Search

The current applications in the energy sector are based largely on fossil fuels which release greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere. To face the issue of global warming, the energy sector has to transfer to and develop sustainable energy solutions that do not release carbon emissions. This is one of the primary motivators for the SDEWES conference as well as for this review, and previous ones, examining the most recent works based on sustainable and green energy production in such fields. The 17th Conference on the Sustainable Development of Energy, Water, and Environment Systems (SDEWES) was held on 6–10 November 2022 in Paphos, Cyprus. The SDEWES conference aims at solving complex and ongoing concerns that approach a long-term perspective and supporting innovative solutions and continuous monitoring and evaluation. This review paper aims at collecting the main presented papers focused on the following hot topics: low-carbon technologies based on renewable and clean-energy systems, including mainly biomass, solar, and wind energy applications; energy storage systems; hydrogen-based systems; energy-saving strategies in buildings; and the adoption of smart management strategies using renewable energy systems. These topics are investigated in order to propose solutions to address the issues of climate change, water scarcity, and energy saving. From the analyzed works, we note that some key issues for sustainable development remain to be further addressed: such as novel and advanced energy storage systems, green hydrogen production, novel low-temperature district heating and cooling networks, novel solar technologies for the simultaneous production of power and high temperature heat, solar desalination for hydrogen production systems, and agrivoltaic systems for the production of power and food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an overview for the Special Issue of Clean Technology and Environmental Policy journal (CTEP), and it includes accepted papers from: 5th South East European Conferences on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) held from May 22–26, 2022, in Vlore, Albania. 3rd Latin American Conferences on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) held from July 24–28, 2022, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. 17th Conferences on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) held from November 6–10, 2022, in Paphos, Cyprus. Considering CTEP's policy of high-quality research papers, guest editors have invited 35 research articles, presented at the SDEWES 2022 conference. After a vigorous review process, 13 papers have been accepted for publication in this special issue. All 13 accepted papers are briefly presented in this overview together with a wider view that presents research efforts within the SDEWES community published through previous SDEWES special issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing concerns over environmental issues and sustainable living have resulted in increased interest in renewable energy and energy efficiency. The real estate market is no exception, with homeowners increasingly considering the market value of green and sustainable buildings, which can offer both energy efficiency and potential health benefits. This study investigates the level of interest among homeowners in investing in renewable energy sources and energy efficiency measures for their homes and how it relates to their perception of the market value of green or sustainable buildings in the real estate market. A survey was conducted in the Paphos urban complex in Cyprus, with 180 participants over the age of 18. The participants were selected through a random sampling method and were representative of the general population in terms of gender, age, and income. Data were collected on their attitudes towards renewable energy sources and energy efficiency, as well as their perceptions of the market value of green buildings. The data collected were analyzed using various statistical methods, including Cronbach's α coefficient, the non-parametric Friedman test, descriptive statistics, and factor analysis, with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) being used for coding and analysis. Results indicate that 64% of the homeowners surveyed were interested in investing in renewable energy sources, and 72% were interested in energy efficiency measures. Additionally, findings suggest a moderate level of interest (58%) among homeowners in investing in renewable energy sources and that this is positively associated with their perception of the market value of green buildings. Furthermore, homeowners with higher income and education levels tend to be more interested in investing in renewable energy sources and energy efficiency measures and perceive green buildings as having higher market value. This study provides insights into the factors that drive homeowners' investment in renewable energy sources and energy efficiency measures, shedding light on the relationship between homeowners' perceptions of the market value of green buildings and their interest in such investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Haemoglobinopathies, including thalassaemias and sickle-cell syndromes, are demanding, lifelong conditions that pose a significant burden to patients, families, and healthcare systems. Despite the therapeutic advances and the resulting improvements in prognosis accomplished in past decades, these patients still face important challenges, including suboptimal access to quality care in areas with developing economies, changing epidemiology due to massive migration flows, an evolving clinical spectrum due to ageing in well-treated patients, and limited access to novel high-cost therapies. We herein describe the organization of healthcare services for haemoglobinopathies in Cyprus--with particular focus on beta-thalassaemia, the most prevalent condition in this region--along with selected patient outcomes. This report aims at underscoring the fact that nationally funded and well-coordinated prevention and care programmes for chronic and complex conditions, such as haemoglobinopathies, with active involvement from patient organizations lead to effective disease control and excellent outcomes in survival, quality of life, social adaptation, and public health savings, and allow timely and effective responses to emerging crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The Cyprus paradigm could therefore serve as a blueprint for the organization or adaptation of haemoglobinopathy programs in other countries since these disorders are still widely occurring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Observing phenological changes are important for evaluating the natural regeneration process of forests, especially in Mediterranean areas where the regeneration of coniferous forests depends on seeds and the changes in blossoming time are influenced by climate change. The high temporal resolution of Sentinel-1 data allows the time series analysis of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data, but it is still unknown how these data could be utilised for better understanding forest phenology and climate-related alternations. This study investigates the phenological cycle of Paphos forest, Cyprus using SAR data from 1992 to 2021, acquired by ERS-1/2, Envisat and Sentinel-1. An average phenological diagram was created for each space mission and a more detailed analysis was performed from October 2014 to November 2021, using the higher temporal resolution of Sentinel-1 data. Meteorological data were used to better understand the drivers of blooming alternations. Using the interquartile range (IQR), outliers were detected and replaced using the Kalman filter imputation. Forecasting trend lines were used to estimate the amplitude of the summer peaks and the annual mean. The observation of the average phenology from each satellite mission showed that there were two main blooming peaks each year: the winter and the summer peak. We argue that the winter peak relates to increased foliage, water content and/or increased soil moisture. The winter peak was followed by a fall in February reaching the lower point around March, due to the act of pine processionary (Thaumetopoea pityocampa). The summer peak should relate to the annual regeneration of needles and the drop of the old ones. A delay in the summer peak—in August 2018—was associated with increased high temperatures in May 2018. Simultaneously, the appearance of one peak instead of two in the σ V H time series during the period November 2014–October 2015 may be linked to a reduced act of the pine processionary associated with low November temperatures. Furthermore, there was an outlier in February 2016 with very low backscattering coefficients and it was associated with a drought year. Finally, predicting the amplitude of July 2020 returned high relevant Root Mean Square Error (rRMSE). Seven years of time series data are limiting for predicting using trend lines and many parameters need to be taken into consideration, including the increased rainfall between November 2018 and March 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate how alternations of the land surface temperature (LST) affects the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) in Paphos forest, Cyprus, using Landsat-5 and Landsat-8 imagery for the time periods 1993–2000 and 2013–2018, respectively. A total of 262 Landsat images were processed to compute the mean monthly NDVI and LST values and create a time series. Using the Cook's distance, the effect of missing values in the analysis of the time series were examined. Results from the cross-correlation and cross-variograms, decomposition model, and the BFAST algorithm were compared to produce reliable conclusions on forest changes and satellite, meteorological, and environmental data were combined to interpret the changes that occurred inside the forest. The decomposition analysis showed a decrease of 2.7% in the LST for the period 1993–2000 and an increase of 4.6% in the LST during the period 2013–2018. The NDVI trend is negatively correlated to the LST trend for both time periods. An increase in the LST trend was identified in November 1998 as well as in the NDVI trend in October 1994 and May 2014 that was caused by favorable climatic conditions. An increase in the NDVI trend from May 2014 to December 2015 may be related to reduced pityocampa attacks. An abrupt decrease was detected in December 2015 that was probably caused by the locust invasion that occurred in the island earlier that year. A positive correlation appears for LST and NDVI variables for time lags 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 months. Overall, it was shown that LST and NDVI analysis is very promising for identifying potential forest decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]