Search Results (2,756)

Weak grid infrastructure and the absence of flexible storage are among the principal barriers to reliable, low-carbon energy access in sub-Saharan transmission systems. This paper proposes a hierarchical multi-objective framework for the optimal siting and sizing of battery energy storage systems (BESSs), applied to the 130-bus Mali transmission network within the EMERGE project. The upper level employs NSGA-II to simultaneously maximize daily price arbitrage revenue and minimize active power losses; the lower level solves a network-constrained DC optimal power flow with thermal branch limits enforced as hard linear inequalities via the Power Transfer Distribution Factor (PTDF) matrix. Over 500 generations, the framework identifies Bus 91 (SIRAKORO II, 150 kV) as the dominant storage location, achieving a maximum daily revenue of approximately €10,033 at a marginal loss increment of $6.7\times {10}^{-3}$ MWh. The resulting Pareto front gives Mali system planners a quantitative tool for trading off private investment returns against grid-level environmental impact, demonstrating that rigorous network-constrained BESS planning is technically tractable and economically viable in the resource-constrained context of sub-Saharan energy transitions. Full article

Background. First-mile walking to mass rapid transit (MRT) has two methodological problems. Composite walkability scores blur which features drive walking. And because walking to transit is itself transport physical activity (PA), linking it to total PA is circular. Both issues are sharper in tropical Asian cities. Methods. We surveyed 378 adults within a 1 km network distance of 20 stations on Bangkok’s Pink Line MRT. Walkability was measured with NEWS-A (aggregate and eight subscales); PA with the GPAQ. Binary logistic regression with station-cluster-robust standard errors tested which NEWS-A subscales predict first-mile walking and whether walkers meet the WHO PA guideline (≥150 min/week MVPA). A tautology sensitivity test removed transport PA from the outcome. Results. Walkers were 71.7% of the sample. Disaggregating NEWS-A improved fit; two subscales were the dominant predictors: pedestrian infrastructure and traffic safety. Walkers were 30.6 percentage points more likely to meet the overall PA guideline; with transport PA removed, the gap was 17.5 points and still significant. The pedestrian infrastructure effect was strongest 201–1000 m from a station, not at the immediate frontage. Conclusions. Perceived pedestrian infrastructure quality and perceived traffic safety drive first-mile walking in suburban Bangkok. The walking–PA link is not entirely a measurement artefact. The 201–1000 m ring is a plausible priority for pedestrian investment. Full article

Cuba is driving its sustainable energy transition with renewables as the central axis, although the Cuban government estimates that substantial investments will be necessary to achieve this goal. This work presents a proposal for a Management Model of International Cooperation for the Development of Renewable Energies, aimed at mobilizing the required funds. The model was designed through a structured questionnaire with 7 dimensions, 22 activities, and 5 subprocesses to guide the collaborative management of projects. The methodological approach was quantitative, descriptive, and psychometric, ensuring content validity through expert evaluation and statistical analysis. Reliability was established through internal consistency measures, while construct validity was supported by an exploratory factor analysis, confirming its feasibility and coherence. The validated questionnaire confirms its methodological rigor and practical utility, favoring the subsequent implementation of the model for Cuba’s transition toward green energy. Full article

In the context of intensifying global climate change, high-altitude mountain ecosystems play a critical role in climate regulation, biodiversity conservation, and the advancement of sustainable human development. Plateau regions, such as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, are particularly sensitive and responsive to global climatic fluctuations and function as essential ecological barriers supporting development across Asia. These areas occupy a strategic position within Asia’s ecological security framework and the broader international community, influencing not only regional ecological stability and social cohesion but also sustainable development pathways. However, owing to their fragile ecosystem structures, limited regenerative capacity, and the ongoing expansion of urbanisation and human activities, these regions frequently suffer from habitat fragmentation and degradation of ecological functions. This issue is especially acute in natural protected areas adjacent to plateau cities. Consequently, there is an urgent need for quantitative assessments of ecological restoration effectiveness within natural protected areas, alongside investigations into development approaches that underpin long-term regional stability and sustainability. Focusing on Chokpori Mountain—the “urban green heart” of Lhasa, a principal city on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau—this study develops a three-dimensional assessment framework encompassing ecological, economic, and social dimensions. By integrating the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) model, remote sensing inversion techniques, field monitoring, and questionnaire surveys, the research systematically evaluates the effectiveness of ecological restoration and proposes insights for sustainable governance. The findings indicate that ecological restoration elicited positive ecological responses, evidenced by a 69.2% increase in soil retention post-renovation, an increase in vegetation coverage, and modeled total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) export loads demonstrating enhanced nutrient retention potential and improved water purification potential; (2) economic stimulation was evident, as demonstrated by an increase in average weekend daily visitor numbers from 876 to 1567 and a 24.2% rise in average monthly revenue of shops within a 1 km radius; and (3) social well-being improved, with ecological satisfaction reaching 89.2% and recognition of cultural communication attaining 67.3%. An integrated analysis indicates a synergistic enhancement of ecological environmental quality, regional vitality, and public perception. Accordingly, the outcomes of this study provide both theoretical insights and practical guidance for the ecological restoration and sustainable management of urban protected areas in high-altitude plateau regions worldwide. Full article

Achieving carbon neutrality requires simultaneous advances in both the quantity and quality of low-carbon technology innovation (LCTI). This paper uses a country–industry–year three-dimensional panel dataset covering 25 EU member states and 39 two-digit NACE Rev. 2 industries over the period 2003–2020 to examine the effects of energy market integration (EMI) on LCTI quantity and quality. An EMI index is constructed based on cross-national energy price dispersion, and the analysis employs Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood estimation with three-way fixed effects, complemented by a Bartik instrumental variable and double/debiased machine learning as supporting robustness evidence. Results show that: (1) EMI exerts significant positive effects on both LCTI quantity and quality; (2) Mechanism tests reveal that EMI operates through two channels: expansion of energy R&D investment and intensification of cross-border knowledge spillovers; (3) Heterogeneity analysis shows that the promoting effects are concentrated in countries with adequate R&D investment and active energy market competition, and in industries with low emission intensity and low energy intensity. These findings suggest that deepening regional energy market integration constitutes a meaningful institutional complement to conventional low-carbon innovation policy. Full article

The concept of virtual water is currently one of the most important issues in water resource management, especially in a context marked by structural water scarcity. Beyond the analysis of virtual water flows, which has been widely studied in the literature, this study aims to better understand the relationship between virtual water exports and economic growth. This paper analyzes the dynamic relationship between Morocco’s economic growth and agricultural virtual water exports to the European Union over the period of 1986–2023. An ARDL model was used based on annual data to test cointegration and estimate short- and long-term effects, controlling for gross fixed capital formation and agricultural value added. The bounds test confirms the existence of a stable long-term relationship between the variables. The results suggest that export specialization may be associated with foreign earnings and agricultural activity while also coinciding with greater pressure on resources and potential adaptation costs, especially for blue water resources. However, estimates indicate that in the long term, investment is positively and significantly associated with growth, while virtual water exports are associated with a negative effect on GDP, suggesting that export gains may be offset by increasing water constraints and sectoral trade-offs, and that agricultural value added mainly influences short-term dynamics. The results highlight the importance of integrating water footprint and virtual water trade concepts, as well as climate constraints, into agricultural and trade strategy planning while strengthening policies on water efficiency, innovation, and governance. Full article

This study examines the determinants of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions across 25 European Union countries over the period 2000–2021, with particular emphasis on the roles of environmental taxation and green innovation in shaping environmental sustainability. The analysis is grounded in ecological modernization theory, endogenous growth theory, and the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis, which collectively explain the long-run and dynamic interactions between environmental policy, economic activity, structural transformation, and environmental outcomes. To ensure robust empirical inference, this study applies a comprehensive econometric framework that accounts for cross-sectional dependence, heterogeneity, non-stationarity, cointegration, and endogeneity. The empirical strategy begins with Pesaran cross-sectional dependence tests and slope heterogeneity diagnostics, followed by second-generation panel unit root tests (Pesaran CADF/CIPS) and Westerlund cointegration tests to establish the existence of long-run equilibrium relationships among the variables. Long-run coefficients are estimated using Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS), Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS), Canonical Cointegrating Regression (CCR), and Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (CCEMG) estimators. In addition, the Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model is employed to capture both short-run dynamics and long-run adjustment processes, while the System Generalized Method of Moments (System GMM) estimator addresses potential endogeneity, reverse causality, omitted variable bias, and dynamic persistence in CO₂ emissions. The empirical results indicate that environmental taxation has a positive and statistically significant association with CO₂ emissions, suggesting that current fiscal environmental policies in EU-25 countries may not yet be sufficiently effective in discouraging pollution-intensive activities. In contrast, green innovation is found to significantly reduce CO₂ emissions, underscoring the critical role of innovation-driven environmental investment and technological progress in improving environmental quality. Economic growth, exports, and urbanization are associated with higher emissions, while imports contribute to emission reductions, reflecting differences between domestic production-based effects and trade-related structural adjustments. The System GMM results further confirm the persistence of CO₂ emissions over time and validate the robustness of the long-run relationships identified by alternative estimators. Likewise, the CCEMG and Panel ARDL results support the stability and consistency of the findings under conditions of cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneous country dynamics. Taken together, the results highlight the importance of integrating environmental taxation with green innovation policies, innovation-driven investment, and sustainable trade policies to achieve long-term emission reductions in the European Union. This study contributes to the environmental economics literature by providing robust empirical evidence using second-generation panel econometric techniques that explicitly address cross-sectional dependence, heterogeneity, and endogeneity in the analysis of environmental sustainability. Full article

Medium-sized cities in the Global South are at the center of future urban growth, yet their transportation systems remain dominated by car-dependent trajectories. This paper examines how urban infrastructure shapes inclusive access to active commuting using a latent class model across three Mexican cities. We identify two distinct commuter environments defined by infrastructure quality. In low-infrastructure settings, active commuting is concentrated among younger men, consistent with existing literature. In contrast, in high-infrastructure environments, the baseline probability of active commuting is nearly three times higher, so that women and older individuals commute actively at substantially higher absolute rates even though demographic penalties remain present in both environments. Attitudinal variables, often emphasized in policy discourse, are not significant predictors of mode choice. These findings suggest that infrastructure investment is not only a tool for increasing active commuting rates but also a mechanism for expanding mobility access across demographic groups. For rapidly growing medium-sized cities, prioritizing non-motorized infrastructure can play a central role in building inclusive, low-carbon transportation systems. Full article

Background/Objective: The increasing global population of older adults presents significant challenges for oral healthcare, particularly regarding the management of chronic conditions and prosthetic rehabilitation. Teledentistry, combined with intraoral scanning, offers a promising solution to enhance access, interdisciplinary collaboration, and clinical outcomes in geriatric populations. This study aimed to evaluate the utilisation of intraoral digital scanning within teledentistry for interdisciplinary oral assessment of older patients. Specifically, it investigated current clinical practices, collaboration among healthcare professionals, and perceptions regarding the effectiveness, challenges, and future potential of teledentistry in prosthodontic care. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional survey was conducted among 84 healthcare professionals, including dentists, prosthodontists, and postgraduate students, recruited via an international network. Participants completed a 40-item electronic questionnaire covering demographics, clinical practice, digital technology use, interdisciplinary collaboration, and attitudes toward research and innovation. Descriptive statistics summarised responses, and inferential analyses, including chi-square tests and Spearman correlations, examined associations between career stage, technology adoption, and interdisciplinary practices. Results: Early-career professionals demonstrated the highest adoption of intraoral scanning (76.3%), while mid-career adoption was lowest (28.6%). Sustained usage significantly increased after one year of adoption (93.8%). While 91.7% of respondents valued interdisciplinary care, active collaboration remained limited. Cost, technical barriers, and training gaps were identified as primary obstacles. Professionals perceived intraoral scanning as beneficial for prosthodontic outcomes and chronic inflammation management, though adoption was influenced by experience, systemic factors, and financial support. Conclusions: Teledentistry integrated with intraoral scanning has substantial potential to improve geriatric oral healthcare. Successful implementation depends on structured training, financial investment, and promotion of interdisciplinary collaboration. Future longitudinal and multicenter studies are warranted to evaluate clinical, economic, and patient-centred outcomes, supporting sustainable digital transformation in geriatric dental care. Full article

This study examines the relationship between governance quality and carbon intensity in Saudi Arabia over the period 2002–2024, with particular attention to the role of structural reform and institutional change. Using an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) framework, the analysis distinguishes between long-run equilibrium relationships and short-run adjustment dynamics in a resource-dependent economy undergoing economic transition. The long-run results indicate that capital formation significantly increases carbon intensity, suggesting that economic expansion and investment activities remain closely tied to carbon-intensive production structures and fossil-based industrial development. Renewable energy exhibits a modest mitigating effect, implying that recent progress in energy diversification has contributed to emissions efficiency, although its overall impact remains limited relative to the scale of hydrocarbon dependence. Governance does not display a robust independent long-run effect on carbon intensity. However, the interaction between governance and the post-2016 reform period is associated with lower carbon intensity, indicating that institutional quality becomes more effective when supported by broader structural transformation and policy reform initiatives. Short-run dynamics further suggest that improvements in governance may initially coincide with higher emissions intensity during transitional phases of economic adjustment and infrastructure expansion. The findings highlight that governance influences environmental performance not in isolation, but through its interaction with structural diversification, energy transition, and reform-oriented institutional change in a resource-dependent economy. Full article

The water–energy–food (WEF) system acts as a critical nexus of social–ecological systems. However, rapid urbanization has intensified the regional imbalance in the supply and demand of ecosystem services (ESs). Clarifying the spatiotemporal matching of ecosystem services supply and demand (ESSD) within the WEF framework and revealing the driving mechanisms behind such imbalances are essential to formulating reasonable zoning schemes and targeted optimization strategies for the coordinated development of the regional WEF system. Taking Zhejiang Province as a case study, this research uses water yield (WY), carbon sequestration (CS), and grain production (GP) to characterize the WEF nexus system. It uses the InVEST model to assess WY and CS, applies spatial allocation methods to characterize GP, and integrates socioeconomic data to quantify the demand for the above three ESs. All indicators were standardized and integrated with equal weights to further clarify the comprehensive levels of ESSD. By integrating the Geodetector and K-Means clustering methods, the study analyzes the supply–demand matching of ecosystem services and its driving mechanisms in Zhejiang Province during this period, thereby exploring ecological management zoning and optimization strategies within the WEF system. The study findings indicate that: (1) From the supply perspective, Zhejiang Province’s WY services demonstrate a trend of elevated activity in the southwest and diminished presence in the northeast; high values for CS services are predominantly found in the vegetation-rich areas of the northwest, while high values for GP services are clustered in the northern Zhejiang Plain; from the demand perspective, high values for all three ESs in Zhejiang Province are primarily located in economically active, densely populated urban areas. (2) The correlation between ESSD within Zhejiang Province’s WEF system exhibits significant spatial heterogeneity and is driven by the combined effects of natural and socioeconomic factors, with the interaction between these two factors often producing a synergistic effect. Specifically, annual average precipitation and population density are the dominant factors influencing WY services, NDVI and human footprint are the dominant factors influencing CS services, and population density and GDP are the dominant factors influencing GP services. (3) From 2000 to 2020, the supply–demand ratio for comprehensive ESs in Zhejiang Province generally followed a pattern of being lower in the east and higher in the west. The supply–demand imbalance of ESs intensified in the core areas of eastern cities, whereas the western regions maintained a relatively sound supply–demand balance. (4) The study classifies the counties in Zhejiang Province into four ecological management zones—ecological stable zones, ecological conservation zones, ecological control zones, and ecological restoration zones—and explores differentiated approaches to optimizing these zones and implementing control strategies. Full article

This study examines how green bond financing costs in China are jointly shaped by market pricing mechanisms and institutional investor behavior. It develops an integrated two-level framework linking issuance-level bond characteristics with investor decision-making to explain green bond pricing in an emerging market. Using a comprehensive dataset of Chinese green bond issuances, the results show that financing costs are driven mainly by conventional credit-related signals, including issuer and bond ratings, guarantee structures, issuance size, and maturity. However, market frictions such as liquidity constraints and rating inertia weaken the capitalization of environmental attributes in yields. A survey-based Logit analysis of institutional investors in Shanghai further shows that green bond investment is influenced more by trading activity, information transparency, and risk management than by environmental awareness alone. Institutional heterogeneity also suggests that securities firms display stronger participation than investment companies, reflecting differences in bond-market exposure, product familiarity, and institutional investment mandates. Overall, the findings reveal a feedback mechanism in which market signals shape investor behavior, which in turn reinforces or moderates pricing dynamics. The study clarifies the structural and behavioral drivers of green bond pricing and offers policy implications for improving transparency, liquidity, and investor incentives. Full article

The role of financial institutions in climate governance is increasingly being recognized, particularly in relation to Scope 3 emissions. While existing research has focused primarily on lending and investment activities, the potential influence of insurance operations on lifecycle emissions remains underexplored. This study examines electric vehicle (EV) insurance underwriting as a form of indirect climate governance, with particular attention being paid to claim-related decision processes that affect repair-, replacement-, and battery-related outcomes. A decision-analytical, scenario-based portfolio model is developed to analyze how underwriting and claims parameters may influence lifecycle emissions exposure. The model incorporates literature-informed and scenario-based parameter ranges derived from the lifecycle assessment literature and industry-relevant assumptions, while explicitly accounting for regulatory, technical, and behavioral constraints that limit insurer decision making. An exposure-based attribution framework is applied to link insurance-mediated outcomes to emissions associated with vehicle and battery manufacturing. The results suggest that claim-related parameters—particularly total-loss probability—are associated with variations in modeled emissions exposure within the analytical framework. Scenario analysis indicates that, under plausible parameter configurations, differences in claims decision structures may contribute to variation in lifecycle emissions at the portfolio level. Sensitivity analysis further indicates that these relationships appear stable across a range of parameter assumptions. The findings should be interpreted as scenario-based insights rather than empirical estimates, highlighting potential pathways through which insurance operations may influence emissions outcomes within existing constraints. The study contributes to the literature by extending Scope 3 governance analysis to insurance and by proposing an operational framework for interpreting insurance-associated emissions in lifecycle terms. Full article

This study examines how investment priorities for sustainable rural development are shaped when financial, environmental, social, and institutional criteria are evaluated simultaneously. Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), the study assesses six investment alternatives: eco-tourism, agro-tourism, renewable energy, digital tourism, sustainable agriculture, and cultural tourism. The results reveal the dominance of financial performance and risk considerations, which together account for more than two-thirds of total decision weight. Renewable energy emerges as the highest-ranked investment alternative, whereas agro-tourism and sustainable agriculture remain under-prioritized despite their environmental and social benefits. A comparative scenario analysis demonstrates that policy-oriented weighting structures substantially alter investment rankings, increasing the attractiveness of locally embedded and sustainability-oriented activities. The findings suggest a structural divergence between market-driven capital allocation and broader rural development objectives. By integrating sustainable finance and rural development within a multi-criteria decision-making framework, the study provides practical insights for investors and policymakers seeking to align investment decisions with long-term sustainability goals. Full article

Existing accounts of platform-mediated complementor growth rest on two limiting assumptions: that platform enablement constitutes a homogeneous environmental input and that firm growth is a unitary outcome. This double simplification obscures how distinct platform provisions generate qualitatively different forms of firm transformation. This study asks which combinations of mechanistically distinct platform enablement types and internal strategic response capabilities activate which forms of leapfrog growth among complementor firms operating under dual institutional governance. We employ fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) on survey data from 374 complementor firms in China’s autonomous driving platform ecosystem. Five antecedent conditions are examined across two dimensions: platform enablement, comprising rule-based enablement (RE) and business platform enablement (BPE); and strategic response capabilities, comprising network linkage capability (NLC), organizational ambidexterity (OA), and policy responsiveness (PR). Three outcome variables capture three non-reducible leapfrog dimensions: technology-chain (TL), value-chain (VL), and institutional-chain (IL) transitions. A reverse-causality robustness check and a common-method-bias assessment corroborate the validity of findings. The analysis identifies equifinal configurational pathways with distinct dominant logics across the three chains. Technology-chain transitions are predominantly network-linkage-driven; value-chain transitions are policy-responsiveness-anchored; institutional-chain transitions exhibit genuine equifinality between network-linkage and policy-responsiveness pathways, both requiring dual-platform enablement as a universal structural precondition. No single enabling condition or capability suffices; leapfrog growth is irreducibly configurational and causally asymmetric. The study offers a dual-enablement, three-chain configurational framework for understanding platform-mediated firm growth under dual institutional governance. For complementor firms, findings support dimension-selective capability investment over uniform accumulation strategies. For platform orchestrators, differentiated governance design calibrated to specific complementor upgrading trajectories outperforms homogeneous resource provisioning. For policymakers, institutionalized consultative channels linking private platform governance with public regulatory processes are recommended to facilitate coordinated digital industrial transformation. Full article