Search Results (1,416)

The energy performance of a building reflects its typical energy use and is influenced by factors such as the building envelope (insulation and windows), system efficiency (particularly for heating, cooling, and domestic hot water), and the integration of renewable energy sources. Improving energy performance helps save energy, boost energy independence and security, lower energy costs, and reduce the need for grid investments. Standardizing energy performance assessments enables benchmarking and comparison of building efficiency, encouraging informed decision-making. In this context, the paper presents a knowledge discovery-driven intelligent decision-making system, designed, developed, and tested to identify the best strategies for prioritizing buildings in the envelope process. The system combines data mining techniques with statistical analysis to precisely rank and thoroughly evaluate low-energy-performance buildings and to develop scenario-based strategies for enveloping the buildings to achieve high energy efficiency (associated with nearly zero-energy buildings) under real-world conditions. Testing of the proposed intelligent decision-making system was conducted using a real building database of approximately 3900 records, uploaded from the Romanian central administration website. Under the highest-performance scenario of the envelope-priority strategy, which includes nearly zero-energy building standards, energy savings exceeded 50% across all categories: 51.70% for healthcare, 53.40% for residential, 60.11% for administrative and office buildings, and 69.92% for educational institutions. Overall, the average savings across all building types were 59.81% (644.86 GWh/year). Full article

Focusing on contrasting climate and land use pathways, this analysis explores the changing trajectories of water conservation function over time. An integrated framework combining the PLUS and InVEST models with Spearman’s correlation analysis and geographically weighted regression (GWR) was applied to examine the spatiotemporal heterogeneity and underlying drivers of water conservation function in the Chengdu–Chongqing Economic Zone during the period 2000–2020. Thus, it further predicted the evolution trend under two scenarios, namely SSP1-1.9 (Sustainable Development Pathway) and SSP2-4.5 (Medium Development Pathway), for the period 2030–2050. The findings reveal that: (1) Between 2000 and 2020, the spatial distribution of water conservation function shifted markedly, with low-value areas contracting and high-value zones expanding, alongside a progressive transition toward a predominantly medium-to-high functional structure. (2) In mountainous and hilly transition zones, precipitation (PRE) and forest cover proportion (FCP) exhibited notably positive effects, whereas evapotranspiration (PET) exerted a negative effect. In contrast, in plain and urbanized areas, built-up land proportion (BUP), population density (POP), and gross domestic product density (GDP) demonstrated pronounced negative effects. (3) Future simulations indicate that under the sustainable development pathway (SSP1-1.9), the combined area of high and extreme functional zones will recover by 2050, whereas under the moderate development pathway (SSP2-4.5), such extreme functional zones will be nearly eliminated. These results underscore the substantial impact of development pathways on regional water security and sustainability. 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

Recirculating organic byproducts like food waste, wastewater and manure efficiently and at scale in a circular bioeconomy will be critical to ensuring future food security, energy security, climate resilience, water security and environmental health. Ultimately, we will not be able to live within the safe operating space of our planetary boundaries if we do not stop our wasteful and inefficient habits. Our food, waste, energy and water sectors are starting to transform towards circularity, driven by a diverse range of drivers, from net zero emissions targets, to food waste policies, and to rising fertiliser prices and geopolitical risks. However, these sectors are often not transforming in a coordinated manner, risking unintended consequences like competition between end-uses, technology lock-in, the prevention of scalability, or failure to achieve key sustainability targets, causing rebound effects. For example, society’s organic waste is being earmarked for the production of bioenergy, sustainable aviation fuels, biomaterials, and biofertilisers; however, it is not clear if there will be a sufficient supply of organic waste to meet these diverse demands. Phosphorus flow analyses indicate that we will need to secure almost all of the nutrients in organic waste as fertiliser raw material to produce food. There are some existing pockets of innovation within sectors related to food waste, water and wastewater, fertilisers and agriculture, and bioenergy. However, many initiatives are being driven by short-term challenges, are not operating at scale, or are not sufficiently integrated across sectors. In this paper, we provide examples of innovations and challenges from around the world, including Italy, Australia, Sri Lanka, the UK, Japan, and Malawi. This paper identifies a pathway to navigate tensions to achieve co-existing sustainability goals, including key enablers and barriers, ranging from overcoming regulatory fragmentation to a lack of capital investments. Creating a truly viable circular economy for organic byproducts requires the integration of policies, markets, technologies and people. This means engaging diverse stakeholders, from local councils and private waste contractors, farmers, and fertiliser companies to energy retailers and wastewater utilities, NGOs, informal collectors, and environmental regulators and policy-makers. Full article

Mexico’s rice sector has long been characterized by declining cultivated area and heavy dependence on imports, raising concerns about food security and vulnerability to external shocks. In 2019, the federal government reintroduced price support through the Guaranteed Price Program for Basic Staples (PPGPB) to stabilize producer incomes and stimulate domestic rice production. This study provides the first empirical ex post evaluation of the PPGPB for rice during 2019–2021. Results show that paddy rice production increased by 29% in 2020 relative to the preceding decadal average. This increase was driven primarily by a 17.6% expansion in cultivated area, while yields increased by nearly 10%, indicating a predominantly extensive supply response. Econometric estimates suggest that the observed response exceeded both simulation-based predictions and the range of short-run elasticities commonly reported in the international literature. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that program effectiveness depended not only on price incentives, but also on expanded incentive coverage and program redesign introduced in 2020. While guaranteed price policies may contribute to short-run recovery in structurally weakened staple-crop sectors, they are unlikely to be sufficient to achieve the production objectives established under Plan México 2025–2030. The findings underscore the need for complementary structural investments. Full article

In 2025, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) experienced its 16th Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak, centered in the Bulape Health Zone of Kasai Province, amid multiple concurrent epidemics and limited health infrastructure. Genomic sequencing revealed a novel zoonotic spillover genetically related to the 1976 Yambuku strain. A Root Cause Analysis (RCA) using the “5 Whys” framework, integrating epidemiological data, genomic analysis, and surveillance reports, identified key contributors to delayed detection and response, with comparative insights drawn from the 2018–2020 North Kivu outbreak. The Mweka outbreak resulted in 28 confirmed, probable, or suspected cases and 15 deaths, including four healthcare workers. Root causes included inadequate ecological surveillance, weak community alert systems, diagnostic delays due to reliance on centralized laboratories, health system overload from concurrent outbreaks, and structural underfunding of preparedness and coordination. Unlike North Kivu, where security issues drove response delays, systemic and ecological vulnerabilities predominated in Mweka. These findings highlight how ecological and structural weaknesses facilitate novel Ebola spillovers and their escalation, emphasizing the need for sustained investment in One Health surveillance, decentralized diagnostics, and resilient public health governance to strengthen outbreak response capacity. 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

Unsustainable land-use transitions in peri-urban watersheds threaten both food security and ecological integrity. While Patch-generating Land Use Simulation (PLUS) and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) models for ecosystem service (ES) assessment are commonly integrated, limited studies have simultaneously (i) accounted for multiple real-world spatial policies (e.g., ecological redlines) as hard constraints, (ii) targeted a comprehensive suite of ESs, and (iii) explicitly pursued synergies without relying on large-scale land conversion. To address these gaps, we developed a spatially explicit framework that integrates the PLUS and InVEST models to simulate four land-use scenarios and assess six ESs—grain yield, water yield, nitrogen export, phosphorus export, soil conservation, and carbon sequestration—in the Yuqiao Reservoir watershed, China, during 1990–2030. Against a backdrop of historical declines in cropland/grassland and key ESs due to construction expansion (1990–2020), the novel Comprehensive Development scenario—implementing slope-adaptive management and riparian buffers—synergistically increases grain yield (+0.55%) and carbon sequestration (+1.10%) while drastically reducing phosphorus export (−10.86%). It demonstrates that synergistic gains can arise from strategic spatial reconfiguration within a stable land-use area, advancing a paradigm from area-centric to configuration-centric optimization. This provides a quantifiable methodological basis and actionable policy reference for land spatial optimization in similar water-source watersheds. Full article

Climate change intensifies hydrological variability and threatens agricultural water security. This review synthesizes literature on agricultural water system resilience under climate change through a structured critical narrative approach informed by PRISMA/SALSA reporting principles. We examine four linked domains: resilience concepts and indicators, assessment methods under uncertainty, climate impact and vulnerability evidence, and adaptation/governance pathways. The synthesis indicates a broad shift from engineering-centered water-supply approaches toward socio-ecological resilience frameworks that combine infrastructure, ecosystem processes, farmer behavior, and institutions. Methodologically, deterministic optimization is increasingly complemented by stochastic, robust, integrated-assessment, remote-sensing, and machine-learning approaches, although data requirements, uncertainty propagation, and interpretability remain important constraints. Evidence suggests that crop water demand and irrigation requirements may increase substantially under high-emission scenarios, with acute risks in arid and semi-arid regions. Effective adaptation is unlikely to rely on single technologies alone; precision irrigation, nature-based solutions, climate services, and infrastructure investments require complementary demand-side rules, water accounting, equity safeguards, and participatory governance to avoid maladaptation such as the irrigation-efficiency rebound effect. We identify priority research needs in transparent review protocols, uncertainty quantification, cross-scale governance, farmer decision-making, digital inclusion, and monitoring systems. The review provides a moderated conceptual framework and policy-oriented research agenda for strengthening agricultural water resilience. Full article

Forest bioenergy holds significant potential for North American decarbonization and energy security, yet persistently high logistics costs, feedstock quality variability, and geographic dispersion of biomass resources continue to constrain commercial viability. This review asks what it will take for forest bioenergy supply chains to achieve economic and operational lift-off, identifying key bottlenecks and the most promising pathways to scale. We systematically review 237 peer-reviewed studies and technical reports with the majority published between 2000 and 2025, covering feedstock types ranging from logging residues and woody biomass to short rotation woody crops, and end-products spanning solid biofuels, heat and power, thermochemical products, and sustainable aviation fuel. The literature consistently identifies delivered cost, feedstock quality control, and the geographic mismatch between biomass supply and conversion facility location as the three primary barriers to sector viability. Depot-based preprocessing, cascading utilization strategies, and participatory landowner contracting emerge as the most effective near-term solutions for improving supply chain economics and mobilizing economically recoverable biomass. At the frontier, AI-enabled optimization, digital twin modeling, and integrated biorefinery configurations show strong potential to manage spatial variability and unlock the scale economies on which commercial viability depends. Translating these advances into practice will require stable, long-term policy signals and coordinated investment across the full supply chain. Full article

Rapid urbanization and climate change are exerting unprecedented pressure on regional water resources, particularly in emerging megacities. This study examines the Xiong’an New Area (XNA) in the water-stressed North China Plain, where high-intensity urbanization coincides with rigorous ecological restoration mandates. To overcome the limitations of single-model assessments, a coupled SD–PLUS–InVEST framework was developed, integrating System Dynamics for socio-economic and policy drivers, Patch-Generating Land-Use Simulation for fine-scale urban expansion, and InVEST for hydrological process assessment. Projecting spatiotemporal water dynamics to 2035 under three Shared Socio-Economic Pathways (SSPs), results reveal that urbanization-driven water demand growth consistently outpaces climate-induced supply gains. While precipitation increases are projected to raise water yield by 8.91–19.58% by 2035, demand surges by up to ~26% under the extensive expansion scenario (SSP5–8.5), driven predominantly by impervious surface proliferation. External water transfers are projected to sustain 40–45% of total supply by 2035, yet this dependency introduces systemic vulnerabilities. Quantitative assessment further indicates severe spatiotemporal mismatches, with Seasonal Water Shortage Rates of 26.1–27.3% and a Spatial Mismatch Index rising from 0.44 to 0.98. These findings indicate that climate-driven precipitation increments alone cannot offset water deficits induced by unregulated urban sprawl, and that integrating strategic land-use planning, resilient infrastructure, and adaptive governance is essential for water security in rapidly developing regions. Full article

Food security in middle-income countries is a growing phenomenon, becoming more relevant than ever before. This study examines the effects of government expenditure, nutrition, and sustainability on health and food security in middle-income countries, with a focus on child stunting under macroeconomic constraints. It measures the impact on the empirical environment, accounting for relevant macroeconomic constraints that affect child stunting. Using the System Generalized Method of Moments (System–GMM) model to control for endogeneity and persistence in food security, a panel data set of 35 middle-income countries over the period 2000–2023 is employed. The results reveal strong persistence in food security dynamics (β = 0.642, p < 0.01). Government health expenditure significantly improves food security (β = −0.481, p < 0.01), whereas inflation (β = 0.074), public debt (β = 0.028), and exchange rate depreciation (β = 0.516) increase food insecurity. Child stunting was positively associated with food insecurity (β = 0.219, p < 0.01), whereas sustainability was associated with improved food security outcomes (β = −0.273, p < 0.05). The long-run effect of government health expenditure (−1.344) substantially exceeds its short-run impact, highlighting the importance of sustained investment. The findings underscore the need for integrated policies that combine public health investment, macroeconomic stability, and sustainability-oriented development to strengthen food security and reduce chronic malnutrition in middle-income countries. Full article

This paper examines whether total factor productivity (TFP) in Israeli agriculture has genuinely slowed or declined in recent years, or whether the reported trend is primarily driven by methodological choices, data limitations, and measurement error. We compare two widely used approaches to TFP measurement—those of the Bank of Israel and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—which differ in their definitions of output, treatment of inputs, and assumptions regarding factor shares. We reconstruct and refine the underlying datasets, addressing important limitations in the existing measures, including the omission of foreign labor, inconsistencies in agricultural land measurement, and the application of non-representative input shares. Despite data improvements and methodological adjustments, both approaches yield similar qualitative conclusions. Following rapid increase in earlier decades, TFP growth in Israeli agriculture appears to have stagnated or declined since the early 2010s. A decomposition of output growth further indicates that recent production patterns have been driven primarily by greater input intensity per unit of land rather than by technological progress or efficiency gains. As a result, agricultural output has shown little or no net growth over the past decade. We discuss potential explanations for this slowdown, including climate change, the growing reliance on reclaimed and other marginal water sources, and the long-term decline in agricultural research and development (R&D) investment relative to sectoral output. Overall, the findings suggest that the productivity slowdown is real rather than an artifact of measurement and underscore the need for renewed investment in agricultural innovation and climate adaptation to sustain domestic production and strengthen food security. Full article

The transition of thermal power systems toward lower-carbon electricity raises a critical strategic question: whether to rely on cross-border electricity imports or reactivate domestic nuclear capacity under supply constraints. This study examines the trade-offs between these alternatives within a sustainable finance framework. A contingent-claim model is developed in which a life insurer provides long-term financing to a biomass-energy supplier, a thermal power plant, and a nuclear power plant operating under carbon-pricing regulation. The framework links electricity-market decisions with financial risk valuation, allowing the joint effects of biomass utilization, carbon regulation, electricity imports, and nuclear-security risks to be evaluated. The results show that biomass integration and tighter carbon regulation reduce short-term profitability in thermal generation but support long-run decarbonization. Cross-border electricity imports improve system flexibility and reduce operational volatility, strengthening the financial position of thermal producers. In contrast, nuclear-security disruptions significantly increase default risk for nuclear assets, reflecting their exposure to operational and regulatory uncertainty. By integrating energy-transition strategies with contingent-claim valuation, the analysis highlights the role of financial intermediation in shaping investment incentives and risk allocation in the electricity sector. The findings suggest that coordinated policies combining market integration, low-carbon transition strategies, and stable financing mechanisms can enhance system resilience. Full article

In an increasingly digital global economy, cybersecurity capacity has become a key determinant of national resilience, economic competitiveness, and digital trust. However, preparedness remains uneven across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), where levels of economic integration, governance quality, and institutional stability vary significantly. This paper examines the relationship between cybersecurity capacity, governance indicators, and international trade in selected MENA countries over the period 2010–2023. It evaluates whether rule of law and political stability are associated with cybersecurity capacity, whether trade openness predicts cybersecurity development, and whether cybersecurity capacity is dynamically associated with trade openness. The empirical analysis applies panel-data techniques, including panel unit-root tests, Pedroni cointegration tests, and the Toda–Yamamoto predictive causality framework within a multivariate VAR structure. Panel fixed-effects regressions with Driscoll–Kraay robust standard errors are also estimated to capture contemporaneous relationships while accounting for heteroskedasticity, serial correlation, cross-sectional dependence, and country-specific heterogeneity. The findings provide indicative evidence of a statistically significant bidirectional predictive relationship between trade openness and cybersecurity capacity. Greater trade integration appears to stimulate investment in secure digital infrastructure, while enhanced cybersecurity capacity may support trade expansion by strengthening digital trust and reducing transaction risks. In contrast, governance indicators do not exhibit consistent dynamic predictive relationships within the causality framework. The absence of cointegration indicates that cybersecurity capacity, governance indicators, and trade openness do not evolve within a stable long-run equilibrium relationship during the sample period. This finding may reflect the heterogeneous and policy-sensitive nature of digital infrastructure development across MENA countries. Full article