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The energy transition is essential for combating climate change and achieving sustainability. Generation Z plays a vital role in taking responsibility for environmental concerns, and without rigorous action and support measures, they will be the group most affected by climate change. Their perceptions, attitudes, and actions are crucial to the success of the energy transition. Therefore, this study aims to explore the factors influencing Generation Z’s pro-environmental behavior in order to support the energy transition in Indonesia. The combination of the extended theory of planned behavior and the pro-environmental behavior concept was used as the main framework of this study. Statistical analysis was conducted using partial least square structural equation modeling with SmartlPLS 3.0 software. Quantitative data were collected using a snowball method online questionnaire that was distributed to 400 Generation Z individuals born between 1997 and 2012, who reside in Jakarta, Indonesia. The results indicate that environmental awareness and environmental concern have a positive influence on Generation Z’s attitude towards the energy transition in Indonesia. Attitude and perceived behavioral control positively influence the intention to support the energy transition, whereas perceived behavioral control and intention contribute positively to Generation Z’s pro-environmental behavior. Conversely, the subjective norm exerts no influence on intention. Interventions aimed at enhancing Generation Z’s support for the energy transition should address factors that positively influence pro-environmental behavior. These insights can aid governments, institutions, and stakeholders in devising interventions to increase Generation Z’s engagement in the energy transition and foster the adoption of pro-environmental behavior.

The use of distributed energy systems (DES) can utilize local resources to achieve flexible and efficient energy production and supply. However, this aspect of pollutant emission reduction has not been sufficiently investigated in current related studies. On this basis, this study establishes a DES system that integrates a ground-source heat pump, a gas turbine, a photovoltaic device and an energy storage device. An Improved Zebra Optimization Algorithm (IZOA) is proposed for optimizing the capacity of DES devices and the energy supply ratio of the ground-source heat pump. Using the economic cost saving rate (ECSR), pollutant emission reduction rate (PERR) and energy saving rate (ESR) as the optimization objectives, the study builds a DES configuration optimization model. By analyzing the arithmetic example of a large hotel building, the study verifies the effectiveness of the IZOA algorithm in solving the DES configuration optimization problem. This study provides useful research ideas in promoting the development of distributed energy systems, environmental protection and energy conservation.

Extensive cost in the building industry comes from cooling and heating to create thermal comfort. Hence, it is necessary to utilize passive solutions, in addition to suitable design, in order to reduce energy consumption. This research attempts to investigate the impact of archetype patterns in office buildings on annual energy consumption for cooling, heating and daylight loads. For this purpose, the DesignBuilder software was used to compare the forms. In this study, four conventional construction forms were considered, including the single and dense form, central courtyard buildings, U form and linear form, and each was considered with two, four and six-stories. Forms were simulated in the three cities of Bushehr, Shiraz and Tabriz, with hot-humid, hot-dry and cold climates, respectively. The results revealed that the office building with a linear form in Bushehr had the lowest energy consumption in the two and four-story forms, and also in the six-story form, the central courtyard form had the lowest energy consumption. Additionally, the central courtyard forms in Tabriz and Shiraz had the lowest energy consumption in all cases. Finally, the linear form possessed the most natural daylight through all of the studied cases for the three cities in terms of natural light gain.

Cannabis consumption has become the center of much debate globally. The positive public perception of the medicinal benefits of cannabis and the rise of recreational usage of cannabis necessitate dramatic changes in cannabis reform policy. As a consequence, there is an increase in cannabis legalization around the globe, although it is still facing many rejections. It is crucial to understand the factors affecting public acceptance of cannabis use to support the contextualization and success of cannabis legalization. This review aims to address consumer cultural, social and psychological factors regarding the legal use of cannabis. Based on this review, cultures influence the endorsement or rejection of cannabis use depending on political views, religious sentiments and affiliated subcultures (adult, youth and adolescent subcultures). Regarding the social factors, socioeconomic status, measured by income, education level and occupation, is a key determinant of cannabis use. The beliefs opposing cannabis legalization are due to the negative stigma surrounding cannabis use. Nevertheless, growing awareness about the pharmaceutical and therapeutic effects of cannabis has led to an increase in positive attitudes towards cannabis legalization. Thus, dissemination of cannabis use benefits reaffirmed by scientific evidence could be a strategic way to alleviate the public’s negative feedback on cannabis legalization.

Social networks expand the communication tools of nature conservation. Nonetheless, to date there is hardly any scientific literature on nature conservation communication in social networks. For this reason, this paper examines 600 Facebook and Twitter posts of three German nature conservation organizations: Federal Agency for the Conservation of Nature (Bundesamt für Naturschutz, BfN), Naturschutzbund Deutschland e. V. (NABU), and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Germany. Using the Mann–Whitney U method and Spearman’s rank correlation analysis, it reveals how post design affects communication success and provides respective recommendations for German conservation organizations. Communication success was divided into four indicators: reactions, comments, shares, and overall engagement as a synthesis of the three. On Facebook, the use of hashtags, images, and many characters (up to 1500) leads to higher success, whereas emojis and videos can reduce it. On Twitter, links, images, and longer posts promote user interactions. Emojis have a positive influence on comments and overall engagement, but a negative influence on reactions and shares. In addition, hashtags reduce overall engagement on Twitter. These results are discussed with reference to similar studies from other political fields in order to provide recommendations for conservation organizations. A validation and expansion of the presented results is recommended due to the growing relevance of digital nature conservation communication.

Background: Research on the theoretical integration of attributes of wellness tourism in the form of the physical, mental, spiritual, and environmental (PMSE) attribute framework and the effect of cultural differences on the framework validation has not been conducted before. Objectives: This study developed and validated the key underlying attributes of the wellness tourism experience framework within the Thailand context. Methods: From reviewing the related literature to identify potential sub attributes under the four dimensions of the PMSE framework, themes were developed using a theory- and prior research-driven method within different cultural contexts. The fitness of the PMSE attribute framework model within the context of Thailand wellness tourism was confirmed through a survey design with a quantitative approach from the generalities of the sample groups. The entire dataset was statistically tested with descriptive statistics and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results and Conclusions: After adjustments, the four-factors with a 28-item model substantiated the data. The results validated that the mental experience dimension accounted for the most variance, with an indicator value of 0.99 in the framework, predicting the effective wellness tourism experience better than the other attributes. Experience design should involve the participation of all stakeholders in the wellness tourism system in terms of managerial contribution. Recommendations for the planning of wellness experiences concerning each four-factor will be investigated in future studies.

This study aimed at assigning climate-relevant gaseous emissions from ruminants to animal- or feed-related origin. Three adult rumen-cannulated German Holstein steers and three forage types (corn silage (CS), alfalfa silage (AS) and grass hay (GH)) were used in a 3 × 3 Latin square design. Each period consisted of 12 days (d), during which animals received 10 kg dry matter/day of one forage as sole feed. Gaseous samples from forages and the steers´ rumen were taken and analyzed for CO2, CH4, and N2O using gas chromatography. There were large differences in the amounts of CO2 and N2O emitting from the forage types. Most N2O came from AS and only small amounts from GH and CS. Results indicate that fermented forages rich in nitrogen can release climate-relevant N2O. The highest CO2 amounts were measured in CS. Methane was not detected in any forage sample. Animals consuming CS showed slightly lower CH4 concentrations in the rumen gas sample than animals fed AS or GH. Big differences were found for ruminal N2O with the highest concentration after AS ingestion such that the N2O measured in the rumen seems to originate from the used feedstuff.

Innovation plays a key role in meeting the challenges of the future, but despite the unprecedented investment in innovation, Portugal has seen a decline in the various indicators that assess the country’s performance. This study aims to answer questions about the state of innovation in Portugal, based on the relevant global and European innovation indicators, comparing the country’s performance with that of Ireland, Belgium, and the Czech Republic. Using secondary data collected from the reports of the last four years, explanatory research was conducted based on statistical and graphical methods in order to establish causal relationships. The areas where the main changes have taken place are presented, highlighting the aspects in which Portugal stands out for superior or poor performance, providing a benchmark for the definition of policies to foster innovation in Portugal. The results demonstrate that institutions, business sophistication, and knowledge and technology score negatively, while creativity stands out as a strength. Environmental sustainability, firms’ investment in innovation, and the impact of innovation on sales are aspects that Portugal needs to improve; human capital and the attractiveness of the R&D system deserve positive remarks. It is fundamental to understand how Portugal is preparing for the future and what the country can learn from others. This study is limited by the specific period in analysis, which could affect causal relationships, and the historical perspective could provide guidelines to the understanding of the relative position of the country. This study contributes new perspectives and knowledge about the state of innovation in Portugal, providing clues to entrepreneurs, policy makers, and the scientific community.