• Energy Research
• 11. Sustainability close
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Abstract The amount of household solid waste (HSW) has been significantly increasing due to a rapid population growth and economic development. HSW management is immensely sensitive and complicated problem not only in rapidly developing countries like Uzbekistan but also in developed countries with advanced economies.The accumulated waste has been causing a number of serious environmental problems such as release of the most dangerous greenhouse gases (CO2, N2O, CH4) in the atmosphere which misbalance radiation in a planet’s atmosphere causing a global warming. However, this waste can be friendly in terms of its potential to be used as energy source. HSW into energy conversion technologies has been playing a vital rolein order to successfully address global challenges suchas fossil fuel dependency, emission control and waste management issues.The most promising technology for conversions can be performed using thermochemical processes (e.g., pyrolysis or gasification).These thermochemical technologies can be used to convert solid waste into liquid and gaseous fuels, and this has already been studied sufficiently by other researchers. This article recommends a novel concept for intensification of value-added solid and liquid products recovery from HSW using hydrothermal carbonization and plasma treatment.

Since turning carbon neutral is regarded as a major macroeconomic agenda worldwide, this study examines whether financial globalization and good governance can help Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and Turkey in achieving carbon neutrality. Considering the period of analysis from 2000 to 2020 and utilizing robust econometric methods, it is observed that the environmental consequences vary across different components of financial globalization. In particular, the results validate the pollution haven hypothesis by confirming the carbon emission-boosting effect of de facto financial globalization indicators. In contrast, the pollution halo effect hypothesis is verified by the finding of the carbon emission-abating effect of de jure financial globalization indicators. Besides, promoting good governance is evidenced to impose carbon emission-mitigating impact in the long-run. The findings also authenticate the existence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis for the emerging countries of concern. Finally, for both the short and long runs, it is found that the non-renewable to renewable energy transition contributes to lower discharges of carbon dioxide, while urbanization results in the amplification of the carbon emission figures. Considering these critically important findings, it is necessary for these countries to impose restrictions on the influx of unclean foreign direct investment, facilitate and ease the investment process for foreign investors for investing in environment-friendly projects, promote good governance, and adopt green economic growth and sustainable urbanization policies by developing their respective renewable energy sectors.

Cultural events are relevant attractions in contemporary cities that can be understood as celebrations, but also as agents of urban change. The primary objective of this study is to identify emerging themes in the area of cultural events, especially the Night of Museums, and to highlight the relationships among museums as places of learning and aesthetic satisfaction. To reach this goal, an exploratory and descriptive study was conducted. Multinomial logistic regression (MLR) and Regression Analysis were further performed. The results show that physical environment and situational interactions play a decisive role in contextual perception of the importance of events. Curiosity, gratuity, the need to learn and spending free time in the most pleasant way are just a few reasons that lead citizens to direct their attention in a special way. Additionally, this study not only limited to cultural tourism, but also contributes to literature in the area of economy, sustainability and environment. Moreover, our findings have implications for policy makers to identify practices and education that can improve the understanding of cultural and social value.

Water is the key limiting factor in socioeconomic and ecological development, but it is adversely affected by climate change. The novel virtual water (VW) concept and water, energy, food, biodiversity, and human health (WEFBH) nexus approach are powerful tools to assess the sustainability of a region through the lens of climate change. Climate change-related challenges and water are complex and intertwined. This paper analyzed the significant WEFBH sectors using the multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model. The AHP model demonstrated quantitative relationships among WEFBH nexus sustainability indicators in the Greater Horn of Africa countries. Besides, the net VW imports and water footprints of major staple crops were assessed. The composite WEFBH nexus indices varied from 0.10 to 0.14. The water footprint of crops is increasing period by period. The results also revealed that most countries in the study area are facing WEFBH domains unsustainability due to weak planning or improper management strategies. The strong policy constancy among the WEFBH sector is vital for dissociating the high-water consumption from crop production, energy, environmental, and human health system. Thus, this study enhances insights into the interdependencies, interconnectedness, and interactions of sectors thereby strengthening the coordination, complementarities, and synergies among them. To attain sustainable development, we urgently call all public and private entities to value the amount of VW used in their daily activities and design better policies on the complex WEFBH nexus and future climate change.

Development of proposals for adapting the existing methodology for calculating the available throughput to the operating conditions of the railways of Uzbekistan, taking into account the factors that ensure traffic safety when passing high-speed passenger trains. Methods: Grapho-analytical approaches and a comparative analysis method were used to determine the throughput of railway lines with mixed train traffic. Results: The main factors influencing the capacity of lines, advantages and disadvantages for each existing method for determining the capacity of railway lines are given. To assess the quality of transportation processes on railway lines, experimental train schedules were constructed. Based on the analysis of their indicators, a formula was proposed for calculating the throughput on double-track lines when passing high-speed passenger trains. Practical significance: The application of the proposed methodology improves the calculations of the performance indicators of sections with an unparalleled train schedule.

Since bettering environmental conditions has acquired significant interest globally, discovering factors that may facilitate the establishment of environmental sustainability is currently of foremost importance. Hence, this study considers a sample of 33 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and checks whether reducing exposure to different forms of country risks, in the presence of international trade and clean energy consumption, can reduce their respective carbon footprint levels. Utilizing annual data from 2000 to 2018 and employing methods that handle problems related to dependence across cross-sectional units and heterogeneity of slope coefficients, the findings endorse that (a) reducing financial and political risks abate carbon footprints, (b) economic risk exposure does not influence carbon footprints, (c) international trade exerts carbon footprint-boosting effects, and (d) undergoing unclean to clean energy transition curbs carbon footprints. Accordingly, the concerned governments should these findings into account while conceptualizing green environmental policies in the future.

The study aims to explore the asymmetric impact of financial globalisation on renewable CO2 emissions for selected Asian economies for a time span from 1990 to 2019. A sample of 35 economies is selected on the basis of the availability of data. To get the estimates of the variables, the analysis has applied FMOLS and DOLS estimation methods. The linear estimate of financial globalisation in the FMOLS model is negative and significant but positive and insignificant in the DOLS model. The estimates attached to positive financial globalisation are negatively significant in both FMOLS and DOLS models, implying that an increase in financial globalisation causes the environmental quality to improve. Similarly, the estimates attached to negative financial globalisation in both FMOLS and DOLS are negative and suggest that a fall in financial globalisation causes the environmental quality to deteriorate. The magnitudes of positive and negative changes are different; hence, they have a significantly different impact on environmental quality. The robust results clearly indicate that the effects of financial globalisation on CO2 emissions are asymmetric. Therefore, the policymakers should focus on positive as well as negative changes in financial globalisation while considering the impact of financial globalisation on CO2 emissions in Asian regions.

This study seeks to estimate energy poverty using a multidimensional and wide-ranging category of indicators via the GRA-SRA approach. The study entails a case study analysis of the N-11 nations utilizing data from 2000 to 2017. Thus, a formulation of multidimensional energy poverty indexes of multidimensional indicators crosswise three dimensions is carried out. Energy availability, energy affordability, and energy cleanability, with regard to the N11 nations, are taken into account. The findings reveal that total energy poverty has progressed. We discover that Bangladesh (0.65) and Pakistan (0.47) are at risk concerning energy poverty, whereas the Philippines (0.36), Indonesia (0.33), and Vietnam (0.28) are less exposed to energy poverty. The relative changes in energy poverty are discovered among the N11 nations, where South Korea witnessed a consistent advancement in energy poverty, whereas Iran displayed a reduced trajectory and a vacillating trend. The findings indicate that the energy sources utilized for warming homes are essential within the scenario of energy poverty and inequality. Contrary to traditional steps, we assess the multidimensional energy poverty at the national level instead of the depths of gravity of energy poverty specifically for the energy-poor as against the whole population.