Energy Economics and Sustainable Development

The issue of energy security in the new development paradigm featuring dual circulation has been paid attention to by all sectors, but at present, there are few results from relevant quantitative analyses. With a focus on China’s actual energy trade, this research examines the core elements of energy security in international and Chinese cycles. In this context, the “gravity model” and “Allen substitution elasticity” are optimized and expanded. An integrated assessment methodology is developed as a result of this effort. This methodology consists of an international-cycle trade gravity model and a Chinese-cycle price elasticity model. Additionally, it empirically analyzes the effects of China’s renewable energy substitution from the perspective of the “dual cycles” of energy security, and illustrates the current state of China’s energy security through the analysis of energy substitution relationship data. The results show that Chinese renewable energy does have a buffer effect on imported coal in terms of trade efficiency, scale, and behavior, as well as performance, and the energy trade price has a direct guiding significance for this buffer function, but the enhancement function of economy-driven efficiency is indirect. Furthermore, as far as the absolute price elasticity and net price elasticity are concerned, although Chinese wind power generation is a substitute for imported coal, its price elasticity also confirms that Chinese wind power generation is not a “normal commodity”. Moreover, at present, Chinese photovoltaic power generation shows the attribute of a “normal commodity”, but it has a certain degree of complementarity with imported coal, although this complementarity will weaken in the near future with the trend of changing to substitution. Full article

Co-firing wood pellets with coal is an attractive alternative energy generation method with economic, social, and environmental benefits for the US energy generation sector. One way to sustainably use wood pellets for co-firing is to create consumer-supported green pricing programs (GPPs). Our study surveyed residents of five states (Alabama, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia) to investigate preferences for the attributes of a hypothetical GPP. The study applied the Best Worst Choice method, which employs the Best Worst Scaling (BWS) and binary choice (BC) task. The BWS analysis showed that residents of all five states most value the flexibility of contracts, the location of energy generation, and the reduction of carbon emissions as attributes of GPPs. The BC analysis, however, showed that residents are willing to pay a premium for length of contract, followed by reduction of carbon emissions and variability of payments. This study shows that the adoption of optimal GPP attributes can create real customer value. The success of GPPs will depend on increasing enrollment and public support; hence, the next step will be to increase awareness levels and green consciousness through sensitization in the form of public education exercises and media campaigns. Such measures will serve to inform and educate residents on the benefits of GPPs and lessen the gap between intrinsic value and willingness to pay for select attributes. Full article

Due to the shortage of fossil energy, environmental pollution, climate change and a series of problems, China is developing photovoltaic (PV) energy and other clean sources of energy. The flexible application of photovoltaic energy makes is an ideal choice. First, this paper clearly describes the significance of the economic value of a PV + model, analyzes its composition of, and then builds the PV + economic value evaluation model. Finally, a PV + model from the agriculture and aquaculture industry is taken as an example to evaluate its economic value. Through data calculations, the feasibility of the PV + economic value evaluation model proposed in this paper is verified. The results show that the model can not only promote the development of photovoltaic energy, but also bring a spillover value to the decentralized economy. The contributions of this paper are as follows: (1) The existence of the spillover value of a PV + model is proposed for the first time. (2) The value of the distributed PV + model is revealed from its essential attributes and characteristics, and a method for the quantitative calculation of the spillover value is proposed. (3) Three cases of the spillover value for the economic value of the PV + model are proposed, and the relationship between the spillover value and local adoption of PV + model to absorb distributed PV is discussed. Full article

Different severe energy crisis episodes have occurred in the world in the last five decades. Energy crises lead to the deterioration of international relations, economic crises, changes in monetary systems, and social problems in countries. This paper aims to show the essential determinants of energy crises by developing a binary logit model that estimates the predictive ability of thirteen indicators in a sample that covers the period from January 1973 to December 2022. The empirical results show that the energy crises are mainly due to energy supply–demand imbalances (petroleum stocks, fossil energy production–consumption imbalances, and changes in energy imports by countries), energy investments (oil and natural gas drilling activities), economic and financial disruptions (inflation, dollar indices, and indices of global real economic activity) and geopolitical risks. Additionally, the model is capable of accurately predicting world energy crisis events with a 99% probability. Full article

The state-owned power Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), a monopoly market in charge of producing, distributing, and wholesaling power, is the focal point of Thailand’s electricity market. Although the government has encouraged people to install on-grid solar panels to sell electricity as producers and retail consumers, the price mechanism, i.e., purchasing price and selling prices, is still unilaterally determined by the government. Therefore, we are interested in studying the case where blockchain can be used as a free trading platform. Without involving buying or selling from the government, this research presents a model of fully traded price mechanisms. Based on the study results of the double auction system, data on buying and selling prices of electrical energy in Thailand were used as the initial data for the electricity peer-to-peer free-trading model. Then, information was obtained to analyze the trading price trends by using the law of demand and supply in addition to the principle of the bipartite graph. The price trend results agree well with those of price equilibrium equations. Therefore, we firmly believe that the model we offer can be traded in a closed system of free-trade platforms. In addition, the players in the system can help to determine the price trend that will occur according to various parameters and will cause true fairness in the sustainable electricity supply chain industry in Thailand. Full article

Given the threats to international energy security and the restructuring of energy sources in various countries, China faces the dual challenge of achieving the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. To promote a reduction in carbon emissions and enhance carbon productivity, it is crucial to innovate renewable energy technology for long-term, low-carbon transformational development. This paper identifies the key factors that affect carbon productivity through pathway analysis and quantitatively examines the direct and spatial spillover impacts of technological advancements in renewable energy using the spatial Durbin model. Finally, this study verifies the pathways through which innovations affect carbon productivity by combining them with the spatial mediation model. The results indicate that innovations in renewable energy technologies significantly enhance carbon productivity. The indirect effects of regional spillover are even more pronounced. Full article

As a major energy-consuming industry, energy conservation and emission reduction in the logistics industry are critical to China’s timely achievement of its dual-carbon goals of “carbon peaking” by 2030 and “carbon neutrality” by 2060. Based on deep learning, Random Forest (RF) was used to screen out the key factors affecting carbon emissions in the logistics industry, and the Whale Algorithm-optimized Radial Basis Function Neural Network (WOA-RBF) was proposed. The Monte Carlo simulation predicted the future evolution trends of each key factor under the three scenarios of baseline scenario (BAU), policy regulation scenario (PR), and technological breakthrough scenario (TB) and accurately predicted the carbon emission trends of the logistics industry from 2023 to 2035 by using the most probable future values of each influencing factor as inputs to the WOA-RBF prediction model. The results of the study demonstrate that fixed asset investment (LFI), population (P), total energy consumption (E), energy consumption per unit of value added of the logistics industry (EIL), share of oil consumption (OR), and share of railway freight turnover (RTR) are the key factors influencing the logistics industry’s carbon emissions. Monte Carlo simulations can effectively reflect the uncertainty of future changes in these key factors. In comparison to the BAU and PR scenarios, the TB scenario, with the combined incentives of national policy regulation and technology innovation, is the most likely for the logistics industry to meet the “Peak Carbon” goal baseline scenario. Full article

The greening trend in consumer markets and the marketization and financialization of carbon emission rights have begun to revitalize carbon assets. However, solitary efforts and the spillover of environmental protection effects still hamper enterprises’ enthusiasm for carbon emission reduction. To tackle this challenge, two vertical cooperation mechanisms, cost cooperation and alliance cooperation, are proposed. The mathematical models and solutions are developed for both of the two mechanisms, and their values and applicability are explored, respectively. In addition, the impact of fluctuations in consumer markets, financial markets, and carbon markets on cooperation is examined. The results show that both cooperation models effectively motivate enterprises to enhance carbon reduction and boost market demand. However, cost cooperation may result in inflated product prices and even weaken the profitability of the supply chain. In contrast, alliance cooperation can enhance product price performance and effectively increase supply chain profits. Concerning environmental performance, the initial market is better suited for alliance cooperation, whereas cost cooperation fits the mid-to-late market. The higher financing costs of the financial market and the trading price of the carbon market will strengthen the applicability of cost cooperation. This study offers managerial insights for collaborative decision-making in the context of a multi-market cross-section. Full article

The first global stocktake (GST) at 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) pointed out that accelerating the phasing down of fossil fuels has become an important mitigation policy to maintain a maximum temperature limit of 1.5 °C. The optimal power portfolio for achieving Taiwan’s net-zero emissions by 2050 is evaluated from the perspective of sustainable development. This study is enhances the 2021 research findings of Wang et al. on the sustainable power model, incorporating homogenized cost and technical constraints for empirical analysis. The results indicated that renewable energy sources play a pivotal role in achieving net-zero emissions. Gas power generation requires careful consideration, including early decommissioning or the adoption of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to prevent carbon lock-in and compete with hydrogen energy technology. Notably, coal combined with CCS technology offers a viable option for a cost-effective roadmap for a decarburized power generation portfolio by 2050, serving as a reference for national planning strategies for promoting net-zero emissions. Full article

China launched the National Carbon Emissions Trading Market (NCETM) in July 2021, heralding the first nationwide implementation of carbon emissions trading since the 2011 pilot scheme in China. The NCETM serves as a vital policy instrument that employs market mechanisms to regulate and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, this study aims to examine how the NCETM in China, as an environmental regulatory policy, impacts environmental protection investment (EPI) made by enterprises. Specifically, the research seeks to address three key questions: (1) Does the NCETM have an impact on corporate EPI? (2) What are the mechanisms underlying the effect of the NCETM on corporate EPI? (3) Additionally, does the impact of the NCETM on corporate EPI vary with the location of the firms? By utilizing financial data from listed firms from 2018 to 2022 and employing the difference-in-differences (DID) model, the empirical results suggest that: (1) NCETM significantly stimulates the increase in EPI by firms. (2) The NCETM promotes environmental investment by inducing higher R&D expenditures. (3) The effects of NCETM on firms’ EPI vary across regions, with the policy only being effective for firms in non-pilot regions that did not engage in the carbon emissions trading market prior to NCETM. This study provides empirical evidence for the microeconomic effects of the NCETM and a useful reference for the implementation of carbon emissions trading policies. Full article

The central environmental inspection policy serves as a pivotal instrument for environmental regulation in China, closely intertwined with the nation’s economic and social development into a greener model. Based on the urban data of China from 2004 to 2018, this paper employs a regression discontinuity design to empirically test the inherent mechanism of the central environmental inspection policy’s impact on green total factor productivity, and attempts to analyze its impact on technological progress from the perspective of a bias towards technological advancement. This study found that central environmental inspections can significantly improve green total factor productivity, the mechanism behind this improvement being through the enhancement of technological progress, while having a negative impact on technical efficiency. Additionally, we found that the impact of policies on technological progress is mainly through increasing the magnitude of technological progress, rather than favoring technological progress. The results of this research provide reasonable suggestions for the Chinese government to revise their environmental inspection system. Full article

As China transitions from high-speed to high-quality economic development, the concept of sustainable development, particularly environmental, social, and governance (ESG), has emerged as a crucial consideration in corporate decision-making. This study examines the relationship between ESG performance and corporate resilience through the lens of capital allocation efficiency. Employing a fixed-effects model, heterogeneity analysis, and a mediation effect model, we analyzed 4436 A-share listed companies that were rated according to ESG standards by the China Securities Index (CSI) between 2011 and 2021. Our findings suggest that: (1) ESG performance positively impacts corporate resilience. (2) The magnitude of this effect varies based on the ownership structure and industry. Specifically, ESG performance has a more significant influence on non-state-owned companies and manufacturing companies. (3) Improving ESG performance can enhance corporate resilience through three mechanisms: reducing financing costs, improving investment efficiency, and improving operational efficiency. Full article

The demand for renewable energy is increasing globally due to concerns about climate change, pollution, and the finite nature of fossil-fuel resources, and renewable energy has been recognized as a significant factor in realizing sustainable development. The government of Saudi Arabia adopted the reduction in fossil-fuel subsidies policy as a financial motivation for supporting both the production and consumption of fossil fuels. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the influence and shocks of Saudi financial development indicators on renewable energy consumption (REC) and to examine the track of causality between financial development indicators and REC. The study covers the annual data period of 1990–2021 and applies the Basic Vector Autoregressive model (VAR), the Granger causality test, forecast-error variance decomposition (FEVD), and the impulse response function (IRF). In the short run, the VAR results indicate a positive and significant impact of stock price volatility and private credit on REC. The results of causality between REC and financial development indicators were conflicting. The Granger causality test shows significant causality running from stock price volatility and private credit to REC. The FEVD results reveal that REC variation is explained by its innovative shocks and has a positive response to shocks in financial development. The IRF results show that REC has a positive response to shock on private credit, liquid liabilities, and stock price volatility. Authorities can encourage investment in renewable energy consumption by providing financial incentives; also, governments can foster national and international partnerships between investors, policymakers, and industry stakeholders. Employing different determinants of financial development indicators and incorporating population factors in the REC function will be highly recommended for forming the renewable energy demand in Saudi Arabia. Conducting a micro-level analysis of specific sectors within renewable energy, such as solar, wind, and others, can provide actionable insights for policymakers. Full article

Against the dual background of the vigorous shape of digital economy and the severe pressure for carbon reduction, exploring the mechanism of the relationship between digitalization level and carbon reduction of highly energy-intensive enterprises is one of the current hot topics in theoretical and practical circles. This paper selects panel data of listed companies with high energy consumption from 2007 to 2019 and adopts a threshold-regression method to empirically test the impact of digitalization level on corporate carbon emission reduction It turns out that the digitalization level of enterprises has both an “inverted U” effect and a heterogeneous effect on carbon emissions. Enterprise technological innovation has both a threshold action and a regulating action on the influence of digitalization level on carbon emissions. It can play a role in accelerating the digitalization level to the inhibition of the increase in carbon emissions in advance and has a reinforcing effect in accelerating the reduction of enterprise carbon emissions. Full article

Understanding the heterogeneity and driving factors of green total factor productivity (GTFP) in coal enterprises can provide guidance for policy design regarding the sustainable development of coal in the future. In contrast to previous research at the macro level, we adopt and extend the data envelopment analysis method to measure and quantitatively decompose the GTFP of coal enterprises, examine inter-enterprise heterogeneity at multiple levels, explain the effects of the key driving factors and moderating factors of GTFP in theory, and subsequently conduct empirical testing using data obtained from 639 coal enterprises in China. The results indicate that there is significant inter-enterprise heterogeneity in GTFP in terms of enterprise scale, enterprise growth stage, government–enterprise collusion (GEC), and regional differences. The enterprise scale and enterprise growth stage have significantly positive effects on GTFP, while GEC has a significantly negative effect on GTFP. Technological progress, scale efficiency, and pure technical efficiency have moderating effects on enterprise scale, enterprise growth stage, and GEC. The results have valuable policy implications; it is necessary for the government to allocate significant resources towards thoroughly examining the potential effects arising from the heterogeneity of GTFP among coal enterprises, to weaken control over the aggregate target, and to strengthen the use of market-oriented policy instruments. Full article

At the end of 2020, the Chinese government announced the pledge to become carbon neutral in the year 2060. Simultaneously, quality growth objectives were established, which were environmentally friendly and promoted the health and wellbeing of the population. The first objective of this study is to assess the gains in energy efficiency and the savings in energy demand that this commitment implies. Secondly, the feasibility of achieving these objectives of savings and efficiency increases is discussed based on an international analysis. The method is based on a quantitative estimate of the primary energy demand throughout the period from 1965 up to the year 2060. For this purpose, long historical series taken from reliable international sources are analyzed. The methodology applied to estimate and project future energy demand is new and based on several steps: The first consists of analyzing the trends of the series and estimating the relationships between them using a robust procedure. Secondly, equilibrium relationships are estimated, which avoids the eventual instabilities involved in the estimation of dynamic models. The third characteristic is based on the bootstrap, estimating and simulating the model by selecting random samples of different sizes from the available dataset. The simulations generate a complete probability distribution for the expected energy demand, which also allows for carrying out a risk analysis, assessing the risk of the demand becoming significantly larger than the expected average. The first result obtained is that the primary energy demand forecast for 2060 is much higher than the demand of the official forecasts by almost three times. However, taking into account the objective to replace 85% of fossil sources with renewables, this discrepancy is greatly reduced and becomes approximately 50% higher than the official forecast. If the savings analyzed in relevant international references are accounted for, then an additional reduction of even up to 40% of this demand could be achieved, so that the final demand would fall further, close to official forecasts. The main and final conclusion is that although the objective of making the Chinese economy carbon neutral by 2060 is feasible, it implies a radical transformation that will necessarily require a determined and unwavering political commitment throughout the entire period considered. Full article

This study aims to examine the relationship between green investment (GI), fiscal policy (FP), environmental tax (ET), energy price (EP), natural resource rent (NRR), and the consumption of clean energy (CE) to promote sustainable development in Cambodia for the period 1990–2021. The study implemented linear and nonlinear frameworks to document explanatory variables’ potential effects on clean energy consumption in the long and short run. The research findings demonstrate a robust and favorable connection between GI, FP, ET and CE, both in the long term and short term. An augmentation in GI results in the establishment of sustainable growth in the utilization of renewable energy, thereby underscoring the significance of green initiatives in advancing clean energy technologies. Fiscal policies, encompassing tax incentives and subsidies, exert a substantial and enduring influence on expanding renewable energy sources. Implementing environmental taxes catalyzes the demand for clean energy, significantly preserving the environment and promoting sustainable energy practices. Furthermore, the study illuminates the inverse correlation between oil prices and REC. Adopting renewable energy sources may face obstacles in the form of elevated oil prices, as conventional energy sources maintain a cost advantage. On the contrary, decreased oil prices and natural resource rent incentivize transitioning towards using clean energy. Countries that heavily depend on the export of natural resources may display a reduced inclination to invest in renewable energy, commonly called the “resource curse” phenomenon. This study provides valuable insights into the intricate interplay of multiple factors that influence renewable energy consumption and contribute to sustainable development. Policymakers, businesses, and researchers can employ these findings to develop productive strategies that advance the inclusion of clean energy, tackle potential challenges, and cultivate a more environmentally friendly and sustainable future. Full article

As the natural environment continues to deteriorate, countries have begun to shift their emphasis to sustainable development, and the study of green shipping—as the main realization of international trade—is an important prerequisite for global sustainable trade. This paper measures the green maritime transport efficiency considering greenhouse gas emissions using the Super-slacks-based measurement (Super-SBM) method, then extrapolates the theoretical model of trade decision covering maritime transport efficiency and maritime transport distance based on the transcendental logarithmic utility function. A panel econometric model based on this theoretical model was constructed, and then the trade effects of green maritime transport efficiency and its transmission mechanism were studied empirically based on the data of 60 sample countries (regions) in five continents from the years 2010 to 2020. The study shows that green maritime transport efficiency significantly promotes China’s foreign trade through three channels: promoting technological progress, reducing trade costs and curbing environmental deterioration. Additionally, this effect tends to be stronger for countries that are IMO members and have higher incomes. This article’s research helps to provide new empirical evidence to explain the growth of international trade. Full article

This study empirically investigates the asymmetric effects of spot (future) prices and storage on rig counts in the US natural gas and crude oil markets from January 1986 to May 2020. It adopts the Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) model and establishes a flexible and efficient framework that measures the effects of positive and negative shocks in each of these variables on rig counts while modeling possible asymmetries in both the short and long term. For the natural gas market, the results reveal significant long-term asymmetric effects of spot (future) gas prices and storage on gas rigs. The positive and statistically significant cumulative effect of changes in natural gas storage suggests that larger natural gas storage has caused changes in the use of natural gas drilling rigs. For the crude oil market, we find significant short-term asymmetric effects of spot (future) gas prices and oil stocks on oil rigs. Furthermore, in addition to the optimal price and level of storage, the cost, as proxied by the interest rate, is a crucial determinant in rig drilling decision-making in the energy sector. Full article

The prosperous development of the digital economy can trigger a comprehensive green transformation from factors of production to productivity and production relationships, providing a new path for China to achieve its goals of “peak carbon emissions” and “carbon neutrality.” This paper measures the development level of the digital economy in each region using panel data of 30 Chinese provinces (autonomous regions, municipality directly under the central government) from 2007–2019, and explores the effect of the digital economy on CO₂ emissions, its transmission mechanism, and its impact characteristics through theoretical and empirical analyses. The results indicate that: (1) the development of the digital economy can effectively reduce CO₂ emissions; (2) in addition to direct effects, the digital economy can indirectly suppress CO₂ emissions by lowering energy intensity, promoting economic agglomeration, and increasing the use of robots; (3) the suppression effect of the digital economy on CO₂ emissions has significant regional heterogeneity; the digital construction in east, north, central, northeast, and southwest China has shown a better CO₂ emissions reduction effect, while the development of the digital economy in south and southwest China has not yet exerted the suppression effect on CO₂ emissions. In the next development process, it should improve the efficiency of energy use, give full effect to the positive externalities of economic agglomeration, lower the threshold of robot use and expand the application scenarios, and make full use of the green development advantages of the digital economy. Full article

The presence of a link between corporate environmental protection investment and firm value is essential for enterprises to have incentives to invest in environmental protection by themselves. How environmental information disclosure affects the relationship between environmental protection investment and firm value is also an issue worth exploring. This paper uses the regression model with the industry and time-fixed effects to examine the relationship between environmental protection investment and firm value of China’s A-share heavily and non-heavily polluting enterprises from 2010–2020, as well as the moderating role of environmental information disclosure. The empirical results show that (1) there is a significant U-shaped relationship between environmental protection investment and firm value, and (2) corporate environmental information disclosure has a moderating effect. Specifically, it has an “amplifying” effect on the relationship between environmental protection investment and firm value. If a company’s environmental protection investment is insufficient, overly transparent corporate environmental disclosure will exacerbate the decline in firm value. Once environmental protection investment is up to standard, adequate disclosure can contribute to an increase in firm value. Full article

Electricity access in rural areas is a critical challenge for global electrification. Most countries have focused on increasing electricity coverage without assessing the long-term sustainability of such solutions. To achieve sustainability in rural electrification solutions, it is necessary to consider five dimensions: technical, environmental, economic, social, and institutional. This paper reviews the state of rural electrification worldwide and proposes a dynamic tariff scheme that increases the technical and economic conditions of implemented solutions over an extended period. The proposed time-of-use (TOU) pricing methodology aims to flatten the system demand curve and utilize on-site renewable energy potentials. For the methodology’s evaluation, we analyzed a case study focused on electrification in isolated areas of Colombia, conducting a sensitivity analysis of user-behavior to the proposed tariff scheme using the concept of price elasticity of demand. We also evaluated the effect of the achieved demand curve flattening on the system frequency. The identified benefits highlight that an accurate pricing scheme can reduce the variation range in the system frequency. Furthermore, the evaluation results show that the implementation of the proposed tariff scheme has the potential to significantly flatten the demand curve and encourage the connection of non-conventional renewable sources to improve network conditions. Full article

Citizens’ attitudes towards and their perceptions of climate change are widely believed to influence citizens’ actions related to climate change. Knowledge of these attitudes and willingness to pay (WTP) for environmental improvement can be useful in designing an environmental policy. Although citizens’ attitudes and perceptions are likely to affect their WTP, they are rarely included in the non-market valuation. Furthermore, over time, attitudes and perceptions of environmental issues are likely to change. An understanding of temporal stability of attitudes towards climate change could shed the light on changes in citizens’ WTP for environmental quality over time. This study examined changes in perceptions, attitudes, and actions towards climate change using two surveys in Queensland, Australia. The surveys were administered 10 years apart (2009 and 2018). The effect of attitudes over time on WTP was analysed using a contingent valuation (CV) method. The results confirmed that attitudes and perceptions of climate change were important factors affecting actions of respondents. Furthermore, over time, some attitudes and perceptions changed significantly. However, only some attitudes and perceptions were significant predictors of consumers’ WTP for a change in environmental quality. Full article

Due to the fact that the European Union is striving to achieve its sustainable development goals, in particular goal No. 7, which is to provide users with low-emission, and cheap access to, energy, this article’s aim is to verify whether there is a relationship between R&D expenditure and key energy variables in the EU countries in 2010–2020. Data on R&D expenditures incurred by the EU Member States in the period 2010–2020 were used for the research and were tested using the Autoregressive Distributed Lags Model (ARDL). The study identified a strong positive relationship between total R&D expenditure and the increase in energy consumption from renewable energy sources, and a smaller impact of total R&D expenditure as well as enterprise R&D expenditure on the increase in fossil energy consumption. Also noted was a weak relationship between R&D expenditure and electricity and gas prices for both household and non-household customers. The obtained results prove that in the context of the level of implementation of SDG No. 7 in the EU countries, R&D expenditure results in greater access to low-emission energy from renewable sources, but the achievement of the aforementioned sustainable development goal in other aspects (reduction in energy consumption from fossil fuels and ensuring lower price energy) is not possible with the current level of R&D expenditure. Full article

Greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide and non-CO₂ gases, are mainly generated by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and agriculture. These emissions disrupt the natural balance of the global ecosystem and contribute to climate change. However, by investing in renewable energy, we can help mitigate these problems by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting a more sustainable future. This research utilized a panel data model to explore the impact of carbon dioxide and non-CO₂ greenhouse gas emissions on global investments in renewable energy. The study analyzed data from 63 countries over the period from 1990 to 2021. Firstly, the study established a relationship between greenhouse gas emissions and clean energy investments across all countries. The findings indicated that carbon dioxide had a positive effect on clean energy investments, while non-CO₂ greenhouse gas emissions had a negative impact on all three types of clean energy investments. However, the impact of flood damage as a representative of climate change on renewable energy investment was uncertain. Secondly, the study employed panel data with random effects to examine the relationship between countries with lower or higher average carbon dioxide emissions and their investments in solar, wind, and geothermal energy. The results revealed that non-CO₂ greenhouse gas emissions had a positive impact on investments only in wind power in less polluted countries. On the other hand, flood damage and carbon dioxide emissions were the primary deciding factors for investments in each type of clean energy in more polluted countries. Full article

Could the corporate carbon information disclosure strategy influence a firm’s brand value, and how does corporate carbon information affect it? Previous research mainly examines the impact of ESG information disclosure on firm value and other financial indicators, but little research has focused on the effect of carbon information on brand value. This paper focuses on the influence of corporate carbon information disclosure on brand value, and we find that it positively impacts corporate brand value. In addition, when a company chooses to adopt a more quantitative and diverse carbon information strategy, it increases its brand value. We also examine the potential mechanisms involved in how corporate carbon information disclosure influences brand value. We focus on three types of factor: analyst rating, customer attitude, and corporate financial performance, and find that higher analyst forecasts and positive customer attitudes have a positive impact on the association between the carbon information strategy and corporate brand value. In contrast, corporate financial performance provides only weak evidence. These results are consistent with demands by users for more precise guidelines from regulators and standard-setters for measuring and disclosing carbon-related information. Full article

This study examines the impact of exports, imports, and trade openness on Namibia’s economic growth using the ARDL cointegration method. The results reveal a significant negative relationship between imports and economic growth, while exports and trade openness show positive and significant relationships with economic growth. Moreover, short-term economic growth is driven by exports, imports, and trade openness. The findings suggest that trade liberalisation and export-led growth are crucial for Namibia’s economic development. Overall, this study supports the mercantilist theory, which emphasises the importance of participating in global markets by increasing exports and trade. Full article

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing war and the implementation of the so-called Mobility Package there are profound changes taking place in the Polish LSP sector. The competitive struggle on the market is intensifying, and it mobilizes the management to diagnose the condition of companies with the use of effective comparative tools. This article aims to present the conclusions of the study of 46 entities on the Polish LSP market. It uses an original, multi-faceted evaluation method. The authors hope to popularize this method for evaluating LSPs by making it cyclical. The comparative evaluation of LSPs was carried out with the use of economic (index) and statistical analysis tools. A model of rank correlation was used for the values of all variables (ten economic parameters and one greening parameter). LSPs were grouped up based on the average value of the economic variables and according to investment attractiveness and then clustered. Sets of the most correlated characteristics in the assessment of the LSPs were developed based on the k-means method and the Spearman coefficient. A collective ranking of LSPs has been prepared. Full article

In this study, the technoeconomic feasibility of bioenergy production from sawdust under four different case scenarios is simulated and compared. These scenarios include: (1) heat and electricity generation from raw sawdust; (2) pellet production from sawdust; (3) and (4) integrated biorefinery approach for the simultaneous manufacturing of multiple products (steam-exploded and torrefied pellets) and co-products (furfural, hydroxy methyl furfural (HMF), acetic acid), along with heat and electricity generation. Economic assessments such as cost analysis, payback time (PBT), net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) were determined for these scenarios. The results showed that the approach of producing torrefied pellets, furfural, and acetic acid, along with co-generated heat and electricity, in terms of multiproducts and profitability (NPV (at 7%): USD 38.29 M) was preferable over other alternatives. In terms of simplified technology and other economic indices (PBT: 2.49 year, IRR: 51.33%, and return on investment (ROI): 40.1%), the scenario for producing pellets from wood sawdust was more promising than others. If plant capacity was not a limiting factor, the optimal size for the combined heat and power (CHP) plant was between 250–300 kt for the main product. Additionally, untreated and treated pellet plants equipped with CHP had an optimal size of 150–200 kt of wood pellets per year. Full article

Taking smart city pilots (SCP) in China as a quasi-experiment, this paper uses the staggered difference-in-differences (staggered DID) to examine the impact of the SCP policy on energy consumption by using panel data of 224 prefecture-level cities from 2006 to 2019. The results showed that the SCP policy reduces energy consumption and energy intensity by 3.3% and 5.3%, respectively. Heterogeneity analysis found that the energy-saving effect of the SCP policy is stronger in western cities, resource-based cities, and in cities that were the pioneering pilots. Mechanism analysis showed that smart industry transformation is the main transmission mechanism. Our findings have important practical implications for reforming urban governance models and achieving a low-carbon transition. Full article

This paper presents a decision support tool for promoters/investors of geothermal energy projects, based on a decision tree (DT) structure. The DT aims to assist stakeholders to select public engagement strategies, alternative financing solutions and risk mitigation measures (or options) for geothermal energy projects. Public engagement is necessary for the successful development and operation of geothermal projects. Available studies (including toolkits and protocols) commonly list a set of practices for social engagement without providing information on the factors which render certain options more suitable than others. The presented tool offers a transparent framework to how relevant decisions could be managed by providing a sequence of questions that focus on social, environmental, resource risk, and financial influencing factors and to realise community engagement into geothermal projects. This work is part of the Horizon 2020 CROWDTHERMAL project, which aims at empowering the public to directly participate in the development of geothermal projects through social engagement tools and alternative financing schemes, like crowdfunding. Full article

This paper empirically investigates the heterogeneous impacts of the media sentiment about policies with different themes on the real estate market in China. Based on the policy texts collected from both official and unofficial sources, we construct sentiment indices to capture the sentiment about policies with different themes, including real estate policies, fiscal policies, monetary policies, land policies, healthcare policies, household registration policies, and education policies, using text mining methods. Mediation models and GARCH models are then established to examine the impact of these sentiment indices on the real estate market. The E-GARCH model is established to examine the asymmetric effect of positive and negative sentiment on real estate market. The results show the following: (1) The real estate market in China is more affected by the policy sentiment on official media compared with the unofficial ones. (2) Policy sentiment affects the real estate price through the mediating variables of interest rate, real estate construction area, and real estate sales. (3) The impacts of sentiment with different themes on the volatility of the real estate market are heterogeneous. (4) The impacts of policy sentiment on official media are more pronounced in a tight government-policy environment than those in a loose one. (5) The effect of negative unofficial media policies sentiment on real estate price is bigger than the positive unofficial media policies sentiment. Full article

Large-scale grids have gradually become the dominant trend in power systems, which has increased the importance of solving the challenges associated with large-scale economic dispatch (LED). An increase in the number of decision variables enlarges the search-space scale in LED. In addition to increasing the difficulty of solving algorithms, huge amounts of computing resources are consumed. To overcome this problem, we proposed a surrogate-assisted adaptive bat algorithm (GARCBA). On the one hand, to reduce the execution time of LED problems, we proposed a generalized regression neural network surrogate model based on a self-adaptive “minimizing the predictor” sampling strategy, which replaces the original fuel cost functions with a shorter computing time. On the other hand, we also proposed an improved hybrid bat algorithm (RCBA) named GARCBA to execute LED optimization problems. Specifically, we developed an evolutionary state evaluation (ESE) method to increase the performance of the original RCBA. Moreover, we introduced the ESE to analyze the population distribution, fitness, and effective radius of the random black hole in the original RCBA. We achieved a substantial improvement in computational time, accuracy, and convergence when using the GARCBA to solve LED problems, and we demonstrated this method’s effectiveness with three sets of simulations. Full article

Influenza is an acute infection that can cause diabetes and heart and lung disease disorders. This illness affects more than 9 million people around the world. The best way to control the transmission of the virus is vaccination. Studies, performed in Santander, Colombia, have found the existence of this disease. Despite the above, there are no companies dedicated to producing influenza vaccines in Colombia. For the first time, exergetic analysis and technical-economic resilience are being performed as combined decision-making tools for the evaluation of an influenza vaccine production plant. The results of exergetic analysis showed that the global exergy efficiency of the process was estimated at 93%. The exergy of waste that resulted was 61.70 MJ/h. The most critical stage of the process is milling, representing 83% of the total destroyed exergy. On the other hand, the results of technoeconomic resilience showed that the break-even point capacity of the process is 2503.15 t/y, representing only 24% of the installed capacity of the plant. The analysis of the effect of raw materials cost on profits showed that the process only resists a rise of 4% in the cost of raw materials, and higher values show economic losses. A value of 215,500 USD/t establishes a critical point for the normalized variable operating costs because higher values do not provide a return on investment. Full article

The key goal of this research was to figure out the short and long run relationship between environmental degradation caused by carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and energy consumption, the level of GDP economic growth, and urbanization in the Visegrad Region countries (V4). The study used data from the years 1996–2020. In the methodological area, ARDL bound test, and ARDL and ECM models were used to determine the directions and strength of interdependence. The results show that in the case of some V4 countries (Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary), changes in the urbanization rate affect CO₂ emissions. Moreover, it was confirmed that the phenomenon of urbanization influences the enhanced energy consumption in the studied countries. In the case of individual countries, these relationships were varied, both unidirectional and bidirectional. Their nature was also varied—there were both long and short-term relationships. These findings suggest that the V4 countries should increase renewable and ecological energy sources. It is also recommended to enhancement energy savings in the areas of both individual and industrial consumption by promoting low-emission solutions. This should be done while considering changes in urbanization. Full article

The environmental damage phenomenon is a challenge for businesses today, including for small and medium industries in developing countries, such as Indonesia. Green innovation is a solution to answer public concerns over global environmental issues. However, the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector generally still focuses on achieving their economic performance. Green innovation is a strategic step for SMEs to increase sustainability and financial performance in the global market. This study aimed to holistically identify the antecedents and consequences when implementing green innovation in SMEs. This study also analyzed the role of green innovation as a mediator in the relationship between intellectual capital, sustainability performance, and financial performance. The survey was conducted on 336 SMEs in Bali, Indonesia. The questionnaire was directly distributed to owners or managers of SMEs over three months. This study proved that intellectual capital positively increased green innovation, SME sustainability, and financial performance. Green innovation was also considered as a mediating variable in the relationship between intellectual capital, sustainability performance, and financial performance. Thus, the implementation of green innovation directs entrepreneurs to fulfill not only social and environmental responsibilities but also encourages SMEs to achieve their economic benefits. Full article

The primary purpose of this paper is to discuss whether NEV enterprises can achieve synchronous effects with the whole Chinese automobile industry in terms of growth mode. In this paper, we study the development of new energy vehicles from the perspective of ecosystem. Growth mechanisms and synchronization effects also exist in new energy enterprise populations, just like biological populations in natural ecosystems. Here, we propose a moving logistic model to analyze the growth mechanism of new energy vehicle enterprises and obtain serial data of intrinsic growth rate, internal inhibition coefficient, and theoretical maximum sales volume. The intrinsic growth rate and theoretical maximum sales volume show an initial trend of decline followed by recovery. The evaluation results of coupling degree and synchronization of the new energy vehicle population were obtained through the measurement of the Kuramoto model and its derivative model. The coupling degree of the new energy vehicle population is not high, and the synchronization effect fluctuates and oscillates. The change trend of synchronization effect is similar to that of intrinsic growth rate and theoretical maximum sales volume. This phenomenon shows that the new energy vehicle population has been significantly affected by changes in the external market environment. The analysis method of enterprise growth mechanism based on the moving logistic model and the measurement method of coupling degree and synchronization effect based on the Kuramoto model and its derivative models proposed in this paper effectively achieve the research objectives of this paper. Full article

We investigate the influence of local Confucian culture on firms’ commitment to environment, social, and governance (ESG). We hypothesize that local Confucian culture will encourage firms to increase their commitment and effort to ESG practices, as a basic idea of Confucianism is akin to the golden rule, which dictates that one must treat people fairly and well if one wishes to be treated the same manner. Using geographic distances to local Confucian temples and centers to create geographic proximity-based measures of local Confucian culture, we confirm that local Confucian culture in the vicinity of corporate headquarters is positively associated with firms’ ESG performance. Further, we hypothesize and find that the role of local Confucian culture is more prominent in state-owned firms, larger firms, firms with greater media coverage and analyst following, and in more recent years, when environmental, social, and governance practices are more relevant and receive greater attention. Our research shed light on studies evaluating the influence of local cultural norms on investment decisions within the framework of ESG. Full article

The article presents a model for finding the most suitable locations for setting up micro-biogas plants (<50 kW), which represent an efficient way of processing organic waste in small local communities. The input parameters of the model, which was made with GIS tools, were the number of farms and heads of large livestock with their locations, the number of food establishments and their collected food waste and waste fat. We tested the case study model in the Gorenjska region in Slovenia. The result of processing the input data in the model are four locations in three municipalities Naklo 1, Naklo 2, Kranj and Cerklje. We evaluated the locations with economic indicators net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR) and discounted payback period (DPP). With sensitivity analysis, we investigated the impact of increasing investment costs, decreasing energy prices and different scenarios with adding corn silage to the anaerobic process. Location Naklo 1 has NPV 31,410.26 €, IRR 10.53% and DPP 22 years, Naklo 2 has NPV −58,808.91 € and DPP of more than 25 years, location Kranj has NPV 140,313.00 €, IRR 13.07% and DPP 16 years, location Cerklje has NPV −43,026.82 € and DPP of more than 25 years. Full article

Relying on innovation to drive green energy efficiency improvement has emerged as the key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the pressure of the global economic downturn and carbon emission reduction targets. Using the multi-period difference-in-difference (DID) method and panel data of the 282 cities between 2004 and 2019, this study evaluates and examines the effects, channels, and heterogeneity of the impact of the national innovative city pilot policy (NICPP) on the green total factor energy efficiency (GTFEE). The results are as follows: (1) the baseline regression results show that the NICPP has a positive impact on GTFEE, and the conclusions are still valid after robustness tests and instrumental variables approach to solve endogeneity problems; (2) channel tests show that the NICPP can enhance GTFEE through three channels: industrial structure transformation, green technology innovation, and resource allocation improvement; (3) heterogeneity analysis shows that the NICPP is more effective in improving GTFEE in cities with rich science and education resources, newer industrial bases, and higher initial industrial concentration. This study offers encouraging empirical support and policy implications for employing innovative city policies to improve GTFEE, cities should adapt to local conditions to encourage sustainable development-oriented innovation, industrial clustering, and optimize the market-based allocation of energy. Full article