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Purpose This study aims to consider environmental sustainability, a global challenge under the preview of sustainable development goals, highlighting the significance of knowledge economy in attaining sustainable aggregate demand behavior globally. For this purpose, 155 countries that have data available from 1995 to 2021 were selected. The purpose of selecting these countries is to test the global responsibility of the knowledge economy to attain environmental sustainability. Design/methodology/approach Results are estimated with the help of panel quantile regression. The empirical existence of aggregate demand-based environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) was tested using non-linear tests. Moreover, principal component analysis has been incorporated to construct the knowledge economy index. Findings U-shaped aggregate demand-based EKC at global level is validated. However, environmental deterioration increases with an additional escalation after US$497.945m in aggregate demand. As a determinant, the knowledge economy is reducing CO2 emissions. The knowledge economy has played a significant role in global responsibility, shifting the EKC downward and extending the CO2 reduction phase for every selected country. Further, urbanization, energy intensity, financial development and trade openness significantly deteriorate the environmental quality. Originality/value This study contains the empirical existence of aggregate demand-based EKC. The role of the knowledge economy is examined through an index which is calculated by using four pillars of the knowledge economy (technology, innovations, education and institutions). This study is based on a combined panel of all the countries for which the data was available.

Xuanwei City (formerly known as Xuanwei County) locates in the northeastern of Yunnan Province and is rich in coal, iron, copper and other mines, especially the smoky (bituminous) coal. Unfortunately, the lung cancer morbidity and mortality rates in this region are among China's highest, with a clear upward trend from the mid-1970s to mid-2000s. In 2004-2005, the crude death rate of lung cancer was 91.3 per 100,000 in the whole Xuanwei City, while that for Laibin Town in this city was 241.14 per 100,000. The epidemiologic distribution (clustering patterns by population, time, and space) of lung cancer in Xuanwei has some special features, e.g., high incidence in rural areas, high incidence in females, and an early age peak in lung cancer deaths. The main factor that associates with a high rate of lung cancer incidence was found to be indoor air pollution caused by the indoor burning of smoky coal. To a certain extent, genetic defects are also associated with the high incidence of lung cancer in Xuanwei. Taken together, lung cancer in this smoky coal combustion region is a unique model for environmental factor-related human cancer, and the current studies indicate that abandoning the use of smoky coal is the key to diminish lung cancer morbidity and mortality.

This chapter uses data on Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to examine the nature of climate change mitigation and adaptation actions being pursued in African countries and assesses the extent to which preferred mitigation and adaptation priorities advance the cause of sustainable development on the continent. The prospective synergies between mitigation and adaptation approaches and sustainable development are assessed. Also, the pathways through which resource constraints and institutional and policy environment affect Africa’s ability to mitigate and adapt to climate change are examined, as well as the degree to which these constraints are being addressed. It is argued that Africa’s ability to benefit from sustainable development synergies embedded in the mitigation and adaptation strategies in the INDCs will be greatly limited by institutional and policy environment that hinders funding, capacity building, and technological innovation systems development. The slow pace of efforts to address these impediments further erodes confidence that climate adaptation in Africa will be effective at sufficiently contributing to a reduction in climate change risks to the continent.

Abstract Since the adoption of the Kyoto protocol in 1997 and its entry into force in 2005, as well its aftermath such as the Doha amendment and Paris agreement, national policies have become more conscious of the usage of clean energy, mostly the different forms of renewable energy and nuclear energy. Ratifying countries and signatories had committed themselves to binding targets for the reduction of greenhouse emissions by 8% with respect to 1990 levels until 2012, also based on the particular contribution to global emissions from each country. This paper examines the integrational properties of clean energy consumption from eight emerging economies which are also high greenhouse gas emitters. The empirical results show that the clean energy consumption is stationarity for Brazil and Philippines by using a quantile unit root test without smooth breaks (Koenker and Xiao, 2004). However, after capturing the smooth breaks (Bahmani-Oskooee et al., 2018), we find the clean energy consumption of China, Pakistan and Thailand are stationary. The time-varying deterministic trend with smooth breaks is more fitted to the path of clean energy consumption in comparison to the deterministic trend without smooth breaks. The paper suggests economic insights useful for policy making.

Abstract Although the “resource curse” hypothesis has been supported by many empirical studies focusing on the transnational and regional levels, there has always been a point of contention about the proper method of estimating and selecting natural resource indicators in literature. This paper proposes a mixed estimation method for panel data of 10 typical oil and gas resource-based cities in China from 1998 to 2015. The results show that resource industry agglomeration can mirror the distribution and dependence on the resource industry by location rather than by merely measuring the influence of the relative scale of resource extraction on economic growth. Using resource industry agglomeration as the main explanatory variable for regional economic growth verifies the resource curse hypothesis and shows the nonlinear characteristics of the negative correlation between resources and economic growth. Despite mostly similar indicator parameter estimates, marked differences exist in measured effects for material capital investments and technological innovation investments. The result of using resource industry agglomeration as the main explanatory variable is basically consistent with the economic theory and is more in line with observed reality than the alternative indicator. The research conclusions can provide evidence and data for index selection in the studies on the mediating effect of resource curse transmission and international comparison.

Abstract Recently, renewable energy projects, such as photovoltaic systems, have become interesting generation alternatives thanks to the incentive strategies developed by several countries. For the user of photovoltaic microgeneration, there is interest in the financial return of the investment, which is most often financed by public banks with a limited budget. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze variables related both to the point of view of the investor in microgeneration and to the public banks that subsidize them. However, defining the configuration of photovoltaic systems that guarantees the economic feasibility for those who invest without excessively burdening the public resource is a complex task and requires the analysis of different experts. To fill this gap, this paper proposes an innovative approach for evaluating photovoltaic projects based on Attribute Agreement Analysis. Experts on photovoltaic systems with different profiles and experience were asked about 16 scenarios, planned according to a factorial design with four factors: installed power capacity, PV cell type, debt ratio, and loan interest rate. The results demonstrated that the proposed approach fulfills the objective of simultaneously assessing the impact of investments in photovoltaic systems, considering the investors' and public banks’ viewpoints. In the case analyzed, although the evaluations are performed in a judicious way (Wwithin> 0.85), there is a low agreement between the experts (Woverall

In the context of changing cannabis and other drug policy and regulation, concerns may arise regarding drug treatment access and use. We assessed cannabis/cocaine-related dependence and treatment in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay.Nationally representative cross-sectional household surveys of people ages 15-64 in Argentina (4 surveys, 2006-2017), Chile (7 surveys, 2006-2018), and Uruguay (4 surveys, 2006-2018) were harmonized. We estimated weighted prevalences of cannabis or cocaine-related (cocaine or cocaine paste) dependence, based on meeting 3+ past-year ICD-10 dependence criteria. We estimated weighted prevalences of past-year alcohol/drug treatment use (Argentina, Chile) or use/seeking (Uruguay) among people with past-year cannabis/cocaine-related dependence. We tested model-based prevalence trends over time and described individual-level treatment correlates by country.Cannabis/cocaine dependence prevalence increased in the region starting in 2010-2011, driven by cannabis dependence. Adjusted cannabis dependence prevalence increased from 0.7% in 2010 to 1.5% in 2017 in Argentina (aPD=0.8, 95% CI= 0.3, 1.2), from 0.8% in 2010 to 2.8% in 2018 in Chile (aPD=2.0, 95% CI= 1.4, 2.6), and from 1.4% in 2011 to 2.4% in 2018 in Uruguay (aPD=0.9, 95% CI= 0.2, 1.6). Cocaine-related dependence increased in Uruguay, decreased in Argentina, and remained stable in Chile. Among people with past-year cannabis/cocaine dependence, average alcohol/drug treatment use prevalence was 15.3% in Argentina and 6.0% in Chile, while treatment use/seeking was 14.7% in Uruguay. Alcohol/drug treatment prevalence was lower among people with cannabis dependence than cocaine-related dependence. Treatment correlates included older ages in all countries and male sex in Argentina only.Alcohol/drug treatment use among people with cannabis/cocaine-related dependence remained low, signaling an ongoing treatment gap in the context of growing cannabis dependence prevalence in the region. Additional resources may be needed to increase treatment access and uptake. Future studies should assess contributors of low treatment use, including perceived need, stigma, and service availability.

This study investigates the validity of the EKC (environmental Kuznets curve) hypothesis for the 50 US states and a Federal District (Washington, D.C.). To this aim, the common correlated effects (CCE) and the augmented mean group (AMG) estimation procedures are applied between 1980 and 2015. While the CCE estimation does not support EKC hypothesis, the AMG does. The empirical findings of the AMG estimation indicate that only 14 states verify the EKC hypothesis. Additionally, the expected negative impacts of fossil energy consumption on the environment (CO2 emissions) are strongly detected in all states except Texas. However, the expected positive impacts of renewable energy consumption on the CO2 emissions are detected only in 13 states. Furthermore, the expected negative impacts of the population are not detected in some mostly populated states like New York, Texas, and Ohio. The overall findings of this study may help the US state-level policy makers in two ways: first, to understand whether their economic growths are sustainable (eco-friendly); second, to see how their fossil and renewable energy consumptions affect their environments and to review their energy policies.

Abstract Green Total Factor Productivity (GTFP) is a critical indicator for measuring the development and transformation of green economy, with profound implication for achieving a win-win situation of conserving energy, reducing emissions, and developing economy. The promotion of GTFP cannot be separated from the financial support and guarantee provided by financial agglomeration. According to the theory of new economic geography and agglomeration, this study uses location entropy and directional SBM-DEA methods to calculate the financial agglomeration level and GTFP of 283 cities at prefecture-level and above in China from 2003 to 2018. A temporal and individual two-way fixed-effect model and a spatial measurement model are constructed to empirically study direct and spillover impacts of financial agglomeration on GTFP. The empirical results show that financial agglomeration facilitates GTFP growth in a given city, but it significantly reduces GTFP in surrounding areas of the city. Divided the cities by their geolocations in eastern, central, and western regions, we find that, in each region, financial agglomeration can significantly promote GTFP of a city but does not have a significant impact on its surrounding areas, indicating a weak spillover effect. Cities with a population of less than 3 million are associated with higher GTFP. Industrial structure, foreign direct investment and human capital play a positive role in GTFP growth, but the role of urban infrastructure construction appears trivial.