Beef Toughness and the Amount of Greenhouse Gas Emissions as a Function of Localized Electrical Stimulation

This study investigated the effect of localized electrical stimulation on Hanwoo beef quality. It focused on the chemical and physical properties of the Longissimus thoracis (LT) and Biceps femoris (BF) muscles, and it explored the implications of carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction achieved by accelerating tenderization via localized electrical stimulation. The results show that the application of localized electrical stimulation (45 V) had no significant impact on the TBARS (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) of either the LT muscle or the BF muscle. Localized electrical stimulation and aging treatments had a significant effect on meat tenderness in the LT and BF muscles, but there was no interactive effect. In particular, the WBsf (Warnar-Bratzler shear force) at 2 days of aging of the electrically stimulated BF muscle was 5.35 kg, which was lower than that of the control group (5.58 kg) after 14 days of aging; however, the effect of WBsf reduction due to aging in the LT muscle was higher than the localized electrical stimulation effect. Estimating CO2 mitigation from a shorter feeding period for Hanwoo steers from 31 months to 26 months may reduce 1.04 kg of CO2-eq emissions associated with the production of a single kilogram of trimmed beef. In conclusion, localized electrical stimulation improved the tenderness of Hanwoo beef and reduced CO2 emissions.

A Preliminary Assessment of Global CO2: Spatial Patterns, Temporal Trends, and Policy Implications

This study offers a comprehensive analysis of the distribution, evolution, and driving factors of CO2 emissions from 1990 to 2016 at multiple spatial scales. Utilizing 26 indicators encompassing various facets of CO2 emissions, it is employed principal component analysis (PCA) and empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) to identify the dominant characteristics of global CO2 emissions. This model retained three core components, accounting for 93% of the global CO2 variation, reflecting emission trajectories and associated economic metrics, such as Gross domestic product (GDP). The analysis differentiated the effects of these components based on countries' economic standings. Using a novel aggregated index, significant national contributors to global CO2 emissions are pinpointed. Notably, the leading contributors are found among developed nations (e.g., the United States, Canada, Japan), Gulf states (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Qatar), and emerging economies (e.g., China, Brazil, Mexico). Furthermore, these results highlight that shifts in global CO2 emissions over the past 30 years are predominantly influenced by factors like industrial emissions and GDP. Results also demonstrate a distinct relationship between a country's CO2 emissions and its physical and socioeconomic factors. Specifically, the nation's coastline length, population density in coastal regions, and the diversity of its climatic conditions significantly influence its carbon footprint.

Does digital economy development matter? Role of supply chain management and CO2 emissions in BRICS

Large risks and opportunities arise for production operations as a result of international governmental initiatives to limit carbon emissions. In instance, high-emitting manufacturing processes may be a reflection of productive inefficiencies and the uncertainty of the prices of carbon dioxide emissions. Recently, there has been a lot of attention paid to the topic of ecologically responsible supply chain management. Therefore, participants in the supply chain have worked together to create effective contracts, often known as green supply chain management contracts. In order to demonstrate the key role of financial efficiency, environmental sustainability, and supply chain management in sustainable growth and digital technology development, this study considers the data for BRICS economies over the period of 2008-2022. However, under the supply chain management, this study considers the innovation efficiency, input, and output to evaluate the external determinants. However, this study employs the OLS, 2SLS, and AMG estimator to demonstrate the robust and reliable outcomes for selected economies. In compile words, this study divides empirical scheme into two different explained variables such as sustainable growth and development of digital technologies. However, to show empirical scheme very catchy, the present study uses the simultaneous equation models. Therefore, all selected indicators of sustainable growth contribute to economic growth efficiently except the foreign direct investment. Besides for the digital technology development, all factors significantly contribute to digital technologies except the carbon emissions and foreign direct investment. Additional robust tests confirm the consistency and stability of the findings reached in this research. Thus, to improve economic performance, digital economy development, and sustainability, authorities in BRICS areas should develop strategies that enhance digital economy development under the green supply chain management.

What is the carbon footprint of reverse osmosis in water treatment plants? A systematic review protocol

BACKGROUND

"Carbon footprint" (CF) is a direct measure of greenhouse gas emissions caused by a defined activity and can demonstrate global warming effects. The emissions of Greenhouse gases (GHGs) in water projects start from the primary water sources, followed by transportation, construction, and operation phases in the final treatment plants. Due to their possible environmental impacts, the water treatment plants equipped with Reverse Osmosis (RO) units will be investigated for their carbon footprint.

METHODS

The research question is "What is the carbon footprint of reverse osmosis in water treatment plants?". The literature search in this study will be divided into two sequential sections; in the first section, the search will be limited to Scopus, Science Direct, EMBASE, and PubMed databases. The keywords of water, "water treatment plants", "water purification", desalination, "reverse osmosis", RO, "carbon emission", "carbon dioxide/CO2 emission", "carbon footprint", "Life Cycle Assessment" and, LCA will be used. The carbon footprint of RO will be expressed based on the direct and indirect effects based on RO capacity. In the second section, the internet and specialist search will be done, and the search will be updated. No date limitation will be considered, and the main search will be done in English. When the search is completed, the screening will be performed. After removing duplicates, the title and abstract will be examined. The full text will be read if the title and abstract are not helpful for decision-making. In addition, the bibliography and references will proceed after the full-text screening. The Collaboration for Environmental Evidence (CEE) Critical Appraisal Tool will be used for risk of bias checking and study validity assessment. After full-text evaluation, data will be collected and categorized by two authors. If there is enough data, meta-analysis will be performed. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42022327572.

Political competition and environment quality: a study of India

The focus of sustainable development goals (SDGs) is to promote the use of renewable energy so that countries can achieve better environmental quality. However, the progression is plodding, and still, 80% of energy comes mainly from conventional sources in developing countries. The implementation of procedures depends on the political attitudes, political stability, and quality of institutions. India has a diverse political structure ranging from central government to state government to local governments. In the late '80 s, India witnessed a stiff rise in regional and national political parties, which leads more political competition. This paper tries to explain the possible relationship between political competition and CO2 emission in India. With the application of the time series non-linear ARDL (NARDL) model, this study tries to find the asymmetric relationship between political competition and CO2 emission. In our empirical model, we also include other important elements of environmental quality like innovation and fossil fuel consumption. Empirical results show that political competition is asymmetrically related to CO2 emissions in the long run. Fossil fuel consumption and innovation also have a significant relationship with emissions. Based on the results, a few policy recommendations have been discussed.

How does corporate organizational identity, environmental project complexity and environmental project effort matter for project success?

The challenge of achieving success in environmental projects persists for many organizations, and the reasons behind it are unclear. This study is aimed at investigating such reasons by testing the impact of corporate environmental identity, project complexity, and environmental intensity on environmental project success. The study seeks to provide practical recommendations to organizations to enhance their efforts to reduce environmental pollution. The study obtained data from sixteen experts of environmental project managers and applied the fuzzy AHP, fuzzy hierarchical models, and fuzzy TOPSIS techniques for empirical findings. The findings show that organizational identity for the environment and environment project complexity are the key triggers for the success of the environment in the Chinese context. Moreover, it is discovered that team functional diversity is critical to team absorptive capability. This research identified links that offer managers information on prospective selection and project improvement models, with enhanced capacity in leadership dimensions leading to increased project management success. The study also suggested several implications for environmental project success and developing pro-environmental behavior among project managers.

Decomposed and partial connectedness between economic globalization, non-renewable and renewable energy consumption in Vietnam

In this study, we use a time-varying parameter vector autoregression (TVP-VAR) in conjunction with the extended joint connectedness approach to examine the influences of the economic globalization measured by foreign direct investment (FDI) as well as trade openness (TO), on renewable and non-renewable energy consumption, by characterizing the connectedness of these variables, from 1987 to 2020 in Vietnam. Our results demonstrate that abolishing the state monopoly in foreign trade influences the system-wide dynamic connectedness of trade openness, which peaked in 1989. Net total directional connectedness of FDI and energy consumption suggests that both the consumption of renewable and non-renewable energy consistently act as net contagion shock receivers, and FDI is a critical net transmitter the whole time. Trade openness behaves consistently as a critical net shock transmitter in 1989 but turned into an essential net receiver from 1990 to 2020. In a system with trade openness, the consumption of non-renewable energy consistently acts as a net contagion shock receiver, and renewable energy consumption is a critical net transmitter in the whole sample. Pairwise connectedness reveals that FDI consistently appears as a shock transmitter to renewable and non-renewable energy consumption. Trade openness could be either a transmitter or a receiver of shock from non-renewable energy, depending on the period, and is a net receiver of shocks from renewable energy consumption during our sample. The findings of this paper are critical for Vietnam's government to make a greater contribution to the expansion of global commerce and a sustainable environment.

Introducing new green machining technology to enhance process performance and reduce environmental pollution in the metal processing industry

The pursuit of enhanced cooling and lubrication methods for machining processes that are energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective is receiving significant attention from both academia and industry. The reduction of CO2 emissions is closely tied to electrical and embodied energy consumption. This study introduces a novel LN2 oil-on-water (LNOoW) cooling/lubrication (lubricooling) approach for the machining of Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Machinability aspects, energy-related aspects, environmental-related aspects, and economic aspects are measured and compared. More specifically, surface quality, electrical energy, cutting forces, and tool wear were measured in machinability aspects. Similarly, specific total energy and specific cumulative Energy Demand (S_CED), specific carbon emission, and production costs were measured to investigate the energy and environmental and economic aspects, respectively. The LNOoW provided the best machinability results compared with other approaches. Result found that LNOoW produced 37.5% better surface quality, removed 159.17% more material, and reduced 50.56% specific cutting energy and 53.63% specific costs as compared to traditional dry cutting conditions. The 39% increment in specific carbon emissions observed in the LN2 oil-on-water (LNOoW) approach in comparison to the dry-cutting method can be mitigated through the implementation of sustainable practices in the production of liquid nitrogen (LN2). The information provided in this study serves as a valuable resource for the development of environmentally friendly machining processes. The study also helps get the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.

Eco-innovations, green growth, and environmental taxes in EU countries: a panel quantile regression approach

The purpose of this study is to examine how environmental taxation, green growth, and eco-innovations contribute to a more sustainable environment. This study examines the influence of green growth, environmental taxes, and eco-innovations on carbon dioxide emissions in 26 environmentally responsive European Union (EU) countries from 2000 to 2020. The analysis was conducted using the second-generation panel unit root test, cross-sectional dependence, panel cointegration, and panel quantile regression. Theoretical and empirical research has demonstrated that both linear and non-linear green growth strategies are effective in reducing CO2 emissions. There is evidence that CO2 emissions can be reduced through the implementation of environmental taxes, eco-innovations, the use of renewable energy sources, and enhanced energy efficiency. In contrast, economic growth has a positive effect on carbon emissions, and its square term verifies the environmental Kuznets curve. Nevertheless, our research findings provide empirical support for the hypothesis that sustainable development contributes to the maintenance of stringent environmental standards. For the sampled countries, the study's findings have significant policy implications. These results encourage governments to prioritize green growth over traditional economic growth and to encourage eco-innovations in renewable energy technology.

Analysis of energy-related CO2 emissions in Pakistan: carbon source and carbon damage decomposition analysis

Carbon dioxide emissions (CO2es) are presently a hot topic of worldwide concern. It is of great significance for lessening CO2es to wholly understand the transformation pattern of CO2es among countries, industries, and the main factors (i.e., emission effect, energy intensity, economic development, population size, carbon per unit of land, land per capita, and environmental impact per capita effects) influencing CO2es. Thus, to mitigate the country's CO2es efficiently, it is necessary to determine the driving factors of its emissions and damage variations. For this, we use the logarithmic mean Divisia index method. This research decomposes the major two dimensions, such as carbon sources and carbon damage variations from 1986 to 2020, into eight factors. The results show that Pakistan's CO2es increased continuously during the period, with an average annual growth rate of 4.76%. Growing the country's CO2es over 1986-2020, the key influencing factors are economic development, population, and land, while energy intensity and emission factors are the main forces in mitigating CO2es. The carbon source and carbon damage dimensions reached 68.75 Mt and 208.56 Mt, respectively, which led to a rise in CO2e. The entire set of factors is averagely moving around the major outcomes that provide significant policy measures. Finally, to efficiently reduce CO2e, Pakistan should concentrate on specific industrial paths and implement challenging, comprehensive governance to attain a low-carbon chain throughout the process. Thus, based on empirical results, this research put forward policy suggestions for cleaner production to reduce CO2 emissions further, and environmental policies must be tailored to local conditions.

From growth to sustainability: investigating N-shaped EKC and the role of energy productivity, technological advancement, and human capital in OECD economies

Environmental degradation rates have been on a concerning upward trajectory in recent decades, directly threatening the well-being of global populations. Responding to this urgent matter, scholars have been driven to explore its nuances, particularly emphasizing lowering energy consumption and carbon emissions amidst the growing demands of growing economies. Achieving the targets outlined in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement has also become a priority for many countries. Therefore, this study scrutinizes the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, specifically focusing on the role of energy productivity, technological advancement, and human capital in fostering a sustainable environment across 35 OECD economies from 1990 to 2018. Utilizing three robust econometric techniques, Cross-Sectional Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL), Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS), and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS), we have drawn insightful conclusions from our data. The analysis substantiates an N-shaped EKC hypothesis relationship between GDP and CO2 emissions, pointing towards an initially increasing, then decreasing, and finally an increasing again trend of emissions with GDP. Furthermore, the long-term projections underscore that energy productivity, technological progression, and human capital formation harm the environment. These findings culminate in a call for governments to orchestrate extensive plans and initiatives. This involves promoting green technologies, renewable energy-based ideas, and comprehensive education and awareness programs. These efforts should span all educational levels, highlighting climate change, sustainable practices, and the need for CO2 reduction, empowering societies to contribute to a sustainable future.

Low-CO2 Optimization Design of Quaternary Binder Containing Calcined Clay, Slag, and Limestone

Blended cement is commonly used for producing sustainable concretes. This paper presents an experimental study and an optimization design of a low-CO2 quaternary binder containing calcined clay, slag, and limestone using the response surface method. First, a Box-Behnken design with three influencing factors and three levels was used for the combination design of the quaternary composite cement. The lower limit of the mineral admixtures was 0%. The upper limits of slag, calcined clay, and limestone powder were 30%, 20%, and 10%, respectively. The water-to-binder ratio (water/binder) was 0.5. Experimental works to examine workability and strength (at 3 and 28 days) were performed for the composite cement. The CO2 emissions were calculated considering binder compositions. A second-order polynomial regression was used to evaluate the experimental results. In addition, a low-CO2 optimization design was conducted for the composite cement using a composite desirability function. The objectives of the optimization design were the target 28-day strength (30, 35, 40, and 45 MPa), target workability (160 mm flow), and low CO2 emissions. The trends of the properties of optimal combinations were consistent with those in the test results. In summary, the proposed optimization design can be used for designing composite cement considering strength, workability, and ecological aspects.

Recycling Local Waste Glass Bottles into Cement Paste: Effect on Hydration, Microstructure, and CO2 Emission

Large amounts of waste glass are generated along with the manufacturing of glass products, causing detrimental effects on the environment. Through crushing and ball-milling, waste glass powder (WGP) can be acquired from glass bottles and has been suggested in cementitious systems due to its potential pozzolanic activity. To better understand the impact of WGP on cementitious composites, experimental tests of rheology, heat of hydration, and strength development were conducted on cement pastes with and without WGP. Results show that the rheological performance of cement paste is improved when WGP with particles passing through 80 μm sieves is incorporated. The retarding effect and pozzolanic reaction were observed through X-ray diffraction patterns and thermo-gravimetric parameter analyses. A calcium hydroxide (CH) content calculation further confirms the secondary reactivity of WGP in cement pastes. Compared with the samples without WGP, the normalized CH content of binder per unit mass containing 35% WGP decreased by 21.01%, 24.94%, and 27.41% at the ages of 1, 28, and 90 days, respectively, which contributes to late-age strength development of pastes. At the same time, the hydration per unit of cement was increased by 21.53%, 15.48%, and 11.68%, which improved the cement efficiency. In addition, WGP particles provide nuclei for hydration products, facilitating the subsequent growth of C-S-H and strength development in late ages. Based on value engineering analysis, WGP was found to reduce the impact of Portland cement on the environment by 34.9% in terms of carbon dioxide emissions, indicating a bright prospect for WGP in the cement industry.

Biodegradability of Gel-Forming Superabsorbents for Soil Conditioning: Kinetic Assessment Based on CO2 Emissions

Quantification of the biodegradability of soil water superabsorbents is necessary for a reasonable prediction of their stability and functioning. A new methodological approach to assessing the biodegradability of these polymer materials has been implemented on the basis of PASCO (USA) instrumentation for continuous registration of kinetic CO2 emission curves in laboratory incubation experiments with various hydrogels, including the well-known trade brands Aquasorb, Zeba, and innovative Russian Aquapastus composites with an acrylic polymer matrix. Original kinetic models were proposed to describe different types of respiratory curves and calculate half-life indicators of the studied superabsorbents. Comparative analysis of the new approach with the assessment by biological oxygen demand revealed for the first time the significance of CO2 dissolution in the liquid phase of gel structures during their incubation. Experiments have shown a tenfold reduction in half-life up to 0.1-0.3 years for a priori non-biodegradable synthetic superabsorbents under the influence of compost extract. The incorporation of silver ions into Aquapastus innovative composites at a dose of 0.1% or 10 ppm in swollen gel structures effectively increases their stability, prolonging the half-life to 10 years and more, or almost twice the Western stability standard for polymer ameliorants.

Graph Regression Model for Spatial and Temporal Environmental Data-Case of Carbon Dioxide Emissions in the United States

We develop a new model for spatio-temporal data. More specifically, a graph penalty function is incorporated in the cost function in order to estimate the unknown parameters of a spatio-temporal mixed-effect model based on a generalized linear model. This model allows for more flexible and general regression relationships than classical linear ones through the use of generalized linear models (GLMs) and also captures the inherent structural dependencies or relationships of the data through this regularization based on the graph Laplacian. We use a publicly available dataset from the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) in the United States of America and perform statistical inferences of future CO2 emissions in 59 counties. We empirically show how the proposed method outperforms widely used methods, such as the ordinary least squares (OLS) and ridge regression for this challenging problem.

Production and characterization of ecological fire starter from sawdust and vegetable oil

The objective of this article aims to reduce indoor air pollution through the use of ecological fire starter (EFS) made from sawdust and vegetable oils. In the Far North region of Cameroon, plastic waste is used to ignite and stoke solid fuels fires, exposing mainly women and children who are responsible for cooking to health risks from indoor air pollution. Thus, the survey conducted among the population of the region shows that 96% of urban households use plastics waste made with LDPE, HDPE, PET, PS, PP and EVA as fire starter for solid fuels. In the region, 5544 tons of plastic used by households could emit approximately 15,314 tons of CO2 eq per year. The region has a manufacturing capacity of 1000 tons of EFS while its need is 894 tons in 2022. The lower heating value of the EFS varies between 31.914 ± 0.810 and 25.127 ± 0.026 MJ/kg, and have many ecological health and economic advantages. A household needs about 10 g of EFS to ignite solid fuel per day, with an annual expenditure ranging from 5.5 and US$ 7 to purchase EFS. Therefore, it is important to promote EFS through developing countries and look for another way to recover plastic waste.

Do financial inclusion and environmental regulations affect the green economy? An empirical study with a generalized linear model

Reducing carbon emissions is an efficient strategy to cope with global warming, which continues to be a frightening element for environmental protection. However, the energy industry is responsible for a lot of pollution in the atmosphere. To promote a low-carbon growth model, it is essential to endorse financial inclusion and environmental regulations. This research uses panel data from 70 nations, covering 1995 to 2021, to examine the interplay between economic growth, human capital, urbanization, trade openness, and environmental regulation as the primary defining element of efficient energy. Several tests have been used to ensure that the data are typically distributed; these include the cross-sectional dependence test, the KMO test, and the Bartlett test. The generalized linear model and Driscoll-Kraay standard errors have also been implemented for interim and final analysis. Results show that low-carbon energy sources are guaranteed for certain economies when financial inclusion and environmental regulation are implemented. Economic development, urbanization, trade openness, and human capital significantly impact green economic recovery. In light of these findings, policymakers are working to increase energy efficiency and boost their citizens' living standards by promoting financial inclusion and environmental regulation like imposing environmental taxes and governmental laws for industries.

Role of information and communication technology, economic growth, financial development and renewable energy consumption towards the sustainable environment: Insights from ASEAN countries

The objective of this study is to examine the effect of information and communication technology, economic growth, renewable energy consumption, and financial development on carbon dioxide emissions in selected ASEAN countries. The PMG (Pooled Mean Group) estimator is used to panel data from 1991 to 2020 to examine both the short-run and long-run impacts. The findings indicate that ICT and financial development contribute to environmental deterioration, in the long run, their influence on CO2 emissions in the short run is insignificant. On the other hand, the use of renewable energy has a long- and short-term favorable impact on environmental quality. Furthermore, it is discovered that economic growth increases CO2 emissions, but squared economic growth reduces CO2 emissions, confirming the inverted U-shaped EKC theory. The Granger causality test indicates that renewable energy and CO2 emissions are bidirectionally causal, but information and communication technology and financial development are unidirectionally causal to CO2 emissions. According to the findings, the governments of these nations must reduce carbon emissions from internet usage and invest in renewable energy sources to control environmental deterioration.

A dynamic relationship between renewable energy, agriculture, globalization, and ecological footprint of the five most populous countries in Asia

This study aims to examine the impact of globalization, renewable energy consumption, and agricultural value addition on the ecological footprint of selected five most populous countries in Asia during the period 1975-2020. The Westerlund cointegration test supports long-term cointegration relationships among the considered variables in selected countries. The long-term resilience results of the second-generation cross-sectionally augmented autoregressive distributed lag approach evidently demonstrate that agricultural value addition and globalization contribute significantly to the long-term ecological footprint of the five most populous countries in Asia. However, renewable energy consumption significantly reduces the ecological footprint. Moreover, the impact of economic growth on ecological footprint is significantly positive, while the square of economic growth had a significantly negative impact on ecological footprint, thus validating the inverted U-shaped environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for specific Asian densely populated countries. The causality test results of Dumitrescu and Hurlin support the feedback hypothesis by showing a two-way causal relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth. There is also a two-way causal relationship between agricultural value added and ecological footprint. Strategically, specific densely populated countries in Asia should encourage clean energy production and consumption in the agricultural sector, and the adoption of environmentally friendly technologies can improve environmental quality and agricultural production.

Self-Compacting High-Strength Textile-Reinforced Concrete Using Sea Sand and Sea Water

In this study, a self-compacting high-strength concrete based on ordinary and sulfate-resistant cements was developed for use in textile-reinforced structural elements. The control concrete was made from quartz sand and tap water, and the sea concrete was made from sea water and sea sand for the purpose of applying local building materials to construction sites in the coastal area. The properties of a self-compacting concrete mixture, as well as concrete and textile-reinforced concrete based on it, were determined. It was found that at the age of 28 days, the compressive strength of the sea concrete was 72 MPa, and the flexural strength was 9.2 MPa. The compressive strength of the control concrete was 69.4 MPa at the age of 28 days, and the flexural strength was 11.1 MPa. The drying shrinkage of the sea concrete at 28 days exceeded the drying shrinkage of the control concrete by 18%. The uniaxial tensile test showed the same behavior of the control and marine textile-reinforced concrete; after the formation of five cracks, only the carbon textile reinforcement came into operation. Accordingly, the use of sea water and sea sand in combination with a cement with reduced CO₂ emissions and textile reinforcement for load-bearing concrete structures is a promising, sustainable approach.

The impact of health expenditure and economic growth on CO2 in China: a quantile regression model approach

Based on the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis and using Chinese provincial panel data from 2002 to 2019, this study examines how different types of healthcare expenditure and levels of economic development and energy consumption contribute to carbon emissions regionally. Considering the wide regional differences in the development levels of China, this paper uses quantile regressions and draws the following robust conclusions: (1) The EKC hypothesis was validated by all methods in eastern China. (2) The carbon emission reduction of government, private, and social health expenditure is confirmed. Furthermore, the impact of health expenditure on carbon reduction decreases from East to West. (3) Government, private, and social health expenditure all cause reductions in CO2 emissions, with private health expenditure having the largest negative effect on CO2 emissions, followed by government health expenditure and finally social health expenditure. Overall, the limited empirical work available on the impact of different kinds of health expenditure on carbon emission in the existing literature, this study greatly assists policy makers and researchers to understand the importance of health expenditure in improving environmental performance.

Greenhouse gas emission, GDP, tertiary education, and rule of law: A comparative study between high-income and lower-middle income countries

Global climate change is a pressing concern, particularly in underdeveloped countries. Because greenhouse gases are a key cause of climate change and economic growth is tied to emissions. The study aimed to determine how the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Tertiary Education, and Rule of Law could be utilized more effectively to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The study used data from 30 Lower-Middle Income Countries (LMICs) and 10 High-Income Countries (HICs), as grouped by the World Bank, for the period between 2000 and 2014. In this study, sum of greenhouse gas emission is the response variable and GDP value, Gross enrollment in tertiary education, Rule of law index are the key explanatory variables. Independent sample t-test and multiple linear regression models were applied to analyze the data. The study found a significant impact of GDP on greenhouse gas emissions [0.722, (0.653, 0.790), p < 0.01] for LMICs and [-0.605, (-0.728, -0.482), p < 0.01] for HICs. For Tertiary Education, the regression model coefficient is [-0.187, (-0.274, -0.100), p < 0.01], and [0.480, (0.356, 0.603), p < 0.01], respectively for the LMICs and HICs. And the Rule of Law index [-0.046, (-0.112, 0.020), p = 0.170], and [0.099, (-0.028, -0.227), p = 0.125] for LMICs and HICs respectively came out as statistically not significant although from the mean test, the difference between the mean of the variable Rule of Law of LMCs and HICs is statistically significant [p < 0.01] thus, it has some impact on the efficient use of economic growth. This study concludes that in the LMICs, greenhouse gas emissions are highly positively associated with GDP and the negative coefficient for tertiary education indicates it holds down the emissions. For the HICs, it is evident that GDP is not a major driver and positive significance for tertiary education indicates that the greenhouse gas emissions may result from extravagant operations that might be linked with higher tertiary education, which requires further analysis.

The Dynamic Nexus Between International Tourism and Environmental Degradation in Top Twenty Tourist Destinations: New Insights From Quantile-on-Quantile Approach

Tourism is one of the important factors that can affect the environmental and economic situation of any economy. This study investigates the relationship between tourist arrivals and CO2 emission in the top 20 tourist destinations using data from quarterly observations from 1995 to 2018. A unique technique via quantile-on-quantile regression and Granger causality in quantiles was used. In particular, how the quantiles of tourist arrivals impact quantiles of CO2 emission was analyzed. The empirical results suggest a combination of both positive and negative effects of tourist arrivals and CO2 emission in most tourist destinations. Predominantly, at both high and low tails, in the USA, Spain, Hong Kong, and Austria, tourist arrival has a positive effect on CO2 emission, whereas in the case of Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, and Malaysia, the association was negative. On the other hand, China, Greece, Russia, Japan, Italy, South Korea, Thailand, and Turkey have both positive and negative effects of tourism on CO2 emissions at low and high tails. Tourism can be an important factor while formulating policy for environmental and climate aspects.

Environmental footprint of Hollywood film industry: myths vs facts

This paper discusses the impact of film industry on CO₂ emission of the USA by using four different single-equation cointegration methods, namely, fully modified least squares (FMOLS), dynamic least squares (DOLS), canonical cointegrating regression (CCR), and autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) to check the robustness of the results. The data has chosen in line with the environment Kuznets curves (EKC) and pollution haven hypothesis, and the models use communication equipment in millions of dollars and capital in entertainment, literacy, and artistic originals as determinants of motion picture and sound recording industries with other control variables such as income per capita and energy use to examine their nexus. Moreover, we also employ the Granger causality test to determine whether one variable is a predictor of another. The results approve the validity of EKC hypotheses for the USA. As expected, increase in energy use and capital assets results in rise in CO₂ emission, while communication equipment improves the environmental quality.

Analysis of how environmental degradation affects clean energy transition: evidence from the UAE

Considering the alarming rate of environmental degradation, all countries are looking for solutions to close their environmental gaps in order to ensure long-term sustainability. In order to achieve green ecosystems, economies seeking clean energy are motivated to embrace environmentally friendly practices that can support resource efficiency and sustainability. In this sense, the current paper addresses measuring the link between CO₂ emissions, economic growth (GDP), renewable and non-renewable energy (RE), tourism, financial development, foreign direct investment, and urbanization in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The aim of this paper is to empirically evaluate the link between CO₂ emissions and macroeconomic factors in the UAE. The UAE was chosen as the country for the case study as the UAE is one of the world's richest oil-based economies and one of the countries with the highest per capita income, adopts sustainable technologies, and has signed the Paris agreement supporting the transition to clean energy. To verify the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) for UAE, the timespans for the years 1990-2021 have been chosen according to data availability. The long-run coefficients supported the EKC hypothesis of an inverted U shape for income and CO₂ emissions, according to the findings. Notably, urbanization and financial development both reduce pollution while foreign direct investment increases environmental pollution. The study recommended the creation of more environmental policies to promote sustainable business operations and nationwide green awareness, increase the use of clean energy technology, reduce energy intensity, and achieve a net zero carbon target.