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This study aims at investigating the intensity of environmental regulation on firm's share of domestic value-added in gross exports in China. An unbalanced firm-level panel data from 2000 to 2014 is adopted to estimate 10 two-way fixed effects models suggested by Hausman test for the entire sample of 648,801 and subsamples of three trade patterns, three types of ownership and three regions. The primary finding of this study is that for the entire sample and subsamples of general trade, mixed trade, non-state-owned and foreign-owned enterprises and enterprises in the eastern region, the intensity of environmental regulation has a "U-shaped" influence on firm's share of domestic value-added in gross exports in China, meaning that this influence is negative first and then turns to positive after the intensity of environmental regulation reaches a certain level. This conclusion is reasonable and consistent with our expectation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of bank branch expansion on macroeconomic and micro-firm behaviour has been one of the primary focuses in related research fields. However, research has thus far ignored the unintended impact of the increased availability of credit resources on firms' pollution emissions. Therefore, based on firm-level data in China, we explore the impact of the availability of credit resources on firm pollution reduction. The empirical results of this study are as follows. (1) Increased availability of credit resources to firms can significantly reduce pollution emissions. This finding remains robust after a series of robustness tests. (2) The possible path to reduced emissions is through increasing capital investment in production and technological innovation, rather than increasing capital investment in governance. (3) The market access policy for small and medium-sized commercial bank branches further strengthens the effect of credit resource availability on pollution reduction. And the reduction effect is more significant for firms facing strong environmental regulations and weak economic target constraints. These findings provide a new perspective for enterprises to reduce emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the aim of exploring the impact mechanism of scientific and technological financial efficiency on regional real economy growth in the context of ecological civilization construction, this study introduces environmental regulation as a mediating factor. By analyzing changes in science and financial efficiency of science and technology, we provide an effective basis for regional real economy development. To achieve this goal, we define concepts such as science and financial efficiency of science and technology and regional real economy, measure data from 2012 to 2021, analyze the impact of science and financial efficiency of science and technology on economic growth using intermediary models, test mediation effects with bootstrap methods, and identify significant differences between regions. It indicates that enhancing science and financial efficiency of sci-tech benefits China's regional real economy growth, but there's unbalanced development across regions. Additionally, environmental regulation serves as a crucial intermediary in the relationship between sci-tech finance and economic growth. There exist regional disparities in the mediation effects of environmental regulation, with eastern regions demonstrating stronger effects compared to central and western regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many countries, complex environmental problems such as biodiversity decline are regulated at the national level by a disparate range of laws and nonstatutory policy instruments variously described by terms including plans, strategies, guidelines, statements of intent, and/or incentives. Such instruments are often grouped together by conservation policymakers and scientists under the umbrella term “policy.” However, from a legal perspective, there are critical differences between these so‐called policy instruments. In this paper, we focus on what we consider to be the critical difference: whether a policy instrument is binding, and therefore whether an administrative decision (e.g., about a development proposal) can be legally challenged due to noncompliance with that policy instrument. Drawing from international examples, the aim of this paper is to give conservation policymakers and scientists the guidance needed to critically differentiate between laws and nonstatutory policy, assess current or proposed policies, and determine whether a nonstatutory instrument gives rise to binding obligations, thus allowing for decisions to be challenged before a court. In doing so, we encourage conservation scientists, policymakers, activists, and practitioners to reflect critically on what is possible and not possible when nonstatutory “policy” instruments are designed and implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Environmental pollution and energy poverty have always been serious challenges for the global energy system. Results: Based on the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2020, this paper uses FE and sys-GMM models to explore the impact of environmental regulations and climate change on energy poverty. The results show that climate change increases energy poverty, with rising energy for cooling in hot summers, and unchanged income in the short term. Moreover, environmental regulation plays a moderating role between climate change and energy poverty. Specifically, economical environmental regulation has a negative moderating effect, while legal and supervised environmental regulations have positive moderating effects. Finally, the national basic energy poverty line used is lower than that in the eastern region, higher than that in the western region, and close to that in the central region, which reflects the heterogeneity of energy poverty in different regions of China. Conclusions: The findings in this paper clarify the nexus between climate change, environmental regulation, and energy poverty, addressing in this way a gap in existing research, which has great significance for environmental and energy policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gold has been one of the most valued metals throughout human history. Traditionally, gravity plants primarily utilized equipment designed to recover only coarse-grained free gold, including jigs, spiral separators, cone concentrators, shaking tables, sluices, and hydrocyclones. The introduction of centrifugal concentrators in the 1980s initiated a trend toward more compact, simplified, and low-maintenance circuits. The use of centrifugal concentrators such as Knelson, Falcon, Multi-gravity separator (MGS), Kelsey, and Itomak has significantly enhanced the recovery of fine gold particles. A review of studies comparing centrifugal equipment, highlighting their main technological advantages, and disadvantages is presented. Depending on their mineral composition, the concentrates obtained can be processed by various methods. Due to increasingly stringent environmental regulations, there is a growing trend to abandon pyrometallurgical methods in favor of developing hydrometallurgical methods for processing gravity concentrates. Particular attention is given to the intensive cyanidation of concentrates. The main technological advantages and disadvantages of intensive cyanidation reactors, specifically Consep Acacia, ILR Gekko, and August Irgiredmet are discussed. Additionally, examples of intensifying chemical reagents used as additives in the intensive cyanidation of concentrates, along with their main characteristics are provided [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To promote farmers' clean energy adoption and guide green practices, this paper studies the impact of environmental regulation and value perception on their behavior. Using questionnaire data and a logistic model, this paper analyzed the effects of environmental regulation and value perception on farmers' clean energy adoption behavior and their mediating role. Findings indicate: (1) Both environmental regulation and value perception positively influence farmers' adoption of clean energy. Specifically, guiding, incentive, and constraint regulations are all found to promote clean energy adoption among farmers. Similarly, perceptions of economic and ecological value also have a positive impact on their adoption behaviors. (2) Guiding, incentive, and constraint regulations can significantly enhance the perception of ecological value. While incentive regulation positively influenced the perception of economic value, guiding and constraint regulations do not show a significant impact in this regard. As rational economic agents, farmers make decisions based on a comprehensive comparison of costs and benefits. The lack of significance in constraint regulation suggests a "relative institutional failure" in current environmental regulations, particularly in curbing undesirable behaviors among farmers. (3) Value perception serves as an intermediary in the relationship between environmental regulation and farmers' adoption of clean energy. The government should strengthen environmental regulations on farmers while enhancing the role of value perception to improve rural ecological development. This study enriches theoretical research on clean energy adoption and offers practical guidance for promoting farmers' adoption of clean energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current environmental regulations for agriculture in the Netherlands and England focus on the application of certain selected management measures as an empirical basis for providing subsidies. Farmers like this simple, straightforward approach. The link with sustainable development is, however, not defined and this can become problematic when procedures may be challenged in future. A procedure focusing on the measurement of ecosystem services in line with selected UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can provide this link, but whether or not this more complicated procedure will be attractive for farmers is still unclear. The soil science community would be well advised to discuss their future role in developing scientifically sound operational procedures that would be acceptable to both farmers and policy makers and would be aimed at contributing to the sustainable development of society at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Subterranean Matters" is an interdisciplinary study focusing on tin mining cooperatives in Bolivia, exploring their historical context, agency, and aspirations. The book challenges dominant narratives about mining cooperatives through nuanced and place-based accounts of their histories. The author, Andrea Marston, employs a playful and multisited analytical method to delve into the complexities of Bolivia's extractive economy, highlighting the material histories shaped by geological, colonial, nationalist, and extractivist processes. The book engages with Marxist frameworks to contextualize the political economies of Bolivian tin mining, while also exploring the ethics of scholarly translation and the limitations of explanatory paradigms. [Extracted from the article]

While literature has explored the influence of imagination and economic thought on (environmental) law, less attention has been paid to the influence of the economic imagination – specifically economic imaginaries – and their capacity to shape environmental regulation. Taking EU pesticides policy and regulation as a case study and drawing on theory regarding the performative power of imaginaries, this piece identifies economic imaginaries expressed in EU policy and demonstrates how those imaginaries have shaped that policy to pursue economic growth and competitiveness. It examines the evolution of a key piece of pesticides legislation and charts how establishing measures to pursue those economic goals gradually prevails, while providing for transparency – a crucial principle for supporting environmental protection – is deprioritised. It argues that these developments were driven by the EU's economic imaginaries and shows how economic considerations can subtly and indirectly undermine environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the impact of environmental regulations on energy consumption. As the main way for the government to protect the environment, the implementation of environmental pollution tax has played an important role in China's energy consumption. This article uses data from the implementation of environmental pollution tax in Chinese cities to match with urban energy consumption data, and uses the difference-in-difference method (DID) to estimate the impact of environmental regulations on energy consumption. We find that the implementation of environmental pollution tax has reduced energy consumption, but this effect is mainly effective in the central and western regions and two-controlled areas. Further analysis shows that the reduction of energy consumption by environmental pollution tax is mainly attributed to improving technological innovation capabilities, optimizing industrial structure, and increasing tax collection intensity. The results in this study provide evidence for achieving an environmentally friendly society and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the tightening control over civil society in China in the last decade, environmental NGOs' participation in the regulatory process via legalized channels has increased. Drawing on participant observations, interviews, and court judgments, this article examines the recent dynamics of institutional participation of environmental NGOs through public notice-and-comment procedures and environmental public interest litigation (EPIL) in China. With stable opportunities for engagement, environmental NGOs have begun to turn themselves from peripheral actors into established players by helping identify and enforce violations, filling statutory gaps, and providing additional information and expertise in public notice-and-comment procedures and EPIL suits. While challenges remain, this article suggests that the practices of institutional public participation and changing citizen expectations hold great potential for promoting the pluralization of environmental regulation in authoritarian China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study employed multiple regression analysis to examine China and the top countries in energy transformation and established policy intensity to assess policy stringency. It has been investigated how environmental policies affect the dynamic evolution of the nation's energy system and technological innovation. It has been demonstrated that environmental policies have a favorable effect on technological advancement in the energy transformation industry. The national knowledge stock, national R&D spending, and other factors limit this impact, and the significance level is varied and lagging. Technology innovation in the field of energy transformation is impacted by the environmental regulations of industrialized nations. Technology innovation in energy transformation is encouraged by China's environmental regulations' institutional quality. The study also showed the boundary conditions and peak nodes of China's carbon emissions. Three different forecasting models are utilized to estimate the impact of China's economic development speed on energy transformation and to evaluate potential scenarios through the examination of macro time series data. Based on the constant dollar price in 2000, China's energy intensity fell to $1 for 0.18 kg of standard oil to $1 for 0.32 kg of standard oil in 2050. To fully unleash the potential of China's energy transformation, the report contends that China's environmental policy structure has to be optimized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firm pollution is a top concern for both the public and the government. Previous studies on firm pollution mainly focus on formal environmental regulations, but rarely explore informal mechanisms such as political connections, a significant informal means for government intervention. The research explores how political connections affect firm pollution, and tests the moderating effects of market competition, state ownership and environmental regulation on this relationship from the perspective of institutional logics. Using empirical data of the most polluting publicly listed enterprises in China, the research demonstrated that politically connected firms participate in pollution remarkably less probably compared to non-connected firms. Moreover, market competition and state ownership significantly strengthen the focal relationship, while the moderating effect of environmental regulation is insignificant. The study provides novel insights into political connections research, institutional logics perspective and corporate unethical behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the impact of environmental regulation on ecology. As the main way for the government to protect the environment, the implementation of an environmental protection tax has played an important role in China's ecological efficiency. This article uses data from the implementation of environmental protection tax in Chinese cities to match the ecological efficiency index data calculated through the SBM model and uses the difference-in-difference method (DID) to estimate the impact of environmental regulations on ecological efficiency. We find that the implementation of environmental protection tax has improved urban ecological efficiency, but this effect is mainly reflected in the central and western regions. Further analysis shows that the improvement of ecological efficiency through environmental protection tax is mainly attributed to the upgrading of industrial structures. The research results of this article provide evidence for achieving an environmentally friendly society and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

This paper examines the effects of environmental regulations on the health of middle-aged and elderly people based on the environmental administrative penalties and CHARLS (China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study) survey data from 2011 to 2018 in China. The study first found that environmental regulation can significantly improve the health level of middle-aged and elderly people. Second, the effects of environmental regulation on population health with different characteristics are heterogeneous. The mechanism analysis found that environmental regulation improving the health status of middle-aged and elderly people by promoting the level of urban green innovation and upgrading the industrial structure. Finally, this paper is further analyzed and concluded, environmental regulation can significantly reduce the degree of depression in middle-aged and elderly people. The research of this paper is helpful to evaluate the implementation effect of environmental regulation and protect public health has a reasonable reference value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental laws represent significant external factors influencing corporate green behavior. Previous research has predominantly concentrated on assessing the role of environmental courts in mitigating the effects of environmental pollution. Leveraging the establishment of environmental courts in China as a quasi-natural experiment, this study investigates whether environmental law enforcement can promote corporate innovation. Our findings indicate that the establishment of environmental courts can significantly enhance the green innovation of heavily polluting firms, primarily through mechanisms related to environmental pollution cost pressure and R&D investment. The promoting effect of environmental courts on corporate green innovation is particularly pronounced in state-owned enterprises, large-scale enterprises, and firms receiving government green subsidies. Conversely, this effect is attenuated in the western regions of China and in areas with lower public environmental concerns. This study offers a novel perspective on understanding green innovation and provides policy implications for managing environmental courts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the miracle of China achieving a balance between environmental governance and high economic growth has attracted the attention of many scholars, especially at the production level in various industries. To search for production activities with sustainable development potential and explore their characteristics. This study uses the panel data of 31 provinces in China from 2011 to 2020 to establish a unified analysis framework based on the division criteria of three industries. It takes the three industries' total factor productivity (TFP) as the entry point to study the impact of environmental regulation (ER) on economic growth and its potential mechanisms at the production level. The results show that ER will force the secondary industry to improve TFP but also negatively affect the TFP of the primary and tertiary industries. In addition, ER indirectly affects TFP in the three industries by affecting public environmental concerns and foreign direct investment. This results from the comprehensive effect of production cost effects, compensation effects of innovation, and compensation effects of optimizing resource allocation caused by ER. Moreover, the positive impact of ER on the TFP of the secondary industry is nonlinear. The higher the level of digital economy development, the more significant the positive impact. More importantly, there are regional differences in the impact of ER on the TFP of the primary and secondary industries. This article considers both static and dynamic panels and the results of the two models show consistency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to test the pollution haven hypothesis within the European Union (EU), especially among newcomer countries, through the participation in global value chains (GVCs). The study used a combination of multiregional input–output method and multilevel mixed econometric analysis to investigate the relationship between global value chain trade flows, foreign direct investment flows, energy consumption, and carbon emissions across countries, sectors, and time. The study tested both the "pollution haven" and "pollution halo" hypotheses and found a non-linear relationship between foreign capital flows and carbon emissions, which became less relevant after the economic integration process. The results suggest the existence of a pollution haven in Europe. Although Eastern economies still exhibit problematic issues in relation to pollution control, they have made significant progress in reducing their emissions intensity. The conclusions include some policy recommendations based on the main findings of the research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior studies obtained mixed conclusions on the relationship between firm exporting and pollution emissions, probably because the role of environmental regulation has been ignored in this relationship. This study focuses on whether the abatement effect of exporting is related to the stringency of environmental regulation. To avoid measurement bias in the environmental regulation stringency faced by firms, we use the two control zones policy implemented in China to reduce sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions as a natural experiment to distinguish the difference in the SO2 regulation stringency faced by different firms. Empirical results show that Chinese manufacturing firms can significantly reduce their SO2 emissions intensity by exporting, but the abatement effect of exporting occurs only in the firms regulated by the two control zones policy. This result confirms for the first time that the abatement effect of exporting stems from the incentives of stringent environmental regulations. Further analysis shows that the abatement effect of exporting is realized mainly through firm investment in source control technologies rather than in end-of-pipe treatment technologies. The findings of this study suggest that stringent environmental regulations are important for emerging and developing countries to achieve environment-friendly exports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the government has issued regulations on environmental protection, carbon emissions, and trading. Enterprises' environmental awareness has increased, and the operational strategies of manufacturers and platforms have also been affected by environmental regulations. This study considers the interactive effects of agency and reselling contracts between manufacturers and platforms and the cap-and-trade regulation on return policy. Our findings reveal that government-imposed caps on total carbon emissions consistently influence optimal pricing and profits under cap-and-trade regulation, regardless of the presence of a return policy. Additionally, the emission intensity of manufacturers plays a pivotal role in determining the return policy. High manufacturer emission intensity leads decision-makers to provide return services only under specific conditions. Moreover, manufacturers opt for agency contracts when faced with low commission rates, and this threshold is intricately linked to carbon emission intensity, the cap, and the return rate. The government's ability to adjust the cap enables control over changes in manufacturers' profits and output, thereby influencing industrial structure and carbon emissions. Manufacturers strategically choose return policies, considering factors such as carbon intensity, return rate, and commission rate. Remarkably, even under cap-and-trade regulations, manufacturers remain inclined to offer returns under optimal conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Corporate digital transformation and green transformation are the key paths to realizing China's high-quality development, and exploring how corporate digital transformation affects green innovation models holds both significant theoretical value and pragmatic enlightenment. By taking the A-share listed companies in China from 2002 to 2021 as research samples, this paper distinguishes between energy conservation and environmental protection green innovation models based on the IPC Green Inventory and the content of green innovation. This paper empirically examines the influence of corporate digital transformation on the green innovation model selection and its mechanism. The study finds that corporate digital transformation strongly motivates enterprises to select green innovation model, a role that stems from the utilization of digital underlying technologies. The research and development investment of digital greenization plays a mediating role in this process. Market competition, informal environmental regulations and government innovation subsidies can moderate enterprises' strategies for selecting green innovation models. Further heterogeneity analysis reveals that digital transformation drives corporate selection of energy-saving green innovation to a greater extent in industries that have a greater need for green transformation, such as the manufacturing industry. The results of this paper identify the effect of corporate digital transformation on green innovation model selection at the theoretical level and provide important insights into the coordinated development of Chinese corporate digitalization and greenization at the practical level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a vast body of eco-innovation literature investigating the assumption that environmental regulations encourage the implementation of eco-innovative practices, previous research on eco-innovation and environmental regulations has yielded inconsistent findings. By considering the heterogeneity of environmental regulation and eco-innovations, this study sheds light on how different environmental regulation instruments can facilitate and enhance eco-innovation practices, along with the role of environmental orientation in mediating the relationships. The study surveyed 188 managers and owners and utilised the partial least squares-structural equation model as the analytical method. Results showed that environmental regulatory mechanisms have no direct impact on eco-innovation. However, the study has found that environmentally oriented SMEs respond to strict environmental policies and regulations by undertaking eco-innovation practices. Furthermore, market-based instruments provide firms with strong environmental orientation and economic incentives to foster eco-process innovations. The study offers practical insights for policymakers and SME managers, in addition to advancing the knowledge base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether command‐control environmental regulation can play a positive role in circumstances of imperfect market incentive‐based environmental regulation remains rarely explored. Using the difference‐in‐difference model, we find that command‐control environmental regulation can significantly improve the environmental performance of heavily polluting firms. This result still holds after a sequence of robustness tests. The analysis of the economic mechanism indicates that the new environmental protection law mainly contributes positively to the environmental performance of high‐polluting firms by improving the quality of their environmental investments and pollution treatment disclosures, and by reducing the government subsidies they receive to improve the environmental performance of high‐polluting firms. Meanwhile, the new environmental protection law has a more pronounced impact on heavily polluting enterprises in the eastern region, with imperfect internal control, stronger environmental regulations, more distant political connections, greater pressure on regional GDP growth and weaker industry competition. This paper confirms the effectiveness of the new environmental law in improving environmental performance of heavily polluting enterprises in pursuit of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, and provides new evidence to test the weak Porter hypothesis in the context of transition economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the relationship between climate policy uncertainty and corporate greenwashing behavior using data from Chinese A‐share listed companies from 2009 to 2021. The results indicate that the increasing climate policy uncertainty significantly and robustly strengthens corporate greenwashing behavior, particularly among firms located in regions with weaker environmental regulations, within high‐polluting industries and with shorter‐term management perspectives. Additionally, the development and widespread adoption of digital technologies, along with enhanced external regulatory pressures, can inversely moderate the positive relationship between climate policy uncertainty and corporate greenwashing. In summary, this study contributes to our understanding of corporate behavior under climate risks and provides insights for achieving social sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the regulation–technology–environment nexus in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA), one of the world's most rapidly growing regions. Using a comprehensive panel dataset consisting of 32 countries from 2000 to 2022, we find that stronger environmental regulations and technological innovation enhance environmental well‐being. Moreover, we identify that stronger environmental regulations positively affect pro‐environment innovation. Finally, we present clear evidence for a dynamic and nonlinear regulation–technology–environment relationship, ruling out one‐size‐fits‐all policy approaches to environmental well‐being. Our results remain robust to different estimators, measurements, and sample selections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutional pressures are major driving forces for firms' green innovation. However, there is significant heterogeneity in firms' responses to these forces due to the complex information environment within the institutional field. Social ties are known to provide information and resources. This study explores how board social ties, including business and political ties, shape firms' responsiveness to formal and informal institutional forces related to green innovation. Using a dataset from Chinese listed companies in the manufacturing sector, we propose that firms' business ties strengthen the effects of various institutional pressures on green innovation. On the other hand, political ties strengthen the impact of environmental regulation on green innovation but weaken the influence of imitative pressure on green innovation. This suggests that political ties can be a double‐edged sword in firms' responses to institutional pressures. This research contributes to institutional theory and social capital theory, offering implications for green innovation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to scrutinize the effect of Green technology innovation, digitalization, renewable energy use, environmental taxes, GDP, energy prices, and population on energy efficiency in a panel comprising 22 member nations of the European Union. Using the generalized least squares and the panel-corrected standard error, we found (1) the positive effect of digitalization, green patterns, and renewable sources on energy efficiency. (2) The environmental tax has a limited and insignificant effect. (3) On the contrary, the population, GDP, and energy prices negatively affect energy efficiency. Based on the findings, relevant economic and environmental policies have been proposed for energy, technology stakeholders, and policy decision-makers, including substantial investment in digital infrastructure to facilitate the adoption of smart grids, Internet of Things devices, and advanced data analytics for energy management [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal creep has been a subject of extensive study for more than 110 years because it affects the useful life of engineering components operating at high temperatures. This is even more true with ever-increasing operating temperatures of propulsion/power-generation systems and the environmental regulations to reduce greenhouse emissions. This review summarizes the recent development in creep modeling with regards to creep strain evolution, creep rate, creep ductility, creep life, and fracture mode, attempting to provide a comprehensive mechanism-based framework to address all the important creep phenomena and the long-standing issue of long-term creep life prediction with microstructural evolution and environmental effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study delves into the influence of CEO gender on climate change commitment within SMEs in the Mediterranean region. Utilizing data from the sixth wave of the BEEPS1 survey (2018–2020), we explore the mediating role of environmental regulation perception in this context. Our findings align with social role theory, indicating that women demonstrate heightened ecological and communal behavior, driven by their perception of environmental regulations. We reveal a full mediation link within the EU Mediterranean region, where environmental regulation perception explains women's commitment to environmental causes. However, in the EU neighborhood, we identify a direct significant effect of CEO gender on SMEs' engagement with climate change, particularly in terms of controlling CO2 emissions. Our study sheds light on the limited presence of women in top management positions in the Mediterranean region. Additionally, we highlight the scarcity of environmental regulations for SMEs in the EU neighborhood, with the perception of these regulations as barriers hindering proactive climate change strategies. Therefore, governmental authorities need to develop more stringent environmental regulations while taking into account the financial capacities of SMEs. Providing ecological business education before implementing new regulations could also be beneficial. The study carries significant managerial and social implications, emphasizing the necessity of diverse leadership to promote sustainability and underscoring the importance of tailored regulatory initiatives for effective climate action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A complete understanding of the interplay between environmental regulations and fiscal decentralization for the realization of health outcomes is crucial for policy formulation and decision-making. The aim of the study is to investigate both policy variables' separate and combined impacts using data on four BRICS economies from 2000 to 2020. The study has employed the novel method of moments quantile regression to quantify the effect. The findings of the study show (i) a significant impact of regulations on health outcomes in higher quantiles. Environmental regulations have a strong positive impact on all three-health proxies, that is, health expenditures, life expectancy, and the number of infant deaths. Total revenue and expenditure decentralization affect health outcomes positively, while tax revenue decentralization negatively impacts them, with the effect being stronger in the lower quantiles; (ii) the combined impact of decentralization and environmental regulations turned out to be negative and significant in our study; and (iii) all variables have unidirectional causality. However, with tax revenue decentralization, health expenditures, life expectancy, and infant deaths have bidirectional causality. This finding has a strong policy implication for the policymakers. Although both policies positively impact health indicators, their interaction leads to deteriorating health outcomes. From a policy point of view, it is suggested to strike a balance between regulations and fiscal decentralization to realize the full potential of this policy mix to get better health outcomes. This study adds to previous research by incorporating the interconnected impact of environmental regulations and fiscal decentralization on health outcomes in BRICS economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One important and frequently raised issue about foreign direct investment (FDI) is its potentially environmental consequences. In recent years, as severe haze pollution has broken out worldwide, whether FDI inflows increase PM2.5 spillages in a country has sparked a new round of heated discussion. This study attempts to empirically investigate how FDI affects haze pollution in various countries, by employing a cross-country panel dataset during the period 2010–2017, and further to examine the interactive effect of environmental regulation and FDI in the FDI–pollution nexus. Based on a two-way fixed-effects model with robust standard errors, the estimation results show that FDI inflows significantly lead to an increase in PM2.5 exposure, therefore, confirming the validity of the Pollution Haven Hypothesis. Moreover, environmental regulation generally appears to be ineffective in directly reducing haze pollution but acts as an essential underlying mechanism in the relationship between FDI and haze pollution. Under the moderation of environmental regulation, the positive marginal effect of FDI on PM2.5 continues to decrease until it becomes negative. The findings suggest that countries, especially developing countries and emerging economies should consider a mix of policies to manage its inward FDI to achieve sustainable development in the post-financial crisis era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the theory of new structural economics, this research aims to explore the dynamic correlation among high-quality development, environmental regulation structures, and property rights structures in China's construction industry. A panel vector autoregressive model (PVAR) is employed to conduct an empirical study of 30 provinces from 2008 to 2022. To further explore regional heterogeneity, K-means clustering is utilized to categorize the country into three types of regions. The results indicate that strict environmental regulation structures have a beneficial effect on the high-quality growth of the construction sector, which is most pronounced in Region III with a lower degree of construction development. Conversely, state-owned ownership structures are an impediment, and their influence is the greatest in Region I with a higher degree of construction development. Additionally, environmental regulation structures and property rights structures demonstrate a certain interactional effect. The dynamic correlation between these indicators varies in distinct regions. Various regions in China should combine their development characteristics and advantages to reasonably adjust environmental regulation structures and property rights structures. This research provides a direction for structural adjustments for the high-quality development of the construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the coupling and coordinated development of formal and informal environmental regulation, as well as their impact on the upgrading of the industrial structure of urban agglomerations, represents a new breakthrough. The comprehensive index of formal environmental regulation, informal environmental regulation, and industrial structure upgrading is calculated using the entropy method based on sample data from 127 cities in China's ten major urban agglomerations between 2003 and 2019. The characteristics of the coupling and coordinated development between formal and informal environmental regulation in these urban agglomerations are examined using a coupling coordination degree model. Furthermore, the effects of the coupling and coordinated development of formal and informal environmental regulation on the industrial structure upgrading in urban agglomerations are analyzed through fixed-effect and threshold regression models. The findings demonstrate that although the development of urban agglomerations remains unbalanced, the overall coupling coordination degree between formal and informal environmental regulation is increasing. Generally, the ten major urban agglomerations have transitioned from a state of reluctance coordination to primary coordination. The Pearl River Delta urban agglomerations have progressed from reluctance coordination to middle coordination, while the Yangtze River Delta, Shandong Peninsula, Central Plains, and Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei urban agglomerations have advanced from reluctance coordination to primary coordination. The remaining five urban agglomerations have shifted from near disorder to reluctance coordination. The coupling and coordinated development of formal and informal environmental regulation significantly promote the upgrading of the industrial structure in both overall and grouped samples of urban agglomerations, and the higher the degree of coupling coordination, the greater the promoting effect. Moreover, when informal environmental regulation is considered as a threshold variable, the coupling coordination degree exhibits a broken-line relationship with the industrial structure upgrading in urban agglomerations. Currently, the intensity of informal environmental regulations is relatively reasonable in China's ten major urban agglomerations, and the coordinated development of formal and informal environmental regulations has an impact on the industrial structure of urban agglomerations. Finally, this paper proposes corresponding suggestions encompassing the construction of an environmental regulation policy system, differentiated industrial policy, and the coordinated promotion of various policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of environmental regulations in the cities where enterprises are located on the technological complexity of exports from Chinese manufacturing companies. Currently, China is promoting high-quality development in foreign trade, which encompasses various aspects, including the enhancement of the technological content of export products. This study begins by examining the environmental regulations in the cities of enterprises and their effects on the technological content of exported products. It utilizes government work reports from various cities in China to evaluate the strength of environmental regulations in each city, subsequently analyzing their impact on the export technological complexity of Chinese manufacturing enterprises. Empirical results indicate that environmental regulations drive an increase in the technological complexity of exports from these enterprises, and this conclusion is validated through several robustness tests, including substitution variables and instrumental variable regression. Heterogeneity tests reveal that the effect of environmental regulations on export technological complexity is not significant for enterprises located in central cities compared to those in eastern and western cities. Furthermore, the export technological complexity of processing-trade enterprises and capital-intensive industries is not significantly influenced by environmental regulations. Additionally, the analysis of the moderating effect finds that a city's innovation capacity plays a reinforcing role in the relationship between environmental regulations and the export technological complexity of enterprises. Based on these research findings, this paper offers corresponding recommendations from the perspective of environmental regulations to promote the high-quality development of China's foreign trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While active participation in GVCs can stimulate economic growth, it has also been noted to exacerbate environmental pollution. To address environmental concerns, most countries have strengthened environmental regulations, which in turn may affect the positioning of countries within GVCs. This study empirically analyzes the impact of environmental regulations imposed by the Chinese government on the positioning of the manufacturing sector within GVCs of Chinese manufacturing industries from 2006 to 2018. The findings of the research are as follows: Firstly, the strengthening of environmental regulations has an inverted U-shaped impact on the overall GVC position of Chinese manufacturing sector, demonstrating the combined effects of cost effect and innovation compensation effect. Specifically, when environmental regulations are lower than a certain level, strengthening regulations shifts the GVC position upstream. However, when regulations are more stringent than the level, further strengthening them leads to a downstream shift in GVC position. Secondly, it seems that China's current level of environmental regulation is below the apex of the inverted U-shaped curve, and therefore, it is anticipated that further strengthening of environmental regulations in China will result in a further upstream shift in the GVC position. Thirdly, these analytical results are particularly applicable to technology-intensive industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that although, as a matter of principle, environmental protection has been embraced by Caribbean states as a key pillar of their ongoing efforts to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, their existing international investment landscape is simply not fit for this purpose. Through a critical analysis of extant International Investment Agreements (IIAs), National Investment Laws and related practices, this article argues that environmental protection remains an issue of little strategic importance for the Caribbean region, at least when compared to their herculean efforts to attract and retain foreign direct investment. It uses the Peter Allard v Barbados decision to illustrate the multifarious challenges of balancing investment protection on one hand, and environmental protection, on the other hand, and argues for a more robust approach to environmental protection, having regard to recent ICSID cases, such as Cortec v Kenya, as well as recent investment treaty practice, such as Guyana's Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) with Brazil, which contains express provisions on environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the data of 3319 Chinese listed companies from 2007 to 2019, this study examines how companies performed under the stress of regional environmental regulations. We discover that increased regional environmental regulation intensity efficiently lowers companies' idiosyncratic risk with empirical process. This result proves that environmental regulation pressure could bring unexpected benefits to business situation of companies, which is reconfirmed through several robustness tests. The mechanism analysis further demonstrates that internal governance, rather than managerial shortsightedness and added environmental investment, strengthens the benefits, among internal factors. Moreover, this relationship is more noticeable for non-energy and non-state-owned firms, while linkages with bank or government are found to be ineffective on this issue. The R&D investment of local companies above designated size performs better than other two external factors (regional legal governance, investment on technology and education). Our study verifies an unattended role of environmental regulation on the companies' idiosyncratic risk, revealing that the environmental initiatives of regional governments do not always adversely affect local companies. Our study could facilitate the strategic arrangements of policymakers, businesses, investors, and other stakeholders [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand for transparency about the microeconomic sources of environmental pollution has surged recently, causing carbon disclosure to rise to the top of the global climate change discourse. In this study, we empirically investigate how the environmental performance of firm production technologies shapes their voluntary carbon disclosure behaviour and how key stakeholders influence the performance‐disclosure relationship. Using a panel of 1,547 firms across 24 countries covering 2006–20, we find that firms with the most efficient technologies for reducing emissions tend to disclose their carbon impact, especially when they face more stringent environmental regulations. These high‐performing firms demonstrate a tendency for non‐disclosure when faced with intense shareholder and environmental activist pushback against pollution. Our findings also highlight the existence of a profitability penalty for transparent high‐efficiency firms relative to comparable firms that adopt strategic silence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In large countries with complex political hierarchies, environmental regulations are often implemented in a top-down manner, sparking debates about the effectiveness of such environmental governance. This paper investigates how regional carbon reduction targets in China, which are vertically delegated by higher-level governments, affect firms' export performance. Using a detailed firm-by-product level dataset, we employ a difference-in-differences approach, enhanced by the use of an instrumental variable exploiting exogenous variation in carbon reduction targets arising from regional differences in the average target of surrounding cities, to isolate the causal relationship. We find that every percentage point increase in a city's CO2 reduction target leads to a 1–2% decrease in the exports of firms within the jurisdiction. Furthermore, this observed effect is more pronounced among state-owned firms, high-carbon firms, and firms located in Export Policy Zones, and is weaker for shipments to destinations with stricter environmental regulations. Our findings depict a negative trade effect of emission regulations, pointing to the necessity of a careful overhaul of the economic costs associated with the country's command-and-control path toward achieving environmental targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the impact of anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations on environmental performance for a sample of 141 countries. Results of cross-sectional regression models show that the impact is significant and negative, which suggests that the current AML/CFT regulations jeopardize global efforts towards achieving the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 as planned. This can be attributed to the costly efforts of compliance with AML/CFT regulations which may be holding back the finance sector from prioritizing environmental goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the role of corporate financial reports in the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulatory activities. By tracking the EPA's direct retrieval of SEC filings, we identify three key findings. First, the EPA retrieves a large volume of financial reports, especially from firms in high‐pollution industries. Second, the EPA is more likely to access financial reports during enforcement investigations and significant rule proposals, but less so during compliance monitoring, with patterns varying predictably across firms. Third, the EPA's reliance on financial reports is potentially driven by its demand for information on firm liquidity, solvency, and profitability. Overall, our study highlights the usefulness of financial reports for the EPA as an environmental regulator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contradiction between the economy and the environment becomes acute as the increasing ecological constraints. It is thus necessary to improve environmental performance and realize the economic‐ecological double dividend. To achieve that, co‐operative efforts are needed on both production and governance sides, particularly industrial agglomeration and environmental regulation. Based on provincial sections in China spanning 2006 to 2020, we explore the effects of industrial agglomeration and environmental regulation on environmental performance, exploiting a two‐way fixed effects model. We also illustrate the potential channels and interactive effects between industrial agglomeration and environmental regulation. The results indicate an inverted U‐shaped nexus between industrial agglomeration and environmental performance, while environmental regulation favors environmental performance. Green innovation, factor allocation, deepening of division of labor, and industrial structure upgrading are plausible channels. Besides, we discover the interaction between industrial agglomeration and environmental regulation, where environmental regulation reduces the inflection point of industrial agglomeration, and industrial agglomeration improves the effectiveness of environmental regulation. Our work sheds light on the synergy between production and governance sides, which offers insights into green transition for China and other newly industrialized economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selecting the national water ecological civilization city (NWECC) policy as the starting point, this paper investigates whether environmental regulation might mitigate pollution discharge by the channel of public environmental concern. The results indicate that the NWECC policy has the effect of reducing pollution while significantly enhancing public environmental concern. The mediating effect analysis indicates that the NWECC policy reduces urban pollution via public environmental concern. The heterogeneity study shows that the pollution reduction effect of the NWECC policy is more apparent in cities with low economic development levels, low administrative levels, and low water resource endowments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilizing long‐term and high‐resolution pollution remote sensing data, this study examines the dynamic impact of export expansion on the local environment in China from 2000 to 2020. Regions facing larger export expansion experience more pronounced initial deterioration in local air quality, while followed by a more prominent subsequent environmental improvement, indicating that the environmental impact of trade varies over time. Further analysis reveals that a key driver behind this dynamic change is the adjustment in environmental policies, particularly when local government faces higher pressure in achieving the environmental goals and when the central government takes over environmental monitoring powers. Additionally, under more stringent environmental regulations, regional export growth leads to increased environmental expenditures, concurrently driving localities to reduce heavily polluting engergy inputs such as coal. Our study suggests that environmental policies can facilitate the synergistic development of trade and the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasing carbon emissions, previous studies surrounding the relationship between resources and carbon emissions mainly focus on the linear framework. However, there are countries with high resource endowments and low carbon emissions, which can't be explained by the linear framework. Therefore, this study revisits this issue from the perspective of curvilinear threshold model using data of 56 COP26 member countries from 2002 to 2021. Results show that the association between resource endowments and carbon emissions is curvilinear based on two threshold variables: marketization degree and urban services agglomeration. Before they reach certain levels, resource endowments aggravate carbon emissions. After that, resource endowments help carbon reduction. Unlike previous studies that hold resource endowments aggravate emissions, this study finds a condition where resource endowments help sustainable environmental growth. This study also finds that the two threshold variables change with different levels of environmental regulations, R&D expenditures, and enterprise information disclosure. The more favourable these three factors create an easier path to take advantage of resources to reduce carbon emissions. Accordingly, this study recommends enhancing marketization degree and urban services agglomeration to cross the threshold value, and formulating related policies based on countries' conditions with regards to the three moderate factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]