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The environment is a complex, life-sustaining, biocultural system. In the context of climate change, biodiversity decline, social inequalities, and calls for transformative change, it is crucial to examine how the environment is represented in policy because environmental representations have implications for governance and material effects. Policy documents express values and shape responsibilities and actions, and power is imbued in the representations and discourses that underpin them. Local government has increasing responsibilities and expectations in relation to the environment, and unique opportunities and constraints including its proximity to the people and environments it represents. This research narrows in to analyse local government discourses in legislated four-year plans in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia, for a detailed example of environmental discourses within a time and place. We ask — what are the distinct and overlapping characteristics of environmental discourses within local governments' strategic plans, and what opportunities do they present towards more ecologically centred and equitable representations? Drawing on a taxonomy of environmental discourses developed by John Dryzek, we find alignments that indicate the dominant discourses are "reformist". However, there are divergences that lean into the more "radical" discourses through their focus on relationships of care and stewardship of the environment, and qualitative representations of diverse communities and recognition of their political capabilities. We draw on these findings to consider opportunities and challenges of extending environmental discourses in policy towards a relational approach that centres nature and social equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the course of twenty years, every country grappled with the challenge of balancing energy security with environmental sustainability, Algeria is no exception, as its current energy model faces a pressing need for reform. The dependance on natural gas as unique source of energy is becoming unsustainable, particularly, with recent decrease in production level and the rapid increase in domestic needs, represents a considerable hurdle to the nation's economic stability. This paper analyzes key components at sectoral level through exploration of country's energy potential, consumption patterns, and The complex interplay of greenhouse gas emissions, by exploring recent published data and studies alongside government efforts, the analysis reveals that reforms are needed in several area amongst are subsidy policy, renewable energy implementation, energy efficiency and taxes system. These areas must be addressed urgently by policy makers in order to effectively establish a sustainable and resilient energy model that not only meets economic needs, but also safeguards the environment for future generations [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurship serves as a driving force for the advancement of renewable energy. Entrepreneurs are often at the forefront of innovation, bringing new technologies and business models to the clean energy sector. This study conducts a comprehensive examination of the intricate relationship between entrepreneurship and renewable energy production in 23 developed countries throughout the period from 2000 to 2020. For this purpose, the impact of 11 sub‐index of entrepreneurship on renewable energy production has been estimated. The method is dynamic panel data with the system GMM (Generalized Method of Moments) technique. After estimating 11 entrepreneurship sub‐indices effects separately on renewable energy production, the impact of each is ranked. The findings showed that the impact rank of 11 sub‐indexes of entrepreneurship on renewable energy production is as follows: Commercial and professional infrastructure (CP), R&D transfer (RD), Physical and services infrastructure (PS), Governmental support and policies (GS), Taxes and bureaucracy (TB), Governmental programs (GP), Internal market openness (MO), Internal market dynamics (MD), Post‐school entrepreneurial education and training (PE), Basic school entrepreneurial education and training (BE), and Cultural and social norms (CS). The importance of Commercial and professional infrastructure (CP) as an entrepreneurship sub‐indices is 2 times more than R&D transfer (RD), so Commercial and professional infrastructure is vital for the development of entrepreneurship that affects the production of renewable energies. This study not only underscores the central role of entrepreneurship in driving the adoption of renewable energy but also provides essential insights into key policy measures to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy sources. It highlights the urgency of addressing environmental challenges and emphasizes the imperative for collaboration among governments, NGOs, and educational institutions to achieve these critical goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing carbon dioxide emissions and achieving carbon neutrality have become hot topics of global concern. China has elevated its response to climate change to a national strategic level, where the green tax system plays a crucial role in implementing the dual-carbon strategy. This paper systematically analyzes the green tax systems of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)--encompassing environmental pollution taxes, energy taxes, vehicle and transportation taxes, and resource taxes. Based on this analysis, it proposes that China should establish a multifaceted green tax system including environmental protection tax, resource tax, and farmland occupation tax. Furthermore, it suggests an integrated approach combining systematic tax incentives such as corporate income tax, value-added tax, consumption tax, and vehicle purchase tax. This comprehensive green taxation framework, covering development, production, consumption, and emission stages, aims to drive high-quality green economic and social development through both tax incentives and restrictions, implementing a "dual-driving" mechanism. This study provides a basic framework and practical path for building a green tax system in China, especially studying the sources of different green taxes and their interrelationships, which enriches the theoretical and practical values related to taxation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research article seeks to provide a comprehensive review of climate investing and anticipated future developments by using bibliometric study. Climate investing is a well-researched subject of study, and the massive increase in publications in recent years indicate the breadth and depth of the topic. Affiliation statistics show that the majority of research is centered in the USA, Australia and the UK, offering up new possibilities for climate investing research in developing countries. The authors examined 1091 articles related to climate investing from the Scopus database since 1971, using the bibliometric review technique to provide numerous viewpoints from previous climate investing studies associated with carbon offsetting, green bonds, impact investing, sustainable stock indices, climate-themed funds, ESG screening, divestment from fossil fuels, climate-aligned funds, and climate-smart agribusiness and suggests future study directions. This research may be helpful to policy makers, particularly those from developing nations, in understanding the challenges of climate investing.

Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Yangtze River Delta, and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area are the three largest urban agglomerations in China, and have been increasingly becoming the core engines of China's economic growth. Nevertheless, rapid regional urbanization accompanying high-intensity human activities has also brought enormous social and environmental pressure in these urban agglomerations, posing a grand challenge to urban and regional sustainability. This study conducts a cross-urban agglomeration comparison of the ecological and environmental changes over the past two decades. Using a combination of remotely sensed data, in-situ monitoring data, and environmental statistic data, the changes in four dimensions are quantified, namely ecological quality, environmental quality, resource and energy use efficiency, and eco-environmental governance capacity. Further, the effectiveness of environmental policies and initiatives is evaluated at the national and urban agglomeration levels. It is found that the quality of ecological land has increased steadily since 2000, with increased provision of ecosystem services. Air quality and water quality have been substantially improved, and the use of resources and energy efficiency have been greatly improved. The pollution emissions per unit GDP have been greatly reduced. The ecological and environmental infrastructures have become increasingly available, along with gradually strengthened governance capacity on environmental protection and ecological restoration. The National 10th to 13th Five-Year Plan for Environmental Protection played a significant role in environmental protection and ecological restoration across mega urban agglomerations. The environmental challenges, of urban agglomerations faced now and in the future, are also discussed, so as to the policies and actions that need to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Political Science Review / Przegląd Politologiczny is the property of Faculty of Political Science & Journalism, Adam Mickiewicz University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Chinese-style decentralization has brought about the miracle of rapid economic growth for more than thirty years in China. However, with the implementation of the coordinated development strategy of economy and environment, it has set up obstacles to the decrease in regional carbon emissions. In this study, we clarified the effect of Chinese-style decentralization on regional carbon emissions. Then, we tested the effectiveness of emission reduction policies and their potential emission reduction spaces under the Chinese-style decentralization using the panel data of China's 12 urban agglomerations. The research results are: (1) Chinese-style decentralization affects regional carbon emissions mainly through factor market distortion, investment bias, and environment regulation. (2) Under the influence of Chinese-style decentralization, the effectiveness of emission reduction policies is not fully realized and shows significant spatial interaction. (3) 1% increase in political decentralization causes an 8.9% decrease in the effectiveness of executive order policy; 1% increase in fiscal revenue decentralization causes a 7.1% decrease in the effectiveness of carbon tax policy; 1% increase in financial decentralization causes a 10.6% decrease in the effectiveness of the cleaner production policy. (4) Collaborative governance of carbon emissions between regions is the direction of future emission reduction, and the redesign of emission reduction policies should be formulated based on the degree of regional synergy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complexity of environmental policy development was examined in relation to sustainability, holistic and systemsthinking perspectives. We studied potential application of systems principles of coordination, representation, collaboration, participation and teamwork to improve policy effectiveness at formulation, communication, implementation, and operationalisation of the environment policy in Uganda. The research unveiled the ineffectiveness of the Uganda National Environment Management Policy. We applied systems theory to develop a mechanism for monitoring effectiveness of environmental policies at national level, with the goal to identify key monitoring indicators. We used the soft systems methodology to identify occurring environmental problems causing forest loss. Results suggest that a systems thinking perspective, involving multiple stakeholders in a holistic decisionmaking process, can contribute to empowering people and institutions to install and follow an effective policy process. We recommend customizing the checklist and model to monitor the quality of environment policy processes in country-specific situations similar to those in Uganda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy consumption is the call by United Nation Sustainable Development Goals, and sustainable consumption is the only solution for the future. This study found that the solution to the framed problem has a requirement to categorize the green consumer value parameters in hierarchy of importance for five specific RESs and their alignment with environment policy based on a comparison of Poland and India. The study revealed the importance of each criterion for renewable energy sources providing, a comparative table of Poland and India. The methodological approach used secondary data for selecting countries, and primary data are used for statistical analysis of Automatic Linear Modelling. The research concludes that the CRITERIA4 is one of the most important that emerged with all five RESs for Poland and three RESs for India. Both countries are aligned with the UN sustainable development goals and are switching over to all means of sustainability. Poland scores a higher value of importance compared to India, which justifies the awareness of consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of foreign direct investment conforms to the theoretical principles of green total factor productivity and is key to promoting regional industry upgrading. Using three-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) based on city-level data, this paper investigates the effect of foreign direct investment on regional green total factor productivity (GTFP) across China. The results show that foreign direct investment affects regional GTFP through technology spillover effect and human capital spillover effect. Under different environmental regulation intensity and marketization, the relationship between FDI and green total factor productivity is non-linear. The phenomena of "pollution paradise" and "bottom line race" survived at low marketization regional and foreign direct investment will inhibit the improvement of regional green total factor productivity in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Broadening citizen participation in biodiversity governance is often presented as a priority by public institutions. Citizens' engagement in policy design fostering the protection of biodiversity would indeed allow two-way knowledge transfers between expert knowledge and local knowledge; it would also enable citizens to influence collective choices; and it would finally lead to inclusive decision-making processes. However, the achievement of these promises depends strongly on the capacity of public participation exercises to be fair and efficient. By focusing on these two concepts, this paper aims to contribute to identifying obstacles and tools for public participation in biodiversity governance through a comparative analysis of two case studies. The first one consists of three one-day open space technology meetings, which aimed to engage citizens in orienting biodiversity research during Paris COP21. The second one was a two-year long experiment of Citizens Committees-based participatory governance led by the French Office for Biodiversity. These two case studies are representative of two complementary dimensions of biodiversity governance: the orientation of scientific research and the regulation of individual and collective actions through laws, rules and institutional communication. Among other insights, our results determine the existence of strong skepticism regarding the political outputs of public participation, which is reinforced when the objectives and the means of the exercises are not clear enough. Second, we argue that the efficiency of participative biodiversity governance depends on the capacity of institutions to propose diversity of citizen engagement formats and objectives in order to reflect the diversity of citizens' motivations and preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the Heckscher-Ohlin-Vanek (HOV) theory, besides labor force and capital other production factors such as energy and indicators of environment quality may affect exporting potentials of goods and services in an economy. Accordingly, the objective of this paper is to explore the effects of the main determinants, particularly carbon dioxide emission intensity, which is a proxy for environment quality, on the net exports of the selected manufacturing products (auto parts and petrochemical products) between Iran and its major trading partners. Basically, an econometric model for Iran’s net exports is applied to these trading products specifying two panel regression equations using the data of 21 Iran’s partners over 2000-2019. Empirical results have been obtained by estimating two regression equations of auto parts and petrochemical products net exports using panel GLS method. Based on the empirical results, there is a significant and negative effect of the ratio of Iran’s carbon dioxide intensity to that of its trading partner on net exports of auto parts, which implies a decrease in the trade deficit of these products. In contrast, the results show that the environmental quality significantly and negatively affects the net exports of the petrochemical products implying a rise in the ratio of Iran’s carbon dioxide intensity to that of its trading partner, which decreases Iran’s net exports of the petrochemical products.

As a global issue, climate warming has received extensive attention in recent years. Scientific identification of the network evolution, transfer path, and influencing factors of embodied carbon in trade is of great significance for the global joint response to climate change challenges. In this paper, based on the latest World Input-Output Database and carbon emissions data of 42 countries (the total carbon emissions of 42 countries account for about 80% of the world’s total carbon emissions), we use social network analysis to describe the global trade embodied carbon emission from 2000 to 2014, and explore the relevant factors that influence global embodied carbon emissions. From the overall network, a small number of countries produce more carbon emissions, of which China is gradually in the center of the global carbon emissions network, while the United States and the European Union are always in the center. The point entry degree of developed economies is larger, while the point out degree of developing countries is higher, indicating that part of carbon emissions from developed countries are transferred to developing countries through economic links. Through QAP analysis, it is found that factors such as population, energy structure, geographic distance, final consumption and trade agreements are the main factors of the evolution of the embodied carbon network, and these factors can explain 42.3% of the pattern of the implied carbon network in trade. Moreover, the decrease of the degree of proximity indicates that the path of carbon emission correlation between countries is shortening and it is necessary for the world to join hands to respond to climate change.

Copyright of Observatorio Medioambiental is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study investigates the effectiveness of fiscal policy incentives—in particular, direct subsidies and tax credits—in stimulating eco‐product innovation among Chinese manufacturing firms. We also examine the moderating effects of dynamic capabilities. The empirical results, which are based on survey data from 265 firms in China, demonstrate that both direct subsidies and tax credits are conducive to firms' eco‐product innovation. In addition, we find that when firms' dynamic integration capabilities are strong, the facilitating effects of direct subsidies and tax credits on eco‐product innovation are likewise strong. Moreover, dynamic reconfiguration capabilities positively moderate the relationship between tax credits and eco‐product innovation. By identifying moderators that influence the effect of fiscal incentives on eco‐product innovation in heterogeneous firms, this study contributes to fiscal policy debates and realizing sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measuring the achievement of a sustainable development requires the integration of various data sets and disciplines describing bio-physical and socio-economic conditions. These data allow characterizing any location on Earth, assessing the status of the environment at various scales (e.g. national, regional, global), understanding interactions between different systems (e.g. atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, geosphere), and modeling future changes. The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) was established in 2005 in response to the need for coordinated, comprehensive, and sustained observations related to the state of the Earth. GEO’s global engagement priorities include supporting the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on Climate, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. A proposition is made for generalizing and integrating the concept of EVs across the Societal Benefit Areas of GEO and across the border between Socio-Economic and Earth systems EVs. The contributions of the European Union projects ConnectinGEO and GEOEssential in the evaluation of existing EV classes are introduced. Finally, the main aim of the 10 papers of the special issue is shortly presented and mapped according to the proposed typology of SBA-related EV classes.

That human capital improves the efficiency of Green Total Factor Productivity has been established in research fields, but the heterogeneous effects of human capital on GTFP and its sustainable mechanisms are unclear. This study examines the effects of human capital accumulation, fiscal spending on education, and innovation on GTFP efficiency under spatial and temporal diversity. Employing panel data from 30 provinces from 2001 to 2018 in China, we analyzed the dynamic and static efficiency of GTFP in different regions by three-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA). The heterogeneous effects of human capital on GTFP were explored through Tobit regression. Results reveal that the average value of GTFP efficiency is an inverted U-shape and the presence of significant t geography differences. Human capital accumulation and fiscal spending on education have positive effects on GTFP efficiency; however, innovation negatively affects it. At the same time, marketization growth decreases the positive influence of human capital and education on GTFP efficiency. While, this effect was not observed regarding innovation, the implication of these results concerning the human capital heterogeneous effects of GTFP efficiency in a different geographic context. Establishing a fair and transparent system can reduce the endowments gap and effectively promote GTFP efficiency in developing countries.

This article outlines the social approach of meeting the challenges of energy policy in Poland in the context of potential shale gas extraction, focused on social perception and environmental protection policy. While Poland holds promising shale gas resources, the state of current technology indicates that shale gas exploitation is not imminent. However, shale deposits are still considered a potential future resource that could play a central role in diversifying energy sources, developing the economy, and potentially increasing the country’s energy security. This paper presents energy opportunities of Poland, a review of Polish society opinion about energy and environment security. This study shows that Polish society sees a connection between energy, environment and policy problems, as well as potential benefits in the context of shale gas, based on research results of various institutions, including the European Commission. The author draws attention to tasks before the economic exploitation of shale gas in order to optimizing socio-economic benefits, and short- and long-term impacts. Since we are a common Europe, a common space for people, we can create an energy policy. It is the way the topic of energy diversification opportunities in Poland and the building of consistent energy and environmental protection policy is still an important issue to discuss in humanistic and economic fields.

Although air pollution has become a significant global environmental problem posing many negative impacts on human health and society, there has been a little known about how people think and respond to it, especially in developing and emerging countries. This article presents a dataset on how the suburbanites perceived and reacted with air pollution in Vietnam, an emerging country in Southeast Asia. A stratified random sampling technique and a face-to-face interview method were employed to survey 302 inhabitants living within Hanoi suburban, during November and December 2019. The constructed data contains three groups of information: (1) perspectives on air quality, causes, and impacts of polluted air, (2) respondent's preventative measures to air pollution, and suggested solutions to improve air quality, and (3) demographic information of interviewees. The dataset could be useful for many scholars who want to conduct a further in-depth study and or environmentalists, policymakers who want to keep society informed about the air pollution-related progression, which could help design a desirable policy for mitigating and or controlling air pollution in Vietnam and beyond.

In our study, we analyze the commitments of the Visegrad Four National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) for the period 2021-2030 within the European Union environment policy, with special regard to the Land Use, LandUse Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector. Based on our research, it can be said that the willingness of countries to contribute to the achievement of EU goals has low or modest ambition. Within the framework of the NECP, there are significant differences between the Visegrad Four's implementation plans for LULUCF. In connection with forest management, the emphasis in the Czech Republic for the next few years will be on afforestation, while in the case of Hungary, increasing logging production will be emphasized. In addition, Slovakia has presented a plan of an outstanding amount for draft carbon sequestration by forest. In the case of Poland, a mandatory carbon sequestration rate was provided in the forest management plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Economía is the property of Universidade Federal do Parana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper examines whether governments should adopt stricter environmental policies—such as raising environmental taxes—in closed and open economies. It reconsidered the policy effects of enterprise heterogeneity in an open economy and studied the relationship between environmental policies and sustainable development. In the case of self-sufficiency, it is possible to replace punitive environmental policies with environmental subsidies, which is beneficial to sustainable development. However, when trade is opened up, as less productive enterprises withdraw from local and export markets, the stricter environmental policy is the optimal strategy for environmental and energy sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measuring the achievement of a sustainable development requires the integration of various data sets and disciplines describing bio-physical and socio-economic conditions. These data allow characterizing any location on Earth, assessing the status of the environment at various scales (e.g. national, regional, global), understanding interactions between different systems (e.g. atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, geosphere), and modeling future changes. The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) was established in 2005 in response to the need for coordinated, comprehensive, and sustained observations related to the state of the Earth. GEO's global engagement priorities include supporting the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on Climate, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. A proposition is made for generalizing and integrating the concept of EVs across the Societal Benefit Areas of GEO and across the border between Socio-Economic and Earth systems EVs. The contributions of the European Union projects ConnectinGEO and GEOEssential in the evaluation of existing EV classes are introduced. Finally, the main aim of the 10 papers of the special issue is shortly presented and mapped according to the proposed typology of SBA-related EV classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is one of the most endangered animals in the world and is recognized worldwide as a symbol for conservation. The Qinling subspecies of giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca qinlingensis) is highly endangered; fewer than 350 individuals still inhabit the Qinling Mountains. Last year, China announced the establishment of the first Giant Panda National Park (GPNP) with a goal of restoring and connecting fragmented habitats; the proposal ignored the environmental pollution caused by economic development in panda habitats. The spatial distribution of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Hg, Cu, Zn, Mn, Cr, Ni and As) was analyzed in giant panda feces, soil, bamboo, and water in four of GPNP's functional areas at different altitudes and latitudes. Heavy metal pollution decreased with anthropogenic influences, from outside the park through the buffer and into the core area. Cu, Mn, Ni and Zn accumulated from natural sources; As, Hg and Cr were associated with fuel combustion; and Pb and Cd were associated with traffic and agriculture sources. The presence of heavy metals at high altitudes and latitudes in the proposed GPNP is due to emissions from Xi'an and other upwind industrial cities. We conclude that reducing emissions and heavy metal input should be included in the design of the GPNP. Policy interventions should consider functional zones planning, wind direction, reducing mining, and the abandonment of existing roads and farmland within the GPNP to reduce other direct human impacts on the Qinling panda. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Heavy metals contents increased from core, buffer to environmental areas in Qinling. • Heavy metal distribution was correlated with altitude and latitude in Qinling. • Minimizing heavy metals emission is a long-term task for panda conservation. • Expanding core area and adherence to the basic principle of functional areas • Establishing pollutants monitoring and staple bamboo protection [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]