Commission Plans Research Articles

Comparison of different drivers on energy systems investment dynamics to achieve the energy transition goals

The signing of the Paris Agreement represents a consensus on limiting the increase of the average global temperature compared to the preindustrial period. The European Union has set an ambitious goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. By 2030, the European Commission's REPowerEU plan aims to accelerate the processes of increasing the share of renewable energy sources, improving energy efficiency, reducing energy use, and, at the same time, diversifying energy sources and increasing electricity connectivity between member states.In order to achieve the stated goals, future energy systems will be based on renewable energy sources, which are characterized by production variability. Such systems require flexibilization technologies that ensure security and stability of supply. In this study, an analysis of how different fuel and technology costs, as well as policy targets, influence the pace of the energy transition dynamic was made on the case study of Croatia, as there was no such previous investigation. Therefore, the goal of the research is to identify the most prominent driver to achieve energy transition targets in Croatia, with an emphasis on the required flexibilization technologies. The investigation has been implemented in the energy planning tool H2RES, a detailed open-source long-term optimization model in a five-year step model based on scenario analysis of different RES and CO2 targets, technology costs, and fuel prices. The results reveal a need for an ambitious energy policy if the goal is to achieve full energy system decarbonization. Currently, high carbon prices and lower technology costs won't be enough to lead the energy transition, without legislative support.

Look-smell-taste labels on food date marking: Assessing their effectiveness for reducing food waste at a consumer level as part of the European Green Deal

The frequent misinterpretation of “best before” labels among consumers is linked to substantial amounts of food waste generated in the US and the EU. To counteract this problem, the European Commission plans to revise current regulations of date marking. Among other initiatives, it is considered to use “Look-Smell-Taste” (LST) labels on food packaging, which depict visual cues motivating consumers to engage in sensory food assessments. Against this background, this paper aims to investigate the LST labels’ effectiveness in reducing consumers’ food waste behavior using an online- and a food lab experiment. The studies examine selected date marking options varying in their wording and presence of the LST label with regard to their potential (1) to increase the overdate acceptance and actual product use, as well as (2) to motivate the sensory assessment of dairy products that passed the “best before” date. Findings show that LST labels did not significantly increase the overdate acceptance, the actual use of expired products, or consumers’ engagement in sensory assessment. Participants did however indicate their preference for date marking options with LST labels over text-only options. The paper provides insights into current and future attempts to reduce food waste related to date marking and recommendations for respective revisions as part of the European Green Deal.

Harnessing EU legal concepts for the energy transition on islands

Abstract The European Commission plans to achieve the decarbonization of dozens of European Union (EU) islands by 2030. This would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower the dependency of islands on imported fuels, and potentially reduce local energy prices. At the same time, it may accelerate the mainland’s own energy transition through the import of surplus energy from renewable sources, the provision of aggregated flexibility services, and the testing of both technologies and policies on islands for replication and adaptation on the continent. Although islands are not even a legal category per se in EU energy law, the existing legal framework already allows to harness various concepts to foster the energy transition of EU islands. This article reviews available legal qualifications and regimes such as small systems’ exemptions, energy communities, positive energy districts, and local flexibility markets in the context of the decarbonization of EU islands. Potentially, they could open many different ways to tailor local energy transitions, channelling local actions to accelerate the whole process.

Know your customer: Unravelling the challenges

Regulated financial institutions must conduct regular know-your-customer (KYC) reviews on corporate clients to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism. However, national add-on requirements and regulatory discrepancies challenge the vision of a unified Europe, hindering the creation of an efficient, digital and hence scalable pan-European anti-money laundering (AML) process for all stakeholders who are active beyond their national borders. The current inability of banks to introduce efficient but robust pan- European KYC processes delays customers’ access to finance and other banking products, and indirectly impedes the free movement of goods, services and capital. The European Commission plans to introduce the Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR) to harmonise and strengthen the EU AML framework. This could reduce national divergences, allowing for a level playing field across the internal market and consistent application of provisions throughout the EU. Unfortunately, harmonised regulation alone does not solve the current issues faced by financial institutions. While a harmonised rulebook provides certainty related to ‘what’ needs to be done, significant pan-European discrepancies remain related to ‘how’ the requirements can be fulfilled. For example, the EU has directed all member states to establish commercial and beneficial ownership registers, but left the design of such registers under the authority of the member state. Consequently, banks active on a pan-European level have to adjust their processes based on the type and content of the national register. Also, the definition of what constitutes a politically exposed person (PEP) varies significantly across the EU, as do the enhanced due diligence requirements which are triggered upon the identification of such a PEP. This paper provides suggestions on how EU member states can help the financial industry in a joint effort to prevent money laundering and combat the financing of terrorism more effectively. The objective of this discussion is to create a streamlined and unified approach to KYC processes across Europe.

Citizens’ opinions on (non-)essential uses of persistent chemicals: A survey in seven European countries

In accordance with the European Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability towards a Toxic-free Environment, the European Commission plans to phase out persistent chemicals, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), except for uses classified essential for society. Until now, empirical research on what is considered an essential or non-essential chemical use has been lacking. Furthermore, as such criteria are bound to be subjective, different parties can have different views. In this study we explored which uses of persistent chemicals citizens from seven EU countries consider (non-)essential for society. As EU citizens are directly impacted by policy decisions based on (non-)essentiality criteria, we also investigated the influence of emphasis on the consequences of banning vs. allowing persistent chemicals, the association with demographics, and of having heard of persistent chemicals or PFAS prior to the study. We found substantial variation in essentiality ratings within and between use categories and between countries. Uses related to safety were frequently considered essential, whereas uses related to recreation, household, and personal care were frequently considered non-essential. Emphasis on different consequences did not influence essentiality ratings. Gender, age, education, and political orientation were to some extent associated with essentiality ratings. People who had not heard of persistent chemicals or PFAS prior to the study rated uses of persistent chemicals less frequently as non-essential or essential. Our findings offer insight into EU citizens’ opinions on (non-)essential uses of persistent chemicals, and provide empirical input to the scientific and public debate on framing the concept of essential use.

Addressing the Voltage and Energy Fading of Al-Air Batteries to Enable Seasonal/Annual Energy Storage

The European Commission's Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan-2018) aims to slow down anthropogenic global warming by 2030 and is seen as a crucial intermediate step to guarantee net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Its achievement requires a significant increase in renewable energy. Various technologies have been proposed to solve this issue, including power-to-X options, i.e., converting renewable electricity into a storable form (e.g., hydrogen), and secondary-battery-based power-to-power options.1 Nonetheless, seasonal and even annual energy storage in a low-cost manner is still a challenge. In this context, employing the earth-abundant, low-cost, and easy to transport and store Al metal as the energy carrier may offer some valuable options, e.g., the combination of Al production via inert-electrode smelting (power to metal) and Al conversion to electricity via Al-air batteries (AABs, metal to power).2 However, voltage decay during discharge severely decreases the practical energy density of AABs, especially, upon long-term operation.3,4 ,5 Herein, the electrochemical behavior of AMA in KOH aqueous solutions containing various concentrations of dissolved aluminum, predominantly present as , is compared to investigate the impact of . It is observed that an increasing polarization of AMAs occurs even before any precipitate is generated on their surface. Further experimental and computational results reveal that the accumulation of greatly reduces the OH- concentration and, in turn, negatively affects the reaction kinetics. Therefore, the voltage decay issue of AABs is caused by the accumulation of in the electrolyte rather than Al(OH)3 on AMAs. Subsequently, it is demonstrated that seeded precipitation of in the electrolytes to Al(OH)3 precipitate with releasing OH- via utilizing its lower solubility at 20 °C than at 50 °C allows effective recovery of the potential of AMAs and the voltage of AABs. At last, prototype AABs are assembled and tested to evaluate the feasibility of voltage recovery via the proposed seeded precipitation process. References (1) Ersoy, H.; Baumann, M.; Barelli, L.; Ottaviano, A.; Trombetti, L.; Weil, M.; Passerini, S. Hybrid Energy Storage and Hydrogen Supply Based on Aluminum—a Multiservice Case for Electric Mobility and Energy Storage Services. Adv. Mater. Technol. 2022, 7 (8), 2101400.(2) Baumann, M.; Barelli, L.; Passerini, S. The Potential Role of Reactive Metals for a Clean Energy Transition. Adv. Energy Mater. 2020, 10 (27), 1–8.(3) Zhang, P.; Xue, J.; Liu, X.; Wang, Z.; Li, X.; Jiang, K. Electrochimica Acta Improving Energy Efficiency of Commercial Aluminum Alloy as Anodes for Al-Air Battery through Introducing Micro-Nanoscale AlSb Precipitates. Electrochim. Acta 2022, 417, 140331.(4) Wu, P.; Zhao, Q.; Yu, H.; Tang, Z.; Li, Y.; Huang, D.; Sun, D.; Wang, H.; Tang, Y. Modification on Water Electrochemical Environment for Durable Al-Air Battery: Achieved by a Low-Cost Sucrose Additive. Chem. Eng. J. 2022, 438, 135538.(5) Liu, S.; Ban, J.; Shi, H.; Wu, Z.; Shao, G. Near Solution-Level Conductivity of Polyvinyl Alcohol Based Electrolyte and the Application for Fully Compliant Al-Air Battery. Chem. Eng. J. 2022, 431 (P3), 134283.

Capturing youth voices to improve food policy: applying CO-CREATE’s Dialogue Forum Tool in Ireland

Abstract Background The percentage of children eating fruit and vegetables and consuming milk in Europe is low The EU School Fruit, Vegetable, and Milk Scheme (SFVMS) is funded by the European Commission to promote the daily consumption of fruit, vegetables and milk. In 2023, the Commission plan to revise the scheme and are interested in hearing the views of young people. The aim of this research is to capture the voices of European Youth on the SFVMS from a collaboration of 4 countries. The present study provides initial findings from 11 and 12 year olds living in Ireland using the novel CO-CREATE Dialogue Forum Tool (DFT). Methods Two primary schools were recruited from a list of schools participating in the EU school, fruit, vegetables and milk scheme. The schools were from a high and a low socioeconomic status area. In each school, 6 pupils were invited to participate in the forum with consent from their parents. The DFT was applied to capture youth voices. The tool involved a moderated structured discussion about a prewritten SFVMS policy idea. The moderator guided the participants through the discussion with a series of activities on a physical canvas. Results The participants felt the policy idea was important to improve health. They discussed the obstacles and opportunities to the policy idea, including the quality of the school food products and their preferences. They proposed actions for improvement, including raising awareness of the quality and creating an advertising campaign. The participants enjoyed taking part in the dialogue forum and felt it was important to have their voices heard. Conclusions The CO-CREATE DFT was useful to discuss a policy idea for the EU SFVMS. The implementation of the tool by other countries will provide a wider European perspective of the policy idea. Key messages • Participants engaged well with The CO-CREATE dialogue forum tool. • Youth voices can be readily captured to co-create food related policies.

The Challenges of Banco Crédito Agrícola in Portugal to the European Commission's Sustainable Finance Action Plan

This article relates to the necessary changes that Banco Crédito Agrícola in Portugal must consider; at the level of strategy, processes and organizational culture, to meet the European Commission Action Plan for sustainable finance, published in 2018 (European Commission, 2018). The Action Plan obliges financial institutions to redirect capital flows towards more sustainable investments to ensure sustainable and inclusive growth, manage financial risks arising from climate change, resource depletion, environmental degradation, and social issues, as well as promote transparency and long-term vision in economic and financial activities (European Commission, 2018).
 The study seeks to give greater relevance to the approach on Resource-Based View and Dynamic Capabilities supported by knowledge management as the main sustainable competitive advantage for Banking in Portugal to meet the Action Plan requirements described above.
 Firstly, qualitative, and secondly quantitative methodologies were used. The qualitative part was made by analyzing the sustainability reports of the 2013-2020 period of Banco Crédito Agrícola and by interviewing key employee stakeholders of the institution. The quantitative part was made by applying questionnaires to two different samples; one representing the Portuguese population and the other, consisted of employees of Banco Crédito Agrícola based in Portugal. 
 We conclude that there is a relationship between sustainable finance and knowledge management in the banking sector. This relationship implies a need for strategic, cultural, and process changes in Banco Crédito Agrícola, in the context of its organizational development.

Communication strategy in socialising analogue switch off in North Sulawesi

This research delves into the efficacy of the North Sulawesi Broadcasting Commission's communication strategy in facilitating the analogue switch-off programme. The study employs qualitative research methods, utilising in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, and adopts Hafied Cangara's communication strategy framework, based on Laswell's theory , to analyse the Commission's approach. The outcomes reveal that the Commission's communication plan effectively conveyed the intended message to the public. It achieved its objectives of disseminating information and educating the populace about the switch-off process. Nonetheless, the plan could have been further enhanced to better address the diverse needs and concerns of the audience. The findings offer valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities associated with implementing the analogue switch-off programme, especially concerning formulating efficient communication strategies that can effectively reach all segments of Society. By shedding light on these aspects, this research significantly contributes to the broader discourse on digital television and its profound influence on broadcasting policies in Indonesia.

Three-dimensional convolutional neural network model to identify clinically significant prostate cancer in transrectal ultrasound videos: a prospective, multi-institutional, diagnostic study.

Identifying patients with clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa) before biopsy helps reduce unnecessary biopsies and improve patient prognosis. The diagnostic performance of traditional transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) for csPCa is relatively limited. This study was aimed to develop a high-performance convolutional neural network (CNN) model (P-Net) based on a TRUS video of the entire prostate and investigate its efficacy in identifying csPCa. Between January 2021 and December 2022, this study prospectively evaluated 832 patients from four centres who underwent prostate biopsy and/or radical prostatectomy. All patients had a standardised TRUS video of the whole prostate. A two-dimensional CNN (2D P-Net) and three-dimensional CNN (3D P-Net) were constructed using the training cohort (559 patients) and tested on the internal validation cohort (140 patients) as well as on the external validation cohort (133 patients). The performance of 2D P-Net and 3D P-Net in predicting csPCa was assessed in terms of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), biopsy rate, and unnecessary biopsy rate, and compared with the TRUS 5-point Likert score system as well as multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mp-MRI) prostate imaging reporting and data system (PI-RADS) v2.1. Decision curve analyses (DCAs) were used to determine the net benefits associated with their use. The study is registered at https://www.chictr.org.cn with the unique identifier ChiCTR2200064545. The diagnostic performance of 3D P-Net (AUC: 0.85-0.89) was superior to TRUS 5-point Likert score system (AUC: 0.71-0.78, P=0.003-0.040), and similar to mp-MRI PI-RADS v2.1 score system interpreted by experienced radiologists (AUC: 0.83-0.86, P=0.460-0.732) and 2D P-Net (AUC: 0.79-0.86, P=0.066-0.678) in the internal and external validation cohorts. The biopsy rate decreased from 40.3% (TRUS 5-point Likert score system) and 47.6% (mp-MRI PI-RADS v2.1 score system) to 35.5% (2D P-Net) and 34.0% (3D P-Net). The unnecessary biopsy rate decreased from 38.1% (TRUS 5-point Likert score system) and 35.2% (mp-MRI PI-RADS v2.1 score system) to 32.0% (2D P-Net) and 25.8% (3D P-Net). 3D P-Net yielded the highest net benefit according to the DCAs. 3D P-Net based on a prostate grayscale TRUS video achieved satisfactory performance in identifying csPCa and potentially reducing unnecessary biopsies. More studies to determine how AI models better integrate into routine practice and randomized controlled trials to show the values of these models in real clinical applications are warranted. The National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants 82202174 and 82202153), the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (Grants 18441905500 and 19DZ2251100), Shanghai Municipal Health Commission (Grants 2019LJ21 and SHSLCZDZK03502), Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan (21Y11911200), and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (ZD-11-202151), Scientific Research and Development Fund of Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University (Grant 2022ZSQD07).

Anticipating lithium extraction in northern Portugal: A Sacrifice Zone in the making?

Despite increasing calls for the development of a circular economy, extractive industries are gaining renewed relevance in Europe. The European Commission's plan to expand domestic sourcing of lithium to scale up the production and use of electric vehicles has been met with social resistance from affected communities who mobilize to protect their livelihoods, and nature. The growing conflicts emerging around global battery supply chains highlight the importance of examining justice-related concerns around current decarbonization strategies. This article takes a political ecology approach that combines the concepts of place and anticipation to examine negotiations around a proposed lithium mine in the Barroso region in northern Portugal. Drawing on 27 qualitative semi-structured interviews and ethnographic research in August 2021, we explore how local residents engage in the politics of anticipation around the mine. The study has two main findings: (1) While local supporters hope to benefit from the project economically, opponents expect it to undermine agricultural traditions, counteract plans for expanding tourism services, and as known from mining areas in the past, drive displacement and rural injustices. (2) As opponents feel restricted in their ability to participate in decision-making around the project, they act upon the future through defensive resistance, connecting across multiple scales and drawing on place-based symbols to mark differences from dominant ideas on extractive development. The study suggests that local activists' experiences of being disregarded in their concerns and demands indicate that plans to expand resource extraction in the name of the green economy are giving rise to new sacrifice zones.

Exploring the Online Micro-targeting Practices of Small, Medium, and Large Businesses

Facebook and other advertising platforms exploit users' data for marketing purposes by allowing advertisers to select specific users and target them with well-crafted messages (the practice is being called micro-targeting). However, advertisers such as Cambridge Analytica have maliciously used these targeting features to manipulate users in the context of elections. The European Commission plans to restrict or even ban some targeting functionalities in the new European Democracy Action Plan act to protect users from such harms. The difficulty in finding appropriate restrictions is that we do not know the economic impact of these restrictions on regular advertisers. In this paper, to inform the debate, we take a first step by understanding who is advertising on Facebook and how they use the targeting functionalities of ad platforms. For this, we asked 890 U.S. users to install a monitoring tool on their browsers to collect the ads they receive on Facebook and information about how these ads were targeted. By matching advertisers on Facebook with their LinkedIn profiles, we could see that 71% of advertisers are small and medium-sized businesses with 200 employees or less, and they are responsible for 61% of ads and 57% of ad impressions. Regarding micro-targeting, we found that only 32% of small and medium-sized businesses and 30% of large-sized businesses in our dataset micro-target at least one of their ads. These results should not be interpreted as micro-targeting not being useful as a marketing strategy, but rather that advertisers prefer to outsource the micro-targeting task to ad platforms. Indeed, to deliver ads, Facebook is employing optimization algorithms that exploit user data to decide which users should see what ads; which basically means ad platforms are performing an algorithmic-driven micro-targeting. Hence, when setting restrictions on micro-targeting, legislators should take into account both the traditional advertiser-driven micro-targeting as well as algorithmic-driven micro-targeting performed by ad platforms.

Battered by Geopolitical Winds, Bulgaria Struggles to Restart Much Needed Reforms

Battered by Geopolitical Winds, Bulgaria Struggles to Restart Much Needed Reforms

ТРЕНДИ ЗАКОНОДАВЧОГО, НОРМАТИВНО-ПРАВОВОГО РЕГУЛЮВАННЯ ЄС СТОСОВНО ДОПУСКУ НА РИНОК СІЛЬСЬКОГОСПОДАРСЬКИХ ТРАНСПОРТНИХ ЗАСОБІВ

The purpose of the research is to summarize the trends of legislative, regulatory and legal regulation of the EU regarding the admission to the market of agricultural vehicles. Research methods - used methods of systematization and analysis of regulatory and legislative documents of the European Union on the admission to the market of agricultural and forestry vehicles. Research results. EU countries are taking a number of measures to increase the safety of cars at the legislative level. Such conditions are updated as the requirements for the development and manufacture of new models of agricultural and forestry vehicles, new technical and technological solutions of safety requirements are updated and the number of components, systems, technical units to which the requirements are established is expanded. For agricultural vehicles, the result was a new Regulation 167/2013 which applies to EU approval of agricultural and forestry tractors, their trailers and trailers, systems, components and individual technical units. In 2019, the EU countries submitted reports to the EU Commission on the operation of the regulation, which in turn must submit a report by 31.12.2022 with proposals for changes and updates of legislation, if necessary. Other agricultural machinery falls within the scope of Directive 2006/42 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on machinery, which also applies to mobile machinery and covers safety aspects of agricultural vehicles not covered by Regulation 167/2013. From 2019, the Machinery Directive is under revision. A draft regulation on mechanical engineering products was published in Brussels on 21.04.2021 (After the draft regulation of the European Commission was issued, discussions were held in parallel in the European Council and the European Parliament. Compromise amendments to the revision of the Machinery Directive 2006/42 / EU were voted and approved on 02.05.2022. The next step will be to start discussions and deliberations between the Commission, the Parliament and the Council of the EU to reach an agreement on the differences in mid-June 2022. Harmonization of road safety requirements for off-road mobile vehicles (NRMM) in the EU has been an important topic among politicians and other stakeholders for decades. A number of activities were carried out, in particular: A study commissioned by the Executive Agency for Small and Medium Business (EASME) in 2016 and published a report of the European Commission "EU study on harmonization of mobile traffic requirements" prepared by EASME consultant in 2019. In October 2021 A bilateral meeting was organized between the Industrial Working Group on Off-Road Mobile Technology (ITF NRMM) and representatives of the Commission of the Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and Small and Medium Business (DG GROW) to clarify some aspects of drafting proposals for establishment road requirements for NRMM. In the second quarter of 2022, the DG GROW Commission plans to prepare draft proposals for further discussion. Conclusions. EU countries are taking a number of measures to increase the safety of cars at the legislative level. This gives both producers and consumers of agricultural and forestry machinery a number of advantages: - no need for duplication / additional tests and / or documentation for placing machines on the market in several EU countries; - reduction of costs of manufacturers due to reduction of tests and terms of administration; - reduction of technical barriers to access to other EU markets with a small number of machines; - providing buyers with a wider range of goods to choose from; - reduction of supply chain costs, for example, in the absence of the need to add special kits for lighting and signaling, turning them into a burden for end users; - introduction of modern technical requirements in countries where this is not the case. Key words: safety requirements, EU directive, legislative acts, normative legal acts, EU regulations, agricultural and forestry vehicles, trends.

Does bonus motivate streamers to perform better? An analysis of compensation mechanisms for live streaming platforms

We consider a live streaming platform connecting streamers and users. Streamers perform for users in a virtual chat room on the platform. Users watch streamers’ performances and purchase virtual gifts for their favorite streamers. There are two types of streamers: non-contracted ones who stream independently and contracted ones who sign with and work for the platform. Based on observed industrial practice, the platform provides non-contracted streamers with a straight commission plan and contracted streamers with one of three alternative compensation plans, namely, the basic compensation plan (B-plan), salary-based incentive plan (SI-plan), and commission-based incentive plan (CI-plan). The platform first decides its compensation plans for two types of streamers, then the streamers decide their type and effort level. We explore and compare the streamers’ optimal decisions under different compensation plans. We interestingly find that the SI/CI bonus does not always motivate streamers to perform better. The SI bonus is only effective for the streamers whose ability is neither low nor high while the CI bonus can effectively motivate the majority of streamers except those having extremely low ability or some low-intermediate-ability streamers. In addition, the platform can screen out low-ability streamers and attract high-ability streamers to sign with it by properly designing its compensation plans. Finally, we examine managerial insights for the platform. We show that both SI-plan and CI-plan result in higher expected profits for the platform than the B-plan.

Accounting for climatic effects in measuring U.S. field crop farm productivity

AbstractThe European Commission plans to reduce pesticides and fertilizer use in agriculture substantially under its Green Deal's Farm to Fork strategy. Policy alternatives are needed to overcome these input reductions, for instance by allocating R&D towards commodities most affected by climage change and improving the precision of input use. Since climate change is likely to impact agriculture negatively, productivity measures that account for all inputs and climate change impacts can help to weigh such policy responses. We adopt U.S. farm‐level data and a multi‐output and multi‐input production technology to estimate relative farm productivity performances with climatic effects. Exploiting long‐term weather patterns, we find comparative advantages among some crop farms and ample productivity improvement potential across all of them.

Prospects of green hydrogen in Poland: A techno-economic analysis using a Monte Carlo approach

The European Commission's plan to decarbonize the economy using innovative energy carriers has brought into question whether the national targets for developing electrolysis technologies are sufficiently ambitious to establish a local hydrogen production industry. While several research works have explored the economic viability of individual green hydrogen production and storage facilities in the Western European Member States, only a few studies have examined the prospects of large-scale green hydrogen production units in Poland. In this study, a Monte Carlo-based model is proposed and developed to investigate the underlying economic and technical factors that may impact the success of the Polish green hydrogen strategy. Moreover, it analyzes the economics of renewable hydrogen at different stages of technological development and market adoption. This is achieved by characterizing the local meteorological conditions of Polish NUTS-2 regions and comparing the levelized cost of hydrogen in such regions in 2020, 2030, and 2050. The results show the geographical locations where the deployment of large-scale hydrogen production units will be most cost effective.

Introducing climate impact accounting for investment portfolios. A comparative study on the existing methodologies

This study provides an overarching state-of-the-art review of climate change-related accounting practices for investment portfolios. With the adoption of the Paris Agreement and European Commission plan on sustainable finance, the question regarding the compatibility of financial flows with decarbonisation objectives has gained cardinal importance among capital market participants. The application of a viable climate-alignment framework has become inevitable for legislators, regulators, investors, issuers, and rating agencies. Carbon footprinting and intensity measurement associated with portfolio investments and its climate impact are central issues for climate performance and risk assessment, management, reporting and GHG emissions reduction target setting. This study evidences the absence of a consensual method and a notable variation in the results attained for the same portfolio across different approaches. This study focused on practices related to listed assets, namely on the attribution of climate impact generated by issuers to portfolios and investors. The findings offer a comparative study of the existing methodologies and introduce portfolio climate impact accounting concept and structure.

Secondary cancer prevention among the youth: research status and policy recommendations for the EU

Abstract Background In early 2021, Europe's Beating Cancer Plan was announced on World Cancer Day. While the European Commission's plan does not include a focus on secondary cancers prevention, the secondary cancers are the sixth most common group of malignanciesThe review aims to 1) synthesize the existing approaches and interventions for cancer prevention in young cancer patients and survivors, 2) deliver evidence-based recommendations for how to best adapt the existing cancer prevention guidelines for young cancer survivors including children, adolescents or young adults (AYA). Methods Four major databases (PubMed, Web of Science and PsycINFO, PsycNET) were screened for relevant literature on cancer prevention in childhood and AYA cancer patients and survivors using a combination of terms. Results The search yielded 2,712 unique articles from which 32 met the inclusion criteria. Few existing studies focus on AYA or directly address cancer prevention in young survivors. More emphasis is needed on other preventative measures beyond healthy diet and physical exercise. Conclusions This review revealed a gap in the translational research in cancer prevention for young people with cancer. The findings emphasize that childhood and AYA cancer patients and survivors need not be overlooked. A pan-European research framework for prevention of second primary cancer among young people is recommended to gain knowledge on how to best adapt the measures against second primary cancers in youth. Key messages Developing targeted cancer prevention measures in young cancer survivors may lower the burden of second primary cancers as well as attenuate the fear of recurrence, one of the most prevalent worries. A pan-European research framework for prevention of second primary cancer among young people is recommended to gain knowledge on how to best adapt the measures against second primary cancers in youth.

Status stock and Sustainable Management Measures for Moroccan Sardines

This article summarizes the state of stocks of sardine, sardina pilchardus in Moroccan waters at the end of 2016 and 2018. These stocks varies according to the region,They are now in a sustainable exploitation situation:Atlantic sardine, but also stocks that have reached or are still in over-exploitation levels: Mediterranean sardine. The fi shing pressure exerted on the sardine stock exceeds the optimal level by 40%. Due to the degradation of the fragile marine environment of the Mediterranean region, generated by pollution of various origins, the overexploitation of juveniles in the coastal strip, non-responsible practices and the use of non-fi shing gearselective, it is imperative to take the necessary measures to protect the marine environment and ensure rational and sustainable exploitation of the resource. (High commission plan 2006 report).