Article
Environmental Sciences
Alessandra Colocci, Eleonora Gioia, Cristina Casareale, Noemi Marchetti, Fausto Marincioni
Summary: The current environmental and socio-economic crises require urgent actions that depend on coordination among different levels of governance. Response strategies need to be developed at various scales, from international to local. This study focuses on local Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans as tools for implementing Regional Strategies for Sustainable Development, using the case of the Municipality of Montemarciano in Italy. The findings highlight regional disparities in the adoption of sustainable development strategies, while the potential benefits of effective coordination are demonstrated in the case study, supporting the overall sustainable development of the area and fostering international partnerships among stakeholders.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEVELOPMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Parvez Alam Khan, Satirenjit Kaur Johl, Anil Kumar, Sunil Luthra
Summary: This study aims to compare the impact of green innovation on firm financial performance in Malaysia and Indonesia, and it is the first study to measure the moderation role of corporate governance index. The study fills the research gap by developing green innovation and corporate governance index. Panel data from the top 188 publicly listed firms for 3 years were collected and analyzed using the general least square method. The empirical evidence shows that green innovation practice is better in Malaysia, while the significance level is higher in Indonesia. This study also provides empirical evidence of a positive moderation relationship between board composition and business performance in Malaysia, but it is insignificant in Indonesia. This comparative study offers new insights for policymakers and practitioners in both countries to monitor and manage green innovation practices.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Auvikki de Boon, Camilla Sandstrom, David Christian Rose
Summary: This study explores the legitimacy of agricultural transitions from normative and sociological perspectives, highlighting the importance of clarity and diversity in design to enhance the perceived legitimacy of the transition. It emphasizes the significance of broad problem formulation, diverse mix of policy instruments, and a transparent decision-making process that includes meaningful and equal participation of stakeholders. The conclusion underscores the usefulness of a combined lens of normative and sociological legitimacy for critically evaluating the normative and power dimensions of transition processes.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Raoul Beunen, Kristof Van Assche, Monica Gruezmacher
Summary: This paper explores the importance of evolutionary perspectives on environmental governance, highlighting key concepts for understanding the evolution of governance theory. It emphasizes the significance of considering the interrelation between environmental governance and the material environment, community, and governance itself.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Linn Jarnberg, Gregor Vulturius, Filippa Ek
Summary: Ecosystem-based management and marine spatial planning aim to transform marine governance and improve ecosystems. Sustainability initiatives, such as decision-support tools, can support this transformation by informing changes in management strategies. This study focuses on the amplification processes of the Symphony tool for ecosystem-based MSP in Sweden and highlights the role of informal networks, coalition forming, trust, experimentation, and social learning in driving the amplification of sustainability initiatives. The study also emphasizes the need for significant adjustments and co-production of knowledge to achieve transformative change across different governance scales in fragmented multilevel governance systems.
SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Danielle Boyd, Minal Pathak, Renee van Diemen, Jim Skea
Summary: This research explores the approaches taken by eight cities in planning for mitigation co-benefits of adaptation strategies. The research analyses and compares the approaches set out in city adaptation plans, identifies common barriers faced by cities, and outlines three actions as recommendations for cities. The research highlights the importance of delivering mitigation co-benefits of adaptation actions and identifies certain types of co-benefits that are commonly utilized by cities.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Thermodynamics
Lauren Janicke, Destenie Nock, Kavita Surana, Sarah M. Jordaan
Summary: Inefficiencies in the transmission and distribution of electricity can result in compensatory electricity generation and air pollution. This study estimates the air pollutants associated with aggregate and non-technical losses at national and subnational scales using life cycle assessments and uncertainty analyses. The global analysis indicates significant emissions, such as 1 Gigatonne of CO2eq. Investments in T&D infrastructure can enhance the cost-effectiveness of renewable energy in a decarbonized system.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Stef H. A. Koop, Chloe Grison, Steven J. Eisenreich, Jan Hofman, Kees van Leeuwen
Summary: This study provides an analysis of integrated water resources management in cities across the globe and identifies a pattern of problem-shifting among cities. Success in integrated water resources management is crucial for achieving other sustainable development goals.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2022)
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Rabab Saleh, Alexander Brem
Summary: How can creativity foster sustainability? This question highlights the lack of creativity in current sustainability solutions and emphasizes the need for creativity to discover new paths towards sustainability. Through an integrative review of literature and analysis of journal articles, this study identifies four levels of creativity for sustainability: individual, community, organizational, and institutional. It also establishes indicators for each level.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
John H. Armstrong
Summary: The effectiveness of municipal climate change mitigation policies relies on regional coordination among local governments. However, coordination beyond network participation and information sharing is rare in climate policies. This study investigates formal horizontal policy coordination among local governments and examines multi-government coordination in implementing Community Choice Aggregation (CCA), an impactful climate policy in California. The study evaluates the characteristics and governance structures of CCA programs in the state and conducts in-depth analysis in three regional areas through interviews, media coverage, and decision-making outcomes. The study identifies successful strategies and demonstrates that formal horizontal policy coordination is crucial for local governments in enacting ambitious climate policies in multilevel governance systems.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Candice Howarth, Matthew Lane, Sam Fankhauser
Summary: Research has identified four pathways for local government declarations of climate emergencies and three interwoven purposes for these declarations. The declarations connect local responsibility for emissions reduction, but also highlight the disconnect between local scales and the global nature of the climate threat.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Mustafa Hasanov, Christian Zuidema
Summary: This article analyzes people's perceptions of local collective action in local energy initiatives and identifies diverse attitudes towards it. The findings show that those engaged in local energy initiatives often need to navigate between different assumptions, values, and transformation processes. The research suggests that these findings can be used to develop strategies for local collective action that help address tensions, confrontations, and conflicts in local energy initiatives.
SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yuhao Ba, Christopher S. Galik
Summary: Renewed attention to subnational efforts in addressing environmental challenges highlights the importance of understanding factors associated with program adoption. Analyzing the historical volatility of manufacturing employment at the local level reveals an inverse relationship between the magnitude of employment changes and the likelihood of sustainability plan adoption, with counties experiencing shrinking manufacturing employment more likely to adopt such plans. Moreover, the link between past industrial transitions and local sustainability commitment is influenced by local disaster experience and priority for environmental protection.
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Elisabeth Eppinger
Summary: The study explores how open innovation practices can foster societal benefits by proposing six distinct innovation attributes, and provides insights into which features of the practices support social benefits through assessing ten different open innovation practices.
Review
Development Studies
Luis Francisco Miranda, Claudio Cruz-Cazares, Minna Saunila
Summary: This study reviews scientific literature to examine the role of open innovation in addressing societal and environmental challenges. The analysis focuses on the integration of external partners for sustainability purposes. The findings indicate that open innovation mechanisms are predominantly used for environmental innovations, rather than innovations focused on the triple bottom line.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hallie Eakin, Nadine Methner, Gina Ziervogel
Summary: There is a growing need to involve private actors in public adaptation in urban systems. Urban administrators have limited control over urban dynamics, and the actions of private actors have a significant influence. A conceptual framework combining cognitive and behavioral theory, institutional analysis, adaptive capacity, and research on urban adaptation governance is used to understand the potential for private provisioning. The case of Cape Town's response to drought illustrates the complex interactions that shape private actors' willingness to engage in public-oriented adaptation.
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS
(2024)