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Renewable energy has become more popular since it is cost-effective and more efficient than conventional energy sources. Biomass-based renewable energy is primarily used in emerging economies to ensure environmental sustainability. This study examines the asymmetric correlation between biomass energy consumption and CO2 emissions in the top-10 biomass energy consumer countries (Brazil, Canada, Thailand, China, Italy, India, Germany, USA, UK, and Japan). A new approach "Quantile-onQuantile (QQ)" is employed by utilizing the data from 1991 to 2018. Biomass energy consumption, with the exception of Thailand, significantly mitigates CO2 emissions at various quantiles in selected countries. As a robustness check, we used the quantile regression test, whose findings are consistent with the outcomes from the quantile-on-quantile method. However, the degree of asymmetry in the biomass energy-CO2 nexus varies by country, necessitating extra attention and government vigilance when developing biomass energy and environmental policies.

The goal is to conduct modeling and analyze the management efficiency of the energy industry and the agro-industrial complex based on the introduction of digitalization to stimulate economic growth in Kazakhstan. When writing the work, the following research methods were used - bibliometric, statistical, factorial, grouping and generalization, regression, comparative. Results - an economic assessment of the development of the electric power industry and the agro-industrial complex was carried out. It is noted that the economy of Kazakhstan is quite energy-intensive and costly. It is shown that the increasing level of agricultural production exceeds the demand for electricity consumption. The serious deterioration of electrical equipment and agricultural machinery has been identified, which is a barrier to the promotion of digital technologies. The stimulation of the growth of electricity generation from renewable energy sources based on the use of innovative and digital technologies is analyzed. The modeling of the development of the agro-industrial complex is carried out on the basis of the use of information, communication and digital technologies of smart farms on the example of the Almaty region. Presented and summarized measures for the implementation of innovative projects in digital energy and smart agriculture. The problems and recommendations are given for accelerating the implementation of digitalization in the energy sector and the agro-industrial complex. The role of digital and electronic technologies in agriculture and the energy complex in promoting the economic growth of Kazakhstan has been substantiated.

Assessing Biodiversity Declines Understanding human impact on biodiversity depends on sound quantitative projection. Pereira et al. (p. 1496 , published online 26 October) review quantitative scenarios that have been developed for four main areas of concern: species extinctions, species abundances and community structure, habitat loss and degradation, and shifts in the distribution of species and biomes. Declines in biodiversity are projected for the whole of the 21st century in all scenarios, but with a wide range of variation. Hoffmann et al. (p. 1503 , published online 26 October) draw on the results of five decades' worth of data collection, managed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission. A comprehensive synthesis of the conservation status of the world's vertebrates, based on an analysis of 25,780 species (approximately half of total vertebrate diversity), is presented: Approximately 20% of all vertebrate species are at risk of extinction in the wild, and 11% of threatened birds and 17% of threatened mammals have moved closer to extinction over time. Despite these trends, overall declines would have been significantly worse in the absence of conservation actions.

The construction sector has undergone several transformations to address adverse environmental, economic, and social impacts. The concept of the circular economy (CE) has transcended into this domain to solve the needs of construction amid resource constraints. Furthermore, advanced digital tools are being implemented across industries owing to the boost given by the fourth industrial revolution. This paper aims to develop a framework that investigates the effect of digital tools on CE implementation in the construction sector. The study is based on a three-step approach, where first, an initial framework design based on a systematic literature review was conducted. This is followed by framework optimization using semistructured interviews with experts and validation through a case study. This study resulted in the development of a new framework, which aims to investigate how advanced digital tools can be used in the construction sector to enhance CE implementation. The contribution of the present study is two-fold: (1) the integration (addressing existing research gap) of CE and digitalization concepts in the construction sector; (2) an investigation into the critical barriers, offering insights for construction practitioners.

In this article, the main goal is an attempt to present conclusions on the analysis of changes in China's environmental policy in the framework of sustainable development goals. Within the framework of the SDGs, China is moving in three main directions: economic, social and environmental. All three components are somehow interconnected with each other; however, the article provides conclusions only on the environmental component. Thus, data for the last ten years are taken as a basis, including reasonable indicators in the UN 2030 agenda. It is important to note that despite the fact that China paid great attention to the economy during a significant period of its existence, however, positive shifts towards improving the environment have recently been noticed. It was concluded that this change has made a positive contribution to China's sustainable development by creating a more balanced framework for future development using both mandatory and market-based instruments. Nevertheless, in order to achieve the SDGs in the field of ecology, it is necessary, on the one hand, to accelerate the process of creating an “ecological civilization”, and on the other hand, pay attention to policy coordination, considering existing problems in the environmental, social and economic spheres. в данной статье главной целью служит попытка предоставить выводы по анализу изменений экологической политики Китая в рамках целей устойчивого развития. В рамках ЦУР Китай двигается в трех основных направлениях: экономической, социальной и экологической. Все три компонента так или иначе взаимосвязаны с друг-другом, однако в статье приводятся выводы только по экологическому компоненту. Таким образом за основу взяты данные за последние десять лет, в том числе обоснованные показатели в повестке ООН до 2030 года. Важно отметить, что несмотря на то, что Китай в существенное время своего существования уделял большое внимание экономике, в последнее время были замечены позитивные сдвиги в сторону улучшения экологии. Был сделан вывод о том, что данное изменение внесло позитивный вклад в устойчивое развитие Китая, сформировав более сбалансированную структуру для будущего развития с использованием как обязательных, так и рыночных инструментов. Тем не менее для выполнения ЦУР в области экологии нужно, с одной стороны, ускорить процесс создания «экологической цивилизации», а с другой, обратить внимание на координацию политики с учетом существующих проблем в экологической, социальной и экономической сферах. Осы мақалада негізгі мақсат - тұрақты даму мақсаттары шеңберінде Қытайдың экологиялық саясатындағы өзгерістерді талдау бойынша қорытындыларды ұсыну әрекеті болып табылады.. ТДМ шеңберінде Қытай үш негізгі бағытта қозғалады: экономикалық, әлеуметтік және экологиялық. Барлық үш құрамдас бір-бірімен қандай да бір түрде байланысты, дегенмен мақалада тек экологиялық компонент бойынша қорытындылар берілген. Осылайша, БҰҰ-ның 2030 күн тәртібіндегі негізді көрсеткіштерді қоса алғанда, соңғы он жылдағы деректер негізге алынды. Қытай өзінің өмір сүрген елеулі кезеңінде экономикаға үлкен көңіл бөлгеніне қарамастан, соңғы уақытта қоршаған ортаны жақсарту бағытында оң өзгерістер байқалғанын атап өткен жөн. Бұл өзгеріс міндетті және нарықтық құралдарды пайдалана отырып, болашақ даму үшін анағұрлым теңдестірілген негіз құру арқылы Қытайдың тұрақты дамуына оң ықпал етті деген қорытындыға келді. Осыған қарамастан, экология саласындағы ТМД-ға қол жеткізу үшін, бір жағынан, «экологиялық өркениетті» құру үдерісін жеделдету қажет, ал екінші жағынан, саясатты үйлестіруге назар аудару қажет. экологиялық, әлеуметтік және экономикалық салалардағы бар проблемалар. Международные отношения и Регионоведение, Выпуск 4 (50) 2022

This study aims to measure the relationship between technological progress, renewable energy, and green economic growth (GEG). This study uses a data envelopment analysis (DEA) estimation method to evaluate the association between government expenditure on research and development (R&D), renewable energy deployment, and GEG in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) between 1990 and 2018. The estimates revealed an inconsistent GEG indicator in the analysis, suggesting the lesser impact disposition of public policy. In addition, the energy efficiency ratio of ECOWAS subregion is under 0.50, implying energy poverty in the sub-region. Many people do not have sufficient energy to heat and cool their homes to enough temperature and meet their basic needs and energy security concerns. This research discovered that a percentage growth increase in renewable energy deployment results in a 3.2% increase in growth in sustainable performance. Alongside an essential effect of one percentage point growth in R&D expenditure boosts economic system sustainable performance to 4.4% combined with a supported effect of one percent. This research reveals that the ECOWAS government expenditure on human resources and R&D of sustainable energy resources would result in a low carbon growth via an advanced technological production process; nevertheless, the impacts are varied in the various countries in ECOWAS. (c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The paper presents an overview of the COVID-19 impact and related trends with the development of the renewable energy facilities in the rural regions of the EU and globally. A short summery of the pre-pandemic situation with the available renewables and their potential development based on the publicly available sources in the rural regions of the EU is presented. Development of the renewable energy facilities in the rural regions will be considered as the correlations with the migration trends change after 2020. Migration analysis and the potential demand for the renewable energy will be calculated for the specific region, as well as the renewable energy capacity potential of the region. Technical barriers with the renewable energy development in such situation will be highlighted. The proposed problem solution studied in the paper and shortlisted: renewable energy sources (RES) type should be selected based on the regional features;industrial energy storage system should be applied;grid interconnection and unit commitment problem are critical to be solved. We found that the COVID impact should boost the renewable energy development in the rural regions in the EU, but such growth cannot be realized without the technical problem solving and proactive governmental support. © 2021 Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies. All rights reserved.