Does geothermal energy and natural resources affect environmental sustainability? Evidence in the lens of sustainable development

Hydrothermal fluid alteration of the Ordovician epigenetic karstification reservoir in the Tahe Oilfield, Tarim Basin, NW China

In recent years, the Ordovician carbonate reservoirs in the Tarim Basin have received attention due to continuous advancements in of deep strata exploration for oil and gas. The Ordovician carbonates in the Tahe Oilfield have experienced multiple phases of tectonic movement and ancient karst action to form reservoirs consisting of multi-scale spaces such as large caves, fractures, and dissolution pores. This study identifies indicators of atmospheric freshwater karst and hydrothermal karst in the Ordovician carbonate rocks of the Tahe Oilfield by comparing and analyzing lithological observation, geochemical data, fluid inclusions, logging interpretation, and seismic data. The spatial and temporal distribution of karst reservoirs are summarized, and the results show that the stage of tectonic movement and pulsating uplift of strata occurred in the early Caledonian and Hercynian orogenies, and the carbonate rocks were uplifted to the surface and large-scale atmospheric freshwater karstification. In the deeper strata, the thermal convection of fluids caused by volcanic activity accelerated the thermochemical sulfate reduction (TSR), and the generated H2S gas accompanied the upward transport of hydrothermal fluids, which further dissolved and modified the original karst system, increasing the storage space. However, away from the heat source, calcite (positive Eu anomaly, higher 87Sr/86Sr ratio, lower δ18O value,) reprecipitated due to the temperature reduction, so the role of hydrothermal activity in reservoir reconstruction is limited. The two karst action patterns indicated that epigenetic karstification is an important process for forming carbonate reservoirs in the Tahe Oilfield and the basis of hydrothermal karst reservoir formation. This study demonstrates the research and exploration value of karstification for the geo-energy field, which could benefit sustainable development in the Tarim Basin.

Understanding the dynamics of capital structure, corporate governance, and corporate social responsibility in high- and low-leveraged US and Chinese firms

Corporate social responsibility turned into a global sensation from the inception of the twenty-first century in the corporate world and grabbed immense engrossment from all stakeholders in their decision-making process. Capital structure and corporate governance practices are the well-mellowed facets of corporate finance literature. In this study, the moderating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) between corporate governance and leverage of the US and Chinese listed firms has been established, with a further extension of analyzing the moderating role of CSR between corporate governance and leverage in high vs low leveraged firms and high CSR vs low CSR firms as the novelty of this study and has never been examined in both economies and globally. The data of 1989 Chinese-listed firms from 28 sectors of the economy and 6640 US-listed firms from 27 sectors of the economy has been taken from 2001 to 2019 and analyzed through fixed effect regression and system generalized method of moment (GMM). Results of the study reveal that CSR and corporate governance are negatively associated with the leverage of both Chinese and US firms. Moreover, the moderating role of CSR has established between corporate governance and leverage negative relationship. The moderating role of CSR in the relationship of leverage and corporate governance is established only in low-leveraged firms whereas it is insignificant in high-leveraged firms. System GMM confirms the signs and significance of the regression results; that is why regression results are robust and reliable, and there is no endogeneity problem in our model. The study also gives an insight for future research on high- and low-leveraged firms and firms with more CSR score than less CSR score with other dimensions such as firm performance and firm value variables.

Exploring the role of economic and institutional indicators for carbon and GHG emissions: policy-based analysis for OECD countries

Most of the developed countries across the globe have targeted to attain sustainable economic growth. With this focus, the current study evaluated 29 OECD countries over the time period of 1990 to 2018 to analyze the influence of economic and environmental indicators, i.e., export diversification, institutional quality, macrocosmic variables on carbon dioxide, and greenhouse gas emissions. The current study used the quantile regression and generalized method of moments approach on the selected panel. Our comprehensive econometric approach allows us to reveal that export diversification negatively affects carbon emissions but promotes greenhouse gas emissions. Similarly, institutional quality, economic growth, financial development, and economic growth helps to reduce carbon emissions but increase greenhouse emissions. In comparison, trade openness exhibits a positive influence on carbon emissions but a negative on greenhouse gas emissions. Besides, urbanization is found one of the major reasons for environmental degradation. In light of empirical fact findings, this study commends some innovative policy insights for scholars, governors, and policymakers.