Search

Currently, we are confronted with the presence of two significant transformations. The emergence of technologies like artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, social media, Industry 4.0, and Society 5.0 is significantly impacting the behavior of individuals, societies, and countries in the 21st century. The second transformation pertains to various critical issues such as climate change, desertification, food and water security, and the future of life on our planet. This paper aims to analyze the impact of emerging technologies on mitigating climate change. The central inquiry at hand is whether humanity possesses the ability to transform the ongoing digital revolution into effective climate action. Specifically, we will analyze the fundamental question. Do digital technologies and information management contribute to the problem or offer a solution? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pressure on reducing greenhouse gas emissions has increased since the focus on climate change mitigation has grown. As the human development index is directly related to per capita energy consumption, sustainable energy production with reduced carbon footprint is the essential pathway for cleaner environment. Over numerous existing biological processes, hydrogen production via photo fermentation and photolysis of water is considered a more sustainable and economical method of hydrogen production. While both biological modes suffer from certain limitations, such as low yields and low production rates, practical implementation is still a long way off due to these limitations. The unique properties of nanomaterials (NMs) can help increase the efficiency of the biomass to biohydrogen process in significant ways. Applications of organic and inorganic nanoparticles in photocatalytic and photo fermentative hydrogen production is discussed in this paper. This review reports a wide range of applications of nanomaterials including the details of photo fermentative microorganisms and their mechanism of action. The maximum photo fermentative bio-H 2 production was reported in the presence of SiC–Fe 3 O 4 (3.02 mol H 2 /mol acetate), Ni (41 mol H 2 /mol sugar), graphite-C 3 N 4 (64.2 mol H 2 /mol sugar) whereas photocatalytic bio-H 2 yield was highest when Pd–Ni/CdS (54 mmol/g.h), Ni-MO/g-C 3 N 4 (1785 mmol/g.h) and CuO/TiO 2 (20.3 mmol/g.h) nanoparticles were employed. To design photocatalytic systems for practical and scalable use, the future research should be focused on deeper theoretical knowledge of mechanisms of light harvesting, ± charge separation and transport, surface biochemical reactions, semiconductor–liquid interactions, and reactor dynamics. [Display omitted] • Recent developments for improving water photolysis and photo-fermentation are reviewed. • Applications of organic and inorganic nanoparticles in hydrogen production are discussed. • The working principle and mechanism of hydrogen production are discussed. • The influence of key operating factors are presented. • Scope for future research was presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep decarbonization of the transport sector in small island developing states (SIDS) can simultaneously address issues of energy security, high fuel import prices, and climate change mitigation measures while ensuring a reduction in air pollution and higher levels of wellbeing for citizens. Electrification plays a vital role in the decarbonization process. Here, we investigate potential transition pathways towards electrification, taking the public transportation system in Mauritius as an example, where there is vast potential in electrifying the old and overburdened bus system. We simulate a variety of public bus turnover scenarios, considering initial costs of investments, energy and fuel requirements, and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. We demonstrate that optimized investment into electrifying public transit pays off, with annualized investments of about $5 million superseded by annual savings on fossil fuel imports of about $15 million. We suggest that international donors can accelerate this transition by providing loan guarantees and, by this, reducing the cost of capital. • Public fleet electrification is a straightforward yet widely beneficial approach. • We present a framework for comparing investment costs, energy and fuel requirements and emission reductions. • Investing in large-scale sustainable projects requires substantial amounts of upfront financing. • Optimized investment into electrification proves beneficial due to savings on fossil fuel imports. • A rethinking of global funding mechanisms can provide a way forward in addressing these barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telemedicine, Virtual visits, Carbon emissions, Sustainability, General surgery clinic Keywords: Telemedicine; Virtual visits; Carbon emissions; Sustainability; General surgery clinic EN Telemedicine Virtual visits Carbon emissions Sustainability General surgery clinic 2199 2201 3 10/18/23 20231001 NES 231001 Meeting Information: This project was presented at the Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (AHPBA) meeting on March 9-12, 2023, in Miami, Florida. [Extracted from the article]

• The article addresses a knowledge gap about how spatial situatedness shapes agency in urban experiments. • We introduce a framework from the literature on regional development, identifying three distinct types of agency. • The framework is combined with a process perspective to develop an analytical framework. • The framework is employed in a case study of an urban experiment in Gothenburg, Sweden. Experimentation has become one of the prevailing modes of governing the transition toward sustainable practices in urban environments. The spatial variation of urban sustainability transition has been attributed to a variety of conditions erected at different spatial scales. What remains less well-understood is how spatial situatedness shapes agency in urban experiments and the shapes agency can take is a field that requires further research and frameworks. The paper addresses this gap by introducing a framework from the literature on regional development, identifying three distinct types of agency that shape regional development processes. Combining this framework with a process perspective on urban experiments, we develop an analytical framework, which allows for a more granular understanding of agency in urban sustainability transitions. The analytical framework is then brought to use in a case study of an urban experiment aiming to electrify public transport in Gothenburg, Sweden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing advocacy from academics, international agenda-setting organisations, and cities themselves for expert- and evidence driven approaches to multiple aspects of urban climate change and sustainability, including nature-based solutions. However, given growing interest in nature-based solutions research and practice towards questions of justice, it is important that the knowledge systems used to inform decisions about urban nature-based solutions are critically scrutinised. We use the lens of epistemic justice – justice in knowledge, with regard to how society defines a problem and the range of possible solutions – to assess nature-based solutions actions for climate adaptation and resilience across five cities: Amsterdam, Glasgow, Hanoi, Oslo, and Taipei. Our study finds common issues: the risk of quantifiable evidence about the distribution of NbS and its benefits closing down the aims of NbS strategies to meeting narrowly-defined indicators; the potential for self-defined communities of experts becoming de facto authorities on NbS; and the need for those tasked with implementing NbS 'on the ground' to have access to the fora and knowledge systems in which NbS strategies are developed. A key message is that more participation alone is insufficient to address epistemic justice concerns, unless it comes at a stage where a broad range of stakeholders (and their knowledges) can influence adaptation strategies and the role of NbS within them. Given the inter- and transdisciplinary nature of NbS scholarship, we argue attention must be focused on the potential for exclusion of key knowledge systems from policy and governance processes. • Multi-city analysis of knowledge politics in Nature-Based Solutions for climate adaptation. • Epistemic justice as conceptual approach to understanding whose knowledge and experience counts. • Comparison of Amsterdam, Glasgow, Hanoi, Oslo, and Taipei. • Avoiding narrow focus on quantitative indicators of NbS adaptation 'success' vital. • Also need to integrate local and experiential knowledges from outset of NbS and adaptation planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the complex origins of energy poverty, focusing on economic, technological, and infrastructural aspects through the analysis of peer-reviewed articles using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA). By identifying key themes such as "energy scarcity," "energy accessibility," and "sustainable energy," the study emphasizes the urgent need for sustainable and accessible energy solutions. It highlights the shift towards community-led renewable energy initiatives as a critical strategy to achieve climate goals and support a low-carbon future. The research addresses the socio-economic impacts of energy poverty on household income and development, particularly in developing countries. It explores the challenges associated with solar energy in rural electrification and the dynamics of rural energy use and policy. The findings emphasize the importance of region-specific strategies and policies that address the unique challenges faced by rural communities. By advocating for equitable energy distribution and the adoption of renewable resources, the study provides a comprehensive understanding of the critical issues at play. This investigation offers valuable insights for policymakers aiming to combat energy poverty and promote environmental sustainability. It contributes to a deeper understanding of how targeted strategies can alleviate energy poverty and foster sustainable development, supporting efforts towards achieving net-zero emissions and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The study highlights the potential for community-driven initiatives to significantly impact the global energy landscape by presenting perspectives on energy policy and technology rollouts. [Display omitted] • Uses KMeans clustering and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) for topic analysis. • Identifies key themes: scarcity, access, and sustainability. • Highlights community-led renewable energy's role. • Shows energy poverty's socio-economic impacts. • Advocates for equitable energy policies and renewables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insulation materials in the construction industry play a crucial role in improving the thermal performance of buildings, reducing energy demands, and reducing carbon emissions. With the growing emphasis on decarbonization, the construction sector is increasingly adopting bio-based insulation materials from renewable and eco-friendly sources as a more sustainable circular economy (CE) strategy to replace mineral and plastic insulation materials. However, due to limited environmental data availability, their efficacy and environmental sustainability in climate mitigation relative to their conventional counterparts remain unclear. This study fills this critical knowledge gap by conducting a literature review and mapping the key physical and environmental properties of bio-based insulation materials, thereby assessing their potential for climate mitigation. Specific definitions and criteria established in this study for biobased insulation materials facilitated the mapping of 174 emerging materials and products at the lab-scale. These include 39 distinct bio-based materials, either in their raw form or combined with 40 binders from various material groups such as minerals, polymers, biopolymers, and other innovative solutions. Most mapped products show favorable performance in cradle-to-gate embodied carbon (EC), benefiting from biomaterials' carbon storage. However, significant variations in physical and environmental properties among these products highlight areas for improvement, particularly in embodied energy (EE) and thermal conductivity compared to glass wool. This paper attempts, for the first time, a comprehensive categorization of these products based on three criteria: thermal performance, climate mitigation, and environmental sustainability, grounded in critical physical and environmental properties. Cellulose and straw bale emerge as competitive options for thermal performance and environmental sustainability in climate mitigation, with potential for scalable adoption. However, further research on the physical and environmental properties of bio-based insulation materials is crucial to improve their assessment and categorization, and consequent recommendation for broader adoption in sustainable construction practices. [Display omitted] • Developed standardized definitions for biobased insulation materials by composition. • Categorized and mapped 174 bio-based insulation materials for climate mitigation. • Varied physical and environmental properties on the material level are observed. • EC values of most bio-based insulation materials are comparable to glass wool. • Cellulose and straw bales are promising alternatives for climate mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public–private partnerships (PPPs) are increasingly being utilized worldwide as a means of providing climate mitigation and adaptation interventions, including low-carbon, climate-resilient (LCCR) infrastructure. To explore LCCR PPPs in more depth, we conduct a systematic literature review of articles published in peer-reviewed, academic journals between 1990 and 2023, matched with a snowballing search approach. Our analysis is specifically focused on the reasons for public and private involvement in PPPs that solve climate-related problems and the main features influencing the outcomes of these projects. Our findings indicate that public authorities opt for PPPs in LCCR infrastructure projects due to budgetary constraints and the imperative for innovation. Private sector participation is driven by considerations such as profitability, risk mitigation, and favourable policy frameworks. Relative to more traditional PPP models, LCCR partnerships adopt more creative schemes, involve a larger number of stakeholders, display different risk allocations, and pay more attention to social acceptance. Moreover, their outcome and eventual success are more keenly measured in terms of social acceptance, transparency, and their relevance to citizens and social organizations. Future work should assess the overall efficacy of PPPs in delivering climate mitigation and adaptation interventions, especially emission reductions. Additionally, greater attention should be directed towards examining the replicability of case studies. Rather than relying on criteria established in the extant literature, emphasis should also be placed on climate objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing non-grain forestry woody fuel industries such as Jatropha curcas L. (JCL) aligns with the national conditions of countries with food shortages and large populations, such as some countries in Africa and Asia, and is an ideal alternative to replace fossil fuels. Determining appropriate planting densities suitable for different regions is one of the most critical practices for agriculture and forestry to achieve high yields and sustainability. This study conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) of the JCL biodiesel's environmental impact, energy balance, and economic analysis (3E) of two densities and three of the most suitable planting regions in China. Findings reveal that the density of 2500 plants/ha had a better 3E performance than 1600 plants/ha, and Yunnan province outperformed Guizhou province and Sichuan province. JCL biodiesel effectively mitigates the greenhouse effect (1141.14–1936.59 kg CO 2 eq/t) compared to conventional fossil diesel in different cases. Key factors influencing environmental performance include seed yield, urea applied during cultivation, methanol for biodiesel conversion, and electricity for irrigation. The Net Energy Balance (NEB) and Net Energy Ratio (NER) demonstrate the superior energy efficiency of JCL biodiesel over fossil diesel. The cost of producing JCL biodiesel decreased with the maturation of the trees, with water use and labor salary accounting for over 80% due to the necessity of the cultivation stage. Although the Financial Net Present Value (FNPV) was negative when considering only JCL biodiesel, it became positive (12111.64–27342.44 CNY) with the inclusion of by-products (glycerine, press-cake, and shells) in high-density cases. Our findings suggest that JCL biodiesel with appropriate density can serve as a sustainable biofuel alternative, replacing a portion of the fossil diesel currently on the market and significantly contributing to climate change mitigation and nonrenewable energy conservation. [Display omitted] • A comprehensive cradle-to-gate LCA of Jatropha curcas L. biodiesel of two densities × three regions was assessed. • Planting density was an important factor influencing the environmental, energy, and economic performance of Jatropha curcas L. • Jatropha curcas L. biodiesel reduced GHG emissions and saved energy compared to fossil diesel. • Emissions from fertilizers, energy consumption from electricity, and the cost of labor contributed the most to 3E of Jatropha curcas L. biodiesel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the urgent need for global climate change mitigation, the use of renewable carbon sources and the application of circular economy principles represent promising ways to implement the necessary fundamental transformation toward a sustainable (i.e., carbon-neutral) carbon-based chemical industry. As this required transformation involves a multitude of stakeholders and requires broad societal support, social sciences have to be involved to inform possible transformation pathways. Although there is a growing body of social sciences research in the field of a circular plastics economy, some processes in the social sciences that have the potential to support the transformation process are still understudied. Based on a reflection of the current circular economy approach, we point out research needs in the following fields: (1) behavioral plasticity of consumer behaviors and potential side effects of mitigation strategies, (2) the dynamics of political framework conditions, and (3) the citizens' literacy as relevant supporters of the transformation. We conclude that social sciences-related circular economy research is just beginning to understand the needs and willingness of actors involved in the transformation toward a sustainable carbon-based chemical industry, clearly implying the need for further contributions from the social sciences. • circular economy (CE) principles are needed for the transformation toward a sustainable chemical industry. • The transformation embraces a multitude of stakeholders which implies the need for broad societal support. • The potential of the social sciences in the field of transformation of the chemical system has yet not be fully utilized. • Research needs refer to (1) behavioral plasticity of consumer behaviors & potential side effects of mitigation strategies. • Research needs further refer to (2) the dynamics of political framework conditions & (3) to citizens' carbon literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Seven synoptic indicators were evaluated at the national level in Uruguay. • The environmental performance varied among regions and production systems. • Livestock farms exhibited better performance and less variability than cropland farms. • Cropland farms have the potential for comparable performance to less intensified areas. • Regional patterns varied among indicators, showing low redundancy. Ensuring food production while enhancing environmental sustainability is a critical challenge in the 21st century. Quantitative descriptions of environmental performance at the farm level are essential for evaluating agricultural production, aligning with climate and biodiversity goals, and facilitating sustainable transitions. However, many existing indicators and proxies rely on costly field-collected data with limited spatial generalization. In this study, we assessed the environmental performance of Uruguayan farms larger than 5 ha using seven synoptic indicators derived from remote sensing. These indicators included the proportion of natural habitats (NatHab), diversity of Ecosystem Functional Types (dEFT), supply of regulating and supporting Ecosystem Services (ESSI), their temporal trends (tESSI), Energy Available for Trophic Network (EATN; 1- Human Appropriation of Net Primary Production), Hydrological Yield (HY), and Soil Conservation (SC). We categorized rural cadastral units from different geomorphological regions into Cropland, Mixed, and Livestock production types. Results showed variations in environmental performance among production systems and regions, with livestock farms generally outperforming and exhibiting less variability. However, cropland farms displayed potential for comparable environmental performance to less intensified areas. Regional disparities were evident, with the Basaltic region demonstrating higher overall performance. Indicators such as NatHabs, dEFT, and EATN exhibited significant variation, reflecting land-use and management practices. HY also showcased notable regional and land-use differences, influenced by soil characteristics and landscape features. SC varied mainly between geomorphological regions. Interestingly, regional patterns differed among indicators, suggesting low redundancy. This study provides valuable insights into environmental performance and its spatial dynamics in the Uruguayan agricultural sector, informing land management and policy decisions. Future studies should engage diverse social actors to develop an environmental performance index for agricultural production, enhancing the sustainability of food production systems. [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]

Effective municipal solid waste (MSW) management is a crucial component for sustainable cities, as inefficient waste disposal contributes to the release of about a billion tons of CO 2 -eq in greenhouse gases (GHG) annually. With escalating global waste generation, there is an untapped opportunity to integrate carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies into existing MSW management processes. This review explores current research on utilizing MSW for CDR, emphasizing its potential for both energy generation and carbon sequestration. The investigation covers three waste management practices: landfilling, waste-to-energy (WtE), and biochar production, revealing two paths for carbon sequestration. First, MSW serves as a feedstock in bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), acting as a carbon-neutral resource that avoids fossil fuel and energy crop use, reducing GHG emissions and generating value through energy production. Second, direct storage of organic MSW and its derivatives, like biochar, in various carbon sinks allows for extended sequestration, offering a comprehensive approach to address the challenges of waste management and climate change mitigation. Moreover, this review advocates for an extended exploration into several subjects including in-depth analysis of waste, research on MSW-derived biochar recalcitrance across different carbon sinks, and understanding the symbiotic connections with GHG-emitting sectors like agriculture and energy. Finally, this review emphasizes the necessity of conducting life-cycle assessment studies to fully discern the benefits and assess the impacts of any future endeavors exploring the role of MSW in carbon sequestration. [Display omitted] • Municipal solid waste (MSW) is an untapped resource for carbon dioxide removal. • Three strategies to utilize MSW for CO 2 removal include landfilling, waste-to-energy, and biochar production. • Carbon sequestration is achieved through MSW-burial and energy recovery with CCS. • Auditing carbon emissions and LCA are necessary to illuminate the impacts of MSW. [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]

This research aims to explore the current evidence on the sustainability of Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage under a life cycle approach and to understand how research on this topic has evolved in the last decade. A systematic literature review was performed, and the main focus was identifying methodological shortcomings and analysing Global Warming Potential results. Forty-seven studies were selected for in-depth revision. Results show that the number of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies on BECCS has increased in the last couple of years and that most of these studies report near-carbon neutral or carbon-negative results for electricity, biofuel energy, and other products. However, in many cases, some aspects have been omitted from the discussion, such as proper accounting of land use impacts, impact allocation procedure, accounting of leakage from storage sites, and impacts related to carbon utilisation. Despite this methodological variability, Global Warming Potential results are mostly carbon-negative and carbon-neutral for both power BECCS and industrial BECCS systems. Consequently, current scientific evidence suggests climate change mitigation benefits from BECCS despite methodological variability. However, it is still insufficient to reach a consensus on the sustainability of this technology as a solution for a global energy transition. It is recommended that further LCA research deals carefully with methodological and product systems variability, which may affect environmental impact results. Moreover, carbon capture approaches with high potential benefits should be further analysed, and the most optimal BECCS typologies should be identified. Finally, additional life cycle impact categories should be reported, along with the assessment of the economic and social dimensions of BECCS. [Display omitted] • Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) was reviewed. • LCA methodology choices were discussed. • Global Warming Potential ranges between −3.873 and 0.366 kg CO 2 eq per MJ. • Current evidence is insufficient to confirm that BECCS is a sustainable solution for climate change mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Mapping material stocks at 10 m resolution for the entire UK and IRL. • 9 building types, 32 mobility infrastructure types, 12 materials. • Building stocks per capita are surprisingly similar for most population densities. • Infrastructure stocks per capita decrease with higher population densities. • High-resolution maps can inform circular economy strategies and actions. Understanding the size and spatial distribution of material stocks is crucial for sustainable resource management and climate change mitigation. This study presents high-resolution maps of buildings and mobility infrastructure stocks for the United Kingdom (UK) and the Republic of Ireland (IRL) at 10 m, combining satellite-based Earth observations, OpenStreetMaps, and material intensities research. Stocks in the UK and IRL amount to 19.8 Gigatons or 279 tons/cap, predominantly aggregate, concrete and bricks, as well as various metals and timber. Building stocks per capita are surprisingly similar across medium to high population density, with only the lowest population densities having substantially larger per capita stocks. Infrastructure stocks per capita decrease with higher population density. Interestingly, for a given building stock within an area, infrastructure stocks are substantially larger in IRL than in the UK. These maps can provide useful insights for sustainable urban planning and advancing a circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Mixed-methods study, relying on 44 focus groups and a survey in 22 countries. • Cross-country variances in climate change beliefs and transformation pathways. • Climate harm and worry predict support for carbon removal and solar geoengineering. • Support for these technologies hinges on them being tied to credible climate action. • Prioritizing climate policies and action that tackle root causes considered key. As emerging methods for carbon removal and controversial proposals around solar radiation modification are gaining traction in climate assessments and policy debates, a better understanding of how the public perceives these approaches is needed. Relying on qualitative data from 44 focus groups (n = 323 respondents), triangulated with a survey conducted in 22 countries (n = over 22 000 participants), we examine the role that climate change beliefs and attitudes towards climate action play in the formation of public perceptions of methods for carbon removal and solar radiation modification. We find that nationally varying degrees of perceived personal harm from climate change and climate worry predict support for these technologies. In addition to different perceptions of the problem, varying perceptions of the solution – i.e. the scope of climate action needed − shape publics' assessment. Various tensions manifest themselves in publics' reflections on the potential contribution of these climate technologies to climate action, including "buying time vs. delaying action", "treating the symptoms vs. tackling the root causes", and "urgency to act vs. effects only in the distant future". We find that public perceptions are embedded in three broader narratives about transformation pathways, each reflecting varying notions of responsibility: (i) behavior change-centred pathways, (ii) top-down and industry-centred pathways, and (iii) technology-centred pathways. These results suggest that support for the deployment of the climate technologies studied hinges on them being tied to credible system-wide decarbonization efforts as well as their ability to effectively respond to a variety of perceived climate impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of just transition has emerged as an important governance framework guiding sectors transitioning from unsustainable to sustainable practices and is most dominant in debates on the energy transition. This research, in contrast, explores if and how this framework can make sense of the challenges facing Irish beef farming. The sector is transforming in response to an intersecting range of social, environmental, and market pressures. Beef farmers are at the centre of this, yet little research has been conducted gathering their perspectives on the changing state of their livelihoods and their concerns for the future. Here, we use a novel methodological approach, drawing on the concept of framing as a strategic communication device to explore the perspectives of key actors in this sector and a multi-dimensional environmental justice framework to identify the elements of (in)justice present within frames. This novel just transition frames and functions model exposes how misalignment between powerful key actors, concerned with distributional matters, and beef farmers, concerned with declining social status, shifting identities, and under-representation is found to be contributing to conflict. We show how the application of this model can inform pathways to just and sustainable futures. • Beef farmers in Ireland are protesting due to the pressures on their lives and livelihoods. • Just transition planning has not yet been applied to the agriculture sector in Ireland. • Changing farming practices towards sustainability also drives changes in community structures and identities. • Social and cultural considerations are part of a just transition for rural communities. • Rural communities should be active participants in climate action planning and the transition to sustainable systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Woody biomass energy makes up a large share of renewable energy consumption in the EU, and the largest share in countries like Denmark. However, little is known about how the public perceive it. This paper presents the results of a questionnaire-based survey of the public in Denmark focusing on attitudes toward woody biomass for energy. The main findings are that, while more people favor than oppose it, a large proportion are undecided about the use of woody biomass. The survey also revealed a lack of knowledge about this energy source. A Best-Worst Scaling methodology revealed that Danes prioritize environmental sustainability concerns – namely biodiversity loss, the hindering of the development of other renewable energy sources and the climate change mitigation potential of woody biomass – over societal and/or economic ones when it comes to the promotion of woody biomass. Finally, it was found that concern about climate change, belief in the mitigation potential of woody biomass, and being younger explained the formation of positive attitudes toward woody biomass. Policy makers aiming to take public concerns into account in discussions about Denmark's energy future should focus more on minimizing the negative environmental impacts associated with woody biomass rather than on its economic benefits. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development embody highly intertwined targets to act for climate in conjunction with sustainable development. This, however, entails different meanings and challenges across the world. Kenya, in particular, needs to address serious sustainability threats, like poverty and lack of modern and affordable energy access. This study uses a multi-criteria group decision aid and consensus measuring framework, to integrate both agendas, and engages with Kenyan stakeholders to help inform future mitigation research and policy in the country. Results showed that stakeholders highlight topics largely underrepresented in model-based mitigation analysis, such as biodiversity preservation and demand-side transformations, while pointing to gaps in cross-sectoral policies in relation to access to modern energy, agriculture, life on land, and climate change mitigation. With numerous past and recent policies aiming at these issues, persistent stakeholder concerns over these topics hint at limited success. Sectoral and technological priorities only recently emphasised in Kenyan policy efforts are also correlated with stakeholders' concerns, highlighting that progress is not only a matter of legislation, but also of coordination, consistency of targets, and comprehensibility. Higher bias is found among the preferences of stakeholders coming from the country's private sector. Results from this exercise can inform national policymakers on effectively reshaping the future direction of the country, as well as modelling efforts aimed at underpinning Kenya's energy, climate and sustainable development policy. • We propose a climate & sustainability co-governance multi-criteria decision framework. • Stakeholder preferences are assessed based on 2-tuple TOPSIS and consensus measuring. • Biodiversity, AFOLU, and demand-side residential transformations among key priorities • Recent policy aimed at these issues but stakeholder concerns hint at limited success. • Our exercise also unveils higher bias among private-sector stakeholders' preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil organic matter (SOM) is a key factor in sustaining soil fertility, sequestering greenhouse gases and reducing soil erosion, in this regard, an accurate estimation and monitoring of the SOM content is crucial for sustainable land management and climate change mitigation strategies. In recent years, there has been a growing consciousness of the need to better understand the dynamics of SOM across different farm management in time and space. In this context, the main objective of the study is to improve understanding regarding the relationship between SOM and the main farming systems adopted in Italy by taking spatial correlation into account. For this purpose, a large dataset consisting of topsoil SOM values (0–20 cm) and environmental and farming information was collected in 597 locations (145 fields and 62 farms) representative of the whole agricultural area of Po Valley in Italy. This sizable dataset was analyzed by a novel geospatial analysis using a de-clustering approach in combination with polygon kriging for detecting and understanding the SOM variability over the different fields characterized by irregular shapes and different farming systems. The results provided clear evidences of the spatial correlation between SOM, farming systems and soil types. Higher SOM contents were detected in Cambisols (3.11 %) and in field managed according conservation agriculture practices (3.22 %) as compared to other farming systems. Moreover the inclusion of fodder crops in the rotation and the use of no-tillage are two of the most effective practices for increasing and preserving SOM according to our findings. Spatial information, such those provided in this study, could facilitate the delineation of tailored solutions for each European Member State for targeting future actions related to carbon farming, and offering crucial insights to support advancements in agriculture for enhancing soil fertility and health and for fostering sustainable agricultural practices. [Display omitted] • SOM estimation and monitoring is crucial for sustainable land management • Spatial information facilitates tailored solutions for enhancing soil health • A geospatial approach allowed to compare SOM content for the main farming systems • SOM content, farming systems and soil types are significant spatially correlated • Significant higher SOM content in field managed according conservation agriculture [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital technology presents critical opportunities for controlling global warming within the 1.5 °C threshold established by the Paris Agreement. However, the nonlinear effects of data factors on climate resilience remain poorly understood. This paper, employing a Green Solow model within the framework of a Constant Elasticity of Substitution production function, uncovers a nonlinear, inverted U-shaped response. Utilizing a high-dimensional fixed-effects model and panel data from 30 Chinese provinces between 2011 and 2020, we identify a U-shaped relationship between data factors and low-carbon development in the manufacturing sector, with more pronounced effects in regions with higher levels of marketization. This impact is primarily driven by pathways such as green technological innovation and enhanced resource allocation efficiency. To further validate the global applicability of our findings, we extended the analysis to 166 countries worldwide. The results remained robust, indicating that the positive effects of improved data production factors on low-carbon development in the manufacturing sector are more significant in high-income countries, OECD member states, and nations with advanced digital infrastructure. Our study suggests that supporting and incentivizing data openness, promoting interaction and sharing of manufacturing data, and enhancing data center and network infrastructure construction are essential. [Display omitted] • A U-shaped relationship exists between data factors and low-carbon manufacturing. • Data factors impact low-carbon manufacturing via green innovation and efficiency. • The U-shaped relationship is more pronounced in regions with higher marketization. • Global analysis validates the findings, with stronger effects in advanced economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decarbonizing the EU's district heating is crucial for meeting climate goals and securing a sustainable energy future. Currently, district heating suffers from inefficiency, high operating temperatures, significant distribution losses, and reliance on fossil fuels. Literature highlights strategies for reducing emissions, including integrating low-carbon heat sources, lowering supply temperatures, and employing efficient technologies like heat pumps and combined heat and power (CHP). However, the individual effectiveness of these strategies in reducing emissions within existing networks remains unassessed. This study addresses the gap by applying a comprehensive model that evaluates energy and emissions across the district heating supply chain, coupled with a derivative-based sensitivity analysis. We apply this methodology to the national-level district heating systems of Sweden, France, Germany, and Poland. Results indicate that the impact of decarbonization strategies on district heating emissions varies significantly by the system's characteristics, i.e., the energy mix in power and district heating supply and the presence of CHP plants. Primarily, incorporating more low-carbon heat sources emerges as the most effective method for emission reduction across nearly all examined countries. A 1 % increase in the share of low-carbon heat sources can potentially cut emissions by 0.8–1.3 kg CO 2 e per GJ of heat. In countries like Sweden and France, where the power generation already relies heavily on low-carbon resources, technologies which convert electricity to heat—such as heat pumps and electric boilers—rank as the second most effective approach. In contrast, for countries like Germany and Poland, with their moderate to low use of low-carbon power, reducing distribution losses and decreasing heat demand prove more effective, with emission reductions ranging between 0.8-1.3 and 0.7–1.2 kg CO 2 e per GJ in these countries, respectively. Additionally, cutting down power generation in fossil fuel-based CHP plants significantly reduces emissions in these regions. While green hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS) also contribute to emission reductions, a 1 % increase in green hydrogen's share might decrease emissions by just 0.3–0.5 kg CO 2 e per GJ of heat, highlighting their lower effectiveness compared to the aforementioned strategies. These insights hold value for both district heating operators and for technology suppliers seeking decarbonization pathways. This is also true for policymakers focused on climate change mitigation, guiding the distribution of subsidies and R&D investments. • Creation of a framework to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies to reduce emissions in district heating. • Application of the method to the national-level systems of Sweden, France, Germany, and Poland. • Effectiveness of strategies varies significantly by the system's characteristics. • Identification of most effective strategies by country and policy recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The port governance literature has charted the trend towards devolution of port services to the private sector, also showing how the increasing influence of external private actors such as shipping lines and global terminal operators affects decisions on expansion and service provision, producing a more multifaceted and polycentric kind of port governance. In this paper we extend these notions to cover both mitigation of and adaptation to climate change. A growing body of literature on green ports discusses the various actions that can be taken to limit emissions in the port area, while another body of literature is growing on climate change adaptation measures, including the uncertain risks and rewards. Both mitigation and adaptation actions are partly linked to the commercial decisions of port actors but also partly driven by external actors (e.g. society, government, regulators). The analysis produces an updated conceptualisation of port governance under climate change, based on four stakeholder groups (public policy, commercial actors, indirect actors and international shipping governance) and produces three key conclusions. First, concession contracts and commercial relationships will need to change, with a more integrated vision and approach to sharing future (sometimes undefined or uncosted) costs and benefits between the port authority and commercial partners. Second, diversification of the port business model will see a larger focus on energy production and provision, requiring the more explicit inclusion of external stakeholders, particularly energy companies, in port governance. Third, port governance will see a return to prominence of the public dimension, both in terms of national decarbonisation plans and particularly regarding adaptation to an uncertain and turbulent future. As ports are both commercial activities and national infrastructure, these different identities will need to be united in a joint vision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable dairy production is included in the policy agenda of many countries in the tropics to address, among others, their commitment to the Paris Agreement. To the best of our knowledge, however, a study to assess the impact of the proposed interventions for sustainable dairy production is still lacking for most of those countries. Using policy goals as entry points to develop scenarios can provide insight into the impact of policy interventions on dairy farming practices. This study aimed to evaluate the implication of interventions towards sustainable dairy development identified by the governments of Indonesia and Costa Rica. Information about current farming practices (i.e. the baseline) were collected on 32 smallholder dairy farms in Indonesia and 24 dairy farms in Costa Rica. Scenarios were designed based on policy goals for dairy development and climate change mitigation in each country. The scenarios for Indonesia encompassed relocation of the dairy sector to Sumatra to allow coupling of livestock to land combined with a restriction on manure production to ensure all manure to be applied to grow forage, and a restriction on the amount of purchased feeds, at two levels: maximally 100% and 50% of the baseline. The scenarios for Costa Rica included a silvopastoral system and a reduction in the amount of purchased feeds, at two levels: 50% and 80% lower than the baseline. We estimated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at chain level and carbon (C) stocks at farm level. The scenarios for Indonesia increased herd size and milk output by 240–360%, and GHG emissions per farm by 269–455%, while decreased GHG emissions per kg milk by 1–10%, compared to the baseline. C stocks per farm were higher in the scenarios than in the baseline, but compared to natural vegetation much more C is lost under the scenarios because more land is being used. The scenarios for Costa Rica reduced herd size and milk output by 5–25% and GHG emissions per farm by 17–35%, while GHG emissions per kg milk decreased by 10%, compared to the baseline. C stocks per farm were comparable. To achieve the multiple policy goals for sustainable dairy development, the governments need to consider the trade-off between increasing milk production and reducing GHG emissions. In Indonesia, relocation of the dairy sector needs a strict policy to avoid the expansion of dairy farms into tropical forest land. Furthermore, the Costa Rican government needs to incentivise dairy farmers to implement a silvopastoral system to reduce GHG emissions and land use. This, however, will be at the expense of milk output. [Display omitted] • Implications of policy interventions for sustainable dairy development were assessed. • Scenario analysis shows trade-offs between policy goals for Indonesia and Costa Rica. • Improving feed self-sufficiency can contribute to climate change mitigation but needs land. • Silvopasture improves carbon stocks but climate change mitigation is limited. • Trade-off between enhanced milk production and climate change mitigation is evident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral factors have been identified to determine farmers' uptake of the adoption of sustainable farming practices. However, the coherent consideration of empirically identified behavioral factors in ex-ante model-based policy assessments is still rare. This study presents an agent-based modelling framework that integrates empirical data on farmers' cognitive, social, and dispositional characteristics. Using this framework, we test and quantify the impact of including behavioral factors in ex-ante assessments of agricultural policies aimed at promoting sustainable farming practices. Thereby, we apply the same modelling framework to quantify and compare the effectiveness of results-based payments for climate change mitigation measures and precision agricultural technologies in two Swiss case studies. Our results indicate that farmers' cognitive and dispositional factors (e.g., reluctance to change) reduce the uptake of sustainable farming practices by 20–70% compared to simulations using income maximization as the underlying decision-making concept. In contrast, social factors can increase adoption by up to 40%. We conclude that including behavioral factors allows to improve ex-ante policy assessments in the context of sustainable farming practices. In addition, these approaches can highlight the importance of policy instruments that complement traditional economic measures, such as public support for the creation of networks. • We integrate behavioral economics in ex-ante assessments of agricultural policies. • The study combines agent-based modelling and empirical data on farmer behavior. • Results allow for a comparison of different decision-making models. • Behavioral factors reduce the uptake of sustainable farming practices. • Social factors can increase the adoption and the efficiency of agricultural policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has responded to the sustainability challenges via a range of policies with evolving objectives in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YEB) since the 1990s. However, the multi-scale analysis of YEB's comprehensive sustainability and the human-environment nexus amid policy impact remains unexplored. A comprehensive review and forecast of historical and future sustainability pathways under policy impacts are imperative. Here, we systematically examined sustainability under ten National Policies (NPs) and Regional Development Policies (RDPs), forecasting Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) in the 21st Century using the entropy weight method and machine learning models. We found that RDPs have contributed to 1.6 times increase in human development from 2000 to 2018 across dimensions of demography, economy, and society in YEB. However, it also revealed that the west-east disparity has widened from 0.14 to 0.19 during this period. Conservation efforts and national initiatives for ecological civilization have led to environmental improvement in the YEB, especially after the RDP3 in 2014, when the eastern provinces, like Shanghai, have already surpassed the peak inverted U-shape curve of the environmental-human nexus. Among the SSPs, SSP1 shows the most sustainable scenario with the lowest ecological footprint at 6.2 hm2 per capita and the highest value of regional sustainability and environmental subsystem. To achieve SSP1, an iterative, inclusive, and context-specific Science-Policy-Practice dialogue is essential. This enables feedback loops and collaboration among policymakers, scientists, and practitioners to foster regional sustainability by studying the implications of historical and future pathways. [Display omitted] • YEB's development transitioned from economic to high-quality. • Regional Policies' effect: Wellbeing surges, overshooting ecological footprints. • The systematic east-west sustainability gradient widened in the past 2 decades. • Eastern provinces of YEB experienced early sustainability turning points. • Optimal SSP1: Lower ecological footprint & climate mitigation, higher development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important initiative of climate action, REDD+ has been increasingly discussed in global policy arena. But delay in wider scale yet full-fledged implementation and its poor performance have raised suspects and pushed REDD+ toward in a long line of "conservation fad". In this paper, we have discussed the following ten questions to REDD+: (1) Does REDD+ address major causes of deforestation? (2) Does REDD+ contribute to global emissions reduction? (3) Does REDD+ recognize the inherent capacity of local people to manage their forests? (4) Does REDD+ respect the rights of indigenous people and local communities? (5) Does REDD+ justify the local governance and countries' sovereignty? (6) Does REDD+ ensure the transparency in program design and architecture? (7) Does REDD+ give credits to the carbon sequestering communities? (8) Does REDD+ supply sufficient reasons to justify the current carbon price? (9) Does REDD+ achieve climate goals through the voluntary carbon markets? and (10) Does REDD+ ensure sustainability of the ongoing projects? While discussing the questions, we have referred to global environmental issues of deforestation, emissions, transparency, decentralized governance, indigenous and local communities, voluntary carbon market, price effect, and other various contemporary sustainability issues. We argue that REDD+ could be a low-hanging fruit and act as a complimentary action to achieve its climate goal if it can address the issues raised under those ten questions. • We have raised and discussed ten important issues for REDD+ to be successful • REDD+ is popularly discussed yet highly debated conservation initiative • Forest centric activities would be inadequate for achieve climate goals through REDD+ • Voluntary carbon market is a challenge for successful REDD+ institutions • REDD+ should secure resource ownership and management authorship of locals [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

The United Nations 2030 Agenda brings a holistic and multi-sectoral view on sustainability via the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, a successful implementation of this agenda is contingent on understanding the multiple, complex interactions among SDGs, including both synergies and trade-offs, for informing planning for sustainability at the local level. Using a case study in the Goulburn-Murray region in Victoria, Australia, we prioritised global goals and targets for the local context, characterised the interactions between them, analysed the main synergies and trade-offs, and identified potential policy solutions to achieve local sustainability. We identified the five highest priority SDGs for the region as clean water and sanitation (SDG 6), agricultural activities (SDG 2), economic growth (SDG 8), climate action (SDG 13), and life on land (SDG 15). Across these five priority SDGs and their 45 targets, we found 307 potential interactions, of which 126 (41%) were synergistic, 19 (6%) were trade-offs, and 162 (53%) were benign. We highlight the most salient trade-offs, particularly how unsustainable agricultural practices could negatively affect water resources, the environment, and sustainable economic growth. Also, critical ongoing uncertainties like climate change, local policies on environmental water recovery, international markets, and emerging new technologies could pose risks for the future of agriculture and the economy. Our results provide important insights for local and regional sustainability policy and planning across multiple sectors. Our methodology is also broadly applicable for prioritising SDGs and assessing their interactions at local scales, thereby supporting evidence-based policy-making for the SDGs. • A successful implementation of SDGs depends on understanding of SDG interactions. • Our approach is participatory and systematic in capturing SDG interactions. • The most trade-offs are related to SDG 2 and SDG 8 with other local priority SDGs. • We design solutions to leverage synergistic interactions and limit the trade-offs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Expert technical and economic rationalities overlook political aspects of sustainability. • Local experiences reveal structures and processes that shape inequitable outcomes. • Sustainable developmentality creates a triple-bind for rural mountain residents. • The triple-bind contributes to large numbers migrating from mountain dwellings. • Mountain migration and land abandonment is a political not an inevitable process. Sustainability challenges persist in the central Indian Himalayas (CIH) despite an array of solutions proffered by external experts. This paper interrogates the 'sustainability gaze' of external experts – which reflects attempts to reconcile neoliberal economic growth with environmental conservation within the logics of technical and biophysical rationalities - by exploring local experiences of rapid and uncertain social and environmental change. Three strands of policy and practice shape the gaze: (i) natural hazard mitigation for climate change adaptation; (ii) reducing social vulnerability through pro-poor development; and (iii) increasing resilience through environmental management and conservation. Results challenge narratives that overpopulation causes environmental degradation and changing patterns of migration are a natural process of modernisation in the CIH. Alternative local narratives highlight haphazard and inequitable economic growth, lack of mountain planning and disaster management, inadequate social welfare programmes, and monkey relocation policies as the major sustainability challenges. The paper discusses how the gaze produces 'sustainable developmentality' - a depoliticising process that cultivates multiple and conflicting mountain subjectivities, namely: (i) active community members responsible for mitigating natural hazards, (ii) productive farmers and flexible waged labourers, and (iii) custodians of the environment. This creates a triple-bind for smallholders which has forced huge numbers to migrate from their mountain dwellings with unsustainable outcomes. Exploring local perspectives re-politicises the debate, exposing the contradictions and tensions of the gaze and the broader systemic issues of power and inequity the gaze overlooks. Such insights are crucial for rendering development policies more relevant to mountain residents of the CIH and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trees absorb CO 2 and reduce the impact of GHGs. This paper deals about the carbon uptake dynamics produced by the management of unused lands as tool to help the fulfilment of international commitments on atmospheric CO 2. The paper introduces a new perspective of using the unused lands around Municipalities to compensate the carbon emissions of urban contexts, according to the Sustainable Energy Action Plans as answer to climate change, already approved by the most part of Cities in Europe. The model of the carbon dynamics is based on a genetic algorithm which allows to find the sequence of operations on the unused land in space (portions of the land) and time (rotation of cuts and plantations) to ensure the reaching of a given outcome in terms of carbon captured. The algorithm, therefore, behaves as design support of land management, enriching the literature available for the sector. The paper identifies two possible original scenarios of storing carbon referred as " emergency " and " constant rate "; the first produces after fifty years a maximum carbon uptake of the order of 100 tC/ha while the second a maximum uptake rate of the order of 2 tC/(year ha), after an initial start-up period of 40–50 years. • Mathematical model to evaluate tree growth and carbon sink from reforestation. • Optimization model to manage the carbon uptake in different scenarios. • Forest represents an effective way to remove carbon from atmosphere. • Carbon stock per unit of unused areas around cities and urban area. • Climate mitigation tool suitable by municipality in the context of SECAPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Restoration initiatives would benefit from implementing strategic adaptive management • Restoration initiatives should incorporate sustainable human livelihood-driven outcomes • Restoration should be approached as a component of wider economic development • In restoration, human well-being is equally important as biodiversity conservation Land use change, coupled with rapid human population growth, has increased ecosystem degradation, giving rise to ecosystem restoration initiatives worldwide. We conducted an assessment and reflection using a feedback framework for strategic adaptive management in three woodland restoration initiatives in South Africa. This is because assessment and reflection are critical components for successful strategic adaptive management. We found that the three restoration initiatives have had a limited emphasis on sustainable livelihood-driven outcomes, because the initiatives mainly aimed to restore biodiversity, ecosystem infrastructure and ecosystem services. Consequently, we propose a modified livelihood framework that suggests a more inclusive approach towards achieving positive human outcome-driven restoration of degraded woodlands. Based on the framework, we emphasise that restoration initiatives should seek to invest in ecosystem restoration in the context of sustainable development goals, to enhance people's livelihoods, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Harmonizing the competing needs for resource allocation, sustainable interventions and livelihoods sustenance will be important, given the limited extent of alternative locally based livelihood options in the rural disadvantaged areas. This is because most of the rural population is largely dependent on woodland ecosystem services for their livelihoods. We then suggest that to ensure that human-driven outcomes are also equally prioritised; the assessment, reflection and feedback framework and the livelihoods framework should form part of restoration initiatives. [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]

Rice, as a main crop, contributes to food security in Asia. However, its by-product, rice straw, poses challenges as it is often disposed of unsustainably. This research investigates the environmental performance of a 1000 m3 rice straw biogas pilot plant in Laguna, Philippines. A lifecycle assessment identified the climate change impact of the biogas system, straw burning and soil incorporation. In addition to GWP100, the global temperature potential's dynamic climate effects were assessed, including integrated radiative forcing and instantaneous temperature effects. The timeframe of the biogenic emission fluxes of rice production is particularly relevant as the sequestered CO 2 during plant growth is partly released as methane and CO 2 , depending on the straw management practices. Straw burning had the highest net emission impact. However, straw incorporation has the highest short-term radiative forcing and temperature increase. The biogas system provided significant short- and long-term GHG emission reduction of up to 68 % when biogas replaced burning or soil incorporation and the use of fossil fuels. Still, considerable uncertainties remain about fugitive methane emissions, handling and post-processing of the digestate. While single GHG emission figures on a GWP100 basis are useful for informing decision-making, this single-metric approach limits understanding of rice production's short- and long-term impacts. Additionally, our assessment emphasises the necessity for governance frameworks that promote sustainable practices in rice farming, as banning rice straw burning may result in less favourable outcomes from soil incorporation, whereas integrating biogas offers a solution benefiting rice-growing communities and global sustainability efforts. • Biogas from rice straw reduces emissions by up to 69 %. • Soil incorporation of straw has highest short-term (20 years) temperature increase. • Assessing more than one metric and timeframe supports more informed decision-making. • Governance frameworks enabling bioenergy integration support SDG 3, 7 and 13. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• CCUS development among EU countries with the latest progress in the field. • Realization of EGD targets with CCUS technology in EU. • Applicability of benchmarking method to compare environmental profiles. • UK and the Netherlands are among top countries with rapid CCUS development. • Poland and Germany with a high level of difficulty in achieving the EGD targets. Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) is a technology highlighted as one of the tools in climate change mitigation and one of the ways to reach the goal of 1.5℃ set by the Paris Agreement. The European Commission (EC) developed this goal by creating and implementing the European Green Deal (EGD) – the European Union's (EU) environmental policy. This paper provides an analysis of environmental policies and an overview of crucial CCUS projects of selected member states based on a benchmarking analysis of 27+ UK member states. An overall review of a total of 28 countries was undertaken based on economic and environmental factors. Afterward, a benchmarking analysis was performed ranking the countries according to the TOP10 for the selected five categories: total net emissions with international transport, percentage share of the energy sector, percentage share of fossil fuels, percentage share of fossil fuels in the Gross Electricity Production (GEP), and numbers of CCUS projects. Subsequently, a detailed and comprehensive overview of four selected member states was done, with a special focus on the national energy policy towards net-zero emission goals, the role of CCUS in domestic environmental policy, with current projects and facilities development. Finally, this paper outlines how the EGD has reformed the national energy policies of selected member states, and what is the part of CCUS technology in the national efforts towards climate neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Provides a review of the bioeconomy literature with respect to the role of entrepreneurship for transformation. • Identifies entrepreneurial activity (micro level) as essential driver of the bioeconomy transformation. • Identifies entrepreneurial ecosystems (meso level) as essential driver of the bioeconomy transformation. • Identifies governmental support for entrepreneurship (macro level) as essential driver of the bioeconomy transformation. • Suggests future research paths for the interface of bioeconomy and entrepreneurship research. Governments worldwide have formulated visions of a transition toward a bio-based economy (bioeconomy). These visions to move beyond the exploitation of fossil resources complement the United Nation's sustainability goals such as climate change mitigation. Different factors will shape and foster the successful transition to a knowledge-based bioeconomy; among those factors, entrepreneurial activity is especially promising. Therefore, this study examines the enabling and transformational role of entrepreneurship by conducting a structured literature review and thematic analysis to elicit the implicit views on entrepreneurs and their ventures found in the bioeconomy literature. The review identifies three major entrepreneurial themes addressed in the literature that are included in a holistic framework comprising entrepreneurial activity on the micro level, entrepreneurial ecosystems (or clusters and innovation systems) on the meso level, and governmental vision and support on the macro level. Suggestions for further research on the interface of entrepreneurship and the bioeconomy are also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• European citizens expect farmers to deliver multiple functions from their land. • The nature and magnitude of these 'societal demands' differ between Member States. • We map these demands by reviewing the EU policies on sustainable land management. • Countries with the lowest societal demands have invested most in sustainability. • The proposed Strategic Plans allow for context-specific land management practices. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union (EU) has been highly successful in securing the supply of food from Europe's agricultural land. However, new expectations have emerged from society on the functions that agricultural land should deliver, including the expectations that land should regulate and purify water, should sequester carbon to contribute to the mitigation of climate change, should provide a home for biodiversity and allow for the sustainable cycling of nutrients in animal and human waste streams. Through a series of reforms of the CAP, these expectations, or 'societal demands' have translated into a myriad of EU and national level policies aimed at safeguarding the sustainability and multifunctionality of European agriculture, resulting in a highly complex regulatory environment for land managers. The current reform of the CAP aims to simultaneously simplify and strengthen policy making on environmental protection and climate action, through the development of Strategic Plans at national level, which allow for more targeted and context-specific policy formation. In this paper, we contribute to the knowledge base underpinning the development of these Strategic Plans by mapping the variation in the societal demands for soil functions across EU Member States, based on an extensive review of the existing policy environment relating to sustainable and multifunctional land management. We show that the societal demands for primary production, water regulation and purification, carbon sequestration, biodiversity and nutrient cycling vary greatly between Member States, as determined by population, farming systems and livestock densities, geo-environmental conditions and landscape configuration. Moreover, the total societal demands for multifunctionality differs between Member States, with the lowest demands found in Member States that have designated the higher shares of EU CAP funding towards 'Pillar 2′ expenditure, aimed at environmental protection and regional development. We review which lessons can be learnt from these observations, in the context of the proposals for the new CAP for the period 2021–2027, which include enhanced conditionality of direct income support for farmers and the instigation of eco-schemes in Pillar 1, in addition to Agri-Environmental and Climate Measures in Pillar 2. We conclude that the devolution of planning to Strategic Plans at national level provides an opportunity for more effective and targeted incentivisation of sustainable land management, provided that these plans take account for variations in the societal demand for soil functions, as well as the capacity of contrasting soils to deliver on this multifunctionality. [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]

• Energy planning in Illinois and Denmark toward climate-neutral goals was analyzed. • Energy planning processes are not linked well with urban planning goals in the US. • Illinois signed a new CEJA aiming to become a national leader in climate action. • Strategic and practical barriers exist in energy planning in both US and EU. • Multilevel interaction should be an effective energy planning strategy in Illinois. After signing a new Climate and Equitable Jobs Act legislation in September 2021 and establishing the state of Illinois (USA) as a "national leader on climate action," the processes of the implementation of this act take the permanent attention of legislators, policymakers, and customers. The shift that this act could potentially provide represents a new technological foundation for both state and municipal energy planning. This article explores the historical context of energy legislation and energy planning in the United States with a focus on the state of Illinois and makes a comparative study with Denmark (European Union) – one of the global leaders in the transition to green energy, an innovator in the sustainability realm. The driving similarity is that both Illinois and Denmark now have the same declared goal – to rely on 100% renewable energy and have a climate-neutral society by 2050. This paper examines two different approaches to energy planning in a broader realm of urban planning in Illinois and Denmark. Municipalities play an important role as local energy planning authorities in the design and implementation of future energy systems, so this article will additionally focus on the two largest municipalities in both territories: Chicago and Copenhagen. [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]

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) partners agreed with a landmark decision on environmental concerns at the COP26 in Glasgow, outlining future attempts and measures to ensure a secure environment. In this regard, several prior studies have looked at environmental issues using carbon dioxide emissions, or ecological footprint. However, considering these variables may cause the supply side of environmental quality to be overlooked. To make up for this shortcoming, this study examines the effect of energy mix (fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewables), economic growth, and eco-innovation on the load capacity factor, which emphasizes both the demand and supply side of the ecosystem since it takes biocapacity and ecological footprint into account. Hence, this study differs from previous research in that it takes a broader view of environmental sustainability. In this milieu, the current research employs a recently developed dynamic autoregressive distributed lag (DARDL) simulation model for the United States of America (USA), harnessing data from 1990 to 2018. The findings unveil that nuclear and renewable energy consumption and eco-innovation all positively impress the load capacity factor, meaning that these variables help the USA maintain its environmental sustainability. On the other side, fossil fuel usage and economic expansion curbs environmental sustainability. Furthermore, since the short-run income elasticity is larger than the long-run elasticity, the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis is legitimate for the USA. These findings also validated by the frequency domain causality test. Based on the findings, specific policy proposals are given to assist the USA in improving its environmental quality and achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 7 (clean energy) and 13 (climate change mitigation). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Chemical process intensification can improve the energy efficiency of chemical production. • The intensification of chemical processes reduces the consumption of raw materials and energy. • Chemical process intensification can help reduce the amount of waste and emissions. • The intensification of chemical processes can encourage innovation and the development of cleaner technologies. • Chemical process intensification can improve safety and health in chemical production. The 2030 Agenda is a call to global action to eradicate poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. Process intensification, in this context, refers to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of production and service processes, in order to reduce environmental impact and improve people's quality of life. By optimizing and consolidating various steps within a production process, process intensification aims to achieve higher yields, reduced waste, and lower resource consumption. This approach aligns with the sustainability goals set by the United Nations, including: energy efficiency, waste reduction, resource conservation, emission reduction, circular Economy and sustainable development. Process intensification primarily impacts Goals 7, 9, 12, and 13 of the United Nations' 2023 Sustainability Agenda due to its potential to address key aspects related to energy, industry, sustainable consumption and production, and climate action. This review shows how process intensification directly impacts those Goals of the 2023 Sustainability Agenda by promoting affordable and clean energy, fostering innovation in industry, encouraging responsible consumption and production. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many ports and terminals endeavor to enhance energy efficiency as energy prices have increased through years and climate change mitigation is a key target for the port industry. Stricter environmental regulations are adopted by authorities to limit pollutants and GHG emissions arising from energy consumption. Increasingly, port operational strategies and energy usage patterns are under scrutiny. To ingrain sustainability and environmental protection of ports, the use of innovative technology appears as a critical conduit in achieving a transition from a carbon-intensive port industry (dependent on fossil fuels) to a low-carbon port model by harnessing renewable energy, alternative fuels (e.g. LNG, hydrogen, biofuel), smarter power distribution systems, energy consumption measurement systems. In this context, this paper conducts a systematic literature review to analyze operational strategies (e.g. peak shaving, operations optimization), technology usage (e.g. electrification of equipment, cold-ironing, energy storage systems), renewable energy, alternative fuels and energy management systems (e.g. smart grid with renewable energy) for improving the energy efficiency and environmental performance of ports and terminals. Research gaps and future research directions are identified. Analysis shows that there is a great potential for ports to achieve further energy efficiency and researchers have many impactful research opportunities. • A detailed literature review on energy efficiency in ports and container terminals is conducted. • Operational strategies such as optimization of port operations and peak shaving methods are presented. • Technologies such as electrification of equipment, cold-ironing, energy storage systems, smart grid, microgrid are reviewed. • Renewable energy and clean fuel use in ports are presented. • Methods regarding energy consumption and emission measuring/assessment are detailed for ports. [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]

A dramatic expansion of the worldwide wind power capacity is underway which is critical to an effective mitigation of climate change. However, wind tower infrastructure is susceptible to extreme weather conditions such as tropical cyclones and thunderstorms. Under the context of global climate changes and intense weather events, it is imperative to assess the impacts of extreme conditions on the susceptibility of the global wind power with important implications on energy security and power system resilience. In this paper, we discuss the necessity and rationality of wind power deployment considering extreme weather perspectives on enhancing the global sustainability, security, economics, and resilience. We assess the vulnerability of wind power to extreme weather events under climate change and present the correlation of wind power proliferation, extreme weather events, and climate change issues. Our results indicate that, if extreme wind speed increases by 20% considering a 50-year return wind speed and load safety factor is changed from 1.35 to 1.7, the initial capital cost of wind unit installation by the end of this century could increase by about 12% because of the higher strength in tropical cyclones. In this period, upward lightning strike will be intensified due to the use of taller wind turbines and higher angular speed of blades. Also, additional storm surges and sea ices will potentially cause higher risks to inland and offshore wind tower structures and foundations because of the continuously rising sea levels. It is confirmed in our discussion that the proliferation of wind power generation would be beneficial despite its vulnerabilities by curbing the use of fossil-based power generation units, mitigating severe carbon emission, and reducing climatic changes and extreme weather events, which could also cause significant structural damages to wind turbines installations globally. The article concludes that it is vital in the scientific community to further analyze the relationship among global wind energy integration, extreme weather events, and climate changes, and for politicians to formulate a comprehensive energy policy strategy, as engineers continue to investigate the means of deploying additional inland and offshore wind farms and consider other types of renewable energy resources with a direct link with weather conditions, for a sustainable, economic, secure, and resilient energy production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]