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The shipping industry faces a large challenge as it needs to significantly lower the amounts of Green House Gas emissions. Traditionally, reducing the fuel consumption for ships has been achieved during the design stage and, after building a ship, through optimisation of ship operations. In recent years, ship efficiency improvements using Machine Learning (ML) methods are quickly progressing, facilitated by available data from remote sensing, experiments and high-fidelity simulations. The data have been successfully applied to extract intricate empirical rules that can reduce emissions thereby helping achieve green shipping. This article presents an overview of applying ML techniques to enhance ships’ sustainability. The work covers the ML fundamentals and applications in relevant areas: ship design, operational performance, and voyage planning. Suitable ML approaches are analysed and compared on a scenario basis, with their space for improvements also discussed. Meanwhile, a reminder is given that ML has many inherent uncertainties and hence should be used with caution.

To assess the sustainability of waste management scenario with energy recovery, it is necessary to carry out an adequate analysis of all influential criteria. The main problem in the analysis is to determine the indicators that clearly and fully sublimate the most important influential factors. The model for the assessment of the sustainability of waste treatment scenarios based on multi-criteria analysis AHP (analytic hierarchy process) method is developed. The model predicts an increase in the number of indicators, if it found that a selected number of indicators are not sufficient to distinguish between scenarios and new criterion for the selection of indicators: the relevance of the indicator for certain waste treatment. The model is verified in the case study the city of Nis. Four scenarios were selected and examined: business as usual scenario (landfilling of waste) and the other are created as scenarios with energy recovery and recourses preserving: composting organic waste with recycling inorganic waste, incineration of waste and anaerobic digestion of waste. The assessment of the sustainability of waste treatment scenarios was made in several steps. It is found that the best sustainable scenario is composting of organic and recycling of inorganic waste.

Abstract Background The aim of this paper is to reconsider the necessity for the green transition and the key preconditions for the implementation of a circular economy in Western Balkan countries. With the objective of the research in mind, the method of analysis and synthesis was applied to determine (1) regulatory and institutional prerequisites for the green transition; (2) the need for the Western Balkan countries to redefine the model of sustainable economic growth towards the green transition; (3) the development opportunities for recovery defined in the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans; and (4) the possibility of implementing the circular economy in the Western Balkans. Main text The main findings of the research indicate that: (1) the countries of the Western Balkan region, following the example of the EU, should define a national strategic approach to the green transition with an accompanying action plan and regulatory framework; (2) the biggest challenge of the green transition is the reform of the energy sector and the restructuring of the energy-intensive economy; (3) the countries have untapped potential in renewable energy sources and report the improvement of energy efficiency; (4) the circular economy can boost the green transition, because the countries of the region have a five-time lower value of resource productivity than the average of the EU, while the generation of waste (excluding major mineral wastes) per GDP unit is lower compared to the EU; (5) cross-sectoral governance should be more coordinated. Conclusions The green transition might be a development opportunity for the Western Balkans, which should enable sustainable economic growth as well as energy security and environmental protection. However, the implementation of the Green Agenda is not easy, because the region faces the problem of underdeveloped regulatory and institutional capacities that might provide not only the base for long-term planning but also financial resources for the efficient implementation of projects. In addition, it is essential to understand the principles of the Green Agenda and the interaction of all activities that should enable the achievement of defined goals.

Researchers have been driven to investigate sustainable alternatives to cement production, such as geopolymers, due to the impact of global warming and climate change resulting from greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, they are exploring different methods and waste materials to enhance the mechanical and physical properties of geopolymer and expand its application range. This review paper offers a thorough analysis of the utilization of various waste materials in geopolymer manufacturing and shows the creative contribution of this research to the development of environmentally friendly cement substitutes. The article covers the properties, durability, and practical applications of geopolymer composites made from various waste binders. It includes a microstructure and chemical analysis. The research findings indicate that geopolymers are an effective cementitious binder substitute for cement in various applications. Additionally, the ecological and carbon footprint analysis highlights the sustainability of geopolymers compared to cement.

Abstract Building energy performance requirements aiming at the nZEB target have been recently established by the national legislation. In Italy, the requirements are verified through the notional reference building, whose U-values are reduced in two steps: up to 2018 and since 2019 for public buildings, and up to 2020 and since 2021 for all other buildings. This might cause a reduction of the heating need but an increase of the cooling need. The objective of the study is to investigate in which conditions and extent a significant imbalance of the energy needs occurs. Different building types and climatic zones are considered.

Con el aumento de la demanda de refrigeración y la penetración de recursos de energía renovable descentralizados en las redes eléctricas, la gestión de la demanda de electricidad (DSM) se ha convertido en una herramienta importante para la planificación de la electricidad y la descarbonización en el Sur Global. En la India, la aplicación comercial del DSM no es nueva, pero la respuesta a la demanda (DR) a escala residencial impulsada por los servicios públicos sigue siendo un área inexplorada. Este documento contribuye en dos frentes: para explicar las percepciones de los hogares y los profesionales de la RD: disyunciones entre estas percepciones y sus implicaciones para la aceptación de la RD residencial. Utilizando un enfoque de coproducción, este documento extrae información de dos grupos de partes interesadas en la India: 25 expertos en políticas y servicios públicos de RD y 24 consumidores domésticos. Nuestros resultados muestran que el salvavidas tecnológico subraya de manera generalizada la comprensión de los profesionales de la RD y la agencia de los hogares, un factor crucial en la adopción de la RD a escala residencial sigue siendo una pieza que falta. El documento concluye que, sin considerar la agencia del cabeza de familia, ofrecer un futuro descarbonizado basado en la respuesta a la demanda será un desafío y los consumidores pueden permanecer encerrados en las prácticas socioculturales existentes que niegan la adopción de la DRA. Avec l'augmentation de la demande de refroidissement et la pénétration des ressources énergétiques renouvelables décentralisées dans les réseaux d'électricité, la gestion de la demande d'électricité (DSM) est devenue un outil majeur de planification et de décarbonisation de l'électricité dans les pays du Sud. En Inde, l'application commerciale du DSM n'est pas nouvelle, mais la réponse à la demande à l'échelle résidentielle (DR) axée sur les services publics reste un domaine inexploré. Cet article contribue sur deux fronts – pour expliquer les perceptions des ménages et des praticiens de la RD : les disjonctions entre ces perceptions et ses implications pour l'acceptation de la DR résidentielle En utilisant une approche de coproduction, cet article tire des enseignements de deux ensembles de parties prenantes en Inde - 25 experts en politique et services publics de la RD et 24 consommateurs domestiques. Nos résultats montrent que le sauveurisme technologique souligne de manière omniprésente la compréhension des praticiens de la RD et de l'agence domestique, un facteur crucial dans l'adoption de la RD à l'échelle résidentielle qui reste une pièce manquante. Le document conclut que, sans tenir compte du pouvoir d'action des ménages, il sera difficile d'offrir un avenir décarboné basé sur la réponse à la demande et que les consommateurs peuvent rester enfermés dans des pratiques socioculturelles existantes qui annulent l'adoption de la DR. With the rise in cooling demand and the permeation of decentralised renewable energy resources in electricity networks, electricity demand-side management (DSM) has become a major tool for electricity planning and decarbonisation in the Global South. In India, the commercial application of DSM is not new, yet utility-driven residential-scale demand response (DR) remains an unexplored area. This paper contributes on two fronts – to explicate householders and practitioner's perceptions of DR: disjunctions between these perceptions and its implications for the acceptance of residential DR. Using a co-production approach, this paper draws insights from two sets of stakeholders in India - 25 DR policy and utility experts and 24 household consumers. Our results show that technological saviourism pervasively underscores practitioners understanding of DR and householder agency, a crucial factor in the adoption of DR at the residential scale remains a missing piece. The paper concludes that without considering householder agency, delivering a decarbonised future based on demand response will be challenging and consumers may remain locked into-existing socio-cultural practices that negate the adoption of DR. مع ارتفاع الطلب على التبريد وتغلغل موارد الطاقة المتجددة اللامركزية في شبكات الكهرباء، أصبحت إدارة جانب الطلب على الكهرباء (DSM) أداة رئيسية لتخطيط الكهرباء وإزالة الكربون في الجنوب العالمي. في الهند، لا يعد التطبيق التجاري للوسائط الرقمية والإلكترونية جديدًا، ومع ذلك تظل الاستجابة للطلب على نطاق سكني مدفوعة بالمرافق منطقة غير مستكشفة. تساهم هذه الورقة على جبهتين – لتوضيح تصورات أصحاب المنازل والممارسين حول الحد من مخاطر الكوارث: الانفصال بين هذه التصورات وآثارها على قبول الدكتور المقيم باستخدام نهج الإنتاج المشترك، تستمد هذه الورقة رؤى من مجموعتين من أصحاب المصلحة في الهند - 25 خبيرًا في سياسة الحد من مخاطر الكوارث والمرافق و 24 مستهلكًا منزليًا. تظهر نتائجنا أن الإنقاذ التكنولوجي يؤكد بشكل واسع على فهم الممارسين لوكالة الطبيب المقيم وصاحب المنزل، وهو عامل حاسم في اعتماد الطبيب المقيم على المستوى السكني لا يزال جزءًا مفقودًا. وتخلص الورقة إلى أنه دون النظر في وكالة الأسر المعيشية، فإن تحقيق مستقبل خالٍ من الكربون بناءً على استجابة الطلب سيكون أمرًا صعبًا وقد يظل المستهلكون محاصرين في الممارسات الاجتماعية والثقافية القائمة التي تلغي تبني الدكتور.

In the real world, taxes and cap-and-trade systems are rarely implemented in their pure form. In this paper, we examine a related approach that has been used widely in practice – which we refer to as an “offset.” The idea behind offsets is to encourage firms or entities that may not be a part of the main regulatory system to produce environmental improvements, which can then be used to offset pollution reduction requirements in the main regulatory system.This paper provides a survey and synthesis of the literature on the use of offsets. Examples include offsets for limiting greenhouse gas emissions, maintaining ecosystem services for wetlands, achieving local air pollution goals, protecting water quality, and promoting energy efficiency. The paper reviews how offsets are used in practice and examines what is known about their environmental and economic impacts.Combining insights from the political economy of using offsets with their intrinsic design challenges raises a potentially serious problem – namely, that offsets may often fail to take adequate account of environmental or ecosystem damages. Because this problem can be significant, alternatives should be considered.