Sustainable Development Issues Research Articles

Securing a Sustainable Future: A Path towards Gender Equality in the Indian Agricultural Sector

The Indian agricultural sector is the world’s largest producer of pulses, milk, and jute, and the second-largest producer of rice, wheat, vegetables, fruit, and cotton. Climate change threatens food security worldwide and has severely impacted the Indian agricultural sector. As a result of the unpredictable climate and low profits, economic uncertainty has forced men to seek employment in non-farming sectors. Under the deepening crisis, the farming landscape has transformed into a female-majority workforce. To identify pragmatic solutions to the deepening agrarian crisis, we employed a qualitative triangulation approach to our investigation of the feminisation of the farming sector, which was conducted in 2020. Our analyses of Indian media narratives, archive stories, responses to an online story completion task, and in-depth expert interviews show that, despite their developing role and increasing contribution, women remain marginalised and discriminated against in a culturally male-dominant sector. Supported by a long-term field ethnographic experience, we used Installation Theory to identify three domains in which policymakers can intervene to promote the interconnected issues of social sustainability, gender equality, and sustainable economic development in this sector.

Multidimensional performance assessment, government competition and ecological welfare performance.

Improving the efficiency of converting natural resources into social benefits is an important issue for sustainable development in today's world. Based on this background this paper applies the super-efficient SBM model with non-expected output to measure the ecological welfare performance (EWP) of Chinese provinces from 2005-2019, and explores the relationship between government competition and EWP under different assessment systems. The research results show that government competition under economic performance assessment is self-interested and short-sighted, which can negatively affect ecological welfare performance in the current period as well as in the next four years. In contrast, government competition under the environmental assessment system promotes EWP in both the current and long term, balancing short-term and long-term benefits. The results of the spatial GMM found that government competition under economic performance appraisal can deteriorate EWP in local as well as surrounding areas, but government competition under the environmental assessment system can achieve an increase in local ecological welfare performance and the spillover effect is not significant. To alleviate the limitations of a single appraisal system, this paper incorporates both economic and ecological appraisals into the multidimensional appraisal system. When the weights of both are between 1:9 and 3:7, the government competition under multidimensional performance appraisal can promote both current and longer-term EWP, and achieve its own ecological welfare performance without affecting the surrounding areas.

How Cultural Cognition Informs Differential Treatment in WTO Law and the Climate Regime

Abstract Climate change is a core issue for sustainable development and exacerbates inequality. However, in both the WTO and the climate regime, disagreements over differential treatment have hampered efforts to address international inequalities in a way that facilitates effective responses to global issues. Sustainable globalization requires bridging the disparities between developed and developing countries in their capacities to address such matters of global concern. However, differential treatment now functions as a distraction from the global issues it was supposed to address. Cognitive biases distort perceptions regarding the climate crisis and the value of multilateralism. To what extent can cognitive science inform decision making by States? How do we change paradigms (cognitive background assumptions), which limit the options that decision-making elites in developed and developing countries perceive as useful and worth considering? To what extent do cognitive biases and cultural cognition create a barrier to multilateral cooperation on issues of global concern?

State policy in the field of management of socio-economic processes in modern Russia

The article is devoted to the study of the prospects for the development of the model of socio-economic policy of Russia in the conditions of the sixth technological order. The analysis of the main indicators of socio-economic development of the Russian Federation for 2021-2022 and the planned period from 2023 to 2025 is carried out. Three directions of development of the model of socio-economic policy of Russia are proposed, affecting the issues of sustainable development of the territories of the state, increasing the number and importance of scientific research, control of pricing for goods and services.

Forecasting and gap analysis of renewable energy integration in zero energy-carbon buildings: a comprehensive bibliometric and machine learning approach.

This paper investigates biomass and solar energy's present and future perspectives in low/zero energy and carbon emissions. Its data source is published articles indexed in the Scopus database. By analyzing the articles extracted in Vos viewer software, four main areas of research are found: sustainable development, economic and managerial issues, methods, algorithms, modeling technologies, and renewable energy and its sources and types. In all four sections, research gaps were observed in the field of the third generation of photovoltaics (semi-transparent solar cells )organic)) and algae. As part of the study, advanced bibliometric analysis was carried out by VOS viewer software, and 34129 articles were examined from Scopus, alongside a patent analysis using Google patents, in addition to the bibliometric analysis. It has been shown by machine learning that about 9% of future articles in all energy fields will consist of building articles, and a quarter of these articles will be in the field of renewable energy. While residential and commercial sectors are the dominant areas of renewable energy utilization and commercialization research, the potential of new generations of renewable energy technologies will create significant opportunities to achieve low/zero energy-carbon emission buildings. The paper concludes by predicting the increasing rate of renewable energy and building articles compared to energy articles by 2030, emphasizing the critical role of research in advancing sustainable energy solutions. This data mining analysis helps to identify the current gaps and opportunities. Therefore, great potential will be created to develop and commercialize a new generation of technologies in this industry.

Connecting Sustainable Development with Media, Journalism and Communication Programs in European Universities

Abstract Media plays a critical role in shaping public opinion and policy on global issues related to sustainable development. As such, journalism higher education has an important responsibility to prepare journalism students to report on sustainable development issues and to promote the Sustainable Development Goals. However, integrating the SDGs into journalism curricula presents several challenges. This article reviews the current state of teaching the SDGs in European journalism higher education and identifies the challenges and opportunities for integrating the SDGs into journalism curricula. The authors examine the connection between journalism programs, courses and the topics of the SDGs, in the European university environment by accessing existing reports (mainly from institutions like UN, UNESCO, EU-HEIs), studies and articles on SDGs in journalism and the websites of EU-HEIs. The EU universities providing Journalism / Media Programs were selected based on three criteria: i/ the 2020 QS World University Ranking by Subject (subjects used: “communication & media studies”, “development studies”), ii/ Google search based on keywords related to journalism or media education and SDGs and iii/ existing partnerships LBUS has with European universities in the field of journalism and media.

Marine and land economy–energy–environment systems forecasting by novel structural-adaptive fractional time-delay nonlinear systematic grey model

Rapid economic growth and rising energy consumption have inevitably led to environmental problems, which is a cutting-edge issue of sustainable development. To distinguish the internal structure of marine and land economy–energy–environment (3E) systems and the non-linear relationships between the variables, a novel structural-adaptive fractional time-delay nonlinear systematic grey prediction model (FTDNSGM(1,m)) is established. Additionally, the solving process of each layer model of FTDNSGM(1,m) is described in detail, and the derived models of underlying layer FBTDGM(1,1) and upper layer FBTDGM(1,N) are deduced respectively, which constitute the nested grey difference equations. Furthermore, combined with comparative analysis and Monte-Carlo simulation, optimal non-linear parameters are determined by Beluga Whale Optimization (BWO) algorithm with robustness. Empirically, based on five case datasets under the national–regional dimensions, the FTDNSGM(1,m) model is scientifically verified to have superlative validity and stability. The results demonstrate that the average MAPEs of the proposed model in training and test sets are 0.38%, 0.28%, 0.34%, 0.26%, 0.21%, and 0.38%, 0.88%, 0.47%, 1.36%, 0.67%. Ulteriorly, the proposed model is of applicability to assess the impact on 3E systems attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Predictably, from 2022 to 2025, with sustained economic growth, marine and land energy consumption will rise within reasonable limits, while coastal water quality will continue to grow and NOx emissions will keep going down.

Promoting Epistemic Growth with Respect to Sustainable Development Issues through Computer-Supported Argumentation

Epistemic growth is a desirable outcome of engaging in argumentation related to sustainable development issues. However, earlier studies have rarely been conducted from the perspective of practical epistemology. This longitudinal study aimed to address this gap and to promote epistemic growth in sustainable development issues via computer-supported argumentation through a practice-based approach, using the Apt-AIR framework. The participants were 96 undergraduate students with various majors. Repeated measures of the frequency and epistemic quality of students’ argumentation comments were taken with respect to six consecutive sustainable development issues to explicate the participants’ epistemic growth. The qualitative data of a specific undergraduate provided procedural evidence confirming a change in the epistemic performance and the epistemic growth curves. The results supported an argumentation-based intervention in education with respect to sustainable development issues and highlighted the possibility that the different aspects of epistemic performance are interrelated.

Analysis of Carbon Emission Reduction at the Port of Integrated Logistics: The Port of Shanghai Case Study

With the goal of achieving carbon neutrality in the shipping industry, the issue of sustainable port development is becoming more and more valued by the port authorities. The shipping industry requires more effective carbon emission reduction analysis frameworks. This paper takes China’s Shanghai Port as the research object and analyzes it from the perspective of port-integrated logistics. Combined with the port data of Shanghai Port from 2008 to 2022, the principal component analysis gray correlation analysis model was used to screen the factors affecting the port’s carbon emissions, and three calculation models for Shanghai Port’s carbon emission sources were proposed. In addition, an expanded stochastic impact model based on the regression of population, affluence, and technology (STIRPAT) was constructed for the influencing factors of Shanghai Port’s carbon dioxide emissions and combined with the method of ridge regression to further identify important influencing factors. At the same time, a gray neural network model was established to predict the carbon emissions of Shanghai Port from 2021 to 2030 and compare them with their real value. The conclusion shows that there is a close relationship between Shanghai Port carbon emissions and container throughput, throughput energy consumption, number of berths, total foreign trade import and export, and net profit attributable to the parent company. Gray neural network model data calculations show that the growth rate of Shanghai Port’s carbon emissions will gradually slow down in the next ten years until the carbon peak is completed around 2033. The study can provide a reference for the sustainable development of other ports.

Systematic Approach to Sustainable Development in Agricultural and Food Systems – Example of Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and the Arctic Zone

The relevance of the study is conditioned by the need to apply a systematic approach to the investigation of agricultural production features as a complex dynamic structure that functions in an unstable market environment and depends on the influence of natural changes. In this regard, this study aims to identify socio-economic, natural, and environmental factors that affect the sustainable development of agricultural sectors, as well as predict the impact of material, technological, and climatic factors on the health and stability of the entire system. The leading method for studying this problem is the method of a systematic approach, which allows investigating agricultural production as a complex dynamic structure that functions in an unstable market environment and depends on the influence of natural factors. In addition, this study involved the following research methods: the method of structural analysis, comparative, statistical, and deduction methods, classification method. The study presents the factors directly or indirectly influencing the development of northern agriculture, predicts the impact of these factors on the stability of the system, and shows possible ways to overcome the negative impact. The regional management system directly affected the level of food self-sufficiency of the Sakha Republic. To improve the current situation, it is necessary to review the mechanisms of interaction between state institutions and agricultural producers. Furthermore, there is an entire list of factors that negatively affect the functioning of the agricultural sector of Yakutia. The situation requires an immediate design of a policy for the development of rural areas through the socio-economic development of villages in the region. The research materials are of practical value for the governing bodies of the agro-industrial complex of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), as well as teachers and students studying the issues of sustainable development of agriculture.

Adaptation of environmental protection legislation of Ukraine to the conditions of marital state

The essence of environmental protection legislation is analyzed. For this purpose, foreign and Ukrainian scientific literature as well as normative and legal documents, in which the right of nature protection is enshrined, was studied. It has been proven, that in the conditions of martial law in Ukraine, environmental protection legal acts should be aimed at mitigating the consequences of the armed aggression of the russian federation. For this, it is advisable to use the development of the law of the World Trade Organization.
 Environmental legislation is considered in the system of international environmental law (International Environmental Law). This approach is due to the global consequences of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine. Since mitigating the consequences of military actions on the territory of Ukraine requires a return from imbalance to stability, the issue of sustainable development has been brought up to date. Therefore, the essence is outlined and the main goals of sustainable development are listed, the implementation of which guarantees stability in the world, in particular in the field of nature protection. Implementation of the goals of sustainable development in life, restoration of balance in nature and international relations depends on specific subjects, so a list of them is given, and the main powers in the field of nature protection are outlined.
 Some decisions of such an international organization as the World Trade Organization regarding the provision of nature protection by economic methods are commented on.
 The importance of nature protection organizations in the field of environmental protection, their interaction with subjects of authority is also outlined.
 Since nature protection is closely related to the use of natural resources in the process of agricultural production, which guarantees the food security of humanity in general and Ukraine in particular, new approaches of the European Union to the regulation of the Common Agricultural Policy have been studied.
 In general, this work is based on the statement about the importance of applying all possible measures to mitigate the impact of Russian military aggression on the environment, in particular in the field of nuclear security. This will make it possible to return to the implementation of the model of sustainable development, the creation of which was aimed at solving the global problems of our time, but the implementation of which is made impossible by the active warfare on the territory of Ukraine

Challenges to Sustainable Development in Iraq: Human Security Issues

This study reviews the search for the links between sustainable development and human security issues. It explains the integration of human security and sustainable development. It focuses on human security issues in Iraq including: political security, social security, environmental security, economic security, food security, water security as well as terrorist threats. One of the most important requirements for achieving sustainable development is providing a safe and stable environment based on social justice, respect for human rights and guaranteeing a decent life for all people. The UN agenda 2030 comprises 17 sustainable development goals to achieve better and more sustainable future for humanity such as, no poverty, zero hunger, quality education, good health and well-being, clean water and sanitation, gender equality, economic growth, clean energy industry, peace and justice. The study assumes that human security issues are considered major obstacles to achieving sustainable development in this country. Iraq cannot achieve sustainable development goals without ensuring human security and promoting human-centered development in order to guarantee stability, equality and the right of the next generations in life.

Insurance industry in the scope of sustainable development

Subject. This article discusses the role of insurance sector in promoting the ESG agenda and sustainable development issue. Objectives. The article aims to determine the role of insurance in the sustainable development concept, consider the core principles of the green agenda, proposed by the UN and corresponding associations founded by it and supported in the financial sector, and review the European insurance and reinsurance companies' activities in terms of obligations arising from the sustainable insurance requirements. Methods. For the study, I used the methods of systems and comparative analyses, synthesis, and comparison. Conclusions. The insurance industry, together with other financial and non-financial institutions, supports the worldwide reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and contributes to the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5?C above pre-industrial levels. United by this target, the industry is currently moving through a voluntary regime of ESG-oriented topics to a more regulated and compulsory one that provides for more sophisticated reporting rules, disclosure, and transparency. ESG principles change insurers' risk appetite concerning both underwriting and investment aspects, making companies more sensitive to climate-related risks that, as a consequence, leads to revision of existing own risk and solvency assessments models. The path to sustainable insurance has already become visible and is performed via cut of investments from carbon-intensive industries, change of underwriting principles in terms of exit from not-green products and decrease of own emissions. At the same time, the growing awareness defines the place of climate risk in own risk and solvency assessment models.

Модели устойчивого развития нефтегазовых компаний в условиях декарбонизации: сравнение российского и зарубежного опыта

The conducted bibliographic search revealed that the scientific articles have already raised the issues of sustainable development of oil and gas companies, including the implementation of sustainable development projects in the context of aggravated environmental agenda, as well as the contribution of oil and gas companies in achieving sustainable development goals. Foreign experience demonstrates that the models of sustainable development of oil and gas companies are formed pursuant to the territorial and country specifics. It has been stated that the study of companies in the Russian oil and gas sector in this aspect has not yet been reflected in scientific papers. The distribution of Russian oil and gas companies (PJSC NK Rosneft, PJSC Gazprom, PJSC Lukoil, PJSC Novatek, PJSC Tatneft) was carried out according to the selected UN priority sustainable development goals. There is set up the question of comparing the current model of sustainable development of Russian oil and gas sector companies with Asian, European and American models of development. There are presented the results of SWOT-analysis of measures of sustainable development reports of the largest oil and gas companies of the Russian Federation. As a result of the analysis the characteristics that allow comparing the Russian experience of sustainable development with foreign experience are identified. It has been inferred that in the context of the aggravated geopolitical situation Russian oil and gas companies should also focus on achieving the goals stated in the national projects of the Russian Federation.

Brand Management and Innovation Management in the Age of Sustainable Development

Issues of sustainable development, successful achievement of the SDGs, solving the problems of production and promotion of green products, goods and technologies, expanding the use of green brands and many other aspects related to life and production in the Age of Sustainable Development remain the most relevant and frequently discussed topics in recent years [...]

A Proposed Management System for Construction Practices during Sustainable Buildings Life Cycle

For many years, the construction industry damages have been overlooked such as unreasonable consumption of resources in addition to producing a lot of construction waste but with global awareness growth towards the sustainable development issues, the sustainable construction practices have been adopted, taking into account the environment and human safety. The research aims to propose a management system for construction practices which could be adopted during constructing different types of sustainable buildings besides formulating flowcharts which clarify the required whole phases of sustainable buildings life cycle. The research includes two parts: theoretical part which generally ,handles the sustainability concepts at construction industry and specially buildings .But the practical part comprises investigating the professional opinions in construction industry about applications possibility of sustainable requirements and global criteria to construction of sustainable buildings in Iraq where the weakness and strength points in the essential requirements for achieving the sustainable construction practices have been diagnosed and the development needhas been specified. The utilized statistical analysis of questionnaire results show readiness of buildings sectors to implement the sustainable practices. The different strategies and techniques in the proposed management have been employed for getting the sustainable procedures of sequences practices within project life cycle.

Protecting Innovation Sustainability: R&D Manipulation and Effective Regulation Based on a Two-Scenario Evolutionary Game Perspective

Enterprise innovation is the core content of national innovation and an important issue for sustainable development. Therefore, this paper focuses on the phenomenon of R&D manipulation in the declaration of high-tech enterprises, constructs a two-scenario two-party evolutionary game model in which central governments do or do not join in the supervision of local governments and the declaration enterprises and simulates and analyzes the direction of each key variable on the strategy selection of the game subject and degree of impact. The study finds that reducing tax rates is beneficial to avoid enterprise R&D manipulation, while innovation performance and regulatory costs drive local governments to reduce regulation. Further analysis shows that central government’s participation in supervision reduces enterprise R&D manipulation and strengthens local government regulation. The research results could promote the standardization of enterprise innovation behavior and mitigate local government slack, thereby fostering sustainable innovation and development.

DIGITALIZATION OF MUNICIPAL AS A STRATEGY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT (EXAMPLE THE CITY OF BARNAUL)

Modern methodologists pay special attention to digital technologies in the issues of sustainable development of urban districts. The current realities, as well as the promotion of digitalization at the federal level, are forcing municipal authorities to put forward their own projects in the field of the digital economy. Under the conditions of transformation, cities are becoming a place for testing digital services to meet the needs of basic life, social issues and interaction with municipal authorities of the appropriate level. The authors of the article consider the basic issues of sustainable development of the digital environment, the practice of applying which is revealed on the example of the city of Barnaul, Altai Territory, as part of the national project «Digital Economy». In addition, the article highlights the special tasks that are set for local governments for the digitalization of the urban environment, considers indicators of their achievement, statistics of individual indicators. In conclusion, the authors come to the conclusion that the city of Barnaul is at the initial stage of digitalization, which is confirmed by the successful functioning of a number of socially significant online services and the rating of the Ministry of Construction of Russia.

Thermo-Environ-Economic Optimization of an Integrated Combined-Cycle Power Plant Based on a Multi-objective Water Cycle Algorithm

The integration of power plants and desalination systems has attracted increasing attention over the past few years as an effective solution to tackle sustainable development and climate change issues. In this light, this paper introduces a novel modelling and optimization approach for a combined-cycle power plant (CCPP) integrated with reverse osmosis (RO) and multi-effect distillation (MED) desalination systems. The integrated CCPP and RO–MED desalination system is thermodynamically modelled utilizing MATLAB and EES software environments, and the results are validated via Thermoflex software simulations. Comprehensive energy, exergic, exergoeconomic, and exergoenvironmental (4E) analyses are performed to assess the performance of the integrated system. Furthermore, a new multi-objective water cycle algorithm (MOWCA) is implemented to optimize the main performance parameters of the integrated system. Finally, a real-world case study is performed based on Iran's Shahid Salimi Neka power plant. The results reveal that the system exergy efficiency is increased from 8.4 to 51.1% through the proposed MOWCA approach, and the energy and freshwater costs are reduced by 8.4% and 29.4%, respectively. The latter results correspond to an environmental impact reduction of 14.2% and 33.5%. Hence, the objective functions are improved from all exergic, exergoeconomic, and exergoenvironmental perspectives, proving the approach to be a valuable tool towards implementing more sustainable combined power plants and desalination systems.

The Evolutionary Path of the Center of Gravity for Water Use, the Population, and the Economy, and Their Decomposed Contributions in China from 1965 to 2019

Sustainable development is a hot issue in global research today. As a large developing country, China has increasingly prominent conflicts between water use, the population, and the economy, so it is necessary to solve the sustainable development issues represented by water use, the population, and the economy. To explore the evolutionary process for water use, the population, and the economy in China, we calculated the evolutionary path of the center of gravity for water use, the population, and the economy in China from 1965 to 2019 by using the center of gravity model, and we calculated the decomposed contributions of the evolutionary path of the center of gravity for water use, the population, and the economy in China from 1965 to 2019, which the six major areas in China contributed to, by using the center of gravity decomposed contributions model. The results show the following: (1) As a whole, the center of gravity cumulative yearly moving distance for water use was 835.77 km, and the center of gravity moving direction as well as angle were north by east, 18.95°. The center of gravity cumulative yearly moving distance for the population was 113.40 km, and the center of gravity moving direction as well as angle were south by west, 31.50°. The center of gravity cumulative yearly moving distance for the economy was 449.83 km, and the center of gravity moving direction as well as angle were south by east, 8.63°. (2) From the decomposed value contribution rate of the evolutionary path of the center of gravity in the latitude direction for water use, the population, and the economy in China from 1965 to 2019, which the six major areas in China contributed to, Northeast China contributed the most (42.26%, 34.09%, and 39.37%, respectively). The increasing proportion of total water use consumption in Northeast China most positively affected the evolutionary path of the center of gravity for water use in China, moving northwards from 1965 to 2019, and the decreasing proportion of the total population as well as gross regional product in Northeast China most negatively affected the evolutionary path of the center of gravity for the population and economy in China, moving southwards from 1965 to 2019.