Search

Corporate carbon emissions accounting has become a research focus for researchers and government departments. Based on corporate production processes, this study proposes and establishes a comprehensive system for corporate carbon emissions. Taking Stora Enso (Guangxi) Company as an example, this paper provides a thorough analysis of the production and operational status of paper-making companies. The production process is divided into five stages: material preparation, pulping, pulp board production, papermaking, and alkali recycling. Based on these production processes, it proposes and constructs a corporate carbon emissions accounting system from an accounting perspective, which specifically includes accounting objectives, information quality characteristics, accounting recognition, accounting measurement, accounting treatments, and information disclosure. The findings show that the carbon emissions accounting system targeted at production processes can clearly awaken corporate carbon emissions responsibilities, further improve the corporate accounting system, and provide effective technical support for the government to implement environmental regulations and formulate carbon reduction policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban digital autonomy refers to the autonomous innovation capability of cities in the field of digital technology, which directly determines whether cities can achieve high-quality development in the urban digital economy. Using Chinese prefecture-level data from 2009 to 2018, this paper takes the smart city policy as a quasi-natural experiment to analyze the impact of the smart city policy on digital autonomy of cities empirically. The research results show that the smart city policy has significantly improved the digital autonomy of cities, which is 28.25% higher than that of other cities. After a series of robustness tests, such as the placebo test and propensity score matching DID (PSM-DID) test and using different samples, this research conclusion still holds. Heterogeneity shows that the promotion effect of the smart city policy on digital autonomy of cities is greater in eastern regions, cities with higher rank and larger population size. The research of influence mechanism shows that the smart city policy can promote digital autonomy of cities through the effect of digital human capital and digital material capital. Finally, this paper puts forward policy suggestions from the perspectives of developing digital industries, promoting the construction of smart cities, increasing the cultivation of digital talents, and paying attention to fairness and efficiency, so as to promote the digital autonomy of cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, developing countries have experienced rapid urbanization. It has been accompanied by unusually sharp conflicts between urban and rural areas, posing significant challenges to social stability. China, as the largest developing country, has completed the planning of all its villages during this period. It can provide experience and lessons for other developing countries in rural planning. Based on the CSSCI database, this paper analyzes 643 papers on rural planning in China using bibliometric methods. The results showed that rural transformation and development, rural spatial characteristics and optimization, and rural planning techniques and methods are the three main research topics. China's rural planning research has gone through three stages: 1998-2004, 2005-2012, and 2013-2020. "Rural revitalization," "village planning," "new rural construction," "rural tourism," "urbanization," "urban-rural integration," and "planning" are the frontiers of rural planning research. Research institutions and authors are mainly from universities and cooperate more closely with themselves. Geography and sociology are the disciplinary foundations of rural planning in China. The results provide objective insights into the historical evolution and development direction for planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilizing an extensive dataset pertinent to the low-carbon economy and water resources extracted from 30 provinces across China, encompassing the period from 2004 to 2019, we have structured a synergistic model that explores the integrative interplay between the low-carbon economic framework and the water resource system. To assess the composite synergy effects, we employed Kernel density estimation in conjunction with Markov chain analysis, aiming to elucidate the temporal distribution dynamics and the spatial evolutionary patterns of provincial-level synergism within China's low-carbon economy-water resource nexus. Our findings reveal that, over the span from 2005 to 2019, the synergy effect within China's hybridized low-carbon economy-water resource system predominantly occupied a stage of moderate amalgamation, demonstrating a consistent upward trajectory since 2011. Notably, multilevel differentiation of composite system synergy is evident nationally, with pronounced trends of divergence manifesting in the eastern, western, and northeastern provinces. In contrast, the synergy effect exhibited in the central region is characterized by regional heterogeneity, yet the absolute disparities in synergy levels have diminished over time. Moreover, analysis of the synergy degree's rank order status within the composite system indicates a relative stability, punctuated by a 'club convergence' phenomenon. Against the backdrop of global climate change, the interactions between low-carbon economies and water resources have garnered significant attention within the realm of global sustainable development research. Exploring these synergistic relationships offers a potential avenue for identifying effective strategies to manage and harness resources, thereby facilitating economic growth and social advancement while mitigating the pace of global climate change. This paper employs data related to the low-carbon economy and water resources in 30 provinces of China from 2004 to 2019. It constructs a composite system model and an evaluation index system to investigate the synergistic effect between these two factors. The study employs the kernel density estimation method and Markov chain to analyze the distribution dynamics and spatial evolution of the synergy level in the composite system of the low-carbon economy and water resources across each province in China. The results indicate the following: [1] Between 2005 and 2019, the synergy effect of China's low-carbon economy-water resources complex system exhibited a mild level of synergy. Since 2011, the degree of synergy has steadily increased, with the synergy degrees of the low-carbon economy system, water resources system, and their complex systems reaching 0.256, 0.487, and 0.277, respectively, by 2019. [2] The absolute difference in the level of synergy between the low-carbon economy and water resources complex systems in the east, west, and northeast regions demonstrates a significant expansion. However, in the central region, regional differences in the synergy effect exist, although the absolute difference exhibits a narrowing trend. [3] The ranking status of the synergy in the low-carbon economy-water resources composite system is relatively stable, displaying the phenomenon of "club convergence." Nonetheless, when spatial effects are considered, the probability of "rank locking" decreases in the lowcarbon economy-water resources composite system. The findings of this paper contribute to a deeper understanding of the synergistic relationship between China's low-carbon economy and water resources, providing a basis for decision-making aimed at achieving China's sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes the collapse along the transmission corridor of The Deep - Cut Gorge Area of Dadu River in Erlangshan - Zheduo Mountain as the research object. The paper researches the characteristics of the development of the collapse disaster and the factors of the disaster. It is based on the remote sensing interpretation and the geological disaster investigation in the area. The results show that a total of 42 collapses were developed in the study area. The main controlling factors for the collapses in the area are topography, slope direction, geological structure, rock formation, annual rainfall, etc. The collapses were mainly developed in the area of rigid or relatively rigid rocks, and the rainfall was measured between 834-965 mm. There were 22 collapses in this area. The influence of the current collapse development along the transmission corridor in the Deep - Cut Gorge area of the Erlang Mountain - Zheduo Mountain Dadu River on the power transmission project is mainly to threaten the stability of the tower and its foundation. The research results provide a theoretical basis for the evaluation and prevention of geological disaster along the power transmission corridor. In addition, the results provide technical guidance for selecting lines, as well as for designing and constructing power transmission projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the impact of geomorphic and topographic evolution on environmental planning so as to lay the foundation for future rural environmental planning in Jinan. This paper analyzes the impact of landform evolution on environmental planning and introduces the types of spring rural settlements in hilly landforms and intermountain plains, respectively. On this basis, an artificial neural network is used to reflect the dynamic change law of spring water and is combined with a fuzzy evaluation method to evaluate the impact of underground space development in Jinan on spring water and human activities. Through empirical analysis, it is known that artificial neural networks can accurately detect the dynamic change law of spring water, and on this basis, fuzzy evaluation methods are used to design the impact of spring water-rural settlement landscape planning. The impact of spatial development on spring water is divided into four levels: the stronger impact area, the strong impact area, the general impact area, and the small impact area of underground space development on spring water, which account for about 1.036%, 1.001%, 0.371%, and 97.591% of the total area of the study area, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As they represent an important form of agricultural operation, the sustainable development of family farms is not only an objective necessity for promoting comprehensive rural revitalization in China, but also an imperative strategy for accelerating the construction of agricultural power in China. Based on the survey data of 357 family grain farms in China, this paper uses a structural equation model to empirically analyze the relationship between market-oriented perceptions, organizational resilience, and the sustainable development of family grain farms. The results show that market-oriented perceptions have a significant positive impact on the sustainable development of family grain farms; additionally, organizational resilience plays a mediating role in the impact of market-orientation perceptions on the sustainable development of family grain farms. Based on this, the paper proposes a two-fold approach to the sustainable development of family farms: improving the level of market-orientation perceptions of family farmers and enhancing the organizational resilience of family grain farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to cope with severe environmental crises such as pollution and climate, the Chinese government has put forward the strategic goal of "double carbon" and vigorously developed green emerging industries such as cultural industry. Based on the super efficiency model and the input oriented Malmquist index model, this paper comprehensively measures the innovation efficiency of cultural industry, and selects the panel data of the Yangtze River economic belt from 2015 to 2021 for empirical analysis. In addition, the spatial econometric model is introduced to explore the driving factors affecting the innovation efficiency of cultural industry from the perspective of time and space. The results show that: (1) the overall innovation efficiency of the cultural industry in the Yangtze River economic belt is high, but there is significant spatial heterogeneity. (2) The average Malmquist index of the innovation efficiency of the cultural industry in the Yangtze River economic belt is 1.123, which reflects the continuous improvement of the level of industrial innovation. Environmental factors such as sulfur dioxide emissions in waste gas, investment in industrial pollution control, and per capita GDP have a significant impact on the innovation efficiency of cultural industry in the Yangtze River economic belt. Finally, the paper puts forward policy suggestions to promote the high-quality development of cultural industry from the perspective of technology, policy and environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to summarize the research progress on the application of biochar in the remediation of heavy metals in tailings soil. Through combing and analyzing the related literature, this paper summarizes the preparation and influencing factors of biochar, its main properties, the effect of remediation of soil heavy metal pollution and the remediation mechanism, as well as the application of biochar in the remediation of heavy metals in tailings soil. The study shows that biochar has good adsorption and passivation of heavy metals, which can significantly reduce the content of heavy metals in the soil and thus improve the soil environment. However, there are certain shortcomings in the study, such as the aging, regeneration and economy of biochar need to be further investigated. Therefore, future studies should deeply investigate the optimal conditions, economic feasibility and technical application of biochar in soil heavy metal remediation, with a view to providing new ideas and methods for the remediation of heavy metal pollution in tailings soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the perspective of flight technology and flight safety, the unsaturated clayey foundation soil of a high plateau airport in the mountainous area of southwest China is taken as the research object, and the calculation method of the composite modulus of CFG pile composite foundation with the soil between the piles as the unsaturated soil is established according to the relevant characteristics of unsaturated soil, and the calculation method of the composite foundation's settlement is carried out on the basis of this method. At the same time, Plaxis finite element analysis software is used to model the actual project and numerically analyze the settlement characteristics of the composite foundation. Finally, the calculation results of the two methods are compared and studied with the actual settlement monitoring values on site. The study shows that: 1) the theoretical analysis method is able to consider the effects of pile length, pile modulus, and matrix suction in unsaturated soil of rigid piles on the composite modulus, which is more in line with the reality than the conventional composite modulus method that does not consider the unsaturated nature of the soil between the piles; 2) the resultant values computed by the theoretical and numerical analysis methods recommended in this paper are both smaller than those measured at the site but the difference is within the range of 10%, so that in the actual plateau of the High Plains airports can choose the two analysis methods recommended in this paper to conduct related research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While new infrastructure, as a technological extension of traditional infrastructure, has important digital economy attributes, mismatched investment in new infrastructure can still be environmentally damaging. To this end, this paper explores the potential impact of the matching relationship between the new infrastructure investment (NII) and the upgrading of industrial structure (UIS) on environmental pollution from the perspective of coupling and coordination between the two. Through a series of quantitative empirical and robustness tests on China's relevant data from 2011 to 2019, this paper concludes that the coupling coordination level (NUC) of NII and UIS has an inhibitory effect on major environmental pollutants; in terms of mediating effect, NUC can reduce the emission of major environmental pollutants by improving energy consumption structure (ECS) and green innovation level (GII); in terms of nonlinear change characteristics, there is a threshold effect of NUC on the emission of industrial sewage and industrial dust; in terms of spatial properties, NII, NUC, PM2.5 and industrial sewage have positive spatial spillover effects. This study provides theoretical and empirical evidence that can support the government's decision to implement differentiated new infrastructure investment decisions based on environmental protection, and it also provides a certain level of reference for developing countries to make more environmentally friendly new infrastructure investment decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing studies have shown that environmental tax reform (ETR) in China has a significant effect on green innovation (GI), but there is no in-depth study on the heterogeneous effects of different types of green innovation. Using the data of listed companies in China's high-pollution manufacturing industry from 2012 to 2020, this paper adopts the difference in differences (DID) method to study the differentiation effect of ETR's signal effect and resource crowding-out effect on different green innovation. The empirical results indicate that ETR may significantly improve green product innovation through signaling effect, while reducing green process innovation through resource crowding-out effect. Further moderating effect studies show that enterprises with high institutional corporation social responsibility (ICSR) strengthens the positive effect of ETR on green product innovation. However, enterprises with high technical corporation social responsibility (TCSR) enhances the negative impact of ETR on green process innovation. This paper offers valuable implications for government green governance and enterprises' green transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The behaviors of local governments can affect the enforcement of environmental regulations. Environmental regulation can influence the behaviour of energy-intensive enterprises. This paper examines the relationship between local government competition, environmental regulation and the investment efficiency of high energy consuming firms using a basic panel regression and moderating effects model based on data from 2011-2020 for high energy consuming firms in China. The paper found that local government competition and environmental regulation can promote increased investment efficiency in energy-intensive firms in the short term. However, environmental regulation is not beneficial to investment efficiency in the long run. Local government competition plays a positive moderating role in the impact of environmental regulation on the investment efficiency of high energy consuming firms. There is a threshold effect on the role of local government competition. When the level of government competition exceeds 2.097, it has a negative impact on the investment efficiency. We further test for heterogeneity and we find that this promotion effect is also more obvious in areas with high environmental taxes and low marketability. Finally, we provide constructive suggestions for the development of government and the improvement of the investment efficiency of high energyconsuming firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vertical management auditing reforms achieve the centralization of audit institutions. The centralized structure of the auditing institutions affects their performance. This paper verifies the positive effect of vertical management auditing reform on carbon productivity through a difference-in-differences method. The conclusion still holds after robustness tests. Moreover, the policy effects only make sense when government officials face low promotion pressure or high public scrutiny pressure. The mechanism analysis shows that the vertical management auditing reform can improve carbon productivity by strengthening environmental regulation, promoting industrial structure rationalization, and improving regional green innovation and energy efficiency. This paper enriches the research on the relationship between auditing centralization and carbon productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disposal of landfill leachate is a critical environmental challenge due to its high pollution content. Effective treatment technologies are essential to mitigate the adverse impacts on groundwater and surrounding ecosystems. This paper employs bibliometric analysis and utilizes CiteSpace software to conduct a visual analysis of the knowledge graph of 959 research articles on "Disposal of Landfill Leachate" from the Web of Science core database for the period 1996-2022. The results indicate that the publication quantity has undergone three stages: the sprouting stage, the stable development stage, and the rapid development stage. In terms of international collaboration, China and the USA play an absolute core role. The journals Waste Management, Journal of Hazardous Materials, and Water Research are ranked among the top 3 publications in the field of landfill leachate treatment. The keyword co-occurrence clustering analysis revealed 7 clusters, including groundwater quality, heavy metals, hydrogeophysics, municipal solid, hydraulic conductivity, geochemical barriers and waste disposal, representing the primary research topics. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the research progress and development trends in the field of disposal of landfill leachate. It contributes to a better understanding of the key research areas and offers potential prospects for future investigations to researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researches on the Porter hypothesis have paid more attention to the effect of the external constraint force of environmental regulation on green total factor productivity (GTFP), while ignoring the effect of internal force of market competition on GTFP. Using the panel data of Chinese manufacturing industries, this paper measures China's GTFP with the global frontier MML index which is based on the EBM model. The paper then studies the effect of environmental regulation and market competition on GTFP. The combined effect of environmental regulation and market competition on enhancing GTFP is further investigated. The results are as follows: 1) The GTFP of the manufacturing industry has progressed during the study period and the progress of green technology plays a crucial role in promoting GTFP improvement. 2) The environmental regulation and market competition both have an obvious nonlinear effect of U-type on GTFP. Relying solely on the external constraint force of environmental regulation or the internal force of market competition does not promote the improvement of GTFP quickly. 3) As for the combined effect, improving market competition is beneficial to the positive effect of environmental regulation on GTFP. Market competition and environmental regulation show a significant combined positive effect, accelerating the arrival of environmental regulation inflection point. Thus the rapid improvement of GTFP requires the combined effect to be effectively exerted. However, only when the level of environmental regulation is strong or the level of market competition is high can a combined positive effect appear. The conclusion provides China with a meaningful reference for better implementing the policy of environmental regulation and market-oriented reforms to promote green economic transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influencing factors of sustainable development of family grain farms in China. According to related investigation, there is a real problem of lack of social responsibility of grain family farms in China, which restricts their sustainable development. Therefore, based on a sample of 301 family grain farms in China, this paper used multi-classification ordered logit model and mediation effect model to investigate the relationship between perceptions of social responsibility, resource integration ability, and sustainable development of family grain farms. Various studies show that stronger perceptions of social responsibility related to more sustainable development; greater resource integration ability related to more sustainable development; and resource integration ability mediated the relationships between perceptions of social responsibility and sustainable development. Conclusions suggest that improving perceptions of social responsibility, increasing support for improving resource integration ability and giving full play to the mediating role of resource integration ability is needed to bolster the sustainable development of family grain farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the current state of recovery and finalisation of plastic waste in a company. It also considers the measures proposed to improve these activities. Valuable information was obtained by observing processes in the link man--machine--material. On this basis, the process of finding an efficient and rational solution to the given issue was facilitated. In recent years, various new spheres are trendy; also, the sphere of plastic waste management is among the most important. Plastics as a material have many positive properties and are therefore used in many industries. The main part of the paper deals with the plastic waste, legislation related to the recovery of plastic waste, as well as the recovery of plastic waste itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon allowance prices (CAP) directly reflect the overall movement of the carbon market, which is the core of the carbon market operation and an important perspective for studying the carbon market. Based on the threshold model and regime switching model, through studying the performance of CAP in China's carbon market, the paper has the following conclusions. First, CAP show significant non-linear structure and three operating intervals of high, medium, and low, with most of the time being active in the medium and low intervals. Second, there is a stabilization mechanism in the current operation of CAP, which can adequately regulate the trend of CAP fluctuations and eventually converge back to the normal state. Finally, it is found that moderate increases are the main form of CAP volatility in China's carbon market, but other possible states and the risk of abnormal CAP volatility due to state transformation still exist. Furthermore, for investors, China's carbon market may be an ideal place to make long-term investments and hedge risks in the future. This paper provides theoretical support for investors and regulators in the carbon market to make scientific decisions based on the carbon market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the background of rapid global economic transformation, the influence of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) has penetrated all fields of production and life. It is significant to study how it affects the regional carbon emission intensity for regional sustainable development. Based on the data from 30 provinces from 2004 to 2017, this paper takes a complete account of spatial heterogeneity and the dynamic impact of economic policy uncertainty on carbon emission intensity using a spatial econometric model. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) For more than ten years, there have been significant differences and instabilities in economic policy uncertainty and carbon emission intensity in different regions of China. (2) China's local carbon emission intensity shows an objective spatial aggregation effect, which is significant, spatially auto-correlated and clustered. (3) Based on the national level, economic policy uncertainty will significantly increase the regional carbon emission intensity. Additionally, economic policy uncertainty has a significant positive spatial spillover effect, which may increase carbon emission intensity in neighboring provinces. (4) Based on the provincial level, the impact of economic policy uncertainty on carbon emission intensity in various regions is significantly positive, with the most significant impact on the western region. Based on the above conclusions, the paper proposes policy suggestions to stabilize the regional carbon emission intensity in all directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental pollution, climate change, ecological destruction and other issues have become serious social challenges. In order to control pollution and promote the development of green industries, the Chinese government has vigorously developed green and emerging industries such as the cultural industry, and put forward the strategic goal of “double carbon”. Based on this background, this paper selects China’s provincial cultural industry as the research object to carry out an empirical study on its innovation efficiency and its influencing factors. By selecting the panel data from 2014 to 2021, using the output oriented CRS super efficiency model, cross reference Malmuqist model and panel regression model, this paper draws the following conclusions: (1) the innovation efficiency of cultural industry in different regions of China has typical spatio-temporal heterogeneity. The efficiency of cultural innovation fluctuates at 1.0, and is the highest in the eastern region and the lowest in the western region. (2) The innovation efficiency of China’s cultural industry has maintained a good growth trend, and the Malmuqist index as a whole is greater than 1.0. (3) Environmental variables such as air pollution, domestic pollution and pollution control have significant effects on innovation efficiency. All environmental variables passed the significance test at the 5% level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the framework of the "double carbon" strategy in China, green finance has emerged as a crucial factor in restructuring the economic landscape. This paper explores the impact of green finance on labor allocation between polluting and green industries and reveals that enterprises for which green credit is available tend to employ a greater number of workers, particularly those with higher skill levels. Mechanism analysis suggests this phenomenon can be attributed to an increase in new capital and capital-skill complementarity. Heterogeneity analysis further demonstrates that green credit plays a more pronounced role in optimizing the composition of skilled personnel in green private enterprises. The findings of this paper shed light on the relationship between capital and labor at the enterprise level and provide a foundation for formulating monetary policies that guide the low-carbon transformation of polluting enterprises, in order to reach the objective of "stabilizing enterprises and ensuring employment". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The source region of the Yellow River (SRYR) is continuously affected by climate change and human activities, and water security problems have long existed and are constantly changing, with the possibility of inducing a series of new risks. To diagnose the above problems and clarify their evolution features, based on the connotation of water security and its involved dimensions, this paper systematically reviews the relevant research results on water security in the SRYR, summarizes the water security problems and their evolution trend in the region from three aspects: water disasters, water ecology, and water supply security, and deeply analyzes the cascade effect of each water security problem. This paper provides a scientific basis for carrying out water disaster prevention and ecological restoration in the SRYR, which is conducive to optimizing the development and utilization of water resources in the context of adapting to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, a new pattern of world economic development is taking shape, and different development models featuring a green, low-carbon, and recycling economy have become the goals pursued by all countries. China is in a critical period of economic transformation. Establishing a sound financial system for green, low-carbon, and recycling economic development is an essential initiative for China to realize the dual-carbon goal, build a modern financial system for sustainable development, and promote the construction of a community of human destiny. Therefore, it is of great practical significance to dynamically monitor the development of China's green, low-carbon, and recycling economy and explore regional development differences to realize coordinated and sustainable regional development. This paper measures the level of green, low-carbon, and recycling economy development in 30 provinces and cities in China by constructing a dynamic evaluation system for green, low-carbon, and recycling economy development and utilizing a dual incentive model. The empirical results show that since 2014, the level of green, low-carbon, and recycling economy development in China's provinces and cities has been on an upward trend. Still, the level of action needs to be balanced. Therefore, it is imperative to create an institutional environment conducive to advancing green and low-carbon technologies, promoting structural adjustment and energy efficiency, and reducing regional differences in green, lowcarbon, and recycling development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposed by the United Nations Commission on the Environment seek to move as close as possible to achieving balanced sustainable development that considers the needs of present generations without compromising the needs of future generations. The aim of the paper is to present the results of the analysis of the process of implementation of the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the V4 countries for 2022 based on selected indicators. Since data on the achievement of individual goals was not available for all goals, we thus used the comparison of sustainable development indices of the countries in the analysis of the secondary data that were available. Given that sustainability is also linked to country competitiveness, we also analyze the country competitiveness index. In the analysis, we focused on finding statistically significant differences in the achievement of each goal in the V4 countries and statistically significant correlations between the SDGI and the WCI. The results of the analysis showed that the Slovak Republic is the most successful among the V4 countries in terms of competitiveness in sustainable development, and Hungary is the least successful. In addition to the above, the results of our research expand knowledge in the field of sustainable development in the V4 countries and can also serve as a basis for further study and research on sustainability with links to country competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on panel data from 277 cities in China from 2003 to 2019, this paper uses a multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) model to analyze the effect of civilized city construction on urban carbon emission intensity. The findings of the research are as follows: Firstly, the construction of civilized cities is conducive to curbing the carbon emission intensity of cities, and the construction of civilized cities has reduced urban carbon emission intensity by 14.5%. Secondly, this inhibitory effect can be achieved by optimizing the industrial structure, reducing urban energy consumption, and improving technological innovation. Thirdly, the impact of civilized city construction on urban carbon emissions varies significantly depending on urban location, urban administrative level, urban resource endowment, and urban cultural tourism resources. In addition, the construction of civilized cities in China has resulted in a reduction of carbon emission intensity by 13.2% in non-resource-based cities, and tourist cities have witnessed a 16.8% decrease in carbon emission intensity due to the construction of civilized cities. Finally, based on the analysis results, some suggestions are put forward for promoting the construction of civilized cities in China to reduce carbon emission intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coordinating the development of the economy and environment has always been a tough challenge. The digital village construction in China offers unprecedented historical opportunities for rural areas to propel coordinated development and catch up with their urban counterparts. This paper used a coupling coordination degree model, exploratory spatial data analysis, and an obstacle degree model to investigate the coupling coordination of digital village construction, economic growth, and the environmental protection system (DEES) in rural China from 2015 to 2021. The results indicate: (1) The coupling coordination degree of DEES increases annually, yet a significant spatial imbalance among regions persists. (2) There is a positive spatial correlation in the coupling coordination of DEES, with the clustering trend gradually strengthening and subsequently weakening. (3) The most consistent obstacles are economic growth and per capita income, while obstacle factors vary among provinces. The results suggest that governments should increase investment in rural digital infrastructure, promote the synergistic efforts of the digital economy and green development, and drive the digitization of rural areas. Meanwhile, each province should use its own resources effectively, to make up for any shortcomings, thereby promoting coupling coordinated development in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of ecological civilization has put forward new requirements for the market-oriented reform of ecological products, and pricing is the most effective mechanism for marketization. This paper actively expands on the definition of ecological products and considers two game models to compare different consumption preferences and tax/subsidy policies. The results show that, under a static game, ecological products pose a disadvantage, which can lead to negative profits. In a dynamic game, an ecological firm can obtain higher profits by virtue of the positive externalities of its products. Changes in subsidies and taxes can achieve the expected effect of policies, which may reduce the price of ecological products and thus improve competitiveness. Meanwhile, we found that tax policy regulation plays a more significant role than a supporting subsidy, but the ecological degree effect may be the opposite under extreme conditions. This research provides theoretical guidance for promoting the use of ecological products for environmental improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finding effective carbon reduction pathways is an important breakthrough in combating climate warming. In recent years, green financial policies have been recognized as important institutional initiatives globally. In China, the impact of green financial policies on carbon emission reduction and their paths remains to be explored. On the basis of panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2012 to 2018, this paper examines the carbon emission reduction effect of China's green finance reform and innovation pilot policy (GFRIPP) from the perspective of financial decentralization. China's GFRIPP has a significant carbon emission reduction effect. Unlike the provinces that did not implement the GFRIPP, the provinces that implemented the GFRIPP experienced a 0.053 reduction in their carbon emission intensity growth rate, and financial decentralization weakened the carbon emission reduction effect of the policy. The impact of GFRIPP on carbon emissions also has significant regional heterogeneity. The carbon emission reduction effect of GFRIPP in the central and western regions is more significant than in the eastern region and is more vulnerable to the weakening impact of financial decentralization. On the basis of the above conclusions, the role of green finance in promoting carbon emission reduction should be given more attention, the communication between central and local policies should be strengthened, a scientific green financial system should be formulated and implemented, and carbon neutrality must be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural productive services are fundamental in transforming the paradigm of agricultural development and exert a significant impact on farmers' behavior in managing their arable land. This paper employs the slack-based measure of the super-efficiency model, known as the Super-SBM model, incorporating unexpected output to gauge the eco-efficiency of cultivated land use (ECLU). Utilizing panel data from Hunan Province spanning the years 2007 to 2020, this study unveils the following key findings: (1) Across various quantile levels, agricultural productive services exhibit a substantial capacity to enhance ECLU, with coefficients ranging from 0.070 to 0.156. (2) The impact of agricultural productive services on ECLU is constrained by both farmers' income levels and the scale of cultivated land, revealing a dual threshold effect. As income levels rise, the corresponding coefficient increases progressively, from 0.0771 to 0.1147, and ultimately to 0.1571. Similarly, with the expansion of cultivated land, the coefficient increases from 0.1152 to 0.1443, and ultimately peaks at 0.1694. (3) The enhancement of ECLU through agricultural productive services is achieved by reducing the input of environmental factors and mitigating undesirable outputs. (4) Agricultural productive services indirectly facilitate labor transfer, accounting for 10.8% of the overall effect. Consequently, it is imperative to continually enhance the agricultural socialized service system, bolster financial support, and implement policies that foster the development of agricultural productive services to realize sustainable cultivated land utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying the evolution of sloping cultivated land (SCL) abandonment and its influencing factors in China's karst mountainous areas (KMA) is highly significant to ensuring the sustainable utilization of cultivated land and ecological environment restoration in mountainous regions. Based on the highresolution remote sensing images and digital elevation model (DEM) of the Huajiang Canyon (HC) from 2004 to 2020, this paper analyzes the distribution pattern, evolutionary rule, driving mechanism, and effect of SCL abandonment in the KMA of southwestern China in the micro spatial unit through the landscape pattern index, buffer analysis, and spatial autocorrelation analysis. The results show that: (1) the abandonment of SCL in the HC mainly occurs in the karst peak cluster and trough valley areas of southwestern, southern, and the northeastern areas, with severe rocky desertification having scarce SCL and relatively little abandoned cultivated land (ACL); (2) The trend of the ACL in KMA from 2004 to 2020 shows continuous growth, and the ACL patches are fragmented; (3) Abandonment of SCL is more pronounced at higher elevations, and the possibility of abandonment of SCL is greater at steeper slopes, with the ACL mainly evolving into low-covered grassland, shrub forests, and Zanthoxylum bungeanum forests; (4) The abandonment of SCL around rural settlements in the HC is a process from far to near, with farmers being the first to abandon SCL far from their settlements, but the abandonment of SCL around the roads is distributed in a fluctuating trend; (5) The abandonment of SCL in KMA is the result of the interaction of numerous factors, with socio-economic factors being the dominant ones. The abandonment of SCL has brought ecological and economic benefits to the KMA, and provided evidence of global greening in the micro-space. The results of this study can provide scientific references for rational land management and ecological environment restoration in mountainous areas around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming, mainly caused by human activities, demands urgent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Establishing a carbon market central to this effort involves the allocation of carbon emission quotas. The uncertainty of consensus cost in the carbon market will bring the risk of loss to the whole consensus process. In this paper, we focus on solving the problem of group consensus decision with risk averse decision maker. First, three new distributionally robust two-stage minimum asymmetric adjustment cost consensus models based on conditional value at risk (CVaR) are proposed. Considering that it is difficult to obtain historical decision-making data with risk in the carbon market, a novel box ambiguous set and a polyhedron ambiguous set are constructed, respectively. The risk expectation cost of group consensus decision-making problem under the worst-case condition is measured. Then, a computable linear equivalent form of the proposed model is derived in order to facilitate calculation. Finally, numerical cases based on carbon emission quotas are carried out. The numerical results show that the consensus cost of this method is better than the results under the stochastic programming method, and it brings new solutions to the group decision-making progress in the allocation of carbon emission quotas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on panel data from 16 prefecture-level cities in Shandong Province from 2011 to 2020, the paper utilizes the super-efficiency SBM model with undesirable outputs to measure the green economic efficiency of each city. Spatial autocorrelation analysis and the natural breaks method are applied to analyze the spatial-temporal evolution of green economic efficiency. Lastly, a panel Tobit model is used to analyze the factors affecting green economic efficiency. The study's outcomes are as outlined below: (1) The green economy efficiency of the 16 cities in Shandong Province showed an overall increasing trend from 2011 to 2020. However, there is a noticeable disparity in green economic efficiency among cities, with developed cities exhibiting relatively higher levels of efficiency. (2) The proportion of cities with high green economic efficiency steadily increases, and these highefficiency regions gradually cluster around the provincial capital and the eastern coastal areas. While there is heterogeneous clustering of green economic efficiency, the degree of this heterogeneity decreases over time. (3) Social security, economic development, and technological advancement significantly enhance green economic efficiency, whereas the industrial structure noticeably impedes efficiency. Environmental regulations and urbanization levels have a less pronounced impact on efficiency. Drawing from these findings, this chapter presents targeted policy recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yellow River Basin plays a crucial role as both an ecological barrier and an economic development area in China. However, achieving synergistic development between the environment and industry in the coastal provinces remains challenging. Conducting in-depth studies on the synergy between these two aspects can provide valuable guidance for the development of each province. This paper employs the Topsis method to assess the development level of the industrial and environmental systems in the Yellow River Basin. Additionally, it utilizes the Harken model to analyze the synergy between the environment and industry in the coastal provinces of the Yellow River Basin from 2011 to 2021. Furthermore, the overall distribution of the level of synergistic development between the industry and environment in the Yellow River Basin is analyzed using kernel density estimation. The empirical findings reveal the following: 1. The development level of both environmental and industrial systems in each province of the Yellow River Basin has exhibited a consistent increase over the study period. 2. The average synergy between environment and industry in the Yellow River Basin has shown a declining trend from 2011 to 2021. In 2021, the synergy level follows the pattern of "upstream

River water pollution is a significant environmental problem in Indonesia. On the other hand, river water is an important source of drinking water. Therefore, clean and safe water has become a priority program of the Government and is parallel with the international agreement known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Rapid population growth and industrialization cause inadequate access to safe water; only 73% of Indonesian people can access safe water. This review paper aims to present a comprehensive discussion concerning water pollution in four big rivers, i.e., Siak, Citarum, Bengawan Solo, and Brantas Rivers, that have experienced pollution and provide alternative solutions to mitigate the pollution. Data were collected from related institutions, governments’ regulations, the authors’ experiences, and literature studies. Developing a riparian zone with multiple ecological services and introducing Internet of Things (IoT) devices that monitor and provide real-time water quality information is essential for mitigating river water pollution. Law enforcement is an alternative method to reduce point-source pollutants from industries. Non-point source pollutants from domestic and agricultural wastes may be reduced through spreading awareness and implementing personal and environmental hygiene, involving the community in designing, as well as monitoring and evaluating water quality. Those approaches should be accompanied by proper institutions, regulations, and policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Village planning has assigned a single fixed boundary to the village to protect the external spatial form type of the village from destruction. To meet its development needs, the village needs to change the fixed boundary. How to delineate a boundary that does not destroy the external spatial form type of the village but also meets the development needs of the village has become an urgent problem to be solved. This paper proposes a strategy to delineate flexible boundaries for villages. This strategy accomplishes the delineation of flexible boundaries without destroying the spatial form type of the village by adjusting the control parameters to meet the needs of village development for boundaries. Firstly, the strategy calculates the value of the optimal village boundary corresponding to the control parameter, then constructs the mathematical and theoretical relationship between the village’s external spatial form type and the optimal boundary corresponding to the parameter, and finally determines the range of spatial form type corresponding to the control parameter and selects 20 traditional villages in China as empirical evidence. The results show that: the length of control parameters corresponding to the external spatial form types of villages shows the law of segmental distribution; the higher the degree of banding of the external spatial form of villages, the greater the length of control parameters; the range of control parameters for clustered boundary delineation of the village, and the banding tendency of the clustered and banding spatial form types is 15-30, 30-50, and 50-130. The results can provide theoretical references for the planning and design of villages, as well as provide decision-making help for the village participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The government, enterprises, and consumers play an important role in the realization of the “dual carbon” goal. However, the relationship between consumer behavior and this goal has not received sufficient attention. Based on theories related to green consumption, this paper analyzes the internal psychological factors of consumers and external influencing factors and constructs a tripartite evolutionary game model involving the government, enterprises, and consumers. The findings are as follows: (1) If the consumer’s price sensitivity coefficient is either too high or too low, it does not favor the evolution of consumer behavior towards green consumption, nor does it encourage enterprises to adopt green production practices. In such scenarios, government regulation and the provision of green subsidies to consumers and enterprises might be more effective. (2) The larger the green preference coefficient of consumers, the more likely they are to opt for green consumption, which in turn accelerates the shift of enterprises towards green production. In this situation, a robust supply and demand market for green products can effectively alleviate the pressure of environmental regulation. (3) The government’s “dual carbon” policy publicity prompts consumers to choose green consumption and enterprises to choose green production. (4) Government subsidies to enterprises and to consumers both encourage enterprises to choose green production and consumers to choose green consumption. The results of this study provide enlightenment on the development of the green product market and the achievement of the “dual carbon” goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coupling coordination of digital economy and green high-quality development of industries is an important way for sustainable and high-quality economic development. This paper constructs an evaluation index system for the digital economy and industrial green high-quality development, and conducts empirical analysis using the coupling coordination model, the spatial autocorrelation model, and the Tobit model. The data from provinces and cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt spanning from 2008 to 2021 has been analyzed. Results show that both subsystems exhibit a good and rising coupling coordination, and the regional coupling coordination demonstrates a trend of higher values in the east and lower in the west. Moreover, there is interaction between provinces and cities, albeit with a weakening correlation after 2011. Additionally, spatial clustering is evident between regions with high and low coupling coordination. The coupling coordination degree of each region is impacted by important factors, such as economic development level, financial level, opening up, fiscal expenditure, and urbanization. Therefore, the study recommends policies aimed at boosting the coupling coordination level in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Key policy proposals contain promoting the integration and innovation of digital technology and green low-carbon technology, strengthening regional cooperation through the transfer of industries, and adopting differentiated development strategies tailored to regional advantages and the varied impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the STIRPAT model was developed to study the role of financial development in urban low-carbon economic transformation. The statistical analysis used data from 281 prefecture-level cities in China from 2009 to 2019. The results show that: (1) there is a positive U-shaped nonlinear relationship between financial development and urban low-carbon economic transformation. (2) Financial development not only directly affects the transformation of the low-carbon economy, but also indirectly affects it through three transmission channels: environmental regulation, industrial structure, and urbanization. (3) The financial development itself and the level of urbanization have a threshold effect on the transformation of the low-carbon economy. Under the threshold effect of environmental regulation and industrial structure, the role of financial development in the transformation of low-carbon economies presents a process of 'first decrease and then increase'. Therefore, improving the intensity of environmental regulation, implementing differentiated financial and industrial development policies, and controlling the urbanization process are effective measures to promote the transformation of low-carbon economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil tankers carry large quantities of liquefied chemical cargoes that are flammable, explosive and/or toxic. Hence, a collision with a tanker that causes an oil spill poses a severe threat to the marine environment and human life. In order to quantify and analyze the risk factors of ship collision oil spill, this paper adopts a combination of knowledge element (KE) and dynamic Bayesian networks (DBN) to conduct an emergency scenario study based on the “scenario-response” model. Firstly, the key elements of “accident scenario state, human factors, emergency measures, and emergency goals” are selected to represent the accident. Then, the mechanism of accident evolution is analyzed according to the case, and DBN is used to build a scenario model of oil spills from tanker collisions. Finally, to verify the importance of human factors and the scientificity of emergency measures, the oil spill accident due to the collision between the two vessels known as MT “SANCHI” and MV “CF CRYSTAL” is used as an example for analysis. The accident model deduction results are in line with reality, and the research results help relevant decision makers to understand the deduction process of oil spills from tanker collisions, which is of great significance to enhance the safety of oil tanker shipping and marine environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the diversified needs of urban cold chain distribution and proposes innovative solutions based on storage type multi-temperature co-distribution and mechanical type multitemperature co-distribution modes. We present an electric vehicle path optimization model aimed at minimizing total costs, taking into account time-varying speed in accordance with urban traffic patterns. Additionally, a genetic algorithm is designed to solve the multi-temperature co-matching optimization path. The study's results reveal that the storage type multi-temperature co-distribution transport mode offers superior economic efficiency, product security, safety, and resource utilization. By comparing and analyzing the results of model solving under different battery capacities, loads, and distributions speeds, the total cost of distribution is optimal when the battery capacity is 120 kWh, the maximum load is 100 kg, and the normal driving speed is 60 km/h. The mechanical multi-temperature co-distribution mode is optimal for the total cost of distribution at a battery capacity of 100 kWh, a maximum load of 100 kg, and a normal driving speed of 50 km/h. The study aims to provide reference significance for logistics companies when making route selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most important issues considered in ecotoxicology is the elevated accumulation of different elements in soil as a consequence of anthropogenic activities. In this paper, determination of nine elements in soil obtained from three different forest complexes (sycamore, beech, and spruce) in urbanized and non-urbanized regions of Tatra National Park is presented. Additionally, a comprehensive presentation of detailed results of correlation analyses between individual elements in accordance to each valley, as well as to selected species of trees, is shown. Speciation studies included chemical forms of the following elements: Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd, Ni, Cr, Co. Soil extracts were obtained in accordance with Rudd’s methodology and all species were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The study compares the content of selected chemical forms (exchangeable and adsorbed, organic solutions and carbonates) of chosen metals in soil of four valleys of Tatra National Park: Chochołowska, Strążyska, Mała Łąka, and Kościeliska. The first three (group A) are considered as non-urbanized areas, whereas the last four (group B), on the account of many home fireplaces located there, as urbanized areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rise of China’s economy and the expansion of China’s foreign trade scale, the carbon emissions generated by China’s trade are attracting extensive attention from political and academic circles. In the context of global ‘decarbonization’, this paper focuses on the new trade model of digital trade and uses China's provincial panel data from 2013 to 2021 to deeply explore the effect of digital trade development on carbon emissions and its transmission mechanism. We find that digital trade development can reduce regional carbon emissions through structural and technological effects; specifically, industrial structure upgrading, consumption upgrading, and green technology innovation play a crucial intermediary role in this process. Subsequent investigation reveals a nonlinear, diminishing trend in the marginal impact of digital trade on emission reduction. Furthermore, once digital trade surpasses the threshold of environmental regulation its marginal effect on emission reduction becomes more pronounced. Additionally, employing a spatial econometric model has revealed that the advancement of digital trade can also contribute to reducing carbon emissions in neighboring regions. Heterogeneity analysis results demonstrate that the eastern region exhibits the most significant emission reduction effect in relation to digital trade, followed by the western and central regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the web crawler method to obtain information on the distribution of commercial bank branches in China and uses the multidimensional fixed-effects model to explore the impact of commercial bank expansion on firm pollution emissions and its mechanism. The findings reveal that commercial bank expansion significantly reduces firms’ pollution emissions and that there is an optimal geographical radius for this suppression effect. The number of commercial bank branches within 20 km of the firm has the biggest inhibiting influence on the firm’s pollution emission, which diminishes as geographical distance increases. This dampening effect remains robust after testing using the instrumental variable method and the Difference-In-Differences method. Examination of heterogeneity demonstrates that the influence of commercial bank expansion on firm pollution emission depends on the degree of regional low-carbon policies and laws, the level of pollution in the industry, and capital intensity of the industry, as well as the firm’s size and ownership. The mechanism test proves that commercial bank expansion reduces firm pollution emissions by promoting technological progress and increasing their investment in pollution reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous deepening of electricity marketization reform and the large-scale integration of clean energy into the system, the problem of transmission congestion in the power system is frequent, and research on congestion management methods has become a major focus. Therefore, this paper studies the optimization strategy of transmission congestion management in the power spot market. Firstly, the existing congestion management mechanisms were sorted out from two aspects: dynamic management mechanisms, and market steady-state mechanisms. At the same time, the advantages and disadvantages of various mechanisms were summarized. Then, optimization strategies for congestion management were proposed from three aspects: cost optimization, surplus diversion, and risk optimization. Firstly, based on the ATC reduction method and rescheduling method, a congestion cost optimization strategy is proposed. Secondly, a congestion cost pool and multidimensional allocation indicators, are established and a congestion surplus diversion strategy is proposed. Thirdly, a two-level market for transmission rights trading has been constructed to optimize congestion risk. Finally, a case study was conducted in a certain province in eastern and western China, and the results showed that: 1) Considering the rescheduling method and ATC reduction method to optimize congestion costs can reduce congestion costs by 8.22% and 18.83%, compared to only considering the scheduling method and using ATC reduction method. 2) Establishing a congestion cost pool and multi-dimensional allocation indicators to channel congestion surplus can form price guidance signals. 3) Constructing a two-level market for transmission rights trading can increase the efficiency of system operators by 62.75%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a review of urban slum and suburban sprawl situations across the world. The article is more descriptive in nature than analytical and has the objective of bringing out the interrelationships among urbanization, urban slums, suburban sprawls, and environmental sustainability. It begins by examining the concepts of urbanization, urban slums, suburban sprawl, safe cities, resilient cities, and sustainable cities. It then goes on to look at the causes and consequences of urban slums and suburban sprawl. Findings from the study revealed that slums and suburban sprawls are cogs in the wheel of safe, resilient, and sustainable cities. Therefore, the study recommends efficient urban management, the implementation of urban master plans, development control, and citizen participation in urban planning and management. Above all, for the achievement of safe, resilient, and sustainable cities, this study places more emphasis on the use of modern techniques of environmental monitoring and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the impact of digital economy, population, affluence, technology, and other factors on carbon emissions, with panel data for 13 cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration from 2011-2019. To overcome the negative influences of multicollinearity among independent variables under acceptable bias, we extended the traditional STIRPAT model and adopted the Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) algorithm. Results show that the digital economy has a directly dampening effect on carbon emissions, and the effect will diminish as the digital economy develops. Besides, under different development levels, differences are significant in terms of the impact of population, affluence, technology, urbanization rate and industrial structure on carbon emissions. Academically, we applied the PLSR method to the study of the relationship between digital economy and carbon emissions for the first time, which enhanced the credibility of the research conclusions. In addition, analysis based on samples from China's Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration also provides more empirical evidence for related research. Practically, we recommend such policies as developing digital cities, promoting low-carbon concepts, and accelerating industrial transformation for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region to achieve the "dual-carbon" goals and high-quality economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is currently proposing to build the world's biggest national park system, but the country's existing natural conservation is easily affected by population growth and economic pressures. The Huangshan National Park construction area holds great ecological significance and is one of 49 national parks to be established in China. It locates in the Yangtze River Delta region, where the conflict between people and land is intense. Based on this, this paper quantifies the species richness, ecosystem services, and landscape diversity values, counts the index of human activity intensity, calculates the protection advantage and irreplaceability values of each planning unit, and completes the boundary delineation of the Huangshan National Park construction area through the analysis of marginal benefits. Finally, this study delineates the boundary of Huangshan National Park with a 37% protection ratio, which is primarily located in the central and southern regions of the research area, covering an area of approximately 9498.41 km2. This study develops a scientific boundary delineation solution for the Huangshan National Park construction area, which provides a reference for the spatial management and control of Huangshan National Park and a theoretical foundation for the boundary delineation of Chinese potential national parks in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

R&D investment leap is the behavior of an organization to significantly increase or decrease R&D investment in a specific period. Existing literature on R&D investment leap does not pay enough attention to the antecedents. This paper analyzes and tests the knowledge base antecedents of R&D investment leap based on the Punctuated Equilibrium payoff and risk perspective, using a panel data of Chinese listed companies from 2009-2018 as a sample. The results show that technical knowledge base has an opposite effect on R&D investment leap in different directions. Technical diversity and technical complexity have significant positive effects on upward R&D investment leap from exploitation to exploration, technical diversity has significant negative effects on downward R&D investment leap from exploration to exploitation, but technical complexity does not have significant negative effects on downward R&D investment leap. Moreover, environment shock moderate their relationship. When environment shock is advantage, organizations with stronger technical knowledge base are more likely to carry out upward R&D investment; otherwise, organizations with stronger technical knowledge base will slow down the downward R&D investment leap. The results help to enrich and deepen the theoretical study of R&D investment volatility, and have implications for R&D investment decisions in the VUCA environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anaerobic fermentation technology is a sustainable method for treating organic waste. However, the process can be hindered by low gas production, system instability due to acidification, ammonianitrogen inhibition, and microorganisms. The addition of biochar to the anaerobic fermentation system can improve gas production rates and maintain system stability. This paper summarizes the research progress on the effect of biochar on anaerobic fermentation systems by discussing the preparation and characteristics of biochar, its main effects on anaerobic fermentation systems, Exploring the potential for further research and in-depth application of biochar in anaerobic fermentation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]