Search Results (202)

As the world’s largest developing and carbon-emitting country, China is accelerating its greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction process, and it is of vital importance in achieving the goals set out in the Paris Agreement. This paper examines the historical development and current operation of China’s carbon emissions trading market (CETM). The current progress of research on the implementation of carbon emissions trading policy (CETP) is described in four dimensions: environment, economy, innovation, and society. The results show that CETP generates clear environmental and social benefits but exhibits mixed economic and innovation effects. Furthermore, this paper analyses the challenges of China’s carbon market, including the green paradox, the low carbon price, the imperfections in cap setting and allocation of allowances, the small scope of coverage, and the weakness of the legal supervision system. Ultimately, this paper proposes recommendations for fostering China’s CETM with the anticipation of offering a comprehensive outlook for future research. Full article

The countries and regions along the Belt and Road are rich in wetland carbon sink resources, crucial for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and achieving global emission reduction. This paper uses policy analysis and desk research to analyze the overview of wetland carbon sinks in these countries. It explores the necessity of legal system construction for their carbon sink trading. This study finds that smooth trading requires clear property rights definition rules, efficient market trading entities, definite carbon sink trading price rules, financial support aligned with the Equator Principles, and support from biodiversity-compatible environmental regulatory principles. Currently, there are still obstacles in wetland carbon sink trading in the Belt and Road, such as property rights confirmation, an accounting system, an imperfect market trading mechanism, and the coexistence of multiple trading risks. Therefore, this paper first proposes to clarify the goal of the legal guarantee mechanism. Efforts should focus on promoting a consensus on wetland carbon sink ownership and establishing a unified accounting standard system; simultaneously, the relevant departments should conduct field investigations and monitoring, standardize the market order, and strengthen government financial support and funding guarantees. Full article

This paper develops a unified framework for mathematical finance under general semimartingale models that allow for dividend payments, negative asset prices, and unbounded jumps. We present a rigorous approach to the mathematical modeling of financial markets with dividend-paying assets by defining appropriate concepts of numéraires, discounted processes, and self-financing trading strategies. While most of the mathematical results are not new, this unified framework has been missing in the literature. We carefully examine the transition between nominal and discounted price processes and define appropriate notions of admissible strategies that work naturally in both settings. By establishing the equivalence between these models and providing clear conditions for their applicability, we create a mathematical foundation that encompasses a wide range of realistic market scenarios and can serve as a basis for future work on mathematical finance and derivative pricing. We demonstrate the practical relevance of our framework through a comprehensive application to dividend-paying equity markets where the framework naturally handles discrete dividend payments. This application shows that our theoretical framework is not merely abstract but provides the rigorous foundation for pricing derivatives in real-world markets where classical assumptions need extension. Full article

This article provides an overview of the current state-of-the-art in cyber risk and cyber risk management, focusing on the mathematical models that have been created to help with risk quantification and insurance pricing. We discuss the main ways that cyber risk is measured, starting with vulnerability functions that show how systems react to threats and going all the way up to more complex stochastic and dynamic models that show how cyber attacks change over time. Next, we examine cyber insurance, including the structure and main features of the cyber insurance market, as well as the growing role of cyber reinsurance in strategies for transferring risk. Finally, we review the mathematical models that have been proposed in the literature for setting the prices of cyber insurance premiums and structuring reinsurance contracts, analysing their advantages, limitations, and potential applications for more effective risk management. The aim of this article is to provide researchers and professionals with a clear picture of the main quantitative tools available and to point out areas that need further research by summarising these contributions. Full article

The demand for sustainable animal production is increasing. Microalgae such as Chlorella and Spirulina show promise as sustainable and functional ingredients in animal (poultry) feed. However, little is known about consumer perceptions regarding the use of algae in broiler diets and potential effects of algae on chicken meat. Residents of Flanders (Belgium) were surveyed to evaluate consumer knowledge, attitudes and willingness to buy chicken meat produced with algae-supplemented feed. Demographic data were collected, and both descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to assess influencing factors (n = 275 respondents who purchase chicken meat). While most respondents (69.6%) had tasted macroalgae (seaweed), only 11.4% and 24.6% indicated having tasted Chlorella and Spirulina before, respectively. Health, taste and safety were the most important drivers for consuming algae. Meat quality was the most important factor when purchasing chicken meat, while organic production was least valued. Regarding algae-fed chicken, 72.5% expressed willingness to purchase meat labeled as such, and 83.7% would buy algae-fed chicken regardless of its color. Sustainability beliefs significantly influenced willingness to accept a yellower meat color (β = 0.42 to 0.66, p < 0.001). Educational level and age also played a role, with higher-educated consumers showing greater acceptance. The influence of age was also related to the price of the meat, with consumers over 30 expressing a greater willingness to pay more than young people (under 30). Despite limited general knowledge about microalgae, the consumers surveyed are open to the idea of algae-fed chicken meat, particularly when it is framed as more sustainable. Clear ingredient labeling and consumer education may further support market acceptance. Full article

The enforcement of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) may reduce the supply of natural rubber to the European Union (EU), potentially leading to price increases due to the inelastic nature of rubber demand. This study assesses the potential financial implications for smallholder producers in Ghana, considering both the opportunities and risks associated with the evolving regulatory environment under EUDR and local market access conditions. A cost–benefit analysis (CBA) was conducted to evaluate the impact of different EUDR-related export decline scenarios on the net present value (NPV) of a standard 4-hectare plantation. The results suggest that even a minor 2.5% decline in global exports to the EU could increase the NPV by 17% for an independent compliant producer. However, a simulated COVID-19-like crisis in the fifth year of production leads to a 20% decline in NPV, reflecting vulnerability to external shocks. Based on these findings, the study identifies two priorities. This first is improving the coordination and harmonization of compliance efforts across the value chain to enable more producers to benefit from potential EUDR-related price increases. The recent creation of the Association of Natural Rubber Actors of Ghana (ANRAG) presents an opportunity to support such collective mechanisms. Second, minimizing losses during demand shocks requires the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA) to establish clear rules and transparent reporting for authorizing unprocessed rubber exports when factories reduce purchases due to low international prices—thus preserving market access for vulnerable producers. Together, these approaches would ensure that the potential benefits of the EUDR are realized inclusively, remain stable despite market downturns, and do not undermine value addition in domestic processing factories. Full article

The electricity market can optimize the resource allocation in power systems by calculating the market clearing problem. However, in the market clearing process, various market operation requirements must be considered. These requirements might cause the obtained power system dispatch instructions to deviate from the optimal solutions of original market clearing problems, thereby compromising the economic properties of locational marginal price (LMP). To mitigate the adverse effects of such optimality limitations, this paper proposes a pricing method for improving economic properties under the optimality limitation of power system dispatch instructions. Firstly, the underlying mechanism through which optimality limitations lead to economic property distortions in the electricity market is analyzed. Secondly, an analytical framework is developed to characterize economic properties under optimality limitations. Subsequently, an optimization-based electricity market pricing model is formulated, where price serves as the decision variable and economic properties, such as competitive equilibrium, are incorporated as optimization objectives. Case studies show that the proposed electricity market pricing method effectively mitigates the economic property distortions induced by optimality limitations and can be adapted to satisfy different economic properties based on market preferences. Full article

The HoReCa (Hotels, Restaurants, and Cafes) sector plays a pivotal role in the economy due to its strong connections with various other industries, including agriculture, food and beverage, construction, packaging, waste management, water, and textiles. Given its broad impact, understanding the perceptions of students—emerging consumers and future professionals—could provide valuable insights for businesses seeking to enhance sustainable practices in ways that resonate with younger generations and improve their competitiveness. However, there is still limited understanding of how students perceive and engage with sustainability in this sector. This study explores student perceptions of sustainability practices within the HoReCa sector, examining their awareness levels, expectations, and behavior. The objective is to assess how effectively current business approaches align with student values regarding sustainability initiatives and identify key factors influencing their engagement. A structured questionnaire was distributed among university students, and the collected data was analyzed using statistical techniques to identify meaningful trends and correlations. Findings revealed a notable disconnect between students’ professed sustainability values and their actual behavior. Primary obstacles included price sensitivity, skepticism toward environmental marketing claims, and insufficient access to clear sustainability information from businesses. Despite supporting sustainable initiatives in principle, students often struggle to translate their values into purchasing decisions. The research suggests that greater business transparency, enhanced sustainability education, and incentive programs could foster increased student engagement. Full article

The Greek islands have been blessed with excellent wind potential, with hundreds of sites featuring annual average wind velocity higher than 8–10 m/s. Due to specific regulations in the legal framework, some GWs of wind parks have been submitted since the late 2000s by a small number of large investors in the Greek islands, favoring the creation of energy monopolies and imposing serious impacts on natural ecosystems and existing human activities. These projects have caused serious public reactions against renewables, considerably decelerating the energy transition. This article aims to summarize the legal points in the Greek framework that caused this distorted approach and present the imposed potential social and environmental impacts. Energy monopolies distort the electricity wholesale market and lead to energy poverty and a low standard of living by imposing higher electricity procurement prices on the final users. The occupation of entire insular geographical territories by large wind park projects causes important deterioration of the natural environment, which, in turn, leads to loss of local occupations, urbanization, and migration by affecting negatively the countryside life. Serious concerns from the local population are clearly revealed through an accomplished statistical survey as well as a clear intention to be engaged in future wind park projects initiated by local stakeholders. The article is integrated with specific proposed measures and actions toward the rational development of renewable energy projects. These refer mainly on the formulation of a truly supportive and just legal framework aiming at remedying the currently formulated situation and the strengthening of the energy communities’ role, such as through licensing priorities, funding mechanisms, and tools, as well as additional initiatives such as capacity-building activities, pilot projects, and extensive activation of local citizens. Energy communities and local stakeholders should be involved in the overall process, from the planning to the construction and operation phase. Full article

To promote the sustainable use of land resources and improve air pollution control, this study investigates the spatiotemporal dynamics of industrial land development and the heterogeneity of PM_2.5 concentrations across regions. Based on national land transaction data and PM_2.5 raster datasets, the analysis employs Moran’s I, a hot and cold spot analysis, and multivariate linear regression to examine how the transaction frequency, transaction area, and total transaction price of industrial land influence PM_2.5 concentrations in 286 cities from 2010 to 2021. The study focuses on quantifying the impact of industrial land development on PM_2.5 concentrations. The main findings are as follows: (1) the frequency of industrial land transactions varies significantly across regions, with clear intra-regional differences. The transaction area and total transaction price decrease in the following order: “East-West-Central-North-East” and “East-Central-West-North-East”, respectively. (2) The spatial clustering of PM_2.5 concentrations has intensified, with hot spots concentrated in Eastern and Central cities. Cold spots are distributed in bands along the Southern coast and scattered patterns in Heilongjiang Province. (3) The influence of industrial land development on PM_2.5 concentrations has generally weakened nationwide, with the strongest effects observed in the Eastern region. Among the development indicators, the impact of the transaction area is increasing, while those of the transaction frequency and total price are declining, showing clear regional disparities. Therefore, integrating sustainable development principles into the adjustment of the industrial land market is essential for effective air pollution prevention. Full article

In a competitive market, due to differences in the nature of various power generation entities, there is a decline in resource utilization and difficulties in ensuring a return on investment for generating units within the system. A bi-level non-cooperative game model based on the Unit Resource Return (URR) is proposed to safeguard the interests and demands of each power generation unit while improving the overall resource utilization rate of the system. Firstly, we construct a comprehensive energy-trading framework for the overall system and analyze the relationship between the Independent System Operator (ISO) and the generation units. Secondly, we propose the Unit Resource Return (URR), inspired by the concept of input-output efficiency in economics. URR evaluates the return on unit resource input by taking the maximum generation potential of each unit as the benchmark. Finally, a bi-level non-cooperative game model is established. In the lower-level non-cooperative game, the generating units safeguard their own interests, while in the upper-level, the ISO adjusts the output allocation and engages in a master–slave game between generating units to ensure the overall operational efficiency of the system. URR is adopted as the ISO’s price-clearing equilibrium criterion, enabling the optimization of both resource profitability and allocation. Ultimately, both the upper and lower-level decision variables reach a Nash equilibrium. The experimental results show that the bi-level non-cooperative game model based on the Unit Resource Return improves the overall resource utilization of the system and enhances the long-term operational motivation of the generating units. Full article

Background: Investment decisions in stocks are one of the most complex tasks due to the uncertainty of which stocks will increase or decrease in their values. A diversified portfolio statistically reduces the risk; however, stock choice still substantially influences the profitability. Methods: This work proposes a methodology to automate investment decision recommendations with clear explanations. It utilizes generative AI, guided by prompt engineering, to interpret price predictions derived from neural networks. The methodology also includes the Artificial Intelligence Trust, Risk, and Security Management (AI TRiSM) model to provide robust security recommendations for the system. The proposed system provides long-term investment recommendations based on the financial fundamentals of companies, such as the price-to-earnings ratio (PER) and the net margin of profits over the total revenue. The proposed explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) system uses DeepSeek for describing recommendations and suggested companies, as well as several charts based on Shapley additive explanation (SHAP) values and local-interpretable model-agnostic explanations (LIMEs) for showing feature importance. Results: In the experiments, we compared the profitability of the proposed portfolios, ranging from 8 to 28 stock values, with the maximum expected price increases for 4 years in the NASDAQ-100 and S&P-500, where both bull and bear markets were, respectively, considered before and after the custom duties increases in international trade by the USA in April 2025. The proposed system achieved an average profitability of 56.62% while considering 120 different portfolio recommendations. Conclusions: A t-Student test confirmed that the difference in profitability compared to the index was statistically significant. A user study revealed that the participants agreed that the portfolio explanations were useful for trusting the system, with an average score of 6.14 in a 7-point Likert scale. Full article

With the continuous expansion of new energy installed capacity, the flexible regulation role of energy storage in the electricity spot market is becoming more and more prominent. However, traditional trading models often ignore the multiple trading preferences of energy storage. In this paper, we propose an electricity spot market trading model that considers the trading preferences of energy storage to incentivize energy storage to participate more actively in the market. First, the trading preferences of energy storage are modeled with a utility function in which the time preference coefficient and price elasticity are introduced. Then, the utility function is embedded into the spot market clearing model to establish a two-tier model of the spot market, which maximizes social welfare in the upper tier and maximizes energy storage benefits in the lower tier. Finally, the model is solved using KKT and large M methods, and its effectiveness is evaluated on the IEEE39 node system and on a real grid in a specific region. Full article

Retailers have traditionally prioritised younger customers, often overlooking the distinct needs of older consumers. As this demographic grows, it is increasingly important to cater to their shopping preferences. This study explores the behaviours, needs, and challenges of Croatian consumers aged 60+ through qualitative semi-structured interviews. Findings indicate that older urban customers in Croatia prioritise quality over price, are brand-loyal yet discerning, and balance price consciousness for necessities with the willingness to spend on desired items. The study contributes to consumer behaviour theory by highlighting older consumers’ selective brand loyalty and self-directed decision making. It expands on ageing population theories by challenging assumptions that older consumers are passive shoppers, emphasising their preference for informed, self-directed purchasing. From a retail strategy perspective, it emphasises experience-based retailing, advocating for enhanced customer service, clear store navigation, and tailored marketing. Practically, our research provides actionable insights for retailers to optimise service, enhance operational efficiency, and improve profitability. Adapting retail environments to better serve older customers can foster a more engaging and rewarding shopping experience, benefiting both consumers and businesses. Full article

China’s power generation system has undergone reforms, leading to a competitive electricity market where independent producers participate through competitive bidding. With the rise of low-carbon policies, producers must optimize bidding strategies while reducing carbon emissions, creating complex interactions with local governments. Evolutionary game theory (EGT) is well-suited to analyze these dynamics. This study begins by summarizing the fundamental concepts of electricity trading markets, including transaction models, bidding mechanisms, and carbon reduction strategies. Existing research on the application of evolutionary game theory in power markets is reviewed, with a focus on theoretical constructs such as evolutionary stable strategies and replicator dynamics. Based on this foundation, the study conducts a detailed mathematical analysis of symmetric and asymmetric two-group evolutionary game models in general market scenarios. Building upon these models, a three-group evolutionary game framework is developed to analyze interactions within power producer groups and between producers and regulators under low-carbon mechanisms. A core innovation of this study is the incorporation of a case study based on China’s electricity market, which examines the evolutionary dynamics between local governments and power producers regarding carbon reduction strategies. This includes analyzing how regulatory incentives, market-clearing prices, and demand-side factors influence producers’ bidding and emission reduction behaviors. The study also provides a detailed analysis of the bidding strategies for small, medium, and large power producers, revealing the significant impact of carbon pricing and market-clearing prices on strategic decision-making. Specifically, the study finds that small producers tend to adopt more conservative bidding strategies, aligning closely with market-clearing prices, while large producers take advantage of economies of scale, adjusting their strategies at higher capacities. The study explores the conditions under which carbon emission reduction strategies achieve stable equilibrium, as well as the implications of these equilibria for both market efficiency and environmental sustainability. The study reveals that integrating carbon reduction strategies into power market dynamics significantly impacts bidding behaviors and long-term market stability, especially under the influence of governmental penalties and incentives. The findings provide actionable insights for both power producers and policymakers, contributing to the advancement of low-carbon market theories and supporting the global transition to sustainable energy systems. Full article