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There are papers on association about natural resources, economic expansion, and their effect on the quality of the environment in Central Asia. However, no study has investigated the effect of human capital in this nexus concerning the Central Asian states. Thus this study investigates the link between natural resources, economic expansion, human capital, and CO2 in Central Asian states by employing Pooled Mean Group (PMG) and the Dumitrescu and Hurlin (DH) causality tests from 1995 to 2018. The outcomes from the PMG model showed that human capital has an opposite and significant association with CO2 in the short and long run. Therefore, it is stated that local human capital with higher environmental awareness through education and training makes a positive impact on environmental quality. With the growth of the natural resources index and expansion of the economy, Central Asian emissions will rise. With a positive and substantial coefficient of the natural resources, the finding suggests that, even though Central Asian states have plenty of natural resources, they are unable to exploit them efficiently to reap good rent advantages to reduce the emissions. The outcomes of the causality test stated that the index of natural resources, economic expansion, and human capital have one-way causality with emissions. The important policies and recommendations for maintaining the economic and environmental sustainability of this country are provided at the end of this paper.

The territory of West Kazakhstan is an intensively developing region. The main oil and gas fields are concentrated there. In addition, this region is well-known as a region of nomad cattle breeding. Both of industry and agriculture demand a lot of employees, working in the open air in wintertime. Severe winter conditions, primary very low temperatures, and strong winds characterize the region. In this work, we calculated and analyzed the spatial and temporal distributions of effective temperatures in the region and their dynamics due to the global warming in the last decades. To calculate the equivalent temperature (WCET) was used the method of OFCM 2003. Nowadays, it is known as a common method for similar studies. It was shown that in the observed region, WCET is significantly lower than the ambient temperature. Repeatability of WCET, corresponding to «increasing risk», «high risk» is high in the main part of the region. Global warming in the region results in returning extremely high temperatures of the air, decreasing repeatability of the average gradation of WCET approximately on 4%, but there is no any visible changing repeatability of extreme WCET. Obtained results can be used for planning any construction work in the open air and agriculture branches.

Abstract Electricity and water consumption in Abu Dhabi has increased substantially in recent years along with rapid economic and population growth As one of the oil producing economies located in arid regions, Abu Dhabi׳s electricity and water are produced predominantly with fossil fuel based power-water co-generation, which generate carbon emissions. The consumption of electricity and water is heavily subsidized to support industrial growth, lower cost of living, and distribute state wealth to the population. The low utility prices, however, may have contributed to high per capita carbon emissions for the emirate. This paper reviews critical literature on energy subsidy policy for oil exporting economies. We then examine the economic and environmental effects of water and electricity subsidy reduction in Abu Dhabi using a Computable General Equilibrium analysis. The result shows that utility subsidy reduction alone increases Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the emirate through expanding the high value-added service sector, and reduces carbon emissions with decreasing carbon-intensive industrial and utility productions. Meanwhile, private consumption declines with decreasing wage. Electricity subsidy reduction in general has greater economic and environmental effects than water subsidy reduction. The positive economic and environmental gains may incentivize utility subsidy reform in the long run when the negative wage effect is mitigated.

Many regions around the globe, especially South Asia including Afghanistan and Pakistan and Central Asia, have extreme difficulties in accessing portable water and a stable energy supply. Some areas are covered with arid soil and salty water, while others have power transmission problems. Water evaporation from reservoirs is also another problem during high temperatures, thereby posing additional energy and water demands. This paper discusses the multiple prospects of floating photovoltaic technology in different regions of the world and highlights the importance of such technologies in already water-scarce regions like South Asia and Central Asia. This technology will prove to be highly feasible as it is an environment friendly and cost efficient and will help in reducing evaporation, achieving sustainable water supply and clean energy production and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. There is very minimal work done on floating solar technology; thus, there is immense need to explore and research on this technology on every level through information sharing.

Abstract The aim of this research was to study the influence of the composition of saturated fatty acids of biodiesel on the performance, emissions and characteristics of combustion in an engine with compression ignition. An increase in saturated fatty acids may eliminate biodiesel deficiencies. Various 55% mixtures of saturated fatty acids with diesel fuel were studied and compared. Five different combinations of blend were prepared using the following esters such as Palm oil methyl ester (POME), Coconut oil methyl ester (COME), Neem oil methyl ester (NOME), Mahua oil methyl ester (MOME), Jatropha oil methyl ester (JOME) and Pongamia oil methyl ester (PONOME). All five combinations (BD1-BD5) were tested and compared for physicochemical characteristics such as density, viscosity, iodine number, saponification number, energy consumption, thermal efficiency, exhaust gas temperature, toxic gas emissions. Five blended combinations showed viscosity around 5.13 to 5.56 centistokes. The Cetane number of the five blends were in the range of 52–56. The heating value of the five combinations was in the range of 38.92 to 40.65 MJ/kg. Iodine values were found to be in the range of 50–73. The brake thermal efficiency percentage were in the range of 27.15–27.4. All five blends found to emits less amount of Greenhouse gases. The results of the research state that all five combinations of biodiesel are unique, and they show very good performance properties as fuel along with less discharges toxic emissions.

The study investigates asymmetries in energy use, real output growth, FDI, energy intensity and CO2emission in Kazakhstan. The linear ARDL approach of Pesaran et al. (2001.Journal of Applied Econometrics, 16(3), 289–326) was adopted following Aslan (2014.Energy Sources,Part B:Economics,Planning,and Policy,9, 25–31) to examine the causality between energy use and real output within a simple model. Subsequently, in line with Ndoricmpa (2017.Energy,125, 543–551), the Shin et al. (2014.Festschrift in honour of Peter Schmidt. New York, NY: Springer Science & Business Media) non‐linear ARDL asymmetric specification was followed to analyse the dynamic asymmetries amongst the estimated variables—in an extended model. Annual time series data expressed in natural logarithm from 1992 to 2016 was utilized for the study. ARDL model established a long‐run relationship between energy use and real output in Kazakhstan. The modified Granger causality test confirms uni‐directional causality from real output to energy use—suggestive that energy conservation hypothesis is supported. In the estimated NARDL model, no empirical evidence exist yet‐in support of the ‘pollution haven’ hypothesis and energy‐related CO2induced emission in Kazakhstan whereas asymmetry exists in energy intensity.

Abstract Drawing on signaling theory and the greenwashing tendency, the objective of this study is to explore the connection among four facets of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practice: CSR performance, CSR reporting, following the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines in preparing CSR reports, and verifying the reliability of CSR reports through an external assurance statement. The sample of the study includes 2244 firm-year observations of energy firms listed in the Thomson Reuters Eikon database for the period 2012–2018. Panel data analysis with fixed effects is used as the empirical methodology. The findings lend support to signaling theory and reject a greenwashing tendency in the energy sector with the validation of hypothesized relationships. More specifically, higher CSR performers show their CSR commitment by issuing CSR reports as well as by adopting GRI guidelines in their CSR reports and verifying the reliability of the contents of their reports through an external assurance statement. Moreover, GRI framework adopters are more likely to obtain external assurance of their reports. The examination of these relationships considering the economic development levels of countries highlights notable differences: all hypothesized connections are stronger for firms established in middle-income countries than for those in high-income countries except for one dimension.

The city of Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, which has a population of 804,474, and has been experiencing rapid growth over the last 15 years, generates approximately 1.39 kg capita-1 day-1 of municipal solid waste (MSW). Nearly 700 tonnes of MSW are collected daily, of which 97% is disposed of at landfills. The newest landfill was built using modern technologies, including a landfill gas (LFG) collection system. The rapid growth of Astana demands more energy on its path to development, and the viability analysis of MSW to generate electricity is imperative. This paper presents a technical–economic pre-feasibility study comparing landfill including LFG utilization and waste incineration (WI) to produce electricity. The performance of LFG with a reciprocating engine and WI with steam turbine power technologies were compared through corresponding greenhouse gases (GHG) reduction, cost of energy production (CEP), benefit–cost ratio (BCR), net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) from the analyses. Results demonstrate that in the city of Astana, WI has the potential to reduce more than 200,000 tonnes of GHG per year, while LFG could reduce slightly less than 40,000 tonnes. LFG offers a CEP 5.7% larger than WI, while the latter presents a BCR two times higher than LFG. WI technology analysis depicts a NPV exceeding 280% of the equity, while for LFG, the NPV is less than the equity, which indicates an expected remarkable financial return for the WI technology and a marginal and risky scenario for the LFG technology. Only existing landfill facilities with a LFG collection system in place may turn LFG into a viable project.

At the moment, there is a tendency to increasing the number of thermal power plants (TPPs); this trend can be associated with industrial development and energy consumption growth. This paper discusses the numerical simulation of the pollution movement from activities of the TPP and the study of the pollution concentration level at various distances from the emission source in actual atmospheric conditions. The approbation of the numerical algorithm and the mathematical model was performed using 2D and 3D test problems. The obtained computational values were compared with measured values and computational values of other authors. In addition, the distribution of pollution in the 3D case was investigated on an actual physical size. The Ekibastuz TPP-1 coal-fired power plant was taken as a real example. A distinctive feature of this TPP is that pollution is emitted from two chimneys of different heights ( $$H_{H} = 330$$ and $$H_{L} = 300$$ m). The obtained values illustrated that, due to the difference between the height of the chimney ( $$H_{H} - H_{L} = 30$$ m), the pollution concentration from the higher chimney ( $$H_{H} = 330$$ m) was fell down far away from the emission source than from the lower chimney ( $$H_{L} = 300$$ m) (2160 and 1970 m, respectively). From the obtained data from computation, it can be argued that the construction of higher chimneys reduces the harmful effects of emissions on the environment. Also, the obtained results will help to predict the optimal and safe distance from cities or settlements during the construction of new thermal power plants.