• Energy Research
• 13. Climate action close
• 11. Sustainability close
• 3. Good health close
• RU close
• UA close

Nowadays, most countries of the world are implementing the transition to the low-carbon economy which implies the need to carry out a full-scale eco-modernization of the energy sector. Green energy may be identified as one of the core concerns of energy sector modernization as it allows a considerable decrease in emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere. Therefore, nuclear and renewable energy may become key areas of global energy development in the near future, which is also in agreement with circular economy concepts. However, public opinion (and other controversial visions/aspects) is one of the barriers to their development. The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between attitudes towards nuclear and renewable energy in two countries: a EU country (Italy) and a non-EU country (Russia), considering the level of their development. The authors conducted a survey among residents regarding their attitude towards nuclear and renewable energy, as well as their attitude to the present energy policy. The cluster analysis technique was used to analyze the results. The obtained results confirmed the dependence between the level of development of nuclear and renewable energy and the public attitude towards it. The national energy policy also might influence public opinion on the development of nuclear or renewable energy. The authors identified public attitude as one of the key factors in the development of energy and the achievement of environmental and social sustainability.

This research deals with the process of reviving urban heritage, especially in old cities after the war, due to their symbolic and moral values in society. By studying the reality of the city and its destructed heritage features, there was a local need to study the integrated strategies of the urban heritage revival process to reach indicators that are drawn from international experiences and the curricula and studies of international organizations (ICOMOS, World Bank, UN-Habitat, IOM) that interested in cultural heritage and to use these indicators in evaluating local projects in the center of the old city of Mosul which was chosen as a case study for this research, due to its historical and civilizational importance, which has contributed greatly to the formation of the city of Mosul through the ages, and as this city has witnessed deliberate sabotage of its urban heritage due to the terrorist acts witnessed before its liberation.

Advances in the phenology of organisms are often attributed to climate change, but alternatively, may reflect a publication bias towards advances and may be caused by environmental factors unrelated to climate change. Both factors are investigated using the breeding dates of 25 long-term studied populations of Ficedula flycatchers across Europe. Trends in spring temperature varied markedly between study sites, and across populations the advancement of laying date was stronger in areas where the spring temperatures increased more, giving support to the theory that climate change causally affects breeding date advancement.

Abstract Mitigating the effects of environmental deterioration requires a focus on not just CO2 emissions from energy consumption, but also environmental pollution from industry sectors. To reach this goal, recent studies have extended ecological footprint (EF) analysis to identify the ecological drivers of various key industry sectors. The role of the phosphorus (P) industry on the EF within the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) framework for China is the emphasis of this study. Autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) as well as the impulse response function and robustness analysis were used to consider a time from 1985 to 2018. The study verifies the EKC hypothesis for China in both the long and the short run, and indispensable determinants are proposed to be included to assure the model’s fitness and robustness when conducting EF analysis of industry sectors. Energy consumption–based carbon emissions have been verified as the dominant contributor to EF, but P use and urbanization have a significant lagged positive influence on EF in the short run. P exports, in particular, have been highlighted as a critical driver of the EF of China’s P industry. The conducted frequency domain causality test reinforced the above findings and demonstrated bidirectional causality at different frequencies. This work suggests that formulating plausible P export policies to alleviate the conflict between the output of China’s P industry and the environmental sustainability of this industry are necessary. In this context, “multidisciplinary, multidimensional, and practical solutions” are most desirable for sustainable P management.

Thin films of nickel hydroxide were prepared using the cathodic template method and were tested in different electrolytes. The electrolytes were 0.1 M KOH and 0.1 M KOH with the addition of 0.1, 0.3 and 1 mM K2WO4. The test revealed, that the presence of tungstate can have a significant effect on electrochemical and electrochromic characteristics of Ni(OH)2 films. The initial sample, cycled in 0.1 M KOH showed different characteristics from those cycled in tungstate-containing electrolytes: significant difference between current densities of cathodic and anodic peaks and presence of the current plateau on the cyclic voltamperometry curve. However, the initial sample demonstrated the highest coloration degree of 74 %. On the other hand, the sample showed degradation of the coloration degree past initial growth.The samples cycled in the tungstate-containing electrolyte showed better electrochemical characteristics – sharper cathodic and anodic peaks, with the lesser difference between peak values. The dynamics of the absolute coloration degree of the samples cycled in tungstate-containing electrolyte showed a constant increase. The sample tested in a solution with 1 mM tungstate had the lowest value of the absolute coloration degree – 60 %. For tungstate concentrations of 0.1 and 0.3 mM, the absolution coloration degree at the last cycle was 72 and 71 % respectively.The samples tested in a solution with tungstate additive had a significantly lower bleaching time – 40–50 s in comparison to 360 s of the sample cycled in 0.1 М KOH.A possible mechanism that explains such differences in behavior was proposed

Actual importance of research theme: Combating hunger and providing the Earth’s population with sufficient amount of products is considered one of the strategic priorities of human civilization sustainable development by the UN up to 2030. The rapid growth of this planet’s human population in the 21st century, estimated at 7.6. billion people, leads to the global demand for production and foodstuff. Simultaneously, traditional strategies of extensive development conventional in the 20th century and “target” intensification of agriculture do not take expected positive effect nowadays. World economy requires for new strategies of agricultural production, as well as promoting ‘green revolution’ based on the ground of IT technology advances and “Industry 4.0.”. The generalization of world experience concerning development and implementing agricultural production strategies in the 21st century is of greater theoretical and practical importance for all countries which export agricultural production in mass scales, including Ukraine which focuses on the leadership in the world agricultural business. Thus, the urgency of the issue confirms the actual importance of this article. The problem statement. Foodstuff output in world economy is growing slowly and does not meet the increasing demand for food and agricultural products in industry in global scales. Under these conditions the manufacturers of agricultural products like farmers, agro-businesses and agro-holdings, as well as transnational corporation alter and modify agricultural strategies that were conventional in the 20th century. Among the new strategies transition to precision farming and innovational agriculture based on implementing IT technologies takes the leading role. The core and socio-economic consequences of such strategy implementation require further study. Analysis of latest studies and publication. The important contribution to the study of the core and dimensions of agricultural production strategies linked to innovation and investment development as well as to improvement property relations is made by such Ukrainian scholars as P. Makarenko, V. Pilyavskiy [1] and O. Shul’ga [2]. Foreign scientists like Smaller, C., andW. Speller, withH. Mirza, N. Bernasconi-Osterwalder, andG. Dixie [3] paid the specific attention to the study of strategic priorities concerning risks minimization and profit maximization by agro-businesses and TNC within the realization of agricultural contracts at world markets. Overseas researchers KeatingB., HerreroM., CarberryP. [4] emphasized on actual importance of compliance with strategy of foodstuff security in global environment in their studies. However, the issue of developing the strategy of precise agricultural production based on widespread use of innovation and IT technologies, research into socio-economic consequences accompanying their implementation in the 21st century remains poorly studied. Research challenge of general issue. The issue of studies the core and elements of agricultural production development process in world economy is highlighted in world economic literature pretty well. Nevertheless, the study of TNCs and agricultural businesses strategies and strategies concerning transition of TNCs to the development of precise agriculture is really meaningful. Besides, at present time the trends of direct foreign investments as for agricultural lands purchase and priorities analysis of their use by TNCs in developed and developing world countries are uncertain. Socio economic consequences of mass precise agriculture introduction for national economy in countries with agrarian specialization also require detailed researching. Problem statement, objective of research. The objective of research is to highlight the core and define the regularity of formation, as well as emphasize the basic expected socio-economic consequences of precise agriculture development strategy implementing on the grounds of generalization the world experience of agricultural TNC sactivity. To achieve the objective set the article aimed at solution the following tasks: to note the main ‘players’ at the world agricultural market and study the priorities of their economic activity; to study the core and the elements of ‘green revolution’ strategy, as well as strategy of transition to precise agricultural production based on implementing innovations and IT technologies; to define strategic goals of TNCs as for the use of acquiring land ( at the cost of direct foreign investments) on the grounds of generalization developed and developing countries experience; to point out the expected socio-economic consequences of mass implementation of precise agricultural production strategies by TNCs and national agro-businesses for the economy of the countries specialized in agriculture. Method and methodology of the study. While studying the world experience of implementation the precise agricultural production development strategies theoretical and empirical methods of scientific research were employed. Historical and logical methods, abstract and specific methods, methods of analysis and synthesis, as well as causal (cause-and-effect) method were applied in the article to define strategic priorities of agricultural business and agricultural TNC specialization, to point out expected socio-economic consequences of mass transition to precise agricultural production in the countries with agrarian specialization. Synergetic approach, method of expert estimates and casual methods were applied to ground “green revolution” strategy, as well as strategy of TNCs as for transition to precise agriculture based on innovations and IT technologies. The results of study. Agricultural production is presented by farmers, households, state agricultural sector, national agro-businesses and agro-holdings, international TNCs. As a rule, farms are focused on domestic market; they specialize in production of minor parties of manual crop production and horticulture, grow vegetables, fruit and berries, as well as they are engaged in poultry farming, beekeeping, dairy production, stockbreeding in rather small scales. The farmers in developed world countries, particularly EU countries, concentrate on organic production which is of high demand among middle-class representatives. In EU countries farming is traditionally supported by the state, as it bears both economic and social valuable functions, i.e. assists in rural development and creates workplaces in countryside. The main stakeholders at the mass agricultural market in the world are considered large national and international agro-holdings an TNCs specialized in agricultural production and its industrial processing. TNCs shaped the closed loop – from selection to agricultural production, from its processing to its manufacturing. At the cost of large production scales, as well as capital concentration and centralization it is the agricultural TNCs which leads in production and export of foodstuffs at world markets. TNCs ‘ leadership at world agriculture markets is grounded on ‘green revolution’ strategy implementing, which consists of such elements as innovations, bio-selection to produce performance breed, intensive growth in crop productivity, including the one using GMO which makes cropping insensitive to water shortage, high temperatures and droughts. Agrarian TNCs in the 21st century actively implement the strategies of transition to precise agriculture based on the use of innovations and IT technologies. As the world experience confirms, strategies of transition to precise agriculture combine the following innovations: astronaut and aviation technologies, unmanned technologies, unmanned aerial vehicles; mass transition to the use of apparatus to analyze the ground online; spreading of “agro-scouting” innovation technologies as for field information gathering concerning the condition and development of agriculture; implementation intellectual system of managerial decision-making support; introduction of monitoring and control auto-system and implementation of IT-system as for account of agriculture process elements. The development of precise agriculture for national world economies which are agriculture-based offers a lot of benefits, such as: increase in labor productivity in agriculture; the decrease in employment that saves working capital of agro-businesses; industrialization and technical renovation of agrarian sector which promotes the market for IT products, precise machine building; increase in commerce and export potential of the country, mainly, in the sphere of monostructural crop production (grain, corn, soya, raps, oilseeds etc.). Such strategies also provide revitalization of direct foreign investment processes by TNCsconcerning purchasing farmland in the developing countries with their further listing as raw materials supplier for TNCs. The latter shape and control international links of production value added to all kinds of agricultural products. Among the risks which implementation of precise agriculture strategies bear for national developing country’s economy which are agriculture-based the following should be mentioned: risks concerning decrease in farms and decline in production of labor-intensive small-scale agriculture products (vegetables, fruit, honey etc.); risks of jobs recession and, respectively, the number of rural population and others. There are also other risks linked to these processes like risks of growing volumes of ready foodstuffs import, chronic scarcity of state budget and increase in internal debt, enhancing migration processes etc. In case of falling world prices for foodstuffs and worsening global conditions for agriculture products, including agrarian raw materials, in particular, due to another world economic crisis, the abandonment of occasional farmland purchased by TNCs in developing agrarian countries, their further freezing and ceasing the processing for better times should not be excluded. Under such circumstances the risks of famine for countries which could lose the managerial control over own land resources are also a threatening exercise as for implementing such TNC strategy. The field of results application. International economic relations and world economy, development of agriculture competitive strategies in world countries and agrarian TNCs in world economy. Conclusions. Farms, agro-businesses, agro-holdings and agrarian TNCs are the economic centres of mass agriculture production in all world countries. Farms are mainly specialized in labour-intensive small-scale agriculture production like horticulture, gardening, bee-keeping etc. Large agro-businesses and agrarian TNCs choose the strategy of specializing in mass monostructural agriculture production such as crop production (grain, corn, soya beans and industrial crops). In developed world countries TNCs apply the strategy of farmlands multi-purpose use, including the goals aimed at development and processing livestock and crop production; at development of renewable energy and bio-energy. In developed world countries TNCs focus on processing all kinds of agriculture products and foodstuffs production with high value added. Purchasing of farmlands by TNCs in developing countries, in particular, at the cost of direct foreign investment, provides for implementation the strategy of purchased lands engagement, mainly, to develop crop production as a raw basis for their further processing in the native countries for TNCs. The general world trend of agrarian TNCs development is use of innovation technologies, transition to precise agriculture based on IT technologies, aviation and astronautic technologies, unmanned aerial vehicles and other innovations which positively impact labor productivity and mass industrial production profitability, as well as choose transition to monostructural agrarian specialization as a priority, but bear a set of social risks for developing countries’ economies. Transition of Ukrainian agro-businesses and agro-holdings to the strategy of precise agriculture development based on innovations and IT technologies provides Ukraine’s competitiveness at the world agrarian markets. This process should go hand-in-hand with land reform taking into account Ukrainian farming interests. Establishing industrial processing of agriculture raw products and production of ready foodstuffs with high value added should be strategic for Ukraine.

The growing number of electric vehicles in recent years is observable in almost all countries. The country’s energy transition should accompany this rise in electromobility if it is currently generated from non-renewable sources. Only electric vehicles powered by renewable energy sources can be considered zero-emission. Therefore, it is essential to conduct interdisciplinary research on the feasibility of combining energy recovery/generation structures and testing the energy consumption of electric vehicles under real driving conditions. This work presents a comprehensive approach for evaluating the energy consumption of a modern public building–electric vehicle system within a specific location. The original methodology developed includes surveys that demonstrate the required mobility range to be provided to occupants of the building under consideration. In the next step, an energy balance was performed for a novel near-zero energy building equipped with a 199.8 kWp photovoltaic installation, the energy from which can be used to charge an electric vehicle. The analysis considered the variation in vehicle energy consumption by season (winter/summer), the actual charging profile of the vehicle, and the parking periods required to achieve the target range for the user.

In this paper the German congestion management regime is analyzed and future congestion management costs are assessed given a higher share of intermittent renewable generation. In this context, cost-based re-dispatching of power plants and technical flexibility through topology optimization are considered as market-based and technical congestion management methods. To replicate the current market regime in Germany a two-step procedure is chosen consisting of a transactional spot market model and a congestion management model. This uniform pricing model is compared to a nodal pricing regime. The results show that currently congestion can mainly be managed by re-dispatching power plants and optimizing the network topology. However, congestion management costs tend to increase significantly in future years if the developments of transmission as well as generation infrastructure diverge. It is concluded that there is a need for improving the current congestion management regime to achieve an efficient longterm development of the German electricity system.