Metal-free sampling methods for dust, rainwater, surface water, plants, and sediments: A selection of unique tools from the SWAMP laboratory

Contamination control remains one of the greatest challenges for the reliable determination of many trace elements in environmental samples. Here we describe a series of metal-free sampling devices and tools designed and constructed specifically to minimize the risk of contamination by trace elements during sampling of dust, rainwater, surface water, plants, and sediments. Plastic components fabricated using 3-D printing include polylactic acid (PLA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG), polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC) and PC with carbon fibre. When additional strength is needed (e.g. supporting structural components), carbon fibre, aluminum (Al), or 316 stainless steel (SS) is used. Other plastics employed include acrylic and vinyl. Epoxy glue or SS may be used for joining components, but do not come into contact with the samples. Ceramic (zirconium dioxide) cutting blades are used where needed. Each plastic material was evaluated for contaminant trace elements by leaching with high purity nitric acid in the metal-free, ultraclean SWAMP laboratory. The devices were tested in the field to evaluate their performance and durability. When combined with appropriate cleaning procedures, the equipment enables ultraclean collection for trace element analysis of environmental media.•Plastic sampling devices were designed and constructed using 3D printing of PLA, PET, PETG or PP.•Leaching characteristics of plastic components were evaluated using high purity nitric acid in a metal-free, ultraclean laboratory.•Each sampling device was successfully field-tested in industrial settings (near open pit bitumen mines and upgraders), and in remote locations of northern Alberta, Canada.

Exploring dynamics relationship between carbon emissions and eco-environmental quality in Samarinda Metropolitan Area: A spatiotemporal approach

Carbon emissions have a negative impact on climate change. Environmental quality has faced significant challenges in the last decades. Eco-environmental quality helps assess the condition of the ecological environment to support humans' civilization and development. By using emissions raster dataset, remote sensing images, and LULC data, this study explores the status of carbon emissions (CE), eco-environmental quality (RSEICs), and the dynamic relationship between both variables in Samarinda Metropolitan Area, Indonesia. This study uses the spatiotemporal approach to deepen the understanding of CE-RSEICs during 2000-2021. The methods include the analysis of CE and the principal component of RSEICs. To understand the CE-RSEICs spatial features, the directional distribution ellipse method is used. Also, this study performs CE-RSEICs coupling analysis and identifies its LULC type composition. The findings show that CE status is still on an increasing trend, concentrating in the eastern region and keeping expanding during the period. The location of the low-emission ellipse is in the southwest, while the high-emission ellipse is in the east and intersects with the core cities. The mean RSEICs value is between 0.2878 to 0.4223, which indicates that the eco-environmental quality is categorized as fairly poor to inferior. Greenness, wetness, and Csink have a positive impact on RSEICs. The very poor-class ellipse is located in the inland region, and the very good-class ellipse is in the coastal area. The CE-RSEICs coupling status shows that the majority of the area has a weaker coupling degree. However, the higher coupling degree is concentrated in the population center and built-up region, which is the settlement area. The dominance composition of settlement area in higher coupling degree shows that settlement area has an impact on increasing CE-RSEICs coupling degree. So, sustainable low carbon development in coastal metropolitan area must continue to be carried out by considering CE-RSEICs and its spatial aspects.

Urban river recovery: a systematic review on the effectiveness of water clean-up programs

Urban rivers are affected at different levels by the intensification of human activities, representing a serious threat to the maintenance of terrestrial life and sustainable urban development. Consequently, great efforts have been dedicated to the ecological restoration of urban rivers around the world, as a solution to recovering the environmental functionality of these environments. In this sense, the present work aimed to investigate the effectiveness of interventions carried out aimed at the recovery of urban rivers, through a systematic review of the literature between 2010 and 2022, using the search term "rivers recovery." The results showed that there have been notable advances in the implementation of river recovery programs in urban areas around the world between the years analyzed. The ecosystems studied were affected, for the most part, by the increase in the supply of nutrients from domestic and industrial effluents, in addition to having highly urbanized surroundings and with several changes in land use patterns. The preparation of this literature review made it possible to demonstrate that the effectiveness of river recovery is extremely complex, since river recovery projects are developed for different reasons, as well as being carried out in different ways according to the intended objective.

Exploring the determinants of methane emissions from a worldwide perspective using panel data and machine learning analyses

This article contributes to the scant literature exploring the determinants of methane emissions. A lot is explored considering CO2 emissions, but fewer studies concentrate on the other most long-lived greenhouse gas (GHG), methane which contributes largely to climate change. For the empirical analysis, a large dataset is used considering 192 countries with data ranging from 1960 up to 2022 and considering a wide set of determinants (total central government debt, domestic credit to the private sector, exports of goods and services, GDP per capita, total unemployment, renewable energy consumption, urban population, Gini Index, and Voice and Accountability). Panel Quantile Regression (PQR) estimates show a non-negligible statistical effect of all the selected variables (except for the Gini Index) over the distribution's quantiles. Moreover, the Simple Regression Tree (SRT) model allows us to observe that the losing countries, located in the poorest world regions, abundant in natural resources, are those expected to curb methane emissions. For that, public interventions like digitalization, green education, green financing, ensuring the increase in Voice and Accountability, and green jobs, would lead losers to be positioned in the winner's rankings and would ensure an effective fight against climate change.

From darkness to light: Unveiling the asymmetric nexus between energy poverty and environmental quality in South Asia

Energy poverty alleviation has emerged as a critical economic problem in recent years. Given the enormous number of people without essential energy services, a crucial concern is whether providing universal access to electrification will considerably affect environmental quality. The present research evaluates the asymmetric energy poverty-environmental quality nexus in South Asian economies. Previous works adopted panel data techniques, resulting in distinctive conclusions about the energy poverty-environmental quality nexus, irrespective of the truth that several nations could not establish such a correlation separately. This research, conversely, applies the Quantile-on-Quantile methodology, which enables independent determinations of time-series interconnection in all nations to offer worldwide yet economy-particular evidence concerning the relationship between the variables. The results indicate that energy poverty degrades environmental quality in most selected economies at particular data distribution quantiles. Moreover, the findings disclose that the ranks of asymmetries between the variables change by country, emphasizing the requirement of governments to take special care when accepting policies linked to energy poverty and environmental quality.

Exploring the asymmetric effect of fiscal policy instruments in encountering environmental degradation: proposing an SDG framework for India

Asian countries are facing difficulties in attaining sustainable development goals (SDGs), and India is not an exception to it, with environmental degradation being one of the primary issues. Therefore, a policy-level reorientation may be required to address it. From this standpoint, fiscal policy instruments may come in handy towards fully integrating the SDGs into its agenda. The present investigation designs an SDG framework for India that could serve as an example for other Asian nations. This study introduces a new investigation exploring the relationship between fiscal policy instruments and environmental quality in India by examining the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis from 1990 to 2021. A nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model is applied for empirical examination. The findings indicate that positive and negative shocks in fiscal policy instruments have significant impact on carbon emissions in both the long and short run. The study has also found evidence of an "inverted U-shape" EKC for India. These results are valuable from a policy perspective for India and other Asian countries to address environmental issues. The study has also outlined potential outcomes that may benefit India's fiscal policy in resolving environmental issues and attaining better economic growth. In the end, the study proposes a policy framework that supports SDG 7, SDG 8, SDG 12, SDG 13, and SDG 17 objectives.

Do renewable energy and human capital facilitate the improvement of environmental quality in the United States? A new perspective on environmental issues with the load capacity factor

Recently, countries have been making intensive efforts to alleviate the burden on the environment and to make environmental conditions sustainable. In this context, our study aims to investigate the long-term impact of renewable energy consumption (REC) and human capital (HC) by considering the load capacity factor (LCF). We also investigate the long-term impact of economic growth (Y) and non-renewable energy consumption (NREC) on the LCF. In this context, we analyze annual data for the U.S. for the period 1965-2018 using the newly developed augmented ARDL (AARDL) approach. The long-term empirical results show the following. i) Increases in Y negatively affect LCF and deteriorate environmental quality. ii) Increases in NREC negatively affect LCF and accelerate the deterioration of environmental quality. iii) REC has no significant impact on environmental quality. iv) Increases in HC support the improvement of environmental quality. The empirical results show that contrary to expectations, renewable energy consumption does not have a significant impact on environmental quality in the U.S., whereas human capital is an important factor in improving environmental quality. In this context, US policymakers should pave the way for more investment in eco-friendly renewable energy investments and human capital to establish sustainable environmental quality. Policymakers should also take steps to reduce the use of fossil fuels.

The validity of the environmental Kuznets curve in the presence of long-run civil wars: A case of Afghanistan

The war in Afghanistan left significantly negative consequences in all spheres of its society, leading the country to the highest levels of poverty, hunger, and environmental damage. This study explores the long-run impact of civil wars on environmental degradation in Afghanistan using the conceptual framework of the Environmental Kuznets Curve and models augmented with pollutants, civil wars, comprehensive financial development index, and macroeconomic predictors on a set of data from the first quarter of 2002 to the first quarter of 2020. However, while the results confirm long-run relationships amid indicators by the autoregressive distributed lags bound test, the results of the vector error-correcting model to Granger causality reveal bidirectional causality links between CO2 emissions, per capita real GDP, civil wars, the financial development index, energy consumption, trade openness, and the inflation rate in the long-run, while the findings extend to confirm multidimensionality and interdependencies among predictors in the short-run. Moreover, the results indicate dual findings. First, it confirms that civil wars, the financial development index, per capita real gross domestic product, population growth, and the inflation rate significantly increase CO2 emissions, while the squared per capita real gross domestic product, energy consumption, and trade openness reduce CO2 emissions both in the short and long runs. Second, the results confirm an inverted U-shaped relationship, supporting the validity of the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis in Afghanistan. Based on the findings, appropriate policy measures are recommended.

Legacy contaminant trends in the Great Lakes uncovered by the wildlife environmental quality index

Since the 1970s, wildlife managers have prioritized the recovery of Great Lakes ecosystems from contamination by Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). Monitoring and quantifying the region's recovery is challenged by the diversity of legacy contaminants in the environment and the lack of benchmarks for their potential biological effects. We address this gap by introducing the Wildlife Environmental Quality Index (WEQI) based on prior water and sediment quality indices. The tool summarizes, in a single score, the exposure of wildlife to harmful levels of multiple contaminants - with harmful levels set by published guidelines for protecting piscivorous wildlife from biological impacts. We applied the new index to a combined Canadian and American dataset of Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) egg data to elucidate trends in wildlife for eight legacy industrial pollutants and insecticides in the Great Lakes. Environmental quality of the Great Lakes region (as indexed by WEQI) improved by 18% between 2002 and 2017. Improvement came from reductions in both the scope of contamination (the number of guideline-exceeding contaminants) and its amplitude (the average size of guideline exceedances) at bird colonies. But recovery was unequal among lakes, with Lake Erie showing no improvement at one extreme. Weakly- or non-recovering lakes (Erie, Ontario, Huron) were marked by inconsistent improvement in scope and amplitude, likely due to ongoing loading, sediment resuspension and other stressors reported elsewhere. Fast-recovering lakes (Superior and Michigan), meanwhile, improved in both scope and amplitude. Contrasting trends and contaminant profiles (e.g., exceedances of PCBs versus DDTs) highlight the importance of lake-specific management for equalizing recoveries. Lower environmental quality at American than Canadian colonies, particularly in Lake Huron, further suggest uneven success in - and opportunities for - the binational management of wildlife exposure to legacy contaminants.

Harmonizing pesticides environmental quality standards: A fate-pathway perspective

Regulatory agencies worldwide set pesticide environmental quality standards, which are proposed independently in each dependent environmental media rather than across the complete fate route. Thus, lacking the fate-pathway perspective in defining pesticide environmental quality standards might cause undesirable pesticide residue from the upper compartment (e.g., soil) to the lower compartment (e.g., water). This study aimed to harmonize the self-consistency of pesticide environmental quality standards across environmental media via the fate-pathway analysis. The introduced qualitative and quantitative rules defined environmental quality standards of pesticides in six major environmental scenarios in the soil and water system based on related regulatory objectives. Fate factors simulated via USEtox were used to create a preliminary quantitative link between theoretical maximum legal masses of pesticides across environmental compartments. Using chlorpyrifos and 2,4-D as examples, their standard values were comparatively assessed in selected environmental media in China and the United States. According to the investigative findings, missing the respective environmental quality standards of pesticides in the agricultural soil could significantly influence the implementation of those in freshwater. Taking a fate-pathway perspective, the self-consistency test highlighted that defining pesticide environmental quality standards for freshwater was the most challenging task, as the freshwater compartment typically comprises multiple lower environmental compartments with diverse regulatory objectives. Overall, this theoretical study has the potential to illuminate the harmonization of pesticide environmental quality standards throughout the entire environmental fate pathway, ultimately leading to improved regulatory efficiency and communication. Future research should focus on risk-based model implementation, regulatory response evaluation, and legal limit interpretation to better integrate environmental pesticide management under a variety of regulatory goals.

Dynamic assessment of the impact of agricultural land use change and globalization on environmental quality in the tropical African Rainforest: evidence from the Congo Basin

The rising human demand for food has increased the pursuit for more agricultural land to feed the ever-growing human population. Although agriculture constitutes the cornerstone of most economies and serves as a vital source of foreign earnings to others, experts suggest that it emits a substantial amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, thereby enhancing global warming. Furthermore, with the growing pace of globalization, less developed countries are witnessing economic growth with detrimental impacts on the environment. Inspired by the need to protect tropical rainforests and basins, the current research aims to assess the dynamic impacts of agricultural land use change (LALUC) and globalization (LGLO) on environmental quality (LCO2) in the Congo Basin while controlling for economic growth (LGDP), biomass energy consumption (LBIO), and urbanization (LURBN). Based on panel data from 1980 to 2018, this study utilized second-generation econometric methods including the cross-sectional Im, Peseran Shin (CIPS), Westerlund bootstrapped co-integration test, autoregressive distributive lag/pooled mean group (ARDL/PMG), and the Dumitrescu Hurlin (D-H) panel causality estimates. The outcome reveals a long-run equilibrium co-integrating association among the estimated variables, and LALUC, LBIO, and LURBN were found to reduce LCO2, while LGDP and LGLO increase LCO2. These findings imply the inverted U-shaped relationship between LALUC, LBIO, and LURBN is beneficial for environmental quality in the Congo Basin. Based on the findings, environmental quality and economic growth can be achieved instantaneously in this region by engaging in large-scale production of biomass energy. Therefore, policymakers and governments should promote renewable energy use and convey foreign funds towards its enhancement, while investments in agriculture should prioritize environmentally benign practices such as agroforestry.

Fiscal centralization and urban industrial pollution emissions reduction: Evidence from the vertical reform of environmental administrations in China

The relationship between fiscal regimes and urban industrial pollution emissions is unclear. This paper aims to explore the effects and mechanisms of fiscal centralization on urban industrial pollution emissions and environmental quality. Using the vertical reform of environmental administrations (VREA) in China as a quasi-natural experiment of fiscal centralization, this study applies a staggered difference-in-differences (DID) model to explore the differences in industrial pollution emissions between centralization cities and decentralization cities. The main findings are: (1) VREA significantly inhibits regional industrial pollution emissions, and the reform effect increases over time. This conclusion still holds after considering a series of robustness issues. (2) Industrial sulfur dioxide (SO2) and solid particulate emissions in the fiscal centralization cities have decreased significantly by 0.3281% and 0.2240%, respectively. However, there is no significant change in industrial wastewater discharges. (3) Environmental regulations, environmental expenditures, and pollution control investments of local governments are the main channels through which VREA reduces industrial pollution emissions. (4) The effects of VREA are more significant in central and western cities and small cities. (5) Relative to decentralization cities, centralization cities have improved air and water quality by 0.0825% and 0.1628%, respectively. These findings help to accurately assess the effects of fiscal centralization on regional environmental governance and provide a decision-making reference for further deepening environmental centralization reform in China.

Unraveling the interplay between globalization, financial development, economic growth, greenhouse gases, human capital, and renewable energy uptake in Indonesia: multiple econometric approaches

Addressing global environmental concerns requires the widespread adoption of renewable energy sources. More research is needed to examine the relationships between renewable energy (RE) and globalization, economic growth, and environmental quality in Indonesia. Therefore, we examined how renewable energy usage in Indonesia has changed due to the dynamic effects of globalization, financial development, and environmental quality. Time-series data were analyzed using an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model to test for cointegration and long-run/short-run dynamics between 1990 and 2020. In addition to ARDL bounds testing, we used the Johansen and Engle-Granger cointegration methods for confirmation. Globalization, financial progress, human capital, greenhouse gas emissions, and economic expansion have favorable long- and short-term effects on renewable energy sources. Globalization has enabled Indonesia to expand trade, FDI, and financial investment. It has also increased energy-efficient technology use due to environmental policies. The computed results are robust enough to substitute estimators, such as dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS), fully modified least squares (FMOLS), and canonical cointegrating regression (CCR). We recommend the implementation of policies that support financial and environmental development by utilizing renewable resources and increasing investments in renewable energy ventures.

Analyzing the linkages of rural tourism, GDP, energy utilization, and environment: Exploring a sustainable path for China

Rural tourism spurs economic growth and jobs but harms the Environment due to energy demands. The study accounts for energy use, globalization, and economic growth to assess and mitigate rural tourism's environmental impact. For data covering 2001Q1 to 2019Q4, GMM approaches are utilized to analyze the environmental implications of rural tourist enterprises. The findings suggest that rural tourism-related catering services increased substantial and positive overall environmental quality, except N2O. However, food and beverage services negatively influence greenhouse gas emissions and only PM2.5 in air pollution. Sightseeing hurts greenhouse gas emissions while having a positive impact on air pollution. Furthermore, traveling has a considerable negative influence on CO emissions in air pollutants. Energy use only has a substantial influence on CO2 and CO, but GDP has a negative impact on N2O emissions. Globalization has a negative impact on CO2 and air pollutants other than PM2.5. Catering services associated with rural tourism positively affect overall environmental quality, excluding N2O emissions. Rural tourism's food and beverage services harm greenhouse gas emissions (including CO2) and air pollution (particularly PM2.5). Traveling has a significant negative impact on CO emissions, but sightseeing has a dual impact, both negative on greenhouse gas emissions and positive influence on air pollution. Furthermore, shopping and leisure have little impact on overall environmental quality in China. The crucial efforts' policy ramifications are addressed as well.

The effect of financial development on environmental quality: a developing country evidence

Financial development is vital to enhance the inclusive growth of a country in the modern world, and environmental quality, affected by financial development, is also a highly debated topic. Thus, this study attempts to investigate the role of financial development in determining environmental quality in Sri Lanka considering other variables namely economic growth, energy consumption, trade openness, and foreign direct investments. The key econometric tool used for the purpose is the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach with the data from 1992 to 2021. As per the findings, financial development, economic growth, energy consumption, and foreign direct investments adversely impact environmental quality both in the long-run and short-run. Additionally, trade openness established a negative impact in the short-run only. Importantly, the Environmental Kuznets' Curve (EKC) hypothesis and Pollution Haven Hypothesis are established. Finally, all variables except trade openness confirmed a unidirectional causal relationship with environmental quality. This study recommends that all the modelled variables are vital to enrich the environmental quality in Sri Lanka.

Financial development and environmental quality in developed countries: a systematic literature review

Studying the effect of financial development on environmental quality has become imperative in the modern world due to the climate change challenges. Hence, this systematic literature review provides a comprehensive overview of the existing body of knowledge on the nexus of financial development and environmental quality in developed countries. Three databases: Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar were used to search the relevant articles in this domain. Finally, 20 journal articles qualified for the systematic literature review based on the pre-defined article inclusion criteria as per the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) framework. We found that a range of econometric approaches were used in all examined papers, employing a diverse range of proxy variables to model the relationship between financial development and environmental quality. Overall, the findings of the examined papers imply mixed evidence of this nexus in developed countries. We highlight the knowledge gap in this research domain examining the financial development and environmental quality link from different proxies.

Exploring the impact of public funds and eco-friendly innovations on reducing carbon pollution in North Africa

The main objective of this study is to examine the impacts of green energy and public investment on the CO2 emissions in North Africa. Moreover, the study also tests the existence of the N-shaped Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis for North African countries between 1995 and 2018. These factors were analyzed using the Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS), Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS), and Pooled Mean Group (PMG) estimators to obtain estimations of heterogeneous parameters. The outcome of these tests and examinations showed that the N-shaped curve was confirmed. Secondly, The results of the study also demonstrate the effectiveness of renewable energy as an eco-friendly innovation in reducing carbon emissions. This finding highlights the positive impact that renewable energy sources can have in terms of emitting fewer carbon emissions compared to traditional energy sources. Moreover, public investment, which interprets government expenditure, and urbanization contribute to environmental degradation by increasing CO2 emissions in the case of North African countries. Furthermore, the findings also indicated a trade-off effect resulting from the correlation between CO2 emissions and economic development. Based on these findings, the study recommends that economic policymakers in North African countries prioritize transforming the structure of government expenditures to improve environmental quality, optimize the utilization of revenues from non-environmentally friendly energy resources to accelerate the energy transition, increase the exploitation of renewable energy, and promote environmental awareness in society. By implementing these recommendations, North African countries can balance economic growth and environmental quality while reducing their carbon footprint.

Differential benefit of coal and natural gas efficiency in Denmark: How clean is the environmental-related innovation?

Inspired by Denmark's ambitious renewable energy initiatives and its commitment to achieving a substantial 70 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, this study delves deeper into examining the roles of energy source efficiency, renewable energy utilization, and environment-related technologies spanning the years from 1990 to 2021. A comprehensive array of wavelet tools, including wavelet coherence, wavelet-based ordinary least squares (WBOLS), Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT), Granger causality, and wavelet correlation, was employed to dissect these dynamics. The primary findings underscore the potential for enhancing environmental sustainability through these key indicators. For instance, employing the WBOLS method reveals that a percent increase in renewable energy consumption translates into an approximate reduction of ∼0.02%, ∼0.03%, and ∼0.54% in GHG emissions in the short-, medium-, and long-term, respectively. Similarly, improvements in energy efficiency yield remarkable outcomes. A one percent increase in the efficiency of natural gas utilization leads to GHG emission reductions of ∼0.44%, ∼0.19%, and ∼0.83% in the short-, medium-, and long-term, respectively. Moreover, a 1 percent enhancement in coal energy efficiency results in GHG emission reductions of ∼0.23%, ∼0.19%, and ∼0.91% in the short-, medium-, and long-term, respectively. Furthermore, the study indicates that a surge of 1% in innovation through environment-related technologies corresponds to GHG emission reductions of ∼0.56%, ∼0.10%, and ∼0.02% in the short-, medium-, and long-term, respectively. The results are notably substantiated by the CWT Granger causality approach. Considering the somewhat modest impact of innovation on GHG emissions, especially in the long-term, the study recommends a deliberate emphasis on the design and formulation of environmentally-related innovations that prioritize attributes such as reliability, durability, and adaptability.

Traditional and new proposals for environmental microbial indicators-a review

The continuous increment in world population coupled with the greatest natural resource consumption and waste generation has an enormous impact on the environment. To date, using biological indicators (bioindicators) to evaluate the biological quality of natural environments is very common. Nonetheless, selecting those suitable for each ecosystem or contaminant is one of the most important issues for environmental sciences. Bacteria and helminths are mainly related to fecal contamination, while antibiotic-resistant bacteria, fungi, viruses, and microalgae are organisms used to determine deteriorated ecosystems by diverse contaminants. Nowadays, each bioindicator is used as a specific agent of different contaminant types, but detecting and quantifying these bioindicator microorganisms can be performed from simple microscopy and culture methods up to a complex procedure based on omic sciences. Developing new techniques based on the metabolism and physiological responses of traditional bioindicators is shown in a fast environmental sensitivity analysis. Therefore, the present review focuses on analyzing different bioindicators to facilitate developing suitable monitoring environmental systems according to different pollutant agents. The traditional and new methods proposed to detect and quantify different bioindicators are also discussed. Their vital role is considered in implementing efficient ecosystem bioprospection, restoration, and conservation strategies directed to natural resource management.

Towards integrated, and sustainable municipal solid waste management system in Shashemane city administration, Ethiopia

Solid waste generation is attested to be unavoidable product of human activities. Sustainable management of such waste is a pressing challenge faced in many developing countries today. The study was motivated by the fast growing population and the inefficient waste management system threatening the public health and the image of Shashemene city in Ethiopia. The objectives of the study were: to explore the existing household solid waste management practices, to examine the current governance system of municipal solid waste management, to investigate the contemporary challenges and opportunities of municipal solid waste management, and forward integrated and sustainable municipal solid waste management system for Shashemene city. Data were collected from sampled households, key informants, focus groups, and the city's environment. Data were analyzed by employing quantitative and qualitative methods. 94.8 % of the respondents opined that the solid waste generated in their city is organic in nature (Ash, and sweeps; leftover food, and vegetable peels; paper, and cardboards; green leaves, and grass; and cattle dung). 96.7 % of respondent households opined that they have temporary waste storage in their yards and trash bags were asserted to be widely used (87.6 %) in handling the trash in the courtyard. The waste sorting and recovering practices among the residents is very low and is certainly the major cause for inefficient and unsustainable management system of municipal solid waste in Shashemene city. Generally, a grand mean of 2.23 confirmed the absence of good governance in municipal solid waste management system in Shashemene city. Moreover, the significant proportion of responses ( ≥ 50 %) for each of the nine principles of good governance as either poor or very poor asserted governance failure of the municipal solid waste management system in Shashemene city. The results of the study confirmed that low public awareness on waste management; inadequate collection capacity; poor integration and coordination of stakeholders; environmentally unsound dump site; and illegal dumping by key stakeholders are the major challenges underpinning the unsustainable municipal solid waste management in the city. It is recommended that Shashemene city must adopt integrated sustainable municipal solid waste management system to substantially enhance the waste management service in the city leading to ultimate advancement of public health and environmental quality.

Environmental taxes and environmental quality in Canada

This paper aims to capture the effect of environmentally related taxes on environmental quality in Canada while controlling economic growth, financial development, and energy consumption over the period of 1990Q1 to 2020Q4. The present study employs novel econometric approaches, namely, the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (N-ARDL) test and the gradual shift causality (GS-C) test. The outcomes of the study reveal that (i) there is long-run cointegration equation between environmental taxes (E-TAX), carbon dioxide emissions (CO2E), economic growth (ECG), financial development (FD), and primary energy consumption (PREC); (ii) E-TAX causes to decrease in environmental degradation in Canada; (iii) PREC and ECG increase (and cause) environmental degradation in Canada; and (iv) financial development also positively affect the environmental sustainability. This effort may also be of great importance for policymakers and decision-makers to better understand the factors of environmental degradation for developing effective tax policies that will alleviate human impacts and contribute to reducing environmental degradation.

Prediction of heavy metals in polluted mangrove soils in Brazil with the highest reported levels of mercury using near-infrared spectroscopy

Infrared reflectance spectroscopy has demonstrated potential as a tool for monitoring and preventing contamination in different environments. The objective of this study was to evaluate the usage of near-infrared spectroscopy for predicting heavy-metal contamination in mangrove soils from the Botafogo River estuary located in Pernambuco State, Northeastern Brazil. These soils exhibit the highest mercury (Hg) levels ever reported for Brazilian mangrove soils. Sixty-one samples (obtained at depths ranging from 0 to 5 cm) were collected and measured using near-infrared (1000-2500 nm) reflectance spectroscopy. Preprocessing methods were applied, and partial least squares regression was used to build prediction models for attributes such as clay content, soil organic matter (SOM), pH, Eh, and concentrations of Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn. The models were evaluated using root mean squared error (RMSE), the adjusted coefficient of determination (R2adj), bias, the ratio of performance to interquartile distance (RPIQ), and Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (CCC). The best outcomes were noted for concentrations of Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, and Pb (RPIQ > 2.5 and R2adj > 0.80); second-best outcomes were found for Zn and SOM (RPIQ > 1.5 and R2adj > 0.70). Clay content, pH and Eh exhibited the poorest outcomes (RPIQ < 1.5). The importance of spectral preprocessing is highlighted, notably with Savitzky-Golay derivatives and Multiplicative Scatter Corrections, which boosted performance for most of the variables. Near-infrared spectroscopy can be efficiently used to predict Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and SOM and represents a technique complementary to traditional analyses.

Impact of energy and industrial structure on environmental quality and urbanization: evidence from a panel of BRICS countries

Global sustainable development demands boosting renewable energy and optimizing industrial structures. This study employs a panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) model to examine the dynamic relationship between energy structure, industrial structure, environmental quality, and urbanization in the BRICS countries from 1990 to 2021. Energy structure, industrial structure, environmental quality, and urbanization cointegrate empirically. Energy mix optimization and industrial structure upgrades can improve environmental quality. Energy enhancements also supported urbanization. Accelerating industrial change could adversely impact urbanization. The impulse response results demonstrate that expanding renewable energy and tertiary industries such as financial and service boost environmental quality and urbanization. The variance decomposition investigation reveals significant "path dependence" in reducing carbon emissions and increasing urbanization. Finally, based on the findings, policy insights for enhancing environmental quality and fostering urbanization are laid out and disputed, with long-term implications for environmental managers and urban planners.

Soil erosion assessment in the Amazon basin in the last 60 years of deforestation

Anthropic activities in the Amazon basin have been compromising the environmental sustainability of this complex biome. The main economic activities depend on the deforestation of the rainforest for pasture cattle ranching and agriculture. This study analyzes soil erosion to understand how deforestation has impacted the Amazon basin in this context, using three land-use temporal maps (1960, 1990, 2019) through the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE). Our results point to a significant influence of deforestation due to the expansion of agricultural and livestock activities on soil erosion rates in the Amazon Basin. The average soil erosion rate has increased by more than 600% between 1960 and 2019, ranging from 0.015 Mg ha-1 year-1 to 0.117 Mg ha-1 year-1. During this period, deforestation of the Amazon rainforest was approximately 7% (411,857 km2), clearly the leading cause of this increase in soil erosion, especially between 1990 and 2019. The south and southeast regions are the most impacted by increasing soil erosion, in which deforestation was accelerated for expanding agriculture and livestock activities, mainly in the sub-basins of the Madeira, Solimões, Xingu, and Tapajós that present soil erosion increases of 390%, 350%, 280%, and 240%, respectively. The sub-basins with the highest sediment delivery rate (SDR) are under the influence of the Andes, highlighting Solimões (27%), Madeira (13%), and Negro (6%) due to the increase in the soil erosion rate increase in these sub-basins.

Hybrid Whale Archimedes Optimization-based MLPNN model for soil nutrient classification and pH prediction

Soil fertility and environmental factors play an important role in improving productivity and cropland quality in the agricultural sector. A new prediction and classification model for the potential of soil nutrients and hydrogen (pH) levels is proposed. The proposed model, Hybrid Whale Archimedes Optimization-based Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network (HWAO-MLPNN), is utilized for soil features classification of pH levels, and the soils are collected from the villages such as phosphorous (P), organic carbon (OC), boron (B), and potassium (K). The village-wise soil fertility prediction and classification model aims to improve soil health, reduce harmful fertilizer usage, enhance environmental quality, and achieve more profits. The proposed model combines the Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network (MLPNN) model and the Hybrid Whale Archimedes Optimization (HWAO) algorithm to enhance the classification performance on the validation data. The Marathwada dataset is selected to validate the soil nutrient prediction and classification model, and various measuring units such as cross-validation accuracy, Area Under Curve (AUC), accuracy, Mean Squared Error (MSE), G-mean, precision, specificity, and sensitivity are used for evaluation. The comparative study of this paper shows that the proposed HWAO-MLPNN achieved more classification accuracy of 98.1%, cross-validation accuracy of 98.3% for pH classification, and cross-validation accuracy of 97.9% for soil nutrient classification. The proposed model can be utilized to accurately classify soil nutrients and pH levels, which can have a significant impact on improving soil health, reducing harmful fertilizer usage, enhancing environmental quality, and ultimately increasing profitability in the agricultural sector.

Do industrialization and nonrenewable energy affect environmental quality? Evidence from top fossil fuel-consuming countries

The global warming phenomenon has been an issue of considerable discussion and debate among academics and decision-makers over the past few decades. Therefore, a deeper comprehension of the relationships between environmental deterioration and its causes is necessary in nations that rely on fossil fuels. This study examines the relationship between per capita carbon dioxide emissions and total natural resources, nonrenewable energy, industrialization, and ecological footprint from 2001 to 2020 in the case of major fossil fuel-consuming countries. The most recent panel Granger causality and panel-corrected standard error (PCSE) simulation models are used in this study. The findings indicate that natural resources, ecological footprint, and registered companies impede environmental quality. Similarly, the same results were noted by employing the generalized least square method. A feedback effect was noted between carbon dioxide emission and ecological footprint, while unidirectional causality between coal consumption and carbon emission. In light of these findings, it is advised that instead of pursuing policies that encourage the use of coal and petroleum, new energy policies enhance the share of nonfossil fuels in the energy mix for controlling rapid industrialization, extraction of natural resources, and environmental and economic issues.

Democracy, information, and communication technology infrastructure and environmental quality

Environmental degradation is an urgent global concern. While previous studies acknowledge the substantial effects of both democracy and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on environmental quality, their joint effects remain underexplored. Addressing this gap, our research investigates the individual and synergistic effects of democracy and ICT infrastructure on environmental quality. Utilizing the system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator, we assess a panel dataset from 152 countries between 2003 and 2019. Our results indicate that both democracy and ICT infrastructure advancements substantially improve environmental quality. Furthermore, an enhanced ICT infrastructure augments the positive effects of democratic practices on the environment and vice versa. However, when ICT infrastructure is insufficient, the positive influence of democratic systems on the environment becomes negligible, and similarly, without a solid democratic foundation, the benefits of ICT infrastructure on environmental quality are diminished. This underscores a synergistic relationship between democracy and ICT in fostering sustainable environmental progress. Consequently, our study offers significant insights into the multifaceted interplay between democracy, ICT infrastructure, and the environment.

How does renewable energy, newborn birth rates, industrialization, and economic growth affect environmental quality? New evidence from 90 Belt and Road countries

Reducing carbon emissions is a critical approach for attaining global environmental sustainability and combating climate change. To investigate how energy, population, industry, and economic structure affect environmental quality. This study collects panel data for 90 Belt and Road (B&R) nations from 1995 to 2021. For the first time, the nonlinear dynamic impacts of renewable energy, newborn birth rate, industrialization, and economic growth on carbon emissions are investigated using a threshold panel model and a panel vector autoregression (PVAR) model. According to the study's findings: (1) models 1-4 demonstrate that all structural factors have substantial threshold impacts on carbon emissions, demonstrating a nonlinear connection. (2) Carbon emissions are negatively impacted by energy structure (renewable energy) and population structure (newborn birth rate). Industrial structure (industrialization) and economic structure (economic growth), on the other hand, have a beneficial influence on carbon emissions. However, when the structural variables grow in size, their threshold effects all increase this contribution. (3) In three groups of nations with varying wealth levels, differences in the influence intensity of structural factors on carbon emissions, particularly renewable energy and economic growth, were detected. The impact of renewable energy on carbon emissions is: middle-income (MI) countries > high-income countries (HI) > low-income countries (LI). The impact of economic growth on carbon emissions is MI countries > LI countries > HI countries. Based on the findings, relevant policy recommendations are provided to the policy makers of the "B&R" countries from the perspectives of structural factors and heterogeneity. It provides certain references for the realization of global environmentally sustainable development strategies and the coordinated development of economic, social and environmental systems.

Integument colouration and circulating carotenoids in relation to urbanisation in Eurasian kestrels (Falco tinnunculus)

Urbanisation is one of the biggest environmental challenges of our time, yet we still lack an integrative understanding of how cities affect behaviour, physiology and parasite susceptibility of free-living organisms. In this study, we focus on carotenoids, strictly dietary micronutrients that can either be used as yellow-red pigments, for integument colouration (signalling function), or as antioxidants, to strengthen the immune system (physiological function) in an urban predator, the Eurasian kestrel (Falco tinnunculus). Kestrels are specialised vole hunters but shift to avian prey in cities where diurnal rodents are not sufficiently available. This different foraging strategy might determine the quantity of carotenoids available. We measured integument colouration, circulating carotenoids in the blood and ectoparasite burden in kestrels along an urban gradient. Our results showed that nestlings that were raised in more urbanised areas displayed, unrelated to their ectoparasite burden, a paler integument colouration. Paler colours were furthermore associated with a lower concentration of circulating carotenoids. These findings support the hypothesis that the entire urban food web is carotenoid deprived and only prey of low quality with low carotenoid content is available (e.g. fewer carotenoids in urban trees, insects, small birds and finally kestrels). The alternative hypothesis that nestlings allocate carotenoids to reduce physiological stress and/or to cope with parasites rather than invest into colouration could not be supported. Our study adds to existing evidence that urban stressors negatively affect carotenoid production in urban areas, a deficiency that dissipate into higher trophic levels.

Analysis of environmental sustainability and economic development from electricity consumption based on the modified spatial Durbin model

The study investigates the impacts of financial development, electricity use, and technology innovation on CO2 emissions. International trade also plays an essential role in the economic development of Pakistan. Studying the relationship between ecological parameters, technological innovation, electricity use, and CO2 emissions is necessary to formulate the country's reasonable and practical energy policies. Based on the study's use of data from 292 Pakistani firms from 2006 to 2021, the paper investigates the mechanism of the role between financial development, electricity use, technological innovation, international trade, and CO2 emissions using the spatial Durbin model. The results reveal that the effect of economic growth, electricity use, and technological innovation on CO2 emissions has a spatial spillover effect. The results verify that international trade and the transport sector promote the country's carbon emissions. The typical speculation spike on technology innovation enhanced and financial development should concentrate more on protective ecological parameters. The research provides theoretical guidance for solving the contradictory problem of renewable energy use growth and CO2 emission limitation while promoting green and low-carbon development in the country.

Environmental quality outlook of the leading oil producers and urbanized African states

This study seeks to explore the links between energy consumption and environmental quality in the wake of rapid urbanization in Africa with empirical insights from the cases of Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Egypt, and South Africa. These countries aside from being among the largest economies; are also among the leading energy producers and the most urbanized economies that emit the most carbon dioxide on the continent. Based on the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) panel ARDL estimator, the dynamics nexus between the variables was estimated vis-à-vis the short-run and long-run coefficients using relevant sample data between 1990 and 2015. The study further examines the channels of causality between the variables while also testing for the validity of the popular Environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis for the panel of countries. The results confirm that the rising level of energy use significantly exacerbates the level of carbon emission among the countries in the study while growing urbanization significantly creates a negative impact on carbon emission. In addition, an increase in per capita income improves the environmental quality but the doubling of income per capita triggers environmental degradation, thus invalidating the EKC hypothesis in the examined panel economies. In essence, these countries have not reached the supposed turning point at which income growth can yield desirable emission mitigation effects. Following the findings, essential recommendations are provided for policymakers in the main text.

Does renewable energy improve environmental quality? Evidence from RECAI countries

Since 1990, the ecological footprints have been increasing significantly with a continuous increase rate, which led to challenges to environmental quality. The basis for economic growth was said to be the shift of energy and environmental strategies toward a sustainable future. Indeed, it became a matter of proclaimed acceptance that environmental challenges nurtured expansion, innovation, and competitiveness. Climate change is the most pressing issue being faced by the world due to an increase in ecological footprint from 7.0 billion to 20.6 billion GHA. It indicates the seriousness of environmental degradation; therefore, nations need to ensure environmental sustainability. Keeping this in mind, the present research mainly aims to examine the impact of renewable energy utilization on the ecological footprints of RECAI economies, spanning the period from 1990 to 2020. To significantly achieve the research objective, we utilized panel econometric methods for empirical analysis. The results of long-run elasticities indicate that both renewable energy utilization as well as trade openness significantly controls the ecological footprints, while higher conventional energy utilization and economic growth significantly impede environmental sustainability. The empirical findings provide new insights for policymakers on renewable energy for the betterment of environmental quality in RECAI countries.

Impact of logistics agglomeration on environmental quality in China: aggravating pollution effect or emission reduction effect?

Whether logistics agglomeration and pollution reduction can form a perfect combination in space is one of the important breakthroughs for the successful green transformation of the logistics industry in the future. This paper attempts to clarify the nonlinear change law of logistics agglomeration evolution on environmental quality in China and further clarify the interpretation of informatization and legalization factors on macro-regulatory functions. Based on the panel data of 31 provincial-level administrative regions in China from 2010 to 2020, the empirical verification is carried out by means of two-way fixed effects, quantile regression, instrumental variables, and spatial econometrics. The research finds that (1) there is an inverted U-shaped change trend between logistics agglomeration and environmental quality and the low-level logistics agglomeration period has a blocking effect on pollution emission reduction. However, from the starting point of the sample interval, representative regions such as Beijing and Shanghai gradually break through the bottleneck of logistics agglomeration in the form of a pyramid, which has an incentive effect on pollution emission reduction. The above conclusions are supported by robustness tests in six ways, including eliminating extreme data disturbance, eliminating the impact of the COVID-19, controlling the impact of other factors, pollutant sensitivity testing, avoiding the interference of pollution prevention and control, and correcting the endogenous bias of the model. (2) Further analysis of superimposed spatial effects and regulatory effects shows that regional spillover pollution has spatial dependence in both geographical and economic distribution. The effect of logistics agglomeration also produces an inverted U-shaped spatial spillover effect on the environmental quality of adjacent areas. Both informatization and legalization factors help alleviate the pollution increasing effect in the low-level logistics agglomeration stage. Under the regulatory effect of informatization, the arrival of the critical point for logistics agglomeration and emission reduction will be relatively delayed. Under the regulatory effect of legalization, the arrival of the critical point for logistics agglomeration and emission reduction will be relatively accelerated. (3) There is significant regional heterogeneity in the environmental effects of logistics agglomeration. Each region needs to "suit the remedy to the case" in combination with its own situation to break through the threshold of pollution reduction as soon as possible.

Transitioning towards a sustainable environment: the dynamic nexus between economic complexity index, technological development and human capital with environmental quality in India

This paper aims to investigate the dynamic nexus between economic complexity index (ECI), technological development (TIN), human capital (HC) and environmental quality in India for transition towards a sustainable environment. This study is based on secondary data covering the period from 1985 to 2018. For empirical analysis, this study applied "Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology" (STIRPAT) model framework under the estimation of autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model and vector error correction model (VECM) model. The empirical findings of model 1 show ECI, TIN, HC and urbanization (URB) as the helping hands to mitigate the problem of environmental degradation by shrinking the level of EF, whereas for model 2, ECI and TIN failed to influence the CO2 emissions, but HC served as a stimulant for environmental quality enhancement by declining the level of CO2 emissions. In contrast, GDP growth and URB strengthen the CO2 emissions levels. Moreover, in VECM framework, estimated findings reveal that the covariables Granger-cause EF and CO2 emissions, inferring that causality flows asynchronously from its covariables to EF and CO2. Impulse response function (IRF) revealed that the responses in EF and CO2 emissions ascribed to changes in its covariables. The outcome of the study has some implications for environmental policy strategists to prepare sustainable environment policies and other responsible authorities for sustainable development goal (SDGs), academician and scholars. All the stakeholders involved in environmental economics and policymakers can evaluate this study to design proper policy framework with respect to the environment. There are few studies that explore the dynamic nexus between ECI, TIN and HC with environmental quality in the control environment of URB and GDP growth using the STIRPAT model for India.

The role of monetary and fiscal policies in determining environmental pollution: Revisiting the N-shaped EKC hypothesis for China

The equilibrium between environmental quality and economic growth is one of the contemporary objectives of fiscal and monetary policies in the case of China. In this study, we investigate the extent of the existence of the N-shaped environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis and measure the collision of fiscal and monetary policy on carbon emissions within the economic growth perspectives that China is witnessing. This study examines the dynamic nexus between monetary supply, government expenditure, and carbon emissions in China over the spanning from 1980 to 2019. The findings demonstrate that the money supply reduces carbon emissions in the short- and long-run. Precisely, a 1-unit augmentation in monetary policy tool (money supply) will significantly reduce the pressure on the environment by 0.29332 unit in the long-run and 0.79311 unit in the short-run. In contrast, the fiscal policy instrument (government expenditure) contributes to the increase in carbon emissions. Specifically, a 1-unit increase in government expenditure will increase the carbon emission by 0.17835 and 0.48247 units in the long-run and short-run, respectively. Additionally, the result also confirmed the N-shaped EKC hypothesis. Particularly, at the initial stage of economic growth, there are 1.58659 and 4.29197 unit increas in carbon emission in the long-run and short-run, respectively. However, after taking the square of economic growth, this reduces the environmental pollution by 0.3018 and 0.81665 units in the long-run and short-run, respectively. Finally, the cubic form of economic growth shows the 0.01755 and 0.04747 units increase in the pollution level in the long-run and short-run, respectively. Moreover, the study also found the presence of a causality link between government expenditure, economic growth, and carbon emissions. These findings will aid policymakers in implementing fiscal and monetary policies that promote long-term development while lowering carbon emissions.

Tourism development influence on environmental quality: how renewable energy use and income matter?

Tourism is a significant economic growth and development source, but it relies heavily on the energy sector and contributes to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. This study examines how tourism growth, renewable energy, and real GDP affect CO2 emissions in the BRICS countries. The researchers used panel unit root, Pedroni, and Kao methods to test for a long-run equilibrium relationship among the variables. The results reveal that tourism growth harms CO2 emissions in the long run, with a 1% increase in tourism growth leading to a 0.05% decrease in CO2 emissions. Renewable energy usage also harms CO2 emissions, with a 1% increase in renewable energy leading to a 0.15% decrease in CO2 emissions in the long run. CO2 emissions and real GDP show a U-shaped relationship in the long run, supporting the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. This hypothesis suggests that CO2 emissions increase with economic growth at low-income levels but decrease with economic growth at high-income levels. Therefore, the study implies that tourism growth can significantly lower CO2 emissions by promoting renewable energy usage and economic development.

Asymmetric nexus between financial inclusion and environmental quality: the case of 10 most polluted economies

Financial inclusion is critical element of economic growth as it makes financial services available to all facets of society and hence has an influence on environmental quality. Using data from 2004 to 2019, this research evaluates the asymmetric nexus between financial inclusion and environmental quality in the top-10 polluted nations (China, India, Russia, USA, Japan, Iran, Germany, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Indonesia). Previous research used panel data approaches, which resulted in usual findings of the connection between financial inclusion and environmental quality, even with the reality that numerous nations did not show such a linkage individually. This research, conversely, utilizes an exclusive method 'Quantile-on-Quantile (QQ)', which permits us to probe each nation distinctly to provide multilateral yet country-specific information about the relation between the variables. The estimations demonstrate that financial inclusion degrades environmental quality in 7 out of the 10 economies at many quantiles of data distribution. Additionally, the outcomes reveal that the degree of asymmetry between financial inclusion and carbon emissions differs by nation, stressing the need of governments giving particular attention while implementing policies related to financial inclusion and a sustainable environment.

Nexus between FinTech, renewable energy resource consumption, and carbon emissions

An increase in energy crises and environmental degradation has pushed countries to adopt more sustainable practices. In this situation, financial technology has played an important role to lower carbon emissions by integrating renewable energy resources that can help increase renewable energy resource consumption (REC) and lower carbon emissions (CE). To better understand this transmission mechanism, this study has collected a panel dataset of 26 Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) developing countries for the 2011-2021 period. Furthermore, a proxy indicator for financial technology (FinTech) was developed by extracting relevant data from CrunchBase. Pooled ordinary least square and robust fixed effects technique was adopted to analyse the influence of FinTech on renewable energy and carbon emissions for robustness. Results of the study show that FinTech development promotes renewable energy resource consumption (REC) and discourages carbon emissions (CE), moreover, economic growth positively impacts, and carbon emissions (CE). This research emphasizes the importance of adopting financial technology as an important deterrent of further environmental damage. Additionally, in line with the results of this study, policymakers should design and implement an industrial policy which promotes sustainable economic growth which can pave the path for a circular economy model in the future.

The impact of natural resource consumption on carbon emissions: evidence of a symmetric and asymmetric effect from Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan African countries are among mineral-rich developing countries strategically competing to guarantee sustainable economic development through resource exploration. The possibility of increasing the level of carbon emission due to using low-cost fuels and high pollutants during mineral resource extraction activities leading to environmental degradation continues to draw the attention of researchers and policy makers. This research aims to analyze the response of carbon emissions in the African continent to symmetric and asymmetric shocks on resource consumption, economic growth, urbanization, and energy consumption. Following the Shin et al. (2014a) linear and nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) methodology in panel form, we construct symmetric and asymmetric panel ARDL-PMG model to evaluate both short- and long-run impacts of resource consumption on carbon dioxide emissions for a panel of 44 African countries over the period 2000-2019. The symmetric results show that the effect is not statistically significant despite natural resource consumption positively impacting carbon emission in the long and short runs. Energy consumption was found to affect environmental quality in the long and short runs adversely. Interestingly, economic growth was found to improve environmental quality in the long run significantly, and no significant impact was reported in the case of urbanization. However, the asymmetric results prove that a positive and negative shock to natural resource consumption contributes significantly to carbon emission, contrary to the insignificant impact established in the linear framework. The gradual growth in the manufacturing sector and an expansion in the transportation sector in Africa led to high demand and consumption of fossil fuels. This possibly accounts for the adverse effect of energy consumption on carbon emissions. Most African countries depend mainly on exploring natural resource endowment and agricultural activities to drive the growth of their economies. Due to the weak environmental regulatory frameworks in most African countries and public corruption, multinational companies (MNCs) in the extractive sector do not adhere to environmentally friendly activities. The majority of African countries are also battling illegal mining activities and illicit felling of trees, which may account for the positive relationship between natural resource rents and environmental quality reported. In terms of policy implications of the study, governments in Africa must preserve natural resources, use environmentally friendly and technologically advanced resource extraction methods, opt for green energy, and strictly apply environmental laws to promote environmental quality on the continent.

Detailed characterization of iron-rich tailings after the Fundão dam failure, Brazil, with inclusion of proximal sensors data, as a secure basis for environmental and agricultural restoration

Following the Fundão dam failure in Brazil, 60 million m³ of iron-rich tailings were released impacting an extensive area. After this catastrophe, a detailed characterization and monitoring of iron-rich tailings is required for agronomic and environmental purposes. This can be facilitated by using proximal sensors which have been an efficient, fast, and cost-effective tool for eco-friendly analysis of soils and sediments. This work hypothesized that portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometry combined with a pocket-sized (Nix™ Pro) color sensor and benchtop magnetic susceptibilimeter can produce substantial data for fast and clean characterization of iron-rich tailings. The objectives were to differentiate impacted and non-impacted areas (soils and sediments) based on proximal sensors data, and to predict attributes of agronomic and environmental importance. A total of 148 composite samples were collected on totally impacted, partially impacted, and non-impacted areas (natural soils). The samples were analyzed via pXRF to obtain the total elemental composition; via Nix™ Pro color sensor to obtain the red (R), green (G), and blue (B) parameters; and assessed for magnetic susceptibility (MS). The same samples used for analyses via the aforementioned sensors were wet-digested (USEPA 3051a method) followed by ICP-OES quantification of potentially toxic elements. Principal component analysis was performed to differentiate impacted and non-impacted areas. The pXRF data alone or combined with other sensors were used to predict soil agronomic properties and semi-total concentration of potentially toxic elements via random forest regression. For that, samples were randomly separated into modeling (70%) and validation (30%) datasets. The pXRF proved to be an efficient method for rapid and eco-friendly characterization of iron-rich tailings, allowing a clear differentiation of impacted and non-impacted areas. Also, important soil agronomic properties (clay, cation exchange capacity, soil organic carbon, pH and macronutrients availability) and semi-total concentrations of Ba, Pb, Cr, V, Cu, Co, Ni, Mn, Ti, and Li were accurately predicted (based upon the lowest RMSE and highest R² and RPD values). Sensor data fusion (pXRF + Nix Pro + MS) slightly improved the accuracy of predictions. This work highlights iron-rich tailings from the Fundão dam failure can be in detail characterized via pXRF ex situ, providing a secure basis for complementary studies in situ aiming at identify contaminated hot spots, digital mapping of soil and properties variability, and embasing pedological, agricultural and environmental purposes.

Can financial development improve environmental quality? New findings from spatial measures of Chinese urban panel data

China's economy has achieved remarkable success, while it has also paid a high environmental cost. Environmental pollution not only causes great economic losses, but also severely restricts the development of society. Both theory and practice demonstrate that financial development plays a significant role in environmental governance, but the internal mechanism of its impacts has remained to be explored. It is vital to investigate the influence mechanism of financial development on the environmental quality in order to accomplish sustainable economic development through finance and enhance environmental quality concurrently. This paper, using mediating model, spatial Durbin and spatial error model, constructs a theoretical framework financial development on environmental quality from two dimensions, i.e., Financial Interrelations Ratio (FIR) and Financial Efficiency (FE), based on panel data of 234 cities in China from 2010 to 2019. And the results are as follows: (1) the improvement of Financial Interrelations Ratio (FIR) and Financial Efficiency (FE) had not yet reached the level of environmental pollution improvement; (2) in terms of mechanism, the rise of the level of financial development promoted economic growth, but inhibited the optimization of industrial structure, which increased industrial pollution emissions and deteriorates environmental quality; (3) urban environment had significant spatial dependence; (4) the impact of financial development on environmental quality in eastern region has been transformed into an improvement effect, while it still shows a deteriorating effect in central and western regions. Some policy recommendations related to the use of financial development to improve environmental quality are proposed at last, which will help to promote ecological protection and high quality synergistic economic development in China.

Global variability and controls on the accumulation of fallout radionuclides in cryoconite

The accumulation of fallout radionuclides (FRNs) from nuclear weapons testing and nuclear accidents has been evaluated for over half a century in natural environments; however, until recently their distribution and abundance within glaciers have been poorly understood. Following a series of individual studies of FRNs, specifically ¹³⁷Cs, ²⁴¹Am and ²¹⁰Pb, deposited on the surface of glaciers, we now understand that cryoconite, a material commonly found in the supraglacial environment, is a highly efficient accumulator of FRNs, both artificial and natural. However, the variability of FRN activity concentrations in cryoconite across the global cryosphere has never been assessed. This study thus aims to both synthesize current knowledge on FRNs in cryoconite and assess the controls on variability of activity concentrations. We present a global database of new and previously published data based on gamma spectrometry of cryoconite and proglacial sediments, and assess the extent to which a suite of environmental and physical factors can explain spatial variability in FRN activity concentrations in cryoconite. We show that FRNs are not only found in cryoconite on glaciers within close proximity to specific sources of radioactivity, but across the global cryosphere, and at activity concentrations up to three orders of magnitude higher than those found in soils and sediments in the surrounding environment. We also show that the organic content of cryoconite exerts a strong control on accumulation of FRNs, and that activity concentrations in cryoconite are some of the highest ever described in environmental matrices outside of nuclear exclusion zones, occasionally in excess of 10,000 Bq kg^-1. These findings highlight a need for significant improvements in the understanding of the fate of legacy contaminants within glaciated catchments. Future interdisciplinary research is required on the mechanisms governing their accumulation, storage, and mobility, and their potential to create time-dependent impacts on downstream water quality and ecosystem sustainability.

Do financial development and renewable energy shocks matter for environmental quality: evidence from top 10 emitting emissions countries

Creating a reliable energy supply, ecological quality, and economic development has become a global effort. Finance is at the center stage ecological transition to low-carbon emission. Against this backdrop, the present work analyses the impact of the financial sector on CO₂ emissions using data from the top 10 emitting emissions economies from 1990 to 2018. Using the novel method of moments quantile regression, the findings illustrate that renewable energy usage enhances ecological quality while economic growth lowers it. The results also affirm that financial development is positively linked with carbon emission in the top 10 emitting emissions economies. These results can be explained by the fact that financial development facilities offer low borrowing rates with less restrictions for environmental sustainability projects. The empirical findings of this study highlight the necessity for policies that boost the proportion of clean energy consumption in the top 10 polluting nations' overall energy mix to reduce carbon emissions. It follows that the financial sectors in these nations must invest in cutting-edge energy-efficient technology and clean, green, and environmentally friendly initiatives. This trend will increase productivity, improve energy efficiency, and reduce pollution.

Effects of official and unofficial environmental regulations on environmental quality: Evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China

Due to the increasing impact of climate change, there is a need to examine the effect of environmental regulation on environmental quality. Consequently, we examine the nonlinear and mediation effects of environmental regulation on environmental quality using panel data of 45 major cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China, from 2013 to 2020. Environmental regulation is divided into official and unofficial environmental regulations according to its formality. The results indicate that an increase of official and unofficial environmental regulations can promote the improvement of environmental quality. In fact, the positive effect of environmental regulation on cities with better environmental quality is greater than that of cities with poorer environmental quality. The implementation of both official and unofficial environmental regulations can improve environmental quality better than the single implementation of either official environmental regulation or unofficial environmental regulation. There are full mediation effects of Gross Domestic Product per capita and technological progress in the positive effects of official environmental regulation on environmental quality. There are also partial mediation effects of technological progress and industrial structure in the positive effects of unofficial environmental regulation on environmental quality. This study assesses the policy effectiveness of environmental regulation and determines the underlying mechanism between environmental regulation and environmental quality to provide a reference for other countries regarding environmental improvement.

Has pilot zones policy for green finance reform and innovations improved the level of green financial development and environmental quality?

This study uses the green finance reform and innovation pilot zone policy approved by the State Council in 2017 as a quasi-natural experiment to explore whether the implementation of the policy has improved the level of green finance development and environmental quality in Chinese cities at the prefecture level and above. The results show that the green financial reform and innovation pilot zone policy can significantly improve the level of regional green financial development and environmental quality, and the results are robust. Further heterogeneity analysis finds that the green financial reform and innovation pilot zone policy have heterogeneous effects on the level of green financial development and environmental quality in different regions, sizes, environmental regulation intensity, financial development levels, and cities of different administrative levels. Based on this conclusion, suggestions are made that the scope should be further expanded and green finance policies should be formulated differently.

What is the role of remittance and education for environmental pollution? - Analyzing in the presence of financial inclusion and natural resource extraction

This study assessed the impact of gross domestic product (GDP), education, natural resources, remittances, and financial inclusion on carbon emissions in G-11 countries from 1990 to 2021. Based on the negative impact of pollution and the need for sustainable development, this study examined factors affecting CO₂ emissions in G-11 countries using non-linear panel ARDL model. The study found that a positive GDP shock increases CO₂ emissions in the short and long term, while a negative shock decreases emissions in the short term and increases emissions in the long term. Education was found to increase CO₂ emissions in the long term but decrease them in the short term, emphasizing the need for education on combating emissions. Natural resources were also found to increase emissions in the long term, highlighting the need for government-defined institutions to minimize extraction effects and enforce transparency and accountability. Positive changes in personal remittances and financial inclusion were found to increase emissions in both the short and long term, suggesting the need for policies that encourage renewable energy sources and energy efficiency improvement. The study concludes that policymakers should prioritize efficient resource allocation, promote renewable energy usage, and enhance environmental awareness to achieve sustainable development goals in G-11 countries. The possible applications of this study include the use of the models to investigate the asymmetric effects on CO₂ emissions. This model can be applied in future studies to examine the relationship between GDP, education, natural resources, personal remittances, financial inclusion, and CO₂ emissions in other countries.

Multiple approach for assessing lagoon environmental status based on water bodies quality indices and microplastics accumulation

Lagoon environments, like all the marine-coastal areas, offer a wide variety of ecosystem services, but at the same time are affected by pressing human activities that lead to deterioration of the environmental quality, loss of biodiversity, habitat destruction and pollution. Since the well-being of population and local economy depend on the environmental status of these ecosystems, it is essential to adopt long-term management tools to achieve the Good Environmental Status sensu European Marine Strategy Framework Directive and Water Framework Directive. A Nature 2000 site (Lesina lagoon, south Italy) was assessed within a project aimed at protecting and restoring biodiversity and lagoon habitat through integrated monitoring, suitable management, and good practices. Here we provide an assessment of the lagoon integrity based on a multi-metrics approach, highlighting match/mismatch among environmental quality indicators and microplastics (MP) pollution. Some environmental quality indices based on ecosystem components as vegetation, macroinvertebrates and water trophic variables were applied together with an accurate evaluation of MPs abundance, distribution, and composition to assess the ecological status of Lesina lagoon before and after cleaning actions with litter removal. Overall, all the ecological descriptors outlined a clear lagoon spatial gradient, with a western saltier and organic-enriched area characterized by the absence of vegetation, macrozoobenthos with lower diversity and richness and high MPs occurrence. The focus on macrozoobenthos, considered as a key component of the lagoon ecosystem, identified much more sites in "poor" status than the other indicators here considered. Moreover, it was found a negative relationship between the Multivariate Marine Biotic Index and MPs items in sediment, suggesting that MP pollution has a negative impact on macrobenthic fauna, concurring to the deterioration of the benthic ecological status.

The environmental effects of undertaking industrial transfer in developing countries: a quasi-natural experimental evidence in China

The construction of National Industrial Relocation Demonstration Zones (NIRDZ) is important for China's industrial transfer, but its environmental influence cannot be neglected. This study explores the environmental effects of industrial transfers by studying China's NIRDZ. By employing panel data of 284 cities in China between 2005 and 2019, we compare environmental quality changes over time in areas with and without demonstration zones based on the staggered difference-in-differences (DD) technique. The results demonstrate a 0.032 increase in the environmental quality level of industrial receivers after the implementation of demonstration zones. The effect of demonstration zones on environmental improvement is moderated by natural resources, capital accumulation, and technological innovation capabilities. This impact is more fully realized in cities with resource-based, low-capital accumulation, and high-tech innovation but is not statistically significant difference at various levels of human resources. The environmental improvement effect of the NIRDZ is powerful in central cities and small- and medium-sized cities instead of western regions and large-scale cities. Additionally, mediation analysis is adopted to assess the potential mechanism between the association of NIRDZ and the environment. The demonstration area negatively affects environmental quality through the economic scale effect while improving environmental quality through the technological innovation effect. We provide empirical evidence that the NIRDZ is positively correlated with the environment and identify the technology effect as one underlying driver of this correlation to help developing countries address its detrimental impacts.

Environmental quality and energy transition prospects for G-7 economies: The prominence of environment-related ICT innovations, financial and human development

Energy transition and reducing greenhouse gas emissions are fundamental to achieving sustainable development and ensuring a bright and healthy future. To contribute to the empirical literature on these objectives, this study explores the long-term influence of environment-related ICT innovations (EICT) on energy transition and greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) in G-7 economies for the first time, while considering financial development (FD) and human development (HD). Additionally, the study investigates the moderating role of FD with EICT and HD in energy transition and GHGE. Using a Cross-Sectional Augmented Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) technique to tackle the issues of cross-sectional dependency and slope heterogeneity, the study evaluated data from 1990 to 2020. The results indicate that EICT, FD, and HD have a significant positive effect on long-term energy transition, and mitigate GHGE in G-7 economies. Furthermore, the influence of EICT and HD on energy transition and GHGE is amplified in the presence of financial development, as evidenced by the moderating effect of FD. Based on these facts, the study suggests various policy measures, such as investing in clean technologies and education, to promote the energy transition and environmental quality in G-7 economies to achieve sustainable development goals.

Environment-growth nexus and corruption in the MENA region: Novel evidence based on method of moments quantile estimations

This study contributes to the environment-growth nexus literature by examining corruption's effect on environmental quality in 17 Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries between 1984 and 2018. We use four different indicators of environmental degradation (ecological footprint, carbon dioxide emissions, greenhouse gas emissions, and carbon emission intensity) to gain a comprehensive view of the relationship. This study's methodological value added is the application of the method of moments quantile regression, which enables us to account for different relationships between the independent variables and environmental quality at different levels of environmental degradation. The results indicate that corruption worsens environmental quality based on three of the four indicators of environmental degradation, while the impact appears to become less severe at higher levels of environmental deterioration. The results also indicate that traditional mean-based panel data estimation methods provide an incomplete picture of the factors behind environmental problems: The explanatory variables' impacts tend to vary at different levels of environmental quality, and the impact's sign can even change when moving from the lowest to the highest environmental degradation quantiles. Overall, the results highlight the importance of curbing corruption to enable enforcement of more stringent environmental regulations.