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Prior research on inventory control has been wide ranging, yet the environmental implications of an $ ({s,S}) $ (s , S) inventory policy remain uninvestigated. This paper seeks to bridge the gap by characterising a firm's voluntary environmental policy in the setup of an $ ({s,S}) $ (s , S) inventory control policy. We suggest a mixed model structure wherein, due to the presence of fixed production costs, the inventory is determined continuously by sales and impulsively with ordering decisions obeying an optimal stopping process, while the uncertain sales process is controlled by continuous-time environmental goodwill-related decisions. We show that a firm should successively use voluntary environmental efforts to stimulate its sales when there is inventory and to increase backlogging to improve its production efficiency. Given the recurrent pattern of this policy, we conclude that voluntary environmental efforts under an $ ({s,S}) $ (s , S) inventory control is not compatible with using these efforts as a means to generate ephemeral reputation insurance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the effects of stringent environmental regulations on the greenness of social responsibility reports. Based on China's thirteenth Five-Year Plan, we find that firms are inclined to use more green keywords in their CSR reports when being subject to more stringent emission reduction policies. This effect is more pronounced among state-owned and strictly monitored companies. Nevertheless, firms are less engaged in taking substantive environmental actions, highlighting the inconsistency between words and actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The trade-off policy framing has been a central feature of green growth since the 1980s, employed to frame the countervailing spheres of social, environmental, and economic policies purported to ensure the sustainable development of the global economy. This article argues that so central has this framing become that IPE scholars have tended to focus on different types of 'greenable' growth observable within capitalism, rather than question the prospect of greening growth itself. Far from value-free, the trade-off framing is ultimately determined by the structural imperative for economic growth, veiling the disciplines anthropocentric ontology in a normative or objective guise. To account for the tacit prioritization, the trade-in policy framing – the compromising of environmental objectives to accommodate the growth imperative – is advanced as an alternative framing. The trading-in of environmental policies is legitimized through political-industrial narratives, of which three, the (i) consequential, (ii) allay, and (iii) finance are outlined in this analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing societal concern regarding environmental matters has led to the implementation of many environmental measures intended to protect the environment and address global warming by lessening emissions and mitigating climate change. In line with this movement, this study scrutinizes the impact of these environmental measures on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to analyze the cases of Finland and Sweden. More specifically, the study employs the Environmental Policy Stringency (EPS) index as a proxy for environmental measures, explores sector-specific GHG emissions by employing nonlinear quantile-based methodologies (including quantile-on-quantile regression and Granger causality-in-quantiles methods as the primary model and quantile regression for robustness checking) spanning the period from 1991/Q1 to 2020/Q4. The findings show that: (i) EPS lessens GHG emissions from fuel exploitation, industrial combustion, and the power industry sector at lower and middle quantiles in Finland and Sweden; (ii) EPS decreases GHG emissions from processes, transportation, and waste sectors in Finland but increases them in Sweden at higher quantiles; (iii) EPS leads to an increase in GHG emissions from the agriculture and construction sectors at higher quantiles; (iv) EPS has a causal effect on sector-specific GHG emissions across different quantiles; (v) the robustness of the findings is largely confirmed. Hence, the study underscores the varying impacts of EPS on sectoral GHG emissions based on quantiles, sectors, and countries, emphasizing the need for policymakers to adopt environmental policies to comprise these differences and adjust the policy framework accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Application of the ecosystem services (ES) concept in urban planning has potential for improving environmental and human health outcomes in cities. We aimed to narrow an identified ES implementation gap by identifying the criteria for the practical fit of the ES concept in urban planning. We found that local relevance and adaptability within current planning approaches were core criteria for practical fit. If not met immediately, these criteria may be met over time through policy entrepreneurship. Further research in different locations and planning systems would increase understanding of the enabling factors for applying ES in urban planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the use of different environmental proxies, the economic and financial development (FD)-environmental quality (EQ) nexus is still enigmatic. In this regard, a new composite environmental quality index (CEQI) is used to holistically represent EQ. Moreover, the Panel Smooth Transition Regression (PSTR) method is applied to estimate the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and the financial development Kuznets Curve (FKC) hypotheses using data from 13 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The findings reveal that economic growth in the first regime positively affects CEQI while having a negative effect after exceeding the threshold and entering the second regime. Also, FD positively affects CEQI for the first regime and has a negative influence for the second regime. Other factors such as energy consumption and composite trade share (CTS) in both the first and second regimes have a negative effect on CEQI. Accordingly, several environmental quality-improving policies are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between environmental regulation and labor demand has been mixed. Few research studies have considered the impact of cross-regional environmental regulations on the labor market, even though this is notable. We adopted a geographic regression discontinuity (RD) approach to investigate the labor market impact of the cross-regional environmental regulation "2 + 26" Cities Special Emission Limit Program for Air Pollutants. We found that the policy significantly boosts the labor demand of polluting firms rather than a simple inter-industry transfer, mainly through increasing investment in fixed assets and cost offset mechanisms. Further analysis of the structure of labor demand shows that the increasing workforce is primarily low-quality labor accompanied by wage loss. The government should recognize the risks of welfare loss from low-quality work due to environmental regulation and direct polluting firms to innovate rather than reduce costs by increasing demand for low-quality labor. This facilitates a better understanding of the labor market response to environmental policy from the perspective of cross-regional environmental regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ernst B. Haas was a leading authority on international relation theory who pioneered the fields of European integration and supra-national governance. This Special Issue re-evaluates the significance of his work for the present time and explores lesser known research areas opened by the founder of neo-functionalism. Two workshops at the European University Institute, Florence, in 2023 and the International Studies Association in 2024, produced original articles by scholars whose work builds on and engages with Haas' approach. They address topics ranging from the role of expertise in politics, and the tension between liberalism and nationalism, to the rise of policy areas such as environmental change, human rights and migration. Haas' work on these themes makes a crucial contribution to understand current global challenges. To complement this picture, an essay by Peter Haas links Ernst Haas' intellectual development to his life experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2014, China has implemented a unified environmental regulation policy for the livestock industry. With unified environmental regulations across provinces, does the phenomenon of 'pollution havens' still exist? To address this question, this paper examines spatial variations among provinces and their spillover effects on the pig industry using data on environmental regulations and pig production panels. The results indicate that: (1) Environmental regulation policies are gradually converging across regions. (2) Under unified environmental regulation, the existence of 'pollution havens' in the pig industry is no longer evident. As national regulations become stronger, increasing local regulatory intensity will not affect the number of pig farms in neighboring areas nor lead to significant emigration of such farms. (3) In cases where there are inter-regional variations in environmental regulations, large-scale farmers may relocate to neighboring areas with less stringent regulations; however, under unified environmental regulation, neither small nor large-scale farmers will migrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aimed at preserving firm-level and macro-financial stability against climate-related physical and transition risks, green financial policies are often viewed as complements to fiscal policies. While the latter are aimed directly at an economy-wide state-led green transformation, the former are targeted specifically towards the financial sector. In this context, this article makes two contributions to the climate change/green finance literature. First, it creates a green financial policy intensity index which measures the cumulative number of such policies rolled out by countries from 1995 till 2021. Second, it empirically examines the nexus between the uptake of these policies and fiscal space. Our findings suggest that higher physical and transition climate risks are associated with more green financial policies being undertaken, but only for countries with limited fiscal space or a high fiscal deficit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the quasi-natural experiment of the Notice on Policies Related to the Simplified Value-added Tax Rate in 2017, this paper constructs a difference-in-difference model to shed light on the impact of the value-added tax reduction policy on a firm's green innovation and its potential mechanism. The results reveal that after the implementation of the value-added tax reduction policy, the green innovation level of firms affected by the policy shock has significantly improved, and this conclusion remains consistent after a series of robustness tests. From the type of firms' green innovation, the enforcement of the value-added tax reduction policy spurs firms' substantive green innovation, but has limited impact on firms' strategic green innovation. The mechanism test finds that easing financing constraints is an important channel for tax reduction policies to affect firms' green innovation activities. In addition, the analysis indicates that the positive effect of the value-added tax reduction policy on green innovation is more pronounced among firms with more government innovation subsidies, stronger human capital, and higher capital intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractDue to the removal from and dispossession of lands, Indigenous groups often need access to public land for traditional activities including ceremonies and gathering of culturally important plants. In California, USA, there is an ongoing effort to reconnect tribes with their ancestral lands by initiating tribal co-management on state-owned lands. However, its implementation is not well documented or studied. We explored the limited examples of co-management relationships occurring in California using semi-structured interviews. We found that recent policy evolution has created enabling conditions for successful co-management. However, efforts are complicated by limitations in both state employee and tribal capacities. Our 20 non-tribal participant interviews indicated that navigating the diversity of tribal interests and priorities is a hurdle to developing co-management agreements. Non-transactional gatherings are catalysts for relationship building between agencies and tribes which can facilitate social learning and the development of social capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the Green Deal, the von der Leyen Commission has put forward an ambitious agenda to transform the European Union towards climate neutrality. However, this commitment to environmental and climate policy has been tested by the numerous crises that have shaped her tenure. Historically, previous Commissions have often deprioritized environmental policy in times of crisis. In light of this, we examine the Commission’s leadership in the realm of environmental policy. Our analysis demonstrates that both the President and her Executive Vice President provided strong leadership and maintained a clear focus on the Green Deal. We further explore this leadership by examining the Commission’s actions in relation to four key Green Deal policies: the Climate Law, the Battery Regulation, the Methane Regulation, and the Nature Restoration Law. Our findings reveal that the rhetorical commitment to environmental and climate policy has translated into mostly ambitious policy proposals, marking a significant departure from the more restrained environmental ambitions of previous Commissions. This analysis contributes to the body of research on the European Commission’s role in environmental and climate policy, as well as its leadership dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the European Union over the years has significantly advanced our understanding of the domestic impact of EU policies. However, notable blind spots persist regarding the broader impact of EU legislation on national policy portfolios and its interaction with domestic policy-making. To address this gap, we introduce a novel analytical concept that adopts a macro-perspective to scrutinise the impact of EU policy-making on national policy portfolios and their trajectories over time. We analyse EU-induced change dynamics through three dimensions of national policy portfolios: policy efforts, policy innovation, and policy design quality. Applying our framework to clean air policy across 13 EU countries over 38 years, we find ambiguous effects on national policy-making. Our findings reveal that while the EU’s role in clean air policy has expanded, it simultaneously has constrained innovative potentials within national portfolios and challenged design quality, substituting rather than complementing national policy efforts. We contribute to the state of the art by providing a novel conceptual framework on the macro dynamics of multi-level policy-making, offering theoretical arguments on the expected effects of EU influence, and presenting empirical evidence of these dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy mobilities research has explored how policies—particularly urban development policies—spread among sites around the world, mutate along the way, and take hold in distinct contexts. Within the policy mobilities literature, there is particular attention to circulatory infrastructures, which facilitate encounters, learning, and exchange of knowledge that support the (re)production and movement of policies and "best practices." Policy mobilities scholarship thus understands policy implementation as emerging from relational assemblages of myriad actors and social processes. Drawing on assemblage theory, this work has been attentive to nonhuman objects and infrastructures, nonetheless it has given little attention to nonhuman life. This article draws on more-than-human geographies, particularly emerging work on nonhuman life and infrastructures, to incorporate nonhuman actors into an understanding of policy mobilization. We present a case study of suburban wildlife management programs in Massachusetts and discuss how human–nonhuman relationships undergird policy development, transfer, and change. Drawing insights from municipal surveys, in-depth interviews, and document analysis, we argue that nonhumans are active in the production of policy assemblages and the mobility of environmental policies. Deer, in particular, are lively actors entangled in the circulation of policies designed to manage social-ecological dynamics and processes that also include ticks, forests, bacteria, and many other nonhuman agents. Through this intervention to situate nonhuman life in policy mobilities, we highlight the political agency of nonhuman actors, the materialities of policy mobilization, and the role of nonhumans in shaping relational networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's Green Shield Action (GSA) campaign provides critical insights into the nature of environmental politics during a campaign-style inspection under an authoritarian regime. Based on fieldwork in Fujian from 2019 to 2022, the dynamic interactions among stakeholders, the role of campaigns in environmental governance, and the logic behind policy formulation, implementation, and revision were explored. This study finds that in the campaign-style inspection, by applying new technology and improved management, less room was left for local governments to make trade-offs and dilemmas, which further caused high political pressure and conflicts. These outcomes were used as a reference for the central government to adjust its policies and implement regular enforcement with an improved environmental governance system. The campaign-style enforcement is not the opposite of regular enforcement, but these two are closely connected in the case of the GSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy politicization is an instrument used by modern states to achieve policy goals. Although politicization can facilitate a policy's implementation by elevating its priority in the bureaucratic system, it may also create opportunities for the public to question the regime's legitimacy and to call for broader political reforms. Using empirical evidence from 20 years of official narratives and public intellectual writings on environmental protection, we demonstrate this dilemma of politicization. Our research yields generalizable conclusions not only for environmental policy but also for other policy areas and political contexts, and thus paves the way for a new line of inquiry into governance under authoritarian rule. Methodologically, we demonstrate the potential of machine learning models for supporting qualitative textual analysis and overcoming limitations in data availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the Belt and Road Initiative presents growth opportunities for less developed regions, it also raises concerns about negative environmental impacts and sustainability. Despite proliferating academic interest in China's efforts to green the Belt and Road Initiative, the engagement of non-governmental organisations in policymaking has been understudied. This research marks the first empirical effort to examine the interactions between environmental non-governmental organisations and the Chinese government under the banner of a green Belt and Road Initiative. It finds that non-governmental organisations have employed four strategies to engage with the state-led initiative – civil diplomacy, development partnership, service provision, and outside reform – and that development partners and service providers have been more active than the others in shaping China's Belt and Road Initiative-related environmental policies. This article elucidates civil society actors' opportunities and constraints in greening the Belt and Road Initiative and non-governmental organisations–government dynamics in a non-democratic context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Green Deal (EGD) represents the most ambitious environmental policy framework in European history, aimed at improving the health and well-being of citizens and future generations through climate action and becoming the first climate-neutral region in the world by 2050. The EC has initiated the European Democracy Action Plan and the European Climate Pact to include the participation of citizens in a meaningful way to help achieve these goals (i.e. not simply a tokenistic gesture or box-ticking exercise). While these efforts to ensure greater citizen participation and deliberation in environmental policy are good first steps, there is still a lack of clarity about what meaningful citizen engagement should look like. This paper will propose that for such efforts to be successful, we need to assess different perspectives in the debate and provide recommendations based on this. This paper provides a systematic review of various approaches within the academic literature on citizen participation and deliberation in environmental policy (ecocentrism, biocentrism, ecomodernism, ecofeminism, environmental pragmatism, environmental citizenship, environmental rights, and environmental justice). Following this, we provide a list of 16 criteria (in five thematic sections) for policymakers, civil society organisations (CSOs), and society, to ensure meaningful citizen participation and deliberation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation and technological advancements have always enabled individuals, companies, and regions to address societal challenges more effectively. Regional innovation policies have consistently supported and accelerated these advancements, playing an increasingly important role in promoting sustainable and responsible innovation in a changing world. Over the past decades, the Regional Innovation Policies Conferences have been significant events for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. These conferences have provided a platform to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of existing policies and to explore new ideas and potential improvements. This special issue summarizes key contributions from the 16th edition of the conference, focusing on the role that regional innovation policies can play in addressing future challenges. It places particular emphasis on radical and sustainable innovation, and discuss the way European regions and clusters can remain innovative and competitive in the face of global rivalry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The political linkages between trade and environmental policy have rapidly increased since 1990. In this paper, I suggest a novel mechanism behind this phenomenon – 'defensive issue linkage.' As the scope of trade law expanded, it increasingly touched upon domestic and international environmental policies. As a result, environmental groups mobilized to seek carve-outs that preserve their traditional policy space. However, their opposition also led to the increased inclusion of proactive clauses that further the linkage between trade and the environment as policymakers strove to bolster ratifying coalitions. Using qualitative evidence from the US, EU, and Malaysia, I show that environmental groups mobilize in reaction to the expanding scope of trade policies and explore how this influences trade agreement content. A quantitative analysis of preferential trade agreements concluded between 1989 and 2016 then shows that general patterns of environmental clause inclusion are consistent with the channel of 'defensive issue linkage.' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the issue of marine plastic pollution and its impact on coastal communities in Maryland, Florida, Hawai'i, and Alaska. These communities, which rely heavily on the marine environment, are disproportionately affected by plastic pollution. The article emphasizes the importance of involving local communities in addressing this issue, as they possess valuable knowledge and practices that can complement scientific research. It also highlights the historical and cultural significance of these communities' connections to the ocean and the need for environmental justice and community involvement in conservation efforts. [Extracted from the article]

Firms, especially heavy-polluting firms, are facing intense pressure from informal environmental regulations, which play a unique role in promoting heavy-polluting firms' green technology innovation (GTI). Communities and ENGOs are two important informal environmental regulation entities that have different influence mechanisms to stimulate heavy-polluting firms in GTI. The research results indicate that heavy-polluting firms' GTI follows an inverted U-shape as the number of communities around these firms increases, whereas it follows a positive linear correlation as the number of ENGOs increases. Interestingly, ownership types and administrative hierarchy distance positively moderate the curvilinear and linear relationships. State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are more inclined to maintain their legitimacy by fulfilling communities' and ENGOs' environmental requirements than non-SOEs. A shorter administrative hierarchy distance means that firms are supervised by high-level governments. The autonomy effect of lower-level governments does not affect the vigorous enforcement of environmental policies, which also enhances these two relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article employs asymmetric configuration theory and methods to investigate how technological innovation drives regional green growth in China's complex environment. Specifically, the pooled QCA method is employed to identify multiple driving paths for technological innovation-driven regional green growth. Three configurations for high green growth have been identified: (1) a configuration with high IRD (internal R&D), non-high GS (government support), non-high TM (technology market), and non-high ER (environmental regulation) as core conditions; (2) a configuration with high IRD, non-high NRD (non-R&D) and non-high ER as core conditions complemented by high TM; and (3) a configuration with high levels of IRD, ERD (external R&D) and TM, and non-high ER as core conditions. Furthermore, high IRD is essential for green growth, while strict environmental regulations may be detrimental. This article offers a theoretical basis for adjusting innovation strategies or improving relevant policies to promote green growth in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, based on measuring green innovation efficiency (GIE), the regional differences, distribution dynamics and convergences of GIE among 284 Chinese cities from 2005 to 2020 were investigated. It was found that: (1) the GIE showed a decreasing regional difference within and between the eight economic zones and among the whole sample population, with the intensity of transvariation making the major contribution to the differences; (2) the GIE across the country and the eight economic zones appeared to rise slowly, showing a certain level of polarization within the zones, but the gap and polarization tended to narrow gradually on the whole, except for the Northwest Economic Zone; (3) the GIE across the country and among the eight economic zones presented prominent convergences. It was conducive to enrich the research contents and methods of green innovation and provide references for green innovation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's government has launched the innovative city pilot (ICP) policy since 2008 and taken green development as the principle goal of innovative city construction. However, whether or not the ICP policy shapes green development remains largely unknown. Leveraging variation in the timing of the ICP policy implementation across cities, we investigate the causal impact of innovative city construction on green development, as measured by green total-factor productivity (GTFP). Our staggered difference-in-differences (DID) estimator shows that cities which implement the ICP policy experience a 5.3% increase in GTFP. This effect appears one year after the introduction of ICP policy and shows an upward trend over time. Our mechanism analysis further confirms that the ICP policy effect is driven by green innovation effect, which is realized through the support of innovation policy and increased investment in innovation. Finally, substantial heterogeneity is explained by geographic location, environmental constraint, resource endowment, city size and different levels of innovation. Our paper underscores the pivotal role of innovative cities in promoting green development, which warrants nationwide expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the staggered adoption of natural gas in China, we examine how energy substitution policy affects firm innovation. We find that firm innovation significantly increases following the passage of energy substitution policy. Moreover, the positive effect of energy substitution policy on firm innovation is more pronounced when firms are private, small-sized, located in low economic development regions. The channel test shows that firms adopting energy substitution policy can improve financial condition. Finally, we find that energy substitution policy has positive and significant effect on innovation productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper highlights how technology can contribute to reaching the 2015 Paris Agreement goals of net zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and global warming below 2°C in 2100. It uses the Advanced Climate Change Long-term model (ACCL), particularly adapted to quantify the consequences of energy price and technology shocks on CO2 emissions, temperature, climate damage and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The simulations show that without climate policies the warming may be +5°C in 2100, with considerable climate damage. An acceleration in 'usual' technical progress not targeted at reducing CO2- even worsens global warming and climate damage. According to our estimates, the world does not achieve climate goals in 2100 without 'green' technologies. Intervening only via energy prices, e.g. a carbon tax, requires challenging hypotheses of international coordination and price increase for polluting energies. We assess a multi-lever climate strategy combining energy efficiency gains, carbon sequestration, and a decrease of 3% per year in the relative price of 'clean' electricity with a 1 to 1.5% annual rise in the relative price of polluting energy sources. None of these components alone is sufficient to reach climate objectives. Our last and most important finding is that our composite scenario achieves the climate goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractPlains Bison once had the largest population and range of any terrestrial herbivore in North America. Bison now occupy less than 2% of their historic range, mostly behind fences of state-run and private organizations. In 2014, Indigenous groups across North America signed The Buffalo Treaty, calling for bison rewilding. This paper examines barriers to rewilding on Canada’s prairies in the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Through interviews we asked government and NGO representatives what prevents bison reintroduction and rewilding. Our results suggest that the main barriers are social acceptance and material resources. These findings support previous research in the United States and Europe and provides a foundation for future research that could include other actors, such as landowners, Indigenous organizations, and industry representatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, Ukraine find itself in a very difficult situation, on the one hand, the already unstable economy has just begun to recover after the coronavirus crisis; on the other hand, it is suffering colossal losses from Russian aggression. The article examines the current economic and ecological state of Ukraine, considering the influence of such drastic external factors as a military invasion with the aim of determining the prerequisites for the formation of an effective social and environmental policy and developing approaches to the improvement and stabilization of the national economy. To achieve the goals of the article, have been used intersectoral balance and in particular economic impact analysis (EIA), which was conducted on the example of the Ukrainian agricultural sector, because it is one of the three driving forces of its economy. The results of the study showed the scenarios of possible changes and their consequences for the economy of the state as a whole, and in the future can be used for study in order to develop new and improve existing methods of solving socio-economic problems at the national level and preserving natural capital, as one of the key elements on path to sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how monetary policy can be calibrated to promote a greening of finance. The paper reviews existing literature and notes a tendency to either focus narrowly on one policy instrument or provide a menu of options, without much depth or discrimination. This Perspective paper undertakes a theory-based analysis of green monetary policy options using an institutional approach to monetary economics. In so doing, it identifies a policy mix that would reorient finance by structurally modifying the relative incentives of financing green vs dirty assets. More specifically, the proposed green central banking strategy consists in the combined adoption of several, recalibrated monetary policy instruments. The two main ones are core elements of central banks' collateral policies: making (more) green assets eligible in credit operations with central banks and using so-called 'haircuts' to give green assets preferential treatment over dirty assets in those credit operations. Combined, the adoption of the proposed, recalibrated instruments promises to reorder the collateral asset hierarchies that are the backbone of modern financial systems, providing strong financial incentives for enhanced financing of investment in green assets and divestment from dirty assets. Monetary policy can help speed up a greening of the financial sector. Enhanced financing of green assets, as well as divestment from dirty assets, can be incentivized through a range of monetary policy tools. Among the most potent green monetary policy tools is differentiated treatment of green and dirty assets in credit operations, known as collateral policy. Several green monetary policy options can be pursued without compromising other monetary policy objectives (such as price stability). While most central banks currently remain reluctant to engage proactively with such policy tools, the increasing manifestation of climate change is likely to erode such resistance in coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the role of the journal Climate Policy in addressing the challenges of climate change. The new editors-in-chief and editor emphasize three areas of attention: blurring the boundaries between climate policy and other decision-making spheres, engaging with diverse perspectives from the Global South, and thinking beyond incrementalism. The article acknowledges both progress and limitations in addressing climate change, highlighting the need for deeper engagement and critical thinking on emergent issues. The editors also express their commitment to expanding the scope of the journal, including perspectives from and on the Global South, and exploring disruptive approaches to climate policy. [Extracted from the article]

This paper examines the effects of the collateral-based monetary policy, implemented by the People's Bank of China, on green financing costs. Employing a Difference-in-Differences (DID) method to examine credit spreads of financial bond in primary and secondary markets from 2017 to 2019, our findings highlight a significant decrease of 26 basis points (bps) in the financing costs of green financial bonds in the primary market, with a 12-bps decline in the secondary market post-policy. Our study underscores the crucial role of implicit credit enhancement provided by the People's Bank of China's collateral endorsement. Interestingly, the liquidity provision mechanism, where investors pay premiums to secure liquidity support, does not find empirical backing in the specific context of China's bond market. These findings illuminate the effectiveness of collateral-based monetary policies in reducing green financing costs, offering valuable insights for using collateral strategies to green monetary policies. Collateral-based policies' success in reducing green financing costs suggests a strategic avenue for supporting green monetary policy goals. Implicit credit enhancement serves as a crucial mechanism driving this cost reduction. The People's Bank of China's experience exemplifies the robustness of such policies without requiring strict collateral scarcity, highlighting broad policy applicability. Collateral-based monetary policy could drive the 'green premium', broadening green bond appeal beyond just environmentally-focused investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper constructs a unique dataset of clean energy and collects firm-level green innovation data that matches it with provinces and cities. Then, this paper executes quasi-natural experiments on green innovation to examine the effects of China's emission trading policy on green innovation. Further, this paper introduces the interactive terms of the pilot time and pilot area dummy variables into the spatial Durbin model (SDM) and spatial dynamic panel model (SDPM) to construct quasi-natural experiments to examine the spatial effect. The findings confirm a negative association between the 'policy treatment effect' and green innovation. The results also indicate a significant negative association between the emissions trading policy and clean energy. Besides, the empirical results reveal a positive correlation between clean energy and green innovation; clean energy promotes green innovation in the region and the surrounding areas. This paper complements existing research and provides empirical evidence and policy implications for developing clean energy, promoting green innovation, and improving the emission trading policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open green innovation is essential to accelerate decarbonization in Africa. The dearth of empirical evidence on the current trajectory of green innovation in Africa often hinders appropriate green innovation policy design. This study investigates the incidence of collaboration in inventive activities within Africa using the 'designation of the inventor' in the online European Patent database. We identify and assess open and closed climate adaptation and mitigation inventions using explorative and network analysis techniques. Our research shows that even though climate change adaptation technologies are more valuable, climate change mitigation technologies are more responsive to open innovation. We also discovered that the number of green inventions is slightly increasing, but there are very few collaborative open green inventions in Africa as many of the inventions are closed. These results accentuate the fragmented national innovation systems in many African countries. The lack of collaboration and the disconnect between universities and firms shows that most African knowledge institutions have not evolved into vibrant sources of firm learning for national economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beliefs and attitudes regarding climate change significantly influence public support for environmental policy regulations and willingness to engage in voluntary actions. This paper endeavours to forecast public perceptions concerning global warming, anthropogenic climate change, support for environmental tax policies, and the inclination to purchase energy-efficient home appliances. Leveraging data from the European Social Survey, we employ four machine learning techniques to anticipate individuals' environmental beliefs and attitudes. Across various settings, our analysis achieves an accuracy of over 70% in identifying environmentally conscious respondents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we are interested in how ethnographic research can contribute to the promotion of public deliberation. We do not use ethnography only to study deliberative processes but rather we intend to interpret ethnographic research as a social practice, and we research conditions under which ethnographic research might have deliberative consequences. The paper summarizes the results of the multidisciplinary research project Stories of Drought, which combines natural and social sciences in its approach. The project aims to understand how people in Czech rural areas respond to localized effects of climate change, especially drought. Following a systemic approach to deliberative democracy, we study how ethnography contributes to fulfilling three deliberative functions: (1) the epistemic function; (2) the ethical function and (3) the democratic function. In the context of irrigation disputes in South Moravia, we map the arguments of main actors and critical tensions in local discourses. We conclude that ethnographic research, due to its hybrid position between different sources of knowledge, its institutionally recognized expertise and its ability to establish an ethnographer as a trustworthy actor, can outweigh local critical power imbalances blocking deliberative capacity in local policy systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractNearly half the tasks currently performed by humans could be automated, which means that large segments of society are expected to seek new jobs within the next few years. Automation and digitalization can be critical in reducing greenhouse gasses and combating climate change. However, they may also reduce individual support for environmental policies. The economic changes brought about by these innovations could reduce environmental concerns among the social groups most affected by the associated loss of jobs. Using data from the International Social Survey Program, this study examines the impact of technological change on environmental attitudes and policy preferences. We hypothesize that individuals exposed to automation will be less likely to care about the environment and less likely to support policies imposing taxes to address climate change or other environmental problems. We use a tailored and objective measure, operating at the individual level, to quantify the degree of exposure to labor market risks. Then we analyze how automatization risk influences individuals developing a propensity to resist environmental regulation within various social and cultural contexts. The results of this research can help us understand how structural changes in the economy affect individuals’ preferences when addressing fundamental environmental problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does the goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 influence our understanding of green industrial policy? While industrial policy has moved to the forefront of climate debates, the literature provides conflicting messages about good practices for developing and implementing it effectively. By reviewing key theoretical perspectives informing research on green industrial policy and key reports that model a net-zero future, we argue that looking through a net-zero lens clarifies some of these debates and underscores the need for a politically sensitive understanding of the role of the state in the economy. This article contributes to the literature by taking a holistic perspective on the politics of green industrial policy and identifying promising policy guidelines in building a prosperous net zero economy by 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractPrevious studies have shown that institutional trust is associated with people’s support for some environmental policies (e.g., support for higher taxation) but not others (e.g., support for subsidies and bans). Such findings seem to contradict the notion that institutional trust helps to resolve social dilemmas and thus facilitates collective action on environmental problems. In the current study, we use the conceptual framework of the attitudinal theory of the Campbell paradigm to understand the lack of institutional trust as a behavioral cost of policy support which counterweights people’s motivation to support a policy. Using a dataset from the Environmental module of a recent ISSP survey conducted in 28 countries, we corroborated the theoretical prediction, namely the expected positive effect of institutional trust on support for both pro- and anti-environmental policies. We also corroborated, albeit with some qualifications, that the choice of environmental policy depends on perceived behavioral costs exemplified, in our study, by institutional trust. The Campbell paradigm provides a useful analytical framework for understanding the role of trust in environmental policy support. It also helps us to understand previous inconsistent findings regarding the effect of trust on environmental policy support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the evolution of left-wing voting in the postcommunist countries of Central and Eastern Europe against the background of value shifts. The main trend indicates that those societies are witnessing a gradual transition to postmaterialism. However, examining the parties’ electoral manifestos allowed the authors to conclude that the twenty-first century cannot be characterized by uniform trends: only in the case of environmentalism did the left-wing parties adapt to the changing values of their electorate, while for other indicators the situation was the opposite. The main argument of the study, supported by regression analysis is that only the appeal to green policies prevented the left-wing parties from losing out in electoral campaigns, while the references to multiculturalism and social equality had the opposite effect. Curiously enough, the verbal commitment to traditionalist values also helped the left-wingers to retain their electorate. To get a more complete picture of the voting patterns, the authors carried out an investigation into the left-wing electorate. The conclusion was that supporters of the left-wing parties are increasingly inclined toward postmaterialism. At the same time, the study showed the ineffectiveness of the left-wing political programs. This creates a gap between the left-wing parties and their electorate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With ethnographic data from the Dormaa-Akan, this article examines the conservation features of Akan indigenous religious ecology and discusses how they have oriented indigenous Akan communities towards living by the resources of the nonhuman world while conserving it. Considering the degradation of the nonhuman world in contemporary Ghana, particularly the land and its resources, the article argues that irrespective of the modern secularity of contemporary Ghana, indigenous religious ecologies hold the potential for environmental conservation efforts, when properly integrated into secular environmental policies. The article also explored some potential ways in which indigenous religious ecologies can contribute to conservation efforts in Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With China's commitment to achieving a carbon peak and carbon neutralisation by 2030 and 2060, respectively, the government's requirements for enterprises to adopt green technology are becoming increasingly urgent. We established a tripartite evolutionary game model of an enterprise, government and bank. We analysed conditions for the existence of stable points and factors affecting the choice of stakeholder's strategy. The influence of the change in each parameter on the evolutionary stable strategy was further studied. We found that the government's reward, subsidy and taxes for enterprise's green technology innovation can increase the willingness of enterprises to implement green technology innovation, and the role of taxes is greater than that of subsidies. The preferential interest rate for green innovation is conducive to stimulating enterprises to engage in green innovation, but the increase in the cost of green credit will reduce the willingness of banks to provide green credit. With the increase in the subsidy, incentives and the cost of environmental regulation, the policy burden of the government will gradually increase, thus reducing the willingness of the government to implement environmental regulation policy. The research presented in this paper furthers work on the theoretical modelling of green credit and environmental regulation policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we provide a comparative case study analysis of the differentiated climate change engagement of the Bank of England (BoE), European Central Bank (ECB) and Federal Reserve (Fed). Drawing on semi-structured interviews and a newly composed database of central banker speeches and legislative documents, we argue that climate (in)actions of these central banks are shaped by concerns over their reputation. A broad socio-political consensus on the need for climate change mitigation enabled the BoE and ECB to begin integrating CRFRs into their supervisory frameworks without affecting their socio-political reputation while the carbon bias in their own asset purchase programs compelled both central banks to also start greening their monetary policy to preserve their performative reputation. The Fed's more cautious moves have been driven by a fear of loss of technical reputation in the face of a growing transnational consensus on the financial stability risks of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, the state apparatus is increasingly used towards green ambitions. While the 'green state' concept captures this universal phenomenon, the literature on it is largely limited to Western countries. Here, I assess the green state concept's ability to reflect the global plurality of potential green states. I do so by testing the two assumed preconditions that currently delimit the green state's scope to the West: mature democratic institutions and high state capacity. Through a two-dimensional continuum of political institutions and state capacity, I present a dynamic and fluid framework of four categories, providing a theoretical scaffolding for broadening the scope to encompass the Global South. As a basis for the analysis, I distil the broad literature on the green state concept into a definition encompassing both a normative ideal that countries can strive towards as well as an analytical tool for assessing countries' empirical green performance. From that, I show that green states can exist without either assumed precondition and that the literature therefore arbitrarily excludes the Global South from the green state concept. This finding gives impetus to an emerging research area that answers calls to move beyond Western-centrism and integrate the Global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting with a broad overview of the need for urgent action concerning climate change globally, this paper then reviews the evolution of environmental policy in Japan up to and including green transformation (GX) measures taken under the Kishida administration, and an assessment of the changes still needed to achieve sustainability in Japan. An integrated approach has been adopted in Japan, encompassing the environment, the economy, and society, to achieve three transitions: first, to a de-carbonized society; second, to a circular economy; and third, to a 'nature-positive', decentralized society which co-exists with nature. This approach was signalled in the Regional Circular and Ecological concept in the Fifth Environmental Basic Plan of 2018, building on extensive discussions within the Ministry of Environment and with other ministries from 2014, in the wake of the 2011 triple earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on policy implementation has primarily focused on regime type, institutional capacity, and leadership will in explaining policy success, while giving less attention to the details of policy design. This article argues that, when explaining unevenness in policy implementation, the devil is in the details. It turns to four Chinese environmental policies: Pollution Penalty, Cap-and-Trade, Coal-to-Gas, and Environmental Protection Tax. Despite involving similar stakeholders and sharing the same goal of pollution control, the outcomes of these policies vary enormously: over-implementation of Coal-to-Gas, sporadic implementation of Pollution Penalty, symbolic implementation of Cap-and-Trade, and effective implementation of Environmental Protection Tax. Uneven implementation is best explained by the varying costs associated with the ‘start-up’ and ‘maintenance’ of these policies. This study contributes to the literature on developmental states and institutional change by calling attention to the importance of policy design for explaining otherwise puzzling variation in policy implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Application of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus system is essential for addressing Water-Energy-Food Security and Environmental Protection in urban agricultural areas. However, there is currently no standardized framework for measuring and comparing sustainability indicators in these areas using the WEF Nexus practices. This study proposes sustainability measurement indicators to evaluate the WEF Nexus sustainability. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was employed to identify the most crucial indicators for policymakers. The WEF nexus sustainability indicators were selected based on three dimensions of sustainability: social, environmental, and economic. The study focused on Varamin, a semi-arid city in Tehran that serves as a center for urban agriculture. Research results indicate that water-related components are crucial in arid and semi-arid regions. Based on the environmental sustainability indicators, pollution prevention, with a priority of 52.8%, is a critical component of sustainability. Finally, several key indicators are recommended for decision-makers to address sustainability. Allocating national budgets to create environmental policies and increasing public education on environmental issues are two priorities for achieving sustainability goals. However, future studies should utilize the Analytic Network Process (ANP), which enables interdependencies among decision components, as the AHP approach has some limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to investigate how natural resources rents impact environmental sustainability measured by CO2 emissions and PM2.5 air pollution in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) economies from 1995 to 2019. To enhance robust policy implications, natural resources are decomposed into disaggregated (coal, gas, oil, forest, and mineral rents) and aggregated (total natural resources rents) indicators. Besides, the intervening roles of affluence, urbanization, and green policies vectoring green technological innovation, green finance, green energy, and waste management within the theoretical underpinning of STIRPAT model are considered. The empirical verification is anchored on second-generation estimators entailing Common Correlated Effects Mean Group, Augmented Mean Group, and Panel Quantile Regression. Similarly, Fully Modified OLS is employed to gauge the country-specific effects amidst varying robustness analyses. The fallouts from the analyses reveal that natural resources rents inhibit the attainments of environmental sustainability in BRICS economies by positively driving CO2 emissions and PM2.5 air pollution. Conversely, green policies are observed to substantially drive environmental sustainability by mitigating both pollutants whereas affluence and urbanization escalate them. The distributional effects from Panel Quantile Regression and Fully Modified OLS corroborate the main findings divergently. Additionally, two channels of causality, including unidirectional and bidirectional nexuses, are apparent from the estimated models. Policy measures are suggested based on the empirical findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the international community attempts to unite to combat climate change, American party politics could hardly be more divided on this issue. This paper offers an additional explanation for how US congressional politics on environmental policy has polarized: the ongoing education realignment in American party politics. As the Democratic Party increasingly relies on college-educated voters and the opposite is true for the Republican Party, this can affect the parties' positions on environmental policy based on public opinion research which finds a positive relationship between education and pro-environment attitudes. Using League of Conservation Voters legislative scorecards from 1983 to 2020, this paper finds the education realignment contributed to the removal of pro-environment Republicans and anti-environment Democrats in Congress in recent decades; and this primarily occurred through elite replacement rather than conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]