Search Results (4,109)

Over the past two decades, the world has experienced a significant and relentless increase in environmental degradation, measured through carbon emissions (CO₂). These emissions have been one of the persistent global concerns. South Africa boosts abundance of natural resources and some of the world’s most substantial mineral deposits, endowments in the form of precious metals, diamonds and gold. The paper aims to examine the impact of socio-economic and energy-related factors on environmental degradation from a South African perspective. Using multivariate annual data spanning from 1991 to 2022, the Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL) was employed to determine both short-run and long-run impact of financial development (FD), renewable energy (RE), non-renewable energy (NRE), unemployment rate (UNE), economic growth (GDPPC), and population growth (PoPG) on CO₂ emission. The results show that NRE remains a dominant driver for environmental degradation, while RE is positively associated with emissions under current system conditions. FD exhibits short-run emission-intensity but long-run mitigation effects. The results suggest a need for relevant policymakers to prioritize coal displacement, stimulate economic growth and promote access to green financing, and related technologies and consumption, to enhance and promote environmental quality in South Africa. The conclusion is that South Africa’s energy-economy nexus is still at a transitional stage, where targeted policy intervention and structural reform are essential to accelerate the shift towards a low-emission economy. Future research can extend the analytical depth by exploring asymmetries, disaggregating fossil fuels, and incorporating broader environmental indicators. Full article

Entrepreneurial ecosystems are increasingly viewed as drivers of sustainable and inclusive development, yet their true capacity to translate entrepreneurship into inclusive outcomes remains insufficiently understood. This study addresses this gap by linking national-level entrepreneurship indicators to three dimensions of inclusive growth—decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9), and inequality reduction (SDG 10)—using data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor’s National Expert Survey (NES) for 37 countries over the period 2020 to 2024. By integrating multistage machine learning techniques with institutional and ecosystem theories, the study captures the nonlinear and interdependent dynamics among entrepreneurial framework conditions. The results reveal that development outcomes depend not on isolated factors but on complementarities among finance, infrastructure, and R&D transfer. Entrepreneurial ecosystems foster innovation and productive employment, yet their inclusiveness hinges on institutional efficiency, governance quality, and redistributive capacity. The findings show that policy intent diverges from policy impact, as governmental support and cultural norms exert adverse effects when institutional coherence and absorptive capacity are weak. The research advances entrepreneurship theory by moving beyond linear, additive models toward a systemic understanding of ecosystem complementarity, and offers policy insights, emphasizing that innovation-led growth must be embedded in institutional coherence and social inclusion to achieve sustainable and equitable development. Full article

Small and medium-sized enterprises account for 99% of EU firms, making their engagement with circular economy (CE) practices indispensable to any economy-wide transition, yet the firm-level business case for voluntary adoption remains empirically contested, and existing evidence geographically narrow. This study examines, at the EU27 scale, the firm- and country-level determinants of CE adoption and whether adoption yields measurable economic returns. A two-level (firm and country), cross-sectional design combines micro-data from Flash Eurobarometer 549 (13,124 SMEs, June 2024) with Eurostat institutional indicators, applying hierarchical regression, K-Means clustering, and crosstabulation with post-stratification weights. Adoption is associated with resource-efficiency investment (β = 0.119), climate-strategy formalisation (β = 0.093), and national circular material use rate (β = 0.108, partially supported), while firm size shows no independent effect; the barrier index is the strongest predictor (β = 0.333), an unexpected positive association tentatively interpreted as a commitment effect whereby firms already active in CE better recognise obstacles. CE adoption shows no economically meaningful short-term association with performance (β = 0.025, negligible), with a small provisional exception in the industrial sector. Cluster analysis identifies three descriptive profiles: Efficiency Investors (13.7%), Strategic Green (32.0%), Passive (54.3%). CE adoption reflects strategic intent rather than firm size; economic benefits appear indirect and long-term, and more than half of European SMEs remain passive, requiring differentiated support at the national level. Full article

Ensuring long-term agricultural sustainability depends heavily on preserving soil health, a process fundamentally governed by humic substances (HSs) and their vital physicochemical and biological functions. However, because intensive farming rapidly degrades natural HSs reserves, external replenishment has become essential, driving the expansion of the humic preparations market. This article constitutes a comprehensive review of the entire technological chain of humic preparations: from the identification of raw materials, through advanced extraction techniques, up to agrochemical mechanisms in the soil–plant system. Both traditional fossil deposits (leonardite, brown coal, peat) and renewable waste sources fitting into the concept of the circular economy were discussed. Classical alkaline extraction was confronted with green methods such as ultrasound-assisted (UAE), microwave-assisted (MAE) or high voltage electrical discharge (HVED) extraction, which allow for shortening the operation time and reducing the consumption of reagents. Strategies of integrating HSs with mineral fertilizers (coating, liquid formulas, organo-mineral products) and their direct impact on improving nutrient use efficiency (NUE), mitigating plant abiotic stress, agricultural performance, and environmental impact were described in detail. Research perspectives were also presented, including, among others, economic aspects of scaling up humic technologies and an assessment of the development potential of innovative nanofertilizers functionalized with HSs. Full article

This mixed-methods study examines the associations among fintech advancement, green finance, and financial inclusion in Jordan, an emerging economy. It draws on a distinctive three-part dataset: survey data from 21 commercial banks (N = 21), a national household survey, and semi-structured interviews with stakeholders. The quantitative results indicate that the positive association between fintech adoption and the provision of green finance is statistically consistent with full mediation by banks’ absorptive capacity, particularly their digital maturity and data analytics capabilities. Proactive regulatory support significantly moderates this mediated relationship. Market demand, by contrast, has no statistically significant moderating effect. At the household level, the combined use of digital and green financial products is associated with higher formal account ownership and with the use of a greater number of financial products. The interviews support these results, pointing to institutional capacity and regulatory clarity as essential enabling factors. Given the cross-sectional bank-level data (N = 21) and the exploratory scope of the mediation analysis, causal interpretations should be avoided. Future longitudinal research is needed to examine temporal dynamics. Even so, these findings offer policymakers an initial empirical framework: channeling fintech toward sustainable development will likely require targeted interventions to build institutional digital capacity and establish clear regulatory frameworks, rather than depending solely on market forces. Full article

Financial development can influence carbon emissions through capital allocation, technological support, and policy transmission. To investigate the inherent association between grassroots inclusive financial institutions and territorial green transformation, this study establishes a city-level panel dataset of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration covering the period from 2010 to 2022. Within the analytical framework of the Spatial Durbin Model, this research decomposes the baseline effect, functional transmission pathways, and cross-sectional heterogeneity of the impact of the development of small loan company (SLC) providers on urban carbon intensity. The results show that SLC expansion significantly increases local carbon emission intensity and produces spatial spillover effects across neighboring cities. Mechanism analysis indicates that SLCs increase emissions mainly by supporting the expansion of small- and micro-sized enterprises in energy-intensive manufacturing sectors, while their role in promoting green technological innovation remains limited. Further analysis shows that local government willingness to pursue green transition weakens the carbon-increasing effect of SLCs, whereas digital inclusive finance strengthens it. The effect also varies by location and regulatory environment, with stronger effects in medium-distance cities and under lower regulatory intensity. These findings reveal how grassroots inclusive financial institutions affect regional carbon outcomes and offer policy implications for aligning inclusive finance with green transition goals. This paper innovatively transcends the conventional low-carbon research paradigm focusing on macro-finance and large formal financial institutions, and instead takes SLCs, a typical micro-level inclusive finance entity, to explore their unique paths affecting regional carbon emissions, and clarifies their action boundaries from multiple dimensions including government governance and digital finance empowerment, which enriches interdisciplinary research literature integrating inclusive finance and low-carbon economy. But this study has limitations: its sample is limited to the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, so the universality of the conclusion needs further verification. This research provides theoretical support and policy reference for regulating the sustainable development of the small loan industry, promoting the integration of inclusive finance and green low-carbon transformation, and advancing high-quality regional low-carbon development. Full article

Zero-waste city (ZWC) construction serves as a vital approach to regional sustainable development amid tightening resource constraints and the dual carbon goals. Examining its impact on urban green development efficiency (UGDE) and the underlying transmission mechanisms bears important theoretical significance and practical value. Drawing on panel data covering 281 Chinese cities from 2008 to 2024, this study adopts the difference-in-differences model to examine how the zero-waste city pilot (ZWCP) policy affects UGDE. The main findings are summarized as follows. (1) ZWCP policy significantly improves UGDE, and this core conclusion remains robust after multiple robustness tests and endogeneity corrections. (2) Mechanism tests confirm that ZWCP elevates the green development efficiency of pilot cities through two intermediate channels: green industrial agglomeration and public environmental awareness. (3) The ZWCP policy exerts positive spatial spillover effects on UGDE improvement. However, the two transmission mechanisms show heterogeneous spatial linkage effects. Green industrial agglomeration acts as the core channel for policy spatial radiation, with inter-city agglomeration diffusion driving UGDE growth in neighboring cities. In contrast, public environmental awareness only exerts a local mediating effect, with no significant spatial spillover on UGDE. (4) The moderation analysis reveals that government environmental attention (GEA) strengthens both transmission paths, exerting a positive moderating effect on the UGDE promotion of ZWCP. (5) Heterogeneous results indicate that the policy’s boosting effect is more pronounced in eastern regions, resource-based cities and highly urbanized cities. These findings provide empirical evidence and targeted policy references for advancing urban green development efficiency via the differentiated implementation of zero-waste city initiatives across China. They also offer practical Chinese insights for other developing economies pursuing green urban transition. Full article

Dyes widely used in industrial sectors like pharmaceuticals and textiles cause a severe environmental threat due to the high stability and toxicity of synthetic dyes, which impair water quality and aquatic ecosystems. Normally, there are used traditional treatment methods, such as adsorption, and membrane filtration, but showed limitations including high costs, energy intensity, and low selectivity in complex matrices. Aqueous Two-Phase Systems (ATPSs) are an sustainable, economic, and versatile alternative for the extraction, separation, and purification of dyes. Therefore, this review examines the thermodynamic fundamentals, formation mechanisms, and the integration of innovative components like Ionic Liquids (ILs) and Deep Eutectic Solvents (DESs). Recent research highlights that ATPS can achieve extraction efficiencies exceeding 95% for dyes; however, the optimization of critical parameters such as pH, temperature, polymer molecular weight, and salt concentration is necessary. Furthermore, this review discusses the potential of these systems within circular economy schemes, emphasizing component recyclability and their alignment with green chemistry principles. Ultimately, ATPSs represent a scalable and eco-friendly platform for managing industrial effluents and recovering valuable compounds. Full article

This study examines the relationship between green financial development, green innovation, and resource productivity in 27 European Union member states over the period 2000–2020. To capture green financial development more comprehensively, the study develops a composite indicator combining financial development and environmental taxation. The empirical analysis employs two-way fixed-effects estimations, bootstrap mediation analysis, lagged fixed-effects models, decomposition robustness tests, and dynamic System GMM estimations to investigate both the direct and indirect channels linking green finance to circular economy performance. The results show that green financial development consistently promotes green innovation across the baseline and robustness specifications. However, the bootstrap mediation analysis does not provide statistically robust evidence that green innovation mediates the relationship between green financial development and resource productivity within the static framework. The dynamic System GMM estimations provide additional evidence by indicating a positive association between green innovation and resource productivity once persistence in the dependent variable is taken into account. These findings suggest that the relationship among green financial development, green innovation, and resource productivity is sensitive to the econometric framework employed and is better characterized as a dynamic adjustment process rather than an immediate contemporaneous transmission mechanism. Heterogeneity analysis further reveals that these relationships are primarily evident among Western EU member states, whereas comparable associations are not statistically supported in the Eastern EU subsample, highlighting the importance of differentiated policy approaches across the European Union. This study contributes to the literature in four main ways. First, it proposes a composite Green Financial Development indicator. Second, it evaluates Resource Productivity as an indicator of circular economy performance. Third, it demonstrates that static and dynamic panel approaches provide complementary evidence on the green finance–innovation–productivity nexus. Fourth, it reveals substantial regional heterogeneity within the European Union by showing that the estimated relationships are statistically significant in the Western EU subsample but not in the Eastern EU subsample, underscoring the importance of differentiated regional policy approaches. The findings offer important implications for policymakers seeking to accelerate the transition toward a more resource-efficient and sustainable European economy. Full article

This study examines how the quality of corporate environmental information disclosure, jointly with governance structure characteristics, shapes the input–output efficiency of green innovation in Chinese A-share listed firms, and whether industry- and region-level conditions moderate that relationship. Drawing on a panel of 2847 firms spanning 2014–2024, we construct a multidimensional disclosure quality index through content analysis across completeness, verifiability, quantification depth, and forward-looking commitment, and measure green innovation efficiency through a super-efficiency slacks-based DEA model accommodating undesirable outputs. A three-level hierarchical linear model partitions variance across firm, industry, and provincial layers and permits the disclosure–efficiency slope to vary with industry regulation intensity and provincial marketization. The results indicate that higher disclosure quality is associated with greater green innovation efficiency, a link we attribute to financing-constraint relief, reputational accumulation, and intensified external monitoring, offered as interpretive channels rather than as separately tested mediators. Board independence, environmentally experienced executives, and institutional shareholding amplify the conversion, while ownership concentration dampens it. Cross-level evidence shows that industry regulation intensity and regional marketization further steepen the firm-level slope. Findings remain stable across alternative measurement, restricted sampling, propensity score matching, and instrumental variable identification. The analysis offers a multilevel reframing of disclosure–innovation research and informs the design of mandatory disclosure rules, governance reform, and green finance infrastructure in transitioning economies. Full article

The stockpiling of phosphogypsum poses severe environmental risks, and its resource utilization remains a global challenge. In this study, we systematically review the status of phosphogypsum utilization, and identify research hotspots through bibliometric analysis of 656 publications from the Web of Science Core Collection (2015–2025) using VOSviewer and Citespace. Four primary utilization pathways—building materials, chemical industry, agriculture, and filling materials—are compared regarding technical characteristics, economic benefits, and environmental issues. The results show that China’s phosphogypsum utilization rate reached 61.6% in 2024, with a mean annual increase of 10.2% over the past five years. The building materials pathway dominates, accounting for 64.0% of total, and was identified as a hotspot via bibliometric analysis, and this pathway—especially building gypsum and high-value-added products—demonstrates obvious advantages in terms of technical maturity, cost-effectiveness, and carbon mitigation, with lower environmental risks relative to the other pathways. Future development trends are primarily characterized by scale-up consumption of building materials and upgrading high-value-added production. To facilitate these development trends, relative policy recommendations should be effectively implemented, especially for mandatory “green procurement” policies. Our findings are expected to contribute to the sustainable management of industrial solid waste and accelerate the transition toward a circular economy. Full article

The hydrogen economy has emerged as a promising pathway to address climate change and ensure long-term global energy security, with water electrolysis powered by renewable energy as a key enabler of sustainable hydrogen production. Recent advances in various electrolyser technologies have enhanced their suitability for industrial applications, creating new opportunities for deploying green hydrogen. To address the gap in integrated, multi-dimensional assessment tools for groundwater-based hydrogen systems in water-scarce developing countries, this study develops and presents a Structured Assessment Framework for Green Hydrogen Production from Groundwater in South Africa—the first framework to simultaneously integrate hydrogeological sustainability screening, electrolyser technology selection under groundwater quality constraints, disaggregated levelised cost of hydrogen (LCOH) analysis including water treatment costs, comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) of green, blue, and grey hydrogen pathways, and policy and governance alignment within a single operationalised architecture. This included integrating five thematic dimensions: groundwater resource assessment, electrolyser technology integration, economic viability, environmental sustainability, and policy and governance considerations. This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, drawing on 130 studies retrieved from Scopus and Web of Science (2015–2025). The analysis examines groundwater quality and suitability, the technical feasibility of electrolyser systems, and the comparative implications of grey, blue, and green hydrogen pathways on cost and environmental performance. The framework also provides strategic guidance for deploying renewable-energy-powered hydrogen systems, emphasising life-cycle impacts, regulatory alignment, and the potential for decentralised hydrogen hubs. Findings highlight the significance of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) for green hydrogen production using groundwater in South Africa, including export potential and strong linkages to the circular economy. The study offers actionable insights for policymakers, planners, and industry stakeholders seeking to advance a sustainable and economically competitive hydrogen landscape. Full article

The growing urgency of climate change, environmental sustainability, and financial resilience has led to increased global interest in green finance as a tool for achieving sustainable economic development. However, the existing research lacks a comprehensive empirical framework integrating multiple green finance mechanisms and examining their collective influence on the sustainable performance of financial institutions across environmental, social, and economic dimensions, particularly in emerging economies. This study is grounded in institutional theory, the resource-based view, diffusion of innovation theory, and the cost-efficiency approach. It develops and empirically tests a model in which green bonds, green bank loans, carbon credit financing, sustainable agricultural financing, green microfinance, energy-efficient financing, renewable energy financing, and environmental impact financing determine green finance. Green finance, in turn, enhances the sustainable performance of financial institutions across environmental, social, and economic dimensions in Saudi Arabia. This study employs Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modelling to analyse survey data collected from 384 employees in Saudi financial institutions. The results show that all eight green finance mechanisms significantly contribute to green finance, which in turn significantly enhances the sustainable performance of financial institutions. This study makes a significant theoretical contribution by developing and validating measurement items for nine green finance constructs and empirically testing a comprehensive model that explains how green finance mechanisms enhance the sustainable performance of financial institutions. This study provides one of the first comprehensive empirical analyses in Saudi Arabia of green finance’s role in promoting sustainable financial strategies aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The findings offer a strong foundation for future research and provide valuable insights for policymakers, financial regulators, and industry leaders in advancing sustainability-focused financial decision-making and policy reforms. Full article

Against the backdrop of intertwined economic advancement and ecological governance dilemmas confronting developing economies, this paper centers on the green growth objective embedded within China’s New Energy Vehicle Pilot (NEVP) Policy as its analytical focal point. Adopting the propensity score matching difference-in-differences (PSM-DID) framework, this study empirically evaluates the causal impacts of the NEVP policy on green economic development efficiency. The results indicate that the promotion of new energy vehicles yields a statistically significant improvement in green economic efficiency. Notably, the effect of the NEVP policy is more pronounced in cities with higher levels of economic development. Through mechanism analysis, we find that new energy vehicles play a crucial role in promoting green economic growth and sustainable development. Furthermore, this study also highlights the spatial effects of new energy vehicle promotion on green economic development. This research provides empirical evidence to guide the strategic promotion of new energy vehicles in developing regions to improve environmental quality and underscores the sustainable growth potential of aligning economic and environmental goals. Full article

Business model adjustment is a critical capability for microenterprises operating in import-dependent industries within emerging markets, and is increasingly recognised in the sustainable business model literature as a mechanism through which firms build economic resilience under resource constraints and volatile operating conditions. This paper examines how a specialty coffee microenterprise in Almaty, Kazakhstan, has adjusted its business model to create, deliver and capture value in a non-producing, landlocked economy characterised by rapid demand growth, currency volatility and high import dependency. The study answers two research questions regarding this case using Osterwalder and Pigneur’s business model canvas as the main analytical framework: (1) How did the case company set up its business model to create, deliver, and capture value? (2) In the context of Kazakhstani specialty coffee roasting, what possibilities and challenges influenced this business model? The analysis combines secondary market data with qualitative evidence from a semi-structured interview conducted in autumn 2025 with the founder of a nine-employee microenterprise that has evolved from a mobile coffee bar into a hybrid B2B–B2C roaster, café operator and e-commerce subscription service. Although Kazakhstan is not a coffee-producing country, its retail coffee market expanded from USD 326.71 million in 2019 to an estimated USD 554.5 million in 2025, with the fresh-coffee share rising from approximately 30% to 37%. The interview account describes a business model centred on locally roasted, traceable specialty coffee delivered fresh to a young, urban customer base, supported by educational and community-building activities. As reported by the founder, the enterprise faces structural challenges including exposure to international green-coffee price spikes—such as the record nominal highs of 354.32 US cents/lb reached in February 2025—currency-related cost volatility, logistical complexity across Eurasian transit routes and constrained access to growth-stage financing. Because the evidence base is a single founder interview combined with secondary market data, the paper does not independently verify the firm’s resilience, viability or financial outcomes. The findings are presented in the form of analytical generalisations—that is, generalisations relating to theoretical conclusions drawn from this specific case, rather than from a broader set of companies—which illustrate, based on the founder’s own account, how this micro-enterprise pursued a targeted, phased adaptation of its business model rather than a radical overhaul; the study does not independently verify resulting sustainability or resilience outcomes. As this is a case study, the present analysis does not allow us to determine the extent to which this model is representative of other micro-enterprises involved in coffee production, or of other non-manufacturing sectors in developing economies; the contribution of this study is empirical and contextual rather than theoretical: it extends the scope of business model analysis to under-researched geographical and institutional contexts and lays the groundwork for future comparative studies. Full article