Search Results (11,423)

Green hydrogen production via water electrolysis is a cornerstone of the sustainable energy transition. However, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) remains the kinetic bottleneck, limiting overall efficiency. Nickel–iron (NiFe)-based catalysts are among the most promising nonprecious materials for the OER in alkaline media, offering high activity and low cost. Nevertheless, their practical application at industrially relevant current densities (>100 mA cm⁻²) is hindered by several challenges: structural degradation, uncontrolled surface reconstruction, metal dissolution (corrosion), particularly Fe leaching, and the ambiguous role of the fundamental mechanisms. This review critically discusses the current understanding of these degradation pathways, the influence of preparation methods, the interplay between Ni and Fe redox chemistry, and strategies for enhancing long-term stability. Future directions for designing durable NiFe OER electrocatalysts are also outlined. The paper also considers a strategy for investigating new catalysts using electrochemical and non-electrochemical techniques, devoted to young scientists interested in this field. In the Outlook and Perspective section, the key drawback is presented, and a possible strategy for improvement is discussed. Full article

The diffusion and application of advanced and applicable agricultural technologies serve as critical support for realizing the green transition and promoting high-quality agricultural development. This study constructs a two-dimensional analytical framework encompassing external intervention, internal motivation, and behavioral response. Based on micro survey data collected from 675 rice-growing households across Jiangsu Province, China, this study empirically examines the impact of agricultural technology extension services, a representative form of external intervention, on farmers’ adoption of the One-time Fertilization Technology for Mechanized Transplanting Rice (OFT), and its underlying mechanisms. The results demonstrate that external intervention acts as the core exogenous driver of farmers’ adoption of advanced agricultural technologies, with its transmission effect dependent on the mediating and moderating functions of farmers’ internal perceptions. Agricultural technology extension services facilitate technology adoption primarily by improving farmers’ technical cognition and enhancing their value perception. Notably, the effectiveness of extension services is more pronounced among farmers with higher levels of risk perception. The effect of external intervention is jointly shaped by the endowment of regional extension resources and the inherent demand of farmers, with significantly stronger extension effects observed in less developed major agricultural production areas compared to economically developed regions. This study concludes that promoting the adoption of advanced agricultural technologies requires sustained efforts to strengthen the supply of extension services, optimize the design of extension service content, implement differentiated extension strategies, and fully align with the characteristics of farmers’ risk preferences and regional heterogeneity. Full article

Colombia, renowned for its biodiversity and cultural heritage, is positioning itself as a future leader in sustainable and immersive tourism under the national vision “Colombia, a global powerhouse of life.” This article examines the potential transformation of the tourism ecosystem through the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) with advanced 5G and emerging 6G networks. The objective of this study is to analyse the tourism landscape in Colombia, with the aim of understanding how improved connectivity could strengthen the country’s tourism ecosystem. In the first phase, a literature review was conducted using the PRISMA methodology, supplemented by a documentary analysis of Colombia’s legal frameworks and policy instruments. In the second phase, the research encompassed the analysis of scientific publications, technical reports, and national documents produced between 2020 and 2025. The results of this exercise are presented through analytical matrices that outline technological possibilities, regulatory frameworks, and sociocultural impacts, and identify opportunities, challenges, and strategic pathways for the implementation of Tourism 5.0 in Colombia. The main conclusions are that the transition to Tourism 5.0 requires a coordinated national roadmap that prioritises high-value use cases, promotes territorial inclusion, and leverages 5G-/6G-enabled solutions to support sustainable development in the tourism sector. Full article

Lithium has become a critical resource in the global energy transition; however, its sustainability assessment remains fragmented, as technological performance, environmental impacts, and governance dimensions are typically evaluated independently. This fragmentation constrains the understanding of systemic trade-offs and limits the recognition of sustainability as an emergent property arising from the interaction of technological, hydrogeological, and territorial configurations. This study proposes a systemic approach that conceptualizes lithium extraction technologies as interdependent configurations rather than isolated technical solutions. Based on a structured review of scientific literature and operational evidence, the analysis integrates resource efficiency, technological performance, environmental impacts, and governance dimensions to identify patterns of impact redistribution across water consumption, energy use, production efficiency, and hydrogeological stability. The findings indicate that Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) should not be interpreted as a universally superior alternative but rather as a reconfiguration of the extraction system that reduces brine withdrawal while increasing dependence on freshwater resources, energy consumption, and uncertainties associated with reinjection processes. Furthermore, evidence from Chile demonstrates that favorable geological conditions do not necessarily translate into sustainability outcomes because of persistent water constraints and socio-environmental tensions. Overall, the sustainability of lithium extraction depends less on the characteristics of individual technologies than on the degree of alignment between technological configuration, hydrogeological conditions, and governance arrangements. These findings shift the focus of assessment from linear comparisons among technologies toward a systemic evaluation of configurations that is better suited to contexts characterized by high socio-hydrogeological complexity. Full article

Climate change politics has been largely analyzed through the lenses of a liberal international order. This is the most favorable approach, because liberalism contains a powerful universalistic strand, defends the rights of people, and engages in multilateral negotiations and agreements, which are important to deal with a global issue that requires intra- and intergenerational solidarity. Yet despite robust scientific consensus and decades of international multilateral agreements under the United Nations, global greenhouse-gas atmospheric concentrations continue to increase, and high fossil-fuel dependence persists. One may say that without those negotiations, the situation would be worse, but humanity is increasingly distant from complying with the objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change (UNFCCC). The present work addresses climate change politics under liberal and neorealist international orders and follows the Mearsheimer hypothesis of a transition from a unipolar liberal order to a bipolar neorealistic bounded orders dominated by the US and China. The effect of international orders on sustainability and, more specifically, on climate change politics is analyzed with a methodology based on three structural determinants: (1) the world evolution of climate change variables; (2) primary-energy sources and critical minerals, and (3) climate change responses—mitigation, adaptation and climate geoengineering. The distinct energy and climate policies of the US and China are discussed using these structural determinants. US climate change policy appears to be less driven by climate observation, science and the severity of harmful impacts of climate change than by the vested interests of the fossil-fuel industry. It is argued that solar radiation manipulation (SRM) is a technological fix involving negative side-effects, uncertainties, risks and geopolitical implications, while lacking an agreed international governance framework. Potential deployment is more likely under a neorealistic international order, although it adds further uncertainty and risks without solving the climate change challenge. Full article

Schwann cells, the principal glial cells of the peripheral nervous system, play a central role in nerve repair following injury. Upon injury, mature Schwann cells dedifferentiate into repair Schwann cells. These processes are governed by complex gene regulatory networks, yet the quantitative dynamics of these processes remain unclear. Here, using a bottom-up systems biology approach, we constructed an endogenous regulatory network model based on experimentally validated interactions, without relying on high-throughput data as input. The model captures Schwann cell dedifferentiation dynamics and reveals a potential landscape composed of stable states and intermediate transition states. Simulations recapitulate post-injury trajectories and confirm the role of c-Jun upregulation in maintaining repair capacity. Furthermore, the model predicts multiple potential therapeutic targets, including tumor protein p53 (P53), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), for sustaining repair competence. We also identify intrinsic heterogeneity within repair Schwann cells. Furthermore, we uncover key transition states that simultaneously connect repair-competent cells to both repair-deficient and apoptotic phenotypes. These intermediate states may represent critical regulatory bottlenecks and serve as key cellular targets for improving peripheral nerve regeneration. Overall, this work provides new insights into the precise regulation of Schwann cell fate and establishes a theoretical framework for regenerative medicine and clinical strategies in peripheral nerve repair. Full article

Improving regional economic resilience is a point addressed in the sustainable development goals (SDGs; i.e., SDG 8 and SDG 11). The Yangtze River Delta (YRD) has demonstrated excellent economic resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, largely due to the persistent green transition of the YRD in the past two decades. This paper uses a single-case method combined with the perspective of evolutionary economic geography to systematically investigate the process of green transition in the YRD (2000–2023) at both vertical and horizontal levels and proposes an integrated multi-dimensional system framework to reveal the collaborative logic of the overall green transition action and the internal mechanism of enhancing economic resilience in the YRD. The findings indicate that the combination of external factors such as contradiction change, magnifying crises, economic stabilization, and policy steering has driven the historical inevitability of green transition in China. Under such conditions, the YRD not only completed development in terms of primitive accumulation of space (coordinated development, i.e., chassis), industry (orderly upgrade, i.e., engine), and governance (equal supply, i.e., lubricant) earlier but also ensured the stability of this triangle, injecting sustained strong momentum into the rapid recovery of the economy under the impact. The solidification of green concepts further enhances the sustainability and strength of the YRD’s economic resilience. These findings provide beneficial experience on how to resume production after the pandemic or lay out cities in developing countries that are still in rapid urbanization in advance. Full article

The global transition toward net-zero emissions has led to the restructuring of labor markets and an intensification of the demand for sustainability-competent business graduates. However, higher-education curricula lack an operationalized, job-competency-based framework, and this gap in knowledge is especially acute in emerging industrial economies that are facing pressures due to the ongoing decarbonization of the global supply chain. In this context, this study addresses two interrelated gaps in the relevant research: the lack of a structured system of criteria to assess competency in sustainability that is specifically geared toward business education, and the insufficient attention that has been paid to causal interdependencies among such criteria in previously developed frameworks. The authors apply a two-stage, hybrid multiple-criteria decision-making design based on the KSAO framework, which classifies professional competency into knowledge (K), skills (S), abilities (A), and other characteristics (O). A modified Delphi method that involved 12 academic and industry experts serving as surrogate assessors of competency requirements for business and management students was first used to consolidate 142 literature-derived items into 26 initial criteria, which were then refined into 12 core competencies in sustainability, identified through cross-domain expert consensus. Following this, fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) was applied to analyze the structure of causal influence among the retained criteria. The results identified interdisciplinary work as the primary driving competency and integrated problem-solving as the central hub with the highest prominence, with the two factors forming a bidirectional feedback dynamic that anchored the competency system. The retention of four “other” criteria (O-dimension)—ethical values, normative orientation, empathy, and adaptive resilience—confirmed that competency concerning sustainability in business education extends beyond technical knowledge into deeper dispositional attributes. These findings provide business schools in Taiwan with a structurally grounded logic of sequencing for their curricula, as well as a reference framework for curriculum design that is aligned with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) Societal Impact standards. While the findings are grounded in Taiwan’s specific ESG regulatory and industrial context, only the methodological approach is offered as a reference for comparable settings; the substantive findings require cross-national verification. Full article

Understanding the relationship between green bond issuance and environmental performance is critical as governments, financial institutions, and investors seek to accelerate the transition toward a low-carbon economy. This study analyzes the relationship between green bond issuance and carbon intensity across 165 countries from 2015 to 2022. Two-way fixed-effects models reveal a negative and statistically significant association between green bond issuance and carbon intensity (GDP- and energy-based measures). Dynamic system GMM estimations confirm this relationship after accounting for persistence and endogeneity, with coefficients remaining negative and significant, while carbon intensity displays strong inertia (autoregressive coefficients: 0.864–0.928). Robustness checks—including the exclusion of the five largest issuers and the use of alternative dependent variables—sustain these findings, indicating a moderate, gradual impact of green bond markets on lowering carbon intensity. Full article

Geothermal energy is a clean, stable, and low-carbon renewable resource with increasing strategic importance in sustainable energy transitions. In recent years, machine learning has been progressively applied in geothermal systems, including resource exploration, reservoir characterization, drilling and operational optimization, heat-transfer performance prediction, and ground source heat pump (GSHP) control. Machine learning enables high-dimensional data mining, complex mapping, and surrogate modeling. While it can often deliver higher efficiency and accuracy compared to conventional methods, these advantages are not absolute; rather, they are highly contingent upon the quality and scale of the dataset, the rigorousness of the validation method, and the appropriateness of the selected algorithm. This review systematically summarizes major machine learning applications in geothermal energy, highlighting representative methods, data sources, target tasks, and research features. It identifies critical limitations in current studies, including dataset scale and quality, model generalization, physical consistency, interpretability, and deployment feasibility. The review further emphasizes the evolution of geothermal machine learning from pointwise prediction tools to frameworks supporting intelligent analysis, optimization, and decision-making. Future directions include multi-source heterogeneous data fusion, embedding of physical mechanisms, interpretable modeling, and integration with digital twin systems. These approaches aim to shift machine learning from high-accuracy prediction toward trustworthy and deployable decision support for geothermal energy systems. Full article

Nanostructured Co₃O₄ was synthesized via a sol–gel approach employing the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethylsulfonate ([EMIm]TfO) and subsequently evaluated as a high-performance anode material for lithium-ion batteries. Ionic liquids, distinguished by their low volatility, high thermal stability, and tunable chemical properties, represent a greener alternative to conventional organic solvents for the synthesis of functional nanomaterials. The electrochemical performance of the as-prepared material was systematically assessed through galvanostatic charge–discharge cycling, cyclic voltammetry, and rate capability tests. The Co₃O₄ electrode exhibited a high reversible capacity of approximately 1100 mAh g⁻¹ after 50 cycles at a current density of 200 mA g⁻¹, along with excellent coulombic efficiency approaching ~100% after the initial cycles. Furthermore, the material demonstrated strong rate capability, delivering about 600 mAh g⁻¹ at 1 C, and recovering its capacity upon returning to lower current densities. The improved electrochemical performance is primarily attributed to the nanoscale architecture induced by the ionic liquid-assisted synthesis, which facilitates rapid lithium-ion transport and effectively buffers volume variations during repeated cycling. Notably, the ionic liquid serves a dual function as both a green reaction medium and a structure-directing agent, enabling precise control over the material’s morphology and properties. This study demonstrates a versatile strategy for the rational design of potential transition-metal oxide anodes, paving the way for high-performance electrode materials. The findings contribute to the development of next-generation lithium-ion batteries tailored for clean and sustainable energy storage applications. Full article

Modern agriculture faces increasing pressure from rising food demand, resource degradation, and biotic stress factors, highlighting the need for sustainable, non-chemical technologies. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) has emerged as a promising non-chemical seed-priming technology with potential applications in sustainable agriculture. The present study investigated the effects of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD)-generated CAP on seed germination and early seedling development in two Solanum lycopersicum genotypes (a common variety and an IdB hybrid) under controlled laboratory conditions. Seeds were exposed to CAP for 1, 2, 3, or 4 min, while untreated seeds served as controls. Early plant performance was evaluated after 47 days by determining germination rate, fresh biomass, dry biomass, and mineral biomass (ash content). CAP exposure duration significantly affected all gravimetric parameters in both genotypes. Among the tested treatments, 1 min exposure consistently produced the highest fresh, dry, and mineral biomass values, whereas longer exposure times (3–4 min) generally reduced seedling growth, indicating the transition from beneficial physiological stimulation to stress-induced inhibition. Despite the more pronounced response observed in the IdB hybrid, the statistical analysis demonstrated that treatment duration, rather than genotype, was the principal factor influencing biomass accumulation. The present results indicate that short-duration CAP treatment represents an effective seed-priming strategy for improving early tomato seedling development. Full article

Energy Geographies has a unique position at the intersection of geospatial and social science, and it now faces a defining methodological development with the rapid rise in Geospatial Artificial Intelligence (GeoAI). This paper examines where GeoAI has and has not been applied within energy research through two bibliometric analyses using the Dimensions database. The first establishes an updated picture of energy geographies scholarship from 2020 to 2026, mapping the field’s current priorities and geographic distribution as a baseline for evaluating GeoAI’s role. The second conducts a bibliometric analysis of GeoAI-specific energy publications from 2020 to 2026, which reveals significant GeoAI Application Gaps: a heavy concentration in energy extraction and production research and in renewable energy siting and grid optimization, while energy transition, justice, and the energy problems of underrepresented regions remain substantially underserved. GeoAI energy research is also more geographically concentrated than the broader field, dominated by a small number of countries, raising questions about the applicability of these tools to the energy challenges facing the rest of the world. We argue that this gap reflects a pattern of problem selection as much as technological limitation, and that energy geographers are well positioned to redirect the development of this new field. We outline three directions for future research: developing Explainable GeoAI to ensure transparency and accountability, expanding geographic coverage to address data biases that favor a small set of well-resourced countries, and confronting the computational energy paradox of carbon-intensive AI applied to sustainability-oriented research. Full article

The decarbonization of maritime and inland waterway transport requires implementation pathways that go beyond fuel substitution and address energy, water, safety, infrastructure, and lifecycle constraints. This study proposes a sustainable technical pathway for hydrogen implementation in small-scale maritime and inland waterway vessels, using Colombia as a territorial case study. The methodology integrates technological surveillance, national energy-transition assessment, sectoral and territorial analysis, hydrogen pathway selection, water-resource management, safety and regulatory review, lifecycle criteria, and progressive validation under Technology Readiness Level principles. The results identify compressed gaseous hydrogen combined with Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cells and hybrid battery support as the most feasible short-term configuration for small vessels due to its modularity, operational flexibility, and compatibility with decentralized applications. The framework also shows that hydrogen production must be designed as a coupled water–energy–hydrogen system, prioritizing treated wastewater, rainwater, desalinated water, or other non-potable sources to avoid pressure on community and agricultural water demand. Laboratory and prototype validation demonstrated a progressive route from didactic hydrogen systems to small-vessel maquettes and scaled prototypes. The proposed pathway provides an implementation-oriented framework for safe, sustainable, and territorially adapted hydrogen deployment in small maritime systems. Full article

This paper investigates the impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance on the financial outcomes of 68 European and 60 U.S. banks over the period 2010–2022 using a Panel Smooth Transition Regression (PSTR) framework. Unlike traditional linear models, the PSTR approach captures the nonlinear, regime-dependent effects of ESG engagement on bank profitability, measured by ROA and ROE, and financial stability, measured by the Z-score. Our empirical findings reveal a critical ESG threshold in both regions, above which banks experience substantial improvements in profitability and resilience. Comparative analysis indicates that while ESG enhances stability slightly more in European banks, U.S. banks tend to achieve marginally higher profitability gains. Control variables, including bank size, capital adequacy, leverage, and macroeconomic conditions, also play a significant role in shaping performance. These results underscore the importance for banks to attain a minimum ESG maturity to fully realize the benefits of sustainable practices. The study provides valuable insights for bank managers, investors, and policymakers seeking to promote a sustainable and resilient banking sector across Europe and the United States. Full article