Understanding real work situations to determine sprayer design occupational and environmental health criteria: a mixed methods study protocol.

Purpose – The purpose of the article is to present the development of horizontal aid for environ-mental protection and objectives related to green energy in Poland in comparison with other EU countries in 2009-2017. The above category of state aid in Poland has been characterised in detail, considering its sources, forms, entities providing support as well as the main beneficiaries of aid. Research method – The article utilises the analysis of existing data on horizontal aid for environmental protection and energy objectives in Poland and European Union countries. Results – During the period 2014-2017, as part of horizontal aid in Poland, the majority of aid was granted for environmental protection and energy objectives (in 2014 it accounted for 45% of the total horizontal aid). In the European Union, by comparison, a gradual increase in the share of the abovementioned category of assistance in the total state aid granted in the analysed period is noticeable. The largest share of the studied category in total state aid was recorded in Sweden, Austria and Germany, while the largest increase in the share of this aid in total state aid was seen in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia and Romania. Originality /value / implications /recommendations - As a result of the strategies implemented in the EU states, the aid for environmental protection and energy objectives is currently one of the most important categories of horizontal aid. This article offers a multifaceted analysis of the above assistance in Poland and a detailed comparison of the level of this support in the EU countries.

The development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt is one of the major strategies for coordinated regional development of the country. It is required to protect the ecological environment,and take the road of ecological priority and green development. At present,the economic growth rate of the Yangtze River Economic Belt has slowed down. The industrial structure is continuously optimized. The urbanization is already in the late stage of rapid development. The emission intensity of major pollutants in the Yangtze River Economic Belt continued to decline. The water environment quality has improved significantly,but the water ecology situation is worrying. The continuous and steady improvement of the ecological environment quality has entered a critical period. Through the study of the situation of social economy and ecological environment,this paper proposes the strategic needs and strategic objectives of the future ecological environment protection of the Yangtze River Economic Belt,and puts forward four categories of strategies. The results showed that: (1) The strategic demands for ecological environmental protection in the Yangtze River Economic Belt are to shift from a single element,a single indicator,and some areas to a systematic protection and comprehensive restoration of water ecological environment. (2) The strategic objectives of ecological environmental protection are to shift from water environment quality improvement to water ecological environment security promotion. In the future,the goal will gradually turn to improving the ecological environment health. (3) The spatial control strategy needs to integrate multiple regional plans,and construct a unified division system of ecological environment spatial units in the Yangtze River Economic Belt with basin-region coordination,water-land integration,and mountain-sea unification. (4) The core of the industrial green development strategy is to strengthen prevention and control in related industries that affect the water ecological environment security. (5) The scientific and technological innovation strategy should highlight the role of research platforms to promote the collection and innovation of data,talents,technologies and achievements,and achieve the transformation of ecological environmental protection from investment-driven to technological innovation-driven. (6) The modern governance improvement strategy requires the Yangtze River Economic Belt to build a pilot demonstration belt of ecological civilization,take the lead in improving the system of ecological civilization,construct an ecological environment governance system and improve the capacity of ecological environment governance. According to the research,grasping the strategic demands and objectives of ecological environmental protection,implementing the strategies of spatial control, industrial green development, scientific and technological innovation, and modern governance improvement can more effectively support the integrated development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Yangtze River Delta.

Operations in general industry, including manufacturing, expose employees to a myriad of occupational health hazards. To prevent exposure, occupational health and safety regulations were enacted, with both employers and workers instituting various risk reduction measures. The analysis of available occupational disease and injury statistics (indicators of worker physical health) can be used to infer the effectiveness of risk reduction measures and regulations in preventing exposure. Thus, using the READ approach, analyses of occupational disease and injury statistics from South African industry, derived from annual reports of the Compensation Fund, were conducted. The publicly available database of occupational disease and injury statistics from the South African general industry is unstructured, and the data are inconsistently reported. This data scarcity, symptomatic of an absence of a functional occupational disease surveillance system, complicates judgement making regarding the effectiveness of implemented risk reduction measures, enacted occupational health and safety regulations and the status of worker physical health from exposure to workplace hazards. The statistics, where available, indicate that workers continue to be exposed to occupational health impacts within general industry, notwithstanding risk reduction measures and enacted regulations. In particular, worker physical health continues to be impacted by occupational injuries and noise-induced hearing loss. This is suggestive of shortcomings and inefficiencies in industry-implemented preventive measures and the regulatory state. A robust national occupational disease surveillance system is a regulatory tool that should detect and direct policy responses to identified occupational health hazards.

The EU Climate and Energy Package highlights the potential contradictions between the climate change imperative of reducing GHGs emissions and the importance to maintain environmental integrity. While the package supports climate change mainstreaming, it remains to be seen to what extent it succeeds in achieving internal environmental integration between climate change mitigation and other environmentprotection objectives. Directive 2009/31/EC on the capture and geological storage of carbon dioxide (hereinafter the CCS Directive) offers a paradigmatic example of this potential conflict. One of the main regulatory challenges arising from the CCS Directive relates to finding the proper balance between the different interests involved and the not-fully-consistent objectives of environmental protection, climate change mitigation, and energy security. The present article will discuss this regulatory challenge and examine how the CCS Directive’s regulatory framework for CCS permits a combination of the various interests at stake and the giving of proper weight to concerns about environmental protection. The role that the precautionary principle in conjunction with the proportionality principle may have in balancing climate change mitigation and environment-protection interests will be considered.

Two geographers residing in Beijing discuss the inflows, processing, and consumption of electronic waste—a topic largely neglected in the current literature on globalization. Based on extensive interviews with electronics producers and recyclers in China, the paper explores the global flows of e-waste and concentration of related recycling in coastal China. The authors suggest that recycling activities (authorized as well as illegal) grew in tandem with the dramatic increase in electronics production during the last decade. They note that the country's recycling sector has played a significant role in rural industrialization and local economic development, albeit in conflict with the objectives of environmental protection. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F20, L63, O17, O19. 6 figures, 23 references.

The sustainable development movement is an essential trend that can resist the excessive consumption and over-exploitation of resources. There have been considerable changes in the perception of the term “sustainable development” over the last 30 years. Difficulties in implementing the principles of rational use of natural resources have resulted from a general conflict between the objectives of economic development and the increasing dynamics of industrial production, the quality of the environment and the objectives of environmental protection. This research goal was to describe ways of linking sustainable development trends and the customer value management process. Research also aimed to indicate what this relationship drives. In order to process the collected individual in-depth interview (IDI) material, the author applied a qualitative analysis. As a result of the exploratory research, it was found that there is no complete agreement on who is responsible for implementing the sustainable development assumptions: producers or customers. However, the process of linking sustainable development trends and customer value management can be pointed out. According to this study, as those who make purchasing decisions, customers are the axis of this relationship. On the basis of the results of this research, as long as customers buy particular products, they will be offered by producers.

Environmental and economic trade-off-based approaches towards urban household waste and crop straw disposal for biogas power generation project -a case study from China

This study will explore how International Investment Agreements (IIAs) can be adapted to support efficient mitigation and adaptation to climate change. In other words, attempt to align investment policies with objectives of environmental protection. Our goal is to do this without hampering investment in environmental protection. A critical question that this study tries to answeris whether such changes in IIAs can be applied across the board to all different economic contexts and, in particular, their feasibility for less developed countries. Its major goal is to enhance investor confidence, especially in the environmentally green area. This will help us achieve the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our findings have essential implications for policymakers and decision-makers to develop climate policy and international cooperation on climate issues. In addition, it is very relevant to increase economic resilience in various economic environments and to fight the negative impacts of climate change.

Recognizing that significantly increased renewable-energy share (res) is a central component of both EU climate and environmental law, the focus of this paper is the point of intersection between these legal frameworks. Renewable-energy infrastructure projects are necessary for climate-mitigation purposes, but they give rise to significant local environmental impacts that have a negative effect on local communities and environmental conditions. The objective of environmental protection, ‘to preserve, protect and improve the quality of the environment’, does not fully align with the objectives of climate mitigation, which are designed to safeguard the needs of future generations and the long-term environment. While EU environmental policy encompasses ‘measures designed to combat climate change’, little attention has been afforded in relevant Directives to the impact of climate-mitigation measures on the environment. There is no provision for proportionate treatment of the impacts of these measures in environmental governance procedures. Analysis of the provisions of the eia and Habitats Directives, which directly impact the authorization of renewable-energy projects, reveals that climate as a component of EU environmental policy is dealt with via the limitation and control of greenhouse gas emissions, an incomplete approach that fails to provide for the development of new large-scale infrastructure that can mitigate the generation of greenhouse gas emissions through provision of sustainable energy sources. The European Union’s revised Trans European Network – Energy (ten-E) Regulation (June 2022) provides that energy infrastructure in the form of projects of common interest shall be deemed to be in the overriding public interest in the context of the Habitats Directive, an exception to that Directive’s prohibition on development that could negatively impact protected Natura 2000 features. A proposal pursuant to the EU Commission’s plan ‘REPowerEU’ recommends an amendment to the Renewable Energy Directive to introduce a similar overriding provision in respect of all renewable-energy infrastructure projects. These sidestepping provisions in climate-energy laws, made necessary by the failure of EU environmental law to incorporate effective provisions that promote climate change measures, are an incomplete solution that will limit the regulation of an environmentally responsible approach to increased res and are likely to be challenged.

Barriers to trade come in a variety of forms. This article examines one such barrier, export restrictions, and how it impacts trade and global supply in selected strategic metals and minerals. The metals and minerals examined in the article are of particular interest for a number of reasons: they are generally geographically concentrated in a few countries, many are used in the production of high-technology goods in strategic sectors, and there are few substitutes for these raw materials given the present state of technology. For all these reasons, importing countries are dependent on a reliable supply of these raw materials. Export restrictions may be applied for a number of reasons: protection of the environment, preservation of natural resources, protection of downstream industries, or as a response to a number of different market imperfections. This article examines the motivations for using export restrictions and finds varying impacts on trade and global supply. In one case, the export restrictions put into place did not fulfil their objective of environmental protection. In another, the presence of export restrictions in one country put pressure on other exporters to apply restrictions, suggesting the potential for competitive policy practices in restricting exports. In a third case study, export restrictions were seen to impact investment decisions by potential suppliers worldwide by introducing an added element of risk in the industry. The impact of export restrictions on strategic metals and minerals is exacerbated in many cases because producing countries have a quasi-monopoly on supply. Since these metals and minerals are essential in the production of some high-technology products and are not easily replaceable in the medium term, industry participants in some importing countries are concerned about future access at sustainable prices.

Protection of the environment in existing exposure situations.

In the summer of 1998 the Yangtze River in China suffered its worst floods in 50 years. In response to this flooding the Chinese government devised the National Forest Protection Plan, a key component of this plan is the Tuigeng huanlin (Sloping Land Conversion) policy. Under this scheme, farmers are offered grain subsidies and small cash payments in compensation for voluntarily returning marginal farmland to forest. This article looks at the initial demonstration stage of Tuigeng huanlin in the southwest and northwest of China and focuses on rural households: • their participation in the policy, • the choices made in terms of tree species (economic or ecological), and • the effect of participation on incomes and livelihoods. It also examines the stability of the policy and the impact these aspects will have on the potential of the Sloping Land Conversion Policy (SLCP) to attain its objectives of environmental protection and increased forest cover in China. It concludes that the government is aware of the shortcomings and is working to correct them.

For regional planning and approval procedures for building projects of a certain order of magnitude and power rating according to the German Federal Act on the Prevention of Emissions with Integrated Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the German public health departments, acting as public authorities, increasingly perform health impact assessments (HIA). The amended Act on Environmental Impact Assessment, the Decree on industrial plants which require approval (4th Federal Decree on Emission Prevention) and the Health Service Acts of the Federal States of Germany form the legal basis for the assessment of health issues with regard to approval procedures for building and investment projects. In the framework of the "Action Programme for the Environment and Health", the present article aims at making this process binding and to ensure responsibility and general involvement of the Public Health departments in all German Federal States. Future criteria, basic principles and procedures for single-case testing as well as assessment standards should meet these requirements. The Federal Ministry for the Environment and the Federal Ministry for Health should agree on Health Impact Assessment (HIA ) as well as on the relaxant stipulations in their procedures and general administrative regulations for implementing the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (EIA). Current EIA procedures focus on urban development and road construction, industrial investment projects, intensive animal husbandry plants, waste incineration plants, and wind energy farms. This paper illustrates examples meeting with varying degrees of public acceptance. However, being involved in the regional planning procedure for the project "Extension of the federal motorway A 14 from Magdeburg to Schwerin", the Public Health Service also shares global responsibility for health and climate protection. Demands for shortest routing conflict with objectives of environmental protection which should be given long-term consideration. Assessing the direct impact of projects on human beings should be rank first in the list of priorities. The Hygiene Institute supports the efforts of the Public Health departments by providing professional consultant services to ensure consistency in the application of procedures.

Environmental protection and restoration in 10 suburban community plans are compared to the recommendations of an innovative Natural Features Study (NFS) of Markham, Ontario. The secondary plans will accommodate 150 000 people and are North America's largest concentration of new communities planned with traditional neighbourhood design principles. Their planning and development is an early test of whether New Urbanism can collaborate with pre-emptive ecosystem planning. The results of the comparison indicate that the plans met or exceeded most objectives for environmental protection. The record on environmental restoration is mixed, with several proposed links lost during the design and development process, perhaps because the NFS was not adopted as official policy before neighbourhood planning began. It appears that environmental restoration is best approached on a regional basis, with plans and financial incentives in place before land is subject to development pressure.

Summary 1. The development of sustainable, multi‐functional agricultural systems involves reconciling the needs of agricultural production with the objectives for environmental protection, including biodiversity conservation. However, the definition of sustainability remains ambiguous and it has proven difficult to identify suitable indicators for monitoring progress towards, and the successful achievement of, sustainability. 2. In this study, we show that a trait‐based approach can be used to assess the detrimental impacts of agricultural change to a broad range of taxonomic groupings and derive a standardised index of farmland biodiversity health, built around an objective of achieving stable or increasing populations in all species associated with agricultural landscapes. 3. To demonstrate its application, we assess the health of UK farmland biodiversity relative to this goal. Our results suggest that the populations of two‐thirds of 333 plant and animal species assessed are unsustainable under current UK agricultural practices. 4. We then explore the potential benefits of an agri‐environment scheme, Entry Level Stewardship (ELS), to farmland biodiversity in the UK under differing levels of risk mitigation delivery. We show that ELS has the potential to make a significant contribution to progress towards sustainability targets but that this potential is severely restricted by current patterns of scheme deployment. 5. Synthesis and applications: We have developed a cross‐taxonomic sustainability index which can be used to assess both the current health of farmland biodiversity and the impacts of future agricultural changes relative to quantitative biodiversity targets. Although biodiversity conservation is just one of a number of factors that must be considered when defining sustainability, we believe our cross‐taxonomic index has the potential to be a valuable tool for guiding the development of sustainable agricultural systems.