L) and intermittent aeration (IA) at different oxic-anoxic portions (2.5 h on/0.5 h off, 2.0 h on/1.0 h off, 1.5 h on/1.0 h off). To achieve this, an eco-efficiency assessment is performed based on the results of previous life cycle impact and costing analyses for each strategy, while also incorporating a third factor to account for their respective treatment performance. The results demonstrate a clear pattern of increased sustainability for the IA strategies (0.54–0.56 Pt/m3), compared to the CA strategies (0.76–0.77 Pt/m3). While only negligible difference was observed within each aeration type, the trade-off between environmental and economic efficiency and treatment performance was distinct in CA strategies. At the individual pollutant level, IA strategies demonstrated decreasing sustainability for total phosphorous (TP) removal as the anoxic cycle portion increased, while CA at 0.5 mg/L was shown to be the most sustainable strategy for the removal of this pollutant (0.61 Pt/m3). Further work is suggested to incorporate the relative N 2 O emissions generated by each strategy and to investigate other strategies based on automated control. [Display omitted] • The sustainability of 6 aeration strategies in wastewater treatment is evaluated. • Intermittent aeration is more sustainable than continuous. • Increasing performance compromises eco-efficiency in continuous aeration strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores corporate strategies to mitigate climate change of large CO 2 polluters. Unlike most prior studies in the area, which have attempted to identify configurations of firms pursuing similar strategies, this study appraises the relationships between nineteen carbon reduction practices and their underlying strategies. The findings are based on a sample of 158 carbon-intensive firms from three EU countries. Five main strategies in carbon-intensive firms are identified. The only relatively widely deployed strategy is emissions trading. The remaining strategies, including process emissions reduction, combustion emissions reduction, external measures, and lowering product output are not deployed extensively. Complementarity between the identified strategies is low – firms focus on a single climate change mitigation strategy rather than deploying several simultaneously.Climate policy stringency appears to have a positive effect on corporate efforts to reduce emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to ensure success for climate change mitigation policies? For the past decades, local climate action has been amongst the main global priorities. The Covenant of Mayors initiative is a major example of bottom-up climate initiative gathering municipalities of all sizes towards GHG reduction under a harmonised framework. Now, after the end of the first phase of the initiative in 2020, would be the time to assess the impact and effectiveness of the planed actions, based on the results of the monitoring exercise. However, the level and quality of monitoring reported by participating municipalities was not as expected and required an initial deep analysis. This study investigates the reasons behind this low number by comparing statistically the action plans of the 1643 CoM municipalities monitoring their emissions against the 3411 municipalities not doing it. The paper describes how, despite technical and financial barriers, key factors such as the direct involvement of local staff, stakeholders in participatory processes from an early stage, accurate budget allocation, or the development of the plan and deployment of actions as soon as possible, enabling municipalities to track and monitor their progress towards their climate target. • Assessing CoM impact is challenging due to the lack of monitoring/progress reports. • The lack of monitoring is explained by technical and financial barriers. • Direct engagement of local staff and stakeholders is key for successful monitoring. • Barriers and drivers found are a valuable guidance for global climate actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to achieve current sustainability and circular economy targets, the use of cleaner practices is required. Therefore, for the abatement of emissions in a cost-effective way, the use of waste materials, reduced manufacturing temperatures, and the increased use of bio-based materials should be explored in the asphalt pavement sector. In response to this need, this study carried out a carbon footprint and economic analysis for the three aforementioned strategies. To fully understand the potential of these pathways, the use of reclaimed asphalt (RAP) and crumb rubber (CR) in different quantities, the use of hot-, warm- and half-warm-mix asphalts, and the use of bio-based binders were considered both at the cradle-to-laid and 40-year life cycle level. The results of this study indicate high quantities of RAP and producing mixtures below 100 °C would provide the greatest environmental and cost benefits. At lower amounts of RAP, the use of CR was found to be more viable; especially with a higher durability. Bio-based materials also provide a large GHG saving potential, but would require commercialisation to be viable. The results of this study serve as a primer for researchers, industry and local authorities to better explore and combine climate mitigation and cost-effective strategies. Future work will cover the use of these results for their implementation in a decision-making system, including the novel indicator defined. • Three GHG and cost saving strategies were analysed across their life-cycle. • A novel indicator was defined to clearly interpret its viability. • High reclaimed asphalt at lower manufacturing temperatures was the most viable. • At low reclaimed asphalt quantities, crumb rubber was more viable. • Bio-materials have a large abatement potential when biogenic carbon is considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhanced weathering is a simple and scalable negative emissions technology with an estimated carbon dioxide removal potential of multiple gigatons per year. To date, the only life-cycle assessment of enhanced weathering was published by Lefebvre et al. (2019) in this journal. They estimated the carbon dioxide removal potential in Sao Paolo State in Brazil to be 1.3–2.4 Mt/y, examined the penalty from transportation greenhouse gas emissions, and pointed out that using life-cycle assessment can give more reliable estimates of climate change mitigation potential of enhanced weathering systems. In this letter, we discuss the limitations of life-cycle assessment of enhanced weathering, and then propose a more comprehensive life-cycle optimization approach, where the system configuration can be automatically synthesized to maximize environmental performance. This concept can be extended further to life-cycle sustainability optimization by including economic and social dimensions. • The first life cycle assessment of enhanced weathering was reported in 2019. • Life cycle optimization and life cycle sustainability assessment are also needed. • A combined life cycle sustainability optimization framework should be developed. • Hybrid models can be used to address future issues in enhanced weathering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanisation and the associated growing climate change burdens pose risks to urban and global climate resilience. Urban greenhouse gas emissions fluctuate over time in response to energy demand, which is influenced by government programmes, economic activity, and demographics. In this research, we investigate the influence of policy on urban energy demand and its consequences on mitigating climate change impacts. Using a case study of Lisbon, Portugal from 2008 to 2016, we illustrate a combined use of an urban energy metabolism assessment coupled with a logarithmic mean Divisia index to isolate the changes in energy-related carbon emissions associated with policy changes. We then link these energy flows to life cycle emissions factors to build a multi-level assessment between local and non-local global warming potential. We find that in 2016 Lisbon's energy flows generated more than 2 Mt of CO 2 -equivalent emissions over their life cycles, 48% of which were direct emissions within the city. This corresponds to a decrease of around 37% in greenhouse gas emissions from 2008. Additionally, we estimate the potential of Lisbon's urban forests to sequester these emissions to understand the potential for climate change mitigation. Results show that Lisbon's urban forest can meet less than 1% of the emissions throughout the assessment period. We discuss the changes, concluding that urban forests are insufficient in size to meet the sequestration demands of the urban energy metabolism, and therefore the focus must be more attuned to reducing fossil fuel use in the urban trade and transport activities. • Carbon emissions from Lisbon's urban energy metabolism are dominated by diesel use in the trade and transportation sectors. • Carbon emissions from Lisbon's urban energy metabolism have decreased following energy policy interventions. • Less than 1% of Lisbon's energy-related carbon emissions are sequestered by urban forests. • Urban forests are insufficient in size to mitigate the demand for carbon sequestration. • Energy policy must focus on reducing urban demand for diesel and petrol by transport activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been argued recently that green growth is the only economic development pathway to secure a sustainable future. The Government of Jordan has launched a National Green Growth Plan aiming to facilitate the transition towards green growth in six priority sectors; amongst those is the solid waste management sector. Jordan Vision 2025 has set a 33% reduction target in the solid waste amounts disposed in landfills or dumpsites by 2025. This study examines the development of the municipal solid waste management sector in Jordan from sustainability standpoint and presents potential scenarios to attain Jordan Vision 2025 target and gradually place this sector on a green growth path. The Sustainability Window analysis tool was used to assess the sustainability of this sector over the 2010–2015 period. This tool identifies whether the economic growth maintains the social and environmental wellbeing using strong and weak environmental, social inclusion, and economic indicators. Three scenarios to address Jordan Vision 2025 target were proposed and compared using the Sustainability Window tool: Mechanical biological treatment-anaerobic digestion, mechanical biological treatment-composting, and incineration. It was concluded from the sustainability window analysis of the 2010–2015 data that the total number of jobs in the municipal solid waste management sector is a weak social inclusion indicator compared to the stronger one "jobs per 10,000 tonnes". Likewise, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per tonne is a weak environmental indicator unlike the stronger "net GHG emissions". It was also inferred from the Sustainability Window analysis that the 2010–2015 Jordanian municipal solid waste sector growth did not fulfill all sustainability criteria. The proposed future scenarios were compared and it was determined that the mechanical biological treatment alternatives fulfill all sustainability criteria regardless of the indicators' strength, whereas the incineration scenario only satisfies the sustainability criteria using weak environmental indicators. Nonetheless, mechanical biological treatment-composting is the most attractive scenario from an economic perspective owing to the lower GHG mitigation cost of $18.3 per tCO 2 -eq compared to $35.5/tCO 2 -eq for the mechanical biological treatment-anaerobic digestion and $161.7/tCO 2 -eq for incineration. • The sustainability of the solid waste management sector in Jordan was assessed using the Sustainability Window tool. • The current growth scheme of the Jordanian solid waste management sector is not sustainable. • Mechanical biological treatment plants are sustainable solid waste management alternatives. • The least expensive mitigation measure is the mechanical biological treatment-composting with a cost of $18.3 per tCO 2 -eq. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our societies are continuously grappling with how to achieve rapid economic growth while minimizing the challenges of environmental sustainability. In this avenue, numerous studies have contributed towards investigating socio-economic factors and developing policies targeting environmental pressures (EPs). While previous studies have tended to focus on the individual driving forces of EPs, the consideration of the co-benefits and trade-offs among different EPs and policies have been considerably overlooked. In China, previous studies have mostly engaged these issues at the national level and have overlooked the regional socio-economic characteristics – this presents a mismatch between regional policy applications and average national level research findings. Towards this end, this study examines the co-benefits and trade-offs of eight EPs in Zhejiang during the 2007–2015 period. Our findings revealed strict co-benefits in reductions of all eight EPs due to intensity changes as well as trade-offs due to changes in final demand structure and final demand composition. Sectoral results show that only the Non-Ferrous Metal Ores sector has strict co-benefits among all EPs from the production perspective, while eight sectors have strict co-benefits from the consumption perspective mainly including the Mining and Washing of Coal , Ferrous Metal Ores, Electric Power and Heat Power sectors. Our findings suggest important policy implications associated with utilizing co-benefits and avoiding trade-offs for EP mitigation: making full use of all driving forces, strengthening intersectoral coordination, and establishing a joint evaluation mechanism among different sectors. Image 1 • Environmental pressures (EPs) in Zhejiang's socio-economic evolution were studied. • Sectorial level co-benefits and trade-offs of eight EPs in Zheijiang were analyzed. • Strict co-benefits in reducing EPs were observed through intensity changes. • EPs had more trade-offs than co-benefits at the sectorial level. • Mitigation of EPs demand utilization of co-benefits and avoidance of trade-offs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]